• The Tata Group has taken its first step at Air India by introducing "enhanced meal service" in four flights that will operate from Mumbai on Jan 27 .

• However, Air India flights will not be flying under the banner of the Tata Group from jan 27 itself.

• Earlier during the day, the officials had told that the Indian government is likely to hand over Air India to the Tata Group on jan 27 , nearly 69 years after it was taken from the conglomerate.

• However, while the "enhanced meal service" will be provided on four flights -- AI864 (Mumbai-Delhi), AI687 (Mumbai-Delhi), AI945 (Mumbai-Abu Dhabi) and AI639 (Mumbai-Bengaluru)

• The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has handed over Arunachal Pradesh boy Miram Taron to the Indian Army, nine days after he had gone missing from the fuzzy India-China border.

• The Army had sent a vehicle to bring the boy’s parents to Tuting from their Zido village in Upper Siang district. His mother had taken ill and was going through hypertension ever since his disappearance.

• The father, Opang , said he and his wife had a video conference with the boy from the Army camp.

• Miram and his friend, Jhonny Yaying, had ventured deep into a forest near the international border on January 18 to hunt wild animals and collect medicinal herbs. The site is around 35-40 km away from their village.

• While Miram was allegedly taken into custody by the Chinese soldiers, Jhonny had managed to flee. He reached Tuting, the nearest circle headquarters, the next day and informed the villagers and the authorities of the incident.

As news about the incident spread, the Indian Army had contacted the PLA through hotline and sought assistance “to locate and return the boy as per protocol”.

As asked, the Indian Army subsequently shared the personal details, including photograph and Aadhaar card, of the boy with its Chinese counterpart.

• Actor Shweta Tiwari has yet again landed herself into controversy after she made an offensive statement during a press conference in Bhopal on Jan 26 .

• Shweta had visited Bhopal for a press conference about her upcoming web series that also stars Rohit Roy, Digangana Suryavanshi, and Sourabh Raaj Jain in lead roles.

• As per a clip obtained from the event, where the star cast was seen seated on a dais, Shweta made a statement, "Mere bra ki size bhagwan le rahe hai." (God is taking the measurements for my bra).

• As per viral reports, the show for which the press conference was held is a fashion-related web series. 'Mahabharata' fame Saurabh Jain who played the role of Lord Krishna in the mythological show, will be playing the role of a 'bra fitter' in the upcoming series. Reports suggest Shweta jokingly made the statement in reference to Saurabh, during the press conference.

• Netizens started slamming the 41-year-old actor, as soon as the video of Shweta's controversial remark went viral on the internet.

• State home minister Narottam Mishra took cognizance of the matter and instructed commissioner of Police, Bhopal to submit a detailed report in this regard.

• Friendship Hospital, Satkhira, an eighty-bed community hospital situated in a remote rural area of southwest Bangladesh, designed by Bangladeshi architect Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA, has won the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) International Prize 2021.

• The RIBA International Prize is awarded every two years to a building that exemplifies design excellence and architectural ambition and delivers meaningful social impact. It is one of the world’s most rigorously judged architectural awards, with every longlisted building visited by international experts.

• The Friendship Hospital, Satkhira was chosen from a shortlist of three exceptional new buildings by the Grand Jury, chaired by world-renowned multi-disciplinary French architect Odile Decq.

• How Indian Army uniforms and rifles have evolved over the decades since the Indian independence was on display at this year's Republic Day parade.

• Three marching contingents of the Indian Army wore uniforms and carried rifles from previous decades, while one contingent wore the new combat uniform and carried the latest Tavor rifles at Republic Day Parade-2022 (RDP-2022) as a part of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrating the 75th year of India's independence.

• There were a total of six marching contingents of the Army at the parade this year.

• Each marching contingent this year comprised 96 soldiers instead of the usual 144 so that proper attention can be given to COVID-19 protocol.

• The Indian Army's first marching contingent, of Rajput regiment soldiers, wore the 1950s uniform and carry .303 rifles.

• The second marching contingent, of Assam regiment soldiers, wore the 1960s uniform of the Indian Army and carry .303 rifles.

• The 1970s uniform of the Army was worn by soldiers of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry regiment, who formed the third marching contingent, and they carried 7.62 mm self-loading rifles.

• The fourth and fifth marching contingents were of Sikh Light Infantry and Army Ordnance Corps Regiment, respectively, and these soldiers wore the current uniform of the Army and carry 5.56 mm Insas rifles.

• The sixth contingent was of Parachute regiment soldiers who wore the new combat uniform, which was unveiled earlier this month, and carried Tavor rifles.

• Overall, there were a total of 14 marching contingents -- six of Army, one of Navy, one of Air Force, four of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), two of National Cadet Corps (NCC), one of Delhi police and one of National Service Scheme (NSS).

• Heralding this year's Republic Day parade is Parade Commander, Lieutenant General Vijay Kumar Mishra while the second in-command is of Major General Alok Kacker.

• The Indian Army on Jan 26  showcased at the Republic Day parade the Centurion tank, PT-76 tank, 75/24 Pack howitzer and OT-62 TOPAZ armoured personnel carrier that played a major role in defeating Pakistan in the 1971 war.

• India in 2021 celebrated the Swarnim Vijay Varsh (Golden victory year) to commemorate India's win over Pakistan in the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

• On Jan 26 , the mechanised columns of the Army showed one PT-76 tank, one Centurion tank, two MBT Arjun MK-I tanks, one OT-62 TOPAZ armoured personnel carrier, one BMP-I infantry fighting vehicle and two BMP-II infantry fighting vehicles.

• One 75/24 Pack howitzer, two Dhanush howitzers, one PMS bridge-laying system, two Sarvatra bridge-laying systems, one HT-16 electronic warfare system, two Taran Shakti electronic warfare systems, one Tiger Cat missile system and two Akash missile systems were also part of the mechanised columns at the Republic Day parade.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi ditched his traditional turban look on Republic Day this year and wore a traditional cap from Uttarakhand with an image of the brahmakamal, the state flower, and sported a stole from Manipur.

• Official sources said Modi uses the brahmakamal whenever he offers prayers at Kedarnath.

• Turbans have been a highlight of the prime minister's sartorial choices at Independence Day and Republic Day events.

• Last year, he sported a a special turban from Gujarat's Jamnagar on 72nd Republic Day.

• On Independence Day last year, he chose a saffron headgear with red patterns and a long plume.

• For his maiden Independence Day speech in 2014, he had opted for a bright red Jodhpuri bandhej turban with green at the tail.

• In 2015, he chose a yellow turban covered with multi-coloured crisscross lines, and a tie and dye turban in hues of pink and yellow in 2016.

• The prime minister's turban for 2017 was a mix of bright red and yellow with crisscrossed golden lines all over.

• He donned a saffron turban for his appearance at the Red Fort in 2018.

• Jammu and Kashmir yet again topped the list of police gallantry medals, announced on the eve of Republic Day.

• Jammu and Kashmir Police bagged 115 Police Medals for Gallantry (PMG), out of a total of 189 awarded this year. They more than doubled their last year’s tally of 52 PMGs. J&K Police won awards for conducting several counter-insurgency operations in 2019-20.

• Of the 189 recipients of the gallantry awards, 134 were awarded for action in the Jammu and Kashmir region, 47 for bravery in Left Wing Extremism affected areas and one for similar conduct in the north-east region.

• Police forces from states such as Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, which were awarded medals last year, were not awarded PMGs this time around.

• Among state police forces,  Chhattisgarh received the highest number of gallantry medals (10), followed by Odisha (9) and Maharashtra (7).. Uttar Pradesh, which won eight PMGs last year, got only this year.

• Delhi Police, which won 17 PMGs last year, bagged only three this time.

• The Central Armed Police Forces also won fewer awards this year.

• Three jawans of Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which is deployed mainly on the Sino-Indian border, were awarded PMGs for their anti-Naxal operations conducted in Naxal-affected Bastar district.

• Eighty-eight personnel have been awarded the distinguished service medal, while 662 have been given the meritorious service medal.

• Forty-two fire service medals, 37 correctional service medals for police personnel and 51 'Jeevan Rakshak Padak' were also announced.

• The 'Jeevan Rakshak' series of medals are given for meritorious act of human nature in saving the life of a person.

• The CRPF said in a statement that it has also been decorated with six Shaurya Chakras, the third-highest peacetime medal.

• Four of these military medals have been given to its personnel posthumously.

• A khaman (snack) seller from Gujarat's Surat has been given an award by PETA India for his initiative to dissuade people from using manja or nylon string thus saving the lives of many birds.

• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA India) said in a release that Chetan Patel had offered 1 kg of khaman in exchange of 1 kg of discarded manja after Uttarayan festival celebrated on January 14.

• The "Hero to Animals Award", in the form of a certificate, was recently handed over to Patel, the owner of Jay Gopinath Khaman and Locho in the Vesu area of Surat city.