Current Affairs One-liners — January 2026

Tue, 06 Jan 2026

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released 55 literary works in classical Indian languages in New Delhi on 6 January 2026, including a Tirukkural series in Indian Sign Language.
• Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Nitin Gadkari rode together in a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle in New Delhi on 6 January 2026 to promote green hydrogen and clean mobility.
• The Ministry of Coal's two-day Chintan Shivir at Manesar, Gurugram, chaired by Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, concluded on 6 January 2026 with a review of coal-sector reforms.
• The Department of Science and Technology reported on 6 January 2026 that ARIES and PRL astronomers used the Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope and NASA's TESS to study four W Ursae Majoris-type contact binary stars.
• Indian Railways said on 6 January 2026 that it plans to produce 4,838 LHB general and non-AC coaches in 2025-26 and 4,802 in 2026-27, and that 13 Amrit Bharat trains added in 2025 took the total to 30 services.
• Day 2 of the Human Capital Working Group meeting, organised by MeitY and the IndiaAI Mission with the Government of Assam and IIT Guwahati, concluded on 6 January 2026 with sessions on the National Language Translation Mission and BHASHINI.
• MOIL, under the Ministry of Steel, reported on 6 January 2026 its highest-ever third-quarter manganese ore output of 4.77 lakh tonnes and best-ever nine-month output of 14.21 lakh tonnes for FY 2025-26.
• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs concluded Hackathon 2.0 at NTRI, New Delhi, on 6 January 2026, engaging all five Smart India Hackathon 2025 finalist teams to co-develop a national Forest Rights Act digital platform.

Mon, 05 Jan 2026

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned ICGS Samudra Pratap, the first of two pollution control vessels built by Goa Shipyard Limited and the largest ship in the Coast Guard fleet, in Goa on 5 January 2026.
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited commissioned a 3.55 MMTPA Residue Upgradation Facility at its Visakh Refinery in Andhra Pradesh on 5 January 2026, featuring India's first resid hydrocracking unit and the world's first LC-Max unit.
• Union Power Minister Manohar Lal inspected the Pakal Dul, Kiru and Kwar hydroelectric projects of Chenab Valley Power Projects Ltd in Kishtwar on 5 January 2026 and set commissioning deadlines of December 2026 and March 2028.
• Union Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh inaugurated India's first commercial-scale tropical Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) based rainbow trout farm and research institute in Ranga Reddy district, Telangana, on 5 January 2026.
• Indian Railways said on 5 January 2026 that it had spent ₹2,03,138 crore, or 80.54% of its ₹2,52,200 crore Gross Budgetary Support for 2025-26, by the end of December 2025.
• ONGC signed an MoU with the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation on 5 January 2026 and sanctioned ₹28 crore of CSR funds for digital learning, girls' hygiene and teacher training in 144 Eklavya Model Residential Schools.
• Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan was chief guest at the inauguration of the NCC Republic Day Camp 2026 at the DGNCC Camp, New Delhi, on 5 January 2026.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management inspected 142 road stretches maintained by the Noida Authority on 5 January 2026 and found only four with high visible dust.
• Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil chaired the 17th meeting of the Empowered Task Force on 5 January 2026, reviewing an aerial drainage-mapping dashboard and AI-enabled CCTV monitoring of sewage treatment plants under Namami Gange.
• Steel Authority of India Limited reported on 5 January 2026 provisional sales of 2.1 million tonnes in December 2025, its best December ever and about 37% higher than December 2024.
• The Department of Telecommunications said on 5 January 2026 that pension documents of its pensioners issued through SAMPANN, such as ePPOs and Form 16, are now available on DigiLocker.
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated a National Environmental Standard Laboratory and a National Primary Standard Facility for Solar Cell Calibration at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, on its 80th Foundation Day on 5 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.