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January – 26

TNPSC BITS
❖ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister laid foundation stone for a new open-air museum in
Keezhadi and museum in Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
❖ The union government announced the annulment of the auction of Tamil Nadu's
Nayakkarpatti tungsten mineral block, which is near the Arittapatti biodiversity
site.
❖ TN Chief Minister will inaugurate the Thamirabarani – Karumeniyar – Nambiyar
River linking scheme, which benefiting over 15,000 acres of lands in rain-shadow
regions in Nanguneri, Thisaiyanvilai and Sattankulam areas.
❖ The theme of Republic Day 2025 is Swarnim Bharat – Virasat aur Vikas' (Golden
India – Heritage and Development).
❖ Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is the chief guest for Republic Day 2025,
marking a significant milestone in the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations
between India and Indonesia.
❖ Indian High Commission announced the renaming of the Jaffna Cultural Centre
(Srilanka) as ‘Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre’, in honour of the great Tamil poet-
philosopher Thiruvalluvar.
❖ The first astronomical observatory in Eastern India has been inaugurated in
Garpanchkot Hills in West Bengal's Purulia district.
❖ Usha Vance became the first Indian-American and Hindu Second Lady after her
husband J.D. Vance was sworn in as the 50th Vice President of the US.
❖ Kerala launched Kerala Warnings, a Crisis and Hazard Management System or
'KaWaCHaM', India’s first fully integrated disaster warning system, under the
National Cyclone Preparedness Project.
❖ The Union govt has set a target of reaching 10,000 Geographical Indication (GI)
Tags by 2030 from current 605 tags.
❖ Janet Petro has been appointed as the acting administrator and the first female
to lead NASA.

TAMIL NADU
iTNT - Foundation Fund
❖ iTNT Hub has launched its Foundation Fund (Financing Opportunities for the
Unleashing Deeptech Advancements & Transformative Innovations).
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❖ With the support from MeitY of GoI, the first tranche of Rs 2 crore will be invested
in TN-based deep and emerging tech startups.
❖ Such startups would be supported by iTNT, up to Rs 40 lakh per venture.

Iron Age in Tamil Nadu

❖ TN Government has released a report titled, ‘Antiquity of Iron: Recent Radiometric

Dates from Tamil Nadu’.
❖ The discovery was made through the radiometric dating of burial urn samples
from Sivagalai in Thoothukudi district.
❖ The study has revealed that the Iron Age may have begun in present-day Tamil
Nadu as early as 3,345 BCE.
❖ The new findings push the introduction of iron in the Tamil landscape back 5,300
years.
❖ The discovery suggests that a contemporary Iron Age civilization existed in the
southern India at the same time as the Indus Valley Civilization in northern and
northwestern India.
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❖ Before these discoveries, the earliest iron objects in Tamil Nadu were dated to
around 2172 BCE from Mayiladumparai in Krishnagiri district.
❖ Additionally, another site, Adichanallur in Thoothukudi district, had produced a
charcoal sample associated with iron objects that was dated to 2517 BCE.
❖ In comparison, the iron objects from other regions of India, such as Brahmagiri
in Karnataka and Gachibowli near Hyderabad, were dated to around 2140 BCE
and 2200 BCE, respectively.
❖ Earlier, the Hittite Empire (in modern-day Turkey) was believed to be the first
civilization to use iron, with evidence dating back to around 1,380 BCE.

Share of rooftop solar systems - Tamilnadu

❖ The share of electricity generated from rooftop solar accounted for just 1% of
Tamil Nadu’s total energy mix.
❖ Tamil Nadu’s total installed power capacity has stood at 41, 741.45 MW as on
December 31, 2024.
❖ Out of this, the renewable energy capacity was 24, 323.42 MW.
❖ Roof top solar energy generation accounted for 5% of total energy mix for Gujarat,
2% in Maharashtra, 1% in Karnataka and 5% in Kerala.

NATIONAL
NITI Aayog Fiscal health Index 2025
❖ Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Goa and Jharkhand have emerged as the top-performing
'achievers' among the States listed in NITI Aayog's first Fiscal Health Index (FHI)
report.
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❖ The report is titled 'Fiscal Health Index 2025' ranked States for 2022-23, covering
18 major States.
❖ Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala were the worst-performing
States in the Index.
❖ Each one is focusing significant fiscal challenges, and listed under 'aspirational'
category.
❖ Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka are listed
under 'front-runners' category.
❖ Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana were classified as performers.

India Renewable Energy Achievement 2024

❖ India achieved a record-breaking milestone in 2024 with the addition of 24.5 GW
of solar capacity and 3.4 GW of wind capacity.
❖ India’s total non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity to 217.62 GW as of January
2025.
❖ India is on track to meet its goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy
capacity by 2030.
❖ In 2024, India saw a more than twofold increase in solar installations and a 21%
rise in wind installations compared to 2023.
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❖ Solar energy now accounts for 47% of India’s total installed renewable energy
capacity.
❖ The rooftop solar sector grew by 53%, adding 4.59 GW of new capacity.
❖ Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are accounting for 98% of the new 3.4 GW
capacity of Wind energy.

National Health Mission Extension

❖ Centre approved the extension of the National Health Mission (NHM) for another
five years after reviewing its progress over the past three years.
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❖ First was launched in 2005 as the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).
❖ The scheme has been extended the multiple times, with the most recent extension
granted in 2021 to run until 2026.

India in Eurodrone
❖ India has, as an observer state, officially joined the Medium Altitude Long
Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (MALE RPAS) or the Eurodrone
programme.
❖ Eurodrone is a four-nation initiative involving Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
❖ Japan became the first official OCCAR observer state in November 2023.
❖ The Eurodrone is a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS).
❖ It is designed for the long-endurance missions such as intelligence, surveillance,
target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR), maritime surveillance, anti-
submarine warfare, and airborne early warning.
❖ With a maximum mission payload of 2.3 tonnes and an endurance period of up
to 40 hours.
❖ Previously, India joined Russia’s Su-57 fighter programme but withdrew in 2018.

INTERNATIONAL
Project Stargate
❖ OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank and MGX have united for setting up the world's largest
AI project - 'Stargate'.
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❖ Stargate is a $500 billion initiative aimed at creating an AI infrastructure in the

US over the next four years.
❖ It aims to propel the US into global leadership in AI advancements.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Crew Module’s Liquid Propulsion System – Gaganyaan

❖ ISRO has received the Crew Module for the first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan
(G1) after successfully completing the integration of the liquid propulsion system.
❖ Before sending the crew, the ISRO is planning to send uncrewed mission to the
space under its Gaganyaan project.
❖ Gaganyaan-G1 is expected to be launched in early part of this year.
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❖ The subsequent two uncrewed missions Gaganyaan-G2 and G3 will lead to

India’s maiden human spaceflight.

STATES
Geo-Tagging of Chinar Tree

❖ Jammu and Kashmir's government began the process of geo-tagging in its bid to
preserve heritage Chinar trees in Kashmir.
❖ Chinars are oxygen producers.
❖ They provided 'Digital Aadhaar' to these trees and installed scannable QR codes.
❖ Now, every Chinar has its own 'Aadhar' number and have linked to Digital India.
❖ Every district has its own district code with the number of Chinars.
❖ So far, they have identified and geo-tagged 28,560 Chinar.

IMPORTANT DAYS
Parakram Diwas 2025 - January 23
❖ Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti is known as Parakram Diwas or the Day of Valour.
❖ Subhas Chandra Bose, born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa.
❖ To honour Bose for his efforts in restoring the Indian freedom, in 2021, the
government announced this day.
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❖ He had cleared the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination in 1920, securing the
fourth rank.
❖ Bose became the youngest-ever President of the Indian National Congress in
1938.
❖ Netaji established the Indian National Army (INA) in 1943 to fight British colonial
rule.
❖ The phrase “Jai Hind,” was popularized by Bose as a rallying cry for national
unity and freedom.
❖ On October 21, 1943, Bose declared the establishment of the Provisional
Government of Free India (Azad Hind Government) in Singapore
❖ Bose was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1937 for his efforts to end the
colonial rule through nonviolent means.

National Girl Child Day 2025 - January 24

❖ The day was first introduced in 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child
Development to promote gender equality and address the issues surrounding the
welfare of girls in India.
❖ The theme for National Girl Child Day 2025 is “Empowering Girls for a Bright
Future.”
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❖ The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the Girl Child, Educate the Girl Child)
scheme was launched on January 22, 2015.

International Day of Education 2025 - January 24

❖ This day marks the importance of education in ensuring peace and development.
❖ The first International Day of Education was observed on January 24, 2019.
❖ The theme for 2025 is ‘AI and education: Preserving human agency in a world of
automation.’
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❖ India celebrates its National Education Day celebrated on November 11 to mark

the birth anniversary of India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam
Azad.

MISCELLANEOUS
India’s First eVTOL Air Taxi ‘Shunya’

❖ The Bengaluru-based Sarla Aviation, introduced its innovative electric flying taxi,
Shunya.
❖ The Shunya prototype is designed for the short-distance commutes, capable of
covering 20-30 km trips at speeds up to 250 km/h.
❖ With a capacity to carry six passengers and a maximum payload of 680 kg,

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