Why in News

• Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 5.5% in September 2026, the highest since October 2024.
• The rise was driven by higher food and fuel prices, and it came days after the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised interest rates.

More on the News

• Inflation was 4.8% in August, so the rise in a single month was sharp.
• Food and beverages inflation rose to 7.4% from 5.7% in August. It is the highest in the new CPI series, which has category data only from January 2026.
• Transport inflation was 5% and has risen for five months in a row. Restaurant and accommodation inflation was 9.4%, after seven months of continuous rise.
• ICRA expects inflation to cross 6% in October and sees another rate hike in December as certain.

About Retail Inflation

• CPI inflation measures the change in the prices of goods and services that households buy. It is the main inflation measure used by the RBI for its policy decisions.
• The RBI works with an upper comfort limit of 6%. The latest figure of 5.5% is within it, but close.
• Food inflation matters a lot in India, because food has a large share in household spending.

Reasons for the Rise

• Food prices: A weak monsoon and low reservoir levels have raised food prices and cloud the outlook for rabi sowing.
• Fuel and transport: Crude oil prices remain high, which raises transport and other costs.
• Spread of costs: Higher food and transport prices have pushed up the prices of restaurants and accommodation.
• Gold and silver: Inflation in personal care and miscellaneous items was 13.75%. Bank of Baroda says this is mainly due to gold and silver, whose prices are set globally.
• Business costs: Durables, FMCG and automobile companies have announced price increases, which should show up in the CPI in the coming months.

Significance

• It tests the RBI’s recent rate hike, as the rise in inflation suggests that the hike was well timed.
• High food inflation hurts the poor and middle class most, since they spend more of their income on food.
• Rising prices can slow demand and growth, and they make borrowing costlier through higher interest rates.
• The outlook for rabi sowing and for crude oil will decide how long inflation stays high.

Challenges

• Much of the rise comes from supply-side factors, such as the weak monsoon and global gold prices, which interest rate changes cannot fix quickly.
• Higher interest rates can slow down investment and growth.
• Costs passed on by businesses can make inflation spread across sectors and last longer.
• Dependence on imported crude oil leaves India exposed to global price shocks.

Way Forward

• The RBI should keep inflation expectations in check through clear communication and timely rate action.
• The government should use supply-side steps, such as better stock management, imports and release of buffer stocks, to cool food prices.
• Water management and support for rabi sowing should be prioritised to protect output after the weak monsoon.
• Coordination between fiscal and monetary policy should be improved, for example through fuel tax adjustments when needed.

Why in News

• The Survey of India standardized the names of 28 features in Ladakh. China’s Foreign Ministry called this “illegal and void” and said it has “never recognised” the Union Territory of Ladakh.
• India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the objection and said Ladakh is an “integral and inalienable part of India”.

Where is the India–China border disputed?

• The names in this news come from a boundary that has never been settled.
• Length: The boundary is about 3,488 km long and runs in three sectors. India and China do not agree on its alignment in any of them.
• Western sector (Ladakh): India claims Aksai Chin, which China controls. China, in turn, says this sector belongs to it.
• Middle sector (Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand): This is the least disputed sector, with only small differences.
• Eastern sector (Arunachal Pradesh): China claims Arunachal Pradesh and calls it “South Tibet”. It does not accept the McMahon Line drawn in 1914. India treats the line as the boundary.
• The LAC: The Line of Actual Control is not an agreed boundary line. The two sides see it differently, which causes face-offs.
• Past flashpoints: The 1962 war, Doklam in 2017 and Galwan in 2020.

Why in News

• India hosted the first-ever meeting of BIMSTEC Home Ministers, where members adopted the Delhi Declaration to counter terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism.
• It aims to counter radicalisation, terrorist recruitment and the misuse of new technologies for terrorism, and to curb terror financing through international counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering standards.

About the Delhi Declaration

• Members “strongly condemn” terrorism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism, and promise to prevent and combat it in line with the UN Charter and international law.
• They call for effective implementation of UN Security Council sanctions, including those of the 1267 Sanctions Committee.
• They also express solidarity with the victims of terrorist attacks and call for those responsible to be brought to justice.

About India’s Five Areas of Cooperation

• India proposed cooperation in five areas:
• Drug control.
• Counter-terrorism and legal cooperation.
• Repatriation of fugitive criminals, including through extradition.
• Cybersecurity and cybercrime investigations.
• Institutional cooperation and capacity building.

• India also stressed real-time intelligence sharing and flagged human trafficking and cyber slavery as grave concerns. It noted that criminal networks now use encrypted communication, social media, drones, cryptocurrency and the dark web.

About BIMSTEC

• BIMSTEC stands for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
• It has seven members: five from South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka) and two from Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand).
• It was set up in 1997, and its secretariat is in Dhaka.
• Bangladesh is the current chair.

Mains Angle

• Terror, drugs and cybercrime cross borders, so India’s security needs regional cooperation and shared intelligence.
• BIMSTEC links South and Southeast Asia and supports India’s Neighbourhood First and Act East policies.
• The declaration is not legally binding, so results depend on follow-up such as extradition and intelligence-sharing.

Why in News

• The 2026 Living Planet Index (LPI) report by WWF shows an average 73% decline in monitored wildlife populations from 1970 to 2022.

More on the News

• The 73% figure is an average change in the size of populations. It does not mean that 73% of species or populations have been lost.
• Around half of the studied populations have declined, while the rest are increasing or stable.
• The figure was 69% in 2022 and 73% in 2024. The change comes from wider data coverage, not a new fall.

About the Living Planet Index

• It tracks the change in the size of wildlife populations over time, using data on 35,803 populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.
• It does not yet cover invertebrates or plants.
• For each population, the rate of change is calculated. The final index is the geometric mean of these rates, with weights given to different populations.
• It does not tell us the number of species lost, the number of populations lost, or the number of extinctions.

About the 2026 Findings

• 50% of populations were declining, 43% were increasing and 7% were stable.
• The dataset has about 1,000 more populations (3% more) and about 300 more species (5% more) than the last report.
• Data from Africa increased sharply: populations by 14% and species by 38%. Earlier reports under-represented the region.
• Since the 2024 report, only native species are included.

About Regional Trends

• Latin America and the Caribbean: The steepest fall, an average 95%, due to intense deforestation and expansion of farmland, which are the main drivers of habitat loss. The region is also a biodiversity hotspot with many endemic species.
• Africa: An average 80% fall since 1970. It is the only continent with a significant number of large mammals left.
• Asia: A 49% fall.
• Europe: The smallest fall, about 23%.