Current Affairs - State

Nagaland is associated with Angh, a Konyak-language film directed by filmmaker Theja Rio, which won the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2026. The film is set in Nagaland in the early 1960s and explores the lives of a former village chief and his young son amid social and cultural changes. The Platform Prize is TIFF’s top award in its competitive Platform section and carries a cash prize of C$20,000. The award also provides Angh with a pathway toward consideration for the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards through the newly introduced festival-award qualification route.

Punjab and Haryana received India’s first-ever soil carbon payments for adopting regenerative agriculture. On September 17, 2026, payments worth ₹2.9 crore were initiated for more than 2,500 smallholder farmers in these two states. The Direct Benefit Transfer was launched at Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana. The payments were part of the ‘Aadi’ carbon programme launched by Grow Indigo in 2019 with technical guidance from ICAR. The initial phase covered 30,000 acres and generated 50,000 carbon credits. Individual farmers received payments ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹15,000 for verified improvements in soil carbon and reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.

Tamil Nadu will launch the one-gram gold ring scheme, known as the Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam, for eligible newborns delivered in government hospitals. The scheme is scheduled to be inaugurated on September 28, 2026, and has been made retroactive from June 22, 2026. Under the scheme, eligible babies will receive a one-gram, 22-carat gold ring with a unique serial number. The first batch of 1.28 lakh rings has been procured for distribution. The state government has made an annual provision of ₹755.83 crore to support the scheme, which draws inspiration from the Tamil tradition of Thaimaaman Seer.

Karnataka has granted Tulu the status of a second additional administrative language in the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. The decision was announced following a state Cabinet meeting in Mangaluru on September 18, 2026. Tulu is mainly spoken in these two Karnataka districts and also in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. The language is a Dravidian language with a distinct linguistic and cultural identity. The Karnataka government also approved a new tourism policy for coastal and Malnad areas and the Karnataka Marine Biotechnology Policy 2026–31, aimed at promoting investment, education, fisheries, marine biotechnology and the blue economy.

Maharashtra approved an interest subsidy of Rs 738.51 crore for cooperative sugar mills to help them clear Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) dues for the 2025-26 sugar season. Under the scheme, the state government will bear interest costs of up to 10 percent for a loan period of seven years. The subsidy is intended to provide financial support to sugar mills and help them manage their outstanding FRP-related payments. To continue receiving the benefits, the concerned mills are required to submit a loan utilisation certificate by July 2027.