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Daily Current Affairs: 22 January 2026

Current affairs of 22 January 2026: Spain Becomes Member of Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative; Arabian Sea Boiling Reports Off Gujarat: Quick Notes; National Legislative Index (NLI): Rating India’s Legislatures, and 12 more topics. Key facts for every exam, with a quiz.

Take the quiz (15 questions)January 2026

In this issue: 15 topics

National Affairs

Arabian Sea Boiling Reports Off Gujarat: Quick Notes
National Legislative Index (NLI): Rating India’s Legislatures
Removal of Judges: Articles, Process and Justice Swaminathan Notice
Section 17A, PC Act 1988: Prior Approval for Probes

Government Schemes

Atal Pension Yojana Extended to 2030-31: Key Features

Banking & Finance

PhonePe Gets SEBI Nod for IPO; UDRHP Expected
Payoneer India Gets RBI Nod as PA-CB: Rules for Cross-Border Aggregators

Economy

RBI State of the Economy Report: 44% Credit Surge
NITI Aayog Proposes ₹13,000 Crore Plan to Decarbonise MSMEs

International Affairs

Spain Becomes Member of Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative

Science & Technology

BHASHINI-Survey of India MoU on Place Name Digitisation

Defence & Security

Operation Trashi-I: Counter-Terror Drive in Kishtwar
First Made-in-India C-295 Aircraft to Roll Out Before September 2026

Reports & Indexes

WEF Chief Economists Outlook: South Asia Most Optimistic

Awards & Persons

Oscars 2026: Sinners Leads with Record 16 Nominations

National Affairs

1. Arabian Sea Boiling Reports Off Gujarat: Quick Notes

Seawater was seen boiling or bubbling unusually in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat, worrying fishermen and officials.
The Arabian Sea lies in the north-west of the Indian Ocean.
India, Pakistan, Iran, Oman, Yemen and Somalia are its bordering countries.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Polity & Governance

2. National Legislative Index (NLI): Rating India’s Legislatures

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced a National Legislative Index at the 86th All India Presiding Officers' Conference.
NLI is a proposed framework to objectively measure and compare Parliament and State Legislatures.
It uses predefined, quantifiable indicators instead of subjective or political judgement.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Polity & Governance

3. Removal of Judges: Articles, Process and Justice Swaminathan Notice

In December 2025, 107 Lok Sabha MPs gave notice to Speaker Om Birla for removal of Justice G.R. Swaminathan.
Judges are removed for proved misbehaviour or incapacity: Article 124(4) for the Supreme Court, Articles 217 and 218 for High Courts.
A 3-member inquiry committee examines charges; both Houses must pass the motion by special majority.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Polity & Governance

4. Section 17A, PC Act 1988: Prior Approval for Probes

A two-judge Supreme Court Bench gave a split verdict in 2026 on Section 17A's validity.
Section 17A requires prior approval to investigate decisions taken in official duty.
No approval is needed in trap cases; decision time is 3 months plus 1.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Government Schemes

Banking & Finance

5. Atal Pension Yojana Extended to 2030-31: Key Features

The Cabinet approved continuing Atal Pension Yojana up to 2030-31.
APY began on 9 May 2015; PFRDA runs it through banks and post offices.
Ages 18-40 qualify for a guaranteed pension of ₹1,000-₹5,000 a month after 60.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

6. PhonePe Gets SEBI Nod for IPO; UDRHP Expected

PhonePe received SEBI's approval to go ahead with its IPO.
It is expected to file an Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) shortly.
PhonePe holds over 45% share in UPI transactions.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Banking & Finance

7. Payoneer India Gets RBI Nod as PA-CB: Rules for Cross-Border Aggregators

RBI granted in-principle approval to Payoneer India Pvt. Ltd. to work as a Payment Aggregator - Cross Border (PA-CB).
Non-bank PA-CBs need net worth of ₹15 crore at first and ₹25 crore by end of year three.
Per-transaction cap is ₹25 lakh; import and export accounts must be separate with no netting.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Economy

8. RBI State of the Economy Report: 44% Credit Surge

RBI's Monthly State of the Economy Report showed commercial sector credit flow up 44% in April-December 2025-26.
Rural demand revival and gradual urban recovery drove it.
FY26 GDP advance estimates showed resilience, led by PFCE and fixed investment.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

9. NITI Aayog Proposes ₹13,000 Crore Plan to Decarbonise MSMEs

NITI Aayog recommended schemes worth ₹13,000 crore for MSME decarbonisation.
A VGF scheme (₹6,000 crore) would cap support at 15% of project cost.
A rooftop solar scheme (₹7,000 crore, Phase-1) targets about 8 lakh micro enterprises.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

International Affairs

International Relations

10. Spain Becomes Member of Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative

Spain formally joined IPOI, handing its Declaration of Accession to S. Jaishankar.
IPOI is a voluntary, non-treaty framework for practical maritime cooperation, and not a military alliance.
India announced it in 2019 at the East Asia Summit in Bangkok.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Science & Technology

Science & Technology

11. BHASHINI-Survey of India MoU on Place Name Digitisation

MeitY's Digital India BHASHINI Division and Survey of India signed an MoU to digitise place names using AI.
Over 16 lakh locations are to be digitised and validated.
BHASHINI was established in 2022; its CEO is Amitabh Nag.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Defence & Security

Defence & Security

12. Operation Trashi-I: Counter-Terror Drive in Kishtwar

Operation Trashi-I reached its fourth day in January 2026 in forests of Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir.
It is a multi-day counter-terrorism and area-domination operation.
Focus area: dense forest belts of the Chatroo region.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Science & Technology

13. First Made-in-India C-295 Aircraft to Roll Out Before September 2026

S. Jaishankar said the first fully Made-in-India C-295 will roll out before September 2026.
The final assembly line is at Vadodara, Gujarat, run by Airbus Defence and Space with Tata Advanced Systems.
Of 56 aircraft ordered, 16 are built in Spain and 40 in India.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Reports & Indexes

14. WEF Chief Economists Outlook: South Asia Most Optimistic

South Asia is the most optimistic region in WEF's Chief Economists Outlook.
66% expect strong or very strong growth, versus 31% in September.
50% foresee AI productivity gains within 1-2 years, with India the main driver.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Awards & Persons

Awards & Persons

15. Oscars 2026: Sinners Leads with Record 16 Nominations

Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards were announced on 22 January 2026 in Beverly Hills.
Sinners earned a record 16 nominations, beating the earlier mark of 14.
The earlier record of 14 was shared by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land.
The ceremony is set for 15 March 2026 at the Dolby Theatre, with Conan O'Brien hosting again.
One Battle After Another is next with 13 nominations; none of the ten Best Picture nominees is Indian.

Full notes and 3 MCQs ›

Test yourself

15 questions from the news of 22 January 2026, with answers and explanations.