Daily Current Affairs and GK | 14 February 2026

Topic: Geography

1. Tropical Cyclone Gezani struck Toamasina, which is main port city of Madagascar.

• The cyclone led to death of 31 people, collapsed houses and cutting power across the region.
• Red alerts for floods and landslides were issued as the storm moved inland.
• Toamasina suffered extensive damage and 75% of infrastructure was destroyed.
• Tropical Cyclone Gezani crossed the Indian Ocean island with high winds and rain.
• It made landfall on 10 February. On Wednesday (February 11), it weakened to a tropical storm.
• The storm passed around 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the capital, Antananarivo.
• Madagascar is highly vulnerable to cyclones. It was hit by Cyclone Fytia less than two weeks ago.
• Cyclone Fytia killed 14 people in the country. Tropical Cyclone Fytia hit on January 31. 
• Cyclone season in Madagascar continues from around November to March.
• Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island. It has been affected by over a dozen tropical storms or cyclones since 2020.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

2. Ministry of Women and Child Development organised a National Conference on Safety of Women at Workplace (SHe-Box) on 14 February 2026.

• The conference was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in presence of the Union  Minister for Women and Child Development, Annpurna Devi, and the Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Savitri Thakur.
• The Conference is an effort to reaffirm commitment of the Government to make sure creation of a safe, dignified and harassment-free workplaces for all women across different sectors.
• It is also an effort to strengthen implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
• SHe-Box portal was launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 29th August, 2024.
• It was launched as a secure, user-friendly, multilingual single-window platform.
• It allows online complaint filing, automatic forwarding to the concerned Internal or Local Committee.
• Union Minister Annpurna Devi also administered a National Workplace Safety Pledge. She also delivered keynote address.
• Around 1,500 participants from over 100 Organizations including Government and Private sectors came together during the conference.

Topic: Sports

3. Indian athletes won gold and bronze medals in hammer throw at the Abu Dhabi Masters.

• The gold medal was won by Kishorakumar Chandira Mogan in the 30+ age category.
• The bronze medal was earned by Mohammad Ansar at the international veterans athletics meet.
• A winning throw of 37.92 metres was recorded by Kishorakumar to claim the top position.
• He maintained consistency with earlier valid throws of 35.94 metres and 36.97 metres during the event.
• Two no-marks were also registered by him during his series of attempts.
• The competition is being held as part of the Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026.
• The event is recognised as the first major masters multi-sport games hosted in West Asia.
• Unlike the traditional World Masters Games, the Abu Dhabi edition follows a fully inclusive open format.
• The eight-day sporting event welcomes participants aged 30 and above and concluded on February 14.

Topic: State News/Delhi

4. Chief Minister Skill Development Scheme for Artisans approved in Delhi.

• The ‘Chief Minister Skill Development Scheme’ has been approved by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
• The decision was cleared during a recent Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister.
• The scheme is intended to support artisans linked with khadi, handloom, cottage industries and the unorganised sector.
• Its implementation will be carried out through the Delhi Khadi and Village Industries Board (DKVIB).
• During 2025–26, training will be provided to 3,728 beneficiaries with ₹8.95 crore sanctioned for the first phase.
• The initial phase will primarily focus on nearly 18,000 tailors registered on the e-Shram portal.
• Eligibility requires applicants to be at least 18 years old, with only one member per family allowed under the scheme.
• Government employees and their family members have been kept ineligible, and Aadhaar verification will be mandatory.
• Each beneficiary will undergo 12 days (96 hours) of structured training including a two-day Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP).
• Upon completion, each beneficiary will receive a stipend of Rs 4,800 (Rs 400 per day), plus Rs 100 per day for food.
• A key feature of the scheme is digital onboarding, under which each artisan gets an e-catalogue with their profile, photos and product details uploaded to the ONDC platform to provide nationwide and global visibility.

Topic: India and Its Neighbour

5. BNP is set to form the government in Bangladesh after securing a two-thirds majority.

• A two-thirds majority in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections has been secured by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
• The party has been positioned to form the next government in the 300-member Parliament.
• Official results for 297 seats were released by the Election Commission confirming the victory.
• A total of 209 seats were won by BNP, comfortably crossing the required majority mark of 151.
• BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman met supporters and senior leaders to discuss the transition of power.
• Preparations for swearing-in of Members of Parliament are underway in line with constitutional procedures.
• The newly elected MPs are likely to take oath on 16 February, according to officials.
• Party leadership identified economic revival, law and order, anti-corruption efforts and justice delivery as key priorities.
• Allegations of vote counting irregularities were raised by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies.
• The Election Commission stated that the polls and referendum were largely peaceful despite isolated violence.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

6. An MoU signed between C-DOT and Rashtriya Raksha University to boost strategic innovation.

• A landmark MoU has been signed between Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), Gandhinagar.
• The agreement has been aimed at collaborative research in telecom and cybersecurity domains.
• Under the MoU, C-DOT, in collaboration with RRU, will set up an Innovation-cum-Experience Centre on the RRU campus.
• The Centre will jointly drive research, innovation and technology development in key domains such as cyber security, quantum technology, AI/ML, IoT/M2M solutions, 5G networks and mission critical services.
• The centre will function as a hub for incubation, mentoring and collaboration with startups and academia.
• Training, skilling and capacity-building programmes will also be conducted to create an industry-ready workforce.
• A focused project on TRINETRA, C-DOT’s indigenous AI-powered cybersecurity solution, forms a key component.
• The facility will provide hands-on exposure for police, law enforcement agencies and government officials.
• The collaboration aims to strengthen indigenous innovation and address risks arising from digital transformation.
• C-DOT is the premier R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
• RRU, Gandhinagar, is an Institution of National Importance under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

7. The World Health Organization has approved a new type of oral polio vaccine (nOPV2).

• This move strengthens global efforts to combat polio outbreaks.
• Pre-qualification means that the vaccine meets global standards of safety and quality.
• This approval allows agencies like UNICEF to purchase the vaccine and enables its widespread distribution for emergency vaccination campaigns.
• The nOPV2 vaccine is genetically more stable than older oral vaccines.
• This reduces the risk of new vaccine-induced outbreaks.
• This decision follows a $1.9 billion pledge made by global leaders in December.
• This funding supports ongoing eradication programs. The goal is to protect approximately 370 million children from polio each year.
• Polio can cause paralysis and can be fatal. It has been eradicated in many areas. However, it still spreads in some parts of the world.
• Polio is a life-threatening disease. It is caused by the poliovirus.
• It spreads mainly through contact with feces of an infected person or contaminated water.
• World Health Organisation declared India as polio-free on 27 March 2014.

Topic: State News/ Assam

8. PM Modi is on a visit to Assam and will launch projects worth over ₹5,450 crore.

• His visit will begin at the Emergency Landing Facility on the Moran Bypass in Dibrugarh.
• He will witness an aerial display by military aircraft.
• The Emergency Landing Facility is the first of its kind in the region.
• It was built in collaboration with the Indian Air Force. The site is designed for both civilian and military use.
• It can handle fighter jets weighing up to 40 tons. It can also support transport aircraft weighing up to 74 tons.
• The Prime Minister will inspect the Kumar Bhaskar Verma Setu.
• This bridge spans the Brahmaputra River and connects Guwahati to North Guwahati.
• The six-lane bridge was built at a cost of approximately ₹3,030 crore.
• The bridge incorporates advanced seismic protection features. Friction pendulum bearings have been installed for stability.
• High-performance stay cables improve long-term durability. A bridge health monitoring system has been installed, allowing real-time monitoring of structural conditions.
• The Prime Minister will also inaugurate a National Data Center in Amingaon, Kamrup district, with a sanctioned load of 8.5 MW.
• This facility will host critical government applications and serve as a disaster recovery center for other data centers.
• The Prime Minister will inaugurate the Indian Institute of Management Guwahati.
• He will also flag off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus service scheme.
• One hundred buses will operate in Guwahati. 50 buses each will operate in Nagpur and Bhavnagar. 25 buses will be deployed in Chandigarh.
• The PM-eBus service scheme is a central government initiative.
• It was launched in August 2023 to deploy 10,000 electric buses.
• Electric buses will be deployed in 169 cities through the public-private partnership model.

Topic: Sports

9. India's campaign at the Asian Shooting Championships 2026 held in New Delhi concluded successfully.

• The team won seven medals on the final day. India won a total of 33 medals in the senior rifle and pistol events.
• This includes 13 gold, 11 silver, and nine bronze medals.
• Amanpreet Singh won the gold medal in the 25m center fire pistol event.
• He scored a total of 589 points in the precision and rapid rounds.
• Gurpreet Singh won the silver medal in the same event with 584 points. Ankur Goyal won the bronze medal with 570 points.
• Sift Kaur Samra finished second in the women's 50m rifle prone event, scoring 623.2 points.
• Yelizaveta Bezrukova of Kazakhstan won the gold medal with 623.4 points. Tejaswini Sawant won the bronze medal with 621.0 points.
• India won another gold medal in the women's team competition. Sifat Kaur Samra, Tejaswini Sawant, and Manini Kaushik formed the winning trio, scoring a total of 1862.9 points.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

10. The International Conference on Dam Safety 2026 held in Bengaluru at the J.N. Tata Auditorium at the Indian Institute of Science.

• The event was held on 13 and 14 February 2026 under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & III.
• The conference was organised by Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and the Water Resources Department, Government of Karnataka.
• It was organised in collaboration with the Central Water Commission (CWC); Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru; and the World Bank.
• Siddaramaia, Chief Minister of Karnataka inaugurated the conference.
• Raj Bhushan Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Ministry of Jal Shakti, attended the inaugural session as Chief Guest.
• An AI-powered platform named DAMCHAT was launched during the inaugural session.
• It was developed by IIT Roorkee’s International Centre of Excellence for Dams.
• A Jal Shakti data management platform by the National Water Informatics Centre was also unveiled.
• The conference provides a global platform for knowledge exchange.
• More than 750 delegates attended the first day. Participants came from 12 countries.