International Day for Universal Access to Information is observed annually on 28 September to promote the fundamental right of everyone to seek, receive, and impart information.
The global conference marking the Day takes place on 28 September 2026, organized by UNESCO in collaboration with the Government of Sierra Leone.
The 2026 International Day for Universal Access to Information focuses on “Upholding Information Integrity in the Digital Age: The role of access to information in addressing information disorder.”
The Day explores how access to reliable official information, proactive disclosure, media and information literacy, credible data and digital technologies can contribute to a healthier information environment.
International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is observed annually on 29 September to promote global action toward sustainable consumption and halving food waste by 2030.
The United Nations recognizes the importance of reducing food loss and waste.
On 19 December 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 74/209 proclaiming 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW). The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste seeks to promote awareness and collective action to reduce food loss and waste.
The Government launched Pashudhan Bima Portal in New Delhi. The Portal will provide a single, integrated digital platform for livestock insurance, enabling streamlined policy issuance, claim processing, monitoring and reporting in case of animals insured under the Livestock Insurance Scheme of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
This initiative is aimed at making livestock insurance services more transparent, efficient, accessible and technology-driven, while strengthening risk protection for livestock farmers and supporting the sustainability of their livelihoods.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is commemorating its 22nd Formation Day. The theme for this year’s Formation Day is “Risk Reduction in Action”, reflecting the collective endeavour towards translating disaster risk reduction policies, knowledge and preparedness measures into concrete action at all levels.
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Anuj Sharma, stressed the need for concerted efforts to achieve the goal of zero casualties from natural disasters.The country has undergone significant transformation in disaster management, particularly in response, rescue and relief operations.
Bilateral trade between India and UAE reached 101.25 billion dollars in the financial year 2025-26, while non-oil trade stood at 76.2 billion dollars in 2025. The two sides are working towards their shared target of 200 billion dollars in bilateral trade by 2032.
The Joint Task Force reviewed progress on several investment projects, including a proposed 11.5-billion-dollar integrated Aluminium complex in Odisha and the Food Park project in Gujarat.
In the Asian Games 2026 in Japan, India’s Esha Singh won the silver medal in the women’s 25-metre pistol individual competition at Aichi-Nagoya . The 21-year-old shooter won the medal with 38 points to finish second. Indian athlete Pincky Balhara secured the bronze medal in the women’s under-78kg Kurash event at Aichi-Nagoya .
She won the medal after defeating South Korea’s Lim Garam 3-0 in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, the Indian men’s cricket team entered the semi-finals without taking the field after its quarter-final against Afghanistan was abandoned due to inclement weather at Aichi-Nagoya in Japan .
The defending champion side made it to the last four as it is ranked number one in the ICC T20I rankings, while Afghanistan is currently placed 10th. India will take on the winner of the quarter-final between Nepal and Sri Lanka in the semi-final.
In the women’s boxing event, Indian Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain secured a medal in the 75-kilogram
category with a 5-0 quarter-final win over South Korea’s Seong Suyeon.
India are currently placed 12th in the medal standings, with an overall tally of 39 medals, including four gold, 17 silver and 18 bronze.
Indian-origin chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan has created history by becoming the youngest Woman Grandmaster. The 11-year-old, who represents England, achieved the milestone at the 46th Chess Olympiad which concluded yesterday at Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Bodhana played all 11 rounds on England’s top board and finished the tournament with eight points.
Her performance also earned her a second International Master (IM) norm, which takes her another step closer to becoming an international master. Bodhana first discovered chess during the COVID-19 lockdown and has since gone on to break several records.
she became Britain’s youngest-ever Women’s Chess Champion at the 2026 British Chess Championships.
Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal addressed the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Abu Dhabi, UAE. In his address, the Minister highlighted India’s efforts towards digital justice, stronger measures to combat cybercrime and terrorism,
enhanced international cooperation and timely delivery of justice. The Union Minister also briefed the participating delegates on reforms undertaken through India’s new criminal laws and the country’s commitment to strengthening the criminal justice system in accordance with global standards.
The world’s most used search engine, Google has turned 28 . A special, retro-themed Google Doodle has officially taken over the search page to celebrate the technology giant’s birthday. By reviving the company’s first-ever 1998-era logo, the nostalgic homepage tribute honors nearly three decades of digital innovation.
The vintage design serves as a playful reminder of how far the search engine has come since its humble beginnings. The Doodle also features a birthday trivia quiz on the Google Doodles page, inviting users to test their knowledge of Google’s history.
Over 28 years, Google has expanded well beyond its original search engine,
with products and services including Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Android and Pixel phones. Google was officially incorporated on September 4, 1998, by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who were then PhD students at Stanford University. However, the company marks September 27 as its official birthday.
According to information shared by Google,
the company’s formal beginnings can be traced to August 1998, when Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a 100,000 US Dollars cheque to Page and Brin. Google subsequently became incorporated in September that year.
The choice of September 27 as Google’s birthday has varied over the years.
The company initially celebrated its birthday on different dates in September but 27th became the consistent date from 2006, while the first birthday-themed Google Doodle appeared on September 27, 2002.
Bangladesh has launched a special nationwide measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign targeting around 34 lakh unvaccinated or missed children aged six months to under five years. The campaign is being conducted by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry under the title ‘Intensified MR Catch-up Vaccination’ at the T&T playground and
and in various areas of Dhaka.
The campaign will continue until October 31 and aims to identify children who were missed during the ongoing MR vaccination campaign and arrange vaccination for them. Children who have reached six months of age during this period and have become newly eligible will also be covered.
Ola Electric’s board has approved a rights issue of partly paid-up equity shares to raise up to Rs.1,000 crore, the electric two-wheeler maker said in a regulatory filing. The move comes weeks after the company approved plans to mobilise up to Rs.1,500 crore.
The rights issue is subject to regulatory and statutory approvals, as may be required under applicable law.
The move would allow all eligible shareholders, including retail and institutional investors as well as the promoter group, to participate in the exercise.
India highlighted its significant achievement in forest and landscape restoration and reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable forest management, climate action and resilient forest landscapes at the Twenty-eighth Session of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) Committee on Forestry (COFO 28),
being held in Rome from 28th September to 2nd October 2026. Delivering its Statement during COFO 28, India welcomed FAO’s focus on Forest and Landscape Restoration, and emphasised that sustainable forest management provides an integrated framework for addressing restoration at the landscape level while responding to national circumstances and
the needs of local communities.India highlighted the consistent progress made in enhancing its forest resources. The country’s forest and tree cover stands at 82.74 million hectares, constituting 25.17% of its geographical area. The FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 ranks India 9th globally in forest area and 3rd in net annual forest area gain.
Forests and trees also remain central to India’s climate commitments. India has created an additional carbon sink of 2.29 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2021 and has enhanced its ambition to create an additional carbon sink of 3.5–4.0 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2035, compared with 2005 levels.
In coastal landscapes, the MISHTI initiative is advancing mangrove restoration while strengthening climate resilience and supporting local livelihoods. India also highlighted that the number of Ramsar Sites in the country has reached 101.The country also showcased Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam – Plant4Mother, a whole-of-government and whole-of-society initiative
initiative under which more than 3.5 billion saplings have been planted. India emphasised that international cooperation must move beyond global commitments to support country-driven implementation, capacity development, technology transfer and measurable outcomes on the ground. India also called for stronger coherence between FAO’s forestry work,
the Global Forest Goals and other forest-related international processes, along with enhanced South-South and triangular cooperation for sharing knowledge, best practices and scalable solutions. The country reaffirmed its commitment to working with FAO and Member States in shaping the proposed UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation
in line with Sustainable Forest Management, 2027–2036, with the objective of building a coherent continuum from restoration of degraded ecosystems to resilient, productive and inclusive forest landscapes.
India underlined the need for conservation of whales and other cetaceans at the 70th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC-70), being held in Hobart, Australia, from 28.09.2026 to 02.10.2026.In its Opening Statement at IWC-70, India emphasized the importance of continued collaboration among range countries, scientific institutions and
relevant international organisations for effective cetacean conservation. India highlighted that improved scientific information on population status, distribution, movements, breeding ecology and threats is essential for strengthening conservation measures and supporting informed decision-making.
OECD raised its forecast for India’s FY27 economic growth by 80 basis points to 7.1%, from 6.3% projected in June. In its September Interim Economic Outlook, the OECD said India’s growth is expected to moderate from 7.8% in FY26 to 7.1% in FY27 and further to 6.5% in FY28.The Paris-based forecaster warned that despite recent strong momentum,
reduced purchasing power is expected to weaken growth in India through the second half of this year, before a gradual recovery takes place in 2027.This comes after Fitch Ratings earlier raised India's FY27 growth forecast to 6.9% from 6.4% and S&P Global Ratings projected 7% growth, up from its earlier 6.6%.
Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL) has appointed Kinjal Shah as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO), strengthening its technology leadership as it prepares for the next phase of India’s securities market infrastructure. The appointment took effect on September 22, 2026.
Shah joins CDSL from YES Securities, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. He brings around 25 years of experience across technology, financial services and capital-market infrastructure, with previous stints at organisations including NSE, Edelweiss Global Markets, Larsen & Toubro and J.P. Morgan.
In his new role, Shah will lead CDSL’s technology function and contribute to the company’s digital and technology initiatives. CDSL has also listed him as a Senior Management Personnel under the SEBI Listing Regulations and as a Key Management Personnel under the SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations, 2018.Shah succeeds Amit Mahajan as CTO.
Mahajan ceased to hold the CTO position from the commencement of business hours on September 22, 2026, following Shah’s appointment, and is currently listed by CDSL as Executive Director – Vertical 1.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the Conference on ‘PRAHAAR - CT Policy and Strategy’ today in New Delhi. The Conference deliberated upon the seven pillars of PRAHAAR including Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism,
Aligning International Efforts and Recovery &Resilience through a whole-of-society approach. The Conference was attended by Union Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Heads of CAPFs/CPOs, DGsP of 15 States, ATS Chiefs of all the States/UTs in person while other State DGsP and cutting-edge police officers joined the Conference virtually.
In a significant step towards strengthening railway safety through indigenous technology, Indian Railways has approved the provision of Kavach Version 4.0 on 614.75 Route Kilometres of Varanasi (BSB) Division of North Eastern Railway at a total cost of Rs.223 crore.
The approved project will extend Kavach 4.0 coverage across the identified balance sections of Varanasi Division, strengthening the safety infrastructure available for train operations.
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system designed to enhance operational safety. It helps prevent Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD),
automatically applies brakes when required and supports safer train movement by monitoring train operations.
The approved work will further strengthen train protection infrastructure across the balance sections of Varanasi Division. The initiative will contribute to safer and more reliable train operations and support Indian Railways’ ongoing efforts.
India is among the countries attending a three-day meeting of the National Coordinators of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which commenced in Islamabad (September 28, 2026) to prepare for the next year's Council of Heads of State summit.
The SCO member states included Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and China.
The delegation from India, a key member of the SCO, is being led by its National Coordinator Alok Dimri.
