This is the current affairs 24 & 26 September 2026. Here are questions and answers of daily current affairs for better preparation of competitive exams for government jobs.
1. Which film was India’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category for the 2027 Oscars?
a. Dhurandhar
b. Gondhal
c. Hanuman Ansh
d. Ikkis
Answer: b. Gondhal
– It has been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars 2027 in the Feature Film category.
– In 2025, India’s official entry was the film ‘Homebound’, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan.
About Gondhal
– ‘Gondhal’ is a Marathi thriller film directed by Santosh Davkhar.
– Based on the Gondhal folk dance of Maharashtra, the film is a mix of relationships, betrayal, deception and adventure.
– Kishore Kadam, Ishita Deshmukh, Yogesh Sohoni, Nishad Bhoir and Anuj Prabhu are some of the cast members of the film.
– The music of the film has been composed by renowned music composer Ilaiyaraaja.
– The film Gondhal was released in India on 14 November 2025.
– It was also honored at the Bengaluru International Film Festival and Pune International Film Festival.
– Davkhar’s previous directorial work was awarded the Silver Peacock Award at the International Film Festival 2025.
What does Official Entry mean?
– Each country can send only one film for the Best International Feature Film category.
– The selected film (such as ‘Gondhal’ for the Oscars 2027) enters the preliminary nomination process of the Oscars, where it competes with entries from other countries.
– After this, the shortlist and final nominations are decided on the basis of the voting process of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
The contribution and history of Indian cinema at the Oscars (Academy Awards) has been rich and historic:
– First win (1983): Bhanu Athaiya won the Best Costume Design award for the film ‘Gandhi’ (1982), securing India’s first Oscar.
– Satyajit Ray (1992): India’s legendary director Satyajit Ray was honored with the ‘Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his unprecedented contribution to the world of cinema.
– ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ (2009): This film gave Indian music and artists major global recognition. A. R. Rahman won two Oscars for Best Original Score (Jai Ho) and Best Original Song. In the same year, Resul Pookutty won for ‘Sound Mixing’ and Gulzar won the award for ‘Best Original Song’.
– Historic double success in 2023: The song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the film ‘RRR’ (M. M. Keeravani and Chandrabose) won the Oscar for Best Original Song. In the same year, Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves’ documentary ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ won in the ‘Short Documentary’ category.
– Best Foreign Language Film nominations: Three Indian films—’Mother India’ (1957), ‘Salaam Bombay!’ (1988), and ‘Lagaan’ (2001)—secured places in the Top 5 nominations of the Best International Feature Film category.
————–
2. Fast bowler Mark Wood announced his retirement from international cricket in September 2026; which country does he play for?
a. South Africa
b. Australia
c. New Zealand
d. England
Answer: d. England
– England fast bowler 36-year-old Mark Wood took 253 wickets in 146 matches during an 11-year career.
– He was part of England’s 2019 ODI World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup winning teams.
Career
Test – 38 matches – 119 wickets
One Day – 70 matches – 80 wickets
T20 – 38 matches – 54 wickets
—————
3. Who became the Indian female hockey player with the highest number of international match appearances?
a. Salima Tete
b. Savita Punia
c. Deepika Seharawat
d. Navneet Kaur
Answer: b. Savita Punia
– 36-year-old Savita Punia, a resident of Haryana, is India’s goalkeeper.
– On 20 September 2026, she equaled Vandana Katariya’s record of 320 international matches during India’s 19-0 victory over Uzbekistan at the Asian Games.
– Vandana retired in April 2025 after playing 320 international matches and scoring 158 goals.
Savita Punia’s Playing Career
– Made her international debut in 2009.
– Played her 300th international match during an FIH Hockey Pro League match against the Netherlands in February 2025.
– Hockey India announced a cash award of Rs. 10 lakh for Savita Punia.
– She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2026.
—————
4. Which Indian film won the prestigious ‘Platform Prize’ at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2026?
a. Ang
b. Dear Jassi
c. Pritam & Pedro
d. Checkpost
Answer: a. Ang
– ‘Ang’ is a feature film by Nagaland director Teja Rio.
– The film is based on the culture and changing times of the Konyak community of Nagaland in the 1960s.
– The film was selected for its story.
– The film has been made in the Konyak language.
– Konyak is one of the major languages of the Konyak community of Nagaland.
– With this win, the film has directly qualified for the ‘International Feature Film’ category of the 2027 Oscars.
TIFF
– The Toronto International Film Festival is the largest and most popular annual international film festival in North America.
– It is held every year in the city of Toronto, Canada, at the beginning of September.
—————
5. Who set the record for the highest run-scorer in Women’s T20 International cricket in September 2026?
a. Shafali Verma
b. Harmanpreet Kaur
c. Smriti Mandhana
d. Jemimah Rodrigues
Answer: c. Smriti Mandhana
– Smriti Mandhana reached a total of 4,788 runs in her career on 20 September 2026.
– On 20 September, she scored 37 runs against Bangladesh in the semi-final of the India Women’s Asian Games.
– Smriti achieved this milestone by breaking the record of 4,758 runs held by New Zealand’s Suzie Bates.
Top Run-Scorers in Women’s T20
– Smriti Mandhana (India): 4,788
– Suzie Bates (New Zealand): 4,758
– Harmanpreet Kaur (India): 4,287
– Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka): 4,282
– Sophie Devine (New Zealand): 3,817
—————
6. Which athlete won a weightlifting medal (silver) for India at the 2026 Asian Games after a gap of 28 years?
a. Serum Nirupama
b. Gyaneshwari Yadav
c. Mirabai Chanu
d. Harjinder Kaur
Answer: c. Mirabai Chanu
– On 23 September 2026, India’s Mirabai Chanu lifted 198 kg in the women’s 49 kg weight category.
– She finished second with a silver medal.
– She lifted 87 kg in the snatch and 111 kg in the clean and jerk.
– 32-year-old Mirabai won a medal at the Asian Games for the first time.
– She has already won medals at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Championships.
– Before Mirabai, Karnam Malleswari had won silver at the Asian Games in 1998.
– At the 2026 Asian Games, the gold medal was won by North Korean athlete Ri Song Gum.
– The bronze medal was won by Indonesia’s Vijayana Luluk Diani Tri.
————–
7. Which team did the Indian women’s cricket team defeat in the final to win the gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games?
a. Bangladesh
b. China
c. Pakistan
d. Sri Lanka
Answer: d. Sri Lanka
– The Indian women’s cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs on 22 September 2026 to win the gold medal.
– At the 2025 Asian Games also, India defeated Sri Lanka to win the gold medal.
————–
8. Which novelists were shortlisted for the 2026 Booker Prize?
a. M. John Harrison, Marlon James
b. Luke Kennard, Rebecca Perry
c. Elizabeth Strout, Douglas Stuart
d. All of the above
d. All of the above (M. John Harrison, Marlon James, Luke Kennard, Rebecca Perry, Elizabeth Strout, Douglas Stuart)
– The list of shortlisted novels was released on 22 September 2026.
– This means that the prestigious Booker Prize will be awarded to one of these authors.
– When will the winner be announced: 9 November 2026 at Old Billingsgate in London.
– The winner will receive a prize of £50,000.
These are the shortlisted novels
Book : Author
– ‘The End of Everything’ : M. John Harrison
– ‘The Disappearers’ : Marlon James
– ‘Black Bag’ : Luke Kennard
– ‘May We Feed the King’ : Rebecca Perry
– ‘The Things We Never Say’ : Elizabeth Strout
– ‘John of John’ : Douglas Stuart
– The list also includes former Booker winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart.
– Marlon James won the Booker in 2015 for A Brief History of Seven Killings.
– Douglas Stuart won the award in 2020 for his first novel Shuggie Bain.
Booker Prize?
– It is a major literary award given for a novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
– It was first awarded in 1969.
– It is administered by the Booker Prize Foundation.
————–
9. Which country appointed Asad Siam as its new High Commissioner to India?
a. Sri Lanka
b. Myanmar
c. Pakistan
d. Bangladesh
Answer: d. Bangladesh
– Bangladesh appointed Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam as the next High Commissioner to New Delhi on 22 September 2026.
– Earlier, High Commissioner M. Riaz Hamidullah was Bangladesh’s representative in Delhi.
– Ambassador Asad Alam Siam took charge as Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary on 20 June 2025.
– Joined the Bangladesh Foreign Service in 1995.
– Ambassador to Austria in 2023-2024.
– Served as envoy to the Philippines from 2017-2021.
India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh: Dinesh Trivedi
————-
10. Where was the 18th edition of the joint military exercise ‘Nomadic Elephant 2026’ between India and Mongolia held?
a. Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
b. Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand)
c. Gangtok (Sikkim)
d. Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)
Answer: b. Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand)
– From when to when: 21 September to 3 October 2026
– Where: Foreign Training Centre located in Pithoragarh
– How many personnel participated: 45 personnel from the Indian Army and 45 personnel from the Mongolian Armed Forces
– ‘Nomadic Elephant’ is a bilateral military exercise between India and Mongolia. It is conducted every year.
– The exercise is designed for counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban and mountainous areas under a UN mandate.
– It includes cordon and search operations, room intervention drills, special helicopter operations, cyber security training, use of drones and anti-drone systems.
————–
11. When is World Environmental Health Day celebrated?
a. 24 September
b. 25 September
c. 26 September
d. 27 September
Answer: c. 26 September
Theme of 2026
– Environmental Health: Standing with Science to Protect Communities
– Environmental Health: Standing with Science to Protect Communities
World Environmental Health Day: Origin and History
– Established: It was announced in 2011 at the Council Meeting of the International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH) in Indonesia. IFEH is a non-profit organization established in London in 1986.
– First Day: It was officially observed on 26 September 2011.
– Objective: To recognize the work of environmental health professionals and encourage action to protect health from environmental hazards globally.
————–
12. The Central Government made it mandatory to display a green or red/brown dot (indicating vegetarian or non-vegetarian ingredients) on packages of cosmetics and toiletries; through an amendment to which rule was this provision introduced?
a. Consumer Protection Rules, 2020
b. Cosmetics Rules, 2020
c. Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011
d. Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011
Answer: c. Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011
– The government has implemented this provision by amending the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.
– This notification was issued on 21 September 2026.
– It has been made mandatory to display a green or red/brown dot on the packages of toothpaste, soap, shampoo, cosmetics and other toiletries.
– Green for products containing vegetarian ingredients.
– A red or brown dot must be displayed on products containing non-vegetarian ingredients.
– This symbol will be placed in the upper portion of the main display panel of the package.
– This dot will indicate the origin of the ingredients used in manufacturing the product.
– For this, the customer will not need to understand the meaning of every item written on the package.
Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011
– These are the main legal framework in India regulating the sale, labeling and standards of pre-packaged goods.
– Mandatory declarations: The name and complete address of the manufacturer, packer or importer, common or generic name of the commodity, country of origin, net quantity, month and year of manufacture, and maximum retail price (MRP) must be clearly written on every package.
– Registration: Under these rules of the Department of Legal Metrology, all manufacturers, packers and importers are required to mandatorily register with the Director or State Controller.
– Scope of application: These rules apply to all packaged goods intended for retail sale, although packages containing more than 25 kilograms or 25 litres are outside their scope (except cement, fertilizers and agricultural products).
————–
13. UNESCO included 14 havelis from the Shekhawati region of which state in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites?
a. Bihar
b. Rajasthan
c. Maharashtra
d. Gujarat
Answer: b. Rajasthan
– 14 havelis of Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region were included in UNESCO’s list on September 5, 2026.
– Shekhawati is known worldwide for its colorful and intricate paintings on the havelis.
– The paintings made on the walls, ceilings, and arches of these havelis depict the society, culture, lifestyle, and way of living of that period.
– These paintings include religious scenes as well as glimpses of the social life, royal families, trade, rural surroundings, and changing times of that era.
– This is why Shekhawati has often been recognized as an open-air art gallery.
These are the 14 Havelis:
– Alsisar
– Bisau
– Chirawa
– Churu
– Dundlod
– Fatehpur
– Jhunjhunu
– Khetri
– Laxmangarh
– Mandawa
– Mahansar
– Nawalgarh
– Ramgarh
– Historic Haveli of Sikar.
————–
14. When is the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) observed?
a. 28 September
b. 29 September
c. 30 September
d. 1 October
Answer: a. 28 September
2026 Theme
– Upholding Information Integrity in the Digital Age: The role of access to Information in addressing Information Disorder
– This day highlights that the right to information is essential not only at the national level but also at the international level for democratic governance, transparency, and accountability.
– The United Nations (UN) and UNESCO believe that access to accurate information empowers citizens, reduces corruption, and helps in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
PDF Download: Click here
