Important Days in January 2026: National and International Special Days and Dates List

Important Days & Dates in January 2026:January is the first and starting month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendar. This month kickstarts the year.

The length of the month of January is 31 days. January is usually abbreviated as ‘Jan’.

It precedes the month of February and succeeds the month of December (the previous year) in the traditional Gregorian calendar.

January is also the first of the 7 months in the traditional Gregorian Calendar that has 31 days in it.

January also stands as one of the crucial months in the global calendar in 2026 packed with national and international observances spanning education, health, peace and social awareness.

There are many important days and events that are observed in India on a national level and international and world level in the month of January 2026.

The name January comes from the Latin word ‘lanuarius’ which was originally named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions in ancient Roman religion and mythology. The first day of January month is known as New Year’s Day, marking the beginning of the new year 2026.

It should be noted that the United Nations (UN) has declared 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

Some of the notable important days of national and international importance in January 2026 include New Year’s Day, World Braille Day, NRI Day / Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, National Youth Day, Day of Non-Resident Tamils / Ayalaga Tamilar Dinam,Lohri, Makara Sankaranti, Pongal, MaghBihu, Indian Army Day, Mahayana New Year, Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, African National Congress Foundation Day, National Start-up Day, Kokborok Day, Tripura Foundation Day, Manipur Foundation Day, Meghalaya Foundation Day, Prakram Diwas / Day of Valour in India, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Foundation Day, National Girl Child Day in India, International Day of Education, International Day of Clean Energy, International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, International Day of Peaceful Coexistence, National Voters Day in India, National Tourism Day in India, Indian Republic Day, International Customs Day, Martyrs Day / Shaheed Diwas, World Leprosy Day, Tamil Language Martyrs Day, Data Privacy Data, International Zebra Day, etc.

Remembering the Important Days in January 2026 is imperative for students and government competitive exam aspirants preparing for Bank, Intelligence Bureau (IB ACIO, IB Junior Intelligence Officer (JIO), IB Security Assistant, IB MTS), Insurance, SSC, TNPSC, Indian Railways, TNUSRB SI/PC Police, TNTET, Karnataka PSC and other PSC and Central Govt. Exams.

Aspirants must therefore be minutely aware of the list of important national and international days with special relevance and their themes of January month in 2026.

In Bank and government competitive exams, there will typically questions based on the ‘Important Days and Dates’ topic in the Current Affairs / General Awareness section. Here in this article, Veranda RACE has compiled a comprehensive list of important days and dates with special references to their importance and their themes (if any) in January month in 2026 that will help in the preparation for various Bank and Government competitive exams, including UPSC, SSC, NDA, CDS, TNPSC, Bank, Insurance, TNUSRB, Karnataka PSC, Kerala PSC, Intelligence Bureau, UPSC EPFO, UPSC CAPF, Kerala PSC LDC, TNTET, etc.

List of Important Days & Dates in January 2026

Veranda RACE’s erudite R&D team (Bank, SSC, TNPSC, Karnataka PSC, Railways & TNTET) with years of teaching experience and subject matter experts in various exams has prepared an exhaustive list of details about the important days and dates of national and important events in January 2026, the first month of the year, for the aspirants preparing for various exams in 2026 like IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, IBPS SO, SBI PO, SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC JE, RRB NTPC, RRB Technician, SSC CHSL, TNPSC Group 1, TNPSC Group 4, TNPSC Group 2, TNPSC Group 2A, UPSC CSE, UPSC CAPF, CDS, NDA, TNUSRB SI/PC Police, Intelligence Bureau (IB) ACIO, IB Security Assistant, IB Junior Intelligence Officer, IB MTS, UPSC EPFO, NIACL AO, NICL AO, Federal Bank Office Assistant Exam, etc.

Check out the detailed list given below containing all the important days and dates in January 2026 here from the Best Bank, SSC, TNPSC, TNUSRB, TNTET, Railways and Karnataka PSC Coaching Institute in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka & Puducherry in 2025:

Details of Important Days and Dates in January 2026

Candidates preparing for various bank and government competitive exams in India can find the details of the important days and dates in January 2026:

UN International Year 2026

The United Nations (UN) has officially declared the year of 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

This aims to raise awareness and advocate the value of healthy rangelands and sustainable pastoralism across the world.

2026 has also been declared as the International Year of the Women Farmer (IYWF 2026) by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO) to spotlight the essential roles women play across agrifood systems from production to trade.

The United Nations General Assembly has also designated 2026 as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026).

World Braille Day – 4 January 2026

World Braille Day is an international event that celebrates awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communications for blind and visually impaired people.

This day marks the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the creator of the Braille Writing System.

The first World Braille Day was celebrated on 4 January 2019.

Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number.

This is used by blind and partially sighted people to read the same books as those printed in a visual font.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas – 9 January 2026

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (प्रवासी भारतीय दिवस) or Non-Resident Indian (NRI Day) or Overseas Indian Day is observed on 9 January every year in India.

It marks the contribution of the overseas Indian community towards the development of India.

This NRI Day was established in 2000 and is the flagship outreach programme of the Union Ministry of External Affairs under the Indian Government.

This day also commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India in 1915 from South Africa.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honour conferred on NRIs, OCIs and diaspora organisations recognising their outstanding contributions to India’s global image, national causes and community welfare.

Non-Resident Tamil Day / World Tamil Diaspora Day – 12 January 2026

World Tamil Diaspora Day or Ayalaga Tamilar Dinam (அயலகத் தமிழர் தினம்) is commemorated every year on 12 January by the Tamil Nadu Government.

This day celebrates the contribution of the Tamil Diaspora, to integrate the Tamil people living across the word and also encourage them.

This day showcases the Tamil heritage art, literature and culture and to bring it to the next generation.

National Youth Day – 12 January 2026

National Youth Day or Yuva Diwasin India is observed annually on 12 January. This day commemorates the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

The Indian Government declared 12 January as the National Youth Day in 1984 and the event has been celebrated in India since 1985.

Important Days and Dates List in 2025 and 2026: Veranda RACE

Aspirants preparing for Bank and government competitive exams in India can find the list of important days and dates in each month in 2025 and 2026 here from Veranda RACE: