Early January - The government announces that it aims to double the number of aircrafts operated by Air IndiaAir India is the national flag carrier of India. It is one of the two state-owned airlines in the country, the other being Indian Airlines. The operational hub of the airline is at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India. The Airlin in the next five to seven years as well as to sell off a 60% share in the company. Air India's stock of aging craft is thought to have dulled the company's competitive edge in recent years.
Early January - The president of the Indian Science Congress , R.S. Paroda , warns a conference of 3,000 Indian scientists that the country could face a severe food shortage in 2020 as the population size outstrips the country's level of supplies.
January 4January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 361 days remaining (362 in leap years). Events 871 Battle of Reading Ethelred of Wessex defeats Danish invasion army 1493 Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first - The government tests its first homemade jet fighter, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). The plane, originally scheduled to take its maiden flight in 1991, has taken 17 years to develop and will not be ready for service until 2010.
January 9January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 356 days remaining (357 in leap years). Events upto 19th century 1760 Afghans defeat Marathas in Battle of Barari Ghat. 1768 Philip Astley stages the first modern circus ( London).- February 21February 21 is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 313 days remaining, 314 in leap years. Events 362 Athanasius returns to Alexandria 1431 The trial of Joan of Arc begins. 1743 The premiere in London of George Frideric Handel's o - More than 100 million people - almost 2% of the world's population - attend the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in AllahabadAllahabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh It is located in the southern part of the state, at 25. 50' E, and stands at the confluence of the Ganga ( Ganges) and Yamuna rivers. The modern settlement was built on or the site of the ancient ho, making it the largest gathering of human beings in history. On the festival's most important day an estimated 20 million Hindu pilgrims bathe in the sacred waters of the three rivers which meet near the town. The festival is held every 12 years.
January 15January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 350 days remaining (351 in leap years). Events 1559 Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey. 1582 Russia cedes Livonia and Estonia to Poland. 1759 The British Museu - Voters in Indian-administered Kashmir are able to participate in the first local elections in 23 years. The polls decide positions on some 125 village councils. Islamic militants have urged a boycott of the vote, which they say will undermine the separatist movement.
January 15 - In a sign of improving relations, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee meets with the visiting chairman of China's National People's Congress, Li Peng. Both leaders say they have made substantial progress in discussing their two countries' disputed borders.
January 16- 11 people are killed when six members of the Kashmiri separatist guerrilla group Lashkar-e-Toiba attempt to storm Srinagar's civilian airport.
Mid-January - The government announces that it is willing to meet the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) for open negotiations on ending the 20-year insurgency in the northeastern state.
Mid-January - The eastern state of Orissa urges further government assistance in the face of a major drought. Officials estimate that the state has lost around $150.7 million in failed rice crops alone. It is thought that deforestation has played a major part in the drought.
January 17 - Pakistan reacts angrily to news that the Indian military has successfully test-fired an improved Agni-II intermediate ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to anywhere in Pakistan.
Mid-January - Researchers reveal that unusually high sea temperatures caused by the extreme weather effect known as El Niņo have irreversibly damaged coral reefs off India's western coast.
Late January - 150 million children across India are immunized against polio in one of the largest vaccination projects ever undertaken.
Late January - The government extends its ceasefire in Kashmir for another month despite continuing separatist violence.
January 26 - A massive earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, strikes the northwestern state of Gujarat. Estimates of the death toll rise rapidly to 30,000, with some much higher figures being quoted. The epicentre of the quake is some 300 km west of Ahmadabad near the town of Bhuj, which bears the brunt of the destruction. Tremors are felt as far away as Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The government calls for $1.5 billion in international loans to deal with the devastation. Aftershocks measuring up to 5.8 on the Richter scale hinder the search for survivors and prompt mass evacuations of the affected areas.
Late January - The U.K.-based human rights group Amnesty International urges the government to crack down on the widespread use of torture by police.
Late January- Researchers in Bangalore announce that the common antibiotic Triclosan has significant effects against the malaria parasite. Malaria is thought to kill around 1 million people every year worldwide.
