India and Brazil signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the postal sector, marking a significant step towards strengthening bilateral collaboration in postal services, digital transformation, and inclusive service delivery.
The agreement establishes a comprehensive framework for cooperation between the Department of Posts, India, and the Ministry of Communications, Brazil, aimed at enhancing strategic partnership and knowledge exchange in the postal domain.
The New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact, which was adopted in the India AI Impact Summit 2026, has been endorsed by 89 countries and international organisations. Bangladesh became the 89th Signatory to endorse the AI Declaration. It reflects a broad-based global consensus on leveraging AI for economic growth and social good.
These countries include Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, the UAE, Canada, Israel, the UK, China, Japan, the USA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Bangladesh. The Summit, which concluded in New Delhi on Friday, witnessed widespread participation from across the globe.
Guided by the principle of “Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya” the Declaration underscores that the benefits of AI must be equitably shared across humanity.
The India AI Impact Summit and Expo, held in New Delhi, served as a shared platform for policymakers, industry leaders, innovators and start-ups to engage in dialogue and present AI-driven solutions.
The event, which concluded, saw the participation of over 500 AI leaders, more than 100 founders and Chief Executive Officers, 150 academicians and researchers, and nearly 400 Chief Technology Officers. The Summit and Expo also received an overwhelming response from the people and attracted a footfall of more than five lakh visitors.
Director of IIT Ropar Professor Rajeev Ahuja said the India AI Impact Summit is the first of its kind and is highly beneficial for the youth of the country. He informed that the summit provided a platform for discussion regarding how AI can be used for the benefit of the agriculture sector and help the Indian farmers.
The 79th edition of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) took place at London's Royal Festival Hall on February 22.
At BAFTA 2026, Paul Thomas Anderson's political thriller One Battle After Another led the pack with 14 nominations. Of those, it won six awards, cementing its position at the top.
Ryan Coogler's vampire drama Sinners, which earned 13 nominations, ended up winning three—setting a record for the most honours for a film by a Black director.
BOONG, a Manipuri-language Indian film backed by Farhan Akhtar, won in the Children's & Family Film category, marking India's win on the global stage.
The Punjab government has appointed Harsharan Kaur Trehan as the Director (Commercial) of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
The appointment shall be for a period of two years from the date of joining. However, the incumbent shall not be eligible to continue in service after attaining the age of 65 years.
Earlier, Trehan had made history as the first woman engineer-in-chief at PSPCL, with over 34 years of experience in handling key power-sector posts. An alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering, Trehan joined PSPCL (erstwhile PSEB) in 1987.
Harmanpreet Kaur became the highest-capped player in women's international cricket when she made her 356th appearance for India in (February 19, 2026) Twenty20 match against Australia, surpassing New Zealand great Suzie Bates.
Indian captain Kaur, 36, has now played six tests, 161 One-Day Internationals and 189 T20 matches for her country since 2009.
Bates, two years her elder, has not played for New Zealand since making her 355th international appearance in October during the ODI World Cup.
Kaur's compatriot Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the most international appearances in men's cricket, having represented India 664 times across formats.
Kaur has scored eight centuries and 38 fifties for India, and led the country to their first Women's World Cup title on home soil in November.
Kaur was India's highest scorer with a knock of 36 as India lost to Australia by 19 runs in Griffith, levelling the three-match T20 series, with the decider set for February 21, 2026.
ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management Company introduced the Swasthya Pension Scheme under the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority's (PFRDA’s) regulatory sandbox framework. The scheme aims to help subscribers build a retirement corpus while offering flexibility to meet medical expenses.
The Swasthya Pension Scheme is structured primarily as a retirement product with healthcare-linked flexibilities. For the proof-of-concept phase, the fund has launched a variant with higher equity exposure, aligned with the long-term objective of retirement planning. Over time, more conservative options may be introduced based on subscriber risk appetite.
Subscribers can make multiple withdrawals of up to 25 per cent of their own contributions, compared to the limit of four partial withdrawals permitted during the tenure of a regular NPS account.
The Reserve Bank of India has deferred the implementation of the Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI) framework for over-the-counter (OTC) derivative transactions to 1 January 2027, following industry feedback, the central bank said in a release.
The central bank had earlier proposed to implement UTI for all transactions in OTC markets from 1 April 2026, covering rupee interest rate derivatives, forward contracts in government securities, foreign currency derivatives, foreign currency interest rate derivatives and credit derivatives.
Quirky Manipuri coming-of-age comedy-drama 'Boong', produced by Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment, won the prestigious BAFTA Award for Best Children's & Family Film in London.
The Manipuri film, starring Gugun Kipgen and Bala Hijam, beat international competition from other nominees 'Lilo and Stitch', 'Arco' and 'Zootropolis 2'.
The film's debutant director, Lakshmipriya Devi, made an emotional plea for peace in her acceptance speech after receiving the coveted trophy from Paddington Bear, the lead character starring in the West End show 'Paddington The Musical'. She was joined on stage by producers Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani and the assistant director of 'Boong', Rahul Sharda.
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal launched seven additional interventions under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM), a flagship initiative of the Department of Commerce aimed at empowering Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for global markets.
These interventions are designed to address key challenges faced by Indian exporters, promote broad-based and inclusive export growth, and strengthen India’s position as a globally competitive export powerhouse. Commerce Secretary, Shri Rajesh Agarwal, also graced the occasion.
Shri Goyal underlined that India’s expanding network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) has significantly enhanced market access for Indian exporters. He noted that nearly 70 per cent of global GDP and two-thirds of global trade are now accessible to India through nine concluded FTAs, including the first tranche of the Bilateral Trade Agreement with the United States.
The Export Promotion Mission adopts a holistic ecosystem approach by combining financial enablers under ‘Niryat Protsahan’ and trade ecosystem support under ‘Niryat Disha’, delivered through a unified and digitally monitored framework.
Slice Small Finance Bank has elevated its founder, Rajan Bajaj, to the role of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. The appointment received approvals from the bank’s board, shareholders, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), signaling strong confidence in Bajaj’s vision for digital-first banking.
An IIT Kharagpur alumnus, Bajaj founded Slice in 2016 as a Bengaluru-based fintech startup targeting young, underserved customers with innovative credit and payment solutions. His leadership steered the company through a pivotal 2024 merger with North East Small Finance Bank, transforming it into a fully regulated small finance bank.
Previously serving as Executive Director post-merger, Bajaj succeeds Satish Kumar Kalra, whose tenure recently concluded.
This leadership shift comes at a critical juncture for Slice SFB, which has raised over $250 million from global investors like Tiger Global, Insight Partners, and Advent International.
Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy passed away on February 23, 2026. He was 71 years old.
Hailing from Kanchrapara in North 24 Parganas, Mr. Roy started his political career with the Congress and decided to set up Trinamool Congress with Mamata Banerjee in 1998. It was Mr. Roy who submitted the official symbol of the party with the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In November 2017, he joined BJP and was crucial to the BJP electoral performance in 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the party won 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats.
After switching sides from Trinamool to BJP, Mr. Roy contested the 2021 Assembly polls on a BJP ticket from Krishnanagar North constituency. He won and was elected as an MLA.
The United States won men's ice hockey gold at the Winter Olympics for the first time in 46 years as Jack Hughes' overtime goal gave them a 2-1 win over Canada on February 22, 2026.
Hughes' strike 1min 41sec into overtime handed the US men their first Olympic triumph since the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid.
Finland, the champions in Beijing four years ago, won the bronze medal by thrashing Slovakia 6-1.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated February 16, 2026, imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 38.60 lakh on UCO Bank (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI, on ‘Periodicity of payment of interest on savings deposits’, ‘Locker Rent’ and ‘Credit Information Reporting in respect of Self Help Group (SHG) members’.
This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of section 47A(1)(c) read with section 46(4)(i) and 51(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and section 25(1)(iii) read with section 23(4) of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.
