Prelims Current Affairs includes International Day Of Charity, Teachers’ Day 2026, National Wildlife Day 2026 , Districts As Export Hubs Initiative, Lahore Named Sco Tourism And Cultural Capital, Rajnath Singh Unveils Raksha Defence Diplomacy Document, Isro Launches Gslv-F17 With Eos-05 Satellite & Avm Shakti Sharma – First Non-Medical Woman Two-Star Officer

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CLEAN AIR FOR BLUE SKIES

Current Context: The 7th International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies is observed on 7 September 2026.

ABOUT THE DAY

• Established by: United Nations General Assembly
• Resolution: Adopted on 26 November 2019
• Facilitating agency: UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
• The UN designated 7 September to emphasise the importance of improving air quality and reducing air pollution for human health and sustainable development.
• 2026 Theme:“Clean Air for Climate Action”
• Key Organizers:UNEP and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. INDIA BACKS UN MAP REFORM RESOLUTION

Current Context: UN General Assembly adopted “Correct the Map” resolution on 4 September 2026.

ABOUT THE RESOLUTION

• Official title: “Correct the map: rebalancing global cartographic representation and promoting equitable representation of the world’s regions, particularly Africa”
• UN body: United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
• Sponsor: Togo
• India: Voted in favour of the resolution.

WHAT IS THE ISSUE?

• The resolution addresses distortions associated particularly with the Mercator projection, one of the world’s most widely used map projections.
• The Mercator projection was developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, primarily for navigation.
• It preserves angles and directions, making it useful for navigation, but significantly distorts the relative area of landmasses, especially towards the poles.
• Consequently, countries and regions such as Greenland and Europe appear disproportionately large, while equatorial regions such as Africa appear relatively smaller.
• For example, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland, although the Mercator projection can make their apparent sizes look much closer.

EQUAL-AREA MAP PROJECTIONS

• The resolution encourages greater consideration of equal-area projections, which preserve the relative area of landmasses more accurately.
• The Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, is one example of an equal-area projection.
• It provides a more realistic representation of the relative sizes of continents, particularly Africa and other regions near the Equator.
• Important: The UN resolution does not legally require every country to replace the Mercator projection, nor does it impose one particular map projection. It encourages the consideration and wider use of more equitable representations.

INTERNATIONAL

3. Giorgia Meloni Becomes Italy’s Longest-Serving PM Since World War II

Current Context: Giorgia Meloni has completed 1,413 consecutive days as Italy’s Prime Minister, becoming the longest-serving leader of the Italian Republic since World War II, excluding Benito Mussolini.

ABOUT GIORGIA MELONI

• In Office Since: October 2022
• Political Party: Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia)
• Political Significance: Her tenure is notable for providing political stability in a country where governments have historically changed frequently
• Average Government Tenure: Italian governments have lasted around 14 months on average over the past eight decades
• Milestone Celebration: Her party organised a major rally in Bari, southern Italy, under the theme “The most stable government, a stronger Italy.”

ECONOMY

4. INDIA FOREX RESERVES HIT RECORD $740.803 BILLION

Current Context: India’s forex reserves rose $11.475 billion to a record $740.803 billion (week ended 28 August 2026).

ABOUT INDIA’S FOREX RESERVES

• Foreign exchange reserves are external assets held or controlled by a country’s monetary authority that can be used to meet international payment obligations and support financial and exchange-rate stability.
• Data released by: Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
• The rise was mainly driven by an increase in Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs) and the value of India’s gold reserves.

KEY DATA:

Key Points:

• Previous high: $729.328 billion (previous week)
• Earlier record: $728.494 billion (week ending 27 February 2026)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

5. BIO-NIVESH LAUNCHED FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT

Current Context: BIO-NIVESH launched on 3 September 2026 in New Delhi by Dr. Jitendra Singh.

ABOUT BIO-NIVESH

• Core purpose: Bridge the gap between biotechnology innovation, investment, industry and markets.
• It is designed as a recurring platform, with subsequent editions proposed in different cities to connect regional biotech ecosystems with investment networks.

HOW DOES BIO-NIVESH WORK?

• It goes beyond a conventional startup pitching or investor-connect event.
• Startups get an opportunity to understand how investors evaluate biotechnology ventures.
• Investors gain a better understanding of the scientific, regulatory and development pathways of biotech innovations.
• The platform promotes a two-way interaction covering capital, commercialisation, scale-up and market opportunities.
• Created by:Department of Biotechnology and BIRAC
• About BIRAC: Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
• Established: 2012
• Legal Status: Section 8, not-for-profit company under the Companies Act.
• Administrative Ministry: Ministry of Science & Technology

ENVIRONMENT

6. LIMITING OVERSHOT REPORT

Current Context: New UNEP report suggests world will likely “overshoot” the 1.5°C warming target.

ABOUT THE REPORT

• Title: Limiting Overshoot: Navigating Exceedance of 1.5°C and Pathways Towards Return
• Focus: How the world can minimise the magnitude and duration of warming beyond 1.5°C and eventually return below the threshold.
• The report introduces an “overshoot, peak and decline” pathway as the best remaining strategy.

WHAT IS “1.5°C OVERSHOOT”?

• The 5°C target refers to the Paris Agreement goal of holding the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
• Overshoot means global temperatures temporarily rise above 1.5°C, followed by efforts to reduce warming and eventually return below 1.5°C.
• UNEP now assesses such an exceedance as unavoidable under current policies and near-term trajectories.

Key Findings:

• Even with current climate plans and net-zero targets: peak warming at 1.8°C
• Current policies: 2.6°C by 2100 (range: 1.9-3.6°C)
• Time above 1.5°C carries compounding costs
• Methane cutting described as most effective way to slow warming in near term

APPOINTMENTS

7. AIR MARSHAL JITENDRA MISHRA AS FIRST FULL-TIME CEO OF RAM TEMPLE TRUST

Current Context: Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust appointed Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (Retd) as first full-time CEO.

Responsibilities:

• Temple administration and operations
• Financial oversight (donations, expenditure, auditing)
• Regulatory compliance
• Technology-enabled management for transparency
• Institutional coordination

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