Current Affairs One-liners — 04 January 2026

Sun, 04 Jan 2026

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 72nd National Volleyball Tournament in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, via video conferencing on 4 January 2026, with teams from 28 states taking part.
• The Ayush Export Promotion Council observed its 4th Establishment Anniversary in New Delhi on 4 January 2026, as the Commerce Ministry reported AYUSH and herbal exports of USD 688.89 million in 2024-25, up 6.11%.
• A PIB backgrounder on 4 January 2026 said MeitY's Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme under the Semicon India Programme supports 24 chip design projects, which have achieved 16 tape-outs, 6 ASIC chips and 10 patents.
• On the 42nd Foundation Day of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research on 4 January 2026, Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced that deep-tech startups no longer need three years of existence to be recognised under DSIR's Industrial R&D Promotion Programme.
• World Braille Day was observed on 4 January 2026; a PIB backgrounder noted that Braille came to India in 1887 and that Bharati Braille was adopted as the single national standard in 1951.
• An Air India A320 from New Delhi carrying Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu made the first validation landing at the Alluri Sitarama Raju (Bhogapuram) International Airport in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, on 4 January 2026.
• Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh inaugurated the Aeronautical Development Agency's two-day national seminar 'Aeronautics 2047' at CABS, Bengaluru, on 4 January 2026, congratulating ADA on 25 years of LCA Tejas flight.
• Desert Vipers won their first International League T20 title by beating MI Emirates by 46 runs in the season-four final in Dubai on 4 January 2026, led by Sam Curran's unbeaten 74.
• Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal attended the second biennial state convention of the Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan Sanstha, Assam, at Rajgarh in Dibrugarh on 4 January 2026, and felicitated Banshi Bakliyal for his contribution to the tradition.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways highlighted on 4 January 2026 the legal protections for 'Rah-Veers' — Good Samaritans who help road accident victims — under rules notified in 2020 under Section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act.