News of The Day : 12th January 2026

News of The Day – 12th Jan 2026

The Hindu, Indian Express, Live Mint, Business Standard, Economic Times, PIB and AIR, etc

(with Syllabus Relevance)

(GS-1:Art and Culture)

• About National Youth Day
  • Celebrated on 12 January (Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary, since 1985) 
• Theme (2026): “Ignite the Self, Impact the World” – focus on self-awareness, youth empowerment & nation-building
• About Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue.

(GS-2: Polity and Governance)

• About the Romeo-Juliet clause in the POCSO Act.
• Flags rampant misuse: families oppose teen romance, file POCSO cases leading to wrongful imprisonment
• Suggests mechanism to prosecute those misusing law for “settling scores”
• Supreme Court notes on  POCSO.

(GS-2: IR – Places in News)

• About Weimar Triangle
• Trilateral forum: France, Germany, Poland (est. 1991) for EU integration, security & Eastern Europe dialogue
• Discussions: EU-India ties, Indo-Pacific, Russia-Ukraine war; Poland backs India on Russian oil imports amid US pressure,

(GS-2: IR – Places in News)

• About Operation Hawkeye Strike 
  • US-led large-scale airstrikes on ISIS targets across Syria 
• Part of ongoing campaign to prevent ISIS regrouping; Trump admin calls it “vengeance” & success
• About the geography of the Region.

(GS-3: Economy)

• Venezuela holds world’s largest oil reserves (~303 bn barrels), mostly extra-heavy, viscous, sour (high-sulphur) crude from Orinoco Belt.
• US Gulf Coast refineries built for heavy/sour crude (70% capacity); US produces light shale but imports heavy for diesel/asphalt
• Challenges: Sanctions legacy, decayed infra; scaling to 3m bpd needs $185bn & 15+ years

(GS-3:Economy)

• FIU-IND issued tightened guidelines for VDA service providers (crypto exchanges) under PMLA
• Mandates stricter KYC: live selfie verification (liveness detection), geo-tagging/onboarding.
• Enhanced cybersecurity audits, governance, transaction monitoring & suspicious activity reporting
• Aims to curb money laundering, fraud & illicit use while promoting regulated innovation

(GS-3: Economy)

• Kerala requests Centre to issue catastrophe bonds (CAT bonds) in 2026-27 Budget for disaster risk transfer
• About CAT bonds: Insurance-linked securities transferring natural disaster risks (floods/cyclones) to capital markets
• Global tool for climate resilience; India vulnerable to frequent disasters

(GS-3: Defence/Internal Security)

• About Bhairav Battalions (modern warfare/special forces units) debut in Army Day Parade (15 Jan 2026, Jaipur) 
• War cry: e.g., “Raja Ramchandra ki Jai”; motto: “Abhayam Bhairav” (Fearless Bhairav)

(GS-3: Science & Tech)

• MeitY launches Param Shakti (3.1 petaflops) at IIT Madras (inaugurated 3 Jan 2026) 
• About the PARAM Rudra system.
• High energy efficiency (PUE 1.2-1.4); >80% utilisation