This is the current affairs of 3 January 2026. Here are questions and answers of daily current affairs for better preparation of competitive exams for government jobs.
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1. Name the Venezuelan president whom Donald Trump claimed was captured by American soldiers?
a. Robert D’Souza
b. Maria Corina Machado
c. Nicolás Maduro
d. Ana Corina Sosa
Answer: c. Nicolás Maduro
– U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on January 3, 2026, that the United States had captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
– Trump said they were trying to flee the country, but the U.S. Delta Force arrested them.
– On Truth Social, Trump said: “The United States has successfully carried out a large-scale attack against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been captured along with his wife and taken out of the country.”
– Earlier, on the night of January 2 and 3, the United States targeted four cities, including Venezuela’s capital Caracas.
– These included Caracas, Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.
– The United States carried out seven airstrikes on military installations in these states.
– The Venezuelan government termed it an “imperialist attack” and called on citizens to take to the streets.
What Maduro said before Trump’s claim
– Before Trump’s statement and after the U.S. attack, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said in a statement that the attacks would be strongly responded to.
– Maduro declared a nationwide emergency.
– He said that the United States wants to carry out a coup in order to seize Venezuela’s oil and mineral resources.
Trump’s focus on Venezuela
– In the last four months of 2025, the U.S. military attacked 35 Venezuelan boats.
– More than 100 people were killed. The U.S. claims they were involved in drug trafficking.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado
– Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025.
– Reports suggest that the United States wants to make her the President of Venezuela.
Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves
– According to estimates, Venezuela has the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world. More than about 18% of the world’s proven oil reserves are located there.
– With over 300 billion barrels of oil reserves, Venezuela has the largest oil reserves globally.
– Despite this vast reserve, Venezuela does not produce as much oil as it should—production is low due to various political, technical, and investment-related constraints.
U.S.–Venezuela dispute over oil companies
– Trump claims that Venezuela illegally seized oil rights from American companies.
– In fact, in 1976, the Venezuelan government (during President Carlos Andrés Pérez) nationalized the entire oil industry.
– This meant that all operations and assets of foreign oil companies (mostly American, such as Exxon, Gulf Oil, Mobil, etc.), which had been extracting oil there for decades, were transferred to Venezuela’s new state-owned company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
– This nationalization was carried out legally and compensation was paid, although some companies were unhappy. At that time, U.S. companies had played a major role in developing Venezuela’s oil industry, which is why some people still refer to it as American property.
Note – Indian government refinery companies stopped purchasing crude oil from Venezuela (July–August 2025).
Which country has lost all its glaciers due to melting?
– Venezuela is the first country to lose all its glaciers.
– In May 2024, scientists said that Venezuela’s last remaining glacier, the Humboldt Glacier, has now disappeared.
– Scientists had expected the Humboldt Glacier to last for another decade, but it melted much faster than expected.
– Venezuela once had six glaciers.
– By 2011, five of them had already disappeared.
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2. In which city of Madhya Pradesh, which has been ranked as the cleanest city for several years, did contaminated drinking water supply lead to the death of about 10 people and illness of dozens of others?
a. Indore
b. Jabalpur
c. Gwalior
d. Ujjain
Answer: a. Indore
– In Bhagirathpura area of Indore, the country’s cleanest city, 10 people died after consuming contaminated water on December 26, 2025.
– On December 29, more than 100 people fell ill, and by December 30 the death toll had reached eight.
– More than 1,100 people fell ill, with over 120 patients admitted for treatment.
– Local residents claim that 14 people, including a six-month-old infant, died due to the health crisis.
– On December 31, two public interest litigations were filed in the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
– The court directed the government to provide free treatment to the victims.
– In this case, two municipal corporation officials were suspended and one official was dismissed.
– It was also revealed that sewage entered a broken water supply line, causing the contamination.
– On January 1, 2026, Indore’s Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr. Madhav Prasad Hasni stated that laboratory test reports from a city medical college confirmed that leakage in the pipeline had contaminated the drinking water.
Madhya Pradesh
– Capital: Bhopal
– Chief Minister: Mohan Yadav
– Governor: Mangubhai C. Patel
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3. Who has been appointed as the head coach of the Indian women’s hockey team for the second time?
a. Harendra Singh
b. Sjoerd Marijne
c. Pritam Siwach
d. Wayne Lombard
Answer: b. Sjoerd Marijne
– Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne has been reappointed as the head coach of the Indian women’s hockey team.
– He earlier served in this role from 2017 to 2021, during which the team finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics 2020—its best performance in 36 years.
– The previous coach, Harendra Singh, resigned in November 2025 for personal reasons.
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4. In which state was the annual Jallikattu sporting event held on January 3, 2026?
a. Telangana
b. Andhra Pradesh
c. Tamil Nadu
d. Kerala
Answer: c. Tamil Nadu
Jallikattu
– Jallikattu is a traditional and popular sport of Tamil Nadu, in which humans attempt to control a bull during the Pongal festival.
– It symbolizes culture, bravery, and livestock worship.
– Participants try to hold onto the bull’s hump or horns to control it, and winners receive prizes.
– The sport has been controversial due to concerns about animal cruelty and is now conducted under rules laid down by Supreme Court decisions.
Event details
– The event was held on January 3, 2026, in Thachankurichi village of Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu.
– It was approved under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (Tamil Nadu Amendment Act, 2017).
– Under this amendment, Jallikattu is permitted as a traditional sport.
– The government clarified that all legal provisions and court-mandated safety measures would be strictly followed.
Tamil Nadu
– Capital: Chennai
– Governor: Ravindra Narayan Ravi
– Chief Minister: Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin
– Population: 81.5 million (2025)
– Language: Tamil
– Neighboring states: Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Puducherry
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5. Which country granted legal rights to stingless bees?
a. Mexico
b. Canada
c. Brazil
d. Peru
Answer: d. Peru
– For the first time in the world, an insect species has been granted legal rights.
– Two municipalities of Peru—Satipo and Nauta—passed an ordinance in December 2025.
– As a result, Amazonian stingless bees became the world’s first insects to be granted legal rights.
– The move aims to protect them from deforestation, climate change, and habitat loss.
– These bees play an important role in pollination.
– They have been sustaining tropical forests for millions of years.
– Stingless bees are deeply connected to the lives of indigenous communities such as the Asháninka and Kukama-Kukamiria.
– Their honey is used as traditional medicine.
What are stingless bees?
– Stingless bees are a group of bees that either lack stingers or have stingers that cannot cause serious pain.
– They are mainly found in tropical regions.
– About 500 species exist worldwide.
– About half of them live in the Amazon rainforest.
– More than 170 species are found in Peru alone.
– They have existed for about 80 million years, since the age of dinosaurs.
Meaning of granting legal rights
– The new ordinance is based on Peru’s 2024 national law, which recognized stingless bees as a native species.
– Right to exist and live
– Right to a healthy and stable population
– Right to habitat restoration
– Right to live in a pollution-free environment
Peru
– Capital: Lima
– Currency: Peruvian Sol
– President: José Jerry
– Neighboring countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile
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6. In which year did the Indian Army declare the year as the “Year of Networking and Data-Centricity”?
a. 2026
b. 2025
c. 2024
d. 2023
Answer: a. 2026
– The Army declared this on January 1, 2026.
– It stated that the initiative would enhance connectivity, real-time decision-making, and combat effectiveness, strengthening the Army’s resilience and agility for the future.
– Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said in a post on the Army’s X handle that through effective use of indigenous technologies, new ideas, and continuous improvements, the Army is being made more capable and future-ready.
– Networking and data-centricity are giving new momentum to this transformation.
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7. Which male chess player won the World Blitz Championship title in 2025?
a. Nodirbek Abdusattorov
b. Gukesh D
c. Magnus Carlsen
d. Arjun Erigaisi
Answer: c. Magnus Carlsen
– Chess superstar Magnus Carlsen won his record ninth World Blitz title.
– Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi won the bronze medal.
– After Viswanathan Anand, Arjun became the second Indian male player to achieve this feat.
– In the final held in Doha on December 30, 2025, Magnus Carlsen defeated Uzbekistan’s Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2.5–1.5.
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8. Which female player won the World Blitz Championship title in 2025?
a. Marie Sebag
b. Bibisara Assaubayeva
c. Divya Deshmukh
d. Anna Muzychuk
Answer: b. Bibisara Assaubayeva
– Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva won the Women’s World Blitz Championship title.
– She defeated Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk 2.5–1.5 in the final.
– This was her third World Blitz title.
– With this victory, Assaubayeva also qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
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9. According to data from the Press Information Bureau (PIB), how many crore broadband subscribers did India have by the end of November 2025?
a. 50 crore
b. 120 crore
c. 90 crore
d. 100 crore
Answer: d. 100 crore
– India recorded 100.37 crore broadband subscribers.
– This was the first time the country crossed the 1 billion subscriber mark.
– With this achievement, India joined the world’s largest digital and connected societies.
– By November 2015, India had 13.15 crore broadband subscribers.
– By November 2025, the number reached 100.37 crore.
– This represents more than sixfold growth in a decade, highlighting India’s rapid digital expansion.
Key reasons for growth
– Affordable mobile data and a competitive telecom market
– Wide expansion of 4G and 5G networks
– Large-scale rollout of optical fiber infrastructure
– Government initiatives under Digital India
– Increasing smartphone penetration in rural and semi-urban areas
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10. When is the Global Family Day celebrated?
a. January 1
b. January 2
c. January 3
d. January 4
Answer: a. January 1
– This day has been established by the United Nations General Assembly.
– Its objective is to promote peace among all countries and religions of the world, avoiding war and violence.
– Family (the global family) is considered very important for this day, as peace in the world can be established through families.
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