News of The Day: 5th January 2026

News of The Day – 5th January 2026

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

(with Syllabus Relevance)

(GS-1: Art & Culture)

• About Somnath Temple (destroyed and rebuilt multiple times).
• 1000 Years of Somnath’s Resilience 

(GS-2: Polity and governance)

• Key Findings of the report 
• Persistent TB challenges in rural, tribal, and migrant communities due to socio-economic disparities, malnutrition, comorbidities, and access barriers
• Stresses targeted interventions, infrastructure strengthening, and community empowerment for elimination by 2025.

• About TB and targets on its elimination.

(GS-2: Polity and Governance)

• Delhi government plans to notify human rabies as a notifiable disease (joining 20 other states) for mandatory reporting by all healthcare facilities. 
• This aims to improve surveillance, early detection, coordination with animal health systems, and targeted interventions toward zero rabies deaths.

(GS-2: International Relations)

• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, 
• About absolute resolve.
• About US interventionism.
• Recent examples and implications on world politics.

(GS-3: Economy)

• About Re-circulatory Aquaculture System (RAS) Facility
• Under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
• India promotes RAS 
• A water-efficient, intensive, eco-friendly aquaculture technology with zero environmental impact. 
• Financial support for RAS units (up to ₹50 lakh) targets higher productivity
• Recent updates emphasize registration/licensing for traceability.

(GS-3: Economy)

• New norms for start-ups to get funds from DSIR 
• About DSIR’s Industrial Research and Development Promotion Programme (IRDPP)
• Aims to boost early innovation in strategic sectors.

(GS-3: Economy)

• The Ministry of Road Transport proposes mandatory 21-character unique BPAN for EV batteries.
  • About Battery Pack Aadhaar Number (BPAN)
• Significance in enhancing safety, efficiency, and sustainable battery management.

(GS-3: Economy)

• About Designed Design Linked Incentive Scheme 
• supports domestic semiconductor chip design firms/start-ups with incentives (up to 50% costs, deployment-linked 4-6% sales) and infrastructure;

• About Semicon India Programme.

(GS-3: Environment)

• ICG commissioned indigenously built ‘Samudra Pratap’ (first advanced pollution control vessel) in Goa.
• Features high indigenous content, advanced systems for oil spill response
• Enhancing maritime pollution control and environmental protection.

(GS-3: Environment)

• About Seven galaxy frogs (endemic, vulnerable species in Western Ghats)
• Presumed extinct after habitat disturbance from unethical wildlife photo tourism.
• Photographers caused stress, behavioural changes disrupting feeding/breeding.

(GS-3: Disaster Management)

• India incurs significant annual economic losses from natural disasters (floods, cyclones, etc.), estimated at 0.4-2% of GDP depending on sources.
  • Factors responsible for huge losses.
• Highlights vulnerability and need for resilient infrastructure amid climate change.

(GS-3: Science and Tech)

• About Cellulitis
• It is a common bacterial skin infection affecting subcutaneous tissues, often legs/feet but also face/arms.
• It enters via wounds or in immunocompromised individuals; treatable with antibiotics but risky if untreated.
• Prevalence in working-age groups.

(GS-3: Science & Tech)

• Discovery of the genetic code of rare Antarctic microbes.
• This unique genetic code variation could advance protein engineering and biotechnology applications.

(GS-3: Science & Tech)

• About Gravitational microlensing technique 
  • Employed to measure mass of a distant free-floating (rogue) planet not orbiting any star.
• Highlights method’s utility in detecting and characterizing isolated planetary-mass objects in space.