📊 Index & Rankings
According to the Numbeo Safety Index 2026, Mangaluru in Karnataka emerged as the safest city in India, securing the 46th rank globally with a safety score of 74.4.
Qingdao (China) topped the global list with a score of 89.2, followed by Abu Dhabi (UAE) at 88.9 and Doha (Qatar) at 84.5.
| Indian City | Global Rank | Safety Score |
|---|---|---|
| Mangaluru | 46 | 74.4 |
| Ahmedabad | 87 | 68.5 |
| Jaipur | 106 | 65.3 |
The UAE topped the list of safest countries globally with a safety index of 86.0, followed by Qatar and Andorra at 84.8 each. Pretoria (South Africa) was ranked as the least safe city globally at 304th position with a score of 18.2.
Brand Finance released its Global 500 2026 report, ranking Infosys as the world’s third most valuable IT Services brand, valued at USD 16.4 billion with a Brand Strength Index score of 86.8 out of 100 and a 15% Compound Annual Growth Rate over the last six years.
| Rank | Company | Brand Value | BSI Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accenture | USD 42.2 billion | 90.7 |
| 2 | Tata Consultancy Services | USD 21.2 billion | 84.6 |
| 3 | Infosys | USD 16.4 billion | 86.8 |
Other Indian IT companies featuring in the top 25 include HCLTech, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, LTIMindtree, Persistent Systems, and Hexaware.
TCS secured second place for the fifth consecutive year, achieving AAA rating for the first time. The combined brand value of the world’s top 25 IT services brands stood at USD 167.2 billion in 2026.
🇮🇳 National News
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) have jointly initiated a new conservation programme titled ‘Safeguarding breeding habitats of Indian Skimmer and sympatric birds through monitoring and community participation in the Ganga Basin’ to protect the Endangered Indian Skimmer (Rynchops albicollis).
Union Minister C.R. Patil, Ministry of Jal Shakti, formally inaugurated the project at Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The initiative aims to protect river sandbars, which serve as critical nesting sites for the species.
India hosts nearly 90% of the world’s Indian Skimmer population, making this conservation effort globally significant.
Building on successful conservation efforts at the National Chambal Sanctuary, the project will extend to key river stretches including:
- Chambal River
- Upper Ganga – near Bijnor and Narora
- Ganga-Yamuna confluence – at Prayagraj
- Lower Ganga – near Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in Bihar
Local community members will be trained as ‘Nest Guardians’ and ‘River Guardians’ to monitor and protect nesting sites.
Union Minister Manohar Lal, Ministry of Power and Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, inaugurated the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Regulatory Affairs in the Power Sector at IIT Delhi on 20th January 2026.
The CoE has been jointly established by:
- IIT Delhi
- Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)
- Grid Controller of India Limited (Grid India)
Designed to function as a national hub for regulatory research, capacity building, advisory support, and knowledge dissemination, integrating policy, regulation, system operations, and academic research within a single institutional framework.
The CoE will undertake multidisciplinary research on power sector regulation, market design, grid operations, energy transition challenges, decarbonisation pathways, and emerging technologies.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), has officially declared an area ranging from zero to one kilometre around the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in the Aravalli Mountain Range, Rajasthan, as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ).
The notification restricts activities in 94 villages spread across nearly 243 kilometres adjoining the sanctuary boundary, including:
- Mining
- Large industrial units
- Brick kilns
- Construction of new hotels and resorts
Spanning Rajsamand, Pali, and Udaipur districts, it is considered one of the most fragile ecosystems of the Aravalli range and serves as a crucial catchment area for the Banas and Luni river systems.
The sanctuary provides natural habitat for wildlife species including leopard, striped hyena, jungle cat, Indian pangolin, blue bull, and chinkara, along with bird species such as the painted francolin.
The aerospace division of Bharat Forge Limited (BFL) has secured contracts worth nearly Rs 300 crore under the Emergency Procurement-VI (EP-VI) framework for supplying indigenously built unmanned systems to the Indian Army and Indian Navy.
The contracts cover Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms:
- Omega One – displayed during Army Day celebrations on January 15, 2026, in Jaipur, mounted on an upgraded BMP-2 infantry combat vehicle
- Omega Nine – high-endurance variant designed for longer missions to detect enemy presence and enhance situational awareness
The contracts also include loitering munitions named Bayonet and Cleaver – ‘kamikaze drones’ capable of hovering over targets before striking with precision.
Indian Olympic medallist, Padma awardee, and former world No. 1 badminton player Saina Nehwal has announced her retirement from competitive badminton, concluding a 21-year career.
She clinched the bronze medal in women’s singles at the 2012 London Olympics, becoming the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic medal. In 2015, she became the first Indian woman to achieve World No. 1 ranking in singles.
Career Highlights:
- First BWF Superseries title – Indonesia Open 2009 (first for an Indian)
- 10 Superseries titles – accumulated throughout her career
- Commonwealth Games gold – 2010 New Delhi and 2018 Gold Coast
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2009) – first badminton player to receive India’s highest sporting honour
- Padma Shri (2010) and Padma Bhushan (2016)
The Vidarbha cricket team won its maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title in the 2025-26 season after defeating Saurashtra by 38 runs in the final held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
| Team | Score | Overs |
|---|---|---|
| Vidarbha | 317/8 | 50 |
| Saurashtra | 279 | 48.5 |
Key Performers:
- Atharva Taide – 128 runs off 118 balls (Player of the Match)
- Yash Thakur – 4 wickets for 50 runs
- Aman Mokhade – 814 runs in the series (Player of the Tournament)
The Vijay Hazare Trophy is India’s premier domestic 50-over One-Day cricket tournament, named after legendary Indian cricketer Vijay Hazare, and has been running since 2002-03.
India won the first T20I against New Zealand by 48 runs at Nagpur on 21st January 2026.
| Team | Score | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|
| India | 238/7 | Abhishek Sharma – 84 (35) |
| New Zealand | 190/7 | Glenn Phillips – 78 (40) |
Rinku Singh contributed an unbeaten 44 off 20 balls. Abhishek Sharma was awarded Player of the Match.
The match aggregate of 428 runs is the highest involving India and New Zealand in T20Is.
This five-match series serves as crucial preparation ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which begins on 7th February 2026 and will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan released a book titled ‘Chalice of Ambrosia: Ram Janmabhoomi – Challenge and Response’, authored by Dr. Surendra Kumar Pachauri, former Secretary to the Government of India, at the VP’s Enclave in New Delhi on 20th January 2026.
The book was published by Har-Anand Publications.
It chronicles the long and complex Ram Janmabhoomi movement, documenting the campaign to reclaim and build a temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The book blends historical context with legal developments, cultural context, and contemporary politics.
Dr. Pachauri is a retired 1968-batch IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre who served as Secretary of the Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry.
💼 Business & Economy
Global credit rating agency Moody’s Ratings has projected that India will record a robust GDP growth rate of 7.3% in Financial Year 2025-26, higher than the 6.5% growth registered in FY25.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| FY26 GDP Growth Projection | 7.3% |
| FY25 GDP Growth | 6.5% |
| GDP per Capita (FY25) | USD 11,176 |
| GDP per Capita Growth (YoY) | 8.2% |
Total premium revenue increased 17% to reach Rs 10.9 lakh crore during April-November 2025-26. Health insurance premiums grew by 14%, while life new business premiums surged 20%.
The Government of India has increased the limit on foreign investment in Indian insurance companies from 74% to 100%, providing additional financial flexibility to the sector.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, approved two major acquisition proposals on 20th January 2026.
Approved Acquisitions:
- Emirates NBD Bank (P.J.S.C.) – acquisition of up to 74% shareholding (minimum 51%) in RBL Bank Limited
- Tata Steel Limited – acquisition of 50.01% equity share capital of Thriveni Pellets Private Limited
CCI also approved a proposed combination involving Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL), JSW Sambalpur Steel Limited, JFE Steel Corporation, and JSW Kalinga Steel Limited, involving a major restructuring to establish a 50:50 Joint Venture between JFE and JSW Steel Limited.
🌐 International News
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) released its ‘Employment and Social Trends 2026: World of Work Series’ report in Geneva, Switzerland, projecting that the global unemployment rate will remain unchanged at 4.9% in 2026, equivalent to 186 million workers worldwide lacking access to quality employment.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Global Unemployment Rate (2026-27) | 4.9% |
| Global Jobs Gap (2026) | 408 million |
| Informally Employed Workers (2026) | 2.1 billion |
| Labour Force Participation Rate (2027) | 60.5% |
Workers in extreme poverty declined by 3.1 percentage points to 7.9% between 2015 and 2025, though nearly 300 million workers continue earning less than USD 3 per day.
The global informality rate increased by 0.3 percentage points between 2015 and 2025. The global Labour Force Participation Rate is projected to decline by 0.2 percentage points annually.
NASA announced that Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Lyn Williams retired from service effective December 27, 2025, concluding a distinguished 27-year career in human space exploration.
Born on September 19, 1965, in Ohio, USA, Williams was a former Navy officer who became one of NASA’s most accomplished space explorers.
| Achievement | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Days in Space | 608 days |
| Number of Spacewalks | 9 |
| Total Spacewalk Time | 62 hours 6 minutes |
| Space Missions | 3 |
Williams holds the record for most spacewalk time by a woman (fourth overall in NASA history). She ran the first marathon ever in space on a treadmill aboard the ISS. She was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2008.
Space Missions: Expedition 14/15, Expedition 32/33 aboard the ISS, and the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test mission.
American biologist Dr. Toby Kiers has been named the winner of the 2026 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, often called the ‘Nobel for the Environment’, in recognition of her groundbreaking research revealing the crucial role of mycorrhizal fungal networks in carbon cycling and nutrient exchange.
She will officially receive the award at a ceremony scheduled for 23rd April 2026 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Established in 1973 by John and Alice Tyler, it is one of the first international premier environmental awards, recognising exceptional scientific work in environmental science, health, and energy that benefits humanity. The recipient receives a cash prize of USD 250,000.
The award is administered by The University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Since 1974, the Tyler Prize has honoured 88 laureates from 18 countries.
🔬 Science & Technology
Researchers from Kerala and Tamil Nadu have reported the discovery of two new rare ant fly species, ‘Metadon ghorpadei’ and ‘Metadon reemeri’, found in Delhi’s Northern Ridge forest and the Siruvani Hills of the Western Ghats, respectively.
This marks the first such discovery in over 100 years and highlights the importance of protecting urban forest areas. The findings were published in the international journal Zootaxa after morphological and DNA analysis.
Key Facts:
- Both species belong to Microdontinae, a subfamily of Syrphidae (hoverflies)
- The larvae are myrmecophilous – living in ant nests and feeding on ant brood
- Adults are rare and difficult to detect
- India now has 8 Metadon species, up from 6
- Globally, 454 Microdontinae species exist, with 27 in India
The discovery reveals hidden biodiversity and calls for surveys, habitat protection, and studies on species divergence.
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