1) 🇮🇳National

• Bharat Taxi Launch: Union Home Minister Amit Shah officially launched 'Bharat Taxi', India’s first government-supported cooperative ride-hailing platform, designed to provide a competitive alternative to private aggregators.
• PM’s Malaysia Visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his high-level visit to Kuala Lumpur, focusing on semiconductor cooperation, bilateral trade, and strengthening the 'Act East' policy with ASEAN nations.
• Seychelles President Visit: President Patrick Herminie of Seychelles arrived in India for a state visit to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two maritime neighbours.
• FNTA Agreement: The tripartite agreement for the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) has been finalised, providing enhanced administrative autonomy to the eastern districts of Nagaland.

2) 🌍International

• Milano Cortina 2026: The XXV Olympic Winter Games are officially underway in Italy. The opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium featured the theme "Armonia" (Harmony), celebrating global unity.
• US-Venezuela Ties: The United States has officially reopened its embassy in Caracas after a seven-year diplomatic hiatus, signalling a major shift in Western Hemisphere relations.
• Nuclear Vacuum: Global security experts are monitoring the formal expiry of the New START Treaty between the US and Russia, which occurred this weekend without a successor agreement.

3) 💰Economy

• India’s Rice Milestone: The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that India has officially surpassed China to become the world's largest rice producer, reaching an output of 150.18 million tonnes.
• Forex Reserves: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced that India's foreign exchange reserves have climbed to a robust $723.8 billion, providing over 11 months of import cover.
• India-US Trade: Following the new trade pact, the Indian Rupee showed resilience, trading near 90.4 per dollar, as markets reacted to the reduction of US tariffs on Indian goods to 18%.
• MSME Loan Boost: The RBI has proposed doubling the limit for collateral-free loans for MSMEs from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh to stimulate small-scale industrial growth.

4) 🗓️Date’s importance

• Propose Day: Observed on 8 February as the second day of Valentine’s Week, a major cultural and commercial event globally.
• Safer Internet Day (Week): Observed to promote a more secure and positive digital environment for children and young people.
• Historic Milestone: On this day in 1924, the first execution by lethal gas in American history took place in Nevada.

5) 👱‍♂️👩‍🦳Person of the day

• Vaibhav Suryavanshi: The young Indian batting sensation who scored a monumental 175 runs in the U19 World Cup Final, setting a new benchmark for junior international cricket.
• Laura Fernández: Taking centre stage as she begins her term as the first woman President of Costa Ricafollowing her historic election victory.

6) 🏅Sports

• U19 World Cup Champions: India defeated England by 100 runs in the final to lift their 6th ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup title.
• T20 World Cup 2026: The tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka has officially begun. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has formally announced a boycott of their group match against India.
• Winter Olympics Debut: Ski Mountaineering (SkiMo) held its first-ever Olympic competitive sessions today as a newly added sport for the 2026 Games.

7) 🏆Awards

• AP NFL MVP 2026: Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player in one of the closest votes in history.
• BCCI Reward: The BCCI announced a cash prize of ₹7.5 crore for the Indian U19 team and support staff following their World Cup triumph.
• Soldier of Humanity Award: The Queen Mother of Bhutan was conferred with the 22nd Upendra Nath Brahma Award for her social services.

8) ⭐️Other important significance

• JEE Main 2026: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is expected to announce the Session 1 results shortly following the closure of the answer key challenge window.
• SFDR Tech Success: DRDO successfully flight-tested the Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology, a critical step for long-range air-to-air missiles.

📚Word of the day

• Prescience (Noun)
• Meaning: The fact of knowing something before it takes place; foreknowledge.
• Usage: "The captain's prescience in changing the bowling attack led directly to the middle-order collapse of the opposition."