🇮🇳 National News
Lokpal Foundation Day was observed in January 2026.
Key highlights:
- The institution was established in 2014 under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013
- The anti-corruption mandate was reaffirmed during the event
- Complaints to the Lokpal have been rising steadily
- An IT Data Centre was inaugurated to strengthen operations
Transparency, accountability, and citizen participation were highlighted as key priorities.
The Government has blocked 242 illegal betting and gambling website links.
Key details:
- This is part of a wider crackdown that has taken down over 7,800 platforms
- Enforcement intensified after the Online Gaming Act provided a clearer legal framework
- The move aims to protect youth from financial losses and addiction
- Authorities are using technology-driven monitoring and coordinated digital enforcement
NAMO Book Fest was launched as the first edition of this literary event.
- Dr Jitendra Singh released books including ‘Gen V Bano’ and ‘Mahatma’
- It was a two-day event featuring books on PM Narendra Modi
- The fest encouraged youth engagement and ideas exchange
- Authors and thinkers participated in the event
The Supreme Court of India ruled that unreserved (general) category seats are open to all candidates on merit.
Key aspects:
- This includes candidates from reserved categories who qualify without concessions
- The judgment is based on Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution
- It applies the principle of merit-induced shift
- The case arose from a dispute over AAI recruitment (2013)
It overturns a Kerala High Court ruling and brings clarity to recruitment processes nationwide.
GAIL completed the 694-km Mumbai-Nagpur Natural Gas Pipeline.
Key features:
- About 96% of the pipeline runs within a narrow 3-metre utility corridor along the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway
- The project demonstrates the PM GatiShakti model of integrated transport and utility planning
- Engineers overcame severe challenges in the Western Ghats using advanced drilling techniques
This marks a major infrastructure milestone for India.
CSIR Integrated Skill Initiative has trained more than 1.90 lakh individuals.
Key achievements:
- Over 5,200+ skill-based training programmes have been conducted
- Implemented by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- Bridges the gap between scientific research and industry requirements
- Covers 18 out of 36 key sectoral skills identified by the National Skill Development Mission
Beneficiaries include students, researchers, farmers, and rural communities.
Karnataka amended its land revenue law to reform Jamma Bane land records in Kodagu district.
Key details:
- The Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Act, 2025 received the Governor’s assent on 7 January 2026
- The amendment aligns Kodagu’s unique land system with the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964
- It strengthens digitisation under the Bhoomi Project
Jamma Bane lands are hereditary grants from the Coorg and British periods.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to flag off a 34.5-kilometre elevated corridor in Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
About Kaziranga:
- Situated between the Brahmaputra River and Karbi Hills
- Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985
- Home to the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses
Other fauna include Tiger, Eastern swamp deer, Elephant, and Gangetic River dolphin.
Telangana is preparing for the biennial Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara beginning 28 January 2026.
Key facts:
- Recognised as Asia’s largest tribal festival
- Honours Sammakka and Saralamma, ancestral goddesses of the Koya Adivasi community
- Held at Medaram village in Mulugu district
- Devotees offer ‘Bangaram’ (jaggery) instead of gold or money
The festival attracts over one crore devotees, second only to Kumbh Mela.
💼 Business & Economy
RBI announced the Central Complaints Processing Centre (CRPC).
Key changes:
- The Integrated Ombudsman Scheme has been revised
- Complaints will be centralised; online cases go to CMS, email and post handled by CRPC
- The scheme starts from 1 July 2026
- No dispute amount limit; compensation up to ₹30 lakh allowed
The move strengthens consumer protection in the banking sector.
SEBI notified new mutual fund rules applicable from 1 April 2026.
Key reforms:
- Funds can now charge performance-linked expenses
- A Base Expense Ratio has been introduced
- Other costs must be disclosed separately
- Brokerage caps have been reduced and governance norms are tighter
The reforms aim to improve transparency and align investor costs with fund performance.
India’s forex reserves rose by $392 million in mid-January 2026.
Key details:
- Total reserves reached $687.19 billion
- Foreign currency assets declined while gold reserves increased sharply
- SDRs and IMF position fell marginally
The position supports external stability and enhances investor confidence.
🌐 International News
India and Germany signed a Joint Declaration on telecom cooperation in January 2026.
Key aspects:
- The pact focuses on telecommunications and ICTs
- Cooperation will cover policy, regulation, manufacturing, and innovation
- Regular consultations and working groups are planned
- The agreement supports inclusive digital transformation
The Finke River (also called Larapinta) is believed to be the world’s oldest surviving river system.
Key facts:
- It dates back 300-400 million years
- It flows through central Australia and cuts directly through the MacDonnell Ranges
- This proves it is an antecedent river that predates the mountains
It remains a rare geological survivor offering insights into Earth’s ancient landscapes.
Maria Corina Machado handed her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump in January 2026.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute clarified:
- Nobel Prizes cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked
- This is under the Nobel Foundation statutes
- Machado remains the only official Nobel laureate
The act was politically symbolic but legally invalid.
Southbound ship traffic resumed in Turkey’s Dardanelles Strait after a tanker experienced engine failure.
About the Dardanelles:
- A narrow waterway in northwestern Turkey
- Connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara
- In ancient times, it was called Hellespont
- About 61 km long and 1.2 to 6 km wide
The Dardanelles and Bosphorus together provide the only sea route between Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea.
A controlled avalanche was carried out on Mount Elbrus in Russia after heavy snowfall.
About Mount Elbrus:
- The highest mountain in Europe and an ancient, extinct volcano
- Part of the Caucasus mountain system
- Located in southwestern Russia, near the Georgia border
- The highest peak reaches 5,642 metres
- It is one of the Seven Summits for climbers
A bloom of phytoplankton encircled the Chatham Islands in austral summer.
About Chatham Islands:
- An island group in the South Pacific, 800 km east of New Zealand
- New Zealand’s most easterly territory
- Composed of 10 islands; only Chatham Island and Pitt Island are inhabited
- The first inhabited place to see the rising sun each day
The main settlement is Waitangi; population estimated at 720 in 2024.
👔 Appointments
Shri Praveen Vashista was appointed Vigilance Commissioner in January 2026.
- He is a 1991-batch IPS officer
- The appointment was made under the CVC Act, 2003
- He took oath on 16 January 2026
- He has served in Bihar Police, CBI, and MHA
🔬 Science & Technology
Marine scientists discovered a giant black coral aged 300-400 years in Fiordland, New Zealand.
Key findings:
- Measuring over 13 feet in height, it is the largest black coral recorded in New Zealand
- Such corals grow very slowly and indicate long-term ocean stability
- It is protected under New Zealand’s Wildlife Act
The find highlights the ecological importance of deep-sea ecosystems.
TranslateGemma is a new suite of open translation AI models launched by Google on 15 January 2026.
Key features:
- Built on Gemma 3, it supports 55 languages
- Available in 4B, 12B, and 27B parameter sizes
- The models deliver high-quality translation with greater efficiency
- Designed for use across mobile, local, and cloud environments
Researchers developed Disobind, a deep-learning tool to predict intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) interactions.
Key details:
- Developed by National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru
- IDPs lack a fixed three-dimensional structure and are vital for cellular signaling
- Disobind is open-source and freely available
- It outperformed AlphaFold-multimer and AlphaFold3 in tests
Applications span disease biology to drug design.
A new caecilian species Gegeneophis valmiki was discovered in the northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra.
Key facts:
- It is a rare, subterranean amphibian species
- Members of the genus Gegeneophis are called blind caecilians
- Caecilians are limbless, worm-like amphibians living mostly underground
- This is the first addition to its genus in more than a decade
🌿 Environment
The Expert Appraisal Committee (MoEFCC) asked Tamil Nadu to revise the design of the proposed International Dugong Conservation Centre at Manora (Thanjavur).
About Dugong:
- A large, slow-moving marine mammal called ‘sea cow’
- Feeds exclusively on seagrass and is a keystone species
- IUCN Status: Vulnerable
- Dugongs grow up to 3 metres and can weigh 400 kg or more
🏆 Awards & Honours
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has called for nominations for the Sukhatme National Award in Statistics 2026.
Key details:
- Honours outstanding lifetime contributions by Indian statisticians aged 45+ years
- Given in alternate years since 2000
- The award will be presented on Statistics Day, 29 June 2026
- It includes a citation, shawl, and memento
Aaryan Varshney achieved the GM (Grandmaster) title.
- India now has 92 Chess Grandmasters
- The tournament was held in Armenia
- He secured the final norm early in the tournament
- Varshney is from Delhi
This continues India’s rising dominance in international chess.
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