UPSC Current Affairs Today (15–16 September 2026): UPI MDR Fee, Kishau Dam Pact, PMLA Adjudicating Authority & More

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Table of Contents

1. UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR): 0.4% Fee on Payments Above ₹2,000
2. ED Flags IBC Frauds & Disproportionate Haircuts as Thrust Areas
3. Delhi HC: Centre Questioned on Same-Sex Partner Medical Consent Plea
4. India Exports Hilsa to Bangladesh — Most Fish Sourced from Gujarat
5. Kishau Dam Pact Signed: 10th Inter-State Water Dispute Resolved
6. Supreme Court: Can PMLA Authority Confirm Attachment Without a Judicial Member?
7. CEA Nageswaran: "Private Sector Must Invest, Hire and Pay Fairly"
8. Why India's Stance on WTO Plurilateral Deals May Be Shifting
9. Sugar Rush, Chip Price Surge: RBI Rate Hike Looms as Price Pressures Spread
10. Saudi Arabia–Houthi Conflict: Yemen War Intensifies
11. Why Rising US Government Bond Yields Worry the World
12. Kishau Dam: The Long Delay and the Stakes for Six States
13. US Orbital Weapons: The Limits of Global Pacts Governing Space Militarisation

1. UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR): 0.4% Fee on Payments Above ₹2,000

What Happened

Ending nearly six years of a fully free UPI ecosystem for merchants, the Finance Ministry and NPCI announced a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4% on Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above ₹2,000, effective 15 October 2026.

Key Details

• No charge on P2P (person-to-person) transfers — these remain free irrespective of value, with no monthly quotas or volume caps.
• MDR applies only when a customer pays a merchant more than ₹2,000 via UPI; the fee is borne by the merchant, not passed on to the customer.
• Cap: MDR is capped at ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above (so a ₹1,00,000 transaction pays ₹300, not ₹400).
• Concessional flat fee of ₹5 per transaction (above ₹2,000) for thin-margin/essential sectors: railways, telecom, insurance, fuel, and agricultural inputs.
• Government utility bill payments (electricity, water, piped gas) and education fees above ₹2,000 also get the flat, low-cost treatment.
• Mutual funds, securities, stockbroking and dealer payments attract a lower MDR of 0.02%, capped at ₹300, to encourage retail participation in formal financial markets.
• Around 95%+ of P2M UPI transactions are ₹2,000 or below and remain completely free; official estimates suggest only about 4% of merchant transactions will actually attract the new MDR.
• MDR was first removed entirely in January 2020; this marks its reintroduction after 4–6 years.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper III, Economy)

• Tests the balance between digital payment ecosystem sustainability (banks/fintechs need revenue to invest in infrastructure, fraud prevention, cybersecurity) versus financial inclusion and affordability for small merchants.
• Relevant to discussions on Merchant Discount Rate, NPCI's role, Digital Payments Index, and the RBI's Payment Vision Document.

Prelims Fact Box

• UPI is operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• UPI was launched in 2016.
• MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) = the fee a merchant pays to their bank/payment aggregator for processing a digital payment.

2. ED Flags IBC Frauds & Disproportionate Haircuts as Thrust Areas

What Happened

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has directed its zonal offices to launch a fresh drive against fraud under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, specifically targeting collusive resolution plans involving disproportionately large "haircuts" that allow defaulting promoters to indirectly re-acquire their own assets cheaply.

Key Details

• ED Director Rahul Navin directed special directors (at a high-level Bengaluru meeting) to initiate money-laundering investigations against key beneficiaries of resolution plans that are prima facie dubious but were cleared by the NCLT.
• This follows a broader pattern flagged by the IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India), which recently warned resolution professionals about misuse of IBC for tax avoidance and evading investigations.
• Data context: nearly half of resolved IBC cases see creditors recover less than 20% of admitted claims (i.e., haircuts over 80%); about 30% of cases saw haircuts over 90%.
• A Parliamentary panel has separately flagged "disproportionately large and unsustainable haircuts" taken by financial creditors, and the MCA is working on a code of conduct for creditors under IBC.
• The IBC (Amendment) Act, 2026 (effective 26 May 2026) mandates admission of insolvency applications within 14 days and sets timelines for NCLAT proceedings.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper III, Economy/Governance)

• Connects to NPA resolution mechanisms, banking sector reforms, CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process), and inter-agency coordination between ED, IBBI, NCLT, and banks.
• Raises questions on regulatory arbitrage and whether the IBC (a rescue/reorganisation tool) is being converted into a recovery-defeating exit route for promoters.

Prelims Fact Box

• IBC enacted: 2016.
• Regulator: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
• Adjudicating authority for corporate insolvency: National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT); appellate body: NCLAT.
• "Haircut" = the percentage loss creditors take on their admitted claim value during resolution.

3. Delhi HC: Centre Questioned on Same-Sex Partner Medical Consent Plea

What Happened

The Delhi High Court pulled up the Central Government for failing, over a year, to file its counter-affidavit in a petition seeking legal recognition of same-sex partners as medical representatives empowered to give consent during treatment or emergencies.

Key Details

• Petition filed by a woman in a same-sex relationship since 2015; the couple married in New Zealand (2023) and has lived together in Delhi since 2018.
• The plea challenges the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, which recognise only a "husband or wife, parent, or guardian" for medical consent — excluding same-sex partners.
• Notices were first issued to the Centre and the National Medical Commission (NMC) in July 2025.
• Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma orally observed: "The law recognises a live-in relationship between a man and a woman. Why will it not allow a live-in relationship between a man and a man?" — and gave the Centre one final week to respond.
• Next hearing: 17 September 2026.
• Context: this follows the Supreme Court's October 2023 verdict (Supriyo v. Union of India) refusing to legally recognise same-sex marriage, and the SC's January 2026 rejection of review petitions on that verdict.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper II, Polity/Social Justice)

• Touches upon Article 14 (equality), Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty, including autonomy in medical decisions), and the gap between de facto recognition of live-in relationships and de jure recognition for medical/legal purposes.
• Useful for essay/ethics linkage on LGBTQ+ rights, judicial versus executive responsiveness, and administrative delay in constitutional matters.

Prelims Fact Box

• Body regulating medical ethics/registration in India: National Medical Commission (NMC), which replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI) under the NMC Act, 2019.
• Landmark case decriminalising consensual homosexual acts: Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018).

4. India Exports Hilsa to Bangladesh — Most Fish Sourced from Gujarat

What Happened

In an unprecedented reversal of the traditional hilsa trade, India has exported around 500 tonnes of hilsa to Bangladesh over the past two months (with another 150–200 tonnes expected soon) — most of it sourced from Gujarat via Bharuch port, not from Bengal.

Key Details

• Historically, Bangladesh exports hilsa to India (especially ahead of Durga Puja); this year, the flow has reversed due to lower hilsa production in Bangladesh.
• Gujarat hilsa (caught in rivers/estuaries connected to the Arabian Sea, near the Tapti and Narmada) has high roe (egg) content, which has limited demand in the Indian market but is highly prized in Bangladesh, especially in Chattogram and Sylhet.
• Some consignments also routed via the Howrah wholesale fish market, West Bengal.
• Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue data shows hilsa imports from India began in July 2025.
• Last year, Bangladesh had permitted export of 1,200 tonnes of hilsa to India ahead of Durga Puja; it remains unclear if that will repeat this festive season.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper I/III, Geography & Economy)

• Illustrates climate/ecological factors (siltation, damming, pollution) affecting fish migration patterns in Bangladesh's rivers, and India–Bangladesh bilateral trade in perishables.
• Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is an anadromous fish (migrates from sea to freshwater rivers to spawn) — a useful static-GS fact.

Prelims Fact Box

• Hilsa's scientific name: Tenualosa ilisha.
• Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh.
• "Anadromous" fish = species that live in the sea but migrate to freshwater to spawn (e.g., hilsa, salmon).

5. Kishau Dam Pact Signed: 10th Inter-State Water Dispute Resolved

What Happened

Six states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Haryana — signed the Kishau Multipurpose Project Agreement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, resolving what the government calls the 10th inter-state water dispute settled since 2014.

Key Details

• The Kishau Dam will be a 232.6-metre-high concrete gravity dam on the Tons River (a tributary of the Yamuna) along the Uttarakhand–Himachal Pradesh border.
• Storage capacity: 1,562 million cubic metres (MCM); will irrigate 97,000 hectares; generate 1,476 million units of clean hydropower (422 MW installed capacity).
• Will supply 517 MCM of drinking water annually; 25% of project water is earmarked to help rejuvenate the Yamuna — Delhi is expected to be the single biggest beneficiary.
• Total cost: ~₹15,000 crore; the Centre will bear ~90% of the financial burden, states the remaining 10%, per the framework of the original 12 May 1994 inter-state agreement on Yamuna basin projects.
• The deadlock (over 8 years) was primarily due to disputes over Himachal Pradesh's share of power-generation costs; this was resolved by having Delhi, Rajasthan, and Haryana jointly bear ~₹2,000 crore of HP's power-component cost.
• Declared a National Project by the Government of India.
• This follows the earlier resolution of the Lakhwar and Renukaji multipurpose projects (2019), also on the Yamuna system.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper II/III, Federalism & Water Governance)

• A model case for cooperative federalism in resolving inter-state river water disputes without invoking the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 or a tribunal — via negotiated MoUs instead.
• Relevant for Yamuna Action Plan, National Water Policy, and hydropower vs. irrigation vs. ecology trade-offs in Himalayan dam projects.

Prelims Fact Box

• Tons River is the largest tributary of the Yamuna.
• Kishau Project basin states: UP, Uttarakhand, HP, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana (6 states).
• Legal framework for inter-state river disputes: Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956, and River Boards Act, 1956.

6. Supreme Court: Can PMLA Authority Confirm Attachment Without a Judicial Member?

What Happened

A 3-judge Supreme Court Bench (CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana) reserved its verdict on whether the Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 — which confirms ED's provisional property attachments — must include a judicial member, or whether a single-member, non-judicial bench can validly perform this function.

Key Details

• Central legal question revolves around Sections 5, 6, and 8 of PMLA: Section 5 empowers ED's provisional attachment; Section 6 governs the composition of the Adjudicating Authority; Section 8 empowers it to confirm or release the attachment (a decision with "civil consequences").
• Petitioners (including Karvy Realty (India) Ltd.) argue that in Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India (2022) — the landmark judgment upholding most PMLA provisions — the Court's reasoning assumed a three-member Adjudicating Authority (including a person qualified to be a district judge) as an institutional safeguard.
• Key issue raised: does the absence of a judicial member violate the separation of powers doctrine when a quasi-judicial body decides matters with civil consequences?
• The Adjudicating Authority must confirm attachment within 180 days, and courts have noted the sheer case volume raises questions on whether it can "adequately apply its mind."
• This challenges a 2024 Telangana High Court ruling that a single-member (non-judicial) bench can validly exercise these powers.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper II, Polity/Judiciary)

• Central to debates on tribunalisation of justice, quasi-judicial bodies' composition, and precedents like R.K. Jain v. Union of India (tribunal members exercising judicial functions need legal expertise).
• Directly relevant to PMLA's constitutional validity debate, ED's powers, and checks on executive overreach in money-laundering investigations.

Prelims Fact Box

• PMLA enacted: 2002; enforced by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
• Landmark case upholding PMLA's core provisions: Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India (2022).
• Appeals against Adjudicating Authority orders lie with the Appellate Tribunal (PMLA), then High Courts.

7. CEA Nageswaran: "Private Sector Must Invest, Hire and Pay Fairly"

What Happened

Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran told an ASSOCHAM gathering that India's private sector must invest, hire, and compensate fairly, and also invest in R&D, since "the next 20 years is going to be very different from the last 80 years post World War II."

Key Details

• Nageswaran stressed that policy alone cannot drive the economy — private capital expenditure, job creation, and equitable wage growth must complement government reforms.
• His remarks come amid renewed geopolitical uncertainty — crude oil prices pushing past $107–108/barrel and hardening global bond yields.
• This continues a recurring theme in his public remarks (including in Economic Survey commentary) about the disparity between corporate profit growth and employee compensation growth in India — citing the historical example of Henry Ford raising minimum wages to sustain consumer demand for his own products.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper III, Economy)

• Connects to debates on jobless growth, India's investment-to-GDP ratio, private capex cycle, and the role of wage-led growth versus profit-led growth models.
• Useful for Essay paper themes on inclusive growth and corporate social responsibility in a developing economy aiming for "Viksit Bharat @2047."

Prelims Fact Box

• The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) heads the Economic Division, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and is the principal author of the Economic Survey.
• Current CEA (as of Sept 2026): V. Anantha Nageswaran.

8. Why India's Stance on WTO Plurilateral Deals May Be Shifting

What Happened

India has traditionally opposed plurilateral agreements at the WTO (deals negotiated among a subset of members rather than through full multilateral consensus), arguing they undermine the WTO's core consensus-based decision-making principle. However, analysts note India's position is showing signs of nuanced recalibration.

Key Details

• India (with South Africa) has been a leading opponent of the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) Agreement — backed by 125+/130 WTO members (many aligned with China's Belt and Road Initiative) — arguing investment is outside the WTO's core trade mandate.
• India also contested the legal basis for interim arrangements on the e-commerce moratorium/Agreement on Electronic Commerce, under which ~66 members (accounting for ~70% of global trade) support a customs-duty moratorium on electronic transmissions.
• At the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, India stood largely isolated in blocking incorporation of the IFD Agreement into the Marrakesh Agreement framework.
• Emerging view: India recognises that global trade rules are increasingly being shaped outside the WTO — via regional trade agreements (RTAs), bilateral deals, and "coalitions of the willing" — especially in digital trade, data governance, and supply-chain rule-making. This is pushing India to consider selective, issue-based engagement rather than blanket opposition.
• The lapse of the TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints moratorium (pushed for by the US) is another flashpoint, seen as a threat to developing countries' use of TRIPS flexibilities (e.g., generic medicines).

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper II/III, International Relations & Economy)

• Key for understanding multilateralism vs. plurilateralism debates, WTO reform, Doha Round deadlock, and India's evolving trade diplomacy balancing strategic autonomy with the risk of isolation.
• Connects to Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) for developing countries and Non-Violation Complaints under TRIPS.

Prelims Fact Box

• WTO headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; established 1 January 1995 (successor to GATT).
• WTO decision-making principle: Consensus (one country, one vote in theory; consensus in practice).
• MC14 (14th Ministerial Conference) was hosted in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

9. Sugar Rush, Chip Price Surge: RBI Rate Hike Looms as Price Pressures Spread

What Happened

Two unrelated but simultaneous price shocks — a ~30% monthly spike in sugar prices and a global "chipflation" cycle in memory chips (DRAM/NAND) — are reviving concerns about inflation persistence, a risk the RBI has repeatedly flagged.

Key Details — Sugar

• Sugar prices rose from ₹48.73/kg (24 July) to ₹63.05/kg (24 Aug) — nearly 30% in a month — due to excess rainfall, waterlogging, and crop disease affecting sugarcane, plus festive demand and speculative stocking.
• RBI officials (Michael Debabrata Patra and co-authors) noted "persistence in food inflation has increased due to repeated climatic shocks of rising intensity," warning these shocks can spill over into non-food/core inflation.

Key Details — Chips

• Global memory chip ("chipflation") crisis: DRAM contract prices rose 90–95% and NAND ~55–60% in recent quarters, driven by AI data-centre demand for HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) crowding out conventional chip supply.
• Analysts (Gartner, IDC, TrendForce) project PC prices up ~17% and smartphone prices up ~13% in 2026 due to this shortage; global PC and smartphone shipments are expected to decline as a result.
• This directly raises imported inflation risk for India (a major electronics importer) and adds to the RBI's monetary policy dilemma.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper III, Economy)

• Tests understanding of supply-side/cost-push inflation versus demand-pull inflation, the RBI's flexible inflation targeting (FIT) framework (4% ± 2% band), and how imported/global commodity shocks transmit to domestic prices.
• Relevant for Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decisions and repo rate trajectory discussions.

Prelims Fact Box

• RBI's inflation target under FIT: 4% CPI inflation, with a tolerance band of +/- 2% (i.e., 2–6%).
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has 6 members, decisions by majority vote, RBI Governor holds the casting vote in a tie.
• HBM = High Bandwidth Memory, critical for AI/GPU workloads — a key term in current tech-economy current affairs.

10. Saudi Arabia–Houthi Conflict: Yemen War Intensifies

What Happened

The long-simmering Yemen civil war has sharply escalated in September 2026: Houthi rebels (Iran-backed) launched a ground offensive along the Red Sea coast and fired missiles/drones at Saudi oil facilities and cities, while Saudi-backed government forces and the Saudi-led coalition retaliated with airstrikes.

Key Details

• Houthi attacks reportedly wounded 70+ people and ignited fires at oil facilities in Saudi Arabia's southern provinces (including near the Jizan refinery, capacity 400,000 barrels/day).
• Houthis seized strategic ground near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a critical chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden — vital for global oil and container shipping.
• This follows the collapse of the 2022 UN-brokered truce, and comes amid the broader 2026 Iran war context, in which Houthis (aligned with Iran) had earlier resumed missile strikes on Israel (March 2026).
• Analysts warn of a repeat of the 2015–2022 Saudi-led coalition intervention in Yemen, with Pakistan's recent defence pact with Saudi Arabia raising the possibility of wider regional involvement.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper II, International Relations)

• Directly impacts global oil prices and shipping/maritime security (Red Sea trade routes), of major concern to India's energy security and trade via the Suez Canal corridor.
• Useful for understanding proxy conflicts, Iran–Saudi regional rivalry, and India's balancing diplomacy in the Gulf.

Prelims Fact Box

• Bab-el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea.
• Houthis (Ansar Allah) are a Zaidi Shia armed movement controlling much of northern Yemen since 2014.
• Yemen's official government is backed by a Saudi-led coalition; Houthis are backed by Iran.

11. Why Rising US Government Bond Yields Worry the World

What Happened

A sharp, sustained rise in long-term US Treasury yields — the 30-year yield hit ~5.34% (August 2026), its highest since 2007 — has triggered global market anxiety over US fiscal sustainability, borrowing costs, and knock-on effects for economies worldwide, including India.

Key Details

• Drivers: persistent US inflation, ballooning federal debt (crossed $40 trillion), and heavy corporate bond issuance (~$1.7 trillion in 2026, +27% YoY) — much of it tied to AI infrastructure buildouts — competing with Treasuries for investor capital.
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the Treasury would increase buybacks of longer-dated bonds to ease upward pressure on yields — a rare intervention.
• Because US Treasury yields act as the global "risk-free" benchmark, rising yields push up mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs, and capital costs globally, and can trigger capital outflows from emerging markets (including India) as investors chase higher US returns.
• All three major rating agencies have now effectively downgraded US debt from the top AAA/Aaa tier — unprecedented in over a century for the world's benchmark debt market.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper III, Economy/International Relations)

• Key for understanding global monetary policy transmission, capital flow volatility, currency depreciation risk for India (Rupee), and the "bond vigilante" phenomenon (investors disciplining fiscally profligate governments via yield demands).
• Connects to India's own fiscal deficit management, FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investor) flows, and RBI's forex reserve management.

Prelims Fact Box

• The 10-year and 30-year US Treasury yields are global benchmarks for "risk-free" long-term interest rates.
• "Bond vigilantes" = investors who sell government bonds to protest/punish perceived fiscal irresponsibility, pushing yields up.
• US sovereign credit ratings are assessed by Moody's, S&P, and Fitch.

12. Kishau Dam: The Long Delay and the Stakes for Six States

(See also Topic #5 above for full pact details — this section focuses on the historical delay and state-wise stakes.)

Why the Delay?

• The project was first conceived decades ago but remained stalled for over 8 years primarily due to disagreements over cost-sharing for power generation, particularly Himachal Pradesh's reluctance (under its current government) to bear ~₹800 crore as its share, a commitment made by the earlier BJP government in HP.
• Downstream states (Delhi, UP, Haryana, Rajasthan) stood to gain irrigation and drinking water benefits without bearing power-generation costs, creating friction.

Stakes for Each State

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper II, Federalism)

• A case study in resolving inter-state disputes through negotiated financial re-engineering rather than adjudication — useful for answers on Article 262 and alternatives to tribunal-based dispute resolution.

Prelims Fact Box

• Article of the Constitution dealing with inter-state river water disputes: Article 262.
• The Kishau Project is part of the broader Upper Yamuna River Basin management framework, alongside the Lakhwar and Renukaji projects.

13. US Orbital Weapons: The Limits of Global Pacts Governing Space Militarisation

What Happened

A senior US defence official's confirmation that the US has deployed armed/weaponised satellites into orbit has reignited debate on the adequacy of existing international space law — chiefly the 1967 Outer Space Treaty — to prevent an arms race in space.

Key Details

• The Outer Space Treaty (1967) bans only nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in orbit or on celestial bodies — it does not prohibit conventional weapons in Earth orbit.
• This leaves a significant legal gap: anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, electronic-warfare/counterspace systems, and "dual-use" missile-defence-linked technologies are not automatically banned.
• The distinction between militarisation of space (using satellites for communication, navigation, reconnaissance — already widespread and long-accepted) and weaponisation of space (placing offensive weapons in orbit) is central to the debate.
• A long-proposed treaty — PAROS (Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space), discussed at the UN Conference on Disarmament, and backed by Russia/China — seeks to close this gap, but the US has historically opposed it, arguing that "space weapon" cannot be meaningfully defined or verified.
• This development is seen as a watershed departure from the long-standing (informal) global reluctance to station dedicated offensive weapons in orbit.

Why It Matters (Mains Angle — GS Paper III, Science & Tech / International Relations)

• Central to discussions on space law, arms control regimes, and the militarisation vs. weaponisation distinction — a favourite UPSC Mains distinction.
• Connects to India's own space security posture (Mission Shakti ASAT test, 2019) and India's stated commitment to the peaceful use of outer space.

Prelims Fact Box

• Outer Space Treaty: adopted 1967; entered into force 10 October 1967; administered under the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).
• India conducted its anti-satellite (ASAT) missile test, "Mission Shakti," in March 2019.
• Key related treaties: Rescue Agreement (1968), Liability Convention (1972), Registration Convention (1976), Moon Agreement (1979).