Daily Current Affairs and GK | 1 and 2 January 2026

Topic: Personality in News

1. Hugh Morris passed away at the age of 62.

• He was a former England cricketer. He was battling bowel cancer.
• Morris was an opening batter for England. He won three Test caps in 1991.
• He served as the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
• The former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri played alongside Morris at Glamorgan.
• Former New Zealand cricketer Doug Bracewell has retired from international cricket.
• Bracewell played a key role in New Zealand’s last Test victory over Australia, in Hobart in 2011.
• He played 28 Tests, 21 One Day Internationals, and 20 T20 Internationals.
• During his career, he took 120 international wickets.

Topic: International News

2. Nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has been deployed by Russia in Belarus.

• Russia’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that Oreshnik missile system has entered active service.
• Defence Ministry said a brief ceremony marked the deployment.
• The Ministry said this without providing detailed information.
• The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
• It can fly between 500 to 5,500 km. It can reach speeds of up to Mach 10.
• In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Oreshnik would soon enter combat duty.
• In November 2024, Oreshnik has seen one combat use striking the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
• It carries a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle.
• Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. Its capital is Minsk. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast.

Topic: Banking/Finance

3. In December, UPI transactions registered a year-on-year increase of 29%.

• A strong year-on-year growth of 29% in UPI transaction volume was recorded in December, with total transactions reaching 21.63 billion.
• The transaction value under UPI was reported at around 28 lakh crore rupees, showing an annual increase of 20%.
• The data was released by the National Payments Corporation of India, which oversees digital payment systems in the country.
• Month-on-month growth was also observed in both transaction volume and transaction value during December.
• The average daily transaction value stood at 90 thousand 217 crore rupees, rising from 87 thousand 721 crore rupees in November 2025.
• The average daily transaction count increased to 698 million from 682 million in the previous month.
• Transactions through the Immediate Payment Service amounted to 6.62 lakh crore rupees in December.
• IMPS transaction value registered a 10% annual growth and showed an increase from 6.15 lakh crore rupees in November.
• The IMPS transaction volume rose to 380 million from 369 million recorded in the previous month.
• The average daily IMPS transaction value increased to 21 thousand 269 crore rupees, reflecting sustained digital payment adoption.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

4. The highway projects in Maharashtra and Odisha approved by Union Cabinet.

• Two major highway projects in Maharashtra and Odisha were approved by the Union Cabinet to strengthen integrated transport infrastructure.
• The approvals were granted by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan framework.
• A 6-lane greenfield access-controlled Nashik–Solapur–Akkalkot corridor of 374 kilometres was approved in Maharashtra.
• The Maharashtra corridor project was sanctioned at a capital cost of 19,142 crore rupees.
• The corridor is expected to improve connectivity to cities such as Nashik, Ahilyanagar, Solapur and Kurnool.
• The project is designed for a speed of 100 km per hour and is expected to reduce travel time to about 17 hours.
• Around 251.06 lakh man-days of direct employment and 313.83 lakh man-days of indirect employment are expected to be generated.
• The widening and strengthening of NH-326 in Odisha, covering about 206 kilometres, was also approved.
• The NH-326 project involves a capital cost of 1,526.21 crore rupees and will benefit aspirational districts like Gajapati, Rayagada and Koraput.
• Since June 2024, infrastructure projects worth over 12.6 lakh crore rupees have been approved during the third term of the Modi government.

Topic: National Appointments

5. The appointments of Chief Justices to Kerala, Patna and Meghalaya High Courts notified.

• On 1 January, the new appointments and transfers of Chief Justices of several High Courts were notified by the Centre.
• The notifications were issued following recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
• Justice Soumen Sen was transferred from the Meghalaya High Court to serve as the Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court.
• This transfer has been made by the President using the powers vested in her under Article 222 of the Constitution and will come into effect after the retirement of Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar on January 9, 2026.
• Acting under Article 217 of the Constitution, the President has appointed Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo, a judge of the Odisha High Court, as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court.
• This appointment will be effective from the date he assumes office.
• Following the transfer of Justice Soumen Sen, Justice Revati Prashant Mohite Dere, a judge of the Bombay High Court, has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court.
• These appointments followed the Collegium meeting held on December 18, 2025.
• The appointments were made by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
• Two Collegium recommendations related to Uttarakhand and Jharkhand High Courts are yet to be notified.

Topic: State News/Goa

6. The creation of a third district in Goa, with its headquarters in Quepem, has been approved.

• The formation of a third district in Goa was announced by the state government to improve administrative efficiency.
• The decision was approved earlier by the Goa Cabinet and was discussed with legislators across party lines.
• The new district will comprise the talukas of Sanguem, Dharbandora, Quepem and Canacona.
• The headquarters of the newly created district will be located at Quepem.
• At present, Goa has two districts — North Goa and South Goa.
• Currently, North Goa district comprises five talukas – Bardez, Tiswadi, Pernem, Bicholim, and Sattari.
• South Goa has seven talukas – Ponda, Mormugao, Salcete, Sanguem, Dharbandora, Quepem, and Canacona.
• The proposal aligns with NITI Aayog’s recommendation for smaller districts to enhance last-mile governance.
• A meeting of all political parties was held to review and finalise the proposal.
• The creation of the new district aims to ensure better access to government services.
• A seven-member committee headed by the Chief Secretary was constituted in November 2023 to examine the proposal.

Topic: National News

7. India’s first bullet train will be launched on August 15, 2027.

• The train will run between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
• As per announcement made by Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, India is likely to receive its first Bullet Train on 15th August 2027.
• He said India’s first bullet train project is being constructed between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
• Its first section will be opened from Surat to Bilimora.
• The Surat to Bilimora section will be followed by the section from Vapi to Surat.
• After this, Vapi to Ahmedabad will open. After that, Thane to Ahmedabad will open, and then Mumbai to Ahmedabad will open.
• National High Speed rail Corporation is executing the 508 kilometer corridor.
• On completion, the corridor will have 12 stations, which include Mumbai, Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Billimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, and Sabarmati.
• The bullet train will take 1 hour 58 minutes to cover the distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
• The estimated cost of the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project is more than ₹1 lakh crore.
• Japan International Cooperation Agency is funding 81% of the cost.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

8. The e-Bill System has been inaugurated by Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers JP Nadda.

• The system will enable the government to process fertilizer subsidies.
• It will process subsidy transactions worth nearly two lakh crore rupees.
• Additionally, it will play a significant role in strengthening transparent, efficient and technology-driven governance.
• The e-Bill System includes strong financial control mechanisms.
• Payments are verified using predefined digital criteria.
• Each action within the system is automatically recorded and records support auditing and accountability.
• The system helps reduce fraud and misuse of funds and minimizes human errors in bill processing.
• The initiative replaces manual and paper-based procedures.

Topic: National News

9. Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL) has started lending operations.

• It is India’s first non-banking financial company dedicated to the maritime sector.
• The company has sanctioned loans worth about ₹4,300 crore.
• The approvals were cleared at SMFCL’s 51st board meeting.
• Recently, expansion roadmap was cleared at the annual general meeting of the company.
• The roadmap set a overall borrowing limit of ₹25,000 crore and fixed a lending target of ₹8,000 crore.
• SMFCL plans to build a loan book of ₹8,000 crore in FY26.
• Out of the sanctioned amount, around ₹4,000 crore has been allocated to a greenfield port project.
• Dredging Corporation of India has been sanctioned ₹150 crore and Goa Shipyard has received loan approval of ₹110 crore.
• SMFCL was inaugurated on June 26, 2025. It was created as a dedicated lender for the maritime sector.
• SMFCL has been designated as the nodal agency for the Maritime Development Fund, having a total corpus of ₹25,000 crore.
• It includes a ₹20,000-crore Maritime Investment Fund and a ₹5,000-crore Interest Incentivisation Fund.
• SMFCL expects guidelines for the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme soon.
• Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme has an outlay of ₹44,700 crore and is expected to boost investment in shipbuilding.

Topic: National Appointments

10. Air Marshal Tejinder Singh has assumed charge as the head of South Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force on January 1, 2026.

• He is now the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the South Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force.
• Air Marshal Tejinder Singh is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy.
• He was commissioned into the Indian Air Force in June 1987.
• He is a Category ‘A’ qualified flying instructor, having more than 4,500 hours of flying experience.
• He has attended the Defence Services Staff College and is also a graduate of the National Defence College.
• He has served as Air Officer Commanding in Jammu and Kashmir.
• He served as Air Commodore in charge of personnel officers at Air Headquarters.
• He served as Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command and later became Deputy Chief of the Air Staff.
• He also headed the Training Command of the Indian Air Force.
• He was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2007 for his distinguished service.
• He received the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.