Current Affairs Quiz - January 2026

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 ‘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:
Gujarat Chief Minister reviewed rescue operations under Karuna Abhiyan-2026 during the Uttarayan festival after a surge in bird injuries caused by kite strings. Karuna Abhiyan is a state-wide wildlife rescue and rehabilitation campaign launched in 2017 to protect birds and animals injured during festivals, especially kite-flying. 700+ veterinarians, 8,600+ volunteers, 1,000+ centres across Gujarat during high-risk periods. More than 1.12 lakh animals and birds rescued since 2017; India’s first state-driven festival-linked wildlife protection campaign; serves as a national benchmark.

Notes:
NITI Aayog released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024, assessing export readiness of India’s States and Union Territories (UTs) to support the goal of USD 1 trillion merchandise exports by 2030 and Viksit Bharat @2047. EPI 2024 is structured around four pillars—Export Infrastructure, Business Ecosystem, Policy & Governance, and Export Performance. It is further divided into 13 sub-pillars and 70 indicators for granular assessment. Top-performing Large States are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, while top-performing Small/North Eastern States & UTs are Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, and Goa.

Notes:
The Delhi government stated that more than 6,500 monkeys rescued by civic bodies from residential and commercial areas were shifted to Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in the last five years. Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary covers about 32.71 square kilometres on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range along the Delhi–Haryana border. It extends across southern Delhi and parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana. The sanctuary is part of the Northern Aravalli Leopard Wildlife Corridor.

Notes:
The Global Risk Report 2026 was released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). It identifies geoeconomic confrontation as the most significant global risk. In the short term (2026–2028), key risks include geoeconomic confrontation, state-based armed conflicts, extreme weather events, and rising societal polarisation. In the long term (up to 2036), major risks are extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse. India faces major risks like cyber insecurity, inequality, and weak public services. Geoeconomic confrontation means using trade, technology, sanctions, and investment controls for strategic advantage.

Notes:
The Indian Skimmer Conservation Project was launched by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). BNHS, established in 1883, is one of India’s largest non-governmental organizations working on conservation and biodiversity research. The Indian Skimmer is native to South Asia, mainly found in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and extends to Nepal and Myanmar. It has a unique feeding method, skimming the water surface with its specialised beak, where the lower mandible is longer. The species inhabits sandy lowland rivers, lakes, marshes, estuaries, and coastal areas. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the Indian Skimmer is Endangered.

Notes:
The National Conference on Strategic Trade Controls (NCSTC) 2026 was organised in New Delhi to strengthen India’s Strategic Trade Control framework for regulating exports of sensitive and dual-use items. The conference focused on the SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies) framework and its role in preventing proliferation risks while supporting legitimate trade. The conference also addressed export control challenges in emerging and frontier technologies such as semiconductors, quantum technology, aerospace, biotechnology and cyber security.

Notes:
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare hereditary brain disorder where specific neurons break down, leading to emotional problems, loss of thinking ability, and uncontrolled movements. Neuron damage occurs mainly in the basal ganglia (controls movement) and the cerebral cortex (controls thinking, memory, and decision‑making). Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by a genetic mutation in the HTT (Huntingtin) gene, which produces the huntingtin protein essential for neuron function. Recent research is providing fresh hope by advancing understanding of the disease mechanisms and potential treatments, offering optimism for future therapies.

Notes:
The latest crocodile census shows an increase in crocodile population in Similipal National Park of Odisha, highlighting successful wildlife conservation. Similipal National Park is located in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha and covers about 2,750 square kilometres. The park is named after the Simul or silk cotton tree found in large numbers. It is a National Park, Tiger Reserve, Wildlife Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserve, and part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve.