24th February 2026

1. NIPER Signs MoU with Boehringer Ingelheim India to Enhance Pharmaceutical Education & Research
2. NDMA, AcSIR, CSIR-NIScPR Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation in DMRR
3. States FY27 fiscal deficit may rise to 3% of GDP; States fiscal arithmetic tightens in FY27; deficit seen at 3% of GDP
4. RBI builds secured data centre in Odisha away from potential enemy strikes, seismic risk
5. Embraer, Mahindra Collaborate to Establish C-390 MRO Facility in India
6. ICRA Forecasts India’s GDP Growth to 7.2% in Q3 FY26
7. India’s Vasai Cathedral Wins 2025 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation
8. Overview of 2026 Winter Olympics Held in Italy; Norway Tops Medal Tally
9. Belgium’s Hanne Vandewinkel Clinches ITF W100 Bengaluru Women’s Singles Title
10. VP Radhakrishnan Launches Constitution of India in Gujarati and Tamil
11. World Thinking Day
12. WB Govt Launches ‘Banglar Yuva Sathi’ Scheme for Unemployed Youth
13. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta Launches CM Jan Sunwai Portal, EWS Admission & e-District Services
14. Delhi Airport Jumps to 5th Spot in Apac! How India’s Aviation Boom Changed the Rankings
15. Govt Launches Mobile Labs to Check National Highway Standards
16. India Drops Most Favoured Nation Status in France In Tax Pact
17. Netherlands Gets Youngest-Ever Prime Minister in Rob Jetten
18. ‘Boong’ Puts India on the Map with First-Ever BAFTA Children’s Film Award
19. Central Excise Day 2026: Why 24 February Still Matters in India’s Tax System
20. Shashi Tharoor Conferred Honorary D.Litt by St Xavier’s University, Kolkata
21. Big Change at Rashtrapati Bhavan! Lutyens Statue to Be Replaced by C Rajagopalachari
22. Punjab Launches ‘Meri Rasoi’ Scheme: Free Food Kits for 40 Lakh Poor Families Ahead of Budget Session
23. PhonePe Launches AI-Powered Natural Language Search with Microsoft Foundry
24. Geneva to Host AI Summit 2027 & UAE in 2028: Switzerland Deepens AI & Trade Ties with India
25. India Launches ‘Prahaar’: New National Counter-Terrorism Policy Sets Zero-Tolerance Framework
26. Amit Shah Lays Foundation of 10th Assam Police Battalion HQ
27. India-US Vajra Prahar 2026: Special Forces Gear Up for 16th Joint Exercise in Himachal
28. Forex Reserves of India Hit Record High With $725.727 Billion

National News

MoRTH Launches Mobile Quality Control Vans for National Highways

• What: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) launched a pilot project using Mobile Quality Control Vans (MQCV) in four states to improve construction quality, safety, and reliability of National Highways.
• Tell me more:
  • The pilot project is implemented in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Odisha.
  • The next phase will expand MQCVs to 11 states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, and Meghalaya.
  • Each Mobile Quality Control Van is like a moving lab that checks road quality without breaking anything. It tests concrete strength, cracks, road thickness, soil strength, and sign visibility.
  • If problems are found, officers take action. A new online portal will show reports and track vans by GPS. Launch is expected by June 2026.

Rajagopalachari Bust Installed at Rashtrapati Bhavan

• What: The Government replaced British architect Edwin Lutyens’ statue with a bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari at Rashtrapati Bhavan, marking recognition of India’s first and only Indian Governor-General.
• Tell me more:
  • Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was the first Indian Governor-General before India became a Republic.

MHA Unveils PRAHAAR National Counter-Terrorism Strategy

• What: The Ministry of Home Affairs unveiled PRAHAAR, a new national counter-terrorism policy outlining a proactive framework to prevent, respond to, and counter evolving terror threats while upholding rule of law and human rights.
• Tell me more:
  • PRAHAAR stands for Prevention, Responses, Aggregating capacities, Human rights and Rule of Law, Attenuating enabling conditions, Aligning international efforts, and Recovery and resilience.
  • The strategy aims to criminalise all terrorist acts and deny terrorists access to funds, weapons, and safe havens.

State News

Vice-President Releases Constitution in Tamil and Gujarati on International Mother Language Day

• What: Vice-President Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan released updated versions of the Constitution of India in Tamil and Gujarati and the 8th Edition of the Legal Glossary (English–Hindi) in New Delhi, highlighting the importance of mother tongues and multilingualism.
• Tell me more:
  • The release took place at Uprashtrapati Bhavan on International Mother Language Day.
  • The Constitution has also been translated into Bodo, Dogri, Santhali and Nepali in recent years.
  • The Ministry of Law and Justice carried out the translation work.

West Bengal Launches Banglar Yuba Sathi Cash Scheme for Unemployed Youth

• What: The West Bengal government launched the Banglar Yuba Sathi scheme, offering ₹1,500 monthly assistance to unemployed youth aged 21-40, months before Assembly elections, leading to large registration queues across the State.
• Tell me more:
  • The State government set aside ₹5,000 crore in the 2026-27 budget for this scheme.
  • Under Lakshmir Bhandar, women will now get ₹1,500 per month in the general category and ₹1,700 in the reserved category.

Delhi Launches CM Jan Sunwai Portal and Expands Digital Services

• What: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta launched the CM Jan Sunwai Portal and mobile app to register public complaints online and expanded e-District services, aiming to improve grievance redressal, transparency, and access to government services in Delhi.
• Tell me more:
  • The CM Pragati portal keeps digital records of government land and buildings.

Delhi Airport Rises to Fifth Busiest in Asia Pacific in 2025

• What: Delhi Airport ranked fifth among the top-10 busiest airports in the Asia Pacific region in 2025 with 46.18 million departing seats, reflecting strong domestic demand and capacity growth in India.
• Tell me more:
  • In 2019, Delhi Airport ranked ninth in the Asia Pacific region.
  • The ranking is based on one-way departing seat capacity data by OAG.
  • Four Chinese airports are in the Asia Pacific top-10 list.
  • Tokyo Haneda ranked first, followed by Shanghai Pudong in second place and Guangzhou Baiyun in third, while Beijing Capital stood fourth, only slightly ahead of Delhi.

Punjab Launches Meri Rasoi Yojna for Free Quarterly Food Kits

• Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced the ‘Meri Rasoi Yojna’ to provide free quarterly food kits to 40 lakh National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiary families, aiming to strengthen food and nutrition security in the state.

Foundation Stone Laid for 10th Battalion Assam Police Headquarters

• What: Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of the 10th Battalion Assam Police headquarters in Kamrup.
• Tell me more:
  • Building this police headquarters on freed land will strengthen law and order in Assam. More officers, better facilities, and surveillance can improve security.

International News

Geneva to Host AI Impact Summit 2027

• What: Switzerland announced that Geneva will host the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Summit in 2027, aiming to promote international cooperation and good governance in AI development.
• Tell me more:
  • Switzerland’s President Guy Parmelin made the announcement during the AI Summit in New Delhi.
  • The 2028 AI Summit will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates.
  • The 2027 summit will focus on international law aspects of AI.
  • Previous AI Impact Summits were hosted by the United Kingdom, South Korea, France, and India.

Banking and Economy

RBI Builds High-Security Data Centre in Odisha to Protect Financial Systems

• What: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has built a high-security greenfield data centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, to safeguard critical financial infrastructure and ensure continuity of core systems like currency management and payment operations.
• Tell me more:
  • The facility is located at Info Valley-II, Khordha, away from cross-border threat zones and high seismic-risk regions.
  • It will house core computing systems for currency management, payment and settlement, and regulatory data functions.
  • This is RBI’s second data centre; the Primary Data Centre is in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai.
  • RBI is also launching a pilot cloud facility with data centres in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

India Revises Tax Treaty with France

• What: India revised its three-decade-old tax treaty with France, changing dividend tax rates and expanding India’s rights to tax capital gains and share sales, affecting French companies and investors operating in India.
• Tell me more:
  • French companies holding at least 10% in an Indian entity will pay 5% dividend tax, reduced from 10%.
  • For holdings below 10%, dividend tax will increase from 10% to 15%.
  • India can now tax capital gains and share sales by French entities, even if holding less than 10%.
  • The most-favoured-nation (MFN) clause has been removed after a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.
  • France-based foreign portfolio investors held $21 billion in Indian shares as of January 2026.
  • Bilateral trade between India and France stood at $15 billion last year.

PhonePe Launches AI-Based Natural Language Search Feature

• What: PhonePe has added a new AI feature that lets people use simple voice or text commands to make payments and use services in the app. It was built using Microsoft Foundry.
• Tell me more:
  • Instead of clicking many menus, users can type or say things like “Pay 20 rupees” or “Recharge FASTag,” and the app understands and opens the right page.
  • PhonePe was founded in 2016.

India’s Forex Reserves Reach All-Time High of $725.727 Billion

• What: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $725.727 billion for the week ended February 13, indicating stronger external position and supporting currency stability.
• Tell me more:
  • Forex reserve components:
    • Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) – FCA includes US dollar, yen, euro and pound, expressed in dollar terms.
    • Gold Reserves
    • Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) – International reserve assets created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
    • Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) with the IMF – The portion of funds a country can withdraw from the IMF.
  • Current Status

GDP Forecasts

India Ratings Projects Higher State Fiscal Deficit at 3% of GDP in FY27

• What: India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) projected states’ aggregate fiscal deficit at 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026-27 (FY27), rising from 2.8% in 2025-26 (FY26), due to higher revenue expenditure and scheme cost-sharing pressures.
• Tell me more:
  • If special capital investment funds of ₹1.85 trillion are added, states may spend much more than they earn, pushing the deficit to 3.5% of GDP.
  • States may borrow ₹13.8 trillion from markets, with ₹9.6 trillion as fresh borrowing.
  • States’ total debt is expected to rise slightly from 29% of GDP in FY26 to 29.8% in FY27, meaning they will borrow a little more and owe slightly more money next year.

ICRA Projects India’s GDP Growth to Moderate to 7.2% in Q3 FY2025-26

• ICRA projected India’s year-on-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth to slow to 7.2% in the third quarter (Q3) of FY2025-26 from 8.2% in Q2, due to weaker services and agriculture growth.

Defence News

Embraer Offers KC-390 Aircraft to Indian Air Force with India Production Plan

• What: Brazil’s aircraft company Embraer has offered India to buy its KC-390 military transport planes, and if selected, it will make India a main factory for producing these planes in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Tell me more:
  • The Indian Air Force is looking to replace old AN-32 and IL-76 aircraft.
  • The KC-390 can carry 26 tons and can land on short or rough runways.
  • Embraer is working with Mahindra Group and may set up a repair and service centre in India.
  • Embraer and Adani Defence and Aerospace signed an enhanced MoU to set up an E175 regional jet assembly line under India’s Regional Transport Aircraft programme.

16th Edition of India–US Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR Begins in Himachal Pradesh

• What: The 16th edition of India–United States Joint Special Forces Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR will be held in Himachal Pradesh from 24 February to 16 March 2026.
• Tell me more:
  • The exercise will take place at the Special Forces Training School, Bakloh.
  • The previous edition was held in November 2024 in Idaho, United States.

Awards

Vasai’s Our Lady of Grace Cathedral Wins UNESCO Award of Merit 2025

• What: The restored 475-year-old Our Lady of Grace Cathedral in Papdy village, Vasai, received the Award of Merit at the 2025 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, recognising community-led heritage restoration.
• Tell me more:
  • The stone cathedral, built without cement, reflects sixteenth-century Portuguese colonial architecture in India.
  • Conservation architect Ainsley Lewis led the project during 2023-24.
  • The winners were selected from 90 entries across 16 countries based on technical achievement, sustainability and impact.

Manipuri Film ‘Boong’ Wins BAFTA Award

• What: Manipuri film Boong, produced by Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment, won the BAFTA Award for Best Children’s & Family Film in London, marking a major international recognition for Indian regional cinema.
• Tell me more:
  • Debut director Lakshmipriya Devi received the award from Paddington Bear at the Royal Festival Hall, joined by producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, as Boong, starring Gugun Kipgen and Bala Hijam, defeated ‘Lilo and Stitch’, ‘Arco’, and ‘Zootropolis 2’.

Shashi Tharoor Conferred Honorary D.Litt by St Xavier’s University

• Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) degree at the seventh convocation of St Xavier’s University, Kolkata, marking his first honorary doctorate in India.

Important Days

World Thinking Day – February 22

• What: World Thinking Day is observed every year on February 22 by Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in over 150 countries to promote unity, friendship, leadership and empowerment among girls and young women.
• Tell me more:
  • The day was established in 1926 at an international conference in the United States.
  • February 22 was selected as it is the birth anniversary of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement, and Olave Baden-Powell, the World Chief Guide who helped expand the movement worldwide.

Central Excise Day 2026 – February 24

Sports

Norway Tops Winter Olympics Medal Table with Record 18 Golds

• What: Norway finished first at the Winter Olympics with 18 gold and 41 total medals, setting a record for most gold medals by a country in Winter Olympics history.
• Tell me more:
  • The United States came second with 12 gold and 33 total medals.
  • Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won six gold medals individually.
  • Great Britain recorded its best Winter Olympics performance with three gold, one silver and one bronze.
  • Norway has topped the gold medal table at every Winter Olympics since 2014, tying with Germany in 2018.

Hanne Vandewinkel Wins KPB Trust ITF Women’s Open W100 in Bengaluru

• What: Belgium’s Hanne Vandewinkel won the KPB Trust ITF Women’s Open W100 in Bengaluru by beating India’s Vaishnavi Adkar 6-0, 6-1.
• Tell me more:
  • Vandewinkel is ranked 124 in the world, while Adkar is ranked 690.
  • Adkar was playing the biggest match of her career and trains under Rohan Bopanna.

Memorandum of Understanding

Boehringer Ingelheim signs MoU with NIPER Raebareli for pharma research collaboration

• What: Boehringer Ingelheim India Private Limited signed an MoU with National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Raebareli to strengthen research collaboration in pharmaceutical technologies and novel drug delivery systems.
• Tell me more:
  • The MoU was signed at the Department of Pharmaceuticals.
  • It includes collaboration with Centre of Excellence for Novel Drug Delivery Systems.

NDMA, AcSIR and CSIR–NIScPR Sign MoU for Disaster Management Research and PhD Programme

• What: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) and CSIR–National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR–NIScPR) signed an MoU to strengthen academic programmes, research and capacity building in Disaster Management and Risk Reduction (DMRR) in India.
• Tell me more:
  • Launch of a PhD Programme in Disaster Management under AcSIR at CSIR-NIScPR with the support of NDMA.
  • Joint research and policy studies, including science communication and capacity-building initiatives in DMRR.

Appointments

Rob Jetten Becomes Netherlands’ Youngest Prime Minister

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