Current Affairs Quiz - February 2026

Notes:
22 states and Union Territories have requested the Centre to increase honorarium for cooks and helpers under the PM-POSHAN scheme. PM-POSHAN, formerly Mid-Day Meal Scheme, is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme run by the Ministry of Education. It provides one hot cooked meal per school day to children in Balvatikas (pre-primary) and Classes 1 to 8 in government and government-aided schools.

Notes:
The 7th Para Archers National Championship 2026 was inaugurated at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, Punjab. It is a national-level para sports event showcasing top talent in para archery. The championship is hosted by the Punjab Archery Association under the Archery Association of India. It is supported by the Sports Authority of India. The championship is being held from 30 January to 3 February 2026.

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The Finance Minister announced SHE-Mart to support women entrepreneurs through a new market platform. SHE stands for Self-help Entrepreneur, and these marts will be community-owned retail outlets. They will be set up within cluster-level federations using innovative and enhanced financing tools. The aim is to give women better market access, branding support, and stable income. It will strengthen grassroots institutions like Self-Help Groups (SHGs). The initiative builds on the success of the Lakhpati Didi programme.

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Gyan Bharatam is a flagship Ministry of Culture initiative announced in Union Budget 2025–26 to preserve India’s manuscript heritage. It aligns with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 by linking cultural preservation with human capital development. The Standing Finance Committee approved ₹491.66 crore for 2025–2031. The programme works on survey, conservation, digitisation, translation, research, and outreach. More than 7.5 lakh manuscripts have been digitised, with 1.29 lakh available on the Gyan Bharatam portal.

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The Cities of Care Conference was inaugurated at IIT Madras Research Park by the University of Toronto India Foundation (UTIF), IIT Madras School of Sustainability, and University of Toronto School of Cities. The conference brings together global universities, research institutions, policymakers, and practitioners to advance climate action and sustainable urban development in India. The Sustainable India 2025 report, released during the conference with REVOLVE, highlights India’s progress and challenges in energy transition, waste management, urban resilience, and decarbonising industries.

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Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an 81-year-old Indian-origin scientist, won the Crafoord Prize, called the “Nobel of Geosciences,” for his pioneering climate research. He grew up in southern India, studied engineering in Bengaluru, and moved to the United States for higher studies. Early work at a refrigeration company led him to study chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and their heat-trapping effect on the atmosphere. In 1975, his Science paper showed that a single CFC molecule could warm the planet as much as thousands of carbon dioxide molecules. His work contributed to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, banning CFCs and preventing further warming.

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched Pilloo AI, a voice-based billing and accounting assistant for businesses. The app allows users to create invoices, record transactions, generate reports, and manage accounts by speaking in their native language. No prior accounting knowledge or complex software is required, saving time and reducing manual effort. Pilloo AI supports five Indian languages and can record daily sales and payments, generate balance sheets, receivables, and payables. It automates purchase and bank transaction entries by extracting data from uploaded bills and bank statements.

Notes:
The 10th Mising Youth Festival 2026 was held from 26–30 January at Kareng Chapori, Dhemaji, Assam. It celebrates the heritage of the Mising tribe through traditional music, dance, and art. The festival was organized by Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK) to showcase the culture of the Brahmaputra Valley’s riparian community. The event emphasizes that protection of tribal rights, culture, language, literature, and music is achieved through cultural unity, not conflict. The Donyi-Polo tradition of the Mising community teaches that worshipping nature is equivalent to worshipping God.

Notes:
Scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) discovered a new flowering plant species named Dicliptera pakhalica. The discovery was made in Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary located in Warangal district of Telangana. The sanctuary is dominated by mixed deciduous forest vegetation. The area has rich plant diversity including bamboo and teak trees.

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Spain has announced a nationwide ban on social media access for children below 16 years of age. It became the first European country and the second globally after Australia to take this step. The ban is expected to come into force within a week. Social media companies must enforce strict age verification and compliance. Australia introduced a similar ban in December 2025, leading to removal of over 5.5 lakh underage accounts. The move may influence other European Union countries to adopt stricter digital child protection laws.