National Affairs

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign Completes 11 Years

On January 22, 2026, the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme—a flagship initiative of the Government of India (GoI) to protect, educate, and empower the girl child—completed 11 years of implementation.

• Launch: Originally launched by PM Narendra Modi on January 22, 2015, in Panipat, Haryana.
• Nature of Scheme: A Central Sector Scheme (100% Central funding) implemented across all districts under the Sambal vertical of ‘Mission Shakti’.
• Expanding Ministry Scope: Originally a joint effort by MoWCD, MoHFW, and MoE. The MoWCD later collaborated with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) to widen its reach.
• Key Progress Highlights:
  • Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB): Increased nationally from 918 (2014-15) to 930 (2023-24).
  • Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): Secondary level (Class 9-10) girls' enrolment rose from 75.51% (2014-15) to 78.0% (2023-24), and further jumped to 80.2% in 2024-25 as per the UDISE report.

Overview of PM Narendra Modi’s Visit to Kerala

On January 23, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to launch several key developmental, transport, and financial inclusion projects.

• Rail Connectivity: Flagged off four new trains from Thiruvananthapuram, including three Amrit Bharat Express trains:
  • Nagercoil (TN) – Mangaluru (Karnataka) [705 km]
  • Thiruvananthapuram – Tambaram (TN) [768 km]
  • Thiruvananthapuram – Charlapalli [1,488 km]
  • One local passenger train operating between Thrissur and Guruvayur [23 km].
• PM SVANidhi Credit Card: Launched a unique UPI-linked, interest-free revolving credit card facility specifically tailored for urban street vendors and hawkers. One lakh beneficiaries received direct loan disbursements.
• Infrastructure Foundations:
  • Laid the foundation stone for an innovation and entrepreneurship hub at the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST).
  • Laid the foundation stone for a modern Radiosurgery Centre at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
• Poojappura Head Post Office: Inaugurated a modernized facility offering a centralized hub for citizen, digital, banking, and insurance services.

ECI Hosts India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management 2026

The Election Commission of India (ECI) hosted the inaugural India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management (IICDEM 2026) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

• Theme: "Democracy for an inclusive, peaceful, resilient, and sustainable world"
• Organizers: Handled by the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) under the ECI.
• Launch of ECINET: The ECI unveiled the Election Commission of India Network (ECINET). Built in English and all 22 scheduled regional languages, it features online voter registration, Know Your Candidate (KYC) search, e-EPIC downloading, specialized services for Divyang citizens, and a "Book-a-Call" feature with Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
• International Cooperation: India and Namibia signed an MoU on the sidelines to share election management strategies.
• Delhi Declaration 2026: The event concluded with the unanimous adoption of a framework based on 5 functional pillars: purity of electoral rolls, conduct of elections, research/publications, technology deployment, and capacity training.

GoI Selects 5 Companies in 4th Round of PLI Scheme for White Goods

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MoC&I) selected 5 core enterprises under the 4th round of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for white goods (Air Conditioners and LED lights) with a committed investment of ₹863 crore.

• Expected Outcomes: Projected to generate a total production value of ₹8,337.24 crore and create 1,799 direct manufacturing jobs by FY28.
• Cumulative Impact: To date, 85 cumulative companies selected under this PLI scheme are set to drive ₹11,198 crore in investments and hit a production target of ₹1,90,050 crore over the scheme timeline.
• Allocated Core Investments Breakdown:
  • Kirloskar Pneumatic: ₹320 crore
  • Indo Asia Copper Limited: ₹258.97 crore
  • Kyron Technology: ₹175 crore
  • Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company: ₹58.69 crore
  • Pranav Vikas (India) Pvt. Ltd.: ₹50 crore
• Component Focus: Production will cover AC compressors, grooved copper tubes, control assemblies, heat exchangers, LED chip packaging, and light management systems.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Chairs 3rd IWDC Meeting in Kochi

The 3rd meeting of the Inland Waterways Development Council (IWDC 3.0) convened in Kochi, Kerala, to push forward green mobility, multimodal logistics, and river-centric economy systems.

• Approvals & Projects: Sanctioned projects worth over ₹1,500 crore and laid foundation stones for ₹150 crore worth of river cruise jetties across Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, and Telangana.
• Asset Procurement Strategy: Allocated ₹465 crore to procure specialized vessels, 20 pontoons, 8 Quick Pontoon Opening Mechanisms (QPOMs), 12 dredgers, 3 tug-barge units, 5 survey vessels, and 4 Ro-Pax jetties.
• Waterway Landscape: India holds 111 National Waterways across 23 states and 4 UTs, out of which 32 are currently operational for commercial cargo and passengers.

Indian Railways Deploys First Humanoid Robot ‘ASC ARJUN’

Indian Railways deployed its first indigenous humanoid robot, named ‘ASC ARJUN’, at the Visakhapatnam Railway Station in Andhra Pradesh to manage security under the East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone.

• Technical Framework: Developed locally over one year utilizing indigenous AI and Internet of Things (IoT) tech to aid the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
• Core Capabilities: Employs a Face Recognition System (FRS) for intruder detection, manages crowds using AI tracking, spots active smoke or fire, and provides multi-lingual automated platform guidance in English, Hindi, and Telugu.

Indian Army Partners with IISc to Develop Indigenous AI Defence System

The Indian Army signed an institutional MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, to collaboratively design and engineer an indigenous Artificial Intelligence system for modern electronic warfare.

• Objective: Blends active military operational data with deep academic research and domestic industrial support to achieve self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

President Droupadi Murmu Inaugurates ‘Granth Kutir’

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated “Granth Kutir”, a dedicated cultural and literary archival space located within Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

• The Collection: Maintained under the Gyan Bharatam Mission of the Ministry of Culture, it preserves 2,300 books and 50 rare classical manuscripts written on historical mediums like palm leaves, bark, cloth, and vintage paper.
• Languages Honored: Showcases works across India's classical languages including Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali.

International Affairs

56th Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum (Davos)

The 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) took place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, bringing together nearly 3,000 global policymakers and business leaders.

• Theme: “A Spirit of Dialogue”
• Indian Presence: Led by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (MeitY & Railways).
• Major Report Launches:
  • WEF Chief Economists’ Outlook: 53% of chief economists project a weakening global economy for 2026—showing minor recovery from the 72% downcast sentiment recorded in late 2025.
  • AI Adoption (Proof Over Promise): Published alongside Accenture. Tech Mahindra was prominently featured in the MINDS program for driving real-world corporate AI execution.
  • AI Investment Share: India ranked 8th out of 11 surveyed nations, with AI investments estimated at 1.2%–1.8% of its 2024 GDP. The USA topped global charts, followed closely by Singapore, South Korea, and China.
• The Board of Peace: US President Donald Trump and representatives from 19 other nations signed the founding charter for a new global diplomatic initiative.

USA Officially Withdraws from World Health Organization

On January 22, 2026, the United States formally completed its exit from the World Health Organization (WHO), concluding a strict 78-year membership tenure following a one-year notice window executed under Executive Order 14155.

• Financial Deficit: The exit marks the complete halt of USA annual assessed dues (USD 111 million) and standard voluntary funding (USD 570 million). The US previously accounted for roughly 18% of the total WHO budget.
• Strategic Shift: US international healthcare strategies will redirect funding from multilateral structures directly into targeted bilateral health and disease surveillance programs.

Banking & Finance

Buyforex Secures In-Principle PSP Approval at GIFT IFSC

Buyforex, a wholly-owned unit of Eraaya Lifespaces subsidiary EbixCash World Money, secured an in-principle Payment Service Provider (PSP) authorization from the IFSCA at GIFT City, Gujarat.

• Significance: Marks the first time an Authorized Dealer Category-II (AD-II) licensed group entity has achieved this specific status.
• Permitted Services: Entitles Buyforex to deliver cross-border account issuance, e-money setups, merchant acquisitions, and international money transfers.

Economy & Business

UNCTAD: FDI Inflows to India Jump 73% to USD 47 Billion

According to the latest Global Investment Trends Monitor published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India surged 73% to hit USD 47 billion in 2025.

• Drivers: Attributed to significant global expansion in IT, structural R&D, and supply-chain manufacturing integrations.
• Global Landscape: Global FDI rose 14% to USD 1.61 trillion in 2025. However, this growth was primarily driven by financial conduit flows through developed hubs (UK, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland). Developed markets saw a 43% boost (USD 728 billion), whereas developing nation inflows slid downwards by 2% to USD 877 billion.

Awards & Recognitions

Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya Receives Wiley Research Heroes Award

Former WHO staff scientist Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya became the first Indian scholar to be honored with the Wiley Research Heroes Prize (2025) under the "Impact Beyond Academia" tier. He was selected alongside 4 other global winners out of 2,000 international nominations, receiving a USD 2,000 cash grant for public health policy research.

Sikkim Police Conferred with President’s Police Colour Award 2026

The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the conferral of the President’s Police Colour Award (Nishaan) to the Sikkim Police for exceptional operational merit.

• Milestone: Sikkim becomes the 15th state overall and the 3rd within the North East zone to receive India's highest collective police honor. All 6,500 serving and retired personnel are authorized to wear the specialized insignia on their left uniform sleeves.

Appointments & Resignations

Arijit Basu Appointed as Part-time Chairman of IndusInd Bank

Arijit Basu has been appointed Additional Director and Part-time Chairman of IndusInd Bank for a three-year tenure starting January 31, 2026. He replaces Sunil Mehta following his scheduled step-down. Basu previously served as Chairman of HDB Financial Services and Managing Director of the State Bank of India (SBI).

Books & Authors

‘Red Lines Redrawn: Operation Sindoor and India’s New Normal’

• Launch: Formally released by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi in New Delhi.
• Authors: Jointly written by Maj Gen Bipin Bakshi (Retd), Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar (Retd), Amb Anil Trigunayat (Retd), and Brig Akhelesh Bhargava (Retd).
• Publisher: Konark Publishers Private Limited.
• Synopsis: Features a strategic account of 'Operation Sindoor'—the multi-domain 88-hour joint campaign launched in May 2025 to neutralize elements following the Pahalgam terrorist attacks.

Important Days at a Glance