Daily Current Affairs – 07-01-2026
Sports News
Chelsea Appoints New Head Coach
Chelsea Football Club has appointed Liam Rosenior as its new head coach on a six-year contract, replacing Enzo Maresca, with the appointment confirmed on Tuesday. This marks a significant managerial change at the English football club, with Rosenior taking charge under a long-term agreement.
Indian Super League 2025 Schedule Announced
The Indian Super League (ISL) will commence on February 14 and conclude on June 15, following a meeting involving the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and representatives of football clubs, with the schedule announced by Mansukh Mandaviya. The delayed season will feature 91 matches played on a home-and-away basis. The league, originally scheduled to start in October, was postponed after Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the commercial arm of AIFF, declined to continue the contract in its existing form, including the ₹50 crore annual fee payable to AIFF. For the current season, the AIFF will contribute 40% of the ₹25 crore central revenue pool (₹10 crore), with the remaining amount shared among 15 clubs. The I-League Division 1 and Division 2 will be merged, with 40 teams across five zones competing, while the Indian Women’s League (IWL) will also be conducted, and the AIFF will provide ₹3.2 crore towards the I-League.
National News
India’s Solar Module Manufacturing Growth in 2025
India’s solar module manufacturing capacity more than doubled in 2025, according to Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy. He stated that solar module manufacturing recorded a year-on-year increase of 128.6%, reaching 144 gigawatts (GW) in 2025, compared to 63 GW in 2024. This indicates that India added 81 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity during the previous year, highlighting a significant expansion in the country’s renewable energy manufacturing sector.
Election Commission Defends Special Intensive Revision (SIR)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) informed the Supreme Court of India that it has a constitutional power and duty to ensure that foreigners are excluded from electoral rolls, while defending the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. The ECI clarified that the SIR is not a parallel National Register of Citizens (NRC) and that such comparisons are incorrect, as the NRC counts all citizens, whereas the SIR includes only legally eligible voters aged 18 years and above. The SIR was launched in Bihar in 2025 and has been expanded to 12 additional States and Union Territories in its second phase. The ECI stated that verification of citizenship status for electoral eligibility falls within its constitutional mandate. In this context, the ECI also released draft electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, under the SIR, showing 2.89 crore voter names deleted, the highest deletion recorded in any State so far.
Release of Indian Classical Language Publications
Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister, released 55 books in Indian classical languages, including Tamil, and a 45-part Tirukkural commentary in Sign Language at an event held in New Delhi. Of these, 41 books were prepared by special institutions for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia languages, while the Tirukkural commentary and 13 Tamil books were compiled by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil. The releases form part of a national initiative to integrate India’s linguistic heritage with education, research, and culture, covering publications in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Odia, and Sign Language. The 13 Tamil books include Malayalam translations of Purananuru, Pathitruppaththu, Pattuppattu, Naanmanikadigai, Nanarpathu, and Muthollayiram, a Telugu translation of Silappathikaram, a Tamil–Hindi documentation titled “Tamilnattu Ramar Thirukkoilgal” covering 64 Rama temples in Tamil Nadu, and research works such as Tamilnattu Mara Sirpangal, Sangam Literature Dictionary, Akananuru Verb Dictionary, and Akananuru Noun Dictionary.
Cauvery Water Release Order for Tamil Nadu
The Cauvery Water Management Authority has directed Karnataka to release 2.76 TMC of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for January, in accordance with the Supreme Court of India verdict, following its 47th meeting held in New Delhi on January 6. Representatives of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Puducherry participated in the meeting via video conference. The Authority considered submissions and ordered the January release as per the Court’s formula. During the meeting, Tamil Nadu’s member and Water Resources Secretary J. Jayakanthan and the Head of the Cauvery Technical Cell R. Subramanian participated, with inputs provided from the Chennai Secretariat. As of January 6, the Mettur Dam storage stood at 65,360 TMC, with releases at 8,400 cusecs for agriculture, drinking water, and industrial use. The Authority also noted crop damage of about 1 lakh acres in the Cauvery delta districts due to heavy rains in late November and early December, and directed that the stipulated 2.76 TMC be ensured at Biligundlu as per the Supreme Court formula.
States’ News
Telangana Mandates Electric Vehicles for Institutional Transport
The Telangana Government has decided to make it mandatory for schools and organisations with sizeable employee strength to ensure that 25% to 50% of their transport fleet consists of electric vehicles (EVs). A comprehensive policy is being prepared and guidelines will be released soon, while the State is also working to ensure that 50% of vehicles owned by government departments and officials are converted to electric vehicles. This decision was informed to the Legislative Assembly by Ponnam Prabhakar, Transport Minister of Telangana, who stated that discussions have been held with electric vehicle manufacturing companies to offer concessions to government employees opting for EVs instead of conventional fuel vehicles. The move is linked to concerns over rising pollution levels in Hyderabad, the State capital.
Draft Electoral Roll Revision in Uttar Pradesh
The draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh and 9 states/UTs was released on January 6, 2026, in which 2.89 crore voters were removed from the rolls, reducing the total electorate in Uttar Pradesh from 15.44 crore to 12.55 crore. The revision followed the Aadhaar–voter ID linking exercise conducted last year to eliminate ineligible voters, and the second phase draft roll was earlier released on November 4, 2025 covering Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Goa, with a combined electorate of about 51 crore. In Uttar Pradesh, 46.23 lakh deceased voters, 2.17 crore permanently migrated or married voters, and 25.47 lakh duplicate registrations were removed following a door-to-door verification across 75 districts, completed by December 11, 2025, as stated by Navdeep Rinwa. The draft roll, initially scheduled for January 1, was released on January 4 due to severe fog, and a 6-week period has been provided for verification, correction, and inclusion of names, based on a revised polling station norm of one polling station per 15,030 voters.
Tamil Nadu News
Tamil Nadu Cabinet Approves Assured Pension Scheme and Household Survey
The Tamil Nadu Cabinet, chaired by M. K. Stalin, approved the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS) for State government employees, guaranteeing an assured pension equal to 50% of the last-drawn basic pay. The Cabinet also cleared the launch of ‘Ungal Kanavai Sollungal’ (Share Your Aspirations), a month-long household survey to collect feedback on State government schemes and identify priority issues. The survey will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister on January 9 at Ponneri in Tiruvallur district and will cover 1.91 crore families across Tamil Nadu, with 50,000 trained volunteers conducting door-to-door data collection. Each family will record three priority aspirations, which will be digitised through an application, assigned a unique code, and issued a tracking card, with implementation through the Mudhalvarin Mugavari Department. A dedicated website for youth feedback will be launched on January 11, and consultations with entrepreneurs of Tamil Nadu origin living abroad are scheduled on January 12, observed as the Day of Non-Resident Tamils, with the overall objective of aligning public priorities with the State’s development vision for 2030.
SCADA System Launched for Reservoir Management in Tamil Nadu
Udhayanidhi Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, inaugurated the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system in Chennai to manage key city reservoirs, enabling real-time monitoring of water storage levels and discharge details of Chembarambakkam Reservoir, Red Hills Reservoir, and Poondi Reservoir. Under the project, sluice gate operations of these reservoirs have been automated and integrated with the SCADA system from a central control room in Chennai. An Integrated Reservoir Management Centre has been constructed with an area of 1,088 square metres (11,708 sq ft), along with sub-control rooms at the three reservoirs. Using real-time data, officials can assess monsoon flood inflows in advance and open or close floodgates remotely based on reservoir water levels. The Tamil Nadu government plans to extend this system to monitor around 90 dams across the State from the central facility.
BAPASI Awards 2026 Announced
The BAPASI Awards 2026 will be presented on January 19, 2026, by Udhayanidhi Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The Ka. Ganapathy Award for Best Publisher has been awarded to Kuzha. Kathiresan of Ainthinai Publications, while the Sa. Meiyyappan Award for Best Bookseller goes to Sivaguru Publications. The Azha. Valliyappa Award for Best Children’s Writer has been conferred on Mu. Murugesh, and the Pari Challappanar Award for Best Tamil Scholar has been awarded to Kadarkarai Mathavilasa Angatham. The Amshaveni Periannan Award for Best Children’s Science Book has been given to A. Logama Devi, the Dr. Alandur Ko. Mohanarangan Poetry Literature Award to SePa Sivarasan, and the Poet Kavidasan Award for Best Self-Help Book to Dr. Sundara Avudaiyappan.
Multipurpose Skill Park for Specially-Abled Students in Tamil Nadu
A Multipurpose Skill Park for specially-abled students was inaugurated on January 6, 2026 by Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, at Poplion Raja Government Higher Secondary School in Puzhal. The initiative was announced during the School Education Department Demand for Grants 2024–2025 to enhance sensory, cognitive, gross motor and fine motor skills of children with special needs through play-based learning under inclusive education. As part of the plan, 20 multipurpose skill parks are to be established across 20 districts of Tamil Nadu, with a total allocation of ₹2.6 crore at ₹13 lakh per park. The Puzhal facility marks the first phase of the project, and the scheme is expected to benefit 10,482 specially-abled students studying from Class 1 to Plus Two across the State.
‘Tell Us Your Dream’ Scheme Launched in Tamil Nadu
The ‘Ungal Kanavai Sollungal’ (Tell Us Your Dream) scheme will be launched on January 9, 2026 by M. K. Stalin, following approval by the Tamil Nadu Cabinet, as informed by Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. The scheme aims to collect aspirations of families across Tamil Nadu and link them with state development planning, covering 91 lakh families. About 50,000 volunteers will conduct household visits to record benefits received from government schemes and future aspirations, which will be uploaded through a mobile application. Each family will receive a unique ‘Kanavu Attai’ (Dream Card) with a personal identification number. A dedicated website will be created to address youth aspirations, and inputs from overseas Tamils will also be collected. Data gathered district-wise over one month will be consolidated, with 2030 set as the target year for implementation of identified needs. The launch event will be held at Ponneri in Tiruvallur district on January 9.
Personalities, Awards and Events
Former Union Minister Suresh Kalmadi Passes Away
Suresh Kalmadi, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister, passed away at the age of 81 on January 6, 2026, in Pune, Maharashtra. Born in 1944 in Chennai, he studied at Fergusson College, Pune, trained at the National Defence Academy, served as a pilot in the Indian Air Force, and participated in the 1971 Indo–Pak War. He became a Member of Parliament in 1982, serving three terms in the Lok Sabha and four terms in the Rajya Sabha. During the tenure of P. V. Narasimha Rao, he served as Minister of State for Railways (1995–1996) and was the only Minister of State to present the Railway Budget. He was also President of the Indian Olympic Association from 1996 to 2011, during which Commonwealth Games-related corruption allegations led to his arrest; however, the Enforcement Directorate filed a report in April 2025 seeking closure of the case. His cremation took place at Nabi Peth, Pune.