Daily Current Affairs and GK | 15 and 16 February 2026

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

1. The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare organised a CSR conclave in New Delhi.

• The event was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme India and the Gates Foundation.
• The main theme of the conference focused on leveraging PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana (DDKY) for farmer prosperity.
• The conference brought together government officials, financial institutions, corporate CSR leaders, farmer producer organizations, and development partners.
• Approximately 65 representatives from companies such as Unilever, Reliance Foundation, ITC, Axis Bank, TCS, and JK Cement participated.
• The DDKY scheme was launched on October 11, 2025. It is for a period of six years and covers 100 districts.
• The scheme is inspired by the Aspirational Districts Programme of NITI Aayog.
• DDKY focuses on agriculture and allied sectors and aims to improve agricultural productivity and promote crop diversification.
• It is implemented through the convergence of 36 existing schemes across 11 departments.

Topic: National Appointments

2. Uday Kotak appointed Chairman of GIFT City Company.

• Industrialist and banker Uday Suresh Kotak has been appointed Chairman of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited (GIFT City Co. Ltd.).
• The appointment was made through a Government of Gujarat resolution dated February 13, 2026.
• He has replaced Hasmukh Adhia, who had been serving as Non-Executive Chairman since June 2023.
• The appointment has been made with immediate effect until further orders.
• Uday Kotak is the founder and director of Kotak Mahindra Bank and has led the group’s growth for nearly four decades.
• He previously served as Managing Director and CEO of the bank until September 1, 2023.
• Thereafter, he assumed the role of Non-Executive Non-Independent Director from September 2, 2023.
• GIFT City in Gujarat is India's first operational smart city and hosts India's first and only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 approved by the Cabinet to boost venture capital ecosystem.

• The Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 (FoF 2.0) has been approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Narendra Modi.
• A corpus of ₹10,000 crore has been created to mobilise venture capital for India’s expanding startup ecosystem.
• The new fund has been designed to accelerate the next phase of India’s startup journey.
• Long-term domestic capital mobilisation and strengthening of the venture capital landscape have been targeted under the scheme.
• FoF 2.0 builds upon nearly a decade of efforts under the Startup India initiative launched in 2016.
• The startup ecosystem has grown from fewer than 500 startups in 2016 to more than 2 lakhs recognised by DPIIT.
• The earlier Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS 1.0) had committed the full ₹10,000 crore corpus to 145 Alternative Investment Funds.
• These AIFs together invested over ₹25,500 crore in more than 1,370 startups across multiple high-technology sectors.
• The new phase will prioritise deep-tech and innovative manufacturing ventures requiring patient long-term capital.
• The initiative is aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047 and aims to strengthen India’s position as a global innovation hub.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. Aravind Eye Hospital Doctors selected for Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award 2026.

• Doctors from Aravind Eye Hospital have been selected for the Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award for 2026.
• Haripriya Aravind (Chief – Cataract & Intraocular Lens Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Chennai) was selected for the Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award 2026 for her service and compassion.
• R. Venkatesh (Chief Medical Officer, Aravind Eye Hospital, Puducherry) was also selected for the Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award 2026.
• The award will be presented during the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Foundation’s conference in Washington DC on April 11.
• Their humanitarian service in the field of cataract blindness has been recognised through this award.
• The Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award was instituted in 2017 by the ASCRS Foundation.
• The award carries a grant of $100,000 to be donated to the awardees’ chosen non-profit organisation.
• Both doctors have earmarked the prize money for the Aravind Eye Care System.
• Dr Haripriya initially joined Aravind in paediatric ophthalmology before moving to the cataract and intraocular lens department.
• Dr Venkatesh became a consultant after his 1997 residency and contributed extensively to high-volume cataract outreach work.
• He later specialised in glaucoma and has been serving at the Puducherry unit since its expansion in 2003.

Topic: Banking/Finance

5. RBI permitted banks higher acquisition financing limit.

• Higher acquisition financing limits for banks have been permitted by the Reserve Bank of India.
• Indian lenders will now be allowed to finance acquisitions up to 20% of their eligible capital base.
• The revised limit has been issued under the final rules following a review of bank exposure to capital markets.
• The earlier draft proposal had suggested a lower cap of 10% of Tier-1 capital.
• The recommendation made by lenders for a higher cap has been accepted by the central bank.
• Earlier, Indian banks were not permitted to finance acquisitions, putting them at a disadvantage against foreign lenders.
• The new framework opens an additional avenue of credit growth for domestic banks.
• Banks will be allowed to lend up to 75% of the acquisition value.
• Acquisition finance will be permitted for purchases of both listed and unlisted companies.
• Stake acquisition can be undertaken through equity shares or compulsorily convertible debentures as per the rules.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

6. India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is being attending by World Leaders in New Delhi.

• The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is being hosted in New Delhi from 16 to 20 February as a major global technology event.
• The five-day summit will be the first global AI summit to be organised in the Global South.
• Participation of world leaders from about 20 countries has been confirmed for the event.
• They include the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, President of Switzerland, Guy Parmelin, Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof, UAE’s Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and others.
• The summit has been positioned as a key platform for shaping global cooperation on artificial intelligence.
• Among the prominent attendees is Emmanuel Macron along with several heads of state and government.
• Ministerial delegations from more than 45 countries are also expected to join the deliberations.
• The summit is guided by three core pillars or Sutras — People, Planet and Progress.
• Discussions will be organised through seven thematic Chakras covering areas such as Safe AI, Innovation and Human Capital.
• More than two lakh participants have registered online and over 100 countries have been invited.
• The summit aims to position India as a key convenor in global AI cooperation and promote responsible and inclusive AI development.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

7. Amit Shah launched a Central Bank Digital Currency-based Public Distribution System in Gandhinagar.

• This initiative is a major reform in transparent food distribution.
• Shah said the Digital India vision of Narendra Modi is now being applied to the food supply system.
• He said that India accounts for nearly half of global digital transactions.
• CBDC-based PDS will reduce corruption in ration distribution.
• The system will remove middlemen from the supply chain.
• During the launch event, Shah inaugurated the ‘Annapurna’ machine, which can dispense 25 kg of food grains in about 35 seconds.
• The system will be expanded nationwide within three to four years.
• CBDC-based PDS will ensure secure and transparent food distribution.

Topic: International News

8. Barbados PM Mia Amor Mottley secured a historic third consecutive electoral victory.

• Mottley’s Barbados Labour Party (BLP) secured 30–0 mandate.
• It won over all 30 seats in the House of Assembly (lower house of parliament) for the third successive general election.
• Opposition leader, Ralph Thorne, called the result disappointing. Thorne expressed gratitude for a clean campaign.
• PM Modi congratulated PM Mottley. The two leaders have last met in November 2024 on sidelines of the India-CARICOM Summit in Georgetown, Guyana.
• Barbados is the Caribbean’s easternmost country. It is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Its capital and largest city is Bridgetown. The type of government is a unitary parliamentary republic.
• Barbadian dollar is the official currency in Barbados.

Topic: Banking/Finance

9. RBI’s Digital Payment Index (RBI-DPI) for September 2025 increased to 516.76.

• RBI-DPI for March 2025 stood at 493.22 and was announced on July 28, 2025.
• Reserve Bank of India released the latest Digital Payments Index.
• The index recorded a noticeable rise over the six-month period.
• The increase indicates continued expansion of digital payment usage.
• The RBI said growth in Payment Performance contributed to the increase.
• Improvements in Payment Enablers also supported the rise.
• The RBI-DPI measures the level of digital payment adoption across India.
• The composite index has been published by RBI since January 1, 2021.
• March 2018 functions as the base year for the index calculation.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. Union Cabinet has approved one lakh crore rupees for the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF).

• The fund will leverage private participation and citizen-centric reforms to deliver high-quality urban infrastructure.
• The initiative is expected to make cities the key drivers of the country's economic growth.
• The Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• The aim of the fund is to build resilient, productive, inclusive and climate-responsive cities.
• The UCF will crowd-in private capital by making projects bankable.
• It will also achieve this capital by reducing risks for lenders and private partners. 
• The Fund supports up to 25% of project cost, subject to raising a minimum of 50% of the project cost from the market.
• The operational period for the fund is from Financial Year 2025-26 to Financial Year 2030-31.
• Its implementation period is extendable up to the Financial Year 2033-34.
• This move is expected to result in a total investment of four lakh crore rupees in the urban sector in the next five years.
• This is also expected to mark a shift in India’s urban development approach from grant-based financing to outcome-oriented, market-linked and reform-driven infrastructure creation.