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Current Affairs 29th January 2026
Agricultural Revolutions
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Black Revolution: Petroleum Production
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Grey Revolution: Wool Production
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Golden Fiber Revolution: Jute Production
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Evergreen Revolution: Sustainable Agriculture
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Rainbow Revolution: Overall Agricultural Development
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Silver Fiber Revolution: Cotton Production
1. Union Bank of India appoints Dhirendra Jain as CFO
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Internal Promotion for Continuity: Dhirendra Jain, currently the General Manager of Finance and Accounts at Union Bank, will officially take over the CFO role on February 1, 2026. He succeeds Avinash Vasant Prabhu, who resigned from the position for personal reasons.
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Extensive Banking Pedigree: A qualified Chartered Accountant (CA) with over 28 years of experience, Jain brings deep institutional knowledge to the role. His background spans critical areas including large corporate credit, as well as leadership stints as a Regional and Zonal Head within the bank.
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Strategic Timing: The transition comes at a high point for the bank; UBI recently reported a 9.7% rise in net profit to ₹5,073 crore for the December 2025 quarter. Jain will be tasked with maintaining this momentum, specifically focusing on improving Net Interest Margins (NIM) and managing credit costs in a shifting interest rate environment.
Footnotes: UBI's MD & CEO: Ashish Pandey, HQ: Mumbai, Estd: 1919
2. France Passes Bill to Ban Social Media for Children U-15
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Age Limit and Mandatory Verification: The bill prohibits children under the age of 15 from creating or using social media accounts. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat will be legally required to implement "safety by design" and robust age-verification systems that comply with EU privacy standards.
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Expansion of Smartphone Bans: Building on existing rules for primary and middle schools, the new law extends the ban on smartphones to high schools (lycées). The goal is to create distraction-free learning environments and reduce the "algorithmic addiction" that lawmakers argue interferes with cognitive development.
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Strict Platform Accountability: Unlike previous voluntary guidelines, this law places the burden of compliance on tech companies rather than parents. Platforms that fail to exclude minors or use addictive features on them could face massive fines—up to 6% of their global annual turnover—under the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) framework.
3. Microsoft Unveils Second-GEN ‘Maia 200’ In-House AI Chip
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Massive Performance Leap: Built on TSMC's cutting-edge 3nm process, the Maia 200 features over 140 billion transistors. It is optimized for "inference" (running AI models) and delivers over 10 petaFLOPS of 4-bit (FP4) performance—three times faster than Amazon’s competing Trainium 3 chip.
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Industry-Leading Memory & Efficiency: To solve the "memory wall" bottleneck, Microsoft equipped the chip with 216GB of HBM3e memory and a redesigned subsystem. This allows for 30% better "performance-per-dollar" than previous systems, making it significantly cheaper to run massive models like OpenAI's GPT-5.2.
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Scalable "Ethernet-First" Infrastructure: Unlike many rivals that use proprietary networking, the Maia 200 uses a custom transport layer built on standard Ethernet. This allows Microsoft to link up to 6,144 chips in a single cluster, providing the massive scale needed for the world's most complex "reasoning" AI workloads.
4. Nagaland inaugurates first Drone School & Centre of Excellence
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DGCA-Compliant Training & Skill Development: The school will offer official Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) courses compliant with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Additionally, it provides specialized training in First Person View (FPV) flying, drone repair, and data analysis, with the first batch of 50 trainees already receiving free, sponsored training.
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A Hub for Innovation and Research: Beyond being a school, the facility functions as a Centre of Excellence for UAV research. It is designed to provide technical support to government departments for applications in agriculture, disaster management, surveying, and mapping, helping the state move toward "technology-driven governance."
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Infrastructure for the "Last Mile": The institution is fully equipped with advanced classrooms, simulators, assembly workshops, and dedicated flying grounds at Tsiesema and Thizama. The goal is to transfer this technical knowledge to interior districts, ensuring that the benefits of drone technology reach the most remote areas of Nagaland.
Footnotes: Nagaland's CM:Neiphiu Rio, Governor: Ajay Kumar, Capital: Kohima
5. Adani Defence Signs MoU with Brazil’s Embraer
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India’s First Private-Sector Assembly Line: The collaboration focuses on establishing a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in India for Embraer’s regional jets (typically 70–150 seats). This would make Adani the first private Indian company to assemble large-scale commercial passenger aircraft domestically.
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Support for Regional Connectivity (UDAN): The partnership is specifically designed to meet the demand for regional air travel. With India projected to need over 500 regional aircraft in the next 20 years, these locally made jets will support the government’s UDAN scheme to connect Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
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End-to-End Aviation Ecosystem: Beyond manufacturing, the MoU covers a "phased increase in indigenization," including supply chain development, Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services, and pilot training. This aligns with the "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India) initiative to reduce dependence on imported aircraft and spare parts
6. Former Australian bowler Kane Richardson announces retirement
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World Cup Winning Legacy: Richardson was a vital part of Australia’s limited-overs setup for over a decade, representing the country in 25 ODIs and 36 T20Is. His career highlight was being a member of the squad that won the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. He also featured in the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup.
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Big Bash League Legend: While an international star, Richardson’s greatest impact was in the Big Bash League (BBL). He retires as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in BBL history with 142 wickets. He played for the Adelaide Strikers, Melbourne Renegades (winning the BBL|08 title), and finally the Sydney Sixers, where he made his last professional appearances.
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Master of the "Death Overs": Renowned for his tactical versatility rather than raw pace, Richardson became one of the world's most sought-after T20 freelancers. His ability to bowl precise yorkers and clever variations earned him stints in the IPL.
7. Shubhanshu Shukla honoured with Ashok Chakra
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Historic Space Achievement: The award recognizes Shukla’s role as the pilot of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission in June 2025. He became the first Indian to set foot on the ISS and only the second Indian in space, following Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 flight (who was also an Ashoka Chakra recipient).
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Conspicuous Courage in the "Final Frontier": While the Ashoka Chakra is traditionally awarded for ground-based bravery, the government cited Shukla’s "conspicuous courage" and "indomitable spirit" in navigating the high-risk environment of space. During his 18-day mission, he managed complex orbital maneuvers and conducted over 60 scientific experiments critical for India's future space programs.
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Strategic Precursor to Gaganyaan: Shukla's mission and subsequent honor highlight India’s growing human spaceflight ambitions. His successful mission provided vital data on life support and microgravity resilience.
8. Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar passed away
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The Tragic Accident: The 66-year-old leader was traveling from Mumbai to Baramati for a local election campaign when his chartered Learjet 45 encountered difficulties during an emergency landing. The aircraft crashed and burst into flames just 200 meters from the runway; all five people on board, including two pilots and two staff members, perished.
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A Political Power Vacuum: Known as "Ajit Dada," he was the longest-serving Deputy CM of Maharashtra, holding the post six times under various coalitions. His death creates a significant leadership void within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the ruling Mahayuti alliance, especially as the state prepares for upcoming local body elections.
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State Honours and Mourning: The Maharashtra government declared three days of state mourning and a public holiday on the day of his passing. His last rites were performed with full state honors on January 29 at the Vidya Pratishthan ground in Baramati.
Footnotes: Maharashtra's CM: Devendra Fadnavis, Governor: C.P Radhakrishnan, Capital: Mumbai
WHAT HAPPENED TODAY?
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Indian Newspaper Day: 29thJanuary
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Theme 2026: "Role of Print Media in the Digital Age"
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Historical Origin: The day commemorates the launch of India’s first weekly newspaper, Hicky's Bengal Gazette in 1780.
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