Current Affairs 09 January 2026

Global Carbon Markets Cross $100 bn; India Lags Behind.

• Global carbon markets crossed $100 bn for the second year, with 28% of global GHG emissions now under direct carbon pricing, up from 5% in 2005.
• The World Bank notes wider adoption of carbon pricing, but warns that higher revenues don’t ensure deep emission cuts.
• India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme faces risks from weak targets, limited sector coverage and governance gaps.

UIDAI Launches Aadhaar Mascot "Udai" for Public Outreach.

• Unique Identification Authority of India launched Aadhaar mascot Udai (उदय) to simplify & humanise communication of Aadhaar services for residents.
• Udai will aid awareness on updates, authentication, offline verification, selective data sharing & responsible Aadhaar usage.
• The mascot was selected via a national contest on MyGov, with Arun Gokul (Kerala) winning among 875 nationwide entries.

Posts–Agriculture MoU to Enable Pan-India Farm Input Testing.

• Department of Posts and Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare signed an MoU to transport pesticide, seed and fertiliser samples to labs nationwide.
• The partnership leverages India Post’s 1.6 lakh post offices, mostly in rural areas, to strengthen quality control and timely testing of farm inputs.
• The initiative supports a PAN-India digital quality management system by CRISP.

BPCL Awards Major Refinery Contracts to Technip Energies.

• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd awarded two major contracts to Technip Energies for new processing units at Bina (MP) and Mumbai refineries.
• At Bina, an EPCC contract covers polypropylene and Butene-1 units under BPCL’s petrochemical expansion plan.
• At Mumbai refinery, an EPCM contract was awarded for India’s first 3 MMTPA PRFCC unit to convert heavy residues into high-value products.

SEBI Proposes 30-Day Lag on Market Data for Education.

• SEBI proposed a uniform 30-day lag for sharing and using stock price data in investor education content to curb misuse of live market data.
• The draft aims to ensure market data is used strictly for learning purposes, not for investment advice, recommendations or research analysis by educators and influencers.
• The move resolves confusion from earlier circulars of 2024–25.