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Daily Current Affairs: 18 & 19 January 2026

Current affairs of 18 & 19 January 2026: ECOSOC at 80: Functions of the UN Economic and Social Council; BBNJ High Seas Treaty Enters Into Force; SVAMITVA Scheme: Drone Survey Data for Rural Infrastructure, and 28 more topics. Key facts for every exam, with a quiz.

Take the quiz (14 questions)January 2026
31 TOPICSDaily CurrentAffairs18 & 19 January 2026In focus: ECOSOC at 80: Functions of the UN…safalsetu.com

In this issue: 31 topics

National Affairs

  1. Kaziranga Elevated Corridor: ₹6,957 Crore Project Begins
  2. Aaryan Varshney Becomes India’s 92nd Grand Master
  3. Navi Mumbai Airport to Be Named After D B Patil
  4. Dagadarthi Greenfield Airport Approved in Nellore, Andhra
  5. Alyssa Healy Retirement: Australia Captain Quits Internationals

Government Schemes

  1. SVAMITVA Scheme: Drone Survey Data for Rural Infrastructure
  2. Sahkar Se Samriddhi: India’s Cooperative Push in 2025
  3. Womaniya Initiative on GeM Marks Its 7th Anniversary
  4. Paripoorna Mediclaim Ayush Bima: Cover for CGHS Beneficiaries
  5. National Startup Day 2026: Start-up India Turns 10

Banking & Finance

  1. RBI Pitches BRICS CBDC Linkage for Cross-Border Payments
  2. DFS Composite Salary Account Package for Central Employees
  3. RBI PSL Amendment Directions 2026: Securitised Loan Checks
  4. Niryat Protsahan Interest Subvention: RBI Guidelines
  5. Kotak Mahindra Bank Appoints Anup Kumar Saha Whole-Time Director

Economy

  1. Tax-Saving Investments Before FY26 Ends: Options Compared
  2. FY27 Nominal GDP Growth Seen at 10-10.5% Before Budget
  3. GAIL Joins National PNG Drive 2.0 to Boost PNG and CNG
  4. Essar ₹5,100 Crore Bio-Fuel MoU with Gujarat Signed

International Affairs

  1. ECOSOC at 80: Functions of the UN Economic and Social Council
  2. India Skips BRICS Plus Naval Drill Will for Peace 2026
  3. Gaza Board of Peace: US Invites India to Join

Agriculture & Rural

  1. Food and Fertiliser Subsidy Reform: Merger With PM-Kisan Idea
  2. India’s First Open-Sea Fish Farming Pilot, Andaman Sea

Science & Technology

  1. Chips to Start-up (C2S): Outcomes and Features
  2. Wikimedia Enterprise Deals: Paid AI Access to Wikipedia

Environment & Ecology

  1. BBNJ High Seas Treaty Enters Into Force
  2. Second Range-Wide Dolphin Survey Begins at Bijnor
  3. Kakinada Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Project by AM Green

Reports & Indexes

  1. Henley Passport Index 2026: India Ranks 80th

Awards & Persons

  1. Aritra Roy Summits Aconcagua, Highest Peak Outside Asia

National Affairs

Economy

3. Navi Mumbai Airport to Be Named After D B Patil

  • Navi Mumbai International Airport will be named after the late D B Patil.
  • Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced this at a public meeting in Airoli.
  • D B Patil is described as a prominent leader of farmers' and local rights movements.
  • The airport is seen as a catalyst for pharmaceuticals, food processing, services, innovation and import-export activities.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Government Schemes

Economy

10. National Startup Day 2026: Start-up India Turns 10

  • National Startup Day, 16 January, celebrates India's start-up ecosystem and ten years of Start-up India, launched in 2016 by DPIIT.
  • The 2026 event was at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, addressed by PM Narendra Modi.
  • NSA 5.0 recognises start-ups in 20 categories across Tier-I and Tier-III cities, including deep tech.
  • SRF 5.0 assesses 34 States and UTs on 6 reform areas and 19 action points.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

Economy

14. Niryat Protsahan Interest Subvention: RBI Guidelines

  • Export Promotion Mission - Niryat Protsahan gives interest subvention on pre-shipment and post-shipment export credit to eligible exporters.
  • The Government of India runs it on a pilot basis.
  • RBI issued the operational guidelines; DGFT handled the notification.
  • Scheduled commercial banks, cooperative banks and All-India Financial Institutions are covered.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Economy

International Affairs

Agriculture & Rural

Agriculture & Rural Development

24. India’s First Open-Sea Fish Farming Pilot, Andaman Sea

  • India started its first pilot open-sea aquaculture project, covering marine finfish and seaweed, in the Andaman Sea.
  • It is located at North Bay, near Sri Vijaya Puram, in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
  • The Ministry of Earth Sciences and the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) are the implementing agencies.
  • The project uses indigenously developed NIOT-designed open-sea cages and is meant to be PPP-ready.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Science & Technology

Government Schemes

25. Chips to Start-up (C2S): Outcomes and Features

  • The C2S programme reported 56 student-designed chips fabricated and 75+ patents filed.
  • MeitY runs the programme, launched in 2022, to build industry-ready chip design talent.
  • Outlay is ₹250 crore over 5 years; targets include 200 PhDs and 69,000 B.Tech students.
  • National ChipIN Centre is operated by C-DAC, Bengaluru; shared wafer runs happen via SCL, Mohali.
Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Environment & Ecology

Reports & Indexes

Awards & Persons

Test yourself

14 questions from the news of 18 & 19 January 2026, with answers and explanations.

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