Pragyesh IAS • Daily Current Affairs

BPSC Daily Current Affairs — 13–14 September 2026

Exam-focused current affairs for BPSC and UPSC Prelims, with Bihar linkage, static concepts, key facts, exam traps and interactive MCQs.

13–14 SEPTEMBER 2026 • BPSC / UPSC PRELIMS

International Relations • West Asia • Maritime Geography

Houthis, Yemen's Red Sea Coast & the Bab el-Mandeb Chokepoint

The supplied lecture focuses on the strategic importance of Houthi control across large parts of Yemen's Red Sea coast and explains why the Bab el-Mandeb Strait matters for Asia-Europe trade, shipping costs and Indian maritime interests.

Core geography: Bab el-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. It is the southern gateway of the Suez route linking the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean.

Who are the Houthis?

Official movement name: Ansar Allah.
The lecture identifies their social base with the Zaydi Shia community of northern Yemen.
Their origin is linked to the Believing Youth revivalist movement of the 1990s.
A key early leader named in the lecture is Hussein al-Houthi.
They captured Yemen's capital Sana'a in 2014 and are described in the lecture as Iran-aligned.

Locations to map

Hodeidah - major Red Sea port zone.
Mocha and Dhubab - Yemen's Red Sea coast.
Perim Island - strategically located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Hanish Islands - located in the Red Sea.
These locations make Yemen a recurring map-based Prelims topic.

Mediterranean Sea→Suez Canal→Red Sea→Bab el-Mandeb→Gulf of Aden→Arabian Sea / Indian Ocean

Bab el-Mandeb vs Strait of Hormuz

Chokepoint	Connects	Strategic role in the lecture
Bab el-Mandeb	Red Sea - Gulf of Aden	Gateway to Suez; pressure point for Europe-Asia shipping. The lecture cites roughly 12-15% of global trade using the Red Sea route.
Strait of Hormuz	Persian Gulf - Gulf of Oman	Major oil chokepoint; the lecture cites more than 20% of seaborne oil trade.

India-Europe trade

Disruption can force ships to take the longer Cape of Good Hope route, increasing travel time, freight charges and insurance costs.

Energy security

Red Sea disruption can also complicate Gulf energy-export routes and raise concerns over oil prices and supply resilience.

Maritime security

The issue links West Asian conflict with Indian Ocean security, shipping lanes and the stability of global chokepoints.

Question 1: With reference to Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, consider the following statements:

International Relations • BRICS • Global South

18th BRICS Summit — New Delhi Declaration 2026

The second topic covers the New Delhi Declaration adopted by consensus at the 18th BRICS Summit and the main political, financial and Global South themes highlighted in the lecture.

Declaration logic: the lecture presents the New Delhi Declaration as a consensus outcome of an enlarged 11-member BRICS, despite differences among members on West Asian conflicts.

Key outcomes highlighted

Call for comprehensive reform of the United Nations and a greater role for developing countries.
Support for a greater role for India and Brazil in the UN Security Council.
Support for increasing intra-BRICS payments through national currencies.
Criticism of unilateral coercive measures such as tariffs and sanctions.
Support for the Palestinian cause and humanitarian assistance in Gaza, as discussed in the lecture.
Condemnation of terrorism in all forms, including reference to the 2025 Pahalgam attack.

Why consensus was difficult

The lecture notes divergent positions of Iran and the UAE over West Asian tensions.
A compromise language of maximum restraint helped preserve consensus.
This illustrates the wider BRICS challenge: greater membership increases global weight but also makes consensus-building harder.

BRICS Troika proposal

PM Modi proposed a continuity mechanism similar to the G20 model involving the previous, current and next chair.

Global governance roadmap

India proposed a broader road map for reforming institutions such as the UN Security Council.

New cooperation ideas

The lecture mentions a BRICS Seafarer Distress Network and a BRICS-Global South skill-development mechanism for emerging technologies.

Trade and finance: what to remember

Point	Exam takeaway
National currencies	BRICS supports mechanisms that can increase settlement in members' own currencies.
Common currency	The supplied lecture explicitly says the declaration did not call for immediate creation of one single BRICS currency replacing national currencies.
New Development Bank	Established in 2015; headquarters in Shanghai.

Why BRICS matters in the lecture: it amplifies the Global South, supports a more multipolar order, pushes reform of global institutions and shows that countries with different geopolitical interests can still work through consensus.

Question 2: With reference to the BRICS New Delhi Declaration, consider the following statements:

Culture • Literature • Soft Power

PM Gifts Russian Translation of the Thirukkural to Vladimir Putin

The lecture uses the diplomatic gift of a Russian-language Thirukkural to connect Tamil classical literature with cultural diplomacy, soft power, ethics and governance.

1,330Couplets

133Chapters

10Couplets per chapter

3Major divisions

Basic literary facts

A classic Tamil work traditionally attributed to Thiruvalluvar.
One of the most celebrated works of Tamil ethical literature.
Contains 1,330 couplets arranged in 133 chapters.
Has been translated into many languages.
Prelims trap: it was not originally composed in Sanskrit.

Three divisions

Aram - virtue, morality, righteous conduct and the good life.
Porul - governance, statecraft, economy, social life, justice, war and peace.
Inbam - love, relationships, emotions and the affectionate dimension of human life.

Classical Tamil literature→Ethics & governance→Translation→Cultural diplomacy→Soft power

Public life

The lecture links the text to ideas about the qualities of a just ruler, good ministers, wise counsel, administration and public welfare.

War and diplomacy

It highlights lessons of preparedness, restraint, dialogue, strategic conduct and avoiding needless conflict.

Why gift it?

The lecture frames the Russian translation as an example of India's civilisational heritage, soft power and cultural diplomacy.

Question 3: With reference to the Thirukkural, consider the following statements:

Modern History • Heritage • India-France

West Bengal to Revive Chandernagore's French Legacy

The West Bengal government and the French Embassy are linked in the lecture to restoration of Chandernagore's colonial-era French heritage, especially the Registry Building, with a wider aim of heritage conservation, cultural diplomacy and riverfront tourism.

Current heritage project

Location: Chandernagore, Hooghly district, West Bengal.
Main project highlighted: restoration of the former French Registry Building.
Objectives include heritage tourism, cultural programmes, international tourism and Hooghly riverfront development.
The lecture also mentions an annual French festival to celebrate India-France ties.

De facto vs de jure

De facto: in fact / in practice - actual administrative control.
De jure: by law - legal sovereignty recognised through the formal legal process.
For Chandernagore, the lecture places de facto transfer on 2 May 1950 and legal integration after the treaty process in 1952.

Chronology of Chandernagore in the supplied lecture

Year / date	Event
1664	Lecture marks an early establishment phase linked with the French East India Company.
1673-74	French agents obtained permission and land in the Hooghly region.
1688	Chandernagore developed into a permanent French settlement.
1731	Commercial expansion under Dupleix.
23 Mar 1757	Captured by British forces under Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson.
1763	Restored to France under the Treaty of Paris.
1794	Occupied again by the British during the Revolutionary/Napoleonic-war era.
1816	Returned to France after the Napoleonic Wars.
1880	Municipal institution established under French rule, as noted in the lecture.
15 Aug 1947	India became independent, while Chandernagore remained French territory.
8 Jun 1948	India and France agreed that inhabitants of French settlements should determine their political future.
19 Jun 1949	Plebiscite overwhelmingly favoured integration with India.
2 May 1950	De facto transfer: India assumed actual administrative control.
2 Feb 1951	Treaty of Cession signed between India and France.
30 May 1952	India ratified the treaty; the lecture treats 1952 as the stage of full legal integration.
2 Oct 1954	Chandernagore merged with West Bengal.

European settlements along the Hooghly

Settlement	European association in the lecture
Bandel	Portuguese
Chinsurah	Dutch
Chandernagore	French
Serampore	Danish
Kolkata	British; the lecture links its formation with Govindpur, Sutanuti and Kalikata.

Teaching takeaway: Chandernagore is useful for linking European trading settlements, the Anglo-French rivalry in Bengal, post-1947 decolonisation and the distinction between de facto and de jure transfer.

Question 4: With reference to European settlements along the Hooghly River, consider the following statements:

Bihar • Food Heritage • BRICS

Bihar's Sattu & Makhana Featured in the BRICS Welcome Kit

The lecture highlights Bihar's traditional foods in the media welcome kit at the 18th BRICS Summit, using sattu and makhana as examples of the state's local-to-global branding, food-processing potential and cultural identity.

Sattu

Commonly prepared from dry-roasted gram/chana.
Widely consumed in Bihar.
The lecture highlights its vegetable-protein value and packaged-food potential.
It states that 1,500 packets of 200 g each were prepared/procured for the summit within a short 48-hour window.
The lecture says the sattu used for the welcome kit was sourced from Madhubani.

Makhana

Fox nut; edible seed of the aquatic plant Euryale ferox.
A freshwater wetland crop strongly associated with northern Bihar and the Mithila region.
The lecture states that about 85% of India's makhana comes from Bihar.
It says the summit's makhana was procured from Purnia.
Mithila Makhana received a GI tag in 2022.

Traditional food→Processing & packaging→Branding→National showcase→Global market opportunity

Food processing

Packaging and value addition can move Bihar products beyond raw agricultural sales into higher-value markets.

Rural entrepreneurship

The topic links traditional foods with startups, branding, procurement networks and rural enterprise.

Soft power

Displaying local foods at an international summit showcases Bihar's cultural identity and agri-food heritage to global visitors.

Question 5: With reference to sattu and makhana of Bihar, consider the following statements:

Bihar Economy • Agro-Industry • Ethanol

Bihar Sugar Industry Revival — Three Priority Mill Projects by March 2027

The final topic covers Bihar's effort to revive sugar-industry capacity, with Nawada, Motipur and Sasa Musa identified in the lecture as three priority mill locations targeted for operational progress by March 2027.

Mar 2027Target mentioned

MotipurMuzaffarpur

Sasa MusaGopalganj

NawadaThird priority location

Important nuance: the lecture first refers to three mills being opened, but later clarifies that Motipur is a legacy sugar-mill site to be revived, not simply a brand-new greenfield mill.

What the review focused on

A high-level committee chaired by the Chief Secretary reviewed sugar-industry issues.
Motipur: land-related follow-up and revival of the old mill site; the lecture says the earlier unit had closed around 1990.
Sasa Musa: investment coordination and land-transfer issues.
Nawada: identified as the third priority location.
The lecture also mentions Sakri (Madhubani) and Rayam (Darbhanga) in the wider revival discussion.

Why sugar mills matter

Create a nearby market for sugarcane farmers.
Generate rural jobs in transport, processing and allied sectors.
Support Bihar's ethanol and agro-processing potential.
Sugarcane can support multiple products: sugar, molasses, ethanol, bagasse and cogenerated power.

Farmer linkage

Nearby processing capacity can improve market access and reduce the logistical burden of moving cane over long distances.

Industrial revival

The plan combines new investment with revival of old mill assets, fitting Bihar's broader agro-based industrial strategy.

Challenges

The lecture flags land disputes, investor/land-transfer issues, waterlogging and nilgai damage in sugarcane-growing districts.

Sugarcane→Sugar / molasses→Ethanol→Bagasse→Power & allied industry

Question 6: According to the supplied lecture, which set of Bihar locations is targeted as the three priority sugar-mill projects for progress by March 2027?