Daily Current Affairs and GK | 17 January 2026

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

1. Paripoorna Mediclaim Ayush Bima launched for CGHS Beneficiaries.

• On 14 January, the Paripoorna Mediclaim Ayush Bima has been launched for Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) beneficiaries.
• The scheme has been introduced by the Department of Financial Services.
• Cashless treatment and modern medical procedures are covered under the policy.
• The policy is exclusively available for CGHS beneficiaries with up to six members per family.
• This provides indemnity-based in-patient hospitalization coverage within India, with sum insured options of ₹10 lakh or ₹20 lakh.
• The product will include a co-payment component, giving beneficiaries the option to choose a 70:30 or 50:50 co-sharing arrangement between the insurance company and the subscriber.
• This optional health insurance plan will be available as a retail product for all CGHS beneficiaries, and it will be exempt from GST to make it as affordable as possible.
• According to the ministry, it will soon be available for purchase through New India Assurance Company Limited's offices and online platform.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

2. The Golden Globe Awards 2026 have been presented in Los Angeles to honour excellence in film and television.

• Top awards in film categories were won by Hamnet and One Battle After Another.
• In television categories, Netflix’s Adolescence emerged as a major winner.
• This year, the 83rd edition of the Golden Globe Awards was presented that honoured excellence in film and American television productions in 2025.
• Here is the important list of Golden Globe Awards 2026 winners:

Topic: Important Days

3. Thiruvalluvar Day 2026: 16 January

• Thiruvalluvar Day was celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on 16 January.
• Every year, it is usually celebrated either on the 15th or 16th of January.
• It is observed in honour of the poet Thiruvalluvar, as part of the Pongal celebrations.
• It was first celebrated in 1935 at Chennai Pachaiappan College.
• Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have extended their greetings to the citizens on the occasion of Thiruvalluvar Day.
• The Vice President said that Thiruvalluvar taught that love is the foundation of life, that kindness and compassion should guide our actions, and that caring for all living beings is the greatest virtue.
• Thiruvalluvar:

• He was a renowned poet and philosopher.
• He authored Tirukkural, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economic matters, and love.
• Thirukkural contains 1330 couplets (kurals) that is divided into 133 sections of 10 couplets each.
• A temple memorial Valluvar Kotam was built in Chennai in 1976 in the honour of Thiruvalluvar. It is one of the largest auditoriums in Asia.

Topic: National News

4. EU leaders invited as chief guests for the 77th Republic Day celebrations.

• The President of the European Council António Luís Santos da Costa and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen have been invited as Chief Guests for India’s 77th Republic Day celebrations.
• The Republic Day ceremony is scheduled to be held at Kartavyapath on 26 January, marking a significant diplomatic engagement.
• At the invitation of PM Narendra Modi, two EU leaders will pay a three-day state visit to India starting on January 25th.
• During the visit, the 16th India–EU Summit is to be co-chaired by the EU leaders on 27 January.
• Meetings with President Droupadi Murmu have been scheduled as part of the official engagements.
• Restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also planned during the visit.
• An India–EU Business Forum is expected to be organised on the sidelines of the India–EU Summit.
• India and the European Union have maintained a strategic partnership since the year 2004, as stated by the Ministry of External Affairs.
• The previous 15th India–EU Summit was conducted virtually on 15 July 2020.
• The participation of EU leaders in Republic Day celebrations is expected to further deepen the India–EU Strategic Partnership and enhance cooperation in priority areas.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

5. Agreements signed for three commercial coal blocks to strengthen energy security.

• Coal Mine Development and Production Agreements (CMDPAs) have been executed by the Ministry of Coal with the Damodar Valley Corporation.
• The agreements have been signed for three commercial coal blocks, namely Dhulia North, Mandakini B, and Pirpainti Barahat.
• These coal blocks were successfully auctioned under the 13th round of commercial coal mining auctions.
• All three coal blocks are fully explored and together possess a cumulative Peak Rated Capacity of 49 million tonnes per annum.
• An estimated annual revenue of ₹4,621 crore is projected to be generated from the development of these blocks.
• Capital investment worth approximately ₹7,350 crore is expected to be mobilised through these projects.
• Around 66,248 direct and indirect employment opportunities are projected to be created through the development of the coal blocks.
• The projects are expected to contribute to regional development in coal-bearing areas.
• The initiative aligns with the government’s objective of enhancing domestic coal production through a transparent and competitive auction framework.
• These efforts support India’s long-term energy security and the national vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Topic: Sports

6. Mitchell Starc and Laura Wolvaardt awarded ICC Player of the Month for December 2025.

• Australia’s Mitchell Starc has been named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for December 2025.
• The award has been conferred for his outstanding performance during Australia’s home Ashes series victory.
• This recognition marks the first time Mitchell Starc has received the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award.
• He ended a two-year wait for an Australian player for this award, with Pat Cummins being the previous winner in December 2023.
• Additionally, South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt has been named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for December 2025.
• The award was given for her key role in South Africa’s series victories against Ireland in both T20I and ODI formats.
• Laura Wolvaardt delivered consistent performances across formats, contributing significantly to team success.
• This is the second ICC Player of the Month award won by Laura Wolvaardt.
• She had earlier received the same award in October 2025.
• ICC had introduced the ICC Player of the Month awards in January 2021.
• It recognizes the best performances of both male and female cricketers across all forms of international cricket.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

7. Yemen's Prime Minister Salem bin Breik resigned and his resignation has been accepted by Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential leadership council.

• Foreign Minister Shaya Mohsen Zindani has been appointed as new Prime Minister of Yemen.
• In recent months, Yemen has been a source of increased conflicts between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
• In December, Southern Transitional Council obtained control of areas across southern and eastern Yemen in December.
• With this, Southern Transitional Council, a UAE-backed separatist group, advanced to within reach of the Saudi border.
• Saudi Arabia considered a threat to its national security and Saudi-backed fighters have mostly retaken those areas.
• Other issues of differences between two Gulf powers range from geopolitics to oil output.   
• Earlier, Saudi Arabia and the UAE came together battling the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen's civil war.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's Digital India BHASHINI Division and Government of Madhya Pradesh signed MoU.

• The MoU was signed during the Madhya Pradesh Regional AI Impact Conference 2026.
• The MoU formalizes collaboration on multilingual digital governance and makes possible the integration of BHASHINI’s language technologies into state digital platforms.
• The integration includes translation APIs and AI-powered language tools, which will help deliver public services in multiple Indian languages.
• BHASHINI will support voice-first AI solutions in Madhya Pradesh and will also enable multilingual services across the digital governance ecosystem of Madhya Pradesh.
• Madhya Pradesh Regional AI Impact Conference 2026 was held at Bhopal.
• The conference was organized by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Madhya Pradesh, in partnership with the IndiaAI Mission.
• It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav, who announced that the state will soon launch a State AI Policy in mission mode.

Topic: National News

9. India’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper Train inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi at Malda town railway station, West Bengal.

• The train will connect Howrah and Guwahati (Kamakhya).
• The Prime Minister also virtually flagged off the Guwahati–Howrah Vande Bharat Sleeper service.
• The Vande Bharat Sleeper train is fully air-conditioned and is designed to offer an airline-style travel experience.
• The Vande Bharat Sleeper train consists of 16 modern coaches with a total capacity of 823 passengers.
• The Howrah-Guwahati route is among the most significant rail corridors in the country.
• The Vande Bharat Sleeper trains will make the visit to major pilgrimage centres like Kalighat Temple and Kamakhya Devi Temple.
• The Vande Bharat Sleeper will significantly lower travel time on the route.
• The existing Saraighat Express takes about 17 hours for the journey between Howrah and Guwahati.
• The Vande Bharat Sleeper will complete the journey between Howrah and Guwahati in just 14 hours.
• PM Modi further virtually flagged off four New Amrit Bharat Express trains in Malda.
• PM Modi participated in Bagurumba Dwhou 2026. On this occasion, ten thousand artists from the Bodo community performed the Bagurumba dance.

Topic: National Appointments

10. Praveen Vashista appointed as Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission.

• He previously served as Special Secretary for Internal Security in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• He took voluntary retirement from service on 15 January 2026.
• On 16 January 2026, he was appointed Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission.
• Praveen Vashista is a 1991-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Bihar cadre.
• He was sworn in as Vigilance Commissioner on 16 January 2026.
• The Central Vigilance Commission functions under the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.
• The commission consists of one Central Vigilance Commissioner and two Vigilance Commissioners.
• Each Vigilance Commissioner has a fixed tenure of four years or until the age of 65 years.
• Vashista was appointed as Special Secretary for Internal Security in December 2024.
• The appointment as Vigilance Commissioners was made by the President of India under the powers granted by Section 4(1) of the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.