LEGAL NEWS

Supreme Court Directs FSSAI on Front-of-Package Labelling – 2026

• The Supreme Court of India directed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to submit a scientifically justified and clearly defined timeline for the second phase of Front-of-Package Labelling (FoPL).

• The case concerns warning labels for packaged foods containing high levels of fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), with the next hearing scheduled for 28 September 2026.

• FoPL is a nutrition-labelling system that displays key health-related information on the front of packaged food products, helping consumers identify products high in nutrients of concern.

• FSSAI, a statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, regulates food safety standards and packaged-food labelling in India.

• FSSAI’s proposed two-phase FoPL framework provides for Phase I covering products high in at least two specified nutrients and highly sweetened beverages, while Phase II would extend warnings to products high in even one nutrient of concern.

• The Bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran questioned the limited scope of Phase I and asked why FoPL implementation had remained pending despite about a decade of deliberations.

• The Court rejected the packaged-food industry’s plea for per-serving measurements and sought clarification on the mandatory nature, size, dimensions and prominence of proposed red hexagonal warning labels.

• FSSAI was given 10 days from the 10 September 2026 order to file an affidavit detailing the rollout timeline, label design and implementation status of Phase II.

Drugs Rules, 1945: Proposed CCTV Requirement – September 2026

• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a draft Gazette notification on 8 September 2026 proposing amendments to the Drugs Rules, 1945, particularly Rule 65.

• The draft proposes mandatory CCTV surveillance at medical premises supplying prescription medicines, with wholesale dealers excluded from this requirement.

• Under the proposal, CCTV recordings would have to be preserved for at least three months, and the requirement would broadly cover any drug supplied on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP).

• Rule 65 of the Drugs Rules, 1945 deals with conditions attached to licences and requirements relating to premises for the retail and wholesale sale of drugs.

• Schedule H contains prescription medicines that may be sold only on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner, while Schedule H1 contains specified medicines subject to stricter sale and record-keeping requirements.

• Schedule X covers certain narcotic and psychotropic substances and is subject to particularly stringent requirements relating to sale, storage and record maintenance.

• The CCTV proposal was considered by the Drugs Consultative Committee and subsequently recommended by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board. The Ministry has invited objections and suggestions from stakeholders and the public before finalising the amendment.

• Separately, in July 2026, the Government amended the Drugs Rules to require a prescription for medicinal products containing more than 12% v/v ethyl alcohol when supplied in quantities exceeding 30 mL; such products were brought under Schedule H1.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India–China Boundary Talks – September 2026

• PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks on 12 September 2026 on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, discussing the India–China boundary question.

• The boundary is discussed in three sectors: Western – Ladakh; Middle – Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand; Eastern – Arunachal Pradesh.

• The Special Representatives mechanism for the boundary issue was established in 2003.

• On 25 August 2026, Ajit Doval and Wang Yi held the 25th round of SR talks, resulting in an Eight Points of Outcomes and Consensus on boundary delimitation and management.

• New measures include two military hotlines and two additional commander-level meeting points.

• In October 2024, India and China agreed on patrolling arrangements in Depsang and Demchok, with subsequent disengagement.

• The LAC is the de facto boundary between India and China but is not a formally demarcated international border.

India–Russia Economic Partnership and Trade Target – 2026

• India and Russia have set a bilateral trade target of US$100 billion by 2030, compared with current trade of around US$60 billion.

• The two countries are pursuing a new Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and have set a bilateral investment target of US$50 billion by 2030.

• Ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, India and Russia discussed expanded industrial cooperation covering railways, steel, civil nuclear energy, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing.

• The cooperation agenda also includes pharmaceuticals, information technology, artificial intelligence, services, engineering and auto components, with India seeking greater exports to Russia.

• INNOPROM India 2026, held in New Delhi around 10–11 September 2026, brought together India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov.

• Defence cooperation includes S-400 deliveries, BrahMos upgrades and discussions on joint production of Su-57 fighter aircraft; the S-400 is a Russian long-range surface-to-air missile system.

• Energy cooperation covers oil and gas supplies, fertiliser procurement and a possible second site for Russian-built nuclear power plants in India.

• India is seeking higher exports of pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering goods and food products to Russia; achieving the US$100-billion target would require an additional US$40 billion in bilateral trade.

SPORTS

Women’s Asia Cup 2026 – India Champions

• India won the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 for the 8th time, defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs on 13 September 2026 in Dubai.

• India scored 183/5, while Sri Lanka were bowled out for 111 in 19.4 overs.

• Shafali Verma (68) and Smriti Mandhana (59) added 129 runs, the highest opening partnership in Women’s Asia Cup history.

• Shafali Verma scored her fifty in 24 balls, the fastest fifty in Women’s Asia Cup history, and was named Player of the Match.

• N. Shree Charani took 4 wickets, while Deepti Sharma took 3 wickets for India.

• India’s 8 titles are the most in Women’s Asia Cup history.

STATE NEWS

Colonel Manpreet Singh – Civic Honour, 2026

• Punjab named a 200-foot-wide road and a park in New Chandigarh after Shaheed Colonel Manpreet Singh on 13 September 2026.

• The road, earlier known as HR-2 Road, runs from Mundhopur/Mullanpur Chowk to the T-point; the park is in Sector 5-A, New Chandigarh.

• Colonel Manpreet Singh joined the Indian Army in 2005 and served as Commanding Officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles in Anantnag.

• He was martyred on 13 September 2023 during an anti-terror operation.

• He was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra on 15 August 2024, India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award, after the Ashoka Chakra.

• The Punjab Government provides ₹1 crore financial assistance to families of Armed Forces, paramilitary, police personnel and Agniveers who attain martyrdom.