Current Affairs 17 September 2026

India and MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement

India and MERCOSUR have launched negotiations to expand their existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). The announcement was made on 14 September 2026 by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. India and MERCOSUR also signed the First Additional Protocol to their existing PTA to facilitate the acceptance of electronic Certificates of Origin (e-CoO).

The India–MERCOSUR PTA was signed on 25 January 2004 and came into force on 1 June 2009. Under the existing agreement, India provides preferential tariff concessions on 450 tariff lines, while MERCOSUR provides concessions on 452 tariff lines.

Varuna Elevated Corridor to Boost Urban Mobility in Varanasi

The Varuna Elevated Corridor is a major urban transport project planned in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, to improve connectivity and reduce congestion in the historic city. The ₹10,998-crore project, approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2026, will have a total length of 43.218 km.

The corridor will connect National Highway-31 (NH-31) with the Varanasi Ring Road along the Varuna River. It will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

New UPI Framework

The Ministry of Finance has clarified that under the new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) framework, all person-to-person (P2P) transactions will continue to remain completely free, irrespective of the amount transferred. No transaction fee, platform fee, or other charge can be imposed on individuals for sending or receiving money through UPI.

For person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, transactions up to ₹2,000 will remain free from the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). Small merchants, including street vendors receiving up to ₹1 lakh per month through UPI QR codes under the P2PM category, will also continue to enjoy zero MDR. As a result, nearly 96% of merchant transactions are expected to remain unaffected by the new framework.

For specified P2M transactions above ₹2,000, an MDR of 0.4% will apply. For transactions of ₹75,000 and above, the MDR will be capped at ₹300 per transaction. Essential and thin-margin sectors such as railways, telecommunications, insurance, fuel and agricultural inputs will attract a flat MDR of ₹5 per transaction for transactions above ₹2,000. Capital-market transactions involving mutual funds, securities, stockbrokers and dealers will attract an MDR of 0.02%, capped at ₹300.

Operation Deep Manifest

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized more than 362 metric tonnes (MT) of Pakistan-origin dry dates under ‘Operation Deep Manifest’, as part of its action against attempts to circumvent India’s prohibition on imports from Pakistan.

Operation Deep Manifest is an enforcement operation of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) aimed at detecting and stopping the illegal import of Pakistan-origin goods routed through third countries to conceal their actual origin.

Nuakhai and Samvatsari

Nuakhai

Nuakhai is an important agrarian and harvest festival of Western Odisha, celebrated to welcome the season’s newly harvested crop.

• The word Nuakhai broadly means “eating the new crop”.
• It is especially associated with the Sambalpur region and other parts of Western Odisha.
• The first produce of the new harvest is traditionally offered to the presiding deity before being consumed by families.

Samvatsari

Samvatsari is an important Jain religious observance centred on repentance, forgiveness and self-purification.

• It is observed mainly by followers of the Shvetambara Jain tradition.
• Samvatsari marks the final day of the eight-day Paryushan festival.

SPROUT, TAPAS and SHREYAS

SPROUT Facility for Climate-Resilient Crops

The SPROUT facility — SpeedSeed Phenotyping and Resource Optimization for Unified Trait Analysis — was inaugurated at the BRIC-National Institute of Plant Genome Research (BRIC-NIPGR), New Delhi, on 15 September 2026. It is an indigenous, controlled-environment facility designed to accelerate the development of climate-resilient crops.

TAPAS Online Learning Platform

TAPAS — Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services — is an online learning management platform of the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It provides self-paced certificate courses in important areas of social defence.

SHREYAS for Higher Education

SHREYAS — Scholarships for Higher Education for Young Achievers Scheme — supports educational opportunities for students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Its major interventions include free coaching, education in premier institutions, overseas higher education, and research fellowships.

Q1. India recently launched negotiations to expand its Preferential Trade Agreement with MERCOSUR. MERCOSUR is a regional grouping primarily associated with which continent?
A. Africa
B. South America
C. Europe
D. Southeast Asia

Q2. Which of the following operations was launched after the Pahalgam terror attack to combat the illegal import of Pakistan-origin goods routed through third countries?
A. Operation Deep Manifest
B. Operation Sankalp
C. Operation Sagar Kavach
D. Operation Garuda

Q3. Nuakhai is a traditional harvest festival primarily associated with which State of India?
A. Odisha
B. Assam
C. Gujarat
D. Maharashtra

Q4. Under the new UPI framework, what Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will generally apply to specified person-to-merchant transactions above ₹2,000?
A. 0.1%
B. 0.2%
C. 0.4%
D. 1.0%

Q5. The Varuna Elevated Corridor, recently in the news, is being developed in which city?
A. Prayagraj
B. Lucknow
C. Varanasi
D. Kanpur

Q6. Which of the following correctly expands the abbreviation ‘SPROUT’, recently seen in the news in connection with climate-resilient crop research?
A. Sustainable Plant Research and Optimisation for Unified Technology
B. SpeedSeed Phenotyping and Resource Optimization for Unified Trait Analysis
C. Scientific Programme for Resilient Output and Unified Testing
D. Seed Productivity Research and Optimisation through Universal Technology