National Affairs

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Completes 11 Years of Inception

On January 22, 2026, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), a Government of India (GoI) backed small savings scheme launched under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) campaign, completed 11 years. As of December 2025, over 4.53 crore accounts have been opened, drawing total deposits exceeding ₹3.33 lakh crore.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) Key Rules

• Eligibility & Age Limit: Accounts can be opened by parents or legal guardians for an Indian girl child from her birth until she reaches 10 years of age.
• Account Limits: Only one account is permitted per girl child, capped at a maximum of two girl children per family.
• Deposit Range: Requires a minimum initial deposit of ₹250, with subsequent deposits in multiples of ₹50. A minimum of ₹250 must be deposited every Financial Year (FY). The maximum annual limit is capped at ₹1,50,000.
• Tenure & Maturity: Deposits can be made for up to 15 years from the opening date. The account matures upon completing 21 years from its opening date.
• Current Interest Rate: Offers 8.2% per annum, reviewed quarterly and credited annually.
• Administration: Governed by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the Ministry of Finance.

Spain Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Visits India

On January 21, 2026, Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, conducted a one-day official visit to India at the invitation of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. The visit marked the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, established in 1956.

• Strategic Association: Spain presented its 'Declaration of Accession' to formally join India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). Following this, both nations agreed to elevate their ties to a "Strategic Association"—the highest tier of diplomatic partnership accorded by India.
• Dual Year Logo: The ministers jointly unveiled the logo for the India-Spain Dual Year of Culture, Tourism, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive bilateral tech cooperation, exchange programs, and tourism.

CDS General Anil Chauhan Releases Military Quantum Mission Policy Framework

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan released the ‘Military Quantum Mission Policy Framework’, establishing a clear roadmap for adopting quantum technologies across the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. Aligned with the National Quantum Mission (NQM), the framework builds on civil-military cooperation and focuses on four structural pillars:

                  ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
                  │ MILITARY QUANTUM MISSION FOUR PILLARS  │
                  └───────────────────┬────────────────────┘
                                      │
         ┌───────────────────┬────────┴───────────┬───────────────────┐
         ▼                   ▼                   ▼                   ▼
  Quantum             Quantum             Quantum             Quantum Materials
  Communication       Computing           Sensing & Metrology & Devices

DARPG Releases 32nd NeSDA Way Forward Monthly Report

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) published its 32nd National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) Way Forward Monthly Report tracking progress up to December 2025.

• e-Services Expansion: A total of 24,090 e-services are live across States and UTs. The Local Governance & Utility Services sector accounts for the largest share with 8,656 services.
• 90% Saturation: 22 States and UTs (including Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh) achieved over 90% saturation across 59 mandatory e-services.

MoEFCC Extends Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) Compliance

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) expanded the compliance framework of the Indian Carbon Market (ICM) by introducing Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity (GEI) targets to four additional industrial sectors.

• New Sectors Covered: Petroleum Refineries, Petrochemicals, Textiles, and Secondary Aluminium (aluminium produced from recycled scrap).
• Expanded Footprint: This regulatory update adds 208 new obligated entities, scaling the CCTS mandatory compliance pool from 282 to 490 entities to align with India's Net-Zero 2070 goal.
• Market Mechanism: Entities that beat their GEI targets earn tradable Carbon Credit Certificates (CCCs), while those failing to meet limits must buy these certificates from the market.

Foundation Stone Laid for India's First Private Satellite Plant in Sanand

Arjunbhai Modhwadia, Gujarat’s Minister for Science and Technology, laid the foundation stone for India's first integrated private-sector satellite manufacturing facility, named ‘Palmnaro’, at the Khoraaj Industrial Estate in Sanand, Gujarat.

• The Developer: Azista Space Limited signed MoUs worth over ₹500 crore with the Gujarat government to set up the plant.
• Purpose: The facility features an Electro-Optical Payload Factory (EOPF) designed to indigenously design, develop, and manufacture satellites and space components under one roof.

Lucknow Becomes UP's First 'Zero Fresh Waste Dump' City

Lucknow inaugurated its third fresh waste processing facility at the Shivari Solid Waste Management Plant, making it the first city in Uttar Pradesh to achieve 100% scientific processing of municipal solid waste under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).

• Capacity: The new facility processes 700 Metric Tonnes (MT) per day, pushing the Lucknow Municipal Corporation’s (LMC) combined daily capacity across all three units to over 2,100 MT. LMC is also planning a 15 MW Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plant at Shivari to convert Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) into electricity.

DoT De-licenses Lower 6 GHz Spectrum Band for Wi-Fi Services

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notified the de-licensing of the lower 6 GHz band (5925 MHz to 6425 MHz) to accelerate Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 technology deployment in India.

• Usage Rules: Operating on a shared, non-exclusive, non-interference basis, the spectrum is accessible to Low-Power Indoor (LPI) devices (capped at 30 dBm) and Very Low-Power (VLP) outdoor systems (capped at 14 dBm).
• Deployment Restrictions: Operation is strictly prohibited inside vehicles, boats, oil platforms, drones, and aircraft flying below 10,000 feet. The upper 6 GHz band (6425–7125 MHz) remains reserved for advanced mobile services.

Banking & Finance

Razorpay POS Receives RBI Payment Aggregator-Physical Licence

Razorpay’s offline payments division, Razorpay POS, secured the Payment Aggregator–Physical (PA-P) licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Fintech Milestone: With this approval, Razorpay now holds all three core RBI payment aggregator licences: Online (PA-O), Physical (PA-P), and Cross-Border (PA-CB). The new licence lets them rapidly scale physical Point-of-Sale hardware networks (Android Smart POS, mPOS, soundboxes) across large retail channels and SMEs.

RXIL Declares Historic Interim Dividend

The Receivables Exchange of India Limited (RXIL) declared and distributed an interim dividend of 21.6% on the face value of its shares, making it the first TReDS platform in India to return capital to stakeholders.

• Profile: Launched in 2016 as a joint venture between SIDBI and NSE (alongside SBI, ICICI, and Yes Bank), RXIL digitalizes trade receivables discounting for MSMEs. It remains the only TReDS platform supporting direct state government participation (with Goa and Tamil Nadu actively onboard).

Economy & Business

HAL and Indian Army to Establish Helicopter MRO Hub in Assam

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Indian Army's Gajraj Corps laid the foundation stone for a dedicated Helicopter Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) hub at Missamari in Assam. The facility is designed to provide sustained, localized MRO support for Indian Army Aviation and Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters, directly cutting down repair turnaround times and logistical strain in the eastern region.

Science & Technology

Pixxel-Led 'Allied Orbits' Consortium Signs Space Constellation Pact

The Allied Orbits consortium, spearheaded by Pixxel Space India, signed a contract with IN-SPACe in Bengaluru to develop, own, and operate India’s first privately-led national Earth Observation (EO) satellite constellation.

• The Consortium: Led by Pixxel, the partnership integrates satellite manufacturing and ground infrastructure from Dhruva Space, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) integration from PierSight Space, and multispectral data analytics from SatSure Analytics India.
• The Fleet: The project features 12 low-Earth orbit satellites packing hyperspectral, multispectral, and SAR sensors for all-weather, day-and-night monitoring.
• PPP Model: The group submitted a self-funded "zero-cost bid," skipping up to ₹350 crore in available government subsidies while ensuring government data access.
• Timeline: The initial 4 satellites are slated for launch in Q1 2027, with the remaining 8 entering orbit sequentially.

Environment

ZSI Discovers New Subterranean Amphibian Species in Maharashtra

A scientific team led by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) Western Regional Centre announced the discovery of a rare subterranean amphibian species named Gegeneophis valmiki.

• Taxonomy & Traits: Discovered on the Valmiki Plateau in Maharashtra's Satara district, it is a blind, limbless, worm-like caecilian measuring roughly 160 mm. It features dark bluish-grey skin and eyes completely concealed beneath bone as an evolutionary adaptation for underground burrowing. This represents the first discovery within the genus Gegeneophis in over a decade.

Obituary

Former Indian Football Defender Ilyas Pasha Passes Away

Legendary East Bengal and former Indian national football team defender Ilyas Pasha passed away at the age of 61 in Bengaluru.

• Career Highlights: He earned 8 international caps for India between 1987 and 1992, appearing in tournaments like the Nehru Cup and the SAF Games. Domestically, he won two Santosh Trophy titles with Bengal (1993, 1995) and captained East Bengal during their historic 1990s run, receiving the club's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

Important Days

Parakram Diwas 2026 – January 23

India observed Parakram Diwas (Day of Valour) on January 23, 2026, marking the 129th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

• National Event: The Ministry of Culture organized the primary three-day celebrations at Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, hosted by Lieutenant Governor Admiral D.K. Joshi (Retd.).
• Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar 2026: Announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs for excellence in disaster management:
  • Institutional Category: Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA)
  • Individual Category: Lieutenant Colonel Seeta Ashok Shelke (Indian Army)

State News

Goa Partners with Starlink for Smart Governance & Emergency Networks

The Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (DITE&C), Government of Goa, signed an MoU with Starlink Satellite Communications to deploy Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband across the state. The project targets deploying high-speed, low-latency connectivity for public rural schools, remote healthcare facilities, coastal tourism management, and dedicated backup disaster management command networks.

Uttarakhand and ITBP Launch 'Healthy Border Campaign'

The Government of Uttarakhand signed an MoU with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to launch the Swasth Seema Abhiyan (Healthy Border Campaign).

• Scope: Deploying integrated primary healthcare and telemedicine facilities across 108 remote border villages.
• Implementation: Phase 1 targets the frontier border districts of Pithoragarh, Chamoli, and Uttarkashi. The state health department will ensure a steady supply of medicines and diagnostic machinery, while ITBP deploys specialized doctors and medical staff to manage rural MI (Medical Inspection) rooms.

Punjab Launches Mukhya Mantri Sehat Yojana (MMSY)

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched a universal healthcare scheme titled ‘Mukhya Mantri Sehat Yojna’ (MMSY) to extend comprehensive medical insurance across the state.