Daily Current Affairs: 15 January 2026

Pawan Kalyan awarded ‘Tiger of Martial Arts’ title and inducted into Kenjutsu Samurai tradition

Key Updates:

• Pawan Kalyan was formally inducted into Kenjutsu, the ancient Japanese art of swordsmanship, becoming one of the very few Indians to enter the Samurai martial arts tradition outside Japan.
• He received the Fifth Dan by the Sogo Budo Kanri Kai, making him the first Indian celebrity to receive this honour.
• He was inducted into the Takeda Shingen Clan under Soke Muramatsu Sensei, becoming the first Telugu-speaking person and one of the very few non-Japanese to enter this Samurai lineage.
• The Golden Dragons organisation conferred on him the title ‘Tiger of Martial Arts’.

Ueli Kestenholz Died as Olympic Snowboard Medalist

[Switzerland]

Key Updates:

• Ueli Kestenholz, a Swiss snowboarder and Olympic bronze medalist, passed away at the age of 50.
• He won the bronze medal in the snowboard giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, which was the debut event for the sport.
• He was a two-time snowboardcross champion at the X-Games and competed in two additional Winter Games during his career.
• The Swiss ski federation confirmed he died after being trapped in an avalanche in the Lötschental valley of Valais canton.
• The incident occurred at an altitude of 2,400 meters while he was snowboarding with a friend.

Scott Adams, creator of 'Dilbert' comic strip, died at 68 after prostate cancer battle.

Key Updates:

• Scott Adams, the author and cartoonist of the widely popular 'Dilbert' comic strip, has died at 68 after battling prostate cancer.
• Adams' ex-wife, Shelly Miles, confirmed Adams' death during a livestream on the 'Real Coffee with Scott Adams' show.
• Adams shared in May that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
• During a New Year's Day broadcast of 'Real Coffee with Scott Adams,' Adams revealed that his chances of recovery were 'essentially zero.'
• Adams' comic strip 'Dilbert' was first published in 1989 and earned him the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award in 1997.
• By 2013, 'Dilbert' was reportedly featured in 2,000 newspapers in 65 countries and translated into 25 languages.
• In 2023, numerous newspapers, including the USA TODAY Network, stopped running 'Dilbert' after Adams made racist comments labeling Black people a 'hate group.'
• Adams later relaunched the comic strip as a webcomic on Locals under the name 'Daily Dilbert Reborn.'
• Adams published several books including 'God's Debris,' 'The Religion War,' 'How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big,' 'Loserthink,' and 'Reframe Your Brain.'
• In his final message, Adams wrote that he accepted Jesus Christ as his lord and savior and hoped for entry into heaven.

Deloitte India projects India GDP growth at 7.5-7.8% for FY26 and 6.6-6.9% for FY27.

Key Updates:

• Deloitte India forecasts full-year GDP growth at 7.5-7.8 per cent for FY2025-26.
• Growth is expected to moderate to 6.6-6.9 per cent in FY2026-27 on a high base and persistent global uncertainties.
• Real GDP grew 8 per cent in the first half April-September of the ongoing 2025-26 fiscal.

Ministry of Industry data shows Wholesale Price Index inflation at 0.83% in December 2025.

Key Updates:

• Wholesale price inflation recorded at 0.83% in December 2025, returning to positive territory after negative readings of (-)0.32% in November and (-)1.21% in October.
• Retail inflation rose to 1.33% in December from 0.71% in November, driven by rising food prices.
• Deflation in vegetables narrowed to 3.50% in December from 20.23% in November.
• Inflation in manufactured products increased to 1.82% in December from 1.33% in November.
• Deflation in fuel and power sectors continued at 2.31% in December compared to 2.27% in November.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut policy interest rates by 1.25 percentage points during the current fiscal year.
• RBI lowered inflation projection for the current fiscal to 2% from the earlier 2.6%.
• RBI reduced key policy interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.25% last month.
• RBI raised FY26 GDP growth projection to 7.3% from the previous 6.8%.
• India registered GDP growth of 8.2% in the September quarter and 7.8% in the June quarter.

OTP-based ticketing system to enhance transparency in 300 trains

Key Updates:

• Indian Railways (IR) introduced an OTP (One Time Password)-based ticketing system in 300 major trains across the country to enhance transparency and check touts.
• The system applies to online ticket bookings as well as counter tickets in premium trains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto Express services.
• Under the new arrangement, passengers booking tickets at railway counters are now required to provide a valid mobile number on which an OTP can be received to issue tickets.
• The North Central Railway (NCR) stated the measure will effectively curb fake bookings, multiple ticket purchases by a single individual, and the involvement of unauthorised agents.
• The OTP-based ticketing system is being rolled out in a phased manner and may be gradually extended to all trains if the results are positive.

Bamanwas Kankar Organic Certification: Rajasthan’s First Fully Organic Village Body

[Rajasthan]

Key Updates:

• Bamanwas Kankar panchayat in Rajasthan has become the first village body in the State to be certified as fully organic.
• The transition to organic farming was supported by Cofarmin Federation of Organic Societies and Producer Companies (COFED), a group working in the areas of natural resource conservation, sustainable farming, and women’s empowerment.
• The participants publicly took an oath to practise pesticide-free farming, organic cattle rearing, and environmentally-responsible land management during a ceremony on January 2.
• The target beneficiaries include farmers and cattle owners across seven hamlets: "Bamanwas, Nangalhedi, Rah Ka Mala, Bhadana Ki Bhaal, Tolawas, Khariya Ki Dhani, and Bairawas."
• By this year-end, we aim to convert 300 panchayats across the districts of Bikaner, Alwar, Kotputli–Behror, and Bhilwara into fully organic village bodies, according to COFED.

Dam Safety Act, 2021: NDSA ensures public safety through compliance at Bargi Dam

Key Updates:

• The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), under the Union government’s Jal Shakti Ministry, has issued a stern show-cause notice to the Bhopal-based Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) regarding the safety of the Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
• The notice alleges non-compliance with the statutory provisions of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, stating that the operation and maintenance of the Bargi Dam poses a potential threat to public safety and downstream populations.
• The NDSA warned that legal action may be initiated under Sections 41 and 42 of the Dam Safety Act, 2021, which include penal provisions for responsible officials if mandatory provisions are not followed.
• The Dam Safety Act, 2021 mandates regular inspections, risk assessments, emergency action plans, and modern monitoring systems for all designated dams in the country.
• The NVDA has 30 days to respond to the show-cause notice regarding persistent leakage and inadequate monitoring systems at the dam.

Odisha to Launch Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Registry to Track Prevalence and Enable Early Treatment

[Odisha]

Key Updates:

• Odisha is planning to launch a chronic kidney disease (CKD) registry by March 31.
• It will help govt know about the prevalence of CKD and prepare action plans and programmes to tackle kidney disease.
• A state task force of 12 members was formed under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to carry out the CKD registry work.
• Starting from the primary health centre (PHC) to medical college level, each healthcare institution will report CKD cases in the registry.
• The National Informatics Centre (NIC) is developing the software for the registry.
• Provision for funds has been made to speed up the work.
• We are carrying out the CKD registry programme to detect and treat patients early.

PM Cares Fund: Entitled to privacy protection under RTI Act

[Delhi High Court]

Key Updates:

• The Delhi High Court indicated that the PM Cares Fund (PM CARES), despite being a govt entity, is entitled to privacy protection granted to third-party entities under the RTI Act.
• The bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia questioned, "Even if it (the fund) is state, merely because it is state, does it lose its right to privacy?"
• The hearing pertained to an appeal against a single judge's order that set aside an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had directed the income tax authorities to disclose information about the PM CARES Fund.

All India Spices Exporters Forum to host 9th International Spice Conference in Kochi from 23-26 February 2026

Key Updates:

• The All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) will host the 9th edition of the International Spice Conference (ISC 2026) from February 23 to 26, 2026 in Kochi, Kerala.
• The 4-day conference theme is 'Spice 360 – Getting Future Ready'.
• Amitabh Kant, former G20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog, will inaugurate the conference and deliver the keynote address on 'Transforming Agro-Industry: Innovation, Inclusion & Global Leadership.'
• Martin Sonntag, CEO of Oterra, will be the Guest of Honour and speak on 'Shaping the Next Decade of Food & Nutrition: Collaboration, Trust, and Responsibility.'
• Emmanuel Nambusseril, Chairman, AISEF, stated that ISC has evolved into a globally recognised platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration across the spice value chain.
• Nishesh Shah, Vice Chairman, AISEF, said the theme reflects the industry’s collective responsibility to prepare for the future by navigating trade and climate risks, embracing technology, and building resilient supply chains.
• The conference will feature Crops and Markets sessions offering market intelligence and production outlooks for turmeric, ginger, cumin, chilli, Mediterranean herbs, major Chinese spices, black pepper and dehydrated products.

India Hosts 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus Experts Working Group on Counter Terrorism

[Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)]

Key Updates:

• India co-chaired the 16th ADMM-Plus Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter Terrorism with Malaysia.
• The meeting was addressed by Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary (International Cooperation), Ministry of Defence.
• India highlighted its Act East Policy and ASEAN's centrality in its Indo-Pacific vision.
• India and Malaysia launched the current cycle of the 14th EWG meeting last year in Delhi.
• A tabletop exercise will be hosted by Malaysia in 2026 and a field training exercise by India in 2027.

Israel severs ties with multiple UN agencies citing bias and hostility

[Israel, United Nations (UN)]

Key Updates:

• Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar decided that Jerusalem will immediately sever all contact with several United Nations agencies and international bodies.
• The decision was made after a review of organisations named in the United States' announcement and of Israel's own experience with these bodies.
• Israel has already severed ties with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children in Armed Conflict, UN Women, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
• Additional organisations affected include the UN Alliance of Civilisations, UN Energy, and the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Punjabi singer Kaka launches Friendo women-safety app with SOS, location tracking and self-defence resources

Key Updates:

• Friendo offers users the option to use the ‘Emergency’ feature or a dedicated SOS button that will send out a call to fellow app users nearby within a determined radius (in kms), as well as to your trusted contacts.
• These alerts are supported by real-time location tracking to share the user's position with trusted contacts and/or the authorities.
• Alternative triggers such as shake detection or voice commands are also available.
• A ‘stealth mode’ enables discreet monitoring, paired with automatic recording of audio or video to help gather evidence that may assist law enforcement, if the case is escalated.
• Friendo also offers a resource library which contains self-defence tutorials and information on legal rights that can be availed by users.

American Scientist Toby Kiers Wins Tyler Prize for Revealing Hidden Fungal Networks

[United States]

Key Updates:

• American evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers has been awarded the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for her work on mycorrhizal networks.
• Mycorrhizal fungi draw down 13.12 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, around a third of total emissions from fossil fuels.
• Kiers and her team launched a worldwide Underground Atlas last year to chart the global distribution of mycorrhizal fungi.
• In 2011, she published a landmark paper in Science showing that mycorrhizal fungi behave like traders in a 'biological marketplace,' moving phosphorus from abundance to scarcity to secure more carbon.
• Kiers co-founded the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN) to map fungal biodiversity and advocate for its protection.
• SPUN is launching an 'Underground Advocates' programme to train scientists in legal tools to protect fungal biodiversity.

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) Exceeds Greenwald Limit and Breaks Nuclear Fusion Density Record

Key Updates:

• The breakthrough was performed at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), nicknamed the 'Artificial Sun', which is China’s cutting-edge fusion reactor.
• EAST has already broken a variety of records, including the longest sustained ultra-hot plasma for 1,066 seconds – that’s 17 minutes and 46 seconds of plasma well beyond 100 million degrees Celsius.
• Nuclear fusion reactors work by reproducing what goes on inside the Sun where hydrogen atoms merge, turning into helium atoms and releasing a lot of energy.
• By tweaking the initial parameters, such as the gas pressure and the heating resonance of the electrons in the plasma – how the particles respond to microwaves – the team was able to get densities with no instabilities at 1.3 to 1.65 times the Greenwald limit.
• The findings suggest a practical and scalable pathway for extending density limits in tokamaks and next-generation burning plasma fusion devices, said study co-lead author Ping Zhu, a professor in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Science and Technology in China.
• The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

West Bengal on Nipah alert as two nurses test positive; hospitals activate isolation wards and PPE protocols

[West Bengal]

Key Updates:

• Two nurses from a private hospital in Barasat, North 24 Parganas, have tested positive for Nipah virus and are on ventilator support due to severe lung and brain infection (encephalitis).
• All government and private healthcare units must immediately report patients with high-grade fever, acute respiratory distress, or encephalitis to the state health department.
• Major private hospitals like CMRI and Manipal Hospital have activated dedicated isolation wards and conducted mock drills following Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and West Bengal Health Department guidelines.
• The Union Health Ministry has deployed the National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT), led by All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, to assist the state.
• Nipah virus has two known strains—NiV-Malaysia (NiV-M) and NiV-Bangladesh (NiV-B)—and the strain in West Bengal is yet to be confirmed.

Satwik-Chirag touted as India’s strongest medal hope at India Open

Key Updates:

• Satwik and Chirag have reached two finals in the last four editions and won the title in 2022.
• Their 2025 season underlined their elite status — runners-up at the Hong Kong Open and China Masters, bronze at the World Championships and a knockout-stage finish at the World Tour Finals.
• The tournament is being held in the iconic badminton hall of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

Jon Cooper Reaches 600 Career Wins Against Philadelphia Flyers

Key Updates:

• Jon Cooper became the second-fastest coach in National Hockey League (NHL) history to reach 600 career victories, achieving the feat in 1,005 games.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 to secure the milestone win for Cooper.
• Cooper is the 25th coach in NHL history to reach the 600-win plateau and the second-fastest behind Scotty Bowman, who reached the mark in 1,002 games.
• Every one of Cooper's 600 career victories has been recorded during his 12-season tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.
• The victory extended the Tampa Bay Lightning's winning streak to 10 games, leaving them second in the Atlantic Division with a 28-13-3 record.

Henley Passport Index 2026: Singapore ranks 1st and India ranks 80th

[Singapore]

Key Updates:

• Singapore remains the strongest passport in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, offering visa-free access to 192 destinations.
• Japan and South Korea follow closely in the second position with access to 188 destinations.
• India’s passport improved to 80th position, tied with Algeria, climbing five spots from last year’s ranking of 85th.
• Indian citizens can now travel to 55 countries without a prior visa through visa-free, visa-on-arrival, or electronic travel authorisation (ETA) arrangements.
• The United Arab Emirates emerges as a new standout at fifth place with 184 destinations.
• The United States is ranked 10th on the list with access to 179 destinations.

Responsible Nations Index launch by Ram Nath Kovind on January 19

Key Updates:

• Responsible Nations Index (RNI) will be launched by former president Ram Nath Kovind on January 19.
• RNI is developed by World Intellectual Foundation (WIF) in academic collaboration with Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and methodological validation by Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Mumbai.
• RNI evaluates countries on internal responsibility, environmental responsibility, and external responsibility.
• The index covers 154 countries and will be released every year in March.
• RNI is operationalised through seven dimensions, 15 aspects, and 58 indicators sourced from globally recognised datasets.

Thousands witness Makaravilakku at Sabarimala Temple in Kerala

[Kerala]

Key Updates:

• Thousands of devotees waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the Makarajyoti and witness the Makaravilakku deeparadhana performed atop the Ponnambalamedu hillock.
• The 26-member team carrying the sacred ornaments from the Pandalam Palace formally handed over the jewellery casket to Tantri Mahesh Mohanaru and Melsanthi E.D. Prasad.
• The temple recorded total collections of ₹429 crore during the Mandala–Makaravilakku season, with revenue from appam and aravana sales alone amounting to ₹190 crore.