HPSC HCS Current Affairs One-liners — All time

Thu, 29 Jan 2026

• The Economic Survey 2025-26 notes India's Global Innovation Index rank rose from 66th (2019) to 38th (2025), PLI schemes drew over ₹2 lakh crore of investment, and 10 semiconductor projects worth ₹1.60 lakh crore were approved in 6 states.
• On 29 January 2026 the Centre notified coking coal as a Critical and Strategic Mineral by adding it to Part D of the First Schedule of the MMDR Act, 1957, to cut import dependence of the steel sector.
• The Economic Survey 2025-26 says India's total exports hit a record USD 825.3 billion in FY25, services exports an all-time high of USD 387.6 billion, and remittances USD 135.4 billion — the world's largest.
• The Economic Survey 2025-26 reports that airports rose from 74 (2014) to 164 (2025), high-speed corridors grew from 550 km (FY14) to 5,364 km, and India now has 23 IITs, 21 IIMs and 20 AIIMS.

Wed, 28 Jan 2026

• The Environment Ministry notified the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, replacing the 2016 rules; they make four-stream segregation at source mandatory and come into force on 1 April 2026.
• The Finance Ministry announced on 28 January 2026 that India and the European Union have concluded negotiations on the financial services chapter of the India-EU FTA, finalised in the last round held on 6 January 2026.
• The Budget Session of Parliament began on 28 January 2026 with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both Houses; it is the 7th Session of the 18th Lok Sabha.
• NITI Aayog launched Sampoornata Abhiyan 2.0 on 28 January 2026, a campaign till 14 April 2026 to saturate 5 KPIs in 112 Aspirational Districts and 6 KPIs in 513 Aspirational Blocks.
• India's IIP rose 7.8% in December 2025 (quick estimate), its highest level in over two years, led by manufacturing (8.1%), mining (6.8%) and electricity (6.3%).
• MoS for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada on 28 January 2026 dedicated UIDAI's new Aadhaar App, which offers selective sharing of identity fields, face verification and up to five Aadhaar profiles on one device.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla paid tributes to 'Punjab Kesari' Lala Lajpat Rai on his birth anniversary on 28 January 2026.
• The Indian Navy's First Training Squadron (INS Tir, INS Sujata, INS Shardul and ICGS Sarathi) concluded its visit to Phuket Deep Sea Port, Thailand with a Passage Exercise with HTMS Huahin on 28 January 2026.
• A Bose Institute study found that dust storms from the arid regions of western India carry airborne pathogens to Eastern Himalayan hilltops, linked to respiratory and skin diseases; it was published in Science of the Total Environment.

Tue, 27 Jan 2026

• PM Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the conclusion of the India–EU FTA at the 16th India–EU Summit in New Delhi on 27 January 2026; over 99% of Indian exports by value get preferential entry into the EU.
• The 16th India–EU Summit on 27 January 2026 produced the 'Towards 2030' Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda, a Security and Defence Partnership, a mobility MoU and a Green Hydrogen Task Force, alongside the FTA.
• Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Canada's Energy Minister Timothy Hodgson launched the renewed India–Canada Ministerial Energy Dialogue and issued a joint statement at India Energy Week 2026 in Goa on 27 January 2026.
• Meeting chip design firms under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme on 27 January 2026, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw set a target of enabling at least 50 fabless semiconductor companies in the next phase and announced Deep Tech Awards in 2026.
• With Union Cabinet approval, the RBI signed an MoU with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on 27 January 2026 to enable ESMA's formal recognition of the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL) and other RBI-regulated central counterparties.
• The Department of Posts signed an agreement with Stock Holding Services Limited (SSL) at Dak Bhawan, New Delhi on 27 January 2026 to give citizens access to regulated capital market services through India Post's network of over 1.65 lakh post offices.
• The Halwa ceremony marking the final stage of preparation of the Union Budget 2026-27 was held at the Budget Press, North Block on 27 January 2026 in the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman; the Budget will be presented on 1 February 2026.

Mon, 26 Jan 2026

• India celebrated its 77th Republic Day on 26 January 2026 with President Droupadi Murmu taking the salute at Kartavya Path and EU leaders António Costa and Ursula von der Leyen as Chief Guests; the parade showcased a phased Battle Array Format of the Army for the first time.
• India took part as Country Partner at Gulfood 2026 in Dubai, the world's largest annual food and beverage trade exhibition, with the largest participation of any country by number of exhibitors and exhibition area; the India Pavilion opened on 26 January 2026.
• Myanmar's military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) claimed on 26 January 2026 that it had won the country's first election since the army seized power in 2021, held in three phases on 28 December, 11 January and 25 January.
• DRDO displayed its Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LR-AShM) with launcher at the 77th Republic Day parade; the hypersonic glide missile is designed for the Indian Navy's coastal battery requirements.
• The Home Ministry's Republic Day 2026 tableau on the three new criminal laws displayed e-Sakshya, e-Summons, Nyaya Shruti, NAFIS and ICJS; Amit Shah said the laws mark a shift from a punishment-oriented to a justice-oriented system.

Sun, 25 Jan 2026

• President Droupadi Murmu approved gallantry awards to 70 Armed Forces personnel, including six posthumous, with the Ashoka Chakra going to IAF Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.
• On the eve of Republic Day, the President approved 131 Padma Awards for 2026 — 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri.
• Veteran journalist Sir Mark Tully, long-time BBC correspondent and bureau chief in New Delhi, died at a New Delhi hospital on 25 January 2026, aged 90.
• The MHA announced Gallantry and Service Medals for 982 personnel, including 125 Medals for Gallantry.
• PFRDA constituted the Committee for Strategic Asset Allocation and Risk Governance (SAARG), chaired by Narayan Ramachandran, to modernise the NPS investment framework.