UPSC Civil Services Weekly Current Affairs Quiz: 14–20 September 2026

The answer is Justice V. Ramasubramanian, who chairs the National Human Rights Commission of India and closed the programme. His theme was cooperation between human rights institutions across the Global South, and his argument was that these bodies improve by sharing experience openly, naming the problems they run into and treating their own mistakes as something to learn from.

The other options are drawn from offices that sound plausible for a human rights event but had no role here. The Ministry of External Affairs did partner on the programme, which makes option D the strongest distractor, but the valedictory address came from the Commission's own Chairperson. Present at the session were Joint Secretaries Shri Samir Kumar and Smt. Saidingpuii Chhakchhuak. Remember the Chairperson's name; it is the single most reusable fact here.

The answer is fourteen. The Ministry of Law and Justice announced the elevation of fourteen serving judicial officers, spread over four High Courts. The largest share went to Delhi, which took seven of them, two as Judges and five as Additional Judges. Jharkhand received three as Judges, Karnataka three as Additional Judges, and one officer was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Adding those up is the safest way to hold the figure: seven and three and three and one. Candidates who remember only the number of courts, which is four, or only the Delhi share, which is seven, will miss this. The other options are round numbers close enough to be tempting but none of them matches the announcement.

The correct answer is Sri Lanka. SLINEX is the bilateral maritime exercise between the navies of India and Sri Lanka, and the Ministry of Defence has described SLINEX-26 as its 13th edition, held at Visakhapatnam from 17 to 21 September 2026. The name itself carries the answer: SL for Sri Lanka, IN for India and EX for exercise. The Sri Lankan side is represented by SLNS Sindurala, while India has fielded INS Kavaratti and INS Jyoti.

Singapore, Thailand and the Maldives do not take part in SLINEX. The release names only two navies, the Indian and the Sri Lankan, and presents the exercise as a way of strengthening the maritime partnership between India and Sri Lanka, so options A, C and D are wrong. When a question gives you the name of an exercise, decode it first, because many bilateral exercise names are built from the initials of the partner countries.

The correct answer is Article 370. The PIB backgrounder on the 72nd National Film Awards lists the Hindi film Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, as the Best Feature Film. The same film brought Yami Gautam the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Shashwat Sachdev won Best Music Direction for its songs.

Each of the other three films also won, but in a different category, which is exactly why they make tempting distractors. Amaran, a Tamil film, earned Rajkumar Periasamy the award for Best Direction. Kalki 2898 AD, in Telugu, was named Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Chandu Champion won Kartik Aaryan a share of the Best Actor award, which he holds jointly with Mammootty. When you revise an awards list, attach every film to its category, because examiners like to use the other winners of the same year as the wrong options.

The correct answer is 42,000 metric tonnes. Speaking at the Central Silk Board's 77th Foundation Day in Bengaluru on 20 September 2026, the minister said India's silk production had grown from 26,000 metric tonnes in 2014 to 42,000 metric tonnes today. He linked that growth to the government's commitment to expanding sericulture and raising silk farmers' incomes.

Option D, 60,000 metric tonnes, is the trap: it is not today's output but the target the government has set for 2030-31. Options A and B, 32,000 and 38,000 metric tonnes, do not appear in the release at all. Questions like this often place the current figure next to the target, so memorise the series in order: 26,000 tonnes in 2014, 42,000 tonnes now, 60,000 tonnes by 2030-31, and the world No. 1 position by 2028-29.

The correct answer is Harit Nyayam. At the valedictory session in New Delhi on 20 September 2026, Union Minister Manohar Lal released the NGT's souvenir titled Harit Nyayam and presented its first copy to the President of India. The document chronicles the establishment, growth and achievements of the tribunal and reflects the ideas discussed at the two-day conference.

Prakriti Vandan, Harit Bharat and Paryavaran Nyay sound similar, and that is why they are here, but none of them is the title of this souvenir, so options B, C and D are wrong. Names of publications released at official events are a favourite one-liner, so remember who released it (Manohar Lal), who received the first copy (the President) and which body it belongs to (the National Green Tribunal).

The correct answer is Gwalior. The Ministry of Communications said Asia's first Telecom Manufacturing Zone will be established in Gwalior, and Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia inspected the identified site at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Counter Magnet City (SADA) on 20 September 2026. The zone is expected to attract about ₹5,500 crore of investment and to create more than 18,000 jobs.

Indore and Bhopal are also cities in Madhya Pradesh, which makes them tempting choices, but the release places the TMZ in Gwalior, so options A and D are wrong. Noida is not mentioned at all, so option C is wrong too. Remember the link with SADA: it was set up as a Counter Magnet City to develop Gwalior as a new industrial centre and a counter-magnet to Delhi, and the TMZ takes that plan forward.

The correct answer is Swachhata Mein Sahbhag; Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat. The PIB backgrounder of 20 September 2026 gives this as the theme of Swachhata Hi Seva 2026, which began on 17 September. The campaign places students and young people at the centre of lasting behaviour change.

Option D is the trap. 'Ek Din, Ek Ghanta, Ek Saath' is part of the same campaign, but it is the banner for the collective shramdaan that citizens will carry out on 1 October, not the campaign's theme. Options B and C are not given in the release as the 2026 theme, so they are wrong as well. Keep the campaign calendar straight: it began on 17 September, the shramdaan is on 1 October, and special Gram Sabhas are held in villages on 2 October.

The answer is fourteen. Two numbers travel together in this item and are easy to swap: thirty-eight senior functionaries attended, and they came from fourteen national human rights institutions. The institutions are the smaller figure, the people the larger one.

The countries represented were Algeria, Chile, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Oman, Samoa, South Africa, Tajikistan and Zimbabwe, which spans Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. That spread matters for the framing of the programme, which is built on the idea that institutions doing similar work in different legal systems have a good deal to teach each other. Hold the pair as thirty-eight from fourteen and neither figure will slip.

Note the shape of the programme alongside the figures. It was the fifth edition, it ran six days from 14 September 2026 in New Delhi, and the sessions were interactive rather than lecture-led, covering civil and political rights as well as socio-economic and cultural ones.

The answer is the President, after consulting the Chief Justice of India. The release is explicit on both halves: the power is one the Constitution confers on the President, and it is exercised after consultation with the Chief Justice of India. The order of those two steps matters, because a question will sometimes reverse them.

Option C does exactly that reversal and is the strongest distractor. The Prime Minister and the Law Minister have no constitutional role in the appointment itself, which rules out option A. A Governor does figure in consultation for High Court appointments under the constitutional scheme, but the appointing authority is not the Governor, so option D fails on the same point. Hold the pair as consultation first, warrant afterwards.

The correct answer is INS Kavaratti. The Ministry of Defence lists two Indian ships in SLINEX-26: INS Kavaratti, an indigenous Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette, and INS Jyoti, the Fleet Tanker. INS Kavaratti also hosted the opening ceremony and the reception for the visiting Sri Lankan crew at the start of the Harbour Phase.

INS Jyoti is taking part, but as the fleet tanker, a support ship rather than an anti-submarine warship, so option A is wrong. SLNS Sindurala is not an Indian Navy ship at all; it represents the Sri Lanka Navy in the exercise, which rules out option C. INS Vikrant is not among the ships the release names for SLINEX-26, so option D is also incorrect. A common trap in such questions is to mix up the ships of the two navies, so note the prefix each name carries: INS for India and SLNS for Sri Lanka.

The correct answer is Anant Nag. The Government of India announced on 16 September 2026 that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 will be conferred on Anant Nag, a veteran of Kannada cinema. Born in Karnataka on 4 September 1948, he began his career in the Kannada film Sankalp, made his Hindi debut in Ankur and has acted in more than 300 films across six languages.

The other three names are recent recipients of the same award, but for earlier years. Mohanlal received it for 2023, Mithun Chakraborty for 2022 and Waheeda Rehman for 2021, so none of them is the answer for 2024. Questions on this award tend to pair the recipient with the award year, so it helps to memorise the last four winners in order. The award itself, the highest honour in Indian cinema, was instituted in 1969.

The correct answer is 2028-29. Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh said a resolve has been made to take India to the No. 1 rank in global silk production by 2028-29. He said the effort rests on raising mulberry leaf yields and the number of cocoon-rearing cycles, with the aim of lifting farmers' annual incomes to ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh.

Option C, 2030-31, is the year attached to a different goal: producing 60,000 metric tonnes of silk. Options A and D, 2026-27 and 2035-36, are not mentioned in the release. The two targets are easy to mix up because they were announced together, so keep them apart: world No. 1 by 2028-29, and 60,000 metric tonnes by 2030-31. The minister added that demand for Indian silk is rising abroad as China's production declines.

The correct answer is 55 per cent. Speaking at the valedictory session of the National Green Tribunal's conference, Manohar Lal, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Power, said non-fossil sources account for nearly 55 per cent of India's installed generation capacity. He presented this as part of India's effort to balance rapid development with environmental sustainability.

Option B, 50 per cent, is the trap. That figure is the non-fossil capacity target, which the minister said India achieved five years ahead of schedule; it is not the current share. Options A and D, 40 and 65 per cent, are not mentioned in the release. Keep the two numbers distinct in your notes: the target was 50 per cent and was met early, while the present share is nearly 55 per cent.

The correct answer is ₹5,500 crore. The Ministry of Communications said the proposed TMZ will be established with an investment of approximately ₹5,500 crore, and that 24 companies have initiated the application process to set up units there.

Options A and B are the two parts of that total, which is why they are there to mislead. The investor roadshow in Delhi in August 2026 brought commitments of about ₹3,500 crore, with around 14,000 potential jobs, and the roadshow in Mumbai brought about ₹2,000 crore, with around 4,000 jobs. Together they make up the ₹5,500 crore figure. Option D, ₹6,500 crore, is not mentioned in the release. When a question gives several amounts from one story, check whether it asks for a part or for the total.

The correct answer is Rising. The backgrounder explains that ODF Plus villages are classified into three progressive stages. Aspiring villages manage either solid or liquid waste. Rising villages manage both solid and liquid waste. Model villages manage both waste streams and, in addition, are visibly clean and display ODF Plus messaging.

Option A is wrong because an Aspiring village manages only one of the two kinds of waste. Option C is wrong because the question describes a village that has not reached the top stage, and Model is that top stage. Option D, Emerging, is not one of the three stages at all. The order to remember is Aspiring, then Rising, then Model. As of 17 September 2026, 5.25 lakh of India's 5.69 lakh ODF Plus villages had reached the Model stage.

The answer is the Ministry of External Affairs. That pairing is not incidental: the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme is a foreign policy instrument, used to offer training and expertise to officials of other developing countries, so a course aimed at human rights institutions abroad naturally runs through External Affairs.

The other ministries listed all have some connection to human rights work within India, which is what makes them usable as distractors, but none of them is named as the partner here. For the examination, treat ITEC and the Ministry of External Affairs as a fixed pair, and note that this was the fifth edition of the programme, held over six days in New Delhi from 14 September 2026.

The answer is the Delhi High Court, which received seven of the fourteen, half the total on its own. Of those seven, two were appointed as Judges and the other five as Additional Judges, a split the release sets out separately and which is itself worth noting.

The remaining seven were divided three ways. Jharkhand took three as Judges, Karnataka took three as Additional Judges, and the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh took one as a Judge. That last court is worth a second look for a different reason: a single High Court serves both Union Territories, which is a fact examiners like on its own. So the order by size runs Delhi, then Jharkhand and Karnataka level, then Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The correct answer is 2005. The Ministry of Defence says SLINEX was conceptualised in 2005 and has since grown into an important forum through which the two navies work on maritime cooperation. SLINEX-26, held at Visakhapatnam from 17 to 21 September 2026, is the 13th edition of the series.

The other years do not match the release. 2001 is earlier than the year the ministry gives for the start of the series, while 2010 and 2014 are later and would make the series younger than it is. A question like this is usually framed around the start year and the latest edition together, so remember both numbers as a pair: conceptualised in 2005, 13th edition in 2026. Also keep the venue and dates of the current edition, Visakhapatnam from 17 to 21 September, since those are asked just as often.

The correct answer is Gujarat. According to PIB, the President of India will present the 72nd National Film Awards on 22 September 2026 at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, a town formerly known as Kevadia. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to hold future editions in different States and cities rather than only in the National Capital, and the Ekta Nagar ceremony is part of that policy.

Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are not the venue of this ceremony, so options A, B and D are incorrect. The ministry has linked the event to the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat, since it brings film talent from across the country to one stage. Expect the venue, its former name Kevadia and the date to be asked together, so learn them as a set along with the edition number, the 72nd.

The correct answer is Central Silk Board. Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh and Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje inaugurated the 77th Foundation Day programme of the Central Silk Board, together with an exhibition of silk products and technologies, at the UAS-GKVK auditorium in Bengaluru on 20 September 2026. During the event the Board exchanged MoUs, gave appointment letters to 28 scientists and released its publications.

The Coir Board, the Tea Board and the Khadi and Village Industries Commission are other bodies connected with traditional industries and crops, but the release concerns none of them, so options A, C and D are wrong. When a foundation day is in the news, the questions usually ask for the body, the anniversary number and the city, so remember all three here: Central Silk Board, 77th, Bengaluru.

The correct answer is Justice Prakash Shrivastava. The release identifies him as the Chairperson of the NGT. In his valedictory address he said the two days of discussion had shown the need to move beyond identifying environmental problems to building laws, institutions and partnerships able to respond to them, and that climate action must be inclusive and equitable.

The other three all spoke at the same session but hold different offices. Justice B.V. Nagarathna is a Judge of the Supreme Court of India. Tushar Mehta is the Solicitor General of India. Manohar Lal is the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Power, who released the souvenir Harit Nyayam. That rules out options B, C and D. When several dignitaries appear in one release, examiners often swap their designations, so match each name to its post.

The correct answer is about 170 acres. According to the Ministry of Communications, more than 90 acres in SADA and more than 70 acres in the IT Park, approximately 170 acres in all, have been identified for the proposed Telecom Manufacturing Zone. Investor interest is so strong that applications already exceed the land available, so additional land will be identified to expand the first phase.

Options A and B are the two parcels that make up the total, 70 acres in the IT Park and 90 acres in SADA, so each on its own is only part of the answer. Option D, 250 acres, is not mentioned in the release. As with the investment figure, this question tests whether you remember the total or only a piece of it, so learn the breakdown and the sum together.

The correct answer is 5.69 lakh. According to the PIB backgrounder, India had attained 5.69 lakh ODF Plus villages as of 17 September 2026. An ODF Plus village sustains its Open Defecation Free status, manages solid and liquid waste and maintains visual cleanliness.

The other figures are close enough to confuse, and two of them come from the same release. Option A, 5.25 lakh, is the number of villages that have reached ODF Plus Model status, a subset of the total. Option B, 5.38 lakh, is the number of villages with solid waste management arrangements. Option D, 6.10 lakh, does not appear in the release. The release also gives 5.65 lakh villages with liquid waste management systems, so read such questions carefully and match each figure to what it measures.

The correct answer is Devika Rani. The PIB backgrounder records that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was instituted in 1969 and first presented to Devika Rani. The award commemorates Dadasaheb Phalke, who directed Raja Harishchandra in 1913, India's first full-length feature film, and who is honoured as the Father of Indian Cinema.

Nargis and Uttam Kumar also hold a place in the history of the National Film Awards, but for a different first: in 1968 they received the first Best Actress and Best Actor awards, which were then called Urvashi and Bharat. Waheeda Rehman did receive the Phalke award, but for the year 2021, so she was not its first recipient. That rules out options B, C and D. Questions on this award often ask for the first recipient and the year of institution together, so remember both: Devika Rani, 1969.

The correct answer is Karnataka. Speaking at the Central Silk Board's 77th Foundation Day in Bengaluru, Shobha Karandlaje said Karnataka occupies the leading position in the country's total silk production. She added that the government is giving special attention to infrastructure and industrial growth to strengthen the sector further, and is encouraging silk of global export quality to cut reliance on imports.

Assam and West Bengal are not named in the release, so options B and C are wrong. Tamil Nadu is mentioned, but only as one of the states whose silk farmers and weavers attended the event, along with Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, not as the leading producer, so option D is also wrong. A question on the leading state is a common static-GK pairing with news on silk, so link Karnataka to it.

The correct answer is Mission LiFE. In her address the President said India has done commendable work in fostering environmental awareness by engaging common citizens, especially the youth, and that the Government's Mission LiFE initiative has shown that meaningful strides towards ecological restoration can be made through public participation and community ownership.

Namami Gange, the Green India Mission and the Nagar Van Yojana are other environment-related programmes, but the President did not cite any of them in this address, so options B, C and D are wrong. Her other key points are worth noting alongside the answer: climate resilience through people-centric, community-based adaptation rooted in traditional knowledge, and sustainable afforestation that restores self-sustaining ecosystems rather than merely planting trees. Questions on speeches often ask which scheme a speaker cited, so link Mission LiFE to this address.

The correct answer is 2017. The PIB backgrounder says Swachhata Hi Seva was launched in 2017 as an annual campaign that brings government institutions, local bodies, organisations and citizens together around a shared responsibility for cleanliness. More than 18.06 crore citizens took part in its 2025 edition.

Option A, 2014, is the year the Swachh Bharat Mission itself began, when rural sanitation coverage stood at 39 percent; SHS came later. Option C, 2019, is the year rural India was declared Open Defecation Free. Option D, 2021, is not linked to the launch of the campaign in the release. Questions on sanitation often line up these years as options, so keep the sequence clear: SBM in 2014, SHS in 2017, rural India ODF in 2019. The 2026 edition of the campaign began on 17 September.