Daily Current Affairs 2025  

17/01/2026

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CA-17/01/2026

• Scale of Ecosystem: Over 2.09 lakh startups recognised by DPIIT as of Dec 2025.
• Job Creation: More than 21 lakh jobs generated in ten years.
• Global Ranking: India is now the 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally.
• Unicorn Growth: 100+ unicorns across diverse sectors like fintech, edtech, healthtech, and SaaS.
• Geographic Spread: Nearly 50–51% startups from Tier-II/III cities, showing decentralization of innovation.
• Annual Growth Rate: Ecosystem growing at 12–15% annually.

• Funding & Compliance Reforms: Simplified regulations, tax incentives, and easier access to capital.
• Mentorship & Incubation: Full lifecycle support from ideation to scale-up.
• Grassroots Programs: Schemes like SVEP, ASPIRE, PMEGP foster micro-enterprises, women-led ventures, and rural jobs.
• National Startup Day: Celebrated on 16 January 2026, marking the initiative’s 10-year milestone.

• Innovation & R&D: Startups driving solutions in AI, clean energy, agritech, and healthcare.
• Youth Empowerment: A surge in entrepreneurial participation among young graduates and professionals.
• Inclusive Growth: Women entrepreneurs and rural innovators gaining visibility and support.
• Global Recognition: India positioned as a hub for innovation and venture capital in Asia.

• Sustainability of Unicorns: Ensuring profitability beyond valuation hype.
• Global Competition: Competing with ecosystems like the US and China.
• Regulatory Evolution: Need for continuous reforms in taxation, IP rights, and ease of doing business.
• Funding Winter Risks: Addressing cyclical slowdowns in venture capital inflows.

• Strategic Withdrawal: To reduce direct exposure to sanctions, IPGL officials resigned and the company’s website went offline, effectively shielding personnel from legal and financial risks.
• Sanctions Waiver: The U.S. granted a six‑month waiver, valid until April 2026, permitting India’s limited operations at Chabahar as a special case. This was negotiated to balance India’s strategic interests with U.S. sanctions policy

• Sanctions Pressure: The U.S. reimposed sanctions on Chabahar in September 2025, ending the earlier 2018 waiver that had allowed India’s involvement.
• India’s Balancing Act: India’s move reflects a dual strategy: fulfilling contractual obligations to Iran while minimizing exposure to U.S. penalties.
• Regional Stakes: Chabahar remains vital for India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan. However, sanctions complicate long‑term viability

• India–Iran–Afghanistan Partnership:
  • India invested in Chabahar to gain direct access to Afghanistan and Central Asia without relying on Pakistan.
  • A trilateral transit agreement (2016) supports this connectivity.
• Alternative to Gwadar Port (Pakistan):
  • Chabahar is only ~170 km west of Gwadar, which is developed under China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
  • It provides India and its partners a counterbalance to Chinese influence in the region.
• Connectivity Projects:
  • Linked to the Chabahar–Zahedan railway, extending toward Afghanistan.
  • Planned integration with broader regional rail networks like Mashhad–Herat–Mazar-i-Sharif.

• Sanctions on Iran: International sanctions have slowed development and investment.
• Security Concerns: Located in a volatile region with insurgency risks.
• Competition: Gwadar’s rapid development under CPEC poses competitive pressure.
• Infrastructure Gaps: Rail and road connectivity projects are still incomplete, limiting full potential.

• Type: Surface-to-surface, air-to-surface, anti-ship, and land-attack missile
• Origin: Sweden, in service since 1984
• Launch Platforms: Ships, trucks, aircraft
• Range:
  • Mk I/II: >70 km
  • Mk III: >200 km
  • Mk IV (Gungnir): >300 km
• Speed: Subsonic (~0.9 Mach, ~1111 km/h)
• Warhead: ~200 kg high-explosive blast and fragmentation
• Guidance: Inertial navigation, GPS, and active radar homing
• Trajectory: Programmable 3D waypoints for flexible attack paths
• Service Life: Designed for ~30 years

• Sea-skimming flight profile makes it hard to detect and intercept.
• Multi-role capability allows strikes against both naval and land targets.
• Flexible deployment from air, land, and sea ensures adaptability in modern warfare.
• Operators: Sweden, Germany, Poland, Croatia, Finland, and others.

• Defense Mechanism: They can inflate their bodies by swallowing water (or air when out of water), making themselves look larger and harder to eat.
• Toxins: Many species contain tetrodotoxin, a powerful neurotoxin that makes them highly poisonous to predators (and dangerous to humans if consumed improperly).
• Diet: They feed on algae, invertebrates, and sometimes shellfish. Their strong beak-like teeth help them crush hard shells.
• Habitat: Found in warm and temperate seas worldwide, often near coral reefs and coastal regions.
• Appearance: They have distinctive, often colorful patterns and spines that become more pronounced when inflated.

Issue	Impact on Humans	Impact on Fish	Precaution
Tetrodotoxin	Paralysis, death	Not applicable	Avoid consumption unless certified safe
Bacterial infections	Not transmitted	Ulcers, fin rot	Maintain clean water
Parasitic infections	Rare zoonotic risk	Gill/skin damage	Quarantine new fish
Fungal infections	No human risk	Cotton-like growths	Treat with antifungal meds

• Boost to Dairy Sector: Registration means these breeds are now formally acknowledged, encouraging wider adoption by farmers.
• High Milk Yields:
  • Karan Fries averages ~3,550 kg per lactation, combining Holstein Friesian productivity with Tharparkar resilience.
  • Vrindavani offers moderate but sustainable yields, balancing exotic genetics (HF, Jersey, Brown Swiss) with indigenous adaptability.
• Climate Resilience: Both breeds are tailored to withstand heat, humidity, and tropical stressors, making them more reliable for Indian conditions.
• Policy Impact: Official recognition helps in breeding programs, subsidies, and farmer outreach, ensuring these cattle are promoted as part of India’s dairy development strategy.

• Unique Kodagu system: Jamma Bane refers to a traditional land tenure system in Kodagu district. Land records often carried the names of original grantees even after generations, leaving current owners without clear legal documentation.
• Heritage & livelihood: These lands are central to the identity and economy of the Kodava community, but the lack of clarity caused disputes and limited access to modern land rights.

• Integration with Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964: Aligns Jamma Bane records with the state’s mainstream land laws.
• Digitisation under Bhoomi Project: Ensures records are updated, digitized, and accessible.
• Clarity & reduced litigation: Provides legal recognition to current owners, reducing disputes over inheritance and ownership.
• Safeguarding rights: Protects stakeholders while maintaining conformity with broader land revenue provisions.
• Governor’s assent: The Act received assent from Governor Thawarchand Gehlot on January 7, 2026.

• For Kodagu residents: Resolves decades-old documentation issues that hindered property transactions, inheritance, and development.
• For governance: Strengthens land administration by eliminating ambiguities in records.
• For heritage: Balances modernization with respect for Kodava traditions.

• Resistance from traditionalists: Some Kodava groups may fear loss of cultural identity.
• Implementation hurdles: Digitisation requires careful verification to avoid errors.
• Litigation transition: Ongoing disputes may take time to resolve under new rules.

• Investor Appetite: Rising retail and institutional participation.
• SME Growth: Smaller firms increasingly tapping capital markets.
• Tech Momentum: Startups in fintech, EVs, SaaS, and consumer internet fueling excitement.
• Resilience: Despite weaker global equities, India’s IPO pipeline remained strong.

• Market Volatility: Broader equity markets underperformed global peers, raising concerns about sustainability.
• Valuation Pressure: Rapid fundraising could lead to inflated valuations.
• Liquidity Risks: Retail-heavy participation may amplify volatility during downturns

• Record Listings: India saw 367–373 IPOs in 2025, depending on the source, far ahead of the U.S. (223 IPOs).
• Fundraising Scale: Companies raised $22.9 billion (₹1.95 lakh crore), marking a 12x jump compared to previous years.
• Global Share: India contributed 28.4% of global IPO volumes and 13.3% of total global fundraising.
• Sectoral Spread: Tech startups, SMEs, and traditional industries all participated. Notably, 18 tech startups went public, raising ₹41,000 crore across fintech, SaaS, EVs, and consumer internet.
• Quarterly Strength: In Q1 2025 alone, India accounted for 22% of global IPO activity, raising $2.8 billion across 62 IPOs

• Medal vs. Prize: The Nobel Prize itself is inseparable from the laureate—it represents the recognition of their achievement. The medal, however, is a physical object that can be sold, donated, or gifted.
• Committee’s Position: The Nobel Foundation has clarified that while medals have been auctioned or donated, the honor of the prize cannot be transferred to another person.
• Historical Examples:

• Some laureates or their families have auctioned medals for charity or financial reasons.
• In 2014, James Watson (co-discoverer of DNA’s structure) sold his Nobel medal at auction.
• In 2015, Leonid Kantorovich’s medal was auctioned.
• Medals have also been donated to institutions or museums

• Global recognition of nonviolent struggle.
• Encouragement for oppressed communities worldwide.
• Pressure on authoritarian regimes to respect democratic values.

• Situated in Tanzania’s Arusha Region, near the border with Kenya, within the Gregory Rift (part of the East African Rift system).
• Coordinates: 02°25′S, 36°00′E.
• Elevation: ~600 meters (2,000 ft) above sea level.
• The lake is shallow, with depths rarely exceeding 3 meters, and is fed mainly by the Ewaso Ng’iro River and hot springs.

• Human safety: Direct contact with the water can cause burns and irritation.
• Environmental threats: Proposed industrial projects (like soda ash extraction) have raised concerns about disrupting flamingo habitats.
• Climate sensitivity: Changes in rainfall and temperature could alter the delicate balance of the lake’s ecosystem.

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