Jan 16, 2025 | Current Affairs for UPSC, State PCS & other Govt. Exams

In January 2025, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) removed three Indian organizations from its Entity List, aiming to enhance bilateral energy cooperation. At the same time, the BIS added eleven Chinese entities to the list, citing national security concerns.

Indian Entities Removed from the List:

1) Indian Rare Earths
2) Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre (IGCAR)
3) Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, India

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced that India and Spain will mark 2026 as a 'dual year' to celebrate culture, tourism, and artificial intelligence (AI) in both countries. The EAM is currently on a diplomatic visit to Spain, which will continue until January 14, 2025.

At the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that Indian Railways has developed the world's most powerful hydrogen fuel-run train engine.

The engine generates 1,200 horsepower, surpassing the 500-600 horsepower engines developed by other countries. The first trial run of the hydrogen-powered train is expected to take place soon on the Jind-Sonipat route in Haryana. The engine was developed using indigenous technology.

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) announced in January 2025 a partnership with UAE-based payment solution provider Magnati to advance QR-based Unified Payments Interface (UPI) merchant payments via point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the Middle East. The collaboration aims to expand the QR-based merchant payment network in the UAE by enabling more merchants to offer UPI as a payment method to Indian travelers.

NIPL is the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The Indian Armed Forces will hold Exercise Devil Strike from January 16-19, 2025, aimed at enhancing combat readiness and testing high-intensity combat operations.

Involving the Army, Air Force, and Special Forces, the exercise will focus on high-altitude warfare and joint force coordination. It will be conducted along the northern borders of India.

PM Modi inaugurated three crucial naval assets—INS Surat, INS Nilgiri, and INS Vagsheer—in Mumbai on January 15, 2025. This marks the first time that a destroyer, a frigate, and a submarine are being commissioned together.

INS Surat: The destroyer is the last of the four Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided-missile destroyers.
INS Nilgiri: The lead ship of a new class of seven stealth guided-missile frigates being built under Project 17 Alpha.
INS Vagsheer: The sixth and final submarine of the first batch of the Kalvari-class diesel-electric attack submarines.

On January 16, 2025, the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a third launch pad at India's only spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, coinciding with the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) successful historic docking experiment.

The new launch pad will be crucial for ISRO to become future-ready for the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), currently under development. It will also play a pivotal role in India's ambitious plans to establish the Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035 and send a human to the Moon by 2040.

At present, the Sriharikota spaceport is equipped with two launch pads. The first launch pad, built 30 years ago, is designed to support the launch of smaller vehicles such as PSLV and SSLV.

India's economy is projected to become the fourth largest globally by 2026, surpassing Japan, with a growth rate of 6.8% in FY25 and 7.7% in FY26, according to PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI). The industry body attributes this growth to the nation's resilient economy and strong macroeconomic fundamentals.

Top 5 Largest Economies in the World 2025: United States > China > Germany > Japan > India

The government has decided to set up the 8th Pay Commission in 2026. The 7th Pay Commission was established in 2016, and its term will conclude on December 31, 2025.

A Pay Commission is constituted by the central government approximately every decade to revise the salary structure of its employees and determine pension payments.

Since 1947, seven Pay Commissions have been established. The recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission were implemented in January 2016 by the Modi government, including a salary hike of 14 percent for government officials.

The Odisha state government has announced a welfare measure for individuals who were imprisoned in various jails of Odisha during the Emergency period from 1975 to 1977.

As of January 1, 2025, all surviving detainees from Odisha will receive a monthly pension of ₹20,000, along with medical coverage and other benefits.

This move is part of the government's effort to honor and support those who were imprisoned under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), the Defence of India Rules (DIR), or the Defence and Internal Security of India Rules (DISIR) during the Emergency declared by then PM Indira Gandhi.

Indira Gandhi had declared a 21-month National Emergency between 1975 and 1977, citing internal and external threats to the country.

Google-backed Indian space start-up Pixxel has become the first Indian private company to launch its commercial satellite constellation, named Firefly, aboard a SpaceX rocket on January 14, 2025 (January 15, 2025, in India). The SpaceX rocket also carried the world’s first commercial satellite for the surveillance of space objects orbiting the Earth, developed by the Indian space company Digantara.

The Firefly constellation, which is the world's highest-resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation, initially consists of six satellites to be launched in two phases. These satellites will be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit at roughly 550 km above the Earth.

Pixxel will be the first private company in India to offer hyperspectral imaging satellite services to consumers. Currently, only the ISRO offers this service in India.

Digantara's Space Camera for Object Tracking (SCOT) aims to enhance space safety and optimize space traffic management. Floating debris in space, such as unused satellites, rocket parts, and other man-made objects, poses a significant challenge to safe space navigation.

The SCOT satellite will continuously monitor objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and issue alerts to ensure safer space navigation.

The SCOT satellites are the world's first commercial Space Situational Awareness satellites.

ISRO completed its first-ever satellite docking maneuver on January 16, marking a crucial step toward multiple future missions, including Chandrayaan-4 and the country's own space station.

With this achievement, India has taken its first step toward joining an elite club of nations—the US, Russia, and China—that possess such advanced technology. The Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), launched on December 30, involved two satellites that were launched separately and then united at an orbital altitude of approximately 475 km. The final commands for the docking were executed from the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.