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Daily Current Affairs: 21 January 2026

Current affairs of 21 January 2026: UNESCO MIL Alliance Elects First Global Board; Reusable Rockets: Cutting Launch Costs Globally and in India; Lok Sabha Digital Attendance: Seat-Based Biometric System, and 13 more topics. Key facts for every exam, with a quiz.

Take the quiz (15 questions)January 2026

In this issue: 16 topics

National Affairs

Lok Sabha Digital Attendance: Seat-Based Biometric System
Young Ambassadors of Change: Trichy School Values Drive

Government Schemes

IGICBS: NIXI’s Internet Governance Internship Scheme Turns One
EPFO 3.0: New Portal, Core Overhaul and AI Translation

Banking & Finance

SARFAESI Act Amendment: Centre’s Plan on CERSAI
RRB Amalgamation: Finance Ministry Reviews Latest Merger Phase
FEDAI Recognised by RBI as SRO for Authorised Dealers
Canara ai1Pe Gets NBSL’s Plugin-Based UPI

International Affairs

UNESCO MIL Alliance Elects First Global Board
28th CSPOC in New Delhi: India Hosts for Fourth Time

Science & Technology

Reusable Rockets: Cutting Launch Costs Globally and in India
Artemis II: NASA’s First Crewed Moon Flyby Mission

Environment & Ecology

Two Rare Metadon Ant Fly Species Found in Delhi and Ghats
Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary Eco-Sensitive Zone Notified by MoEFCC
CAFE-3 Norms: Plan to Drop Small-Car Exemption

Defence & Security

INS Sagardhwani Sagar Maitri V Mission Flagged Off

National Affairs

Polity & Governance

1. Lok Sabha Digital Attendance: Seat-Based Biometric System

Lok Sabha will use seat-based biometric attendance from the Budget Session 2026.
Speaker Om Birla announced it; it replaces the lobby register.
Missing attendance means forfeiting the daily allowance.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Polity & Governance

2. Young Ambassadors of Change: Trichy School Values Drive

A government school in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, launched the Young Ambassadors of Change Initiative.
It teaches moral values and social responsibility through daily practice instead of rote learning.
The venue is Government Aadi Dravidar Primary School, Kattur.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Government Schemes

Government Schemes

3. IGICBS: NIXI’s Internet Governance Internship Scheme Turns One

NIXI completed one year of the Internet Governance Internship & Capacity Building Scheme in January 2026.
A national event in New Delhi marked the milestone.
IGICBS trains Indian youth to take part in internet policy, standards and technical forums.
NIXI is the implementing agency and MeitY is the administrative ministry.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Government Schemes

4. EPFO 3.0: New Portal, Core Overhaul and AI Translation

EPFO 3.0 brings a new portal, core-banking-like backend and AI translation.
Members could use services at any EPFO office.
It readies EPFO for expansion under new labour codes.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

Polity & Governance

5. SARFAESI Act Amendment: Centre’s Plan on CERSAI

The Centre is considering amending the SARFAESI Act, 2002 to clarify its power to issue directions to CERSAI.
Section 20 permits setting up CERSAI but is unclear on directions.
RBI's existing powers would not be diluted.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

6. RRB Amalgamation: Finance Ministry Reviews Latest Merger Phase

The Finance Ministry planned a January 30 review of RRB performance after the latest amalgamation.
Phase IV, effective May 1, leaves one RRB per State in most cases, with 28 RRBs in total.
RRB ownership: Centre 50%, State 15%, sponsor bank 35%.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

7. FEDAI Recognised by RBI as SRO for Authorised Dealers

In January 2026 RBI named FEDAI the SRO for all Authorised Dealers under its Omnibus SRO Framework.
RBI gave FEDAI one year to align governance and systems.
FEDAI was set up in 1958 and is based in Mumbai.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

8. Canara ai1Pe Gets NBSL’s Plugin-Based UPI

In January 2026 Canara Bank partnered with NBSL to bring UPI into Canara ai1Pe.
NBSL is a subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The plugin-based UPI service is open to customers and non-customers.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

International Affairs

International Relations

9. UNESCO MIL Alliance Elects First Global Board

The UNESCO MIL Alliance elected its first-ever Global Board.
Launched in 2013 at Abuja; relaunched in 2025 with the Cartagena Declaration.
The network has 300+ organisations and 180 experts from over 100 countries.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Polity & Governance

10. 28th CSPOC in New Delhi: India Hosts for Fourth Time

India hosted the 28th CSPOC from 14 to 16 January 2026, its fourth time hosting.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired it at Samvidhan Sadan, New Delhi.
Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the UK House of Commons, took over the chair for the 29th CSPOC in London, 2028.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Science & Technology

Science & Technology

11. Reusable Rockets: Cutting Launch Costs Globally and in India

Reusable launchers return to Earth so costly hardware can fly again, cutting launch costs by up to 80%.
ISRO is advancing towards OREX; SpaceX's Starship nears commercial service.
India's tools: OREX experiment and Pushpak vehicle.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Science & Technology

12. Artemis II: NASA’s First Crewed Moon Flyby Mission

NASA set February 6 as the target launch date for Artemis II, its first crewed lunar mission in over five decades.
Artemis II is a lunar flyby with no landing, carrying astronauts around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft.
The Canadian Space Agency is an international partner.
It prepares the ground for the Artemis III lunar landing and later missions to Mars.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Environment & Ecology

Environment & Ecology

13. Two Rare Metadon Ant Fly Species Found in Delhi and Ghats

Two new, extremely rare ant fly species were discovered in Delhi and the Western Ghats.
Metadon ghorpadei came from Delhi Ridge's Northern Ridge Forest; Metadon reemeri from Siruvani Hills.
Ant flies are Microdontinae of family Syrphidae whose larvae live in ant nests.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Environment & Ecology

14. Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary Eco-Sensitive Zone Notified by MoEFCC

MoEFCC notified Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary as an Eco-Sensitive Zone.
The Rajasthan sanctuary covers about 610.5 sq km across Rajsamand, Udaipur and Pali.
ESZs are notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

15. CAFE-3 Norms: Plan to Drop Small-Car Exemption

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency may remove the special exemption for very small petrol cars in the final CAFE-3 notification.
CAFE-3 is due to apply from 2027 onwards.
CAFE norms are fleet-based and regulate average CO₂ emissions of a manufacturer's vehicles sold.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Defence & Security

International Relations

16. INS Sagardhwani Sagar Maitri V Mission Flagged Off

INS Sagardhwani left Kochi for Sagar Maitri V (SM-5) in January 2026.
SM-5 covers eight Indian Ocean nations, under the MAHASAGAR vision.
Sagardhwani is a Marine Acoustic Research Ship by DRDO-NPOL.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Test yourself

15 questions from the news of 21 January 2026, with answers and explanations.