National Affairs

1. National Textile Ministers’ Conference 2026

• Date & Venue: January 08–09, 2026 | Guwahati, Assam
• Theme: "India’s Textiles: Weaving Growth, Heritage & Innovation"
• Organizers: Ministry of Textiles (MoT) + Government of Assam
• Key Initiatives & Launches:
  • Report Released: "India’s Textile Atlas: State Compendium 2025"
  • DLTT Plan Unveiled: District-Led Textiles Transformation (DLTT) Plan to turn 100 high-potential districts into Global Export Champions and 100 Aspirational Districts into self-reliant hubs.
  • MoU for IP Protection: Signed between the Textiles Committee and NEHHDC for Geographical Indication (GI) registration of North-Eastern products.
  • Tex-RAMPS Scheme: MoT signed MoUs with 15 states to improve data systems under the Textiles-focused Research, Assessment, Monitoring, Planning and Start-Up framework.

2. Defense Upgrades & Modernization

• Pinaka MLRS Upgrade: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) signed a contract with the Indian Army (awarded by Corps of EME) to overhaul and upgrade Pinaka Multiple Launcher Rocket Systems. The pilot run will be done with the 510 Army Base Workshop (ABW) under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• Indian Army & HDFC Bank MoU: Renewed for 3 years till 2029. Provides:
  • ₹1 crore Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) and Air Accident Insurance cover.
  • ₹5 lakh support each for child education and girl child marriage.
• 'DIME' Platform Launch: Indian Army launched Depot Integration Management Edition (DIME), a logistics platform developed with BISAG-N (under MeitY). It cuts manual paperwork by ~70% and boosts supply speed by 1/3rd.
• Solar-Powered MAPSS UAVs: Indian Army placed a ₹168 crore order with NewSpace Research & Technologies (NRT) for the Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS).
  • Developed under the MoD’s iDEX initiative.
  • Fully electric, solar-recharging, and built for GNSS-denied (satellite navigation jammed) zone operations with low thermal signatures.

Banking & Finance

1. Bank of Baroda (BoB) Strategic Restructuring

• RBI In-Principle Approval: Allowed BoB to transition its departmental Bank Primary Dealer (PD) business into a wholly-owned subsidiary for Standalone Primary Dealer (SPD) business.
• Market Landscape Context: India currently has 7 SPDs and 14 Bank-affiliated PDs (including BoB, Canara Bank, HDFC, and UBI).
• Policy Update: RBI raised the aggregate Standing Liquidity Facility limit for SPDs at the repo rate from ₹10,000 crore to ₹15,000 crore (effective April 2, 2025).

2. Cross-Border & Physical Payment Licenses

• Skydo: Received final RBI authorization as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB) entity to collect and remit overseas payments for Indian exporters.
• PayG: Secured RBI approvals for both PA-Physical (PA-P) and PA-CB, completing its full suite of payment aggregator licenses to manage online, offline (POS/QR), and global merchant transactions.

Economy & Business

1. AI & Automation Partnerships

• Bharat Forge + Agile Robots S.E. (Germany): Signed an MoU in Pune to co-develop AI-enabled robotics and automation for civilian manufacturing (automotive, healthcare, logistics), aiming to build fully autonomous "dark" factories in India and Southeast Asia.

2. Digital Investments & GDP Projections

• Choice Wealth + IPPB Contract: Choice Wealth will launch a digital investment platform for India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) customers. It will deliver Mutual Fund aggregation and Robo-Advisory (RA) services via apps, web, and micro-ATMs (mATMs) to rural and semi-urban investors.
• Morgan Stanley GDP Projections:
  • Real GDP (FY26): Projected at 7.6% Y-o-Y (higher than the NSO estimate of 7.4%).
  • Real GDP (FY27): Expected at 6.5%.
  • Nominal GDP (FY26): Expected at 8%.

Awards & Science

1. 70th Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar (AVRSP 2025)

• Conferred by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to 100 railway officials along with 26 performance shields to top railway zones at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi.
• 100 Years of Rail Electrification: Commemorated via a special coin (Kolkata Mint) and postal stamp. India has electrified over 68,700 route km (over 72% done).
• Reform Roadmap: Unveiled the "52 weeks, 52 reforms" initiative for 2026.

2. DRDO Hypersonic Scramjet Engine Test

• What: Long-duration ground test of a full-scale, actively cooled scramjet engine/combustor.
• Facility: Scramjet Connect Pipe Test (SCPT) facility at DRDL, Hyderabad.
• Duration: Successfully operated for over 12 minutes.
• Significance: Vital milestone for India’s Hypersonic Cruise Missile Programme to sustain low-altitude speeds exceeding Mach 5 (6,100 km/h).

Environment & Wildlife

New Frog Species Discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

• Discovered by: University of Delhi in collaboration with Harvard University; published in PeerJ.
• Biogeographical Boundary: Found north of the Brahmaputra River (acting as a major geographic barrier for the genus).

Important Days: World Hindi Day 2026 (January 10)

• Significance: Celebrated annually on January 10 to promote Hindi globally. Marks the first use of Hindi in the UNGA (1949) and commemorates the first World Hindi Conference (Nagpur, 1975).
• History: Approved by former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh; first celebrated on 10 January 2006.
• Global Fact: Fiji is the only country outside India where Hindi is recognized as an official language in its Constitution ("Fiji Hindi").
• Note: National "Hindi Diwas" is celebrated separately on 14 September.

State News

1. Tamil Nadu

• Quantum Computing Initiative: Signed an LoI with German tech firm XeedQ GmbH at UmagineTN2026 to set up India’s first state-backed Quantum Computing Programme.
  • Phase 1: Remote access to a 4-qubit quantum computer.
  • Phase 2: Physical, on-premises quantum computer deployment at the iTNT Hub (Anna University).

2. Kerala

• New Chief Justice: Justice Soumen Sen was sworn in as the 40th Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, succeeding Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar.

3. Karnataka

• "Akka Pade" (Elder Sister Force) Scheme: Cabinet approved this women-and-community safety initiative to combat crimes like child marriage, harassment, and trafficking. It deploys designated patrol vehicles to track sensitive areas from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., starting with Mysuru, Belagavi, and Dakshina Kannada.