21st January 2026 Current Affairs MCQ Quiz

This one is all about helping small businesses grow. The Cabinet pumped Rs 5,000 crore of fresh equity into SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) so it can lend more to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and support job creation.

Good news for faster internet at home! The DoT opened up the lower 6 GHz band for licence-free use, which clears the way for next-generation Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, meaning smoother streaming, gaming and video calls.

India’s first-ever Vande Bharat Sleeper made its debut between Howrah in West Bengal and Guwahati in Assam, flagged off from Malda Town. It’s a big step for comfortable overnight long-distance rail travel.

Yes, that's the big news! The RBI wants to make sure that even if you don't have internet connectivity in a remote area, you can still use the E-Rupee. It uses NFC technology to bridge that gap.

The project is the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor, worth over Rs 6,950 crore. The raised road is designed to ease traffic while keeping the wildlife of Kaziranga safe, so animals can move freely without being hit on the highway.

India has committed to becoming net zero by 2070, a pledge first made at COP26. These NITI Aayog reports lay out how heavy industries like cement and aluminium can cut their emissions to help reach that long-term goal.

The three-day conference began on 21 January 2026 at Bharat Mandapam. It brought together election bodies from around the world to share ideas on running free and fair elections.

It's the International Labour Organization (ILO). Their reports are essentially the gold standard for understanding how global job markets are shifting, and this year's edition focuses heavily on the impact of AI on entry-level clerical jobs.

It’s a next-gen ballistic missile. The 'P' stands for Prime, and it's basically a much more compact and accurate version of our existing Agni series, making it much easier to move around and deploy quickly.

The United States holds the G20 presidency for 2026, taking over from South Africa on 1 December 2025. The leaders’ summit is set to be hosted in Miami later in the year, with a focus on economic growth and energy.

The Army Day parade was held at Mahal Road in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Holding it outside Delhi has become a way to take the celebrations closer to people in different parts of the country.

The ice events, such as ice hockey and ice skating, kicked off in Leh, Ladakh from 20 January 2026. Ladakh’s freezing winters make it a natural home for these snow and ice sports.

IBM researchers, with partners, designed these algorithms that NIST published as the world’s first post-quantum cryptography standards. They’re built to resist future quantum computers that could otherwise crack today’s encryption.

The IMD comes under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. On its 151st Foundation Day, the government also announced 200 new Automatic Weather Stations for four big metros to sharpen city weather forecasts.

The Davos 2026 meeting (19-23 January) gathered world leaders under the theme ‘A Spirit of Dialogue’, focusing on cooperation, growth, investing in people and the responsible use of new technology like AI.

The ACC cleared Praveen Kumar to head the Border Security Force, which guards India’s frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The same set of appointments also named new chiefs for the NIA and the ITBP.

Madhya Pradesh proudly carries the ‘Tiger State’ tag, thanks to its large tiger population and the most tiger reserves of any state. Famous parks like Kanha and Bandhavgarh are part of why it leads the country.

German mathematician Gerd Faltings won the 2026 Abel Prize. He is celebrated for his work in arithmetic geometry, especially for proving the Mordell conjecture, now called Faltings’ Theorem. He is the first German to receive the award.

It was at COP26 in Glasgow. Our Prime Minister laid out these five goals, and we're currently reviewing the progress on the 2026 targets. It’s essentially our roadmap for reaching net-zero emissions.

Italy is the host! The 2026 Winter Olympics are being held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in February 2026. It’s the first time Italy hosts the Winter Games since Turin back in 2006.