44 exam-relevant headlines, written simply. Read the bold fact in each — that's what exams ask.
Vidarbha won its first Vijay Hazare Trophy, beating Saurashtra by 38 runs in the final at Bengaluru. Atharva Taide scored 128 and Aman Mokhade finished as Player of the Tournament with 814 runs.
Badminton star Saina Nehwal announced her retirement, ending a 21-year career. She won India's first Olympic badminton medal, a bronze at London 2012, and became the first Indian woman world No. 1 in 2015.
Bulgaria adopted the euro on January 1, 2026, replacing its currency, the lev, at a fixed rate of 1 euro = 1.95583 lev. It became the 21st member of the Eurozone.
President Droupadi Murmu launched the Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) programme on January 1, 2026, along with the #SkillTheNation Challenge. The programme of the Ministry of Skill Development aims to prepare young Indians for an AI-driven economy.
Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Grand International Exposition 'The Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One' in New Delhi on January 3, 2026. The sacred Piprahwa relics, discovered in 1898, were repatriated from Hong Kong and displayed together after 127 years with more than 80 artefacts.
Suresh Kalmadi, former President of the Indian Olympic Association from 1996 to 2012 and chairman of the 2010 Commonwealth Games organising committee, died in Pune at 81. He also served as Minister of State for Railways.
Eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil died at the age of 83 in January 2026. He was widely known for his work on ecology and the Western Ghats.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was observed on January 9, marking Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa in 1915. The convention is held biennially since 2015, and the 19th edition will be hosted in 2027.
National Youth Day was observed on January 12, 2026, the 163rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. It coincided with the 2nd Viksit Bharat Young Leaders' Dialogue at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
The PSLV-C62 mission suffered an anomaly after ignition of its third stage on January 12, 2026, the second straight failure of the rocket. It was the 64th PSLV flight, carrying DRDO's EOS-N1 satellite and 15 co-passengers.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz paid his first official visit to India on January 12-13, 2026, as Chief Guest of the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad. The two countries signed 19 MoUs and marked 25 years of their Strategic Partnership.
MNRE data showed India's non-fossil fuel power capacity reached 266.78 GW in 2025, a rise of 22.6% in one year. Solar led with 131.81 GW, followed by wind at 54.51 GW, supporting the 500 GW clean energy target for 2030.
The Henley Passport Index 2026, released on January 13, ranked Singapore first with visa-free access to 192 destinations. India climbed five places to 80th, with visa-free access to 55 destinations.
The 10th Armed Forces Veterans' Day was observed on January 14, 2026. The day marks the retirement of Field Marshal K. M. Cariappa, the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Army, in 1953.
The 78th Army Day parade was held in Jaipur, the first time outside a military cantonment. The Indian Army's new 'Bhairav' drone warfare force, with 15 battalions raised, made its debut at the parade.
India launched its BRICS chairship for 2026, its fourth tenure as chair, coinciding with the group's 20th anniversary. The theme is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability', with a lotus-inspired logo.
NITI Aayog released the 4th Export Preparedness Index, in which Maharashtra topped the large states with a score of 68.01, followed by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Uttarakhand led among smaller states.
The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects report raised India's growth forecast for FY 2025-26 to 7.2%, keeping India the fastest-growing major economy. Growth is expected at 6.5% in FY27.
Delhi's 21-year-old Aaryan Varshney became India's 92nd Grandmaster by securing his final norm at the Andranik Margaryan Memorial tournament in Armenia. He is the eighth GM from Delhi.
The foundation for the world's largest green hydrogen and ammonia plant was laid at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. AM Green plans a USD 10 billion (about Rs 84,000 crore) investment with a capacity of 1.5 MTPA of green ammonia in phases by 2030.
The RBI announced the revised Integrated Ombudsman Scheme 2026, effective July 1, 2026. Compensation for consequential loss rises to Rs 30 lakh and for time and harassment to Rs 3 lakh, with no cap on the dispute amount.
Nitin Nabin was elected National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party on January 19, 2026.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India on January 19, 2026, his third visit as President. Both countries agreed to expand the CEPA trade pact with a target of over USD 200 billion in trade by 2032, and announced cooperation in supercomputing and small modular nuclear reactors.
The government appointed Rakesh Aggarwal as Director General of the NIA, Praveen Kumar as DG of the BSF and Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor as DG of the ITBP. Former IPS officer Praveen Vashista was appointed Vigilance Commissioner in the CVC.
The Environment Ministry launched the second nationwide survey of river dolphins from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh under Project Dolphin. The first survey of 2021-23 had counted about 6,327 riverine dolphins.
The Election Commission hosted the first India International Conference on Democracy and Election Management at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, concluding with the Delhi Declaration 2026. It launched ECINET, a single platform for election services, available in English and 22 scheduled languages.
Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams retired after 27 years of service. She spent 608 days in space and performed nine spacewalks totalling over 62 hours, a record for women astronauts.
The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the Atal Pension Yojana until FY 2030-31. Launched in May 2015 and run by PFRDA, the scheme guarantees pensions of Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 a month and has over 8.66 crore subscribers.
The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2026 named geoeconomic confrontation the top risk over the next two years and extreme weather the most severe over ten years. Cyber insecurity was flagged as India's principal risk.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan released the policy framework for the Military Quantum Mission, aligned with the National Quantum Mission. It covers four pillars: quantum communication, computing, sensing and metrology, and materials and devices.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, launched on January 22, 2015 under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, completed 11 years. It has over 4.53 crore accounts with deposits above Rs 3.33 lakh crore and pays 8.2% interest.
Parakram Diwas was observed on January 23, 2026, the 129th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The day has been celebrated since 2021, and the 2026 event was held at Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The 2026 Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar for disaster management was announced: the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority in the institutional category and Lt Col Seeta Ashok Shelke of the Indian Army in the individual category.
National Girl Child Day was observed on January 24, the 19th edition since the day was instituted by the Women and Child Development Ministry in 2008. It coincided with the 11th anniversary of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme.
The Padma Awards 2026 were announced on the eve of Republic Day: 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri, including 19 women and 16 posthumous awards. Cricketers Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur received the Padma Shri, and Maharashtra had the most awardees at 15.
The 16th National Voters' Day was observed on January 25, 2026, with the theme 'My India, My Vote', marking 76 years of the Election Commission of India founded on January 25, 1950.
India celebrated its 77th Republic Day with the theme '150 Years of Vande Mataram'. For the first time, the European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were jointly the Chief Guests. DRDO displayed its first Long Range Anti-Ship Hypersonic Missile.
President Murmu approved 70 gallantry awards, with the Ashoka Chakra going to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian on the International Space Station. Navy women officers Lt Cdr Dilna K and Lt Cdr Roopa A received the Shaurya Chakra.
At the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi, India and the European Union concluded negotiations for a long-awaited Free Trade Agreement. Both sides also endorsed the '2030 Joint India-EU Comprehensive Strategic Agenda', making the EU India's 22nd FTA partner.
India Energy Week 2026, the government's flagship energy event, was held in Goa from January 27 to 30. Reliance and ONGC signed a resource-sharing agreement for KG Basin and Andaman offshore blocks on the sidelines.
Wings India 2026, Asia's largest civil aviation event, was held from January 28 to 31 at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated it, and Air India ordered 30 more Boeing narrowbody jets, taking its Boeing orders to 250.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar died on January 28, 2026, when his Learjet 45 crashed at Baramati airport in Pune district. He was 66 and had served as Deputy Chief Minister six times.
India added two new Ramsar wetlands of international importance, taking its count to 98: Patna Bird Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, the 97th site, and Chhari-Dhand in Gujarat's Kutch, the 98th. Tamil Nadu has the most Ramsar sites among states.
Sunetra Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on January 31, 2026, the first woman to hold the post. Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath after the death of Ajit Pawar.
From exactly the headlines above. If you read the month, you should score 8+.
Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.