Divyangjan

15 archaeological sites to be developed into vibrant experiential cultural destinations

fiscal consolidation & budget estimates

#imp

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We will develop ecologically sustainable mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, also in Araku Valley in Eastern Ghats and also Western Ghats. Turtle trails along key nesting sites in Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala will be developed..."

The Government has accepted 16th Finance Commission recommendations to retain the vertical share of devolution at 41%. I have allocated Rs 1.4 lakh crores for states for FY2026-27."

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Powerful push for infrastructure

👉Govt to continue focus on infrastructure development in cities with population over 5 lakh (Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities).
👉Public Capital Expenditure to be increased to ₹12.2 lakh crore.
👉Proposal to set up an Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund to provide partial credit guarantees to lenders.
👉New Dedicated Freight Corridors proposed, connecting Dankuni (East) to Surat (West).
👉20 new waterways to be operationalised over the next five years, starting with Odisha.
👉A ship-repair ecosystem to be established in Varanasi and Patna

"To diversify farm outputs, increase productivity, enhance farmers' incomes, and create new employment opportunities, we will support high-value crops such as coconut, sandalwood, cocoa, cashew in the coastal areas. Agar trees in northeast and nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pine nuts in our hilly regions. All of them will be supported. India is the world's largest producer of coconuts. About 30 million people, including nearly 10 million farmers, depend on coconuts for their livelihood. To further enhance competitiveness in coconut production, I propose a coconut promotion scheme to increase production and enhance productivity through various interventions, including replacing non-productive trees with new saplings or plants or varieties in major coconut growing states."

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In FY2026-27, fiscal deficit is seen at 4.4% of the GDP.

The fiscal deficit at 4.3% of GDP in FY2027.

A New National Institute of Design to be set up in eastern part of India.

I propose to provide a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centre services from India. It will, however, need to provide services to Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity.
I also propose to provide a safe harbour of 15% on cost in case the company providing data centre services from India is a related entity.

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launch Bharat Vistar, a multilingual AI tool to integrate agri stack

🔆 CURRENT AFFAIRS — 31 JANUARY 2026

🔆 REGULATORY / RBI JUNCTION

📍 IRDAI
✅ IRDAI reconstitutes Reinsurance Advisory Committee (RAC) for 3 years
✅ Chairperson: A.V. Girija Kumar (Former CMD, Oriental Insurance)
📍 Legal Basis:
✅ Section 101B, Insurance Act, 1938
📍 Objective:
✅ Strengthen India’s insurance & reinsurance ecosystem

📍 Digital Food Coupons
✅ Govt to trial digital food coupons at ration shops
📍 Regulatory body: RBI
📍 Implementing ministry: MoCAF&PD (with NPCI + States)
📍 Key Feature:
✅ Digital food coupons = programmable e-rupee (CBDC)
✅ Replaces physical foodgrain/cash transfers with digital tokens

🔆 BANKING & FINANCIAL

📍 UAE Central Bank
✅ Approves first USD-backed stablecoin
📍 Issuer: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
📍 Stablecoin name: USDD
📍 Regulation:
✅ Approved under Payment Token Services Regulation (CBUAE)
📍 Milestone:
✅ Universal Digital becomes first foreign payment token issuer registered with UAE Central Bank

🔆 INTERNATIONAL

📍 World Nuclear Outlook Report
✅ Released by World Nuclear Association (WNA)
📍 Projection:
✅ Global nuclear capacity may reach 1,446 GWe by 2050
✅ Exceeds 1,200 GWe target under Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy

📍 Cost of Living Index 2026
✅ Released by Numbeo
📍 Measures:
✅ Average monthly expenses (food, transport, utilities, rent)

📍 Indian Cities – Among World’s Lowest Cost
✅ Indore – Rank 477
✅ Bhopal – Rank 473
✅ Patna – Rank 470

📍 Most Expensive Cities 2026
✅ Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lausanne, Lugano (All Switzerland)

🔆 NATIONAL

📍 PAIMAN Portal
✅ Full form: Project Assessment, Infrastructure Monitoring & Analytics for Nation-building
📍 Operationalised by: MoSPI
📍 Purpose:
✅ Web-based portal for monitoring Central Sector Infrastructure Projects
📍 Coverage:
✅ Projects costing ₹150 crore & above
📍 Key Feature:
✅ Principle of “One Data, One Entry” to avoid duplication

📍 National Mission on Manufacturing (NMM)
✅ Announced in Union Budget 2025–26
📍 Aim:
✅ Double manufacturing contribution to GDP by 2035

📍 Targets (2035):
✅ Manufacturing share in GDP: 25%
✅ Jobs: 143 million
✅ Merchandise exports: $1.2 trillion

📍 India–Arab Relations
✅ 2nd India–Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held
📍 Co-chairs: India & UAE
📍 Five pillars:
✅ Economy | Energy | Education | Media | Culture
📍 Background:
✅ India–Arab Cooperation Mechanism formalised in 2002

📍 PRAGYA–AIX
✅ Centralised AI digital platform of ONGC
📍 Objective:
✅ Scale AI from pilot projects to enterprise-wide deployment

📍 Supreme Court Ruling
✅ Menstrual hygiene recognised as a fundamental right
📍 Under Article 21
📍 Bench:
✅ Justice J.B. Pardiwala & Justice R. Mahadevan

📍 Leprosy-Free India
✅ National Leprosy Day: 30 January
📍 Disease caused by: Mycobacterium leprae
📍 Programme:
✅ NLEP (MoHFW)
📍 Target:
✅ Zero transmission & zero leprosy by 2027

📍 Green Hydrogen
✅ India to develop Hydrogen Hub at Kandla
📍 Under: National Green Hydrogen Mission
📍 Target:
✅ Produce & export 5 million tonnes in next 5–6 years
📍 Nodal ministry: MNRE
📍 Outlay: ₹19,744 crore

🔆 FOOD & RAILWAYS

📍 FSSAI
✅ Launches online training programme on food safety risk assessment
📍 Inaugurated by: Rajit Punhani, CEO, FSSAI

📍 Indian Railways
✅ Launches first LNG–diesel dual-fuel DEMU train
📍 Location: Ahmedabad

📍 Railway Safety
✅ Railways accelerate Kavach 4.0 rollout
📍 Newly commissioned: 472 route km in a single day
📍 Kavach:
✅ Indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system

🔆 MoUs

📍 IIM Ahmedabad
✅ Signs MoU to establish Krishnamurthy Tandon School of AI
📍 Endowment:
✅ ₹100 crore by Tandon family

🔆 STATES

📍 Odisha
✅ To develop National UAV Test & Innovation Corridor
📍 Location: Rangeylunda

📍 Assam
✅ Takem Misig Poxin Kebang Youth Festival
📍 Venue: Dhemaji district
📍 Occasion: 10th Mising Youth Festival

📍 Nagaland
✅ 5th Rusoma Orange Festival begins
📍 Theme: “Abundance of Rusoma”
📍 Duration: 2 days

🔆 IMPORTANT DAYS

📍 27 January
✅ International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

📍 National Commission for Women
✅ Celebrates 34th Foundation Day

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📍 Venue: Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
📍 Theme 2026:
✅ “Swasthya hi Sashaktikaran”

🔆 APPOINTMENTS

📍 Corporate & Governance
✅ Former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh to head US Central Bank
✅ Sunetra Pawar set to become first woman Deputy CM of Maharashtra

🔆 AWARDS / BOOKS

📍 Aviation
✅ Uttarakhand wins Best State Award for Aviation Promotion

🔆 SCIENCE & TECH

📍 ISRO
✅ Plans Gaganyaan mission in 2027
📍 After completion of uncrewed flights

🔆 SPORTS

📍 Khelo India Winter Games 2026
✅ Venue: Leh, Ladakh
✅ Dates: 20–26 January 2026

#CurrentAffairs

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