Daily Current Affairs 8 September 2026

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has constituted a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to conduct a comprehensive examination of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill, 2026.

The committee, consisting of 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha, will be chaired by Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP MP).

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has inaugurated the state-of-the-art building of the National Test House (NTH) in Bengaluru to mark its 115th Foundation Day. NTH functions under the Department of Consumer Affairs of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (MoCAF&PD).

During the event, he also virtually commissioned various facilities and initiatives across the national NTH network. The “NTH Suvidha” mobile app was launched to streamline testing access for industry stakeholders and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh has launched the 5th edition of the ‘Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar 2026’ (SSSS v5.0) in New Delhi. The week-long ocean conservation campaign is scheduled from 12 to 19 September 2026, and will culminate on International Coastal Cleanup Day on 17 September 2026.

As part of the 5th edition, the first-ever National Ocean Olympiad has been inaugurated. Digital platforms for the campaign include the official SSSS v5.0 website, an ocean conservation pledge platform, and the ‘SAGAR PRAHARI’ mobile application.

The campaign aims to increase awareness about marine pollution and sustainable use of ocean resources. It is to be noted that the SSSS initiative was originally established in 2022.

PhonePe has launched ‘UPI 123Pay’, a service enabling feature phone users to conduct UPI transactions without internet connectivity. The service uses a Short Message Service (SMS)-based system to ensure secure transactions even in low network coverage areas.

This initiative aims to promote financial inclusion by providing digital payment capabilities to the non-smartphone user demographic in India.

The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) has signed an MoU with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to collaborate on landscape conservation, sustainable development, and financing.

The agreement was formalized during the ‘International Workshop on Tiger Landscapes’ which was inaugurated by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav. The theme of the workshop was “Tiger Landscapes: Conservation, Bioeconomy and Ecotourism as Pillars for Livelihood and Income Generation”.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has signed an MoU with the Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET) in Punjab to conduct a research study to develop a “Predictive and Analytical Framework for Monthly Consumption Expenditures” in India.

The Odisha government has signed two strategic MoUs with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and CivicDataLab (CDL) in Bhubaneswar.

The partnership aims to strengthen the disaster risk management ecosystem of the state by leveraging data, technology, and innovation, and fostering institutional collaboration.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has signed an MoU with Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) to promote demand aggregation and the large-scale deployment of smart domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) meters.

The initiative aims to facilitate the implementation of advanced metering infrastructure across the City Gas Distribution (CGD) sector of India.

Ulle Madise, the Chancellor of Justice, has been elected as the President of Estonia for a 5-year term. She succeeds Alar Karis.

Turkiye has joined the Artemis Accords as the 71st signatory globally and the 7th nation from West Asia.

It is to be noted that the accords were jointly established by the NASA and the US Department of State in 2020. The initiative aims to promote the safe and peaceful exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully conducted a drop trial of the indigenous Long-Range Glide Bomb (LRGB) named ‘Khagantak-243’, demonstrating an enhanced long-range air-to-ground precision strike capability.

The 300 kg-class airborne Long Range Stand-Off Precision Guided Glide Bomb was developed through a collaborative partnership between Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and JSR Dynamics.

India and China have held the inaugural Corps Commander-level military meeting in Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian delegation was led by Lt Gen Girish Kalia, the commander of the Rangapahar-based 3 Corps.

The meeting, hosted at the Wacha-Damai Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point near Kibithu in the Anjaw district, marks the first time this high-level dialogue mechanism was used in the Eastern Sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) has attained an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) score of 90, the highest globally in the utilities sector.

The score, assessed by S&P Global through its Media and Stakeholder Analysis (MSA) review, surpasses the global industry average of 41 for the sector.

NVIDIA has announced an agreement to acquire the premier open-source AI platform ‘Hugging Face’ for $12.93 billion in cash and equity. This transaction represents the largest acquisition undertaken by NVIDIA to date.

The National Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries Park Odisha Ltd (NSHIPOL) has received in-principle approval to establish a shipbuilding and heavy industries cluster in Kendrapara, Odisha, with a projected investment of ₹24,700 crore.

The approval was granted under the Shipbuilding Development Scheme (SbDS) of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW). The project will be implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) comprising the Odisha Maritime Board (OMB) and the Paradip Port Authority (PPA).

John Ternus has assumed charge as the CEO of Apple Inc. He succeeds Tim Cook.

Germany has won the men’s category title (4th title) at the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey World Cup 2026, defeating Spain 1-0 in the final. Argentina has won the women’s category title (3rd title) after defeating the defending champions Netherlands.

The 2026 edition, co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, marks the first time the men and women tournaments are held jointly. The competition format includes 16 teams each in the men and women categories, divided into four pools.

The Football Players’ Association of India (FPAI) has organized the Indian Football Awards 2026 in Kolkata where former footballer Bhaichung Bhutia presented the awards.

Lallianzuala Chhangte (Mizoram) was named the Indian Footballer of the Year 2026 and Manisha Kalyan (Punjab) won the Indian Women’s Player of the Year award. Sanan Mohammed K (Jamshedpur FC) and Sanfida Nongrum (Garhwal FC) were declared the Young Player of the Year and Women’s Young Player of the Year, respectively.

East Bengal Football Club (FC) was honored as the Indian Super League (ISL) Champions, while the East Bengal FC Women’s team was recognized for winning the Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2025-26 title. Owen Coyle and Anthony Andrews were conferred with the Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year awards, respectively.

Savio Medeira was presented with the Coach Education Award, and the Player Performance and Development Award was conferred upon Rapid Sports and the Right Weigh.

Smriti Mandhana, an Indian cricketer, has set a new world record as the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket across all formats. She achieved this milestone during a match against Hong Kong at the Dubai International Stadium,UAE, as part of the Women’s Asia Cup 2026.

She scored 124 runs off 64 balls in the match, taking her total career aggregate to 10,880 runs. It is to be noted that she surpassed the previous record of 10,868 runs held by the retired Indian cricketer Mithali Raj.

Karnataka Minister Madhu Bangarappa has launched the Kannada and English editions of the book titled “Memorable Trials, Unforgettable Cases”.

The book is authored by HN Nagamohan Das (a former Judge of the Karnataka High Court) and published by Jana Prakashana. It focuses on spreading constitutional awareness and detailing various judicial experiences.