National News

India’s first glass bridge

• Tamil Nadu Chief minister MK Stalin inaugurated India’s first glass bridge over sea that connects the 133 ft tall Saint Tiruvalluvar statue and the Vivekananda rock Memorial, in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.

Additional Info

State Special

34th district of Gujarat

• The Gujarat government approved the creation of a new district named Vav-Tharad. This will be the 34th district of Gujarat, with its headquarters at Tharad.
• Cabinet also approved the proposal to grant the status of Municipal Corporation to 9 municipalities in the state including Navsari, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Surendranagar, Morbi, Porbandar, and Gandhidham.

Gujarat

Mobile Application: State Health Agency Punjab

• Punjab government has launched an Android-based mobile application ‘State Health Agency Punjab’, to ensure easy access to healthcare services for the people.
• Individuals can check their eligibility for the Ayushman Bharat MukhMantri Sehat Bima Yojana directly from their mobile devices.

Punjab

HIPA

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced that Himachal Pradesh Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) will be renamed after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Himachal Pradesh

Government Schemes

PM Fasal Bima Yojana

• The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of PM Fasal Bima Yojana and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025-26.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of One-time Special Package on Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers beyond the Nutrient Based Subsidy at3500 rupees per Metric tonnes.

PM Fasal Bima Yojana

One Nation, One Subscription Scheme

• The Government has launched the “One Nation, One Subscription” scheme starting from 1 January, to provide seamless access to a wide range of digital knowledge resources, including research papers, journals, and academic content, under a single subscription platform.

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International News

Bilateral Agreement on Consular Access 2008

• India and Pakistan exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen in each other’s custody through diplomatic channels. Under the provisions of the bilateral Agreement on Consular Access 2008, such lists are exchanged every year on 1st January and on 1st July.

About Pakistan

EU’s Schengen Zone

• Romania and Bulgaria officially joined the EU’s Schengen zone, eliminating land border controls with other member states.

About Schengen Area

New Tourist Tax in Russia

• A new tourist tax has come into effect across Russia from 1st January, replacing the previous resort fee.
• The tourist tax will begin at a rate of 1% in 2025 and gradually rise to 3% by 2027.

Russia

Economy and Banking

WhatsApp Pay

• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) removed the unified payments interface (UPI) user onboarding limit for WhatsApp Pay with immediate effect.

NPCI

Environment and Biodiversity

India’s greenhouse gas emissions

• The fourth Biennial Update Report (BUR-4) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) shows India’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 7.93% in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Major Greenhouse Gases

Warmest Year on Record

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that 2024 was the warmest year on record in the country since 1901.

IMD

Defence

Warships Nilgiri, Surat and Vaghsheer

• Indian Navy is set to commission three indigenously built warships Nilgiri, Surat and Vaghsheer on 15th January at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.

About Indian Navy

2025: Year of Reforms

• The Ministry of Defence has declared 2025 as the "Year of Reforms" in order to give impetus to the on-going and future reforms in the Defence Sector.

Chiefs of Defence Forces

Sports

World Blitz Chess Championship 2024

• Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi shared the title of World Blitz Chess Championship 2024.
• In the Women’s section, China’s Ju Wenjun defeated Lei Tingjie to win the title. R. Vaishali clinched the bronze medal in the event.

FIDE

Santosh Trophy

• West Bengal defeated Kerala to win the National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy. West Bengal claimed the title for the 33rd time.

Major football Tournaments in India

Men’s Test Team of the Year 2024

• Cricket Australia has named India’s pacer Jasprit Bumrah as the captain of the Men’s Test Team of the Year 2024. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is the other Indian in the playing XI.

International Cricket Council (ICC)

Awards and Honours

Sangita Kalanidhi 2024

• Renowned Carnatic musician T.M. Krishna was conferred the title of ‘Sangita Kalanidhi 2024’ at the 98th Conference and Concerts:Sadas, the traditional oriental convocation of The Music Academy in Chennai.

About Sangita Kalanidhi

Spell Master of India

• Chaya M V crowned as SBI Life Spell Bee Season 14 Champion, by bagging the 'Spell Master of India' National Title.

About SBI

Books and Authors

Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh: Through the Ages

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the book, titled ‘Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh: Through the Ages’ which seeks to present the story of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh.

Jammu and Kashmir

Major Appointments

Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra

• Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra assumed command of the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command.

Indian Air Force

Bhuvnesh Kumar

• Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar assumed charge as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

UIDAI