India and MERCOSUR signed the First Additional Protocol to the India–MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to facilitate acceptance of electronic Certificates of Origin

• It would facilitating paperless trade and modernising customs procedures between India and the MERCOSUR countries.

About MERCOSUR

• The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR for its Spanish initials) is a regional integration process, initially established by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and subsequently joined by Venezuela and Bolivia.
• Its objective is to promote a common space that generates business and investment opportunities through the competitive integration of national economies into the international market.

• Centre notified a change to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act to say that no charges can be imposed on 
  • RuPay-powered debit cards and 
  • UPI transactions of up to ₹2,000
• No bank or system provider may impose any charge, directly or indirectly, on a person making or receiving payment through these modes.
• The government has not specified whether charges (including Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)) will apply to UPI transactions above ₹2,000.
  • MDR is a small fee that merchants pay to banks and payment companies each time a customer makes a digital payment. 

Leaders from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales signed a pact seeking independence and self-determination from Westminster.

• They also aim to strengthen cooperation on economic and energy matters.
• Earlier, Scottish Government published a Draft Independence Referendum Bill in August 2026, proposing a formal vote on the nation's constitutional future.

About United Kingdom

• Island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe.
• Comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain—which contains England, Wales, and Scotland—as well as northern portion of island of Ireland.

As per India's Defence Ministry's Annual Report 2025-26, Indian S-400 air-defence unit destroyed a Pakistani special-mission aircraft at distance of 314km during Operation Sindoor. 

About S-400

• Origin: Russian Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile system developed by Almaz-Antey. Also known as SA-21 Growler (NATO Codename).
• Integrates multifunction radar, autonomous detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, launchers, and command-and-control centre.
• Layered Air Defence: Employs four missile types with ranges of 40 km, 120 km, 250 km and 400 km.
• Target Spectrum: Capable of engaging aircraft, stealth aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.
• Detection Range: Aerial targets up to 600 km.
• Integrated with AI-enabled decision-support capabilities aimed at improving threat prioritisation and target selection.

Scientists have discovered a new species of subterranean, legless amphibian — commonly known as a caecilian from Maharashtra.

About Gegeneophis chandgadi Species

• Named Gegeneophis chandgadi in honour of local Chandgadi dialect of Marathi spoken in region.
• Belongs to caecilian group, a little-known group of limbless amphibians that live largely underground and are often mistaken for earthworms or blind snakes.

• Caecilians were found in residential and agricultural landscapes inhabited and used by people, rather than exclusively inside protected forest areas.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have captured more strategic islands in southern Red Sea.

Key strategic islands

• Islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish: 160 km north of Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
• Island of Mayun (a small and barren volcanic island also known as Perim island) in Bab el-Mandeb Strait at entrance to Red Sea. It lies about 3.5 km off Yemen’s western coast.
• Port city of Mokha: Located on Red Sea coast, and about 65 km north of Bab al-Mandab Strait. 

• Bab el-Mandeb connects Red Sea to Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean beyond, facilitating passage of roughly 12% of global maritime trade and millions of barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products daily.

Indian scientists demonstrated a method to prolong quantum entanglement using a precisely timed "flip operation." 

• A flip operation is a controlled move that swaps a quantum particle from one state to its opposite.

What is Quantum Entanglement?

• Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum physics where two or more particles become connected in such a way that the physical state of one dictates the state of the other, regardless of distance.
• Key Applications: 
  • Quantum Computing: Entanglement allows Quantum bits (qubits) to process vast numbers of possibilities simultaneously, providing the exponential processing power.
  • Quantum Cryptography: Measuring an entangled particle immediately alters its state, exposing any eavesdropper (the basis of Quantum Key Distribution).

Hindi Diwas is celebrated on September 14^th to commemorate the adoption of Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union by the Constituent Assembly in 1949.

Constitutional Status of Hindi

• Article 343: The official language of the central government is Hindi written in the Devanagari script with international Indian numerals.
  • Note: Hindi is not the National Language of India. The Indian Constitution does not give any single language the status of a national language.

• Article 351: This sets a duty for the Central Government to spread and develop the Hindi language so that it can serve as a medium of expression for all elements of India's mixed culture.

Related News

• Supreme Court launched Hindi public information service ‘Jan Soochna Seva’ to make available simplified summaries of select judgements and orders in Hindi.

Indian Prime Minister gifted Russian President a translated version of the traditional Tamil text Thirukkural on the sidelines of BRICS Summit.

About Thirukkural

• Written by: Ancient Tamil poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar in Sangam era between 300BCE-500CE.
• Thirukkural emphasises moral conduct and discouraged divisions based on religion, caste, creed, and race.  
• It is divided into three books:
  • The Book of Virtue (Dharma): Dealing with morality (aram) and values of an individual.
  • The Book of Polity: Teachings regarding materialism (porul) and socio-economic values.
  • The Book of Love: Details teachings of love (inbam).

A study has warned that bamboo mass flowering and die-off can trigger ecological crisis and wildlife conflict such as invasive weed outbreaks, intense wildfires, etc.

About Bamboo

• Often called "Green Gold," bamboo is a fast-growing, woody grass with an exceptionally high strength-to-weight ratio and remarkable natural elasticity.
• India is the world's second-largest producer of bamboo, right behind China.
  • In 2017, the government amended the Indian Forest Act of 1927, reclassifying it as a grass from tree when grown outside of forest boundaries.
• Significance: Fast Cash Crop (matures in just 3 to 5 years); Rapid Carbon Sink (absorbs carbon dioxide and releases up to 35% more oxygen); Land Restoration (thrives in poor, degraded soil).