1 Udaipur included in the list of 31 wetland cities of the world
Udaipur, the city of lakes , has been included in the Wetland City. Udaipur and Madhya Pradesh’s Indore are included in the list of 31 cities of the world. of the world . UNESCO’s Ramsar has included both the cities in the Wetland City.
2 Padma Vibhushan to seven including Sharda Sinha, Osamu Suzuki
The Home Ministry announced this year’s Padma Awards on Saturday . Three people including Bihar ‘s famous late folk singer Sharda Sinha and Japanese businessman Osamu Suzuki will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously. The country’s first Sikh CJI Jagdish Singh Khehar is also among the seven people to receive the Padma Vibhushan . Apart from this, Padma Bhushan has been announced for 19 people (four posthumously) and Padma Shri for 113 people (six posthumously) . Prominent names among those who have received the Padma Bhushan are Prasar Bharati’s former chairman A. Surya Prakash , Prime Minister’s economic advisor Vivek Debroy (posthumously) , famous singer Pankaj Udas (posthumously) , film producer Shekhar Kapoor , former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi (posthumously). Apart from this, Bihar’s famous public servant and former IPS officer Kishore Kunal (posthumously) , famous businessman Pawan Goenka , cricketer R. 113 personalities including Ashwin have been awarded Padma Shri. The country’s renowned gastroenterologist Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy has been announced to be awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of medicine . The country’s first Sikh CJI Justice (Retd.) Jagdish Singh Khehar will be awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of public affairs. On 4 January 2017, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar created history as the first Sikh Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Renowned Kathak dancer and choreographer Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia will be awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of art (dance). She established Kadamba School of Dance and Music in the field of Indian dance and music in 1967. Lakshminarayana Subramaniam of Karnataka will be awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of art (music). Earlier, he has been awarded Padma Shri in 1987 and Padma Bhushan in 2010. M.T. Vasudevan Nair, one of India’s greatest writers of all time, will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in the field of literature and education. Japan’s late businessman Osamu Suzuki will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in the field of trade and industry. He was a Japanese businessman and chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation. The country’s famous late folk singer Sharda Sinha will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in the field of art (music).
3 93 gallantry awards announced on the eve of 76th Republic Day
President Draupadi Murmu has announced 93 gallantry awards on the eve of 76th Republic Day . These include personnel from the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces, including 11 posthumous awards . These include two Kirti Chakras including one posthumous , 14 Shaurya Chakras including three posthumously , one Army Medal for Gallantry Bar, 66 Army Medals including seven posthumously, two Navy Medals and eight Air Force Medals. Major Manjeet and Naik Dilawar Khan have been awarded the Kirti Chakra posthumously. The Kirti Chakra is given for courageous acts and self-sacrifice. The initial three gallantry (wartime gallantry) awards- Param Vir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra and Vir Chakra were instituted by the Government of India on 26 January 1950 after independence, with effect from 15 August 1947. After this, in the year 1952, three other gallantry (peacetime gallantry) awards – ‘Ashok Chakra Class-I’, ‘Ashok Chakra Class-II’ and ‘Ashok Chakra Class-III’ were established, which were considered effective from 15 August 1947. In January 1967, these awards were renamed as Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra respectively.
4 Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train trial completed
On January 25, the trial of Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train was conducted. The train left Katra at 8 am and reached Srinagar, the last station of Kashmir, at 11 am. That is , the journey of 160 km was completed in 3 hours. This train has been specially designed according to the weather of Kashmir and it will run smoothly even in snowfall. Prime Minister Narendra Modi can inaugurate it in February. This train will go from Katra to Srinagar via Ramban, Banihal, Qazikund, Anantnag and Avantipora. During this, the train will pass through the 359 meter high Chenab Bridge , which is 35 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower . This train will pass through the first cable bridge of Indian Railways , which is built in Anji Khad of Reasi . Also, this train will pass through India’s longest transport tunnel , which is in Ramban and its length is 12.75 km .
5 Textile Minister Giriraj Singh will inaugurate the handloom conference ‘Manthan’
Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh will inaugurate the Handloom Conference ‘ Manthan ‘ on January 28 in New Delhi . The conference aims to serve as a platform for various stakeholders to share best practices, innovations and strategies for development in the handloom sector. Around 250 stakeholders and officials from various departments of the Ministry will participate in the conference.
6 WEF 2025: India gets investment of more than Rs 20 lakh crore
India demonstrated its economic strength at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 held in Davos and received investment proposals worth more than Rs 20 lakh crore . These investments are expected to lead to rapid development in the country and create crores of employment opportunities. Maharashtra achieved the biggest success in this regard. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the state has raised ₹ 15.7 lakh crore which is likely to create more than 16 lakh employment opportunities. Apart from this, Telangana signed 20 agreements worth ₹ 1.80 lakh crore under the leadership of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. Kerala and Uttar Pradesh also attracted investors by presenting their ambitious plans.
7 NITI Aayog launched “Financial Health Index 2025” in New Delhi
Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Hon’ble Chairman, 16th Finance Commission launched the inaugural issue of NITI Aayog’s report “ Financial Health Index (FHI) 2025 ” on 24th January 2025 in New Delhi. The report comprehensively assesses the fiscal health of 18 major states based on five key sub-indices , quality of expenditure, revenue mobilization, fiscal prudence, debt index and debt sustainability, along with insights into state-specific challenges and areas. The FHI aims to shed light on the fiscal health at the sub-national level and guide policy reforms for sustainable and resilient economic growth. The report ranks states on the overall fiscal index, which is based on five key sub-indices, namely quality of expenditure, revenue mobilization, fiscal prudence, debt index and debt sustainability. With a cumulative score of 67.8, Odisha topped the financial health ranking among 18 major states , followed by Chhattisgarh and Goa with 55.2 and 53.6 points, respectively.
8 Central Government announced 942 gallantry awards
On the occasion of Republic Day 2025 , the Central Government announced to honour 942 employees with gallantry and service medals. These employees are employed in Police, Fire Services, Home Guards, Civil Defence (HG&CD) and Correctional Services. Out of these, 5 employees have been awarded gallantry medals posthumously, including Deputy Superintendent of Police Himayun Muzammil (Jammu and Kashmir Police), Head Constable Girijesh Kumar Udde (Border Security Force), Constable Sunil Kumar Pandey (Central Reserve Police Force), Head Constable Ravi Sharma (Sashastra Seema Bal) and Selection Grade Fireman Satish Kumar Raina. A total of 95 gallantry medals, 101 President’s Medals and 746 Meritorious Service Medals (MSM) have been awarded.
9 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh felicitated Super-100 winners of Veer Gatha 4.0 in New Delhi
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan honoured the Super-100 winners of Veer Gatha 4.0 in New Delhi . These include 66 girls. This fourth edition of the defence project acknowledged the all-India participation of more than one crore 76 lakh students. During the felicitation ceremony, each winner was awarded a cash prize of ten thousand rupees, a medal and a certificate.
10 Athletics: Jyoti Yaraji won gold medal in women’s 60m indoor hurdles at the Meeting de Nantes Metropole 2025 competition in France
In athletics , India’s Jyoti Yaraji broke her own national record to win the gold medal in the women’s 60m indoor hurdles at the Meeting de Nantes Métropole 2025 competition in France . Jyoti, a national medallist in the 100m hurdles, won the event in 8.04 seconds at the Pierre-Quinon Metropolitan Stadium . The 25-year-old Yaraji finished in 8.07 seconds in the heats to improve on her previous record of 8.12 seconds set at the 2024 Asian Indoor Championships.
11 National Voters Day
National Voters’ Day is celebrated every year on 25 January to commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission established in 1950. On this occasion, the Prime Minister recalled the first general elections of 1951-52 and said that at that time many doubts were expressed about India’s democracy. The main objective of National Voters’ Day, which is being celebrated every year since 2011, is to encourage especially new voters to vote. The goal of this day is to spread awareness about voting and to include more and more citizens in the voter list. This day inspires voters to shape the future of the country by making them realize their role and responsibility.