16 September 2026 Current Affairs: Headlines, GK & MCQs

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, cleared the Labour Ministry's proposal on 16 September 2026 to lift the wage ceiling for compulsory EPFO membership from Rs 15,000 a month to Rs 25,000 a month.

Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Minister of Labour and Employment and also of Youth Affairs and Sports, told a press briefing that the higher ceiling would come into force on that day, which is observed as Vishwakarma Jayanti and as Sewa Divas.

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation works under this ministry, so the proposal to widen compulsory coverage came from it and was then placed before the Union Cabinet.

The Government of India announced on 16 September 2026, acting on the recommendation of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award Selection Committee, that the veteran actor would receive the country's highest cinema honour for the year 2024.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that Anant Nag would be handed the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony, and that the ceremony was fixed for 22 September 2026 at Kevadia.

The correct answer is that he made his acting debut in the Kannada feature Sankalp.

The Ministry of Home Affairs used this law on 16 September 2026 to declare the Shahzad Bhatti Network a terrorist organisation, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the step.

Amit Shah, who is Union Home Minister and also Minister of Cooperation, announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs had declared the Shahzad Bhatti Network a terrorist organisation under the UAPA.

That charge was not part of the grounds cited when the Ministry of Home Affairs declared the network a terrorist organisation, which is what makes it the odd one out in this list.

Ashok Kumar Lahiri, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, released it in New Delhi along with the chief executive officer and other senior officials of the institution, and the edition covers the first quarter of FY27, that is April to June 2026.

The edition treats this as a strategically important sector for manufacturing, infrastructure, the energy transition and advanced industries, and it examines both export competitiveness and rising import dependence.

India's exports of digitally delivered services rose from $277 billion in 2024 to $317 billion in 2025, a gain of about 15 per cent in a single year, and that growth lifted the country from the fifth position to the fourth among global exporters of such services.

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change organised the national celebration of the 32nd World Ozone Day in Mumbai on 16 September 2026 under this theme, with Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh presiding and Maharashtra's Environment Minister Pankaja Munde also present.

Union Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh launched both in Mumbai on the occasion of World Ozone Day.

The announcement was made at the World Ozone Day function in Mumbai, where 12 refrigeration and air-conditioning manufacturers agreed to adopt that many Industrial Training Institutes.

The forum, written in short as WCEF2026, ran for two days and concluded there on 16 September 2026, bringing together around 2,700 delegates and 260 speakers from more than 60 countries, including governments, international organisations, industry, start-ups, academia and civil society.

At the closing ceremony in Gandhinagar, Kristo Lehtonen, Director of International Programmes at SITRA, handed over the baton for organising the next edition of the forum to Columbia University.

Additional Secretary and Central Pollution Control Board Chairman Amandeep Garg told the closing session that the exhibition held concurrently with the forum featured that many national and international exhibitors, offering a view of how circular solutions are being put into practice on the ground.

The team of 20 NCC girl cadets crossed the Parang La Pass at this height during the All India Girls High Altitude Long Trek.

The correct answer is Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, who flagged the trek off from New Delhi on 18 August 2026.

The Parang La Pass, standing at 5,578 metres, links the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh with the Changthang region of Ladakh, and the trek accordingly ran from Kibber in Himachal Pradesh to Karzok in Ladakh.

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises stated that this many beneficiaries have been registered under the scheme after clearing a three-stage verification process, which means the registration target set for the scheme has been met within three years of its launch.

The Prime Minister launched the scheme on that day to give end-to-end support to traditional artisans and craftspeople engaged in 18 identified trades, which is why its third anniversary falls on 17 September 2026 and is being celebrated at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata.

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi heads it, and Shobha Karandlaje is Minister of State.