Current Affairs Quiz - January 2026

Notes:
India has assumed the BRICS chairmanship for 2026, with Brazil formally handing over the presidency. India will host the 18th BRICS Summit in 2026. The chairmanship is based on four pillars: Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Environmental Stability or Sustainability. India will push for reform of global governance institutions, stressing reform, not replacement, to reduce Western dominance. India aims to strengthen Global South leadership and promote a multipolar world order. It will project Digital Public Infrastructure as a scalable development model for the Global South.

Notes:
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake recently struck the North Island region of New Zealand. The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. It is separated from the South Island by the Cook Strait. The island covers about 113,729 square kilometres, making it the 14th largest island in the world. It is smaller than the South Island but has a much larger population.

Notes:
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated a cancer screening mobile unit called ‘Asha Van’ in Gandhinagar. The van is equipped with EVA-Pro diagnostics, a mammography unit, and expert teleconsultation facilities for early detection and diagnosis of cancer. It can screen for 10 types of cancer, including lung, oral, blood, cervical, pancreatic, liver, breast, and prostate cancers, using ultra-modern equipment at any location. The initiative supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Health and Wellness for All’, particularly benefiting rural areas.

Notes:
Prasar Bharati recently launched “Creator’s Corner” on DD News to empower digital creators across India. It is a dedicated platform to showcase content created by independent digital creators on a national television network. The initiative aims to promote the digital economy by encouraging quality content creation and wider outreach through collaboration. Content will cover news and current affairs, culture, travel, cuisine, art, literature, music, health, education, science and technology, environment, and entertainment. The programme will be telecast at 7:00 PM from Monday to Friday on DD News.

Notes:
BHASHINI Samudaye is organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in New Delhi to strengthen India’s language Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem. It is a collaborative platform under BHASHINI that supports co-creation, governance, and scaling of Indian language AI tools, datasets, and services. It is led by the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) under MeitY as part of the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM). The BHASHINI platform and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) enable real-time translation, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech in Indian languages.

Notes:
The United States announced that India will be invited to join the US-led Pax Silica initiative to deepen India–United States strategic and trade ties. Pax Silica aims to secure supply chains of silicon, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), critical minerals, and advanced manufacturing. It is a United States–led economic security and technology partnership under the US Department of State, launched with the first summit in December 2025.

Notes:
The 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter Terrorism (CT) has begun in New Delhi on 14 January 2026. India and Malaysia are co-chairing this third meeting of the 2024–2027 cycle. Delegations from 11 ASEAN countries, 7 dialogue partners, and ASEAN Secretariat representatives are participating. The meeting is reviewing progress since the last session and advancing the three-year work plan on counter-terrorism cooperation. The Final Planning Conference for the Table Top Exercise (TTX) is being conducted on 14 January. Malaysia will host the Table Top Exercise (TTX) later in 2026, while India will conduct the Field Training Exercise (FTX) in 2027.

Notes:
The ‘Atmanirbhar Hanol Mahotsav-2026’ has been inaugurated on 13th January at Hanol village in Palitana taluka of Bhavnagar district, Gujarat. Hanol village is recognised nationally as a model of self-reliance and rural transformation, developed under the efforts of Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, a native of the village. The event promotes the ‘Hanol Model’ as an example of Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Adarsh Gram initiative.

Notes:
A fire, reportedly due to a short circuit, destroyed at least 38 thatched houses of the Konda Reddi tribe in Sarlanka village, Prathipadu Mandal, Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh. Konda Reddis are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) living along both banks of the Godavari River in hilly and forest areas of East Godavari, West Godavari, and Khammam districts of Andhra Pradesh. Their language is Telugu spoken in a pure, unique accent. They follow Folk Hinduism with local deity worship.

Notes:
On the 10th Armed Forces Veterans Day, Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh paid tribute to the courage and sacrifices of the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. Operation Pawan was conducted by the IPKF after the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord on 29 July 1987. The IPKF was deployed in Sri Lanka until March 1990, when it withdrew following a change in the Sri Lankan government’s policy. The operation involved significant bravery and sacrifice by Indian soldiers, now formally recognised and honoured by the government.