16^th January 2026

1. Bio-Safety Level-4 (BSL-4) Laboratory: Recently, the Union Home Minister laid the foundation stone of India’s first fully state-funded Bio-Safety Level-4 (BSL-4) laboratory in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

• About BSL-4 Laboratory: Highest level of biological containment for handling extremely dangerous and highly infectious pathogens.

• Used for research on diseases without reliable vaccines or treatments.

• Operates under stringent international biosafety and biosecurity protocols.

• Enables work on diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and outbreak response.

• Research will focus on some of the most lethal viruses, including: Ebola, Marburg, Nipah, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) and Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD)

• Why This Lab Matters: Real-time outbreak response for emerging infectious diseases

• Strengthens India’s ability to tackle zoonotic diseases (animal-to-human transmission)

• Boosts indigenous vaccine and therapeutic development

• Reduces dependency on limited national facilities for high-risk pathogen research

2. NITI Aayog: Recently, NITI Aayog released a landmark report titled “Achieving Efficiencies in MSME Sector through Convergence of Schemes”, amid growing concerns over fragmented scheme delivery and limited outreach to India’s vast MSME base.

• Key Highlights: Ministry of MSME currently administers 18 schemes across credit, skills, marketing, innovation, technology, and infrastructure.

• Objectives of the Report: Streamline implementation of MSME schemes

• Strengthen inter-ministerial & Centre–State coordination

• Improve delivery of finance, skill, market, and innovation support

• Learn from best practices at central, state, and global levels

• Maximise outcomes from existing public expenditure

• Coverage: Evaluation of existing central MSME schemes across credit, skills, marketing, innovation, technology upgradation, and infrastructure.

• Core Challenge Identified: Fragmentation, overlapping objectives, and duplication due to multi-ministerial implementation.

• Need for Convergence: Simplify MSME access to schemes

  • Reduce duplication and administrative inefficiencies

  • Improve outcome-to-resource translation

3. Smooth-Coated Otter: Recently, a rare sighting of a smooth-coated otter was reported in the Adyar River at Tholkappia Poonga eco-park, Chennai.

• About Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata): Sleek, medium-sized otter with short limbs, webbed feet, and a flattened tail.

• Habitat: Freshwater-dominated ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, wetlands, swamps, and rice paddies.

  • Prefers shallow, calm waters.

  • Though occasionally found near coastal saltwater, access to freshwater is essential.

• Distribution: Widely distributed across India, from the Himalayas to southern India.

• Present in the Western Ghats and Northeast India.

  • India hosts 3 otter species out of the 13 species found globally: Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) and Small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus)

  • Diet: Primarily fish-based.

  • Behaviour: Shy and highly sensitive to disturbance, making sightings rare.

• Social animals, typically living in family groups of 3 to 15 individuals.

• Conservation Status: Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I and IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

4. Huntington’s Disease: Recently, research by uniQure along with studies from University College London and the University of Cambridge has raised hope for Huntington’s disease by indicating the possibility of early intervention long before symptoms appear.

• About Huntington’s disease: A rare inherited neurological condition in which specific brain cells gradually deteriorate.

• Brain Regions Affected: The basal ganglia, which control body movements, are primarily damaged.

• The cerebral cortex, responsible for thinking, memory, and decision-making, is also affected.

• Impact on the Individual: Progressive loss of neurons leads to emotional instability, declining intellectual abilities, and involuntary, uncontrolled movements.

• Cause: HD is caused by a genetic mutation in the HTT (Huntington) gene.

• If one parent has HD, there is a 50% probability of inheriting the disorder.

• The HTT gene normally produces huntingtin protein, essential for healthy neuron function.

• In HD, faulty genetic instructions result in abnormally shaped huntingtin protein.

• This abnormal protein damages and kills nerve cells, driving disease progression.

• Symptoms: Involuntary, jerky or dance-like movements (chorea), Abnormal body postures

• Changes in behavior, emotions, thinking, and personality

• Tremors, Abnormal or unusual eye movements, often appearing early

• Treatment: There is no cure or treatment that can halt or reverse the disease.

5. Tribal Healers: Recently, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) announced that it will organise India’s first National Capacity Building Programme for Tribal Healers at Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad.

• Key Highlights: The initiative marks a decisive shift in India’s tribal health strategy—moving from marginal engagement to formal integration of indigenous healers within the public health ecosystem.

• First national-level effort to: Formally recognise tribal and indigenous healers

  • Build their capacities as community-level health partners

  • Strengthen health outreach in remote tribal and PVTG areas

• Aims to bridge trust gaps between modern healthcare systems and tribal communities

• Establishes India’s first National Tribal Health Observatory

• Implemented under Project DRISTI: A national framework for data-driven tribal health action. Focus areas: Tribe-specific disease burden analysis

  • Research-backed policy interventions

  • Monitoring outcomes in high-burden tribal regions

• The Observatory will support and align with: National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) and National Centre for Vector Borne Diseases Control (NCVBDC)

• Convergence with programmes for: Tuberculosis, Malaria, Leprosy etc.

6. Climate Records from Peninsular India: Recently, a landmark palaeoclimate study by scientists uncovered one of the most detailed climate records from peninsular India, preserved beneath the sediments of Kondagai Lake near Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu.

• Key Highlights: One of the most detailed and well-dated inland lake climate records from peninsular India, a region highly sensitive to the Northeast Monsoon. The lake lies close to Keeladi, an important Sangam-period settlement dating back to at least the 6th century BCE.

• Methodology Used: Excavation of a sediment profile over one metre deep

  • Collection of 32 closely spaced sediment samples

  • Multiproxy techniques: stable isotope analysis, pollen analysis, grain-size measurements, and radiocarbon dating

• Historical climate context strengthens regional climate models and helps anticipate future droughts, extreme rainfall, and floods.

• Supports sustainable water planning in drought-prone districts like Sivaganga and Madurai

  • Guides reservoir restoration, groundwater recharge, tank rehabilitation, and climate-smart agriculture

  • Identification of ancient flood deposits and land destabilization phases.

  • Aids flood-risk mapping and disaster preparedness in the Vaigai River basin.

7. NPS Vatsalya Scheme: Recently, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority issued the NPS (National Pension System) Vatsalya Scheme Guidelines, 2025, laying down the scheme’s operational framework.

• About NPS Vatsalya Scheme: A contributory savings and long-term financial security scheme created exclusively for minors. It aims to inculcate early savings habits while building a structured pension corpus for the child’s future.

  • Key Features: Open to all Indian citizens below 18 years of age

• Includes Resident Indians as well as NRI/OCI minors

• Account is opened in the name of the minor

• Operated and managed by a guardian until the child attains adulthood

• Minimum initial and annual contribution: ₹250

• Contributions can also be made as gifts by relatives or friends, encouraging family participation

• Partial Withdrawal Facility: Permitted after three years from the date of account opening

  • Up to 25% of own contributions (returns excluded) can be withdrawn

  • Allowed purposes include education, medical treatment, and specified disabilities

  • Withdrawal allowed: Twice before attaining 18 years and twice between 18 and 21 years, subject to prescribed conditions

8. India and Israel: Recently, India and Israel deepened their strategic partnership by signing a Joint Ministerial Declaration of Intent to strengthen cooperation in fisheries and aquaculture.

• Key Highlights: Engagement took place during the Second Global Summit on “Blue Food Security: Sea the Future 2026” held in Eilat, Israel.

• Fisheries and aquaculture were recognized as vital for food security, livelihoods, and economic growth in both nations.

• The declaration highlights Israel’s advanced technologies and innovations in aquaculture, fisheries, and water management, alongside India’s vast aquatic resources.

• Cooperation includes joint research and development in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems, biofloc systems, cage culture, aquaponics, and aquarium and oceanarium systems.

• Focus on breeding high-yield species, pathogen-free seed improvement strategies, broodstock development, and genetic improvement programmes.

• Strengthening cooperation to advance the Blue Economy through sustainable and technology-driven use of aquatic resources.

• Training in modern fish processing, marketing, and development of fishing harbours and fish landing centres.

• Strengthening bilateral trade by facilitating exports and imports and addressing tariff and non-tariff barriers.

9. Womaniya Initiative: Recently, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) marked seven years of the Womaniya initiative, its flagship programme aimed at enhancing the participation of women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in public procurement.

• About Womaniya Initiative: Launched on 14 January 2019

• Objective: Enable women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to access government markets

• Key feature: Direct, transparent, fully digital interface with government buyers

• Outcome: Removal of intermediaries

  • Reduction in entry barriers

  • Creation of a national ecosystem for women-led enterprises

• Seven Years of Impact: Over 2 lakh women-led MSEs registered on GeM (as of 14 January 2026)

• Public procurement orders exceeding ₹80,000 crore secured

• Accounts for 7% of GeM’s total order value
• Significantly surpasses the mandated 3% procurement target for women-owned enterprises