Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
January 26-28, 2019
Nation celebrates its 70th Republic Day with grand military parade
The nation celebrated its 70th Republic Day on
26th January with a grand military parade and
exhibition of its history, cultural diversity and
strategic weaponry at Rajpath in New Delhi.
Thousands of spectators, including foreign
dignitaries and the country's top political and
military brass, attended the celebrations. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's presence
as Chief Guest was significant in view of the parade highlighting Mahatma Gandhi's
contribution to India's freedom struggle. Gandhiji had joined the struggle after a 21-year stay in
South Africa.
India's fastest indigenous train ‘Trian 18’ renamed as ‘Vande Bharat Express’
India's fastest indigenous train which will run
from Delhi to Varanasi has been named as
Vande Bharat Express. Briefing media in New
Delhi on 27th January, Minister for Railways
Piyush Goyal said, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will flag off the semi high-speed train
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
soon. He said, it was named Train 18 and now it has been given a new name after taking
suggestions from the general public.
Ministry of Defence launches ‘RDP INDIA 2019’ app with R-Day highlights
As a new initiative in sync with the Digital
India campaign of the Government, Ministry
of Defence had launched a mobile app 'RDP
India 2019' on the Republic Day, with the
intent of making available the highlights of the
Republic Day event, not only to the spectators
at Rajpath, but also to the general public all over the world.
‘Nari Shakti’ is Oxford Dictionary’s Hindi Word of the Year 2018
On 26th January, the Oxford Dictionaries
announced ‘Nari Shakti’ as the Hindi Word
of the Year. The Hindi Word of the Year
chosen every year, in many ways, reflects the
conversations, ethos of a particular year.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
Southern Railway adjudged number one for cleanliness
The Southern Railway has bagged the number
one position for cleanliness in the country. The
Divisional Railway Manager Shirish Kumar
Sinha said, this achievement was under the
category of other than Premium Category trains
in the recent Trains Cleanliness Survey
conducted by IRCTC on all India level.
SR HQ: Chennai
Madya Pradesh launched employment scheme “Yuva Swabhiman Yojana” for urban youth
On 26th January, Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Kamal Nath launched ‘Yuva
Swabhiman Yojana’ for youths of the
weak section in urban areas of Madhya
Pradesh. It aims to provide
employment to the youth belonging to
the weaker section of the society mainly in urban areas of the state.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
Kerala Government launches a ‘Pravasi Dividend Pension Scheme’ to provide regular pension to Non Resident Keralites on a one-time payment of Rs.5 Lakh
On 25th January, Kerala’s Governor P.
Sathasivam in his address to the state
assembly announced Kerala government will
soon launch a ‘Pravasi Dividend Pension
Scheme’ to provide regular pension to Non
Resident Keralites. This scheme is a part of
welfare measures towards Pravasi Malayalis.
Operation Olympics Commences in Kerala
On 25th January 2019, An expert programme
‘Operation Olympics’ managed by Kerala’s Sports
Department and State Sports Council was
commenced to train 123 athletes in 11 disciplines for
2020 Tokyo Olympics.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
IRDAI sets panel headed by Pravin Kutumbe to identify systemically important insurers A panel is all set by Insurance Regulatory
Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
headed by Pravin Kutumbe, to identify
domestically systemically important insurers
(SIIs) and an augmented regulatory framework
is logically established in this regard.
HQ: Hyderabad
Chairman: Subhash Chandra Khuntia
Roshni, an Android app developed by IIT Ropar helps the visually impaired to recognize Indian currency notes
On 24th January, Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT), Ropar, has developed an app
Roshni that would help the Visually Impaired
to recognize currency notes. The app can
recognize both old and new notes and gives
audio information as to which note you are
holding in your hands. This app was launched
in Chandigarh. Roshni is the first Android app, which recognizes INR currency notes.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
Pranab Mukherjee, Bhupen Hazarika, Nanaji Deshmukh awarded Bharat Ratna
Former President Pranab Mukherjee was on
25th January conferred with the highest civilian
honour, the Bharat Ratna. According to a
statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan,
late Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika and
late social activist Nanaji Deshmukh will also
be awarded with the Bharat Ratna, posthumously.
Pranab Mukherjee, 83, served as the President of India since 2012 to 2017.
Bhupen Hazarika, one of the most popular regional singers and someone who is
synonymous with the Assamese identity, had earlier been awarded with Padma Shri,
Padma bhushan, and Dada Saheb Phalke Award among others things.
Meanwhile, social activist Nanaji Deshmukh was conferred with the award for his
contribution to the nation.
Overview of Padma Awards-2019
On 25th January, President of India Ram Nath
Kovind announced Padma Awards, which is
the highest civilian Awards in the country. The
Padma Awards are conferred under 3
categorized viz- Padma Vibhushan, Padma
Bhushan and Padma Sri. President Ram Nath https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
Kovind has approved conferment of 112 Padma Awards including one duo which is considered
to be one award. The Padma Awards consist of 4 Padma Vibhushan award, 14 Padma Bhushan
Award and 94 Padma Shri awards.
PADMA VIBHUSHAN:
S.No Name Field State
1. Ms. Teejan Bai Art-Vocals-Folk Chhattisgarh
2. Shri Ismail Omar Public Affairs Djibouti Guelleh (Foreigner)
3. Shri Anilkumar Trade & Industry- Maharashtra Manibhai Naik Infrastructure
4. Shri Balwant Art-Acting-Theatre Maharashtra Moreshwar Purandare
For Full list of Padma Awardees:
Padma Awardees 2019
‘No Presents Please’ by Jayant Kaikini wins the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2018
No Presents Please, a collection of short
stories by Kannada writer Jayant Kaikini,
translated into English by Tejaswini
Niranjana, was announced the winner of the
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in
Kolkata.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 7
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
Indonesia Masters: Saina wins after injured Marin limps out of final
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal won her first
Indonesia Masters title after three-time world
champion Carolina Marin limped out of the final
due to a leg injury. The Spaniard was leading 10-4
in the first game at Jakarta on 27th January when
she developed an injury in the knee.
Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka win their titles in Australian Open 2019
Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal to
win his 7th Australian Open Men's Singles
title at Melbourne. The resurgent world
No.1 outplayed the second-ranked Nadal 6-
3, 6-2, 6-3 in a largely one-sided match.
With this, Djokovic has surpassed American
legend Pete Sampras to elevate himself to outright third on the all-time Grand Slam title leader
board. Earlier, In Women's Singles, Japan's Naomi Osaka clinched her maiden Australian
Open Grand Slam Singles title in Melbourne yesterday. Osaka defeated Petra Kvitová of
Czech Republic 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 in the summit clash. With this, Osaka became the first Asian player
to achieve the world number one ranking.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 8
Current Affairs: January 26-28, 2019
Nepal’s Rohit Paudel breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s international record
Young Nepal batsman Rohit Paudel on 26th
January surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become
the youngest male cricketer to score a half-
century in international cricket. Rohit Paudel
smashed his maiden One Day International fifty
at the age of 16 years and 146 days. Tendulkar
scored his first Test fifty when he was 16 years and 213 days old.
Pakistan government declares Sugarcane juice as 'national drink' after Twitter poll
Pakistan Govt. has declared sugarcane juice as
the "national drink" of the country after a poll
on Twitter, according to a media report. The
government conducted a poll on Twitter at
which people were asked to decide the national
drink of Pakistan. Options including orange
juice, sugarcane juice and carrot juice were given in the poll, the Nation reported. Around 81%
selected the option of sugarcane juice.
https://examprep.talentsprint.com 9