Daily filter — 8 September 2026
7 exam-worthy stories from the day's PIB releases · interactive view
⚖️ Law & Judiciary · LAW track
New Judges Appointed to Chhattisgarh and Gauhati High Courts
The President has appointed Judicial Officers and Advocates as Judges/Additional Judges to two High Courts.
- Santosh Sharma, Smt. Sushma Sawant, and Sudhir Kumar were appointed Judges of Chhattisgarh High Court.
- Nchumbemo Mozhui and Smt. Helen Dawngliani were appointed Additional Judges of Gauhati High Court.
- Appointments were made by the President, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
- The appointments were made in exercise of powers conferred by the Constitution of India.
💡 Remember: President (with CJI) appoints Judges, Judicial Officers & Advocates to High Courts, like Chhattisgarh & Gauhati.
Source: Ministry of Law and Justice · PIB PRID 2307973
⚖️ Law & Judiciary · LAW track
NCSC Notice to Punjab Over Sangrur Resident's Death
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) issued a notice to the Punjab Government regarding the death of **Gulzar Singh**.
- The NCSC issued a notice to the Punjab Government over the death of Gulzar Singh.
- Gulzar Singh allegedly consumed poison due to fear of a Minister.
- The NCSC ordered an inquiry under Article 338 of the Constitution.
- A detailed report is sought within five days from Punjab officials.
- NCSC Chairman Shri Kishor Makwana will visit Sangrur on 10 September 2026.
💡 Remember: NCSC acts under Article 338 to inquire into SC deaths, seeking reports from state governments.
Source: Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment · PIB PRID 2307991
🛡️ Defence & Security · UPSC track
Telecom Intelligence Prevents Over ₹5,000 Crore Cyber Fraud
The **Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI)**, an initiative by the **Department of Telecommunications (DoT)**, has prevented over ₹5,000 crore in suspected cyber fraud losses in 15 months.
- The FRI was launched on 22nd May 2025 and has prevented over ₹5,000 crore.
- It is developed under DoT's Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP) to assess real-time fraud likelihood.
- Over 1,600+ organisations are on the DIP, with 25+ training sessions for 1,500 banks.
- Prevention scaled nearly eight-fold, from ₹660 crore in six months to ₹5,043.73 crore by August 2026.
💡 Remember FRI (Financial Fraud Risk Indicator) for DoT's ₹5,000 crore cyber fraud prevention since May 2025.
Source: Ministry of Communications · PIB PRID 2307871
💳 Schemes & Welfare · LAW track
CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal Restored to Expedite Depositor Claims
The **Ministry of Cooperation** has restored the **CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal** to resume processing pending claims for genuine depositors.
- A total of Rs 9,267 crore has been refunded to 41,56,711 depositors.
- Approximately 20 lakh applications are still awaiting processing.
- The portal was launched on 18 July 2023 for transparent, digital, paperless refunds.
- Refunds are credited to Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts after verification.
💡 For the exam: Remember CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal expedites Sahara claims, processed digitally into Aadhaar-seeded accounts.
Source: Ministry of Cooperation · PIB PRID 2308015
🌊 Economy · UPSC track
Deep Sea Mining: India's Critical Mineral Future & Blue Economy
India recently hosted a workshop on deep sea mining to secure critical minerals and leverage business opportunities in the blue economy.
- India has an ISA exploration contract for 75,000 sq. km in the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
- The CIOB is estimated to hold 366 to 380 million tonnes of polymetallic nodules.
- India also holds two ISA exploration contracts for polymetallic sulphides.
- The Deep Ocean Mission has a budget of ₹4,077 crore.
- Indigenous deep-sea mining crawlers were demonstrated at depths exceeding 5,000 meters.
💡 Remember: India aims for 366-380 MT of polymetallic nodules from 75,000 sq km of seabed via the ₹4,077 crore Deep Ocean Mission.
Source: Ministry of Earth Sciences · PIB PRID 2308036
📊 Polity & Governance · UPSC track
MoSPI Workshop on Data Harmonisation for Data-Driven Governance
MoSPI organised a workshop for central government ministries on data harmonisation to strengthen the National Data System for evidence-based policymaking.
- Workshop held on September 08, 2026, for Statistical Advisers and Chief Data Officers.
- Shri Shaktikanta Das launched the Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) portal on Data Harmonisation.
- QPR Portal is a platform for Central MDOs to report progress on data identification and quality checks.
- Emphasis on trusted, timely, interoperable data for Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
- Key initiatives highlighted include NMDS 2.0, SQAF, and e-Sankhyiki.
- Stressed moving from siloed to integrated, interoperable data ecosystem for an AI-ready government.
💡 Remember: MoSPI's QPR portal on Sept 8, 2026, supports data harmonisation for AI-ready, data-driven governance towards Viksit Bharat 2047.
Source: Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation · PIB PRID 2307982
💳 Economy · UPSC track
7th Global Fintech Fest 2026: India's FinTech Leadership
The 7th Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026 highlights India's growing influence in the global fintech sector, driven by Digital Public Infrastructure.
- The 7th Global Fintech Fest 2026 is being held in Mumbai from 8 to 11 September 2026.
- Organizers include Payments Council of India (PCI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and Fintech Convergence Council (FCC).
- The GFF 2026 theme is “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI | Tokenisation | Quantum” for inclusive finance.
- India's Financial Inclusion Index increased from 43.4 in March 2017 to 70.0 in March 2026.
- UPI processed 2,365.8 crore transactions worth ₹29.88 lakh crore in July 2026 alone.
- Aadhaar enrolments crossed 144 crore by March 2026.
- Jan Dhan accounts reached 59.15 crore as of 26th August 2026.
💡 For the exam: Remember GFF 2026 in Mumbai, key organizers (PCI, NPCI, FCC), its Agentic AI/Tokenisation/Quantum theme, and India's rising Financial Inclusion Index, UPI volumes, Aadhaar, and Jan Dhan figures.
Source: PIB Backgrounder · PIB PRID 2307925