Southern Railway Becomes Fully Electrified After the Pattukkottai-Karaikkudi Section Goes Live

12 September 2026National

Southern Railway has achieved 100% electrification of its Broad Gauge network, covering 5,068 route kilometres, after the final 71-km Pattukkottai-Karaikkudi section in Tamil Nadu was electrified; its statutory inspection was completed on 9 September 2026. Full electrification removes locomotive changes between diesel and electric traction, improves loco utilisation and cuts fuel imports. The zone's electric traction story began in Madras (now Chennai) on 11 May 1931, when it became India's second metropolitan city to adopt electric traction. The 46-km metre-gauge Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stays outside the target because electrification there is technically unfeasible.

Static GK

Indian Railways has 18 zones; Southern Railway, formed on 14 April 1951, was the first zone created and is headquartered at Chennai | The Nilgiri Mountain Railway was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005 under the Mountain Railways of India | Indian broad gauge measures 1,676 mm

ShareWhatsApp Telegram

More National Current Affairs

India Adds Five Properties to the UNESCO Tentative List, Taking the Total to 78

India added five new properties to the UNESCO Tentative List for World Heritage in late September 2026, raising its total to 78. Four are in Madhya Pradesh: the Bagh Cave Paintings, the Group of Temples of the Chambal Valley, the Gupta-era Udaigiri Caves and Ginnorgarh. The fifth, Sites of Satyagraha, is a serial transnational nomination shared with South Africa, with nine components - seven in India, including Sabarmati Ashram, Mani Bhavan, Sevagram Ashram, Aga Khan Palace and Gandhi Smriti, and two in South Africa, Pietermaritzburg station and the Phoenix Settlement. A property must be on the Tentative List before a formal nomination dossier can be filed.

GK ByteWorld Heritage Sites are inscribed under the 1972 World Heritage Convention | The Tentative List is a country's inventory of future World Heritage nominations and is not itself World Heritage status | The South African components of Sites of Satyagraha are Pietermaritzburg station and the Phoenix Settlement

📅 30 Sept 2026NationalRead complete →

VP C. P. Radhakrishnan Releases Book 'Vishwasanchar Hindutva Ka' in RSS Centenary Year

Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book 'Vishwasanchar Hindutva Ka', published by Saptahik Vivek, at Uprashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi, on 24 September 2026. The release coincides with the centenary year of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), founded in 1925 by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar at Nagpur, Maharashtra. The term 'Vishwasanchar' signifies the global flow and exchange of ideas. The book examines how India's cultural heritage has travelled across regions, interacted with other societies and evolved into new forms and meanings, exploring Hindutva and cultural identity through that lens of transmission rather than as a fixed tradition.

GK ByteC. P. Radhakrishnan is the Vice-President of India and ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha | The Vice-President is elected under Article 66 by an electoral college of members of both Houses of Parliament | RSS was founded on Vijayadashami in 1925 at Nagpur

📅 26 Sept 2026NationalRead complete →

India Marks 12 Years of the Make in India Initiative

India marked 12 years of the Make in India initiative on 25 September 2026. Launched on 25 September 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the programme aims to lift domestic manufacturing, attract investment, expand exports and create jobs, with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as nodal agency. It began with 25 focus sectors and has since been carried forward through Production Linked Incentive schemes, the PM Gati Shakti master plan and the National Logistics Policy. The anniversary lands alongside fresh manufacturing wins such as India's first indigenous micro-GPU at IIT Delhi and Odisha's Rs 3,406 crore silicon-carbide semiconductor facility.

GK ByteDPIIT functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry | The Make in India logo is a striding lion made of cogs | The National Logistics Policy was launched in September 2022

📅 25 Sept 2026NationalRead complete →

Active FCRA-Registered NGOs Halve to 14,466 Even as Foreign Contributions Rise

Data released on 18 September 2026 showed that the number of active NGOs registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 fell from 29,022 in 2015 to 14,466, even as annual foreign contributions rose from Rs 17,832 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 22,974 crore in 2024-25. The Ministry of Home Affairs has cancelled the registration of 21,983 NGOs, with 91.3% of cancellations for failure to file annual returns. The United States was the largest source at Rs 12,113 crore, Delhi received the most at Rs 5,834 crore and Tamil Nadu had the most active associations at 2,102. Fresh FCRA Amendment Rules took effect on 22 June 2026.

GK ByteFCRA is administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs | The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 replaced the FCRA of 1976 | FCRA registration is valid for five years and all foreign contributions must be received in a designated FCRA account at the State Bank of India's New Delhi Main Branch

📅 19 Sept 2026NationalRead complete →

See all National →All Current Affairs