1 Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Bangladesh government in Dhaka on 17th.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Bangladesh government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party President Tarique Rahman in Dhaka on the 17th of this month . The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the Speaker’s participation in this important event underlines the deep and unwavering friendship between the people of India and Bangladesh. The Ministry said that it reaffirms India’s strong commitment to the democratic values that bind the two countries.
2 Home Minister Amit Shah launched the country’s first central bank digital currency based public distribution system
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah launched a transparent, modern, and simple Public Distribution System (PDS) based on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat . The Home Minister expressed confidence that the new digital token-based distribution system will eliminate corruption in the public distribution system and bring much-needed transparency to the distribution process. This system will provide beneficiaries with digital wallet tokens containing details of the commodity’s name, quantity, and price . With this initiative, Gujarat has become the first state in the country to transfer Public Distribution System subsidies using Central Bank Digital Currency authorized by the Reserve Bank of India. Under this pilot project, over 26,000 families in Ahmedabad, Surat, Anand, and Valsad will receive digital tokens in their wallets, which they can use to purchase rations via QR code or OTP. On this occasion, Shri Amit Shah also virtually inaugurated the ” Annapurti ” grain ATM in Ahmedabad, which can dispense up to 25 kilograms of grain in just 35 seconds . The Home Minister also launched the ” Suposhit Garudeshwar ” mission to combat malnutrition in Narmada district . Additionally, two MoUs were signed with CARE Ratings and the Consumer Education and Research Centre to strengthen consumer protection and transparency in the state.
Hyderabad-based Biological E. has received Phase II prequalification from the World Health Organization for its novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). The Phase II prequalification includes both the drug substance and drug product manufactured at BE, completing the entire manufacturing chain for nOPV2 at a single integrated site. This step will further strengthen global response capacity to outbreaks caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) . The WHO prequalification process certifies that the vaccine meets internationally established safety, quality, and efficacy standards. UN agencies like UNICEF can then procure and distribute this vaccine globally, accelerating polio eradication efforts. The novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) is an advanced vaccine developed to prevent outbreaks caused by vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) . This is especially effective in areas where there is a higher risk of virus spread due to low vaccination coverage.
India is poised to take a major step in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) . A 17-billion-parameter multilingual AI model called ” Param-2 ” will be launched at the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026. Developed under the “Param-2” initiative, “Param-2” represents India’s efforts to build its own sovereign foundational AI models, specifically tailored to India’s languages, administrative needs, and cultural circumstances. BharatGen is India’s national generative AI initiative, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) . Over the past few years, this program has established a strong foundation, placing India among a select group of countries capable of developing large-scale AI models on its own. “Param-2” supports all 22 scheduled languages of India and has been trained on India-specific datasets under the ” Bharat Data Ocean .” The model is based on a “mixture-of-experts” architecture, enabling it to efficiently and effectively handle complex multilingual tasks.
5 Herath Poshte
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi extended greetings on the auspicious occasion of ‘ Herath Poshte ‘ , a festival that reflects the rich traditions of the Kashmiri Pandit community . Herath, also known as ‘ Har Ratri ‘ or ‘ Shiv Ratri ‘, is the most important religious and cultural festival of Kashmiri Pandits. It is celebrated on the thirteenth day of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) of the month of Phalgun , which usually falls between February and March. This festival symbolizes the sacred union of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati . Despite the large-scale exodus from Kashmir in 1990, Kashmiri Pandits have maintained their cultural roots and continue to celebrate Herath with great devotion. This festival still reflects the cultural heritage and religious faith of the Kashmiri Pandit community.
Two major monastic festivals in Ladakh – Leh Dosmochey and Likir Monastery Stromchoy – are being celebrated with religious fervor and traditional gaiety. These festivals symbolize the victory of good over evil. The sacred Buddhist Tantric mask dances performed by monks are a major attraction. These festivals mark the end of the winter season in the region and the beginning of preparations for the upcoming agricultural season. These festivals are followed by a fortnight of special prayers and rituals for world peace, timely snowfall and rain, and a prosperous harvest.
India put up a stellar performance at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship 2026 held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges , topping the medal table with 94 medals (51 gold, 23 silver, 20 bronze) . The Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship, New Delhi 2026 concluded at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges here. The host team secured its place in the continental standings by winning six gold, three silver and four bronze medals on the final day of the competition.
8 International Childhood Cancer Day
International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is a global collaborative campaign observed every year on 15 February to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to express support for children and adolescents living with cancer, cancer survivors and their families.
Unani Day 2026 was celebrated with great fanfare and a two-day national conference on ” Innovation and Evidence in Unani Systems ” was held at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai . The conference provided a platform for eminent scholars, policymakers, researchers, industry representatives, practitioners, and students from across the country to deliberate on the future roadmap of Unani medicine in the era of evidence-based healthcare. Unani Day was celebrated on February 14, 2026 , to commemorate the rich heritage and contributions of the Unani system of medicine.