Make in India Turns 12, India-New Zealand FTA Gets Start Date, Core Industries Grow 4.8% & Asian Games Begin in Aichi-Nagoya

The week of 19–25 September 2026 brought major developments in employment, manufacturing, international trade, defence, space technology, sports and wildlife conservation. Make in India completed 12 years, the 20th Rozgar Mela pushed cumulative appointment letters beyond 12.75 lakh, the India-New Zealand FTA received a 20 October implementation date, core industries grew 4.8%, India began its Asian Games campaign in Aichi-Nagoya with its first gold in women’s cricket, and new initiatives were announced for reusable launch vehicles, multisensor satellites and rhino conservation. 

Master Weekly Highlights

🇮🇳 National Affairs

• The 20th National Rozgar Mela was held on 19 September at 45 locations. More than 51,000 appointment letters were distributed, taking the cumulative number across 20 editions to around 12.75 lakh.
• Make in India completed 12 years on 25 September 2026; the initiative was launched on 25 September 2014.
• Under the accelerated rollout of DDU-GKY 2.0, around 70,000 rural youth across 24 States/UTs are expected to begin training in 2,015 batches from October 2026. More than 9 lakh training targets have been allocated across all 31 participating States/UTs for 2026–28. 

🌍 International Affairs

• The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement will enter into force on 20 October 2026. From day one, 100% of tariff lines covering Indian exports to New Zealand will become duty-free. 
• New Zealand has committed to facilitate US$20 billion of investment into India. The FTA also includes a quota of 5,000 Temporary Employment Entry visas for skilled Indians and 1,000 Working Holiday visas annually. 
• The two sides have an aspirational target of raising two-way trade in goods and services to NZ$7 billion, roughly ₹35,000 crore, by 2030. 
• India participated in the 14th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting and the 23rd ASEAN-India Economic Ministers Consultation in Manila, Philippines.
• India-ASEAN bilateral trade reached US$128.38 billion in 2025–26, with ASEAN accounting for 10.55% of India’s global trade. The ongoing review of AITIGA — ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement remained an important agenda item. 

💰 Economy & Banking

• India’s Index of Core Industries grew 4.8% year-on-year in August 2026. July’s final growth rate was revised to 5.0%. 
• August sectoral growth included cement 12.5%, electricity 11.6%, iron ore 5.5%, steel 3.4% and refinery products 2.6%.
• Cumulative core-industry growth during April–August was 4.3%. The ICI series uses 2022–23 as its base year. 
• ECGC supported a record ₹9.70 lakh crore of exports in FY 2025–26, up 13.46%, equivalent to around 25% of India’s merchandise exports.
• ECGC recorded its highest-ever gross premium of ₹1,459.11 crore and paid claims of ₹811.02 crore. 

🛡️ Defense & Security

• The 18th India-Mongolia Exercise Nomadic Elephant began at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, on 21 September and runs until 3 October.
• India and Mongolia are represented by 45 personnel each. Training focuses on counter-insurgency operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain under a UN mandate, including cyber, drone and counter-drone training. 
• The 13th SLINEX, the India-Sri Lanka bilateral maritime exercise, was held at Visakhapatnam from 17–21 September. Indian participants included INS Kavaratti and INS Jyoti, while Sri Lanka was represented by SLNS Sindurala. 
• The Defence Ministry signed a ₹586 crore contract with Accurate Industrial Controls for indigenous Auxiliary Power Units for T-72 and T-90 tanks. 

🚀 Science & Technology

• The Technology Development Board signed an agreement with Agnikul Cosmos for ₹200 crore RDI support to develop the fully reusable Agnibaan RLV.
• The programme aims to take the reusable-launch technology from TRL-4 and above to TRL-8.
• Bengaluru-based GalaxEye Space Solutions received ₹63.84 crore of RDI support for a multisensor satellite combining SAR and electro-optical imaging.
• Its OptoSAR system is intended to deliver sub-0.5-metre-resolution imaging and move from TRL-6 to TRL-9. 
• Commercial use of a bio-based biodegradable Polylactic Acid, PLA, plastic was launched under the BioE3 framework. A ₹75 crore BIRAC grant supports a 100-tonne-per-annum pilot R&D facility. 🏆 Awards & Honours

• President Droupadi Murmu presented the 72nd National Film Awards on 22 September at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat. 
• Veteran actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, India’s highest honour in cinema. 
• The National Film Awards were instituted in 1954, and the 72nd edition recognised achievements in Indian cinema for the year 2024. 

🥇 Sports

• The Asian Games began in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on 19 September. 
• India’s Women’s Cricket Team won the country’s first gold medal of these Asian Games on 22 September. 
• Suchika Tariyal won bronze in Mixed Martial Arts, becoming India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in MMA. 
• Jay Meena won bronze in men’s individual Soft Tennis, becoming India’s first-ever Asian Games medallist in Soft Tennis. 
• Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49 kg weightlifting event. 
• India’s mixed 4×400 m relay team of Manu TS, Poovamma MR, Vishal TK and Vithya Ramraj won silver on 25 September. 

📅 Important Days & Themes

• International Day of Peace — 21 September. The 2026 theme was “Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” 
• World Rhino Day — 22 September. India announced the initiation of Project Rhino for financial and technical support to rhino-range states. 
• International Day of Sign Languages — 23 September. Theme: “Declaring Deaf People’s Human Rights.” 
• World Maritime Day — 24 September. Theme for 2026–27: “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.” 
• 25 September marked the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. 

⚖️ Polity & Governance

• TRAI issued the Telecom Consumer Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 on 22 September.
• Telecom operators must offer more Voice-and-SMS-only Special Tariff Vouchers, including options for validity periods of 30 days or less, monthly-renewable plans and at least one longer-validity option. 
• The final rules followed 1,132 stakeholder responses received by TRAI. 
• The 3rd National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces was held in New Delhi on 22–23 September, organised by NCB.
• ANTF heads from 36 States and Union Territories participated. Foundation stones were laid for new NCB zonal complexes in Lucknow and Dehradun, and a redesigned NCB website was launched.

🌿 Environment & Ecology

• The National Green Tribunal organised the international conference “The Future of Environment and Climate Dynamics” in New Delhi on 19–20 September. 
• Project Rhino was announced on World Rhino Day to support range states in protection, habitat management, genetic improvement and monitoring population dynamics. The government statement said Assam holds nearly 80% of the world’s rhino population. 
• The 6th Cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves was launched on 25 September by NTCA in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India.
• It will cover all 58 Tiger Reserves, with Solid Waste Management introduced as a separate evaluation criterion.