January 2026 (2nd week) Current affairs Practice Questions:

Bio-bitumen is a CSIR-developed binder made from agricultural residue, especially rice straw, through pyrolysis to produce bio-oil which is blended 20-30% with petroleum bitumen.

Developed by CSIR-CRRI and CSIR-IIP, it was validated on a 100-m stretch of NH-40 (Jorabat-Shillong). It addresses stubble burning and can save ₹25,000-30,000 crore in bitumen imports annually.

Census 2027 will be India’s 16th Census and 8th post-Independence, conducted under Census Act 1948.

• Phase-1 Houselisting is April-September 2026, Phase-2 Population Enumeration in February 2027.
• It will be India’s first fully digital Census via mobile apps, with self-enumeration, CMMS real-time monitoring, and GIS-based blocks.
• Crucially, caste data will be collected electronically for the first time since 1931.

DGMS is the statutory regulator under Ministry of Labour & Employment for safety in coal, metalliferous and oil mines. Established in 1902, headquartered at Dhanbad, Jharkhand. It enforces Mines Act 1952, conducts inspections, accident investigations, and occupational health oversight. It is recognised as an S&T institution since 1987.

PSLV-C62 launched on 13 January 2026 from Sriharikota with EOS-N1, an advanced hyperspectral surveillance satellite, plus 15 co-passengers. The vehicle failed to reach intended orbit due to rocket problems, leading to loss of all payloads. This marked the second successive PSLV failure, raising reliability concerns for India’s workhorse launcher.

The “Doomsday Glacier,” officially named the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, is a rapidly melting ice mass roughly the size of Florida. It is considered highly unstable, losing 50 billion tons of ice annually and contributing to 4% of global sea-level rise.

Bagurumba is the traditional folk dance of the Bodo community, Assam’s largest tribal group (~5% population).

Performed mainly by young women with men as musicians, it mimics nature – butterflies, birds, flowers – symbolising harmony with environment.

National Youth Day is observed annually on 12 January to mark Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary (1863). Disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, he introduced Hindu philosophy to the West at Chicago 1893 and inspired national integration during colonial India.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar unveiled the BRICS 2026 logo, theme and website. Theme: ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’ (BRICS). Logo features lotus with BRICS colours and Namaste at centre, reflecting ‘Humanity First’ vision. Four priorities guide the 18th summit later in 2026.

BRICS member countries:

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).

• 2024: Expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE.
• 2025: Indonesia officially joined as a full member
• Members (11 total): Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia (pending), and Indonesia.

Pax Silica is a US-led initiative announced by State Department to secure AI and tech supply chains among trusted partners. ‘Pax’ denotes peace/stability, ‘Silica’ refers to silicon for chips.

It aims for joint ventures, protecting critical tech from hostile control, and building trusted ecosystems for ICT, data centres, fibre optics and foundational models. Invitees include Japan, South Korea, UK, Israel, UAE, Australia, Singapore, Netherlands.

Merz visited Gandhinagar for first bilateral outside EU/NATO. India and Germany signed 19 pacts covering defence industrial cooperation roadmap, higher education, critical minerals and semiconductor ecosystem, Indo-Pacific dialogue, and a Centre of Excellence for Skilling in Renewable Energy. Notably, Germany announced visa-free transit for Indian passengers.

MeitY launched ‘PARAM SHAKTI’ at IIT Madras in January 2026 as part of National Supercomputing Mission. It strengthens India’s HPC capacity for AI, climate modelling, and research, supporting Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat in advanced computing.

India’s first hydrogen-powered train is set to operate on the Jind–Sonipat route in Haryana.

World Hindi Day is observed globally on 10 January every year to promote Hindi internationally, distinct from National Hindi Diwas (14 September).