{"id":64365,"date":"2026-01-15T18:20:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T12:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=64365"},"modified":"2026-01-16T11:19:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T05:49:50","slug":"news-in-short-15-01-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-01-2026\/news-in-short-15-01-2026","title":{"rendered":"News In Short 15-01-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Kashi-Tamil Sangamam<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>PM Modi hailed the<strong> Kashi-Tamil Sangamam<\/strong> in strengthening cultural understanding, fostering academic and people-to-people exchanges and creating lasting bonds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Kashi-Tamil Sangamam<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Organized by: <\/strong>Ministry of Education.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Launched in:<\/strong> 2022.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 began <\/strong>on December 2, 2025, carrying forward the cultural and civilisational link between Tamil Nadu and Kashi.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Universities: <\/strong>IIT Madras and Banaras Hindu University (BHU).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aim: <\/strong>To rediscover, reaffirm, and celebrate the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Kashi.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is in sync with NEP 2020\u2019s emphasis on integrating the Indian Knowledge Systems with modern systems of knowledge.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It provides an opportunity for scholars, students, philosophers, and artists from the two regions to share their knowledge.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It also aims to make the youth aware and experience cultural oneness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Both Kashi and Chennai<\/strong> have been recognised by <strong>UNESCO as \u2018Creative Cities of Music\u2019.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_international\/issues\/166317\/OPS\/G7BFDHOOU.1+GTDFEM6C4.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NITI Aayog released the <strong>Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2024.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a <strong>comprehensive assessment of export readiness<\/strong> across India\u2019s states and union territories.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The first edition<\/strong> of the EPI was published in <strong>2020 <\/strong>and this is the<strong> 4th edition.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>EPI provides an evidence-based framework <\/strong>to evaluate the strength, resilience, and inclusiveness of sub-national export ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f5f5f5\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"676\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-63.png\" alt=\"export preparedness index (epi) 2024\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-64367\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f5f5f5; aspect-ratio:2.1125543239415987;width:462px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-63.png 676w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-63-300x142.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Top Performers: <\/strong>In 2024, Maharashtra, along with Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, are leading performers among large states.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Goa are listed as leading performers in the category of small states, northeastern states and union territories.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsonair.gov.in\/niti-aayog-releases-export-preparedness-index-2024-presenting-state-and-ut-export-readiness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>AIR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Jathiya Devi<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/Places\/GS3\/Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, Jathiya Devi has been identified for an ambitious urban development project to be executed by the Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (HIMUDA).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jathiya Devi is Located about 14 km from Shimla city and derives its name from the existence of an old Jathiya Devi shrine in the area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The project is envisioned as a planned satellite mountain township to ease pressure on Shimla, create new economic hubs, and promote sustainable, disaster-resilient urban growth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concerns:<\/strong> The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) acknowledges possible displacement and loss of assets such as temples, schools, shops, canals, and homes, but highlights benefits including employment, improved services, economic integration, skill development, and environmental sustainability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source :<a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/himachal-satellite-mountain-township-10470860\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Kuki-Zo Council and Demand for Union Territory<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance; GS3\/Internal Security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Kuki-Zo Council (KZC)<\/strong>, the apex civil body representing the <strong>Kuki-Zo people<\/strong>, has reiterated its demand for the creation of a <strong>Union Territory for Kuki-Zo tribes in Manipur<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Background<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An <strong>ethnic conflict<\/strong> erupted in <strong>May 2023<\/strong> between:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Meitei community<\/strong>, which predominantly inhabits the <strong>Imphal Valley<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Kuki-Zo community<\/strong>, which largely resides in the <strong>surrounding hill areas<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The conflict was triggered by the <strong>Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status<\/strong>, which was opposed by the Kuki-Zo groups due to concerns over land rights and political representation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Kuki-Zo Council (KZC)<\/strong> was formed in <strong>October 2024<\/strong>, following nearly <strong>18 months of violence (2023\u20132025)<\/strong>, during which the Kuki-Zo community alleged bias.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Who are the Kuki-Zo Groups<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Kuki-Zo people<\/strong> are an ethnic community spread across <strong>Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam, and Myanmar<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They share close ethnic and cultural ties with other <strong>Chin\u2013Mizo groups of Myanmar and Mizoram.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Since the <strong>1980s\u201390s<\/strong>, several Kuki-Zo insurgent groups have emerged, primarily demanding:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Greater <strong>autonomy and self-determination<\/strong>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protection of tribal land and rights<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In some cases, <strong>separate statehood<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"bca697\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-64-683x1024.png\" alt=\"kuki-zo groups\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-64376\" style=\"--dominant-color: #bca697; aspect-ratio:0.6669871061264973;width:339px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-64-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-64-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-64-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-64.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/manipur\/after-rally-kuki-zos-stick-to-union-territory-demand\/article70509635.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>Kurinji Rajkumar<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Syllabus:GS3\/Environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>G. Rajkumar, a former bank employee and environmentalist known as \u201cKurinji Rajkumar,\u201d passed away in Thiruvananthapuram.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Neelakurinji<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is a purplish flowering shrub, which blooms once in 12 years in the hills of the Western Ghats and Himalayan hills.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is said that Nilgiris gets its name due to the magical blue hue imparted by these stunning flowers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is an endemic shrub species seen only in the natural high-altitude montane grasslands of southwest India, with an altitude ranging from 1,340 to 2,600 m.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is predominately found in the valley of <strong>Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills of South India (Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2024 and listed as <strong>Vulnerable <\/strong>emphasising the need for its conservation.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Contributions&nbsp; of \u201cKurinji Rajkumar,\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>He was the driving force behind the Save Kurinji Campaign, which played a key role in raising awareness about the conservation of the Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) and its fragile grassland ecosystem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>His commitment began after witnessing the mass flowering in 1982, leading to treks and awareness efforts that evolved into a major environmental movement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He later focused on campaigns in the Munnar region, culminating in the establishment of the 32-sq km Neelakurinji Sanctuary in 2006, fulfilling his lifelong dream.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Source :<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/kerala\/save-kurinji-crusader-g-rajkumar-passes-away-at-70\/article70509585.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">PM Modi hailed the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam in strengthening cultural understanding, fostering academic and people-to-people exchanges and creating lasting bonds.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Kashi-Tamil Sangamam <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Organized by: Ministry of Education. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Launched in: 2022. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 began on December 2, 2025, carrying forward the cultural and civilisational link between Tamil Nadu and Kashi. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/15-01-2026\/news-in-short-15-01-2026\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64365"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64391,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64365\/revisions\/64391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}