Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

East Coast Railway

♦ East Coast Railway (ECoR) introduced a humanoid robot "ASC ARJUN" at Visakhapatnam Railway Station under the aegis of the Railway Protection Force (RPF). This is the first of its kind in Indian Railways. This is a significant step towards using advanced technology for increasing passenger safety, security and service delivery. ♦ The humanoid robot, deployed as part of the RPF's modernization and digital transformation initiatives, is designed to supplement various railway operations, particularly in the areas of security, passenger assistance, crowd management, cleanliness monitoring, and safety awareness. ♦ The "ASC ARJUN" has several key functionalities and benefits. Such as Intrusion Detection, in which the robot can identify intruders using a Face Recognition System (FRS) and instantly alert RPF personnel through IoT-enabled alerts, ensuring rapid response and reduced detection time.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

Valmiki's Ramayana

♦ A rare 233-year-old Sanskrit manuscript of Valmiki's Ramayana has been gifted to the Ram Katha museum in Ayodhya, the Culture Ministry said on 21 January 2026. In a landmark cultural handover, Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Vice Chancellor of the Central Sanskrit University, presented the manuscript of the Valmikiramayanam (with the Tattvadipikatika) to Nripendra Misra, Chairman of the Executive Council of Prime Ministers Museum and Library. ♦ The manuscript, authored by Adi Kavi Valmiki with a classical commentary (tika) by Maheshvara Tirtha, is written in Sanskrit (in Devanagari script). ♦ The manuscript, previously loaned to Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, has now been permanently gifted to the Antarrashtriya Ram Katha Sangrahalaya (International Ram Katha Museum), Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams

♦ NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has retired from the space agency after 27 years of service. She completed three missions aboard the International Space Station, setting numerous human spaceflight records throughout her career. ♦ She logged 608 days in space, the second most for a NASA astronaut, and shares the sixth-longest single American spaceflight of 286 days with Butch Wilmore during NASA's Starliner and Crew-9 missions. ♦ She has also completed nine spacewalks, totalling 62 hours and 6 minutes, ranking as the most spacewalk time by a woman and fourth-most on the all-time cumulative spacewalk duration list. ♦ Williams first launched aboard space shuttle Discovery with STS-116 in December 2006 and returned aboard Atlantis with the STS-117 crew. In 2012, she lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a 127-day mission as part of Expedition 32/33 and went on to serve as space station commander for Expedition 33.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

SKOCH Award-2025

♦ The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has been conferred the SKOCH Award-2025 for its Cell Broadcast Solution. The Ministry of Communications said that the award was conferred at the 104th SKOCH Summit on the theme of Resourcing Viksit Bharat. ♦ C-DOT’s Cell Broadcast Solution is a disaster and emergency platform which brings disaster alert generation agencies, including the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for weather and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for disaster management, onto a single integrated unified platform. ♦ The SKOCH Award is given to individuals, projects, and institutions for outstanding work in improving governance and development, recognising excellence in sectors including finance, tech, health, and education. ♦ C-DOT is a research and development centre under the aegis of the Department of Telecommunications for telecommunication technologies.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace

♦ Mozambican rights activist and humanitarian Graca Machel was selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2025. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust announced this on 21 January 2026. ♦ The decision was taken by an international jury, chaired by former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, for her path-breaking work in education, health and nutrition, economic empowerment, and humanitarian work under difficult circumstances. ♦ The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development consists of an award of Rs 1 crore and a trophy with a citation. ♦ Graça Machel is a distinguished African politician and humanitarian whose life's work is rooted in the struggle for self-rule and the protection of human rights.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

Atal Pension Yojana (APY)

♦ The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the continuation of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) up to FY 2030-31 along with extension of funding support for promotional and developmental activities and gap funding. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure old-age income security for millions of low-income and unorganized-sector workers, enhance financial inclusion, and support India’s transition to a pensioned society. ♦ APY was launched on 9th May, 2015 with the objective of providing old-age income security to workers in the unorganised sector. ♦ APY offers a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs.1,000 to Rs.5,000 per month starting at age 60, based on contributions. ♦ As of 19th January, 2026, over 8.66 crore subscribers have been enrolled, making APY a cornerstone of India’s inclusive social security framework.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

Chalice of Ambrosia: Ram Janmabhoomi – Challenge and Response

♦ Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the book “Chalice of Ambrosia: Ram Janmabhoomi – Challenge and Response” in New Delhi on 20 January 2026. This was authored by former Secretary to the Government of India Surendra Kumar Pachauri. ♦ The Vice President noted that the book captures the centuries-old struggle to reclaim the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram and presents the historical narrative with balance, empathy and scholarly restraint.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

♦ The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued a notification declaring Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the Aravalli mountain range, as an Eco-Sensitive Zone. The ministry said that the declaration of the Zone will not only help conserve the area’s flora and fauna but will also support indigenous communities living in and around the sanctuary. ♦ It noted that an area ranging from zero to one kilometre around Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a wide range of wildlife, including leopard, striped hyena, jungle cat, Indian pangolin, blue bull and chinkara, along with several bird species such as the painted francolin.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

India will host the AI Impact Summit

♦ India will host the AI Impact Summit from 16th to 20th February 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The summit will be the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. It will bring together global leaders, policymakers, technology companies, innovators, and experts to showcase and deliberate on the transformative potential of AI across governance, innovation, and sustainable development. ♦ Artificial Intelligence is a key enabler of India’s development journey, strengthening governance and improving public service delivery. The India AI Impact Expo is expected to feature over 400 exhibitors across more than seven thematic pavilions, with participation of over 1.5 lakh visitors.

Jan 23, 2026 Current Affairs

IT Services 25 (2025)

♦ Brand Finance released its annual 'IT Services 25 (2025)' rankings recently. Accenture continued to maintain its position as the world’s most valuable IT services brand for the eighth consecutive year, with a 2 percent increase in brand value to $42.3 billion in 2026. India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys retained their position as the second and third most valued IT services brand. ♦ Eight Indian IT services providers now account for 36 percent, or $60.4 billion, in total brand value. With a brand value of $21.2 billion, TCS is the world’s second most valuable IT services brand for the fifth year in a row. Compared to 2025, TCS’ valuation has come down marginally from $21.3 billion. ♦ Infosys, with a brand value of $16.4 billion, is once again the world’s third most valuable IT services brand. The report said Infosys leads the industry with the fastest-growing compound annual growth rate in brand value of 15 percent over six years. With a brand strength index score of 86.8 out of 100, Infosys is also the world’s third-strongest IT services brand. ♦ HCLTech (brand value up 1 percent to $9 billion) and Wipro (brand value up 4 percent to $6.3 billion) maintained their positions from 2025, ranked eighth and ninth among the sector’s 25 brands.

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