🇮🇳 National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India AI Impact Summit 2026 on 19 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
The theme of the summit is “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya” (welfare for all, happiness of all).
The Opening Ceremony was also addressed by the President of France and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, along with top industry leaders from across the world.
The summit aims to position India as a leader in the field of AI and envisions a future where AI advances humanity, fosters inclusive growth, and safeguards the shared planet.
Seven Working Groups anchor the Summit, aligned to three pillars: People, Planet, and Progress
The seven themes include:
- AI for Economic Growth and Social Good
- Democratizing AI Resources
- Inclusion for Social Empowerment
- Safe and Trusted AI
- Human Capital
- Science
- Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency
The summit brought together more than 500 Global AI Leaders, including around 100 CEOs and Founders, 150 Academicians, and 400 CTOs and VPs.
In February 2026, the Government of India (GoI) introduced India’s first comprehensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance framework, as part of the IndiaAI Mission.
The framework promotes safe, trusted AI innovation across healthcare, education, agriculture, finance and public administration through seven guiding principles without standalone legislation.
In July 2025, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) formed a committee to develop AI Governance Guidelines.
The framework includes four parts: Guiding Principles, Key Issues and Recommendations, Action Plan, and Practical Guidelines for Industry & Regulators
India’s AI governance is built on seven core principles (Sutras):
- Trust is the Foundation
- People First
- Innovation over Restraint
- Fairness & Equity
- Accountability
- Understandable by Design
- Safety, Resilience & Sustainability
A Supreme Court of India (SCI) bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan delivered a landmark ruling in the case of Dr. Jaya Thakur v. Government of India & Ors.
The court officially recognized ‘Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH)‘ as a Fundamental Right under Article 21 (Right to Life and Dignity) of the Constitution of India.
Article 21 guarantees Right to Life and Personal Liberty. This ruling expands its scope to include menstrual health and hygiene.
Implementation Framework:
- All government and private schools must provide free oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins (Classes 6–12) through vending machines
- Schools must establish Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) corners with spare uniforms, innerwear, and disposal bags
- Schools must ensure functional, gender-segregated toilets with running water, soap, and safe disposal systems
District Education Officers (DEO) must conduct annual inspections, while the NCPCR and SCPCR supervise compliance.
President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Centenary Celebrations of the Ol Chiki script in New Delhi, organized by the Ministry of Culture.
The Ol Chiki script was devised in 1925 by Pandit Raghunath Murmu of Rairangpur, Mayurbhanj (Odisha) with 30 letters.
President Murmu released a commemorative coin and a special postage stamp and felicitated 10 achievers from the Santal community.
Santhali, an Austroasiatic language, was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India in 2003 with Ol Chiki as its official script.
The Constitution of India was translated into the Santali language in December 2025.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched ‘Bharat-VISTAAR‘ (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources) at SIAM, Durgapura, Jaipur, Rajasthan on 17 February 2026.
The AI-driven platform integrates AgriStack with farm practice packages of ICAR.
Farmers can access services through:
- Toll-free helpline 155261 powered by AI voice assistant Bharati
- MoAFW web portal with chatbot services in English and Hindi
Phase 1 launched in Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.
10 Schemes integrated including PM-KISAN, PMFBY, Soil Health Card, KCC, PM-AASHA, PMKSY, and others.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched a first-of-its-kind initiative to develop dedicated pollinator or ‘Bee Corridors’ along National Highways.
The project aims to reduce ecological stress on honeybees and other pollinators while enhancing agricultural productivity and biodiversity.
Native species to be planted include:
- Neem, Karanj, Mahua, Palash, Bottle Brush, Jamun, and Siris
Flowering clusters will be planted at 500m–1km intervals aligned to honeybee foraging ranges.
NHAI plans to plant around 40 lakh trees along National Highways, with approximately 60% under the Bee Corridor initiative.
The Indian Army (IA) is hosting the first-ever UN Fellowship Training Programme on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Control from 16 February to 6 March 2026.
The programme is being held at the Military College of Materials Management (MCMM) in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, marking the first time it is held in Asia.
It is organized by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) through UNRCPD.
The programme is conducted under the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Delegates from 13 countries across the Asia-Pacific region are participating.
Focus areas include strengthening skills related to small arms control and supporting implementation of UN Programme of Action (PoA) and the International Tracing Instrument (ITI).
A South African cheetah named Gamini has given birth to three cubs at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.
With these cubs, the total population of cheetahs in India has increased to 38.
Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said the number of surviving cubs born in India has increased to 27.
This marks the ninth successful cheetah litter on Indian soil. India completed the world’s first intercontinental translocation of a large carnivore with 20 cheetahs in 2022–23.
Gamini has become a mother for the second time in India.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma inaugurated the Lengtekai Bridge over the Tlawng River in Mizoram.
The bridge strengthens connectivity and infrastructure development in the northeastern state.
💼 Business & Economy
The Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance released a report titled ‘Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of Incentive Scheme for Promotion of RuPay Debit Card and low-value BHIM-UPI Transactions’.
The report was released during the Chintan Shivir held on 13–14 February 2026 at Coorg, Karnataka.
The report assesses the effectiveness of the GoI’s incentive framework in:
- Promoting digital payments
- Bolstering payment infrastructure
- Driving financial inclusion nationwide
The study was conducted by Ipsos Research Pvt. Ltd as the independent third-party research agency.
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched an Online Death Claim Settlement Portal to streamline the claim process.
The portal ensures that claims are processed within 15 days.
The new policy marks a major change in governance and customer service delivery in public sector banking.
🌐 International News
India and France have upgraded their bilateral ties to a ‘Special Global Strategic Partnership‘.
The announcement was made jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on 17 February 2026.
Both leaders unveiled the India–France Year of Innovation 2026 to promote collaboration in advanced technologies, defence production, and AI.
France will preside over the G7 Summit (52nd) in 2026, while India is scheduled to chair the BRICS Summit.
The partnership reflects strategic depth across defence modernisation, space cooperation, artificial intelligence, and youth engagement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that regulating AI is not the responsibility of the UN but should be handled by national governments.
His remarks came before his visit to New Delhi to attend the India AI Impact Summit.
He outlined AI-related initiatives under the Global Digital Compact to strengthen global cooperation on AI.
A high-level Independent International Scientific Panel on AI comprising 40 experts from around the world will be created.
The UN General Assembly has appointed panel members, including IIT Madras professor Balaraman Ravindran.
Guterres proposed a voluntary global fund of up to $3 billion to help developing countries build AI capacity.
🔬 Science & Technology
Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of Diplura in the Eastern Himalayas.
The new species has been named Lepidocampa sikkimensis – a wingless, soil-dwelling micro-arthropod.
This is the first Diplura species formally described by an Indian research team.
Specimens were collected near Ravangla in Sikkim, with more found later in Kurseong.
The study was published in the journal Zootaxa on January 7, 2026.
The research team was led by Surjit Kar. Seventeen Diplura species had previously been recorded from India.
The team also rediscovered Lepidocampa juradii bengalensis, a subspecies not recorded for nearly 50 years.
Archaeologists identified around 30 ancient inscriptions inside rock-cut royal tombs in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
About 20 inscriptions are in Tamil-Brahmi script, along with others in Sanskrit and Prakrit, dating from the 1st to 3rd century CE.
The name “Cikai Korran” appears eight times across five tombs, inscribed near entrances and high on interior walls.
The inscriptions were documented by Professor Ingo Strauch (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) and Professor Charlotte Schmid (French School of Asian Studies).
Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are an early form of the Tamil writing system, possibly representing merchant names, trade symbols, or ownership marks.
The Government of India launched India’s first government-supported National Biobank dedicated to Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs) at FRIGE, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The biobank includes samples and data from 530 patients collected over a 17-year period (2008–2025).
LSDs are rare inherited metabolic diseases caused by enzyme deficiencies that damage organs such as the brain, liver, spleen, and skeleton.
A collaborative initiative has been launched with the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), Bengaluru, to develop human stem cell-based disease models.
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