Daily Current Affairs and GK | 26 February 2026

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

1. The Ministry of Jal Shakti will organize the Jal Mahotsav across the country from March 8 to 22.

• Ashok K.K. Meena, Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, announced the festival while speaking at the fourth edition of the multilingual Sujal Gram Samvad in New Delhi.
• The festival will focus on formally handing over water supply assets to gram panchayats.
• This will be done through Jal Arpan Diwas. This initiative will also strengthen water quality testing and monitoring systems.
• Ensuring safe drinking water through community participation is a key goal.
• Officials have appealed for active public participation in the Jal Mahotsav.
• It aims to promote sustainable, community-led water management in every village.
• The fourth Sujal Gram Samvad further strengthened the government's commitment to participatory water management.
• It supports community-led implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
• The virtual program included gram panchayat representatives and village water and sanitation committee members.
• Women's self-help groups, students, frontline workers, and state officials also participated.
• Village-level discussions took place at six Gram Panchayat headquarters.
• This platform allowed villages to share best practices in local languages.
• It also facilitated peer learning among community members from different villages.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

2. The National Roundtable Conference of the Election Commission of India and State Election Commissioners concluded in New Delhi.

• The conference unanimously adopted the National Declaration 2026.
• The Declaration emphasizes that accurate electoral rolls are essential for democracy.
• It states that transparent and fair elections strengthen democratic institutions.
• The Commission proposed to work with all State Election Commissioners to develop mutually agreed frameworks.
• These frameworks will be legally sound and support cooperation in the election process.
• This cooperation includes sharing ECINET, EVMs, electoral rolls, and infrastructure within IIIDEM.
• The ECI and State Election Commissions aim to align Panchayat and Municipal election laws with those for Parliamentary and State Legislative elections.
• The ECI invited SECs to participate in international engagements with the Commission.
• It recommended holding a National Round Table Conference every year.
• This conference could be held alongside an international conference chaired by the ECI.
• All recommendations from the SECs will be reviewed by a joint team of legal and technical officers.
• A state- and UT-specific action plan will be submitted to the ECI within three months to help it make decisions in the best interest of the country.
• Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar emphasized the importance of a pure electoral roll.
• He explained that the Special Intensive Revision Exercise aims to include all eligible voters and remove ineligible voters from the roll.
• Currently, SIR is underway in 12 states. Eleven of these states have already published their updated electoral rolls.
• The Round Table Conference was held after 27 years. The last conference was held in 1999.

Topic: National News

3. Prime Minister of India conferred with ‘Speaker of the Knesset Medal’ by Israeli Parliament.

• The ‘Speaker of the Knesset Medal’, the highest honour of Israel’s Parliament, was conferred upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recognition of his exceptional contribution to strengthening India–Israel strategic relations.
• The honour was presented at the Knesset in acknowledgment of his personal leadership in deepening bilateral cooperation between the two nations.
• The award was conferred by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana following the Prime Minister’s address to the Israeli Parliament.
• PM Modi is the first leader to receive this prestigious medal from the Knesset.
• The recognition reflects the elevation of India–Israel ties to a Strategic Partnership during his visit to Israel in July 2017.
• This marks his second visit of PM Modi to Israel in nine years, underlining the sustained engagement between the two countries.
• The Prime Minister is among the rare global leaders to have received top honours from both Israel and Palestine.
• In 2018, he was awarded the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine, the highest Palestinian honour for foreign leaders.
• The conferral of the medal signifies the growing strategic, political and economic partnership between India and Israel.
• The gesture further strengthens bilateral cooperation in defence, technology, agriculture and innovation sectors.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

4. Next-Generation ‘Rail Parcel App’ launched by South Central Railway.

• The next-generation ‘Rail Parcel App’ was launched by South Central Railway at Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad as a major digital initiative.
• The application was inaugurated by General Manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, marking a significant milestone in freight digitisation.
• The platform was introduced as a first-of-its-kind digital e-marketplace aimed at transforming rail-based parcel logistics.
• Seamless end-to-end services, including doorstep pickup and delivery, are being provided through the application.
• Features such as real-time tracking, automated alerts and secure digital payment options have been integrated into the system.
• The pilot rollout has been initiated across seven major cities including Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Bengaluru.
• The app is expected to eliminate long queues by bringing parcel services directly to customers through digital access.
• Additionally, an MoU was signed with Indian Institute of Management Bangalore to study the freight logistics market.
• The collaboration aims to identify infrastructure gaps and strengthen rail logistics capacity.
• The initiative aligns with the national mission of achieving 3,000 million tonnes of cargo loading by 2030.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

5. An MoU signed between India and Nepal to enhance cooperation in forests and biodiversity conservation.

• On 25 February, an MoU was signed between India and Nepal to strengthen cooperation in forests, wildlife, environment, biodiversity conservation and climate change.
• The agreement was signed between the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment in New Delhi.
• The signing ceremony was held in the presence of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and Nepal’s Minister Madhav Prasad Chaulagain.
• The need for enhanced coordination was emphasised in view of shared ecosystems and transboundary wildlife habitats.
• Cooperation at the landscape level will be undertaken with focus on species such as elephant, rhinoceros, tiger and snow leopard.
• Restoration of wildlife corridors and interlinking areas has been included to create transboundary conservation landscapes.
• Provisions have been made to combat forest and wildlife crime and strengthen enforcement capacity.
• Exchange of technical expertise, knowledge and best practices will be facilitated under the agreement.
• Smart green infrastructure development in biodiversity hotspots will also be promoted.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

6. A Statement of Intent signed between India and Sweden to strengthen AI and Digital Cooperation.

• A Statement of Intent was signed between the IndiaAI Mission and Business Sweden to enhance cooperation in Artificial Intelligence and digital technologies.
• The agreement was formalised on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 to promote bilateral engagement.
• A structured framework for collaboration on development, deployment and application of AI solutions was established under the agreement.
• The partnership was aligned with shared priorities of innovation, economic growth and responsible AI implementation.
• A dedicated programme titled the Sweden–India Technology and Artificial Intelligence Corridor (SITAC) will be jointly developed.
• SITAC will function as a flagship platform connecting government bodies, industry, startups and academic institutions.
• Conferences, seminars and thematic workshops will be organised to facilitate ecosystem exchanges.
• Opportunities for joint innovation platforms and investment corridors will be identified under the initiative.
• The collaboration seeks to combine India’s national AI ecosystem with Sweden’s strengths in industrial research and development.
• The partnership is expected to promote scalable, inclusive and sustainable AI solutions while strengthening trade and investment ties between the two countries.

Topic: Indian Economy

7. Listed private non-financial companies reported a 10.1% year-on-year increase in sales in the third quarter of 2025-26.

• This marked a return to double-digit growth. The sector had recorded single-digit growth in the previous eleven quarters.
• The Reserve Bank of India stated that this improvement was primarily due to strong manufacturing performance.
• These results are based on the abbreviated quarterly results of 3,188 listed non-government, non-financial firms.
• Sales of 1,794 listed manufacturing companies increased by 11.4% in this quarter.
• This was higher than the 8.5% growth recorded in the previous quarter.
• Automobile, electrical machinery, and non-ferrous metal industries led manufacturing growth.
• Sales growth of information technology companies improved to 8.8%.
• Non-IT service companies recorded stable sales growth of 10.6%.
• Manufacturing companies' operating profit increased by 11.8%. This growth was supported by a modest rise in other operating expenses.
• IT companies' operating profit growth increased to 11.1%.
• In contrast, non-IT service companies' operating profit growth slowed to 4.0% in the same quarter.

Topic: Defence

8. The Indian Navy concluded MILAN 2026 with a formal closing ceremony.

• The event took place onboard INS Vikrant, off the coast of Visakhapatnam.
• Rear Admiral Alok Anand led the closing ceremony. The exercise took place in the Bay of Bengal.
• MILAN 2026 was organized under the theme of "Camaraderie, Cooperation, Collaboration."
• The focus of the drills was to strengthen maritime partnerships.
• A total of 42 ships and submarines took part in the exercise. Twenty-nine aircraft also participated.
• Eighteen ships were provided by friendly countries.
• This made it one of the largest editions of the MILAN exercise.
• The exercise supported India's MAHASAGAR vision for regional security and growth.
• The exercise strengthened teamwork and mutual understanding. It also improved operational readiness among the participating navies.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

9. The Ministry of Culture signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

• This agreement focuses on developing a comprehensive plan for India's cultural and creative economy.
• The partnership aims to create a structured roadmap to strengthen the cultural sector.
• It aims to unlock the economic potential of creative industries.
• Gajendra Singh Shekhawat described the MoU as an important step.
• He said that this will help make culture a pillar of economic growth.
• He further said that this initiative will support artists and artisans across the country.
• The Minister said that this could provide better opportunities for them in the future.
• He also said that this agreement could enhance the global recognition of India's cultural products and services.

Topic: Personality in News

10. Robert Carradine has died at the age of 71.

• He had been battling bipolar disorder for nearly twenty years.
• He was best known for his role in The Long Riders. He also appeared on the television series Lizzie McGuire.
• He was the youngest son of actor John Carradine.
• He made his film debut in The Cowboys. He went on to have a long career in films and television.
• He became especially popular for his role as Lewis Skolnick in Revenge of the Nerds.
• He later gained a new generation of fans with his role as Sam McGuire on Lizzie McGuire.