• National

India celebrates 70th Republic Day today

• India celebrates 70th Republic Day today honouring the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 replacing the Government of India Act (1935).
• President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa is the chief guest for this year’s Republic Day parade.
• The Republic Day Parade Ceremony commenced with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate.
• As per the tradition, after unfurling of the National Flag by the President, the national anthem was played with a 21-gun salute.

• National

Cabinet approves an amendment to 'Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries'

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for amendment to the ‘Framework on Currency Swap Arrangement for SAARC Member Countries’ to incorporate a ‘Standby Swap’ amounting to $ 400 million operated within the overall size of the Facility of $ 2 billion.
• The facility would enable India to provide a prompt response to the current request from SAARC member countries for availing the swap amount exceeding the present limit prescribed under the SAARC Swap Framework.

• International

Pak declares Sugarcane juice as national drink

• On 25 January 2019, the Pakistan government declared sugarcane juice as the ‘National Drink’ of the country after a poll on Twitter.
• The government conducted a poll on Twitter at which people were asked to decide the national drink of Pakistan.
• Options including orange juice, sugarcane juice and carrot juice were given in the poll.

• Economy and Business

BSNL, French firm join hands to offer data services through SMS

• State-run telecom firm BSNL has partnered with French company Be-Bound to offer data connectivity through SMS in areas where there is no Internet connectivity or signal breaks.
• Both the companies signed a business partnership agreement to jointly market the service in India.
• The technology will be embedded in mobile apps. The app will send a command to Be-Bound server in case it does not get data connectivity for SMS-based connectivity.
• “Be-Bound server will facilitate SMS connectivity after getting a command from the app.
• The app will also send SMS from user’s account because for connectivity we need to send sms to and fro.

• Awards

Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh, Bhupen Hazarika awarded Bharat Ratna

• Former president Pranab Mukherjee, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika were on 25 January 2019 conferred the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna.
• In an official statement, the government said Deshmukh and Hazarika have conferred the award posthumously.
• Pranab Mukherjee, fondly known as ‘Pranab Da’, was the president between 2012 and 2017.
• The Bharat Ratna has been conferred after a gap of four years.
• Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and founder of Banaras Hindu University Madan Mohan Malviya were given the award by the Narendra Modi government in 2015.

• Awards

Government announces Padma awards 2019

• The government on 25th January 2019 announced names of the Padma awardees 2019 on the eve of the 70th Republic Day.
• This year 112 recipients have been selected for the prestigious awards. This includes 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri awards.
• One of the highest civilian Awards of the country, the awards are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
• The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.
• The Awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day every year.

• Awards

Government institutes Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar

• The government has instituted an annual award titled Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar.
• It will be announced every year on 23rd January, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• The Award carries a certificate and a cash prize of 51 lakh rupees.
• This year, 8th Battalion of National Disaster Response Force located at Ghaziabad has been selected for the Award for its commendable work in disaster management.
• The award has been instituted to acknowledge the contribution and selfless service of organisations and individuals to humanity in the aftermath of any disaster.

• Awards

Tomy Abhilash awarded with Nao Sena Medal

• President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Nao Sena Medal to Commander Tomy Abhilash on 25 January 2019.
• Tomy Abhilash had participated in the Golden Globe navigation race in 2018.
• Abhilash was stranded 3,200 km off the coast of Western Australia after his sailing vessel, INSV Thuriya’s mast broken during a severe storm in the Indian Ocean.

• Science and Tech

Opportunity rover completes 15 years on Mars

• NASA’s Opportunity rover has completed 15 years of its touchdown on the surface of Mars.
• The rover landed in a region of Mars called Meridiani Planum on 24 January 2004.
• The solar-powered rover went silent since a global dust storm in June 2018.
• The rover was designed to travel 1,006 metres and operate on the Red Planet for 90 Martian days.

• Obituaries

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Columnist Russell Baker passed away

• Russell Baker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who penned thousands of columns for The New York Times, passed away at his home in Leesburg, Va. He was 93.
• Russell Baker won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1979.
• It was the first Pulitzer for commentary awarded to a humorist.

• States

D N Chakraborty gets journalism award

• Assam government has conferred the ‘Republic Day Journalism Award 2019 to veteran journalist and former editor Dhirendra Nath Chakraborty on 26 January 2019.
• He has been honoured for his lifelong contribution to journalism in the state.
• He is the former Editor of Dainik Asom, Dainik Janambhumi and Ajir Batori group of newspaper.

• Agreements

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Kuwait for cooperation on the recruitment of domestic workers

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing Memorandum of Understanding between India and Kuwait for cooperation on the Recruitment of Domestic Workers.
• The MOU provides a structured framework for cooperation on domestic workers related matters and provides strengthened safeguards for Indian domestic workers including female workers deployed in Kuwait.
• The MOU is initially valid for a period of five years and incorporates provision for automatic renewal.
• Around 3,00,000 Indian domestic workers deployed in Kuwait would be major beneficiaries. This includes around 90,000 female domestic workers.