Daily Current Affairs Brief: January 20, 2026

Authored By: K Shiva

1. International Current Affairs

Greenland Dispute: U.S. President Donald Trump has linked his aggressive stance on Greenland to last year's decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, stating he is no longer "obliged to pursue peace".

Spain Train Crash: A catastrophic high-speed train collision in Cordoba, Spain, resulted in at least 40 deaths and 159 injuries.

China's Demographic Crisis: China's birth rate has plunged to its lowest level since 1949, with projections that the population aged 60 and over will reach 400 million by 2035.

International Diplomacy: European and U.K. leaders are attempting to negotiate with Trump regarding Greenland while ruling out a retaliatory tariff war.

Karachi Fire: The death toll from a massive shopping plaza fire in Karachi, Pakistan, has risen to 26, with many still missing.

2. National Current Affairs

New BJP President: Nitin Nabin (45) is set to take over as the youngest-ever National President of the BJP, succeeding JP Nadda.

India-UAE Strategic Ties: PM Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan signed a 'Letter of Intent' for a strategic defense partnership and set a bilateral trade target of $200 billion by 2032.

West Bengal Voter List Issue: The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to display names of 1.3 crore voters flagged for "logical discrepancies" at panchayat and block offices to ease public stress.

J&K Gunfight: Havildar Gendra Singh of the Special Forces was martyred during a fierce encounter with terrorists in Jammu's Kishtwar district.

Economic Growth: The IMF upgraded India's GDP growth projection for FY 2025-26 from 6.6% to 7.3%, citing strong momentum in the third and fourth quarters.

3. Science & Technology

BRICS Digital Currency: The RBI has recommended including a proposal to link the central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) of BRICS nations on the agenda for the 2026 summit to simplify cross-border payments.

Stem Cell Research: A state-of-the-art "Stem Cell Lab Centre of Excellence" was inaugurated at NIMS, Hyderabad, to advance regenerative medicine and tackle lifestyle diseases.

Hydrogen Power: Andhra Pradesh is promoting the development of hydrogen pilot vehicles at its ports to achieve green energy goals.

Catalyst Research: Scientists are researching platinum-on-carbon catalysts to improve the effectiveness of hydrogen electric vehicles and prevent nanoparticle clumping.

Digital Credit Model: Public sector banks sanctioned MSME loans worth ₹52,300 crore between April and December 2025 using a new digital credit underwriting model.

4. States Current Affairs

Andhra Pradesh (Entrepreneurship): CM Chandrababu Naidu announced a ₹150-crore corpus fund to boost industrial entrepreneurship and the "One Family, One Entrepreneur" policy.

Telangana (Davos Visit): CM Revanth Reddy is in Davos for the WEF summit to position Telangana as a global hub for AI, IT, and life sciences, meeting with CEOs from Google and Salesforce.

Himachal Pradesh (New Cess): The state cabinet approved an "Orphan and Widow Cess" on petrol and diesel to fund welfare schemes.

Tamil Nadu (Pension Scheme): The state launched the "Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme" (TAPS) to provide 50% of the last month's pay as pension for those who joined after 2003.

Chhattisgarh Tourism: The state is being promoted as "The Instagrammable State of India" to attract tourists to its unexplored locations.

5. District & Local News

Vijayawada: Dense fog disrupted operations at Gannavaram International Airport, causing flight cancellations and delays of up to four hours.

Vizianagaram: An RTC bus ploughed into a field in Garividi Mandal after the driver suffered an epileptic fit; seven passengers were injured.

Chittoor: A 10-year-old male elephant died of electrocution after touching live wires set by hunters in Peddapanjani Mandal.

Vijayawada (Cybercrime): Police arrested a gang, including a private bank employee, for renting out over 3,000 local bank accounts to international cybercriminals.

Nellore: A cobra was seen coiled around a Shiva Lingam at a temple in Manubolu Mandal, drawing many devotees.

6. Sports & Games

Women's Premier League (WPL): RCB became the first team to enter the playoffs after a 61-run victory over Gujarat Giants; Gautami Naik scored a brilliant 71.

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic reached the second round and became the first player to achieve 100 match wins at every Grand Slam tournament.

Cricket (T20 World Cup): The ICC has given the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) until January 21 to decide on participating in the tournament in India; Scotland may replace them.

Ranji Trophy: Star batter Shubman Gill will play for Punjab against Saurashtra starting Thursday to return to red-ball cricket.

Shooting: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Manini Kaushik topped the 50m rifle prone trials.

7. Cinema & Entertainment

Varun Tej's Birthday: On the actor's birthday, his new film titled Korean Kanakaraju, a horror-comedy directed by Merlapaka Gandhi, was officially announced.

OTT Releases: The mystic thriller Shambala starring Sai Kumar is set to stream on Aha, while the series Space Zen Chandrayaan will premiere on JioHotstar.

Valentino Dies: Legendary Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani passed away at the age of 93.

Photojournalist Passing: Senior photojournalist M. Vidyasagar, with over 30 years of experience, died in Hyderabad at age 63.

8. General Knowledge (Competitive Jobs)

1. Silver Record: Silver prices hit a historic high of ₹3 lakh per kg due to rising demand in the electric vehicle and solar sectors.

2. Inflation Targets: The IMF predicts India's inflation will return to the RBI's 4% target range as food prices stabilize.

3. Wikipedia Data: Wikipedia now has 775 terabytes of data (equivalent to 3,000 iPhones) and over 7 million English articles.

4. Nuclear Governance: India is transitioning toward a statutory nuclear regulator to enhance safety and attract global investors.

5. Urban Migration: Reports warn that India needs 14 million affordable urban homes now, a figure that could rise to 30 million by 2030.

9. Do You Know?

• Tiger Census Closure: Safari operations at the Amrabad Tiger Reserve are closed from January 20 to 25 due to the All India Tiger Estimation 2026 exercise.

• Voter Demographics: In West Bengal's Asansol, a single man was found registered as the "father" of 389 different voters in an AI scan.

• Indian Heritage: In the decade before 2014, nationalism based on India's spiritual traditions was often viewed as an impediment to secularism.

• NPS vs. OPS: Employees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) contribute 10% of their basic pay, which is matched by the government.

10. Job & Educational Topics

PM Internship Scheme: The government is considering doubling the monthly stipend for interns to ₹11,800 starting March 2026 to reduce dropout rates.

Intermediate Exams: Telangana's Intermediate exams for 1.75 lakh students in Hyderabad will begin on February 25; practicals start February 2.

Faculty Recruitment: Sri Vasavi Engineering College in Tadepalligudem is inviting applications for Professors and Assistant Professors across various departments.

Medical Council Elections: Online elections for 13 members of the AP Medical Council (APMC) are scheduled for February 9.

Court Ruling on Education: The Allahabad HC ruled that a student's right to take an exam is linked to human dignity and ordered a special exam for a student denied an admit card.

11. Day Special: 20 January

World Economic Forum: Both Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy are attending the WEF summit in Davos on this day.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Observed as a federal holiday in the United States to honor the civil rights leader.

Monsoon Exit: The IMD officially declared the withdrawal of the Northeast Monsoon from India on January 20.