Daily Current Affairs: 20 February 2026

Nikhil Kamath featured among Forbes 2025 richest self-made billionaires under 40.

[Forbes]

Key Updates:

• Nikhil Kamath, aged 39, is ranked 20th on the Forbes 2025 list with a net worth of $3.3 billion.
• He co-founded Bengaluru-based Zerodha in 2010 with his older brother Nithin Kamath.
• Four individuals of Indian origin figure on the Forbes 2025 list of richest self-made billionaires under 40.
• Their combined net worth exceeds $11 billion as stated in the article.
• Edwin Chen, 38, tops the list with an estimated net worth of $18 billion.
• Americans account for 32 names on the overall list of 71 self-made billionaires under 40.
• China has eight names and India has six names on the same list.
• The 71 under-40 self-made billionaires together control $218 billion in wealth.

Manik Gupta Passes Away Veteran Cricket Umpire

Key Updates:

• Veteran cricket umpire Manik Gupta passed away at the age of 65 following a bee swarm attack in Shuklaganj, Unnao.
• He was a three-decade veteran of junior cricket and was associated with the Kanpur Cricket Association (KCA).
• The incident occurred at the Rahul Sapru ground on 18 February 2026 during an under-13 match between YMCA and Paramount.
• He was declared dead upon arrival at the LLR Hospital in Kanpur after sustaining more than 150 bee stings.
• Medical experts at the GSVM Medical College stated that the bee venom triggered severe allergic reactions and cardiac arrest.
• The deceased was a resident of Pheelkhana and had been a prominent figure in the local cricket officiating community for 30 years.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mandates Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI) for OTC derivatives

[Reserve Bank of India (RBI)]

Key Updates:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated the use of a Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI) for all Over-the-Counter (OTC) derivative transactions to improve traceability and systemic risk monitoring.
• The new framework for UTI implementation is scheduled to become applicable from 1 January 2027.
• The mandate covers Foreign Exchange (FX) derivatives (forwards and swaps), Rupee interest rate derivatives (overnight index swaps and MIBOR-linked swaps), forward contracts in government securities, and credit derivatives.
• The Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) is expected to issue detailed operational guidelines for the implementation of the UTI framework in due course.
• Responsibility for generating the UTI will follow a waterfall mechanism, starting with central counterparties or electronic trading platforms, and falling back on the trade repository of the CCIL.
• Routine amendments to derivative contracts will not require a new UTI, but lifecycle events such as novations that create a new reportable trade will trigger fresh identifiers.
• The RBI had previously issued a draft regarding the UTI requirement in October 2025.

PM Modi Unveils MANAV Vision for Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Delhi Summit

Key Updates:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the MANAV vision for Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 held in New Delhi on 19 February 2026.
• The MANAV vision stands for Moral and ethical systems, Accountable governance, National sovereignty, Accessible and inclusive, and Valid and legitimate.
• Moral and ethical systems (M) signify that AI development should be based on ethical guidance.
• Accountable governance (A) refers to the implementation of transparent rules and robust oversight.
• National sovereignty (N) emphasizes data rights, specifically whose data, his right.
• Accessible and inclusive (A) aims to ensure AI acts as a multiplier rather than a monopoly.
• Valid and legitimate (V) ensures that AI systems are lawful and verifiable.

Gujarat Budget 2026-27 allocates Rs 4.08 lakh crore with focus on tourism and sports infrastructure

[Gujarat]

Key Updates:

• Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai presented a Rs 4.08 lakh crore Budget for 2026-27 with an estimated surplus of Rs 974 crore and no new taxes.
• The Budget continued the 5 per cent tax rebate on Motor Vehicle Tax for electric vehicles, providing Rs 210 crore relief to citizens.
• Rs 1,278 crore allocated for infrastructure related to the 2030 Commonwealth Games to be hosted by Gujarat.
• Rs 1,331 crore total provision for the sports department, including Rs 500 crore for developing Ahmedabad as an 'Olympic Ready City' and for the SVP Sports Enclave.
• Rs 165 crore allocated for developing sports complexes in various districts, Rs 100 crore each for Olympic-level infrastructure at Karai and a Para High Performance Centre in Gandhinagar, and Rs 90 crore for a world-class hockey stadium.
• 2026 declared as 'Gujarat Tourism Year' with Rs 236 crore allocated for enhancing facilities around the Statue of Unity.
• Rs 300 crore proposed for the Ambaji Corridor Masterplan and Rs 447 crore for iconic bus stations at Somnath and Ambaji and a multi-modal transport hub at Somnath.
• Rs 60 crore for developing Somnath and Shivrajpur Beach as world-class tourist destinations and promoting tourism in the Visavada-Porbandar region.
• Rs 95 crore proposed for tourism promotion initiatives including training 1,000 tourist guides and developing facilities at heritage sites.
• Rs 16,116 crore allocated under the Swarnim Jayanti Mukhyamantri Shaheri Vikas Yojana, marking a 17 per cent increase over the previous allocation.

Madhya Pradesh Budget 2026-27: Total Outlay of ₹4.38 Lakh Crore with Focus on Women and Infrastructure

[Madhya Pradesh]

Key Updates:

• Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Jagdish Devda presented the state budget for 2026-27 with a total outlay of ₹4,38,317 crore.
• The budget is framed on the GYANII model, which stands for Garib Kalyan (poor), Yuva Shakti (youth), Annadata (farmers), Nari Shakti (women empowerment), Infrastructure, and Industry.
• A total allocation of ₹1,27,555 crore has been earmarked for women welfare schemes, including the construction of 5,700 hostels for working women.
• The Ladli Behna Yojana has been provisioned with ₹23,883 crore to provide monthly assistance of ₹1,500 to over 1.25 crore women.
• The state government introduced a rolling budget provision for the first time to allow carrying forward funds to the next financial year.
• A special provision of ₹3,600 crore has been made for the Simhastha Kumbh religious event scheduled to be held in Ujjain in 2028.
• The Panchayat and Rural Development Department received an allocation of ₹40,062 crore, while the rural employment guarantee scheme (GRAM G) was allocated ₹10,428 crore.
• The budget allocated ₹900 crore for the PM Janman scheme, which is dedicated to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• Over ₹1 lakh crore each has been allocated for agriculture-related development works and infrastructure projects.
• The government announced the recruitment of 15,000 teachers and the provision of free milk in tetra packs for children up to Class 8 in government schools.
• A provision of ₹4,454 crore has been proposed for the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and ₹12,690 crore for road repairs.
• The budget includes a plan to provide solar pumps to 1 lakh farmers and allocates ₹1,335 crore for the Labour Department.

Assam Government launches Provincialisation Management System (PMS 1.0) for Venture Educational Institutions

[Assam]

Key Updates:

• The Government of Assam launched the Provincialisation Management System (PMS 1.0) to streamline the process of provincialising venture educational institutions.
• Chief Minister (CM) Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the digital platform at Lok Sewa Bhawan to ensure transparency in the provincialisation of teaching and non-teaching staff.
• The portal operates under the framework of the Assam Education Act, 2017, which was recently updated as the 2025 Amended Act.
• The initiative includes special budgetary provisions for teachers of schools and colleges established after 2006 for the first time.
• Educational institutions are required to register on the portal using the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) code for schools or the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) code for colleges.
• The system facilitates digital screening and automated verification of institutional data to reduce manual errors and administrative delays.
• Since 2011, over 57,000 teachers have been provincialised across primary, secondary, and college levels in the state of Assam.
• The eligibility criteria for the provincialisation process were notified in the Government of Assam Gazette on 30 December 2025.

Kerala declares tide flooding a State-specific disaster

[Kerala]

Key Updates:

• Kerala became the first State in India to notify tide flooding as a State-specific disaster.
• The declaration enables financial assistance to victims under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms.
• Kerala has a coastline of around 590 km and nine of its 14 districts lie on the Arabian Sea coast.
• Around 10% of Kerala's population is affected by coastal flooding caused by tidal ingress.
• Severe impacts are reported in low-lying regions of Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts.
• Recurrent tidal flooding occurs in Vypin, Chellanam, Edakochi, Perumbadappu in Kochi Corporation and Kumbalanghi panchayat.
• Section 2(d) of the Disaster Management Act allows declaring tidal flooding as disaster if it causes loss of life, livelihood, and living conditions.
• Coastal high-tide flooding/sea incursion is now a notified State-specific disaster benefiting lakhs of affected people.

Silchar–Sairang Passenger Train Service to Commence from 20 February

Key Updates:

• The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) will introduce regular passenger train operations between Silchar and Sairang starting 20 February 2026.
• The new service, numbered 55669/55670, will operate five days a week to enhance rail connectivity to the state of Mizoram.
• The Silchar–Sairang service will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, while the return service will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
• The train will be hauled by a diesel locomotive and will have a composition of seven coaches, including second-class and luggage-cum-brake vans.
• The service was virtually inaugurated by the Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
• The rail link to Sairang, located near the Mizoram capital Aizawl, was inaugurated in September 2025 to connect the state with cities such as Kolkata and Guwahati.

PM Surya Ghar and Chief Minister Solar Self-Employment Scheme drive Uttarakhand past 1 GW solar capacity

[Uttarakhand]

Key Updates:

• Uttarakhand’s installed solar capacity reached 1,027.87 MW, crossing the 1 GW milestone.
• PM Surya Ghar scheme has supported around 241 MW of rooftop solar installations.
• Chief Minister Solar Self-Employment Scheme has added about 137 MW and over 100 MW more is under development.
• Ground-mounted solar projects contribute nearly 397 MW to the total capacity.
• Commercial net metering installations account for approximately 110 MW.
• Captive solar power plants add about 51 MW.
• Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) is implementing these solar initiatives.

India and United Kingdom launch offshore wind task force under Vision 2035 framework

[United Kingdom]

Key Updates:

• Union minister for new and renewable energy Pralhad Joshi and United Kingdom (UK) deputy prime minister David Lammy launched the task force on Wednesday.
• The task force is constituted under the India-UK Vision 2035 and the Fourth Energy Dialogue to provide strategic leadership for India’s offshore wind ecosystem.
• Joshi outlined three cooperation pillars: ecosystem planning and market design, infrastructure and supply chains, and financing and risk mitigation.
• Lammy stated the UK is the second-largest offshore wind market and recently secured 8.4 GW in Europe’s biggest auction.
• India has an estimated 70 GW offshore wind potential and initially plans projects off Gujarat and Tamil Nadu coasts.

India gifts Maldives first high-speed ferry under 12-ferry transport link project

[Maldives]

Key Updates:

• India handed over the first of 12 high-speed ferries to the Maldives to launch Raajje Transport Link (RTL) services in Faafu and Dhaalu Atolls.
• The ferry was built with Indian assistance under the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) Phase III MoU signed in January 2025.
• India will provide a total of 12 high-speed ferries to the Maldives as part of the existing agreement.
• India signed 13 MoUs with the Maldives on 18 May 2024 for enhancing ferry services under HICDP Phase III with an MVR 100 million grant.
• The total grant for the 13 projects under HICDP Phase III amounts to MVR 100 million (about ₹55.28 crore).
• Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives G Balasubramaniam stated that India has provided USD 29.5 million to the Maldives over four phases for transport, sports, coastal protection, health, and education projects.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Maldives in July 2024 and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu visited India in October 2024.

Mumbai to host Prince William-founded Earthshot Prize 2026 in November

[Maharashtra]

Key Updates:

• Mumbai has been selected as the host city for the Earthshot Prize 2026, a global environmental award founded by Britain's Prince William.
• The event is scheduled for November 2026, where five winners will each receive 1 million pounds to accelerate their innovative climate solutions.
• The prize focuses on five categories: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World, and Fix our Climate.
• The Earthshot Prize was inspired by former United States (US) President John F. Kennedy's 1962 'Moonshot' mission to land a man on the moon.
• India has produced multiple winners including S4S Technologies and Boomitra in 2023, Kheyti in 2022, and Takachar in 2021.
• Mumbai joins the global list of Earthshot host cities which includes London, Boston, Singapore, Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro.
• The announcement was made during the inaugural Mumbai Climate Week in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis.
• The prize aims to discover 50 winners over 10 years with the mission to repair and restore the planet by 2030.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) and World Food Programme (WFP) sign MoU for rice supply to combat global hunger

[Food Corporation of India (FCI), World Food Programme (WFP)]

Key Updates:

• Food Corporation of India (FCI) and World Food Programme (WFP) signed a five-year MoU for supply of rice to support global humanitarian operations.
• FCI will supply 2 lakh tonnes of rice (up to 25% broken) to WFP under the agreement.
• The price is fixed at Rs 2,800 per quintal up to 31 March 2026 and will be mutually agreed annually thereafter.
• The MoU was signed by Rabindra Kumar Agarwal, CMD, FCI and Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director, WFP in presence of Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution.

India unveils first AI governance guidelines ahead of AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi

Key Updates:

• The Government of India unveiled the nation's first comprehensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance guidelines to manage risks while promoting innovation.
• The framework is anchored in seven broad principles or sutras: trust, people first, innovation over restraint, fairness and equity, accountability, understandable by design, and safety, resilience, and sustainability.
• The guidelines outline the development and usage of AI across key sectors including healthcare, education, agriculture, finance, and governance.
• The government proposed the establishment of three new national institutions: an AI governance group, a technology and policy expert committee, and an AI safety institute.
• The five-day AI Impact Summit 2026 is scheduled to commence in New Delhi on 16 February 2026.
• The framework emphasises reliance on existing legal structures such as Information Technology (IT) rules, data protection laws, and criminal statutes instead of a standalone AI law.
• The Delhi declaration is expected to be considered for adoption during the summit to position India as a global voice in responsible AI governance aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047.
• High-risk AI applications affecting safety, rights, or livelihoods are required to follow stronger safeguards and maintain human oversight under the new guidelines.

India joins United Nations (UN) statement condemning Israel's West Bank actions

[United Nations (UN), Israel]

Key Updates:

• India joined more than 100 countries and international organisations in endorsing a joint statement at the United Nations (UN) condemning Israel's efforts to consolidate control over the West Bank.
• The joint statement asserts that Israeli actions violate international law and undermine prospects for peace and stability in the region.
• The declaration calls for the immediate reversal of unilateral Israeli measures aimed at expanding presence in the West Bank.
• The statement firmly opposes any form of annexation and rejects measures intended to alter the demographic composition, character, and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
• Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Israel next week and is expected to address the Israeli parliament.

India sets Guinness World Record with 250,946 AI responsibility pledges in 24 hours at AI Impact Summit 2026

Key Updates:

• Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the Guinness World Records title for 'Most pledges received for an AI responsibility campaign in 24 hours' with 250,946 valid pledges during February 16-17.
• The announcement was made at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• The nationwide AI Responsibility Pledge campaign was launched under the IndiaAI Mission in collaboration with Intel India on February 16.
• Citizens pledged through the portal aipledge.indiaai.gov.in to commit to ethical, inclusive, and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence.
• Participants received a digital badge and access to AI learning pathways after completing the pledge.
• The campaign exceeded its initial target of 5,000 pledges.

Poland Bans Chinese-Made Vehicles from Military Facilities on 18 February 2026

[Poland, China]

Key Updates:

• The Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces has officially banned Chinese-made cars from entering the country’s military facilities to mitigate data security risks.
• The restriction aims to prevent the uncontrolled acquisition and use of data by digital systems and sensors embedded in modern Chinese vehicles.
• Government employees in Poland are prohibited from connecting official mobile phones to infotainment systems in motor vehicles manufactured in the People's Republic of China.
• The ban applies to all motor vehicles equipped with devices capable of recording position, image, or sound, unless such functions are disabled and security protocols are met.
• Exemptions to the ban include Polish military facilities open to the public, such as hospitals, clinics, libraries, and garrison clubs.
• Official vehicles of the Polish Armed Forces and those used in rescue operations or by state and local government bodies are exempt from these restrictions.
• Major Chinese automotive brands mentioned with significant sales in Poland include SAIC Motor Corp.'s MG brand, Chery Automobile Co., and BYD Co.
• Poland, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), stated that these preventive measures align with security standards used by other alliance members.

India and France inaugurate Indo-French Centre for AI in Health at AIIMS Delhi

[France]

Key Updates:

• Union Minister for Health JP Nadda and French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated the Indo-French Centre for AI in Health (IF-CAIH) at AIIMS, New Delhi, on Wednesday.
• The IF-CAIH has been established under a joint MoU between AIIMS, Sorbonne University, and Paris Brain Institute, with additional collaboration from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and other leading French institutions.
• The launch coincided with the Rencontres Universitaires et Scientifiques de Haut Niveau (RUSH) 2026, held at AIIMS on February 18 and February 19, coordinated by the French Embassy.
• President Macron emphasised that India and France are committed to developing computing capacity and talent to build trusted AI systems.
• The initiative builds on ongoing India-France cooperation in Digital Health, Antimicrobial Resistance, Human Resources for Health, and responsible use of health data.

L&T partners with NVIDIA to build gigawatt-scale AI data centre under IndiaAI Mission

[NVIDIA]

Key Updates:

• Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and NVIDIA will jointly develop a gigawatt-scale artificial intelligence data centre in India as part of the government’s IndiaAI Mission.
• The partnership will expand NVIDIA GPU cluster capacity to 30 megawatts at L&T’s 300-acre Chennai data centre campus, designed for future gigawatt-scale expansion.
• A separate 40 megawatt data centre is under development in Mumbai to host additional AI infrastructure.
• The infrastructure will integrate NVIDIA’s GPUs, CPUs, networking systems and enterprise platforms with L&T’s engineering and infrastructure capabilities.
• Target sectors for AI workloads include manufacturing, energy, financial services, healthcare and public services.

Google unveils America-India Connect subsea cable and frontier AI partnerships for Indian government bodies

[Google]

Key Updates:

• Google will build new subsea cable routes between India, the United States, Singapore, South Africa and Australia under the America-India Connect initiative.
• The project establishes an international subsea gateway in Visakhapatnam and four strategic fibre-optic routes to boost network connectivity.
• Google had previously announced a $15 billion investment over five years for an AI data centre in Andhra Pradesh.
• Google DeepMind will partner with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) to provide access to frontier AI for Science models including AlphaGenome, AI Co-scientist and Earth AI.
• Google DeepMind will also partner with NITI Aayog’s Atal Tinkering Labs to integrate robotics, coding, Gemini into teacher workflows and build a safeguarded AI assistant for students.
• Google.org launched the $30-million Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science, an open call for researchers, nonprofits and social enterprises in India and worldwide using AI for scientific breakthroughs.

Bihar debuts AI-based e-Voting for urban local body polls, eyes Assembly poll expansion

[Bihar]

Key Updates:

• State Election Commission, Bihar piloted Artificial Intelligence-based e-Voting in the Urban Local Body polls and plans to extend the model to the next Assembly elections.
• The mobile app allowed migrant workers, students outside constituencies, senior citizens, pregnant women, persons with disabilities and hospitalised patients to vote remotely.
• Voters authenticated identity with EPIC database photo via live facial recognition, liveness detection, device verification and blockchain encryption.
• Each vote was encrypted and recorded through blockchain; decryption occurred only after Returning Officers authenticated using Digital Signature Certificates, two-factor authentication and hash verification.
• Deepak Kumar, State Election Commissioner, stated this is the first time such e-Voting has been implemented in a live election in India.
• Dastavez AI, founded by Anmol Bharti and Amrit Bharti, showcased AI-driven legal document drafting for lawyers, startups and citizens at AI Impact Summit 2026.
• Tiger Analytics signed an MoU with the Government of Bihar at the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 to establish an AI Centre of Excellence with IIT Patna for skill development, research and governance solutions.

India AI Impact Summit 2026 releases AI Impact Startup Book mapping 100 deep-tech innovators

Key Updates:

• The AI Impact Startup Book was launched on the third day of the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
• The compendium maps 100 high-impact AI-driven solutions across sectors, technologies and geographies.
• AI innovation is expanding beyond healthcare into foundation models, indigenous AI infrastructure, waste-tech, voice- and vision-based Indian applications, and edge AI integrated with hardware.
• Nearly 47% of early-stage ventures retain strong local presence, while about 68% of growth-stage startups operate internationally.
• Shri Abhishek Singh, Director General of NIC, Additional Secretary at Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and CEO of IndiaAI, called the book a repository for ministries and states to evaluate and scale AI solutions.
• Sushant Kumar, Founder and CEO of Kalpa Impact, highlighted eight insights, noting India is building its own foundation models, AI infrastructure and edge innovation.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) unveils VoicERA at India AI Impact Summit 2026

[Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)]

Key Updates:

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) officially unveiled VoicERA, an open-source, end-to-end Voice Artificial Intelligence (AI) stack, at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
• VoicERA serves as a national execution layer for the Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD), targeting over 700 dialects to bridge the digital divide.
• The infrastructure is designed to be pluggable and interoperable, allowing deployment on-premise or within sovereign cloud environments to ensure citizen data remains within India.
• The stack utilizes advanced models trained on the Bharat Data Sagar, a repository containing phonetic markers, accents, and colloquialisms from across India.
• VoicERA incorporates high-fidelity Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Text-to-Speech (TTS) capabilities to handle code-switching between local languages and English or Hindi.
• Initial applications include voice-based agricultural advisories, transcription of court proceedings in the judicial sector, and voice-first government helplines for welfare schemes.
• The project is a collaborative effort between the DIBD, EkStep Foundation, International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT Bengaluru), and AI4Bharat.

Researchers discover new pistol shrimp species Alpheus madhusoodanai in Kochi backwaters

Key Updates:

• Researchers from the School of Industrial Fisheries at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) discovered a new species of pistol shrimp, also known as snapping shrimp, in the Kochi backwaters.
• The newly identified species belongs to the family Alpheidae and has been named Alpheus madhusoodanai.
• The species is named in honour of Prof B Madhusoodana Kurup, the first vice-chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and a noted fisheries scientist.
• The discovery was published in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
• This is the first alpheid shrimp species to be recorded from an estuary in the Kochi region.
• The shrimp contributes to the health of mangrove ecosystems by releasing toxic gases trapped in swampy soil through its burrowing tendency.
• The research team included scholars KP Vishnu, AbhaiKrishna U, and Nidhin B M, led by Prof M Harikrishnan of Cusat.

Archaeologists digitally map Alexander-era Mesopotamian city Charax Spasinou in Iraq.

[Iraq]

Key Updates:

• Charax Spasinou, founded in 324 BCE near the Tigris River, was one of Alexander the Great’s final planned settlements.
• Drones captured thousands of aerial images and magnetometers scanned the soil to build a digital map without excavation.
• The survey revealed wide streets, oversized housing blocks, temples and kiln-equipped industrial workshops across more than 500 square kilometres.
• Pottery, bricks and industrial debris scattered across the surface helped archaeologists confirm the city’s extent.

Lake Victoria turns green and toxic from nitrogen and phosphorus runoff, threatening East Africa's fisheries

Key Updates:

• Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake, now shows near-permanent green algal blooms loaded with liver-damaging microcystin.
• Nyando River dumps over 6,000 kg of nitrate daily during peak rains, while Nzoia River adds about 22,000 kg daily, fuelling explosive cyanobacterial growth.
• Microcystis and Dolichospermum dominate the blooms, producing toxins that create dead zones and crash fish populations.
• The lake supports a $600 million fish export industry and hundreds of thousands of tons of annual catch now at risk from oxygen depletion and food-web collapse.
• Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda rely on the lake for drinking water and livelihoods, but seasonal die-offs have become systemic and recovery may be impossible on human timescales.

Jammu and Kashmir defeats Bengal to reach first Ranji Trophy final

[Jammu and Kashmir]

Key Updates:

• Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) secured a six-wicket victory over Bengal to qualify for their first-ever Ranji Trophy final in 66 years.
• The semifinal match was contested at the Kalyani ground, located near Kolkata.
• J&K captain Paras Dogra completed 10,000 career first-class runs during the course of the match.
• Auqib Nabi was named Player of the Match for taking nine wickets in the game and scoring 42 runs in the first innings.
• Abdul Samad contributed scores of 82 off 85 balls in the first innings and 30 off 27 balls in the second innings to guide the chase.
• Bengal was dismissed for 99 runs in their second innings, setting up the final target for J&K.
• The J&K team is coached by Ajay Sharma, with P Krishna Kumar serving as the bowling coach.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti 2026 observed on February 19

[Maharashtra]

Key Updates:

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti 2026 was observed on February 19 as per the Gregorian calendar.
• According to the Hindu calendar the day falls on March 10.
• Shivaji Jayanti is recognised as a public holiday in Maharashtra.
• Shivaji Maharaj was born on February 19, 1630, at the Shivneri Fort.
• He was crowned as the ruler of the Maratha Empire in 1674 at the Raigad Fort.

2300-Year-Old Rock Paintings Protected Monument Lacks Basic Security

Key Updates:

• The Kumittipathi rock paintings in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, are estimated to be more than 2,300 years old.
• The site was declared a protected archaeological monument under Section 3(1) of the Tamil Nadu Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1966 last year.
• The paintings are located in two caves on Pathimalai hill under Thirumalayampalayam town panchayat near Madukkarai.
• The lower cave displays an elephant and a chariot; the upper cave shows human-like figures.
• No fencing, security guard, or information board has been installed so far despite official promises.
• Locals report cooking fires, graffiti, and stone arrangements for meditation damaging the pigment.
• District and revenue archaeology officials recently removed stones placed inside the caves.