📊 Index & Rankings
India has been placed 6th among 11 Asian countries in the Asia Manufacturing Index 2026, released by Dezan Shira & Associates (Hong Kong-based pan-Asian advisory firm).
The index evaluates manufacturing competitiveness using eight key pillars: economy, political risk, business environment, international trade, tax policy, infrastructure, workforce, and innovation, with 43 sub-parameters.
| Rank | Country | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | Retained top position (scale, infrastructure, supply chains) |
| 2 | Malaysia | First time overtaking Vietnam |
| 3 | Vietnam | Dropped from 2nd |
| 4 | Singapore | Climbed, surpassing South Korea |
| 5 | South Korea | Dropped from 4th |
| 6 | India | Large market, improving infrastructure |
India’s strengths: Large domestic market, improving infrastructure, and growing workforce. Areas to improve: Execution speed, policy stability, and innovation depth.
🇮🇳 National News
On the second day of the India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi, launched ECINET, a unified digital platform of the Election Commission of India.
ECINET integrates more than 40 applications and web services into a single platform, facilitating citizen engagement and participation in the electoral process. It connects citizens, candidates, political parties, and election officials.
ECINET has been developed in all 22 Indian languages along with English, ensuring wider accessibility.
UK’s Election Commissioner Carole Mills stated that discussions focused on India’s election arrangements and the ECINET application, exploring possibilities for closer cooperation in electoral management.
Governor Anandiben Patel inaugurated the 86th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference (AIPOC 2026) at the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha in Lucknow from 19-21 January 2026.
The theme was ‘Strong Legislature-Prosperous Nation’. This was the fourth time UP hosted AIPOC (earlier: 1961, 1985, 2015).
Key dignitaries included Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Harivansh Narayan Singh (Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha), and CM Yogi Adityanath. 36 Presiding Officers from 24 States and UTs participated, making it the largest AIPOC so far.
1. Viksit Bharat 2047 alignment | 2. Minimum 30 legislative sittings per year | 3. Technology utilisation for transparency | 4. Commitment to democratic traditions | 5. Capacity building for MPs/MLAs | 6. Creation of a National Legislative Index
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost outreach and strengthen MSME participation in public procurement.
The partnership aims to promote inclusive access for MSMEs, startups, women entrepreneurs, and small enterprises on the GeM platform, while enhancing GeM’s global presence.
Key focus areas: Capacity building, supplier outreach, and knowledge sharing in emerging domains such as artificial intelligence, sustainability, and green procurement.
GeM recently marked seven years of its Womaniya Initiative, enabling women-led MSEs to secure over Rs 80,000 crore in public procurement orders with more than 2 lakh women enterprises registered.
Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL), a Vedanta Group company and one of the world’s largest integrated zinc producers, has awarded contracts to CIMIC Group companies Sedgman and Leighton Asia for developing India’s first zinc tailings recycling facility at Rampura Agucha Mines (RAM) in Rajasthan, HZL’s flagship mining site.
Tailings are finely ground remnants left after mineral extraction, traditionally treated as waste but containing residual valuable metals.
The facility will use advanced processing techniques to recover metals such as zinc and silver from previously processed tailings, converting legacy mining waste into valuable resources.
This initiative strengthens circular economy approach in mining and reinforces sustainable mining practices.
The Indian Navy signed a contract with M/s Suryadipta Projects Private Limited, a Thane-based MSME shipyard, for construction and delivery of three 200-tonne bottom-opening non-propelled barges.
These barges are being built indigenously under the Classification Rules of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), supporting Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
The barges will support transportation, embarkation, and disembarkation of ammunition across platforms, jetties, and anchorage points.
This follows the successful induction of LSAM 25, the 11th Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile (ACTCM) Barge, built by the same shipyard in October 2025. The initiative aligns with Maritime India Vision 2030.
President Droupadi Murmu approved gallantry and service awards for 70 Armed Forces personnel, along with 301 military decorations and 98 Mentioned-in-Despatches.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has been conferred the Ashok Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award. He became the first Indian to visit the International Space Station.
Kirti Chakras were awarded to Major Arshdeep Singh, Naib Subedar Doleshwar Subba Singh, and Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair.
| Award | Number |
|---|---|
| Shaurya Chakras | 13 (1 posthumous) |
| Param Vishisht Seva Medals | 30 |
| Uttam Yudh Seva Medals | 4 |
| Ati Vishisht Seva Medals | 56 |
| Yudh Seva Medals | 9 |
Most recognitions went to personnel for operations including Operation Rakshak, Operation Snow Leopard, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Rhino, and Operation Sindoor.
💼 Business & Economy
PhonePe has received Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approval to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO), targeting a fund-raise of Rs 12,000 crore primarily through a pure Offer for Sale (OFS) with no fresh capital infusion.
PhonePe filed its Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) on 21st January 2026. Existing investors including Walmart (9% stake sale), Tiger Global, and Microsoft are participating, with Tiger Global and Microsoft expected to fully exit their holdings.
Founded in December 2015 by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari, and Burzin Engineer. PhonePe currently holds around 45% market share in UPI network by volume, leading Google Pay (~35%). Estimated valuation: $15 billion.
UPI Statistics: UPI processes over 85% of India’s digital payment volumes, with total transaction values reaching a record Rs 27.97 trillion in December 2025.
IPO Managers: Kotak Mahindra Capital, Citi, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Axis Capital, and Goldman Sachs.
Juspay, a Bengaluru-based payments infrastructure company, has become India’s first homegrown unicorn of 2026 after raising USD 50 million in a Series D follow-on funding round led by WestBridge Capital.
The funding valued Juspay at approximately USD 1.2 billion, up from USD 900 million in its previous round.
A unicorn startup is a privately held company with valuation exceeding USD 1 billion, a term coined by Aileen Lee in 2013.
Founded in 2012 by Vimal Kumar and Sheetal Lalwani, Juspay develops payments infrastructure technology for enterprises and banks worldwide.
- Annual TPV – Crossed USD 1 trillion
- Daily transactions – Over 300 million
- Client base – 500+ enterprises and banks globally across e-commerce, travel, food delivery, insurance, and financial services
- Operations – Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Latin America, Europe, UK, and North America
Avendus Capital acted as financial advisor.
Tata Power has secured World Bank Group financing of USD 815 million for the 1,125 MW Dorjilung Hydropower Project (DHPL) in Bhutan, strengthening India-Bhutan cross-border clean energy cooperation.
DHPL is a Special Purpose Vehicle jointly owned by Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC), Bhutan (60%) and Tata Power (40%), making it Bhutan’s largest hydropower project.
| Financing Source | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| IDA Grant | $150 million |
| IDA Credit | $150 million |
| IBRD Enclave Loan to DGPC | $15 million |
| IBRD Enclave Loan to DHPL | $200 million |
| IFC Loan to DHPL | $300 million |
Once operational, the project will generate over 4,500 GWh of renewable electricity annually, expanding Bhutan’s installed energy capacity by nearly 40%. Around 80% of electricity will be supplied to India through Tata Power Trading Company Limited.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has reduced its shareholding in ICICI Bank to below 5% after a series of market transactions.
LIC sold 70 crore shares of ICICI Bank through open market sales, lowering its stake from 6.737% to 4.731%.
By reducing its stake below 5%, LIC is no longer required to make certain regulatory disclosures applicable to large shareholders. LIC clarified that it is not part of the promoter or promoter group of ICICI Bank, reaffirming its role as a financial investor.
🌐 International News
The United States has officially finalised its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), one year after President Donald Trump announced the decision, ending America’s 78-year membership since WHO’s founding in 1948.
The US owes over USD 130 million, with unpaid 2024 and 2025 dues totalling about USD 278 million. Per WHO bylaws, a country must give one-year advance notice and clear all outstanding dues before withdrawal becomes fully effective.
Reasons cited by Trump administration:
- WHO’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Failure to implement urgent reforms
- Alleged political bias particularly regarding China
The US previously contributed nearly 20% of WHO’s operational budget, making it the largest single contributor. Trump had earlier attempted to withdraw during his first presidential term, but the move was reversed by President Joe Biden.
The US is the only country to have withdrawn from WHO since its establishment.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the report ‘State of Finance for Nature 2026’, revealing that for every USD 1 spent on protecting ecosystems, USD 30 is spent on environmentally harmful activities.
| Category | 2023 Spending |
|---|---|
| Nature Protection | USD 220 billion |
| Nature-Negative Activities | USD 7.3 trillion |
Most nature-negative spending comes from the private sector, which accounts for only about 10% of investments in nature protection.
Global investment in nature-based solutions (NbS) must increase 5 times to USD 571 billion per year by 2030 to meet Rio Conventions commitments on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification.
UNEP introduced the Nature Transition X-Curve framework to help governments and businesses reform capital flows, focusing on phasing out harmful subsidies, scaling up nature-based solutions, and integrating local ecological, cultural, and social realities.
🔬 Science & Technology
Kavach 4.0 has been commissioned on Gujarat’s Bajwa (Vadodara)-Ahmedabad section (96 km), covering 17 stations with infrastructure including 23 towers, 20 Kavach buildings/huts, 192 km optical fibre cable, and 2,872 RFID tags.
The maiden Kavach-enabled train was the Sankalp Fast Passenger (59549/59550), operated with WAP-7 locomotives and 11 LHB coaches.
Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system certified to Safety Integrity Level-4 (SIL-4). It has been implemented on more than 2,200 route kilometres across India.
Key Functions:
- Prevents Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) incidents
- Enforces automatic speed control
- Provides protection against head-on and rear-end collisions
Version 4.0 Enhancements: Improved location accuracy, better signal aspect information, station-to-station interface via optical fibre, and integration with electronic interlocking systems.
Indian Railways has introduced a humanoid robot named ‘ASC ARJUN’ at Visakhapatnam Railway Station, the first-of-its-kind initiative on the Indian Railways network.
The robot was fully designed and developed indigenously in Visakhapatnam over a year. ASC ARJUN operates alongside Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel during peak passenger movement.
Face Recognition System (FRS) for intrusion detection, AI-based crowd monitoring with real-time alerts to RPF control rooms, automated public announcements in English, Hindi, and Telugu, semi-autonomous navigation with obstacle avoidance for round-the-clock platform patrol, and fire and smoke detection systems.
The robot offers gestures like Namaste for passengers and salutes for RPF personnel, with an interface providing information and assistance.
Scientists have identified Veronika, a 13-year-old Brown Swiss cow from Austria, as the first known cow to use a tool, challenging assumptions about cattle intelligence.
Veronika was observed using sticks and brushes deliberately to scratch herself, demonstrating selection and manipulation of objects to reach specific body parts, qualifying as true tool use.
Tool use was already documented in chimpanzees, elephants, birds, dolphins, and whales, but had never been experimentally verified in cattle before this study. Unlike most cattle, Veronika is not raised for meat or milk.
Researchers noted that Veronika lives in a stress-free, enriched environment, suggesting animal intelligence may be underestimated due to restrictive living conditions rather than lack of cognitive ability.
Peeyush Ranjan, former executive of Google, Airbnb, and Flipkart, launched an AI-first edtech startup Fermi.ai to transform high-school STEM education with a focus on deep learning.
The platform initially covers Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, emphasising conceptual understanding over instant answers.
Headquartered in Singapore with subsidiaries in India and the US, Fermi.ai emerged from the Meraki Labs ecosystem where Ranjan collaborates with Mukesh Bansal (Myntra co-founder).
Step-by-step tutoring, stylus-first digital canvas for handwritten problem-solving, and diagnostic insights for teachers. A three-month pilot involving 79 students and over 15,000 concept tests showed improved conceptual mastery and reduced dependence on hints.
The platform is currently free for students.
📅 Important Days
International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026 is observed on 27th January to remember the victims of the Holocaust and reaffirm the global commitment against antisemitism, racism, and intolerance.
The date marks the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration and extermination camp in 1945.
- UN Resolution 60/7 – Adopted by the UNGA on 1st November 2005, officially designating this day
- First observance – Held on 27th January 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters, New York City
- Since then, UN offices and government institutions worldwide organize remembrance events and educational programmes annually
📤 Found this useful? Help your friends stay updated too!
