Current Affairs One-liners — 01 January 2026

Thu, 01 Jan 2026

• The Odisha government launched 'Sweekruti' on 1 January 2026, a rights-based umbrella scheme run by the SSEPD department for the education, livelihood, health and legal support of transgender persons.
• NHAI announced on 1 January 2026 that the Know Your Vehicle (KYV) process will be discontinued for all new car FASTags from 1 February 2026, with mandatory VAHAN-based validation before activation instead.
• The PFRDA board approved in principle a framework letting Scheduled Commercial Banks set up pension funds to manage NPS, and appointed former SBI Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara as Chairperson of the NPS Trust Board, the Finance Ministry said on 1 January 2026.
• On 1 January 2026 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, President Droupadi Murmu launched the #SkillTheNation Challenge under MSDE's SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness) initiative and virtually inaugurated the IGNOU Regional Centre and Skill Centre at Rairangpur, Odisha.
• On its 68th Foundation Day on 1 January 2026, DRDO said 22 Acceptances of Necessity worth about ₹1.30 lakh crore were accorded in 2025 for DRDO-developed systems to be made by Indian industry, the highest in any single year.
• On 1 January 2026 at a special Gram Sabha in Loni Budruk, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan outlined the Viksit Bharat – G RAM G Act, 2025, which guarantees 125 days of work.
• Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor took charge as Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 1 January 2026, as Air Marshals Tejinder Singh and Seethepalli Shrinivas took over South Western Air Command and Training Command.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation unveiled a new logo carrying the message 'Data for Development' and a citizen-friendly mascot named 'Sankhyiki' on 1 January 2026.
• Union Minister J. P. Nadda launched an integrated online fertilizer subsidy claim process on 1 January 2026, linking the Department of Fertilizers' iFMS with the PFMS of the Controller General of Accounts.
• BSNL on 1 January 2026 rolled out Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi), or Wi-Fi Calling, to customers in all telecom circles, free of extra charge.
• Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on 1 January 2026 the 'Nijut Babu Asoni' scheme, giving ₹1,000 a month to male undergraduate and ₹2,000 to postgraduate students from families earning under ₹4 lakh.
• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs said on 1 January 2026 that the annual KYC filing for company directors under Rule 12A will be replaced by a simpler KYC intimation once every three years from 31 March 2026.
• On 1 January 2026 at Delhi Technological University, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said DST has set up 15 Inclusive Technology Business Incubators in universities, and three DTU startups received ₹5 lakh Startup Ignition Grants.