1) 🇮🇳National

• National Science Day 2026: India celebrates National Science Day today with the theme "Women in Science: Catalyzing Viksit Bharat". The day commemorates Sir C.V. Raman's discovery of the 'Raman Effect' in 1928.
• Rail Tech Reform: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched the Rail Tech Policy, Portal, and e-RCT(Electronic Railway Claims Tribunal). This digital upgrade aims to modernise railway operations and streamline passenger grievance and claim settlements.
• India AI Impact Summit: The summit concluded in New Delhi, positioning India as a global leader in AI governance. Key highlights include the allocation of ₹1,000 crore to the IndiaAI Mission and the goal of achieving 38,000 GPUs for domestic research.
• Pakyong Airport Renaming: Sikkim's only airport, Pakyong, is set to be renamed after freedom fighter Trilochan Pokhrel, as announced by CM Prem Singh Tamang.

2) 🌍International

• India-Israel Strategic Partnership: During PM Modi's visit to Israel, bilateral ties were elevated to a 'Special Strategic Partnership'. The visit focused on defense technology, the 'Sudarshan Chakra' missile shield, and agricultural innovation.
• Operation Ghazab lil-Haq: Pakistan has declared 'open war' and launched air strikes on militant hideouts inside Afghanistan following a series of border security breaches.
• Saudi Poultry Ban: Saudi Arabia has imposed a ban on poultry imports from 40 nations, including India and Bangladesh, citing health and safety concerns.

3) 💰Economy

• GDP Base Year Reset: India has officially transitioned to 2022-23 as the new base year for GDP calculation, replacing the 2011-12 series. Q3 FY26 growth was recorded at 7.8% under the new series.
• SEBI Mutual Fund Overhaul: SEBI has introduced a major revamp of Mutual Fund Rules 2026 to enhance transparency and protect retail investors in the rapidly growing capital market.
• Global Leadership Hub: Executive search firms report that India has emerged as a primary leadership pool for MNCs, with white-collar hiring expected to see double-digit growth in 2026.

4) 🗓️Date’s importance

• National Science Day: Observed every 28 February to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect.
• Rare Disease Day: Celebrated on the last day of February (today) to raise awareness for "Orphan Diseases" that affect a small percentage of the population but require high-level research.

5) 👱‍♂️👩‍🦳Person of the day

• Sir C.V. Raman: The first Indian and Asian to win a Nobel Prize in Science (Physics, 1930). His work on light scattering remains a foundation for modern spectroscopy.
• Alia Bhatt: The actor-producer made headlines as a presenter at the 79th BAFTA Awards in London, representing Indian cinema on the global stage.

6) 🏅Sports

• T20 World Cup 2026: India kept their semi-final hopes alive with a commanding 72-run win over Zimbabweat Chepauk. Tilak Varma's explosive 44 off 16 balls was the highlight of India's 256/4.
• Ranji Trophy Final: The historic final match is set between Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka. This marks J&K's first-ever appearance in a Ranji Trophy final.

7) 🏆Awards

• BAFTA 2026 - ‘Boong’: The Manipuri-language film Boong made history by winning the Best Children and Family Film award at the BAFTAs, the first Indian film to achieve this.
• ET AI Awards 2026: Held in Bengaluru, the awards honoured innovators like Jio Platforms (AI-Native Large Enterprise) and Qure.ai (AI Startup of the Year - Life Sciences).

8) ⭐️Other important significance

• Planet Parade: A rare celestial alignment of six planets—Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter—is visible in the Indian night sky this weekend.
• Space Cyber Security: CERT-In and SIA-India released a new Space Cyber Security Framework to protect India's growing commercial and strategic space assets.

📚Word of the day

• Sovereign (Adjective)
  • Meaning: Possessing supreme or ultimate power; in a technical context, refers to independent data and AI infrastructure.
  • Usage: "India is focusing on building a sovereign AI stack to ensure data security and technological independence."