Current Affairs

Odisha government is drafting an action plan to protect Chilika Lake biodiversity. Chilika, a brackish, shallow estuarine lagoon across Puri, Khurda and Ganjam, is Asia’s largest brackish water lake. At the Daya river mouth it connects to Bay of Bengal via a 32-km channel. Ramsar site since 1981 (India’s first); Nalabana Island Bird Sanctuary (1987). Major wintering ground for migratory birds; supports flamingos and Irrawaddy dolphins.

Indian Army declared 2026 as the “Year of Networking & Data Centricity” (announced January 2026 under COAS Gen Upendra Dwivedi) to treat data as a critical operational asset. It stresses advanced networks for seamless, secure real-time data flow across soldiers, command centres, sensors, weapon platforms, and intelligence/logistics, enabling faster decisions and combat effectiveness, promoting tri-service jointness, indigenisation (communications, BMS, defence networks), and legacy-modern integration; 2024–25 was “Year of Technology Absorption”.

India and Bangladesh have initiated talks to renew the India–Bangladesh Ganga Water Sharing Treaty ahead of its December 2026 expiry. Signed in 1996 for 30 years, the treaty regulates dry-season sharing of Ganges waters at the Farakka Barrage through a fixed flow-based formula, joint monitoring mechanisms, periodic reviews, and emergency consultation provisions.

A study from Kerala’s Western Ghats flagged photo tourism as a threat to the galaxy frog (Melanobatrachus indicus), after seven individuals vanished following repeated disturbance by photographers. The species is a small, endemic amphibian of moist evergreen forests, highly sensitive to microclimatic changes. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and classified as an EDGE species.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to Rani Velu Nachiyar on her birth anniversary on January 3. Born in 1730, she is recognised as the first queen to fight British colonial power in India. Ruler of Sivaganga, she reclaimed her kingdom in 1780 with allied support, organised resistance forces including an all-women unit, and is remembered as Veeramangai for her role in early anti-colonial resistance.

The government notified Niryat Protsahan Pilot Schemes under the NIRYAT PROTSAHAN component of the Export Promotion Mission. The schemes provide interest subvention on export credit and additional incentives for emerging markets, with an annual cap of ₹50 lakh for FY 2025–26. Eligibility is restricted to a notified HS six-digit positive list, alongside collateral support through CGTMSE guarantees to facilitate MSME exports.

India and Pakistan exchanged lists of nuclear installations under the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities. Signed on December 31, 1988, and in force since January 27, 1991, the pact mandates annual exchange of location information on January 1 and commits both sides to refrain from attacks on each other’s nuclear facilities, serving as a nuclear risk-reduction measure.

India rose to 8th position in 2025 from 123rd in 2014 in contributions to WHO’s VigiBase under the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring. The improvement is attributed to the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, launched in 2010, which analyses drug-related adverse events and forwards regulatory recommendations to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, strengthening global medicine and vaccine safety surveillance.

The Chief of Defence Staff inaugurated a runway upgrade at the Indian Air Force’s Car Nicobar air base, highlighting the strategic importance of Car Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Car Nicobar, the northernmost island of the Nicobar group, lies near the Ten Degree Channel, serves as the Nicobar district headquarters, and is primarily inhabited by the Nicobarese tribe.

Indonesian authorities raised the alert for Mount Bur Ni Telong in Aceh following increased seismic activity marked by earthquake swarms. The volcano is an active stratovolcano, about 2,624 metres high, located in northern Sumatra. Formed by layered lava and pyroclastic materials, such composite volcanoes are typical of subduction zones and are prone to explosive eruptions within the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Indian Railways inaugurated the Bairabi–Sairang line in September 2025, providing Mizoram’s first rail link to Aizawl. In 2025, rail connectivity reached the Kashmir Valley via the completed Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link and Aizawl in the Northeast. Major milestones included the new Pamban vertical-lift sea bridge, Dedicated Freight Corridor expansion, Kavach 4.0 deployment, freight diversification concerns, safety reforms, and progress toward 2030 freight, passenger, and decarbonisation targets.

The European Union implemented the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from January 1, imposing a carbon-related levy on selected carbon-intensive imports to prevent carbon leakage. CBAM covers sectors such as steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers and power, targeting goods from countries with lower environmental standards. The measure is expected to impact India’s steel and aluminium exports, has drawn CBDR-related criticism, and faces dispute actions by developing countries.

The Union Finance Ministry notified a comprehensive overhaul of tobacco taxation effective February 1, 2025, following the Central Excise (Amendment) Act, 2025. The reform ends GST Compensation Cess on tobacco, revises GST slabs, introduces new excise duties and a cess under the Health Security-cum-National Security Act, 2025, and mandates retail sale price–based GST valuation for smokeless tobacco products.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted a salvo launch of two indigenous Pralay surface-to-surface missiles, validating the operational readiness of the system. Pralay is a short-range, solid-propellant, quasi-ballistic missile with a range of 150–500 km, capable of carrying conventional warheads, launched from mobile platforms, and designed for high accuracy, manoeuvrability, and precision strikes against tactical targets.

Delivery workers’ strikes renewed focus on gig worker welfare under the Code on Social Security, 2020, which defines gig work outside traditional employment. Welfare delivery is enabled through e-Shram registration, Ayushman Bharat health cover, and ₹2 lakh accident insurance under PMSBY. Eligibility is linked to minimum workdays. Rajasthan enacted the Platform-Based Gig Workers Act, 2023, as a state-level legal framework.

In September 2025, the United States announced a 100% tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical imports effective October 1, 2025, raising concerns for India’s export-oriented pharma sector. India supplies 40% of U.S. generics and derives 35% of pharma exports from the U.S. market. Extension of tariffs to generics could reduce export revenues and marginally impact GDP growth.

NASA research on near-Earth asteroid Bennu, based on samples returned by the OSIRIS-REx mission, detected sugars, amino acids and all five nucleobases. Bennu is a carbon-rich Apollo asteroid, originally designated 1999 RQ36, that passes close to Earth about every six years. The findings support theories on extraterrestrial sources of life’s basic chemical components.

A Task Force chaired by Olympic medalist Abhinav Bindra submitted a roadmap to reform India’s sports governance into a professional, accountable, and athlete-centric system. The report highlights governance deficits, fragmented training, and weak athlete career pathways, and proposes institutional reforms, performance-linked accountability, capacity building mechanisms, and a National Sports Governance Act, 2025, aligned with Khelo India and Khelo Bharat Niti-2025 objectives.

The Ministry of Science and Technology developed PathGennie, an open-source computational framework for drug discovery simulations. The software accelerates modelling of rare molecular events by tracking ligand unbinding pathways and estimating drug residence time, a key determinant of therapeutic effectiveness. PathGennie avoids force-based distortions, captures multiple competitive pathways, and is compatible with machine-learning–based simulation pipelines.

Air Marshal Tejinder Singh assumed charge as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force’s South Western Air Command on January 1, 2026. A fighter pilot commissioned in 1987, he has over 4,500 flying hours and has held key operational and staff appointments, including AOC-in-C Training Command, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, and senior operational roles, and is a recipient of the Vayu Sena Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.

Assam constituted its 8th State Pay Commission, becoming the first state to initiate pay revision before the expiry of the 7th Pay Commission on January 1, 2026. The decision was announced by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, with former Assam Chief Secretary Subhas Das appointed as chair. The commission will review salaries, allowances, and pensions of state government employees.

The Union government notified appointments and a transfer of Chief Justices for the Kerala, Patna and Meghalaya High Courts based on Supreme Court Collegium recommendations made on December 18, 2025, under Articles 217 and 222 of the Constitution. Justice Soumen Sen was transferred to Kerala, Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo appointed to Patna, and Justice Revati Prashant Mohite Dere appointed to Meghalaya High Court.