13 January 2026 Current Affairs (With PDF)

We bring you the most relevant and important news updates from around the world and India, specially curated for competitive exams and different entrance exams. Today's Current Affairs cover all significant national and international headlines, legal updates, economic news, and environmental highlights to boost your preparation. With our crisp, to-the-point coverage, you can confidently tackle current affairs questions in your exams

ISRO’s PSLV-C62 / EOS-N1 Mission

ISRO’s PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during the 3rd (solid) stage of flight, affecting the intended orbital injection of satellites.

Mission Overview

• Launch Vehicle: PSLV-C62
• Mission Type: Earth Observation + Commercial Mission
• Flight Number: 64th PSLV flight
• Commercial Milestone: 9th dedicated commercial mission by NSIL

About NSIL

• Incorporated: 2019
• Status: Wholly government-owned company
• Role: Commercial arm of ISRO, under Department of Space

Payload Details

1. EOS-N1 Satellite:

• Purpose: Strengthen space-based Earth observation and monitoring
• Orbit Intended: Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO)

2. Co-passenger Satellites:

• Total: 15 (domestic + international customers)
• Orbit: SSO

3. Special Payload – KID (Kestrel Initial Demonstrator):

• Developed by a Spanish startup
• Type: Small-scale re-entry vehicle prototype
• Mission: Atmospheric re-entry and splashdown in South Pacific Ocean
• Trajectory: Separate re-entry path (not SSO)

What Went Wrong?

• Anomaly occurred during the 3rd stage, which is a solid rocket motor.
• Responsible for providing high thrust to upper stages
• This impacted precise orbital injection, a critical requirement for SSO missions.

About PSLV (Quick Revision)

• Type: 3rd-generation launch vehicle
• Special Feature: First Indian launcher with liquid stages
• Payload Capability: Up to 1,750 kg to 600 km Sun-Synchronous Orbit
• Reputation: Workhorse of ISRO

1. PSLV Stages:

• First Stage: S139 solid motor + 6 strap-on boosters
• Second Stage: Liquid Vikas engine (LPSC)
• Third Stage: Solid rocket motor (anomaly stage)
• Fourth Stage: Dual liquid engines (orbital injection)

2. Notable PSLV Missions:

• Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan), Aditya-L1, AstroSat, World record: 104 satellites in one launch (2017)

Supreme Court Urges “Romeo–Juliet” Clause in POCSO Act

The Supreme Court of India has urged the Union Government to consider introducing a “Romeo–Juliet clause” in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, citing concerns over its misuse in consensual adolescent relationships.

Key Highlights of the Judgment

1. Misuse of POCSO:

• The Court observed that Ages of adolescents are sometimes misrepresented to bring cases under the stringent provisions of POCSO.
• The law is often invoked by families opposing consensual romantic relationships between teenagers.
• Such misuse defeats the protective intent of the Act.

2. Romeo–Juliet Clause (Close-in-Age Exemption):

• The Court suggested exempting genuine consensual relationships between adolescents:
  - Where both parties are minors or one is just above 18.
  - Where the age difference is minimal.
• This would prevent Criminalisation of consensual intimacy & Wrongful arrests and imprisonment of young individuals

3. Balancing Rights:

• Emphasised the need to balance Child protection & Personal liberty, autonomy and dignity of adolescents.

About the POCSO Act, 2012

1. Objective:

• To protect children (below 18 years) from: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Use in pornography

2. Key Features:

• Gender-neutral law: Applies regardless of the gender of the victim or offender.
• Strict liability: Consent of a child is legally irrelevant.
• Categorisation of offences:
  - Penetrative sexual assault
  - Non-penetrative sexual assault
  - Aggravated forms (higher punishment)
• Stringent punishment: Ranging from imprisonment to life sentence.

3. Child-Friendly Judicial Process:

Special POCSO Courts

• In-camera trials
• Time-bound disposal (ideally within 1 year)
• Protection from hostile questioning
• Provision for compensation and rehabilitation

What is a Romeo–Juliet Clause? (Comparative Perspective)

• Found in several countries (e.g., parts of the USA, Canada, Europe).
• Provides a close-in-age exemption to prevent prosecution for consensual acts between minors or near-age peers.

Chinese Nuclear Fusion Reactor Pushes Plasma Beyond a Crucial Limit

China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)—often called the “Artificial Sun”—has successfully maintained stable plasma at extremely high densities, overcoming a long-standing theoretical barrier in nuclear fusion research known as the Greenwald limit.

What Is the Breakthrough?

• Greenwald Limit: A theoretical density threshold beyond which plasma inside a tokamak was believed to become unstable and uncontrollable.
• New Achievement: EAST demonstrated stable plasma confinement at densities exceeding this limit, addressing one of the major obstacles to achieving sustained nuclear fusion.

Significance: Higher plasma density directly increases fusion reaction rates, bringing scientists closer to net-energy-positive fusion power.

About Nuclear Fusion

• Definition: Fusion is the process where two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing enormous energy.
• Natural Occurrence: Powers the Sun and stars.
• State of Matter Involved: Occurs in plasma—a superheated, electrically charged state of matter distinct from solids, liquids, and gases.

Tokamak Reactors Explained

• A tokamak is an experimental device designed to confine plasma using powerful magnetic fields inside a doughnut-shaped chamber.
• Working Mechanism:
  - Magnetic fields prevent plasma from touching reactor walls.
  - Fusion energy is absorbed as heat by the vessel walls.
  - Heat is then used to generate steam → turbines → electricity, similar to conventional thermal power plants.

ITER – The Global Fusion Project

• International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
• Location: Southern France
• Status: World’s largest tokamak experiment
• Members:
  - European Union (27 states)
  - China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, United States, Switzerland

Aimed at proving the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power.

Nuclear Fusion Facilities in India

1. ADITYA Tokamak:

• India’s first indigenously designed tokamak
• Operational since 1989
• Located at Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gujarat

2. SST-1 (Steady State Superconducting Tokamak):

• Fully commissioned in 2013 at IPR
• Focuses on long-duration plasma confinement

Ocean Heat Content Reaches New Record in 2025

A recent scientific study has revealed that global oceans continued to warm at an unprecedented pace in 2025, driven by rising greenhouse gas concentrations and a decline in cooling sulfate aerosols, underscoring the accelerating impacts of climate change.

Key Findings of the Study

1. Record Heat Absorption:

• In 2025, oceans absorbed an additional 23 zettajoules (ZJ) of heat — the highest annual increase recorded since systematic measurements began in the 1960s.

2. Oceans as Climate Buffers:

• Nearly 90% of the excess heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions is taken up by the oceans, reaffirming their role as the primary heat sink of the Earth’s climate system.

3. Rising Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs):

• Global average sea surface temperatures in 2025 were among the highest on record, about 0.5°C above the 1981–2010 baseline.

Major Implications of Rising Ocean Heat

1. Enhanced Ocean Stratification:

• Warmer surface layers reduce vertical mixing of ocean waters.
• Impacts:
  - Lower oxygen availability in deeper waters
  - Reduced upward transport of nutrients
  - Decline in overall marine productivity

2. Increase in Marine Heatwaves:

• Prolonged episodes of extreme ocean warmth are becoming more frequent and intense.
• Consequences:
  - Coral bleaching and coral diseases
  - Disruption of migration and breeding patterns of marine species

3. Intensification of Extreme Weather:

• Warmer oceans supply more heat and moisture to the atmosphere.
• Results in:
  - Stronger cyclones and hurricanes
  - Heavier rainfall events and coastal flooding

4. Threats to Marine Ecosystems:

• Reduced nutrient availability affects phytoplankton, the foundation of marine food webs.
• This can cascade upward, threatening fisheries, biodiversity, and coastal livelihoods.

Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)

ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the manufacturing of two sets of structural hardware for Bharatiya Antariksh Station–1 (BAS-1), marking a key step towards India’s indigenous space station programme.

• Nature: India’s proposed indigenous space station
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
• Purpose:
  - Long-duration human spaceflight
  - Microgravity-based scientific research
  - Technology validation for deep-space missions

Timeline

• By 2028: Launch of the first/base module (BAS-01)
• By 2035: Fully operational space station with five integrated modules

Programme Linkages

• BAS-1 has been formally included in the revised scope of the Gaganyaan Programme, indicating a transition from short-duration crewed missions to sustained human presence in space.

Bhadrakali Inscription

The Bhadrakali Inscription (1169 CE) is a crucial 12th-century epigraphic source that corroborates the historical continuity, patronage, and architectural evolution of the Somnath Temple, particularly under the Solanki (Chaulukya) dynasty.

1. Type:

• Prashasti (eulogistic inscription)

2. Date:

• 1169 CE

3. Place:

• Prabhas Patan, Gujarat

4. Site:

• Embedded in the wall of the ancient Bhadrakali Temple

5. Subject:

• Glorifies Acharya Bhavabrihaspati, the spiritual preceptor of Solanki King Kumarapala 

6. Political–Religious Context:

• Reflects the close link between royal authority and religious institutions in medieval western India

7. The inscription traces the mythic history of the Somnath Temple across the four Yugas:

• Satya Yuga – Temple built in gold
• Treta Yuga – Temple built in silver
• Dvapara Yuga – Temple built in wood
• Kali Yuga – Temple rebuilt in stone, attributed to Bhimdev Solanki

National Cooperative Sugar Federation (NFCSF)

The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Limited (NFCSF) has urged the Union Government to take immediate remedial measures to ease mounting financial stress in the sugar sector, triggered primarily by falling sugar prices and rising cost pressures.

• Established: 1960
• Nature: Apex representative organisation of India’s cooperative sugar industry 
• Acts as a key stakeholder in formulating sugar policies at both the national and state levels
• Provides sectoral inputs to governments on pricing, procurement, exports, ethanol blending
• Facilitates coordination among cooperative sugar factories, state federations, and government agencies
• Helps set the strategic agenda for growth, modernisation, and sustainability of the sugar sector

Swami Vivekananda’s Visionary Legacy Remembered on His Birth Anniversary

India commemorated the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda (12 January), paying tribute to his enduring contributions to spiritual thought, social reform, and nation-building. His ideas continue to guide discussions on youth empowerment, education, inclusivity, and global harmony.

• Born: 12 January 1863, Calcutta (now Kolkata)
• Spiritual Lineage: Eminent disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans
• Global Recognition: Gained international prominence after his historic address at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago (1893), where he presented Indian spiritual philosophy to the West.
• Institution Builder: Founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897, integrating spiritual practice with social service.

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