February 2026 (2nd week) Current affairs Practice Questions:

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is India’s highest decision-making body within the Ministry of Defence for capital acquisitions and new procurement policies for the Indian Armed Forces and Indian Coast Guard

Chaired by Defence Minister (Rajnath Singh), NOT Prime Minister.

PM CARES Fund (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund) is a public charitable trust established on 27 March 2020 to handle emergency situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Trustees: Led by the Prime Minister (ex-officio Chairman), with the Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs, and Finance, and appointed eminent members.

Government Securities (G-Secs) are debt instruments issued by governments to borrow money from the public. When State Governments issue such securities, they are specifically called State Development Loans (SDLs).

State Governments in India issue State Development Loans (SDLs), which are dated securities used to raise funds for budgetary requirements and development projects. SDLs are long-term instruments managed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through auctions, offering fixed interest payments, typically at half-yearly intervals

India-Malaysia bilateral exercises include the annual army exercise Harimau Shakti, focusing on jungle warfare and counter-insurgency, and the naval exercise Samudra Laksamana, aimed at maritime security and interoperability. They also conduct the air force exercise Udan Shakti (first held in 2018) to enhance joint operational readiness and military cooperation.

India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) officially released the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with base year from 2012 to 2024=100.

• Basket Expansion: The total number of items has increased from 299 to 358, including:
  • Goods: 308 (up from 259).
  • Services: 50 (up from 40).
  • Food and Beverages: Weight significantly reduced to 36.75% (from 45.86%), which is expected to lower overall inflation volatility.
  • Housing & Utilities: Weight increased to 17.67% (from 10.07%) as the category now includes water, electricity, and gas alongside rural house rent.

Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) is a ₹1 lakh crore Centrally Sponsored Scheme approved by the Union Cabinet. Managed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), it marks a shift from grant-based financing to a market-linked, reform-driven model aimed at catalyzing nearly ₹4 lakh crore in total urban investment over the next five years.

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in February 2026, the duration for the full official version of Vande Mataram, comprising all six stanzas, is approximately 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

Vande Mataram (meaning “Mother, I bow to thee”) is the National Song of India, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. It holds a status equal to the national anthem, “Jana Gana Mana”.

• Origin: Written on November 7, 1875, in a mix of Sanskrit and Bengali.
• Literature: It was first published in the novel Anandamath (1882), which is set against the backdrop of the Sannyasi Rebellion.
• Freedom Struggle: It became a powerful rallying cry for freedom fighters during the Indian independence movement.
• First Performance: The first public rendition was by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.
• Official Status: It was adopted as the National Song by the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950

Seva Teerth is the newly inaugurated, state-of-the-art administrative complex in New Delhi that serves as the official headquarters for the highest executive bodies of the Government of India. Key offices include: Prime Minister’s Office (PMO),Cabinet Secretariat, National Security Council Secretariat and India House.

•  Artemis II (NASA, 4 astronauts around Moon, first in 50+ years, )
• Chang’e Project (China aims 2 astronauts by 2030)
• Apollo 11 (US, first crewed landing 1969).
• Artemis I was uncrewed test. Gaganyaan is India’s LEO mission, not Moon.
• India plans Moon landing by 2040 under Vision 2047.

ECI conducted SIR in 9 states + 3 UTs starting Oct 2025, final rolls published Feb 2026. If name on draft but missing in final, appeal within 15 days to District Election Officer (DEO), not BLO or CEO.

Founded 1963 by German official Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist at peak of Cold War. Initially focused on military issues, Western countries only, to display united front vs Soviet communism. Post-Cold War expanded to climate, migration, includes Russia, India, China. EAM Jaishankar attended Feb 2026, reiterated strategic autonomy.