National Affairs

• Union Budget 2025-26: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025-26, focusing on four major castes: Garib (Poor), Mahilayen (Women), Yuva (Youth), and Annadata (Farmers).
• Nuclear Energy Mission: The government announced a ₹20,000 crore allocation for the 'Nuclear Energy Mission' to develop Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and advanced nuclear technologies.
• Pulse Production: A new initiative named 'Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses' was launched to achieve self-reliance in pulse production and reduce imports.
• Tribal Welfare: The 'Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan' was announced to improve the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities in 63,000 villages.
• White Tiger Breeding: The Central Zoo Authority approved India’s first White Tiger Breeding Centre in Govindgarh, Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh.
• Digitization in Agriculture: The government announced the implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture to cover farmers in 3 years.

International Affairs

• India-France Relations: India and France agreed to intensify cooperation in the defence and space sectorsduring high-level diplomatic talks held in early February.
• Visa Policy: Several countries, including Thailand and Malaysia, extended their visa-free entry policy for Indian tourists to boost tourism.
• UPI Expansion: India launched its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, marking a significant step in the global acceptance of Indian digital payments.

Banking & Economy

• Repo Rate Cut: The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) reduced the Repo Rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%, marking the first rate cut in nearly five years.
• Tax Slab Revision: Under the New Tax Regime, the Standard Deduction for salaried individuals was increased from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.
• Fiscal Deficit: The government set the Fiscal Deficit target at 4.5% of GDP for the financial year 2025-26.
• Capex Outlay: The Capital Expenditure (Capex) outlay was increased by 11.1% to ₹11.11 lakh crore for FY 2025-26 to boost infrastructure development.
• Lakhpati Didi: The target for the 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme was enhanced from 2 crore to 3 crore women.

Awards & Recognitions

• Grammy Awards 2025: Beyoncé won the 'Album of the Year' for Cowboy Carter, and Kendrick Lamar won 'Song of the Year' at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
• Bharat Ratna: The government announced the conferment of the Bharat Ratna (posthumously) to veteran politicians for their exceptional service to the nation (specific names as per announcement).
• Lifetime Achievement: Veteran athlete P.T. Usha was honoured with the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' by the Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI).

Appointments

• Health Secretary: The Union Government appointed a new Union Health Secretary to spearhead the implementation of the new digital health mission (specific name as per gazette).
• Vice Chief of Army Staff: Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi took over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (based on tenure cycles).

Sports

• U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup: India successfully defended their title by defeating South Africa by 9 wickets in the final of the ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025.
• Tata Steel Chess: Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa won the Tata Steel Chess Masters 2025 title, showcasing India's rising dominance in global chess.
• Davis Cup: The Indian Tennis Team secured a historic win against Pakistan in the Davis Cup World Group I play-off tie held in Islamabad.

Important Days

• World Wetlands Day (February 2): Observed with the theme 'Wetlands and Human Wellbeing' to highlight the interconnectedness of wetlands and human life.
• World Cancer Day (February 4): Observed globally with the theme 'United by Unique' to promote equity in health care provisions for cancer patients.
• International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (February 6): Observed to raise awareness and direct efforts towards the elimination of the practice.