Daily Current Affairs – 12-01-2026
Important Days
January 12 – National Youth Day
National Youth Day is observed in India on January 12 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, who was born on 12 January 1863. The observance highlights the role of youth in nation-building and promotes values such as discipline, character building, self-confidence, and service. The Government of India declared National Youth Day in 1984, and the day is observed nationwide with a focus on youth development.
International News
India-Assisted Bailey Bridge in Sri Lanka
The first Bailey Bridge constructed with India’s assistance was opened for traffic in Sri Lanka on Sunday in Colombo, restoring a key road link between the Central Province and the Uva Province. The 100-ft Bailey Bridge was built by the Indian Army under India’s post-Cyclone Ditwah reconstruction assistance. The bridge was inaugurated by the Santosh Jha, along with Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Transport Prasanna Gunasena and Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education Madhura Senevirathne. The project forms part of India’s USD 450 million reconstruction package to Sri Lanka, announced during the visit of S. Jaishankar, comprising USD 350 million in concessional Lines of Credit and USD 100 million in grants. Sri Lanka was affected by Cyclone Ditwah in November, which caused widespread flooding and landslides with over 600 deaths, following which India launched Operation Sagar Bandhu on November 28 to provide relief and recovery assistance.
National News
Prasar Bharati’s WAVES OTT App on Smart TVs
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is set to urge television manufacturers to pre-install ‘WAVES’, the OTT application of Prasar Bharati, on new smart TVs. WAVES, launched in November 2024, integrates live TV, on-demand videos, radio, games, e-books, and e-commerce on a single platform and has recorded over 3.8 million downloads and 2.3 million registered users within a year. The platform currently offers at least 65 channels, including 40 live services, across 10 languages such as Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, and Assamese, and hosts content from Doordarshan and Akashvani archives along with new programming. Prasar Bharati has also invited licensed linear satellite TV channels to join WAVES under a revenue-sharing framework, and introduced a Pay-Per-View Content Sourcing Policy in October. According to the Ministry, WAVES has users in 181 countries, with India as the leading market with over 4.2 million users, and notable usage in the USA, UK, UAE, Australia, and France.
Reliance Investment Plan in Gujarat
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, announced at the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference held in Rajkot that Reliance will invest ₹7 lakh crore in Gujarat over the next five years. He stated that Reliance has already invested over ₹3.5 lakh crore during the past five years, making it Gujarat’s largest investor. As part of its future plans, Reliance is developing the world’s largest integrated clean energy ecosystem at Jamnagar, covering solar power, battery energy storage, green hydrogen, green fertilisers, sustainable aviation fuel, maritime fuels, and advanced materials. The company is also building India’s largest AI-ready data centre in Jamnagar through Jio, aimed at launching India’s first people-centric artificial intelligence platform. In addition, Reliance Foundation has extended support to the plan to bring the 2036 Olympic Games to Ahmedabad. Separately, Karan Adani, Managing Director of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited, announced that the Adani Group will invest ₹1.5 lakh crore in the Kutch region over the next five years, complete the Khavda project with 37 gigawatt capacity by 2030, and double port capacity at Mundra within the next 10 years.
Bhairav Battalions in Army Day Parade
The Indian Army will showcase its newly raised modern warfare force, the Bhairav Battalions, for the first time at the Army Day parade on January 15 in Jaipur. Two units will participate in the parade, namely the 2 Bhairav Battalion of the Southern Command, also known as ‘Desert Falcons’, and the 4 Bhairav Battalion of the South Western Command. The Bhairav Battalions have been raised by Army Headquarters based on lessons from global conflicts and India’s operational experience, including Operation Sindoor, and are designed as high-speed offensive units capable of carrying out Special Forces–type tasks. So far, 15 Bhairav Battalions have been raised and deployed along border formations, with plans to raise around 25 battalions in total. These battalions are intended to bridge the gap between Para Special Forces and regular infantry units as part of the Army’s force restructuring and modernisation, alongside the creation of Rudra Brigades and the integration of drones and modern battlefield systems across combat arms.
Tamil Language Classes Initiative in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh Government announced a plan to introduce Tamil language classes in schools and colleges across the state, including up to 2 lakh institutions, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ programme. The initiative aims to strengthen cultural and linguistic ties between Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. As part of this effort, Tamil classes have been approved at the Government Rani College, Varanasi, following the appreciation given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his radio address on December 28 to Payal Patel, a student of the same college, for learning Tamil in a short period. A 15-day Tamil language training camp was also conducted at Harish Chandra Women’s College, Varanasi, with more than 50 students participating, and the college is considering introducing a Tamil department from the next academic year. Additionally, to promote language exchange, the Uttar Pradesh Government has proposed to send around 50 Hindi teachers from Varanasi to Tamil Nadu, and this proposal was discussed in a meeting chaired by the Varanasi Commissioner and District Collector.
Economy News
New KYC Norms for Cryptocurrency Exchanges in India
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), functioning under the Union Finance Ministry, issued updated anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terrorism (CFT) guidelines for entities providing services related to virtual digital assets (cryptocurrency). As per the new norms, cryptocurrency exchanges in India must mandatorily carry out KYC measures such as obtaining Permanent Account Number (PAN), selfie with liveness detection, latitude and longitude coordinates of the onboarding location with date and time stamp, IP address of the customer, and bank account verification through the ‘penny-drop’ method. The guidelines, first issued in March 2023 and updated after about three years, also require all crypto exchanges to register with the FIU as reporting entities, maintain customer records, and submit regular reports on suspicious transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The directives discourage Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Initial Token Offerings (ITOs) and prohibit facilitating transactions linked to tumblers, mixers, and anonymity-enhancing tokens, while noting that cryptocurrency is not recognised as legal tender in India but is taxed under the Income-Tax law.
Sports News
Virat Kohli Becomes Second Highest Run-Scorer in International Cricket
Virat Kohli moved to second place among players with the most runs in all forms of international cricket after scoring 93 runs in the first One Day International against New Zealand. With this innings, he surpassed Kumar Sangakkara, who had scored 28,106 runs in 666 innings, while Sachin Tendulkar remains at the top position with 34,357 runs in 644 innings. Kohli needed 42 runs to overtake Sangakkara’s record and achieved the milestone during the match against New Zealand.
Brisbane International and United Cup Tennis Results
At the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament held in Brisbane, Aryna Sabalenka won the women’s singles title and Daniil Medvedev won the men’s singles title. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the final to claim her third Brisbane title, while World No.13 Daniil Medvedev defeated Mackenzie McDonald of the USA to secure his 22nd career singles title, his first Brisbane title since reaching the final in 2019. In another major tennis event, Poland won the United Cup Tennis Tournament for the first time, with the tournament held in Sydney and Perth and featuring 18 national teams. In the final, Poland defeated Switzerland, with Hubert Hurkacz winning the men’s singles against Stan Wawrinka, while the women’s singles saw Belinda Bencic of Switzerland defeat World No.1 Iga Swiatek of Poland. Poland, which had finished runner-up in the 2024 and 2025 editions, clinched its maiden United Cup title in 2026.
Science and Technology News
PSLV-C52 Launch with EOS-1 Satellite
The PSLV-C52 rocket of Indian Space Research Organisation is scheduled for launch on January 12 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, using the first launch pad, at 10.17 a.m., to place 16 satellites into orbit. The primary payload is ISRO’s EOS-1 (Advanced) satellite, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation for defence and earth observation purposes. The 22.30-hour countdown commenced on January 11. The EOS-1 satellite will be positioned in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 505 km. Along with the main satellite, 15 small satellites belonging to India and foreign countries are also being launched. One of the secondary satellites, Ayushman, has been developed by OrbitAI, a Chennai-based startup, to conduct studies related to refueling satellites in Earth orbit.