Asia Current Affairs One-liners — Last 12 months

Tue, 17 Feb 2026

• Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah chaired a Manthan Meeting with the Cooperation Ministers of all States and Union Territories in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 17 February 2026, under the theme 'Sahkar se Samriddhi'.
• Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on 17 February 2026, the second day of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, that India will add 20,000 GPUs to its existing 38,000 in the coming weeks.
• Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan paid floral tributes to Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur on his death anniversary at Uparashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on 17 February 2026.

Mon, 16 Feb 2026

• The India AI Impact Summit 2026 began at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 16 February 2026, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the India AI Impact Expo 2026 there the same day.
• President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the Centenary Celebration of the Ol Chiki script, organised by the Ministry of Culture, in New Delhi on 16 February 2026.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with members of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language, called on President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi on 16 February 2026 and presented the Committee's 13th report.
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported on 16 February 2026 that India's total exports of goods and services in April–January 2025-26 were an estimated US$ 720.76 billion, up 6.15% year on year.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Missile Integration facility at Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 16 February 2026, and flagged off the combat systems of the Akash 3rd and 4th Regiments.
• Krishna (Yard 18003), the first of three Cadet Training Ships being built for the Indian Navy, was launched at L&T's Kattupalli shipyard near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on 16 February 2026.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed the 79th Raising Day ceremony of the Delhi Police as chief guest in New Delhi on 16 February 2026.
• The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) issued a Statutory Direction on 16 February 2026 to the governments of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for time-bound implementation of State Action Plans to prevent and eliminate wheat stubble burning in the 2026 harvesting season.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG), in coordination with the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), intercepted a speed boat carrying about 203 kg of a suspected crystalline narcotic in the Arabian Sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line in an overnight operation on 16 February 2026.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation reported on 16 February 2026 that the labour force participation rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 and above was 55.9% in January 2026, against 56.1% in December 2025.
• The annual rate of inflation based on the All India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was 1.81% (provisional) for January 2026, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry reported on 16 February 2026.
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) announced on 16 February 2026 a penalty of ₹5 lakh on Snapdeal (Ace Vector Limited) for facilitating the sale of toys that did not conform to mandatory BIS standards.

Sun, 15 Feb 2026

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-based Digital Food Currency pilot for the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 15 February 2026.
• Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma distributed the first instalment of financial assistance under the Mukhyamantrir Atmanirbhar Asom Abhiyan 2.0 to 9,964 young entrepreneurs at Nehrubali, Nagaon, on 15 February 2026.
• India beat Pakistan by 61 runs in a Group A match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on 15 February 2026, confirming a place in the Super 8s.
• Sant Sevalal Maharaj, the revered spiritual leader of the Banjara community, was remembered on his 287th birth anniversary on 15 February 2026, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying tribute to him as a great social reformer.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT announced on 15 February 2026 the top 70 finalists of the three flagship Global Impact Challenges of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 — AI for ALL, AI by HER and YUVAi — chosen from over 4,650 applications from more than 60 countries.
• The Indian Navy inaugurated the MILAN Village at the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 15 February 2026 as part of its multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026.
• The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) announced on 15 February 2026 the release of ₹10.40 lakh under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework to Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in 24 districts across nine States and one Union Territory.
• The Ministry of Power reported on 15 February 2026 that India added a record 52,537 MW of power generation capacity in 2025-26 up to 31 January 2026, the highest ever in a single year.
• The two-day Research–Industry–Startup–Entrepreneurship (RISE) Conclave 2026 concluded at the Chennai Trade Centre, Tamil Nadu, on 15 February 2026.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah took part in the Maha Aarti of the Shiv Parivar on Mahashivratri in Vadodara, Gujarat, on 15 February 2026, before the idol of Sarveshwar Mahadev in Sursagar Lake.

Sat, 14 Feb 2026

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) of the Northeast on the Moran Bypass in Dibrugarh district, Assam, on 14 February 2026, landing on it aboard an Indian Air Force C-130J aircraft.
• Union Ayush Minister Prataprao Jadhav presided over the Unani Day 2026 celebrations in Mumbai, Maharashtra, on 14 February 2026, and inaugurated the renovated Co-location Centre of the Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine (RRIUM) at the J.J. Hospital campus.
• The International Conference on Dam Safety (ICDS 2026) was held at the J.N. Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 13–14 February 2026 under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II and III.
• The seventh anniversary of the Pulwama terror attack was observed on 14 February 2026, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan and Home Minister Amit Shah paying tribute, and the CRPF holding a memorial ceremony at Lethpora, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu, a six-lane bridge across the Brahmaputra connecting Guwahati with North Guwahati, Assam, on 14 February 2026.