Current Affairs 12 January 2026

Bengaluru Tops India’s Women-Friendly Cities 2025.

• Avtar’s Top Cities for Women in India (TCWI) 2025 ranked 125 cities on social and industrial inclusion.
• Bengaluru (CIS 53.2), Chennai (49.8), Pune (46.2), Hyderabad (46.0), Mumbai (44.4).
• Strong industrial inclusion, safety systems, skilling and career enablers; Chennai excels on social inclusion.
• Gurugram rose to No. 6; Southern region most inclusive; Tier-2 cities gaining ground.

UN Projects 6.6% India Growth on Strong Demand.

• India GDP: 6.6% in FY 2025–26; 6.7% next year, aided by consumption, public investment, tax reforms and monetary easing.
• Economy resilient but clouded by trade tensions, fiscal stress and policy uncertainty; Europe weak, US & parts of Asia supported by domestic demand.
• Global headline inflation to ease to 3.1% in 2026, though food, energy and housing costs still strain low-income households.

India Launches Raisina Science Diplomacy Initiative.

• India unveiled the Raisina Science Diplomacy Initiative (SDI) 2026 to integrate science and technology into global diplomacy alongside the Raisina Dialogue.
• Launched by OPSA and ORF; to be held March 5–7, 2026 in New Delhi with the Raisina Dialogue.
• AI, quantum, advanced manufacturing, deep-tech, tech control regimes, research security and global standards-setting.

Skydo Gets Final RBI Nod for Cross-Border Payments.

• Skydo received final RBI approval to operate as a Payment Aggregator–Cross Border (PA-CB), enabling overseas collections for Indian exporters.
• The Bengaluru fintech serves over 30,000 MSMEs and freelancers across 50+ cities, supporting 30+ currencies and faster settlements.
• The licence brings Skydo under RBI’s stricter 2023 PA-CB framework on compliance, capital and data localisation.

Hubble Discovers "Cloud-9", a Starless Failed Galaxy.

• NASA’s Hubble confirmed Cloud-9, the first known RELHIC—a dark-matter-dominated, starless hydrogen cloud from the early universe.
• What it is: A Reionization-Limited H I Cloud near Messier-94, 14 million light-years away; Hubble’s ACS found zero stars inside it.
• Why it matters: A primordial “failed galaxy”—reveals how dark matter shapes galaxy formation without starlight.