UPSC Current Affairs Quiz: 22 September 2026

The correct answer is Hardeep Singh Puri. The meeting was co-chaired by Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and by the OPEC Secretary General. Since the dialogue is about oil markets, energy security and investment in the oil industry, the Indian co-chair is the minister who holds the petroleum portfolio, and that is the link to remember. Piyush Goyal is wrong because the commerce and industry portfolio is not the one that leads this dialogue. Nirmala Sitharaman is wrong because the finance ministry did not lead this engagement, even though energy prices affect the economy. Pralhad Joshi is wrong as the release names only the petroleum minister as the Indian co-chair. Questions on ministerial dialogues usually turn on matching the subject of the dialogue with the correct portfolio.

The correct answer is 23 September. The Government marks Ayurveda Day every year on 23 September, which is close to the autumnal equinox, when day and night are almost equal; the date was chosen to reflect the idea of natural balance at the heart of Ayurveda. The 11th Ayurveda Day falls on 23 September 2026. Earlier the day was observed on Dhanteras, whose date moves every year.

The other dates are well-known health days, which is why they confuse. 21 June is the International Day of Yoga, 7 April is World Health Day, the founding day of the World Health Organization, and 1 July is National Doctors' Day in India. Exams often place these days side by side, so learn them together, with the Ministry of Ayush as the nodal ministry for both Yoga Day and Ayurveda Day.

The correct answer is 23 September 2018. AB PM-JAY was launched on that date to move India towards universal health coverage, and the PIB backgrounder of 22 September 2026 marks its eighth anniversary. It gives eligible families cashless hospital cover of up to ₹5 lakh a year for secondary and tertiary care through more than 38,000 empanelled hospitals.

The other dates are distractors around well-known days: 15 August is Independence Day, 2 October is Gandhi Jayanti and 1 April is the start of the financial year. Two later dates matter for this scheme and are worth keeping separate: March 2024, when about 37 lakh families of ASHAs and anganwadi workers were added, and 11 September 2024, when all senior citizens aged 70 and above were brought in through the Ayushman Vay Vandana card.

The correct answer is Yashobhoomi, New Delhi. The fifth edition of SEMICON India ran there for three days, from 17 to 19 September 2026, on the theme "Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem", with more than 600 exhibiting companies, a Start-up Pavilion, a Workforce Development Pavilion, country and State pavilions and a hackathon.

Bharat Mandapam is the tempting wrong answer because it is Delhi's other big convention centre and hosted several 2026 events, including the India International Water Week that opened on 22 September. Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar hosts Vibrant Gujarat, and BIEC in Bengaluru hosts Aero India. Yashobhoomi, in Dwarka, is the India International Convention and Expo Centre in the capital's west. Keep the venue and theme together for this one.

The correct answer is Climate Resilient Water Management. The 9th India International Water Week, organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 22 to 26 September 2026, is centred on this theme. Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan inaugurated it on 22 September and said climate change, rapid urbanisation and population growth are making water management more complex, calling for river-basin management, groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting and efficient irrigation.

The distractors are plausible slogans. "Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari" is real but different: it is the Prime Minister's call for a mass movement on water conservation, which the Vice-President quoted in his speech. The other two are generic phrases in the style of international water-day themes. Themes change with every edition, so tie this one to the 9th edition and 2026.

The correct answer is National Film Awards. The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting said the National Film Awards are being taken to India's best tourist destinations, inspired by the Prime Minister's approach of holding national events beyond conventional venues, much as G20 meetings were spread across States. He invited all States to propose their best tourism destination, with facilities and a plan for 360-degree development, and the selected State will host the next awards there.

The other awards are distractors from different fields: the Padma Awards are civilian honours announced on Republic Day eve, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards are for performing arts, and the National Sports Awards honour athletes and coaches. The film awards are presented by the President, which is why Vaishnaw pointed out that the President and the film industry visiting a destination such as Ekta Nagar would draw attention to it.

The correct answer is National Film Development Corporation. NFDC, which works under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, runs the India Cine Hub as a digital single-window portal where domestic and international creators apply for filming permissions, film visas and co-production approvals. The portal integrates State-level systems, provides a common form for States without online processing, and offers a GIS-based directory of locations and permit authorities.

The other bodies have different jobs, which is how the question tests you. The Central Board of Film Certification certifies films for public exhibition. The Film and Television Institute of India in Pune trains filmmakers. Prasar Bharati is the public broadcaster that runs Doordarshan and All India Radio. NFDC, set up in 1975 to promote Indian cinema, also co-produces films and hosts Film Bazaar with the International Film Festival of India in Goa.

The correct answer is Air Force Station Jodhpur. The Ministry of Defence stated that the bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self Defense Force concluded at Air Force Station Jodhpur, and it was also at Jodhpur that the two air chiefs came for Distinguished Visitor's Day and flew the indigenous Tejas. Gwalior is wrong because the release makes no mention of that base in connection with this exercise. Kalaikunda is wrong for the same reason; although it is a well known fighter base, it was not the venue named here. Sulur is wrong as well, because nothing in the release links the drill to that station. For the examination the safe method is to tie the name of the exercise to the venue named in the official release, which in this case is clearly Jodhpur.

The correct answer is National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment defines NAMASTE exactly this way, and describes its aim as ensuring the safety and dignity of sanitation workers by creating an enabling ecosystem that recognises their contribution to the operation and maintenance of sanitation infrastructure. Option B is wrong because the scheme is not framed as a mission for advanced sanitation technology, and the word mission does not appear in its name. Option C is wrong because it is not a municipal training agency and it is not confined to urban local bodies alone. Option D is wrong because NAMASTE is not an authority for sewerage treatment but a scheme centred on workers. Full forms of welfare schemes are frequently asked, so learn the expansion word for word.

The correct answer is Swachhata Mein Sahbhag, Swachh Bharat, Viksit Bharat. Both the Department of Food and Public Distribution and the Ministry of Textiles named this as the theme of the current campaign, and described it as an appeal to treat cleanliness as a collective effort and a festival of community involvement. Option B is wrong because that phrase is not the theme announced for this edition. Option C is wrong because although it sounds close to the language used in such campaigns, it is not the theme named in these releases. Option D is wrong because it is a general slogan and not the theme declared for this year. Themes of national campaigns change every year, so aspirants should always link the theme to the year and to the campaign name together.

The correct answer is Anant Nag. President Droupadi Murmu presented the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 to the veteran Kannada actor at the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, in Gujarat. Accepting it, Anant Nag spoke of a childhood in an ashram, a move to Mumbai where the stage gave him his first role, and a run of nearly 50 plays before he turned to cinema. He later worked with the director Shyam Benegal, chose Kannada films and made Bengaluru his karmabhoomi, and he had received the Padma Bhushan from the same President a year earlier. Mammootty is wrong because he shared the Best Actor award for Bramayugam. Sanjay Mishra is wrong because he was named Best Supporting Actor for Bhakshak. Randeep Hooda is wrong because he was praised for his first film as a director, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, and not for a lifetime honour.

The correct answer is Vienna. The release records that both sides agreed to hold the Eighth High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue in Vienna, Austria, on a mutually convenient date. Vienna is also where the OPEC Secretariat is based, which makes the choice easy to recall. New Delhi is wrong because it hosted the seventh meeting and also the launch of the dialogue, not the next edition. Riyadh is wrong because although Saudi Arabia is a major OPEC member, the capital named for the next round is not Riyadh. Abu Dhabi is wrong for the same reason. Aspirants should keep two venues separate in memory here: New Delhi for the meeting just concluded, and Vienna for the one to come.

The correct answer is Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow. The PIB backgrounder released on 22 September 2026 says the Government is running a national strategy to revive traditional healthcare under this theme. It fits the focus of this year's messaging: bringing Ayurveda into mainstream public health through clinics, insurance, telemedicine and research, while keeping it evidence-based.

The other options are distractors written to look like typical themes. Themes of important days are a favourite exam question because they change every year, so note the year and edition together: 11th Ayurveda Day, 2026, "Ayurveda for a Healthier Tomorrow". The day is observed on 23 September, aligned with the autumnal equinox, and the nodal ministry is the Ministry of Ayush, which received ₹4,408 crore in the Union Budget 2026-27.

The correct answer is ₹5 lakh. AB PM-JAY provides cashless hospitalisation cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per year, covering 1,961 procedures across 27 medical specialties at public and private empanelled hospitals. The cover is per family, not per person, and there is no cap on family size or age.

The other amounts are distractors. The scale of use is worth remembering: by its eighth anniversary the scheme had funded about 13.25 crore hospital admissions worth ₹2.03 lakh crore, and over 48.51 crore people, about 33% of the population, held Ayushman cards. The Union Budget for 2026-27 provides ₹9,500 crore for it. A typical example in the backgrounder is a 65-year-old woman from Haryana whose hip surgery costing ₹44,140 was done free under the scheme.

The correct answer is ₹1,27,500 crore. Semicon 2.0 was approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2026 with this outlay. It builds on Semicon 1.0 and rests on six pillars: design; machines and materials; more fabs; advanced packaging; research and development; and talent development. The broader approach, covering the whole value chain rather than fabrication alone, was the point of the "Silicon to Systems" theme.

₹1.64 lakh crore is the trap: that is the investment commitment already made under the Semicon India Programme, across 12 approved projects in six States, three of which are in commercial production. ₹76,000 crore was the outlay of the original programme, and ₹1 lakh crore is a round-number distractor. Keep the two 2026 figures apart: ₹1,27,500 crore is the new government outlay, ₹1.64 lakh crore is investment committed by companies.

The correct answer is Sustainable Urban River Management (SURM) Framework. At the inauguration on 22 September 2026, the Vice-President launched the SURM Framework along with an AI/ML-driven Integrated Reservoir Sediment Management system, described as steps towards technology-enabled and climate-resilient water management. Urban river management matters because most Indian cities have turned their rivers into drains, and sediment management decides how long reservoirs keep their storage capacity.

The other options are made to sound official. There was no National Water Policy launched at the event; Atal Bhujal is an existing groundwater scheme, not a framework launched here; and Namami Gange is the Ganga programme, with no "3.0" announced. Read launch questions carefully: the name of the document and the launching dignitary are usually what is tested.

The correct answer is Statue of Unity. Ashwini Vaishnaw said Ekta Nagar has gained recognition across the world as a highly attractive destination because it is home to the world's tallest statue, that of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He argued that when the President of India and leading film personalities visit such a place for the National Film Awards, more people learn about and experience the destination, which is the whole point of pairing the awards with tourism.

The other three are famous Gujarat sites but in different places: Sabarmati Ashram is Gandhi's ashram in Ahmedabad, Rani ki Vav is the UNESCO-listed stepwell at Patan, and Somnath Temple stands on the Saurashtra coast. Ekta Nagar is the township at Kevadia, on the Narmada, named for the "Statue of Unity" that rises beside the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

The correct answer is Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. Set up by the Ramoji Group in 1996, it is certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest film studio complex and is also described as the world's largest integrated film city and India's only thematic holiday destination built around filmmaking. The PIB backgrounder on the India Cine Hub lists it as one of India's three established film cities.

Film City in Mumbai's Goregaon is the tempting alternative: it is one of the largest studio complexes in the world, covering more than 520 acres with about 42 outdoor locations, was set up in 1977 and renamed Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari in 2001, but it does not hold the Guinness record. Noida Film City is the third established hub, and the Kolkata option is a distractor. India's production hubs together employ over 1.6 lakh people.

The correct answer is Japan. Veer Guardian is the bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self Defense Force, and the release describes the drill as strengthening the strategic partnership between the two air forces of India and Japan. Republic of Korea is wrong because no Korean participation is recorded in this exercise. Australia is wrong because the Royal Australian Air Force does not figure in the release at all. France is a tempting choice since the Indian Air Force flew the Rafale during the drill, but the Rafale was flown by Indian crews as part of the Indian package, and France was not a participating nation. Aspirants should note the pairing carefully, because names of bilateral exercises and their partner countries are a standard question in defence and general awareness papers.

The correct answer is 90,186. The Ministry's Secretary stated that the sewer and septic tank workers component now covers all 36 States and Union Territories, and that this many workers have been validated. The validated workforce is made up of 86,468 men, 3,713 women and five transgender persons, and these sub-totals add up to the figure in the correct option, which is a quick way to verify the answer. Options A and C are wrong because they do not match any figure reported for this component. Option D is a deliberate trap, because that number belongs to the separate waste picker component, where the profiled count covers 34 States and Union Territories rather than 36. Keeping the two components apart is the key to answering this question correctly.

The correct answer is the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting release states plainly that the campaign is being organised jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and that department, which together cover urban and rural sanitation. Option A is wrong because rural development is a separate department and was not named as an organiser. Option C is wrong because the environment ministry has no stated role in running this campaign. Option D is wrong because health and family welfare is not among the organisers, even though health camps are held for Safai Mitras during the campaign. The urban plus rural pairing is the logic to remember, since a national cleanliness campaign must reach both kinds of settlement.

The correct answer is Ekta Nagar, Kevadia. The 72nd National Film Awards were conferred there, in Gujarat, and it was the first time the ceremony had been taken out of the national capital. The site was chosen for its association with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and with national unity, and the President said the choice suited a ceremony that celebrates the cultural and national unity of the country. The Governor of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel both described hosting the event as a matter of pride for the state. New Delhi is wrong because this edition deliberately moved away from Delhi, where earlier ceremonies were held. Mumbai is wrong because, although it is the centre of the Hindi film industry, it did not host this ceremony. Gandhinagar is wrong because it is the capital of Gujarat, while the awards were given at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia.

The correct answer is 2015. At the seventh meeting the OPEC Secretary General said that the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue is eleven years strong, having been launched in New Delhi in 2015. That single sentence gives both the launch year and the launch city, so it is worth remembering as a pair. Option A is wrong because the dialogue did not exist that early. Option C is wrong because by that year the dialogue had already been running for some time. Option D is wrong for the same reason. A useful cross-check in the examination hall is the arithmetic: a dialogue described as eleven years strong in the current year must have begun in the year given in option B, so the wording of the statement itself confirms the answer.

The correct answer is ₹4,408 crore. According to the PIB backgrounder on the 11th Ayurveda Day, the Union Budget 2026-27 allocated ₹4,408 crore to the Ministry of Ayush to strengthen Ayush healthcare, promote evidence-based research and innovation, and build infrastructure and global outreach.

The other figures are distractors. The Budget also announced three specific steps worth remembering: the setting up of three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda to strengthen education, clinical services and research; the upgrading of Ayush pharmacies and drug-testing laboratories for quality and standardisation; and the upgrading of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar in Gujarat. Separately, the National Ayush Mission released over ₹6,406.99 crore to States and UTs between FY 2014-15 and FY 2025-26.

The correct answer is Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011. Rural families qualify under six deprivation criteria of the SECC 2011, such as households with only one kucha room, no adult member between 16 and 59, female-headed households without an adult male, households with a disabled member, SC/ST households and landless households dependent on casual manual labour. Urban families qualify under 11 occupational categories, from rag pickers and domestic workers to construction workers and drivers.

Census 2011 is the tempting wrong answer: the SECC was a separate exercise from the population census. The National Family Health Survey is a health survey, not an eligibility list, and Aadhaar is an identity number, not a poverty database. Families once covered under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana are included too.