• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated once in every two years to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community with the Government of India and reconnect them with their roots.
• The 15th PBD Convention is being held on 21-23 January 2019 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• The theme of PBD Convention 2019 is "Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India". 
•  PBD every year has been taking place on 9th January to mark to arrival of father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi back to India from South Africa in 1915 but this year it is taking place on 21st to align it with Kumbh Mela and Republic day so that diaspora can have a rich experience of India's culture at Prayagraj and grandeur at Rajpath.
• It was also made a biennial event from an annual event earlier before 2015.

• In a relief to thousands of Non-government Organisations (NGOs), the Union Home Ministry has recently relaxed the mandatory requirement of getting NGOs registered on a NITI-Aayog-run online portal NGO-DARPAN to receive foreign donations.
• Now, it is optional for all NGO seeking FCRA services to register under the DARPAN portal.
• However, associations/NGOs, already registered with the Darpan portal or those required to register under the portal since they receive subsidies/grants/contribution from public funds, may still continue to quote their DARPAN identification number while seeking Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) related services.

• The Centre has recently opposed the elevated road, proposed to come up in Bandipur Tiger Reserve to overcome the night traffic ban from 9pm to 6am.

• As per section 3 of the RTI Act any Indian citizen can seek information under the Act.
• Central Information Commission does not have jurisdiction over a State Information Commission nor a complaint or appeal can be filed in this Commission against an order of a State Information Commission.

• To enhance the operational capability of Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), Naval Air Station (NAS) Shibpur will be commissioned as INS Kohassa.
• INS Kohassa has been named after a White – Bellied Sea Eagle, which is a large bird of prey endemic to Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI).
• INS Kohassa will become the third Naval Air Base in the Andaman and Nicobar islands after INS Utkrosh at Port Blair and INS Baaz at Campbell Bay.

• Lothal is located between the Bhogavo and Sabarmati rivers near the Gulf of Khambat.
• The word Lothal, like Mohenjo-daro, means the mound of the dead.
• Mohenjo-daro is an IVC site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan.

Urban Heat Island – Urban area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas.

• The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait separates the island of Taiwan from mainland China.
• The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north.

• India is likely to cross the United Kingdom in the world’s largest economy rankings in 2019, Global Economy Watch report published by global consultancy firm PwC stated.
• PwC’s Global Economy Watch monitors trends and issues affecting the global economy and details its latest projections for the leading nations.

Spontaneous fire has been spotted recently on Bengaluru’s Varthur Lake.