September 7, 2026 - Current Affairs

No Provision in Forest Rights Act to Obtain Gram Sabha Consent for Projects: Ministry

Context

As per the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MOTA), there is no provision for obtaining consent of the Gram Sabha for Stage-II forest clearance in the Forest Rights Act 2006.

About

MOTA response came amid the deliberations with the Union Ministry of Power over government projects delayed due to the bottleneck of 100% gram sabha consent under the Act.

The Law for Forest Clearance: FRA itself does not have the language of Gram Sabha consent specifically with respect to diverting forest land for non-forestry purposes.

10 Years of India’s Inflation Targeting Framework

Context

India has completed a decade of inflation targeting (IT) as a formal policy framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

India’s Inflation Targeting Framework

India adopted a Flexible Inflation Targeting Framework (FITF) in 2016 on recommendation by an Expert Committee headed by Dr. Urjit Patel.

As per Section 45ZA of the RBI Act, 1934, the Central Government, in consultation with the RBI, determines the inflation target once every five years.

NBA Achieves Milestone with Over ₹200 Crore in ABS Disbursements

Context

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has crossed the ₹200-crore milestone in cumulative disbursements under India’s Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) framework.

About

Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have emerged as the largest cumulative recipients among the states and UTs receiving the ABS proceeds.

The initiative also supports India’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly Target 13 on equitable benefit-sharing from the utilisation of genetic resources.

Rajghat Excavation

Context

Rajghat excavation is important to go back to the history of archaeological excavations in Varanasi.

About Rajghat

Rajghat today refers to a neighbourhood located in eastern Varanasi.

But the Rajghat archaeological site more specifically refers to the ancient settlement located in the northeastern outskirts of the city, near the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Varana.

News In Short 07-09-2026

Context

The UN General Assembly has voted to replace the traditional world map with one that more accurately reflects the size of Africa.

What led to the call for a new map?

The Mercator map, which has been in common use since the 16th century, has been criticised for showing Africa as being of similar size to Greenland, even though its landmass is actually 14 times larger.

First designed in 1569, the map was created to help European explorers navigate across the world. The distortion of the map is based on the fact that the surface of a globe cannot be represented on a two-dimensional chart.