Asia Current Affairs One-liners — Last 12 months

Sun, 22 Feb 2026

• The 62nd edition of 'Fit India Sundays on Cycle' was held with the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) at more than 1,000 locations across India on 22 February 2026, the Sports Ministry said.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, replying to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X on 22 February 2026, said India deeply values its friendship with Israel and looked forward to discussions during his upcoming visit to Israel.
• India and Brazil signed a Memorandum of Understanding on postal sector cooperation during Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's State Visit, the Ministry of Communications announced on 22 February 2026.
• Uttarakhand Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Gurmit Singh inaugurated the 30th Divya Kala Mela, a fair of products by Divyang artisans and entrepreneurs, at Rangers Ground, Dehradun, on 22 February 2026.

Sat, 21 Feb 2026

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held talks at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, on 21 February 2026 and committed to taking bilateral trade beyond $20 billion over the next five years.
• Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan released the updated Constitution of India in Gujarati and Tamil and the 8th edition of the Legal Glossary (English–Hindi) at the Vice President's Enclave, New Delhi, on International Mother Language Day, 21 February 2026.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah attended the 87th Raising Day celebrations of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Guwahati, Assam, on 21 February 2026 — the first time the CRPF Day Parade was held in the North-East.
• India and Brazil signed MoUs on minerals for the steel sector, pharmaceutical and medical product regulation, and MSME cooperation in New Delhi on 21 February 2026, during President Lula's State Visit.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) issued Statutory Direction No. 98 on 21 February 2026, setting a uniform particulate matter emission limit of 50 mg/Nm³ for identified industries across Delhi-NCR.
• Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda launched the indigenously manufactured Tetanus and Adult Diphtheria (Td) vaccine at the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, on 21 February 2026.
• The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) access agreement between India's CSIR and Brazil's National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) was exchanged in New Delhi on 21 February 2026 in the presence of PM Modi and President Lula.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the groundbreaking of India Chip Pvt Ltd, the HCL–Foxconn semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) unit at YEIDA, Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, by video conference on 21 February 2026.
• The 5th Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC-26) was held at the Naval War College, Goa, on 21 February 2026, bringing together navy chiefs and senior maritime leaders from 15 Indian Ocean Region nations.
• Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, FOC-in-C Western Naval Command, inaugurated residential accommodation under Project Seabird Phase IIA at Naval Base Karwar, Karnataka, on 21 February 2026.
• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) concluded SANVAD 2026, its first Scholars' Assembly for Next-gen Ventures to Advance their Development, at ICMR–National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, on 21 February 2026.

Fri, 20 Feb 2026

• The India AI Impact Summit 2026 concluded at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 20 February 2026 with the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact and over $250 billion in AI infrastructure investment pledges.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched the ₹6,839-crore Vibrant Villages Programme-II (VVP-II) at Nathanpur village in Cachar district, Assam, on 20 February 2026.
• The Indian Navy assumed the chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) from the Royal Thai Navy at the 9th Conclave of Chiefs in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 20 February 2026, returning to the helm after 16 years.
• Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh launched the Access Pass for fishing in India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for all 13 coastal states and UTs at Veraval, Gujarat, on 20 February 2026.
• The National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government at the India AI Impact Summit on 20 February 2026 to set up India's first dedicated Quantum and AI university campus in Amaravati.
• India formally joined the Pax Silica coalition with the United States on the fifth day of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on 20 February 2026.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal launched seven additional interventions under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) for MSME exporters in New Delhi on 20 February 2026, making 10 of its 11 proposed interventions operational.
• The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) revised the base year of India's Merchandise Trade Indices from FY 2012-13 to FY 2022-23, the Commerce Ministry announced on 20 February 2026.
• Manipur BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte, who was injured in May 2023 during the ethnic violence in the state, died at a hospital in Gurugram on 20 February 2026.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Disanayaka in New Delhi on 20 February 2026, on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) issued Statutory Direction No. 97 on 20 February 2026 to strengthen dust control and demolition waste management at construction sites across Delhi-NCR.

Thu, 19 Feb 2026

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 19 February 2026 and set out the M.A.N.A.V. vision for artificial intelligence.
• A study led by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, using fossils from the Ashoka Coal Mine in Jharkhand's North Karanpura Basin, has reconstructed a Gondwanan ecosystem of about 300 million years ago, the Department of Science and Technology announced on 19 February 2026.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Indian Navy's multilateral Exercise MILAN 2026 at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 19 February 2026, with navy chiefs and delegations from 74 countries.
• Researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, have developed a sulfur-vacancy-induced 1T-phase molybdenum disulfide (1T-MoS₂) cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries, the Department of Science and Technology announced on 19 February 2026.