Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of Jan 15th to 21st Jan 2026. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBIClerk 2026 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

Weekly Current Affairs Jan 15th to 21st PDF Download

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• Indian Army Day 2026 is observed on 15th January 2026, marks the 75th birth anniversary of Indian Army Day.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING, FINANCE & BUSINESS

• Surjit Bhujabal, Special Secretary & Member (Customs),Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), inaugurated the Indian Customs Electronic Gateway – Land Port Management System (ICEGATE – LPMS) integration at the Integrated Check Post (ICP), Agartala, Tripura.
• Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB) created a national milestone by becoming the 1st Regional Rural Bank (RRB) in India to introduce India’s first fully solar-powered mobile Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) van, named ‘TGB on Wheels’.
• The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for rural, urban, and combined segments for December 2025.
• State Bank of India (SBI), the only Indian bank with a branch in Israel, plans to facilitate bilateral trade between India and Israel in Indian Rupees (INR).
• 49 cryptocurrency exchanges were registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) during FY 2024–25, most of them domestic.
• Innoviti Technologies Private Limited,a payments-centric retail Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, received a Certificate of Authorization from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator (PA) under the Payments and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007 across India.
• India’s insurance penetration remained stagnant at 3.7% in FY25, which is almost half of the global average of 7.3% in 2024, indicating low insurance coverage in India.
• Amazon Pay has launched fixed deposit (FD) services on its fintech app as part of its expansion into fixed-income assets.
• The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, has advised Public Sector Banks to introduce a Composite Salary Account Package to enhance the financial well-being and social security of Central Government employees.
• The World Bank Group (WBG) released its flagship report titled “Global Economic Prospects (GEP): January 2026”, which projected India’s GDP growth at 7.2% in FY26, revised upward from the 6.3% forecast in June 2025.
• The Government of India has launched Paripoorna Mediclaim Ayush Bima as an optional retail health insurance product for Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS)
• Karnataka Bank Limited has enabled its net banking platform to support payment and receipt of electronic receipts (e-receipts) for Government of Karnataka transactions through the Khajane-2 system.
• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), has constituted a 15-member high-level expert committee to formulate a regulatory framework for assured payouts under the National Pension System (NPS).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recognised the Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association of India (FEDAI) as a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) for all Authorised Dealers (ADs) in the foreign exchange market.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted in-principle approval to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Japan, to establish a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary (WOS) in India.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated banks and eligible non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to implement a fully automated Complaint Management System (CMS) with direct access for the Internal Ombudsman (IO) and Deputy IO (DIO).
• Wholesale inflation (WPI) rose to 0.83% in December 2025, marking the first positive year-on-year print after two months of deflation and the highest in eight months.
• Canara Bank has partnered with NPCI BHIM Services Limited (NBSL) to integrate bank plug-ins for providing UPI services on its Canara ai1Pe banking app.
• State Bank of India (SBI) has increased ATM charges effective from December 1, 2025, due to higher interchange fees paid when customers use other banks’ ATMs.
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has finalised an agreement on the global minimum corporate tax, with participation from the United States and over 100 countries.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS) 2026 to simplify and strengthen grievance redressal for customers of banks and financial institutions.
• The Government of India has continued the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS) for 2025-26 to provide short-term crop loans and allied activity loans to farmers through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued draft amendment directions to clarify the calculation of Owned Fund / Tier-1 Capital for NBFCs and Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to comply with credit and investment concentration limits and invited public comments till 28 January 2026.
• Piramal Finance Limited (PFL) secured USD 350 million multilateral funding, marking its first borrowing from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed reopening the licensing window for new Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) after 22 years, as the previous window was closed in 2004 due to widespread failures of newly licensed banks.
• The World Bank (WB) approved USD 286 million financing for the West Bengal Health System Reform Program (WBHSRP) to improve quality of life and life expectancy for over 90 million people through equitable access to quality healthcare services.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Tamil Nadu (TN) to provide enhanced benefits under the Corporate Salary Package (CSP) for State Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs)
• IREDA Global Green Energy Finance IFSC Limited (IGGEFIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), has sanctioned its first international green energy loan.
• SBI Life Insurance launched ‘SBI Life – Smart Platina Advantage’, an individual, non-linked, non-participating life insurance savings plan offering long-term guaranteed benefits and life insurance protection to support financial goals across life stages, such as children’s education, retirement, and wealth creation.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL AND STATE NEWS

• The Karnataka Cabinet has approved the statewide implementation of the ‘Akka Pade’ scheme across all 31 districts and five police commissionerates, in coordination with the Home Department.
• Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the launch of two new India Post services: Speed Post 24 and Speed Post 48.
• The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has approved the Dagadarthi Greenfield Airport project in Nellore district.
• India will host the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) in New Delhi.
• Punjabi singer Kaka has launched a women’s safety mobile application named Friendo, marking his initiative beyond the music industry.
• BamanwasKankar Panchayat in Rajasthan has been declared the state’s first fully organic village body, covering seven hamlets.
• Kerala recorded the highest share of personal four-wheeler electric vehicle adoption in 2025 among the top electric vehicle-selling states in India.
• The Delhi High Court held that the PM CARES Fund enjoys the right to privacy under the Right to Information Act, 2005, even if it is considered a public authority.
• Andhra Pradesh will host the world’s largest green ammonia project at Kakinada, being developed by AM Green, with a total investment of USD 10 billion.
• The Department of Posts successfully delivered its first-ever online order through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), marking its entry as a Logistics Service Provider (LSP) on the platform.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the completion of 10 years of the Startup India Movement on National Startup Day (16 January).
• Bharat Electricity Summit 2026 will be held from 19–22 March 2026 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi.
• As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Monthly Bulletin for December 2025, female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and Worker Population Ratio (WPR) reached their highest levels of the year, while the overall unemployment rate (UR) remained broadly stable at 4.8%, indicating resilience in India’s labour market.
• The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has completed seven years of the Womaniya Initiative, a flagship programme aimed at enhancing the participation of women-led Micro and Small Enterprises in government public procurement.
• The Government of India blocked 242 illegal betting and gambling website links in January 2026 as part of an intensified enforcement drive.
• India witnessed a new literary initiative with the launch of the first-ever NAMO Book Fest in New Delhi.
• The Karnataka government amended the land revenue law to address long-pending documentation issues related to Jamma Bane lands in Kodagu district.
• The Supreme Court of India ruled that unreserved (general) category seats in public recruitment are open to all candidates purely on merit, irrespective of social category.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India’s first Sleeper Vande Bharat train, flagging it off from Malda, West Bengal.
• The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises approved two new MSME Technology Centres in Himachal Pradesh at Pandoga (Una district) and Parwanoo (Solan district).
• Jharkhand has notified rules under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) nearly 25 years after its enactment, marking a significant step towards tribal self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas.
• The two-day SpitukGustor Festival has commenced at Spituk Monastery in Ladakh, marking the first monastic festival of the year in the region.
• India’s electronics exports crossed $47 billion for the first time in 2025, with smartphone exports under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme contributing nearly two-thirds of the total value.
• The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the ₹4,775 crore Bembla River Irrigation Project in Yavatmal district and cleared the establishment of a new overseas employment facilitation agency named MAHIMA.
• India has notified its first-ever Tailings Policy to enable recovery of critical and strategic minerals from mining waste such as tailings, mine dumps and overburden.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), unveiled the logo, theme, and official website of India’s BRICS Chairship 2026 at a launch ceremony in New Delhi on January 13, 2026.
• Federal Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, visited India on a two-day official visit from 12 to 13 January 2026 at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi, marking his first official visit to India and the Asian region.
• A high-level Indian delegation led by Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying) visited Israel from 13–15 January 2026 to participate in the Second Global Summit on “Blue Food Security: Sea the Future 2026” held in Eilat.
• European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit India from 25–27 January 2026 as Chief Guests for the 77th Republic Day celebrations, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The 6th ASEAN–India Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN) was hosted virtually by Vietnam under the theme “Adaptive ASEAN: From Connectivity to Connected Intelligence.”

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Meta Platforms Inc., announced the appointment of Dina Powell McCormick as President and Vice Chairman of Meta to strengthen its Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy.
• Abhishek Dev has received a one-year extension as Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on the proposal of the Department of Commerce.
• Rakesh Aggarwal, a 1994-batch IPS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as Director General (DG) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) until 31 August 2028, the date of his superannuation, or until further orders.
• Anup Kumar Saha, former Managing Director (MD) of Bajaj Finance, has been appointed as Whole-Time Director on the board of Kotak Mahindra Bank, subject to RBI approval, for a three-year term.
• The Hon’ble President of India appointed Shri Praveen Vashista as Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) through a warrant dated 12 December 2025 under Section 4(1) of the CVC Act, 2003.
• ICICI Bank Limited has re-appointed Sandeep Bakshi as Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a further two-year term.
• Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) appointed ShaeaMuhssin Mohammed Al-Zindani as the new Prime Minister of Yemen on 15 January 2026.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has become the first Indian to be formally inducted into Kenjutsu, an ancient Japanese samurai swordsmanship tradition.
• Karnataka Bank emerged as the winner in the ‘Best Fintech & Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Adoption’ category at the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) Banking Technology Awards 2026.
• American evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers has won the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for her groundbreaking research on underground mycorrhizal fungal networks and their role in climate regulation and ecosystem stability.
• Railway Protection Force (RPF) officer Chandana Sinha has been conferred Indian Railways’ highest award for her exceptional contribution to preventing child trafficking and rescuing vulnerable children at railway stations and trains.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPS & PORTALS

• The Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD), Government of Karnataka launched the ‘Gruha Lakshmi Digital Marketing’ portal at Karmani Utsav–2026 in Bengaluru to promote women entrepreneurship, economic independence, and digital inclusion.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

• ONGC has decided to take a 50% stake in two joint ventures — Bharat Ethane One IFSC Private Limited and Bharat Ethane Two IFSC Private Limited — formed with Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to transport ethane for India’s petrochemical sector.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCE

• The All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) will organise the 9th International Spice Conference (ISC 2026) from February 23–26, 2026 in Kochi, Kerala.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) launched a new initiative named BHARATI to support agri-food and agritech startups.
• The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), in partnership with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), Government of India (GoI), and the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, launched the ‘Inspiring Innovators – Naye Bharat Ki NayiPehchaan’ skilling initiative.
• The University of New South Wales (UNSW), a leading Australian university, announced plans to establish a new campus at Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka by August 2026.
• Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation) has entered partnerships with Big Tech firms such as Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, along with AI startups like Perplexity and France’s Mistral AI to monetise corporate use of its content.
• Scientists have inaugurated the world’s first global ice vault in Antarctica to preserve mountain ice core samples threatened by rapid glacier melting due to global warming.
• The Adani Group has partnered with Brazil’s Embraer to set up India’s first Final Assembly Line (FAL) for commercial fixed-wing aircraft.
• Galgotias University, ranked among the world’s leading universities by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) and Times Higher Education (THE), inaugurated the IIT Mandi Catalyst Satellite Centre at its campus in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
• The DST–NIDHI Centre of Excellence (CoE) has been launched at IIM Ahmedabad to promote deep-tech entrepreneurship and technology translation.
• The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has developed an Integrated Road Safety Dashboard to strengthen road safety governance and help reduce road accidents across India.
• Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, launched India’s first-ever open-sea Marine Fish Farming project from the Andaman Sea at North Bay, Sri Vijaya Puram on January 18, 2026.
• BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has partnered with Viasat, Inc. (USA) to support the next phase of the Indian Navy’s Satellite Communications (SATCOM) upgrade programme.
• Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) has partnered with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to operationalise a food-testing laboratory in Kochi.
• Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has delivered MS Heinz, the first vessel of the HS EcoFreighter series of Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs).
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) took suo motu action against e-commerce platforms for selling unauthorised walkie-talkies, violating the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and telecom laws.
• National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), under the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Bengaluru, has developed a deep-learning tool named Disobind to predict how intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) bind to their partners.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• The Tamil Nadu government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sarvam AI to set up a full-stack Sovereign AI Park.
• The Government of Madhya Pradesh has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Digital India BHASHINI Division to integrate multilingual and AI-powered language technologies across state government digital platforms.
• India and Germany signed a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) on Telecommunications Cooperation during the official visit of German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz to India in January 2026.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

• INSV Kaundinya, a traditionally built stitched-plank Indian sailing vessel, completed a maiden overseas voyage of about 1,400 km from Porbandar, Gujarat to Muscat, Oman in 17 days.
• INS Sagardhwani, India’s oceanographic research vessel under the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) of DRDO, was flagged off for the 5th edition of Sagar Maitri (SM-5) from Southern Naval Command, Kochi on 17 January 2026.
• The 16th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter Terrorism (CT) will be held in New Delhi from 14–16 January 2026.
• The 17th edition of the biennial trilateral Coast Guard exercise ‘DOSTI 17’ commenced in Male, Maldives, involving the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG), and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard from 17–19 January 2026.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) conducted a joint Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) response drill in Mumbai, strengthening maritime partnership and commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

• A new global assessment framework named the Responsible Nations Index will be launched on January 19.
• The Henley Passport Index 2026 has ranked India at 80th position globally, reflecting a modest improvement in international travel access.
• NITI Aayog released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024, which assesses the export readiness and performance of Indian States and Union Territories.
• The World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2026 (21st edition) warns that the world is entering an “Age of Competition”, marked by intensified rivalry among countries.
• India has been ranked 6th among 11 Asian countries in the Asia Manufacturing Index (AMI) 2026, reflecting steady progress but highlighting gaps in competitiveness.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• The Union Government has notified the National Sports Governance (National Sports Bodies) Rules, 2026.
• Australia women’s cricket captain Alyssa Healy has announced her retirement from all formats of international cricket.
• Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has been awarded the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for December 2025 for his outstanding performances in the Ashes series.
• South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for December 2025 for her record-breaking performances against Ireland across T20I and ODI formats.
• Indian boxing icon Vijender Singh has been appointed as a member of the Asian Boxing Council (ABCO), strengthening India’s representation in Asian boxing governance.
• Indian chess player Aaryan Varshney became India’s 92nd Grandmaster after securing his final GM norm at the Andranik Margaryan Memorial Tournament in Armenia.
• Vidarbha won their first-ever Vijay Hazare Trophy title, defeating Saurashtra by 38 runs in the final held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

• Ueli Kestenholz, the Swiss snowboarder and Olympic bronze medallist, passed away at age 50 after being caught in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.
• Veteran Kerala Congress (M) leader and former Member of Parliament (MP), Thomas Kuthiravattam, passed away at the age of 80 in Alappuzha, Kerala.