Parliamentary Standing Committee
On UPSC.wiki
Current affairsUNGA Declares November 27 as International Day Against Child, Early and Forced Marriage: India's Role, Legal Framework, and SDG 5.3The 193-member United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted by consensus on September 4–5, 2026, a landmark resolution designating November 27 every year as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage. India co-sponsored the resolution, which carries special national significance — November 27, 2024 was the launch date of India's 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat' campaign. Current affairsAll 25 High Courts Get Permanent Chief Justices: Centre Notifies Eight Appointments — Collegium System, Article 217, and Judicial PendencyThe Ministry of Law and Justice on September 5, 2026, notified the appointments of eight High Court judges as Chief Justices across eight High Courts. Following these appointments, all 25 High Courts in India now function with permanent Chief Justices for the first time — a milestone reflecting both the Supreme Court Collegium's functioning and efforts to address the judiciary's leadership deficit amid India's record case pendency crisis. Current affairsBirkbeck, University of London Gets UGC Approval for Bengaluru Campus: India's Foreign University Experiment and NEP 2020Birkbeck, University of London received a UGC Letter of Approval on September 3, 2026, to establish its Indian campus at Sattva Tech Park, Bengaluru — under the UGC FHEI Regulations 2023 enabled by NEP 2020. The UK university, world-renowned for part-time and evening education for working adults, will offer undergraduate and postgraduate business programmes at up to 60% lower cost than its UK campus. Current affairsISRO Launches EOS-05 on GSLV-F17: India's First Geosynchronous Imaging Satellite for Continuous Earth ObservationISRO successfully launched EOS-05 (Earth Observation Satellite-05) aboard the GSLV-F17 rocket from Sriharikota on September 4, 2026. EOS-05 is India's first imaging satellite placed in geosynchronous orbit (~36,000 km), capable of continuously monitoring a fixed region of the Earth — enabling high-frequency imaging that can revisit the same spot every 5 minutes and cover India in under 30 minutes. Current affairs26th SCO Summit Bishkek 2026: Bishkek Declaration, English as Official Language, and India's Priorities Under PM ModiThe 26th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on August 31–September 1, 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended, signed the Bishkek Declaration alongside 13 key outcome agreements, and advanced India's three-pillar agenda of Security, Connectivity, and Opportunity. English was recognised as an official SCO working language for the first time. Current affairsRAKSHA Defence Diplomacy Framework 2026: India's 10-Year Roadmap for Global Security PartnershipsDefence Minister Rajnath Singh released the 'RAKSHA' Defence Diplomacy Framework on September 3, 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan, New Delhi — a comprehensive 10-year strategic document (2026–2036) positioning India as a Net Security Provider and First Responder in the Indian Ocean Region through four core pillars: Strategic Partnerships, Capacity Building, Indigenous Exports, and Maritime Security. Current affairsLegal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules 2026: 'One Nation, One Time' — IST Made Legally Enforceable Nationwide with NavIC and White Rabbit TechnologyThe Ministry of Consumer Affairs notified the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 on 27 August 2026, making Indian Standard Time (IST) the single legally enforceable time reference for all legal, administrative, commercial, and official purposes in India. The rules come into force 180 days after gazette notification (approximately March 2027), giving institutions time to align with the 'One Nation, One Time' initiative backed by NavIC and White Rabbit Technology. Current affairsDRDO Successfully Tests Military Combat Parachute System at 22,000 Feet in Nyoma, Ladakh — High-Altitude Special Operations and Indigenous Defence CapabilityThe Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted a high-altitude trial of the indigenous Military Combat Parachute System (MCPS) on August 26, 2026, at the Nyoma-Mudh Drop Zone in Ladakh — with jumpers exiting at 22,000 feet above mean sea level and landing safely at 13,700 feet in temperatures as low as −15°C. Developed by DRDO's ADRDE (Agra) and DEBEL (Bengaluru), MCPS is the only parachute system currently in operational use by the Indian Armed Forces capable of such high-altitude deployment. Current affairsSemicon 2.0 Notified: India's ₹1,27,500-Crore Semiconductor Mission Phase 2 — Indigenous Chip Design, 3-nm Roadmap, and Semiconductor SovereigntyThe Government of India formally notified Semicon 2.0 on August 31, 2026 — a ₹1,27,500-crore programme that expands the semiconductor ecosystem from chip assembly to indigenous design, intellectual property creation, advanced packaging, equipment, materials, research, and talent. India aims to domestically design and manufacture chips for 70–75% of its needs by 2029 and reach 3-nanometre and 2-nanometre technology nodes by 2035. Current affairsChandler Good Government Index 2026: India Rises to 76th Among 133 Nations — Second Consecutive Year of Governance Score Improvement After Three-Year DeclineIndia ranked 76th out of 133 countries in the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) 2026, released on August 18–19, 2026 by the Chandler Institute of Governance, Singapore. India's overall governance score rose for the second consecutive year — reversing a three-year decline from 2021 to 2024 — driven primarily by improvement in Financial Stewardship. India leads all South Asian nations across five of the index's seven governance pillars. Current affairsFSSAI Proposes Mandatory Red Hexagonal Front-of-Pack Warning Labels for High-Fat, High-Sugar, High-Salt Packaged Foods — Supreme Court Directs Expedited ImplementationFSSAI submitted a proposal on August 30, 2026 to the Supreme Court for mandatory red hexagonal front-of-pack (FOP) warning labels on packaged foods high in fat, sugar, salt, or classified as "highly sweetened beverages." The SC bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran had directed this on August 13, 2026. Thresholds will be based on ICMR-NIN Dietary Guidelines 2024. This remains a proposal — not yet gazetted or enforceable. Current affairsVarsha Ashok Aglawe: First Woman Director General of the Geological Survey of India in Its 176-Year History — Geology, Critical Minerals, and the GSI MandateVarsha Ashok Aglawe assumed charge as the 54th Director General (DG) of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in August 2026, becoming the first woman to head the institution in its 176-year history since its founding in 1851. A palaeontologist and palynologist with over three decades of GSI service, she identified a new dinosaur nesting site in Central India and brings expertise in critical mineral exploration that aligns directly with India's National Critical Minerals Mission.
In previous-year questions
- The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs (2026) recommended that India form a quadrilateral agreement on polar affairs with which group of countries?UPSC · Current Affairs
- The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has mapped how many elephant corridors across India?UPSC · Current Affairs
- What is a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), and how does it differ from a Parliamentary Standing Committee? Consider the following: 1. A JPC is constituted for a specific purpose (such as scrutinising one bill) and ceases to exist on submitting its report. 2. A Standing Committee is a permanent committee that examines all bills referred to it in a given subject area across sessions. 3. Both JPC and Standing Committees can summon witnesses and call for documents. 4. The FCRA Amendment Bill 2026 JPC has 31 members — 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. Which of the above statements are correct?UPSC · Current Affairs
- As of the Supreme Court's August 2026 order on declaring cancer a notifiable disease, how many of India's 36 states and Union Territories had already notified cancer, following a parliamentary standing committee recommendation?UPSC · Current Affairs
- The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs presented its report "India's Role and Presence in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions" in the Lok Sabha on July 30, 2026. The report was chaired by which Member of Parliament?UPSC · Current Affairs