1. NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission releases the Atal Tinkering Lab Handbook on eve of National Youth Day

• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) released the “Atal Tinkering Lab Handbook – Nayee Dishayen, Naye Nirman, Naya Bharat” on the eve of the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, also celebrated as the National Youth Day.
• They also announced the 10 Month Student Entrepreneurship Programme, which is a fully-funded initiative to help the Top Six innovations of the Atal Tinkering Marathon 2017 to transform their innovative prototypes into functioning, scaled and Go-to-Market products.
• These innovations include prototypes across six crucial themes having broader social impact, namely, Clean Energy, Waste Management, Agritech, Healthcare, Smart Mobility and Water Resources.

2. Govt launches National Clean Air Programme to tackle air pollution

• Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan just launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) that aims to reduce toxic particulate matter by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year.
• In addition to the release by his office, he also shared a twitter clip talking about NCAP and the research that went behind the plan.
• It will be launched in the 43 smart cities falling in the list of the 102 non-attainment cities, under the Smart Cities program.

3. 6 states sign agreement for Renukaji dam multipurpose project

• Six states--Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh--on Friday signed an agreement for construction of Renukaji Dam Multi-Purpose Project in the presence of Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari.
• Three projects are proposed to be constructed on the Yamuna and two of its tributaries, Tons and Giri, in the hilly regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh of the Upper Yamuna Basin.
• These include Lakhwar project on the Yamuna in Uttarakhand, Kisau on the Tons in Uttarakhand and Himachal, and Renukaji on the Giri in Himachal.

4. India, Japan bilateral currency swap gets Cabinet nod

• The Union Cabinet ongave its nod to the $75-billion bilateral currency swap arrangement between India and Japan.
• The arrangement is expected to bring stability to foreign exchange and capital markets in India.
• The Cabinet also approved setting up of 3 new AIIMS at Vijayanagar in Samba in Jammu and Awantipur in Pulwara in Kashmir and Rajkot in Gujarat.

5. WEF recognises Tata Steel's Netherlands plant as 'Factory of the future

• The World Economic Forum announced that Tata Steel's plant at IJmuiden in the Netherlands has been inducted into its prestigious community, a distinction awarded to manufacturing facilities which are seen as leaders in technologies of the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution'.
• This makes Tata Steel part of a network of just 16 key factories to create the world's leading learning platforms for production.
• To aid the learning and adoption of technologies by other companies, the 'Lighthouse' companies are committed to open their doors and share their knowledge with other manufacturing businesses.

6. National Youth Day observed on 12 January

• National Youth Day is celebrated in all over the world on 12 January on the birthday of Swami Vivekananda.
• In 1984 the Government of India declared the day as the National Youth Day and since 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.
• The National Youth Day is observed all over India at schools and colleges, with processions, speeches, recitations, music, youth conventions, seminars, Yogasanas, presentations, competitions in essay-writing, recitations and sports on 12 January every year.

7. Sikkim says it will become first state to roll out Universal Basic Income

• Sikkim will be the first state to roll out Universal Basic Income (UBI) and has started the process to introduce the unconditional direct cash transfer scheme.
• Sikkim’s ruling party, the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF), has decided to include UBI in its manifesto ahead of the Assembly election in 2019 and aims to implement the scheme by 2022.
• The 2017 Economic Survey had flagged the UBI scheme as “a conceptually appealing idea” and a possible alternative to social welfare programmes targeted at reducing poverty.