National News

India-Spain

• H.E. Mr. Jose Manuel Albares, Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Atal Pension Yojana

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi approved the continuation of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) up to FY 2030-31 along with extension of funding support for promotional and developmental activities and gap funding.

Atal Pension Yojana

DGCA Launched Electronic Personnel Licence Services

• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) launched the Electronic Personnel Licence (EPL) services for Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL).
• With this implementation, India remains a global leader in digital aviation solutions, being the second country in the world to fully digitalize pilot licenses in accordance with ICAO's Amendment 178 to Annex 1.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

STATE SPECIAL NEWS

Innovation city in Mumbai

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced the development of a state-of-the-art “innovation city” situated near the Mumbai airport to help new businesses grow.

Raj Bhavan as Jan Bhavan

• The official residence of the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, previously known as Raj Bhavan, has been renamed Jan Bhavan.
• The renaming follows a directive from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs aimed at standardizing the nomenclature of Governors' residences across India and moving away from titles associated with a colonial mindset.
• While many other states have renamed their Governor’s houses to Lok Bhavan, Uttar Pradesh chose Jan Bhavan because the state already has a major government building (housing the Chief Minister's Office) named Lok Bhavan.

Uttar Pradesh

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

World’s largest Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant

• Japan has restarted a reactor at the world's largest Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant.

AWARDS and HONOURS

14th FICCI Chemicals and Petrochemicals Awards 2025

• The 14th FICCI Chemicals and Petrochemicals Awards 2025 was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the event recognized excellence in manufacturing, innovation, sustainability, and leadership across India’s chemical and petrochemical value chain.

Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace 2025

• Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust announced that Mozambican rights activist and humanitarian Graça Machel has been selected for the 2025 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.
• Graça Machel is a distinguished African stateswoman who previously served as Mozambique’s first Minister of Education and Culture and holds the unique distinction of having been the First Lady of two different nations (Mozambique and South Africa).

SUMMITS AND CONFERNCES

22nd Subroto Mukerjee International Seminar

• The 22nd Subroto Mukerjee International Seminar was organized by the Centre for Aerospace Power and Strategic Studies (CAPSS) to honor the legacy of Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, the first Indian Chief of the Air Staff.
• Theme of the event was "National Security Imperatives".

PreciSense 2026

• “PreciSense 2026" was organized by the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, in association with the Indian Society for Hydraulics (ISH) in Pune, India.

‘Sujal Gram Samvad’

• Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti successfully organized the Third Edition of ‘Sujal Gram Samvad’.
• This nationwide virtual outreach initiative reinforced the government's commitment to participatory water governance and community-led implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

APPOINTMENTS

Albinder Singh Dhindsa

• Albinder Singh Dhindsa has been appointed as the Group CEO of Eternal Limited (the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit).

ECONOMY & BANKING

International Conference on Role of Trade in Global Energy Transition

• The two-day International Conference on the "Role of International Trade in Global Energy Transition" was held on at the National Law University Odisha (NLUO) campus in Cuttack.
• The event was organized by the Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL) and NLUO's Centre for International Trade Law (CITL), under the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Chairs Programme.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) platform

• The SAMPANN (System for Accounting and Management of Pension) pension management system developed by the office of Controller General of Communication Accounts has been integrated with the UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) platform.
• This initiative aims to enhance the ease of living for approximately 4 lakh pensioners of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) by providing a unified digital interface for pension services.

SAMPANN

9th Meeting of India–Myanmar Joint Trade Committee

• 9th Meeting of India–Myanmar Joint Trade Committee held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
• The meeting aimed to boost bilateral trade and economic relations, setting a target to reach USD 5 billion by 2030 from the current USD 2.15 billion.

MoU Between Digital India BHASHINI Division and Survey of India

• The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Survey of India (SoI) to support the digitisation, transcription and standardisation of geographical place names (toponyms) using AI-based speech and language technologies.

NHAI and Konkan Railway sign MoU

• National Highways Authority of India, NHAI and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited signed an MoU to strengthen integrated infrastructure development in New Delhi.

Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026

• Ministry of Power released the Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026 for public consultation.
• This comprehensive framework is designed to modernize India's power sector in alignment with the Viksit Bharat @2047 vision, replacing the original National Electricity Policy from 2005.

PERSON IN NEWS

Thakur Roshan Singh

• January 22, marked the 134th birth anniversary of Thakur Roshan Singh (January 22, 1892 – December 19, 1927), a prominent Indian revolutionary and member of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA).

Dr. Sree Sree Shivakumara Mahaswamigalu

• The 7th commemoration day of Dr. Sree Sree Shivakumara Mahaswamigalu was observed on January 21, 2026, at the Sree Siddaganga Math in Tumakuru, Karnataka.

ENVIRONMENT + SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity Targets

• The Government of India has notified Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity (GEI) targets for additional carbon-intensive sectors under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) which brings Petroleum Refineries, Petrochemicals, Textiles and Secondary Aluminium under the compliance mechanism of the Indian Carbon Market (ICM).
• The move was enacted via the Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target (Amendment) Rules, 2025, under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• This framework is a key pillar for India to achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of reducing GDP emission intensity by 45% by 2030 (compared to 2005 levels) and reaching Net Zero by 2070.