🇮🇳 National News
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) celebrated its 50th Raising Day (Golden Jubilee) on February 1, 2026, marking half a century since its establishment on February 1, 1977.
The theme for the Golden Jubilee celebrations is “Surakshit Tat, Samridh Bharat” (Secure Coasts, Prosperous India).
The ICG’s motto is “Vayam Rakshamah” (We Protect), and the current Director General is Paramesh Sivamani.
- Current operational fleet: 152 ships and 78 aircraft, safeguarding India’s coastline of 7,516.60 km.
- By 2030, the ICG aims to expand to 200 surface platforms and 100 aircraft.
- Established under the Coast Guard Act, 1978, and operates under the Ministry of Defence.
- Duties include maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, and marine environment protection.
An earthquake measuring magnitude 4.8 struck Jammu & Kashmir at 5:35 AM on February 2, 2026.
The epicentre was located in the Pattan area of Baramulla/Budgam district, at a depth of approximately 10 km.
Strong tremors were felt across Srinagar, Pulwama, Shopian, and Ganderbal, causing panic among residents. No casualties or major structural damage were reported.
Separately, another earthquake measuring magnitude 4.6 had struck the Nicobar Islands region at 3:31 AM the same day.
The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) commenced Class 12 (Intermediate) examinations from February 2, 2026, with over 13 lakh students appearing across 1,762 examination centres.
Examinations are being held in two shifts: 9:30 AM and 2:00 PM.
Simultaneously, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) began its Madhyamik (Class 10) examinations from February 2, conducted in a single shift (10:45 AM – 2:00 PM).
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 1, 2026 at the Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, hosted by Trevor Noah for the sixth consecutive year.
| Category | Winner | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Album of the Year | Bad Bunny | DEBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS |
| Record of the Year | Kendrick Lamar & SZA | “luther” |
| Song of the Year | Billie Eilish | “WILDFLOWER” |
| Best New Artist | Olivia Dean | — |
| Best Pop Vocal Album | Lady Gaga | MAYHEM |
| Best Contemporary Country Album | Jelly Roll | — |
Bad Bunny became the first artist to win Album of the Year for a primarily Spanish-language album.
Two new award categories debuted in 2026: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover.
💼 Business & Economy
The State Bank of India (SBI) inaugurated the CHAKRA Centre of Excellence on January 31, 2026, a specialised hub dedicated to financing India’s emerging sunrise sectors.
CHAKRA stands for Centre of Holistic Advancement for Knowledge and Resource Allocation, reflecting SBI’s strategic pivot towards next-generation industries.
The centre was inaugurated by M. Nagaraju, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), in the presence of SBI Chairman C.S. Setty.
- Renewable Energy
- Advanced Cell Chemistry & Battery Storage
- Electric Mobility
- Green Hydrogen
- Semiconductors
- Decarbonisation
- Smart Infrastructure
- Data Centre Infrastructure
These sectors are collectively expected to attract capital investment of approximately ₹100 lakh crore by 2030.
SBI signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with 21 financial institutions, including major Japanese banks (SMBC, MUFG) and prominent Indian public-sector entities (PFC, REC, NaBFID), to create a robust financing ecosystem combining sector-specific expertise with large-scale capital deployment capabilities.
🔬 Science & Technology
A rare subterranean amphibian species, Gegeneophis valmiki, has been discovered in the northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, representing the first addition to the genus Gegeneophis in over a decade.
The species is named after the Maharshi Valmiki Mandir located near the discovery site on the Valmiki Plateau, Patan, Satara district.
The discovery was published in the journal Phyllomedusa in January 2026, by a team led by K.P. Dinesh from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
- Caecilians are limbless, worm-like amphibians that live entirely underground. Their eyes are buried beneath bone, and they use sensory tentacles to navigate their subterranean habitat.
- The Western Ghats is home to 26 endemic caecilian species, of which 11 belong to the genus Gegeneophis, making it a globally significant biodiversity hotspot for this group of amphibians.
📅 Important Days
World Wetlands Day is observed annually on February 2 to mark the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
The 2026 theme is: “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage.”
The UN General Assembly formally recognised World Wetlands Day through Resolution 75/317 on August 30, 2021.
- Approximately 90% of the world’s wetlands have been lost since the 1700s, and they are disappearing three times faster than forests.
- Wetlands cover only about 6% of the Earth’s land surface, yet approximately 40% of all plant and animal species live or breed in wetlands.
- The Ramsar Convention currently has 172 contracting parties and designates over 2,400 Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) worldwide.
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