DAILY GK 14-15 JAN 2026
1.
NITI
AAYOG RELEASES REPORT ON ‘ACHIEVING EFFICIENCIES IN MSME SECTOR
·
The
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog released
a comprehensive report titled, “Achieving Efficiencies in Micro Small Medium
Enterprises (MSME) Sector through Convergence of Schemes”, a detailed framework to strengthen the effectiveness
of government interventions in the sector.
·
The
report was launched in New Delhi, by Dr. Arvind Virmani, Member of NITI Aayog,
and B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog.
·
The
report aims to achieve the following objectives: To evaluate the various
Government of India (GoI) schemes and programmes of the MSME sector.
·
To
examine the present level of convergence of MSME programmes.
·
The
Ministry of MSME(MoMSME) currently oversees 18 schemes with
overlapping objectives and fragmented implementation across ministries often
lead to duplication, inefficiencies, and limited outreach.
·
Framework
for Convergence: The
report recommends a dual approach to convergence.
·
Information
convergence focuses
on integrating government-generated data at the central and state levels to
improve coordination, enable informed decision-making, and strengthen
governance outcomes.
·
Process
convergence aims
at merging similar schemes, combining common components, and fostering
collaboration across ministries.
2.
HENLEY PASSPORT INDEX 2026
·
Henley & Partners, a British consultancy expertized in investment
migration, released Henley Passport Index (HPI) 2026 Global
Ranking.
·
As
per the index, India has ranked 80th position,
up from 85 in 2025, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival to 55
destinations, shared with Algeria
and Niger.
·
Singapore remains the most powerful passport for the third
time with access to 192 destinations
without a prior visa, followed by Japan
and South Korea (188) sharing second place.
·
Afghanistan ranked last with access to only 24
countries, creating a 168-country gap.
·
Countries
such as Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Malta, New Zealand, and Poland share sixth place with visa free access to
183 destinations.
·
Syria
ranked 100th with visa-free score of 26 destinations, Iraq (99th place) (29
destinations), Pakistan, Yemen (98th place) Europe dominates the top 10
rankings with Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
3. 6TH ASEAN–INDIA DIGITAL MINISTERS’
MEETING
·
The
6th ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) –India Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN) was
hosted virtually by Vietnam under the
theme “Adaptive ASEAN: From
Connectivity to Connected Intelligence.”
·
ADGMIN is an annual platform that brings
together telecom and digital ministers from the 11 ASEAN Member States, along
with ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners to deliberate on regional and global digital
cooperation.
·
2026
Digital Work Plan: The
meeting approved a comprehensive plan centered on ICT (Information and
Communication Technology) training and capacity building programs; the
India-ASEAN Regulators’ Conference; and deployment of telecom ICT solutions.
·
ASEAN-India
Fund: The
meeting marked the official
operationalization of this fund, which will finance digital transformation
and innovation projects in ASEAN member states.
·
The
meeting adopted the Hanoi Declaration, stressing cooperation
on Artificial intelligence (AI), broadband, resilient infrastructure, and
digital inclusion, and reaffirmed commitment to the ASEAN Digital Masterplan
2026–2030.
4. INDIA AND ISRAEL SIGN STRATEGIC PACT
FOR FISHERIES
·
India and Israel signed a
Joint Ministerial Declaration of Intent to deepen bilateral cooperation
in fisheries and aquaculture.
·
The
declaration was signed during a high-level Indian visit to Israel, led by Union
Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal
Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAH&D), who visited
Eilat, Israel to attend the Second
Global Summit on “Blue Food Security: Sea the Future 2026.”
·
A
key element of the cooperation involves exploring the establishment of new
Indo–Israel Centres of Excellence(CoE) for Fisheries and Aquaculture.
5.
DRDO CONDUCTS FLIGHT TEST OF MPATGM
·
The
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO),
under the Ministry of Defence (MoD), successfully conducted the flight test of
the Third-Generation Man-Portable
Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) with top‑attack
capability against a moving target at the KK Ranges in Ahilya
Nagar, Maharashtra.
·
MPATGM is a lightweight,
sophisticated anti-armour missile.
·
It
is a third generation, fire-and-forget
anti-tank weapon developed with an aim to enable infantry to destroy armored
threats.
·
Bharat
Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics
Limited (BEL) served as the Development‑Cum‑Production Partners (DcPP) for the system.
·
MPATGM
is about 1.3 metres (m) long with a diameter of around 120 millimeters (mm).
·
The
missile weighs approximately 14.5
kilogram (kg) and the Command Launch Unit (CLU) weighs about 14.25 kg,
making the system portable and powerful.
6.
ISRO’S PSLV-C62 LAUNCH FAILED
·
The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced
that its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-
62nd mission (PSLV-C62) experienced a critical
anomaly during the end of the 3rd stage (PS3) of
flight, marking the second
consecutive PSLV setback following the PSLV‑C61 mission in May 2025.
·
The
44.4-metre(m)-tall, four-stage PSLV-C62 carried a primary payload ‘Earth Observation Satellite – National 1(EOS-N1),
known as Anvesha’ and 15 other
co-passenger satellites from various national and international
partners and startups, lifted off from the First Launch Pad(FLP) at
Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC)
in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
7.
GOLDEN GLOBES AWARDS 2026
·
The 83rd Annual Golden
Globe Awards, presented annually by Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), held
at the Beverly Hilton in California, USA, celebrating excellence in film and television for productions
released in 2025.
·
The ceremony
was hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser for the second consecutive year.
·
It
was presented for the first time in 1944.
·
It is referred to as “Hollywood’s
Party of the Year” and is the largest award show in the world.
·
In
the 2026 awards, the category “Best Podcast” was
awarded for the first time.
·
American actress Amy Poehler won
the inaugural Golden Globe for Best
Podcast for Good Hang With Amy
Poehler.
·
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura made history by becoming the first
Brazilian actor to win the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a
Male Actor in a Motion Picture –
Drama for his role in ‘The Secret
Agent’.
·
The
film “One Battle After Another”, directed by Paul
Thomas Anderson, won four Golden Globes out of nine nominations, including Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), Director, Screenplay, and Supporting
Actress.
·
The
Television (TV) series “Adolescence”,
directed by Philip Barantini, also
won four Golden Globes, including Best Limited Series, Best Actor (Limited
Series), Best Supporting Actor (TV), and Best Supporting Actress (TV).
·
Indian Presence: No Indian film was nominated, but Priyanka Chopra Jonas
presented an award.
·
Hamnet won Best Film – Drama, while One
Battle After Another secured Best Film – Musical or Comedy.
·
The
film also earned accolades for Best
Director and Best Screenplay for
Paul Thomas Anderson.
·
Jessie Buckley claimed Best Female Actor (Drama) for Hamnet.
·
In musical or comedy roles, Timothée Chalamet won Best Male Actor for Marty Supreme, and Rose Byrne took Best Female Actor for If
I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
8.
ASIA BEST EMPLOYER BRAND AWARD 2026
·
The
Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (BSE), Asia’s
1st and oldest sotck exchange, was conferred with the Asia
Best Employer Brand Award 2026 at Hong Kong
Leadership Awards & Chief Marketing Officer(CMO) Asia Awards held
at Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region (SAR), China.
·
BSE received this award in recognition of its peope-1st approach,
commitment to professional development and sustained efforts toward
creating inclusive, high-performance environment.
·
Award recognise excellence in workplace culture and employee
engagement.
9.
UN SECRETARY-GENERAL’S AWARD 2025
·
Indian
Army (IA) officer Major Swathi Shantha Kumar from
Bengaluru received the the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s
Award 2025 in the Gender
Category for her project “Equal Partners, Lasting Peace” while
serving with the United Nations Mission
in South Sudan (UNMISS).
·
Award Announced by Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of UN.
·
The 2025 awards covered categories including Innovation, Collegiality,
Gender, Diversity & Inclusion, Multilingualism, and Leadership/Service
Excellence.
·
Project Equal Partners, Lasting Peace is a comprehensive initiative to
deploy and integrate engagement teams that strengthened grassroots connections
with women in conflict-affected areas and improved gender-responsiveness in
UNMISS.
