Best 100 January Current Affairs Questions (2026) | Free PDF
Staying updated with current affairs is crucial for competitive exam preparation. Whether you are preparing for UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, or State PSC exams, monthly current affairs practice is essential. Here are the best 100 January current affairs questions (2026) with free PDF.
Before jumping to the questions here’s a statistic that will make your blood run cold:
“In the 2024 SSC CGL exam, the average score difference between selected and rejected candidates was just 14.7 marks.”
Now here’s the kicker: 8 of those questions were from current affairs.
Thousands of dreams shattered… not by lack of intelligence, but by lack of FOCUSED preparation. Don’t let this be your story.
January Current Affairs Questions with Answers 2026
1. Who became the second Indian to reach 10,000 international runs?
A) Mithali Raj
B) Smriti Mandhana ✅
C) Harmanpreet Kaur
D) Jemimah Rodrigues
2. RPREX‑2025 exercise was conducted by which organization?
A) Indian Army
B) Indian Coast Guard ✅
C) Indian Air Force
D) National Disaster Response Force
3. Who won the FIDE World Rapid Championship 2025?
A) Magnus Carlsen ✅
B) Arjun Erigaisi
C) Ding Liren
D) Ian Nepomniachtchi
4. Sonam Yeshe, the first male bowler to take 8 wickets in a single innings of T20 International cricket, belongs to which country?
A) Nepal
B) Bhutan ✅
C) Mongolia
D) Hong Kong
5. Which country will host the World Police & Fire Games 2029 (WPFG 2029)?
A) Canada
B) Australia
C) India ✅
D) United Kingdom
6. World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on which date?
A) Jan-05
B) Jan-08
C) Jan-10 ✅
D) Jan-14
7. In which country is Mukalla Port located?
A) Oman
B) Yemen ✅
C) Saudi Arabia
D) Djibouti
8. Which state became the first to constitute the 8th Pay Commission for state employees?
A) Kerala
B) Tamil Nadu
C) Maharashtra
D) Assam ✅
9. India’s first‑ever Sunrise Festival ‘ALO PRABHAT – Dance of the Dawn’ was organised in which state?
A) Odisha
B) Assam
C) Meghalaya
D) Arunachal Pradesh ✅
10. How many tigers did India lose in the year 2025?
A) 120
B) 142
C) 166 ✅
D) 189
11. Who became the first batsman in the world to score 54 centuries in ODI cricket?
A) Virat Kohli ✅
B) Ricky Ponting
C) Sachin Tendulkar
D) Kumar Sangakkara
12. What is the special theme of the Republic Day Parade 2026?
A) 75 Years of Independence
B) Make in India
C) 150 Years of Vande Mataram ✅
D) Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
13. The 1st leg of Khelo India Winter Games 2026 began in which city?
A) Srinagar
B) Shimla
C) Manali
D) Leh ✅
14. The 86th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference started on 19 January 2026 at which place?
A) Jaipur
B) New Delhi
C) Lucknow ✅
D) Udaipur
15. Which city will host India’s first city-led climate action initiative?
A) Bengaluru
B) Chennai
C) Delhi
D) Mumbai ✅
16. Which state recorded the highest share of personal four-wheeler EV adoption in 2025?
A) Maharashtra
B) Delhi
C) Karnataka
D) Kerala ✅
17. India’s first Sovereign AI Park will be set up in which state?
A) Tamil Nadu ✅
B) Telangana
C) Karnataka
D) Maharashtra
18. Yoweri Museveni secured his seventh term as President of which country?
A) Kenya
B) Rwanda
C) Uganda ✅
D) Tanzania
19. The Davos 2026 World Economic Forum began on January 19 in which country?
A) Germany
B) France
C) Austria
D) Switzerland ✅
20. Thiruvalluvar was a poet of which language?
A) Tamil ✅
B) Telugu
C) Malayalam
D) Sanskrit
21. Who became the first officer from the Northeast region of India to win the NCC Gold Medal?
A) Lieutenant Neha Verma
B) Lieutenant Anjali Sharma
C) Lieutenant K M Sudha ✅
D) Captain Ritu Raj
22. What was India’s rank in the Responsible Nations Index?
A) 12th
B) 14th
C) 16th ✅
D) 18th
23. Vidarbha defeated which team to win their first Vijay Hazare Trophy title?
A) Mumbai
B) Tamil Nadu
C) Karnataka
D) Saurashtra ✅
24. Which institution won the SKOCH Award 2025 for the Cell Broadcast Disaster Alert System?
A) ISRO
B) IMD
C) NDMA
D) Centre for Development of
Telematics ✅
25. What was India’s rank among Asian countries in the Asia Manufacturing Index 2026?
A) 4th
B) 5th
C) 6th ✅
D) 7th
26. Who will receive the Padmapani Award at the Ajanta–Ellora International Film Festival 2026?
A) A.R. Rahman
B) Shankar Mahadevan
C) Mani Ratnam
D) Ilaiyaraaja ✅
27. Which Indian boxer has recently been appointed as a member of the Asian Boxing Council?
A) Mary Kom
B) Lovlina Borgohain
C) Vijender Singh ✅
D) Nikhat Zareen
28. Sagar Maitri is a joint initiative of the Indian Navy and which organisation?
A) DRDO ✅
B) MEA
C) National Disaster Response Force
D) Coast Guard
29. India’s first open-sea fish farm has been launched in which region?
A) Lakshadweep
B) Andaman & Nicobar Islands ✅
C) Arabian Sea off
Kochi coast
D) Bay of Bengal off
Odisha coast
30. On January 19, 2026, which organisation celebrated its 21st Raising Day?
A) CRPF
B) ITBP
C) National Disaster Reponse Force ✅
D) CISF
31. Exercise Dosti-17 is a trilateral naval drill involving India, Maldives and which country?
A) Sri Lanka ✅
B) Bangladesh
C) Seychelles
D) Myanmar
32. On Republic Day, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will display which formation?
A) Trishul Formation
B) Vijay Formation
C) Operation Sindoor Formation ✅
D) Gagan Shakti Formation
33. Which city was ranked the world’s safest city for the 10th consecutive year in 2026?
A) Tokyo
B) Copenhagen
C) Abu Dhabi ✅
D) Zurich
34. Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, declared an Eco-Sensitive Zone, is located in which state?
35. Which Indian state launched the country’s first dedicated dog sanctuary on January 15, 2026?
A) Haryana
B) Rajasthan
C) Punjab ✅
D) Uttar Pradesh
36. India signed a 10-year LNG supply deal with which UAE company in January 2026?
A) ADNOC ✅
B) Emirates Gas
C) Dubai Petroleum
D) Gulf Petrochem
37. The 54th Foundation Day on January 21, 2026, was celebrated by which states?
A) Tripura, Mizoram,
Nagaland
B) Tripura, Manipur,
Meghalaya ✅
C) Manipur, Assam,
Meghalaya
D) Tripura, Assam,
Mizoram
38. A 233-year-old Valmiki Ramayana was gifted to which museum?
A) National Museum,
Delhi
B) Ram Katha
Museum, Ayodhya ✅
C) Indian Museum,
Kolkata
D) Bharat Kala
Bhavan, Varanasi
39. Who was appointed as India’s next High Commissioner to New Zealand?
A) Ruchira Kamboj
B) Meenakshi Lekhi
C) Muanpuii Saiawi ✅
D) Vijay Thakur
Singh
40. Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti is celebrated every year on which date?
A) 21 January
B) 22 January
C) 23 January ✅
D) 24 January
41. Who has recently taken charge as the Coast Guard Commander of the Western Seaboard?
A) Nagesh Kapoor
B) Amar Subramaniam
C) General MV Pathak ✅
D) None of the above
42. Which Indian city topped the Numbeo Safety Index 2026 rankings?
A) Chennai
B) Hyderabad
C) Coimbatore
D) Mangaluru ✅
43. Saina Nehwal has announced her retirement from badminton; in which year was she awarded the Padma Bhushan?
A) 2014
B) 2015
C) 2016 ✅
D) 2017
44. India’s first Vande Bharat Sleeper Train is being operated on which route?
A) New Delhi –
Mumbai
B) New Delhi –
Howrah
C) New Delhi –
Varanasi
D) Kamakhya –
Howrah✅
45. Where was the Hazardous Chemical
Substances Response Drill organized
between India and Japan?
A) Mumbai Port ✅
B) Visakhapatnam
Port
C) Kochi Port
D) Chennai Port
46. The Bembla River Irrigation Project is being launched in which state?
A) Maharashtra ✅
B) Telangana
C) Madhya Pradesh
D) Chhattisgarh
47. The Striped Tiger butterfly has been declared the ‘State Butterfly’ of which
Union Territory?
A) Delhi
B) Puducherry
C) Chandigarh ✅
D) Daman & Diu
48. When was National Penguin Day recently celebrated?
A) January 20 ✅
B) January 23
C) January 25
D) January 27
49. A ‘Bomb Cyclone’ recently hit which region?
A) East Asia
B) Australia
C) Northern United States ✅
D) Southern Africa
50. Amyra Khosla, who was in the news recently, is related to which sport?
A) Badminton
B) Shooting
C) Gold
D) Climbing ✅
January 2026 Current Affairs
1. Who was appointed as the new Chairman of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)?
a) S. Bhattacharya
b) Rakesh Kumar Shukla
c) Dinesh Kumar Shukla
d) A. K. Balasubramaniam ✅
2. 2,000‑year‑old Kushan coins from King Vasudeva’s era were found in Rawalpindi of which country?
a) Afghanistan
b) Pakistan ✅
c) Uzbekistan
3. The 69th National School Games started in which state?
a) Haryana
b) Punjab ✅
c) Rajasthan
d) Uttarakhand
4. Which Act will Government declare human rabies a notifiable disease under?
a) Public Health Management Act
b) Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 ✅
c) Clinical Establishments Act
d) National Health Mission
5. On which date was National Siddha Day 2026 observed?
a) January 3 ✅
b) January 5
c) January 6
d) January 12
6. India has launched the B4 business visa mainly for professionals from which e‑country?
a) USA
b) China
c) Japan ✅
d) Australia
7. Who developed SWaDes, a hand‑operated device that converts seawater into safe drinking water?
a) ISRO
b) DRDO ✅
c) BARC
d) HAL
8. The Indian Air Force commemorated the 25th anniversary of the first flight of which indigenous aircraft?
a) HAL Dhruv
b) HAL Tejas ✅
c) LCA
d) AMCA
9. Where is India’s first urban night safari located?
a) Sarigir, Gujarat
b) Kukrail forest area, Uttar Pradesh ✅
c) Bannerghatta, Karnataka
d) Chennai, Tamil Nadu
10. According to Donald Trump, Venezuela will turn over up to how many barrels of oil to the US?
a) 10 million barrels
b) 20 million barrels
c) 50 million barrels
d) 100 million barrels
Answer) 50 million barrels
11. The United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year of which of the following?
a) Refugees and Migrants
b) Women Farmers
c) Peace and Trust
d) Sustainable Tourism
Answer) Women Farmers
12. Somnath Swabhiman Parv marks 1,000 years since whose invasion of the Somnath Temple in 1026?
a) Muhammad Ghori
b) Mahmud of Ghazni
c) Babur
d) Timur
Answer) Mahmud of Ghazni
13. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave the Ati Vishisht Rail Seva Puraskar 2025 in which city?
a) Mumbai
b) Kolkata
c) New Delhi
d) Chennai
Answer) New Delhi
14. Which country will be the Guest of Honour at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2026?
a) France
b) United Kingdom
c) Qatar
d) Germany
Answer) Germany
15. Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC)?
a) Sudhir Sekhri
b) Narendra Goenka
c) Sanjay Jain
d) A Sakthivel
Answer) A Sakthivel
16. Which has become India’s first “completely paperless” district court?
a) Kochi District Court
b) Surat District Court
c) Delhi District Court
d) Kalpetta judicial district
Answer) Kalpetta judicial district
17. In which state has the education programme ‘Sanskar Shala’ been started?
a) Rajasthan
b) Gujarat
c) Madhya Pradesh
d) Assam
Answer) Assam
18. Gyan Ranjan, who passed away recently, was related to which field?
a) Journalism
b) Theatre and Drama
c) Classical Music
d) Hindi Literature
Answer) Theatre and Drama
19. Justice Mahesh Sonak has taken oath as the Chief Justice of which High Court?
a) Bombay High Court
b) Patna High Court
c) Jharkhand High Court
d) Odisha High Court
Answer) Jharkhand High Court
20. ‘Pankhuri Portal’ has been launched by which ministry?
a) Ministry of Women and Child Development
b) Ministry of Education
c) Ministry of Skill Development
d) Ministry of Social Justice
Answer) Ministry of Women and Child Development
21. On which date is Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrated every year in India?
a) 10 January
b) 11 January
c) 12 January
d) 9 January
Answer) 9 January
22. The National Level Workshop on MISHTI was held in which city?
a) Bhopal
b) New Delhi
c)Vijayawada
d) Bhubaneswar
Answer) Vijayawada
23. Who has recently joined India’s Antarctica mission Maitri?
a) Sri Lanka
b) Maldives
c) Bangladesh
d) United Arab Emirates
Answer) United Arab Emirates
24. Madhya Pradesh’s Ratapani Tiger Reserve has been named after which archaeologist?
a) Dr. H. B. Lal
b) Dr. B. B. Lal
c) Dr. V. S. Shridhar Wankar
d) Dr. R. S. Sharma
Answer) Dr. V. S. Shridhar Wankar
25. R. S. Sharma Day is celebrated every year on which date?
a) January 5
b) January 8
c) January 10
d) January 15
Answer) January 5
26. Which state’s police secured the first position in ICJS 2.0 ranking?
a) Uttar Pradesh
b) Uttarakhand
c) Maharashtra
d) Gujarat
Answer) Uttarakhand
27. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an EV manufacturing factory in which city?
a) Chennai
b) Pune
c) Faridabad
d) Lucknow
Answer) Lucknow
28. Which two countries were invited to the G7 talks on critical minerals?
a) India and Australia
b) India and Brazil
c) India and South Africa
d) India and Japan
Answer) India and Australia
29. Indian Army conducted exercise Sanjha Shakti in which state?
a) Punjab
b) Maharashtra
c) Rajasthan
d) Gujarat
Answer) Maharashtra
30. Which city hosted the Fifth Tri-Services Veterans Day?
a) New Delhi
b) Pune
c) Mumbai
d) Kochi
Answer) Mumbai
31. Who became Meghalaya’s first woman Chief Justice?
a) Justice Indira Banerjee
b) Justice Ranjana Desai
c) Justice Hima Kohli
d) Justice Bela Trivedi
Answer) Justice Hima Kohli
32. Who won the UN Secretary-General’s Award 2025 for gender-inclusive peacekeeping in South Sudan?
a) Major Swathi Shantha Kumar
b) Major Nidhi Pandey
c) Captain Shikha Sharma
d) Colonel Ritu Raj
Answer) Major Swathi Shantha Kumar
33. India is set to join which US-led initiative?
a) Pax Terra
b) Pax Silica
c) Pax Indo
d) Pax Global
Answer) Pax Silica
34. Who recently became the third batsman in the world to complete 28,000 runs in international cricket?
a) Rohit Sharma
b) Joe Root
c) Virat Kohli
d) Steve Smith
Answer) Joe Root
35. Who has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court?
a) Justice Rajesh Bindal
b) Justice Sanjiv Khanna
c) Justice Pankaj Mithal
d) Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta
Answer) Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta
36. Who has been appointed as the Chairman of the Council for Leather Exports (CLE)?
a) Rajiv Mehta
b) Ranjan Bandekar
c) Ramesh Kumar Juneja
d) Sanjay Leekha
Answer) Ramesh Kumar Juneja
37. The book “Agni Sarassulo Vikasinchina Kamalam” is based on the life of?
a) Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
b) A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
c) C. Subramaniam
d) Droupadi Murmu
Answer) Droupadi Murmu
38. The recent bilateral talks between India and Germany took place in?
a) Berlin
b) Munich
c) New Delhi
d) Ahmedabad
Answer) New Delhi
39. Which country has recently assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union?
a) Belgium
b) Hungary
c) Poland
d) Cyprus
Answer) Hungary
40. The Kamla Hydroelectric Project approved by the PIB is located in?
a) Himachal Pradesh
b) Uttarakhand
c) Jammu & Kashmir
d) Arunachal Pradesh
Answer) Arunachal Pradesh
41. National Youth Day is celebrated on?
a) January 10
b) January 11
c) January 12
d) January 13
Answer) January 12
42. The Henley Passport Index 2026 has ranked India at which position globally?
a) 72
b) 76
c) 80
d) 85
Answer) 85
43. Which city will host the International Spice Conference 2026?
a) Kochi
b) Kozhikode
c) Thiruvananthapuram
d) Mangaluru
Answer) Kochi
44. Who won the Tyler Prize for revealing fungal networks?
a) Jane Goodall
b) Sylvia Earle
c) Toby Kiers
d) Rachel Carson
Answer) Toby Kiers
45. Which country will host the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth?
a) India
b) Canada
c) Australia
d) South Africa
Answer) India
46. Recent wildfires that burned nearly 12,000 hectares of forest occurred in which country?
a) Greece
b) Chile
c) Argentina
d) Spain
Answer) Argentina
47. NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission is aimed at sending astronauts to which celestial body?
a) Mars
b) International Space Station
c) Moon
d) Asteroid Belt
Answer) Moon
48. By what name is Makar Sankranti celebrated in Tamil Nadu?
a) Magh
b) Bihu
c) Lohri
d) Pongal
Answer) Pongal
49. Davinder Singh Garcha, who passed away recently, was associated with which sport?
a) Hockey
b) Wrestling
c) Athletics
d) Kabaddi
Answer) Kabaddi
50. The Third Indian Lighthouse Festival was held in which city?
a) Mumbai
b) Chennai
c) Kolkata
d) Visakhapatnam
Answer) Visakhapatnam
Download Your Free January 2026 Current Affairs PDF Now
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Monthly Current Affairs Series
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Conclusion
That 3 AM study session? It’s going to be worth it. That sacrifice you are making right now, the parties you’re missing, the movies you’re skipping, the sleep you’re losing. It’s all adding up to something beautiful.
Your success story is being written right now, one current affairs question at a time.
So download this PDF. Practice these questions. Mark your weak areas. Come back stronger.
And six months from now, when you’re celebrating your selection, you’ll remember this moment. This late night. This decision to prepare just a little bit better.
Your future self is counting on present you.
Don’t let them down.
