Current Affairs - September 28, 2026 Current Affairs

Baranica Elangovan won the bronze medal in the women’s pole vault at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, creating history as India’s first medalist in this discipline at the Asian Games. She cleared 4.15 metres to secure the bronze, which she shared with Kazakhstan’s Polina Ivanova, who achieved the same height. Japan’s Misaki Morota won gold with 4.55 metres, while China’s Chunge Neu claimed silver with 4.50 metres. Baranica, a pole vaulter from Tamil Nadu, joined the Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar in 2023 after recovering from an ACL injury.

Samarkand was the host city of the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan. India won the silver medal after drawing 2-2 with Hungary in the final round. India finished with 18 match points and 28.5 game points, the same as Germany, but secured the silver medal through the tiebreak system. Uzbekistan won the gold medal with 20 match points, while Germany secured the bronze. The tournament highlighted the strong performances of India and Uzbekistan in international team chess competitions.

Agnikul Cosmos received ₹200 crore under an agreement signed with the Technology Development Board (TDB) and the Department of Science & Technology (DST) to develop the fully reusable Agnibaan launch vehicle. The funding is provided through Optionally Convertible Debentures under the Research Development and Innovation Fund. The project aims to advance Agnibaan’s Technology Readiness Level from TRL-4 to TRL-8. The vehicle uses a semi-cryogenic liquid propulsion system with deep-throttling and restart capabilities. Agnikul Cosmos, established in 2017 and headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is also known for developing the Agnilet, a single-piece 3D-printed rocket engine.

Esha Singh won the silver medal in the women’s 25m pistol individual event at the 2026 Asian Games held in Nagoya, Japan. She qualified for the final with 580 points and successfully progressed through several shoot-offs during the medal round. In the gold medal shoot-off, Esha competed against China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan after both shooters were tied at 38 points. Esha missed her final shot and finished second, while Xiao Jiaruixuan won gold. North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk secured the bronze medal. Esha’s performance earned India another shooting medal at the Asian Games.

Anahat Singh and Abhay Singh won silver medals in the women’s and men’s singles squash events, respectively, at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Anahat became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in singles squash at the Asian Games. She lost the final to Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam. Abhay Singh also secured silver after losing to Malaysia’s Ng Eain Yow in the men’s singles final. Their performances added two silver medals to India’s squash tally, while Joshna Chinappa and Velavan Senthilkumar won bronze in mixed doubles.

Pune was selected to host the 2032 UCI Road World Championships, marking the first time the prestigious global cycling event will be held in India. The decision was announced during the UCI Congress in Montreal, Canada, on September 24, 2026. Pune secured the hosting rights after competing against Groningen/Drenthe of the Netherlands in the final round. The bid was jointly submitted by the Government of Maharashtra and the Cycling Federation of India, with support from the Government of India. Proposed venues include Balewadi Stadium and the Pune University circuit. The event aims to promote cycling and develop Indian athletes, coaches, and technical officials.

India finished in 10th position at the WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 competition, marking its best performance to date in the global skills competition. The Indian delegation won six silver medals and received 20 Medals for Excellence. This was an improvement over its 13th-place finish at WorldSkills Lyon 2024, where India won four bronze medals and 12 Medals for Excellence. India sent its largest-ever delegation of 70 contestants competing across 63 skills in Shanghai. The six silver medals came in Bakery, Dental Prosthetics, Digital Interactive Media Design, Industrial Design Technology, Logistics and Freight Forwarding, and Retail Sales.

New Delhi was the location where the Livestock Insurance Portal was launched by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying on September 28, 2026. The portal was introduced to provide livestock insurance services through a single digital platform. It supports insurance policy issuance, claim processing and tracking, monitoring, reporting, and online access to insurance-related information. The portal is available in Hindi, English, and 11 regional languages. Livestock insurance under the National Livestock Mission aims to protect farmers from financial losses caused by the death of insured animals and encourage wider adoption of livestock insurance.

Sabarmati was the location where India’s first LNG-powered train was flagged off on September 27, 2026. The train operates using an LNG-diesel dual-fuel system, allowing LNG to replace up to 40% of diesel consumption. Two Driving Power Cars, each with a power capacity of 1,400 HP, were converted for this technology. The train underwent field trials covering more than 2,000 kilometres before its introduction. The initiative aims to reduce diesel consumption and fuel costs while supporting cleaner railway operations through the use of alternative fuel technology.

Kazakhstan is hosting the KAZIND-2026 India-Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise from September 28 to October 11, 2026. The ninth edition of the exercise is being conducted in Oskemen, Kazakhstan, with 60 Indian Armed Forces personnel participating. The exercise focuses on enhancing interoperability and joint counter-terrorism capabilities between the two countries. Training activities include counter-terrorism responses, search and destroy missions, cordon and search operations, UAV and anti-UAV operations, air mobility, and special heliborne operations. A Joint Command Post and Intelligence Surveillance Centre will also be established to support coordinated planning and operations.