Daily Current Affairs

French President Emmanuel Macron completed a 3-day state visit to India from February 17–19, 2026, at the invitation of PM Narendra Modi. This was Macron’s 4th visit to India.

Macron participated in the AI Impact Summit 2026 held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

The Indian Navy hosted three major international engagements at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from 15–25 February 2026.

• Exercise MILAN 2026 (13th Edition) – Biennial multilateral naval exercise held from 19–25 Feb in the Bay of Bengal. Theme: “Camaraderie, Cooperation, Collaboration”. Inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
• IFR 2026 – Held on 18 Feb under the theme “United through Oceans”, presided over by President Droupadi Murmu.
• IONS 9th Conclave – Held on 20 Feb. Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi (CNS) assumed IONS Chairmanship for 2026–2028 from the Royal Thai Navy.

Union Minister Amit Shah (Home Affairs) launched Vibrant Villages Programme–II (VVP–II) at Nathanpur village, Cachar district, Assam.

The Ministry of Power (MoP) constituted a 3-member High-Level Committee and a Working Group to oversee the proposed merger of PFC and REC Limited.

• High-Level Committee Members: Parminder Chopra (CMD, PFC), Jitendra Srivastava (CMD, REC), and Shashank Mishra (Joint Secretary, MoP) as convenor.
• Working Group: Headed by Pranav Tayal (Director, Distribution, MoP).

The Government of Uttar Pradesh and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) signed an MoU for constructing an International Cricket Stadium in Gorakhpur.

The Tata Group partnered with OpenAI to establish India’s first large-scale AI-ready data centre under the global Stargate initiative. OpenAI becomes the first customer of the TCS HyperVault data centre business.

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) signed an MoU with Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM), Faridabad, to facilitate joint PG and executive programmes in International Finance and FinTech.

• A 5-day Industry Immersion Programme was launched for MBA students of AJNIFM.
• GIFT City hosts India’s only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

India formally joined the Pax Silica coalition during the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The Pax Silica Declaration was signed in the presence of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the US Under Secretary of State.

Current Members: Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Singapore, UAE, UK, and now India.

India’s inclusion is significant due to its large pool of skilled tech professionals and underexplored critical mineral reserves.

India and Israel signed an MoU to advance joint defence initiatives including future seminars, collaborative industrial programmes, and technology sharing.

• The agreement was formalised during B2B meetings in Tel Aviv, facilitated by SIBAT (under Israel MoD) in collaboration with SIDM and India’s MoD.
• Indian delegation was led by Ramesh K (DG, SIDM) and J P Singh (Ambassador to Israel).
• Discussions focused on India’s Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2026 for co-development and co-production.

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi visited Canberra to deepen India–Australia defence ties.

• He met Vice Admiral Justin Jones, Chief of Joint Operations of the Australian Defence Force.
• Both leaders are alumni of the US Army War College (Class of 2015).
• A ceremonial Guard of Honour was held at the Russell Offices.

DRDO successfully conducted the qualification-level load test of the Drogue Parachute for the Gaganyaan programme on February 18, 2026 at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility at TBRL, Chandigarh.

• Test conducted jointly by VSSC (ISRO), ADRDE (DRDO), and TBRL teams.
• Simulated loads higher than maximum flight loads, validating structural integrity and safety margins.
• The drogue parachute stabilises and decelerates the crew module during re-entry before main parachute deployment.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the America-India Connect (AIC) initiative at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, part of Google’s USD 15 billion plan to position India as a global AI infrastructure hub within 5 years.

India signed an agreement with French company CILAS for acquisition of the HELMA-P directed-energy laser system, supported by MBDA and Safran Electronics & Defence.

• HELMA-P uses a high-energy laser to disable drones by targeting sensors and electronic systems.
• Unlike missile-based systems, it requires only electrical power and cooling, making it highly cost-effective per engagement.
• France has tested HELMA-P aboard the frigate Forbin and at the DGA Biscarrosse test range.

International Mother Language Day is observed on February 21 every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity.

• Proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999 and adopted by the UN General Assembly.
• 2026 Theme: “Youth voices on multilingual education”
• The day highlights the importance of multilingual education and preservation of endangered languages.

World Day of Social Justice is observed on February 20 every year.

• 2026 Theme: “Renewed Commitment to Social Development and Social Justice”
• In India, the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment (DoSJE) organised the event with National Law University, New Delhi.

Padma awardee Pankaj Advani won the inaugural Liber Win Champions Cup 2026 in billiards.

• He defeated Kamal Chawla 6–3 in a best-of-11 final.
• Event held at the Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) in Bengaluru.