Daily Current Affairs Brief: January 23, 2026

Authored By: K Siva

1. International Current Affairs

Trump’s "Board of Peace": U.S. President Donald Trump inaugurated a "Board of Peace" in Davos to oversee a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. He claimed this body could eventually rival the United Nations.

India Absent from Peace Board: While 59 countries have reportedly signed on, representatives of only 19 countries attended the ceremony; India was notably absent as it has yet to decide on joining.

Greenland Stance Softens: Trump softened his stance on imposing tariffs on European countries that oppose his bid for Greenland, easing global trade tension fears.

US GDP Growth: The U.S. economy reported a revised 4.4% annualized GDP growth for the third quarter, its fastest pace in two years.

Canada-India Trade Relations: Canadian PM Mark Carney is expected to visit New Delhi before March-end to spur negotiations for a bilateral trade deal (CEPA).

French Tanker Intercepted: France’s Navy intercepted an oil tanker from Russia in the Mediterranean as part of a mission targeting the sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet".

2. National Current Affairs

Jharkhand Encounter: Security forces killed 16 Maoists, including top leader Anmol who carried a ₹2.35 crore reward, in a massive joint operation in West Singhbhum district.

Army Truck Tragedy: Ten soldiers were killed when an Army truck fell into a gorge in a high-altitude area of Jammu & Kashmir.

Karnataka Governor Walkout: Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot cut short his joint session address to just a few sentences and walked out, protesting paragraphs critical of the Union government.

Supreme Court on Electoral Rolls: The Supreme Court questioned the Election Commission on whether "illegal immigration" was the explicit trigger for its special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Manipur Violence: Fresh tension erupted in Manipur following the filmed killing of a Meitei man, Rishikant Singh, in Churachandpur district while he was visiting his Kuki-Zo wife.

Kejriwal Acquitted: Arvind Kejriwal was acquitted in an excise policy-related case for skipping ED summons.

3. Science & Technology

AI for Healthcare in UP: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the "UP AI Mission" with a ₹2,000 crore outlay to implement AI-driven healthcare, including 65 planned Data & AI labs.

DRDO at Republic Day: DRDO will showcase the Long Range Anti-Ship Hypersonic Missile (LR-AShM) at the upcoming 77th Republic Day parade.

Stem Cell Lab at NIMS: A new Stem Cell Lab Centre of Excellence was inaugurated at NIMS, Hyderabad, to advance regenerative medicine.

India’s Renewable Milestone: India's national power transmission network crossed the 500,000 ckm milestone on January 14, 2026.

Advanced Battery PLI Sluggish: A new report indicates only 2.8% of the targeted battery manufacturing capacity under the Centre's PLI scheme has been commissioned so far.

Aero-Engineering Expansion: Trusted Aerospace Engineering (TASE Global) inaugurated a new ₹150 crore state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur.

4. States Current Affairs

Andhra Pradesh (Davos Investments): CM Chandrababu Naidu invited the Tata Group to invest in three proposed "Sports Cities" in AP.

Telangana Steel Plant: The Telangana delegation at Davos secured a ₹12,500 crore commitment from the Rashmi Group for a new steel plant.

AP-RMZ Partnership: The AP government signed a $10 billion deal with RMZ Corporation for a hyperscale data center in Visakhapatnam.

Tamil Nadu Governor Standoff: Similar to Karnataka, the Tamil Nadu Governor recently declined to read the customary address in the Assembly.

Telangana Administrative Shift: The state notified the shifting of key digital and excise offices to new premises, including the NAC campus and Errum Manzil.

Andhra Pradesh IT Expansion: Minister Nara Lokesh urged companies like Capgemini and Tech Mahindra to expand their integrated IT centers and skill development hubs in Vizag and Vijayawada.

5. District & Local News

Nandyal Bus Accident: A private bus collided with a lorry and caught fire in Nandyal district; three people died, while 36 passengers escaped through an emergency window.

Tiger Alert in Eluru: A tiger straying from Telangana into Eluru district prompted the forest department to issue alerts and set up camera traps.

Vijayawada Regional Development: Coastal Bank opened its 52nd branch in One-Town, Vijayawada.

Hyderabad Infrastructure: The HMDA announced a 9-km elevated corridor for Western Hyderabad costing ₹1,656 crore.

Ratha Saptami at Tirumala: TTD is making arrangements for the Ratha Saptami festival on January 25; "VIP Break" darshans have been cancelled to prioritize common devotees.

Musi Project Concerns: Activists from Musi Jan Andolan met an ADB team to voice concerns regarding displacements caused by the Musi river project.

6. Sports & Games

Australian Open: Novak Djokovic reached the third round, becoming the first man to record 100 match wins at every Grand Slam.

Adar Poonawalla for RCB: The CEO of Serum Institute announced he will submit a "strong and competitive bid" to acquire the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL team.

Shooting Trials: Tilottama Sen secured the top spot in the women's 10m air rifle during national selection trials.

SA Squad Changes: Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs replaced injured players Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira in South Africa's T20 World Cup squad.

7. Cinema & Entertainment

Oscar Nominations: Ryan Coogler’s Sinners led the 98th Academy Award nominations with a record-breaking 16 nods.

Zee Entertainment Results: Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported its financial results for the quarter ending December 31, 2025.

Saraswati Jayanthi: Preparations are underway at Indrakeeladri for Sri Saraswati Devi Jayanthi on January 23.

Film Festival Competition: It Was Just An Accident (Persian) and Sirat (Spain) are among the titles competing for best international film at an upcoming festival.

8. General Knowledge (Competitive Exams)

Gold Price Hike: Gold prices reached a record ₹1.59 lakh (per 10 grams) in Hyderabad bullion markets.

India’s GDP Forecast: The IMF maintained India’s growth projection at 7.3% for the current fiscal year.

World Trade: Global international tourist arrivals hit a record 1.52 billion in the previous year.

Hathi Commission (History): Historical records show that 50 years ago, the government was considering taking over foreign drug firms as recommended by the Hathi Commission.

NPS Rule: Under the National Pension System, employees contribute 10% of their basic pay, matched by the government.

9. Do You Know?

Sunita Williams' Retirement: Astronaut Sunita Williams has officially retired from NASA after spending 608 days in space and conducting nine spacewalks.

Tiger Census Impact: Safari operations at Amrabad Tiger Reserve are closed until January 25 for the All India Tiger Estimation.

Wikipedia Data: Wikipedia now stores 775 terabytes of data across its 7 million English articles.

mBridge Project: This digital currency project for cross-border settlements is designed to be "sanction-proof".

Spider Silk: Female bark spiders produce silk that is significantly tougher than their male counterparts.

ISS Escape: The SpaceX Dragon and Russian Soyuz serve as permanent "lifeboats" for the International Space Station.

10. Job & Educational Topics

RBI Vacancies: Applications are open for 572 Office Attendant posts in the Reserve Bank of India until February 4, 2026.

Kavach B.Tech Course: A new course on the 'Kavach' railway protection system is being launched through a partnership between IRISET and CVR College.

PM Internship Stipend: There is a proposal to increase the monthly stipend for the PM Internship Scheme to ₹11,800.

Faculty Recruitment: Sri Vasavi Engineering College and NIT Calicut have issued recruitment notices for various teaching positions.

Intermediate Exams: Telangana Board exams for Intermediate students are scheduled to start on February 25.

SAI Recruitment: The Sports Authority of India has 323 vacancies for Assistant Coaches across various disciplines.

11. Day Special: Parakram Diwas (23 January)

• Netaji's 129th Birth Anniversary: India celebrates the 129th birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose as "Parakram Diwas" to honor his selfless service to the nation.

• Founder of INA: Born in 1897, Bose was the founder of the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj).

• Key Titles: He was known as "Netaji" and the "Patriot of Patriots"; he famously gave Mahatma Gandhi the title "Father of the Nation."

• Political Guru: Chittaranjan Das served as his political mentor.

• Iconic Slogan: His most famous call to arms was, "Give me blood, and I will give you freedom!"

• Recent Commemorations: Recent news highlights include naming the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island in A&N and the unveiling of his hologram statue by the PM.