February 2026 (3rd week) Current affairs Practice Questions:

The Indian government has identified Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu as key states for developing dedicated Rare Earth Corridors, aimed at establishing mining, processing, and manufacturing facilities for Rare-Earth Permanent Magnets (REPMs).

This initiative supports a ₹7,280 crore manufacturing scheme to build 6,000 MTPA capacity by 2026

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 applies to persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Specifically, it provides an accelerated pathway to Indian citizenship for undocumented migrants belonging to these six religious communities who entered India on or before 31 December 2014

World Gold Council (WGC) is the market development organisation for the gold industry. Headquartered in London, it is a non-profit association comprising the world’s leading gold mining companies.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, vital waterway situated between Iran to the north and the Musandam Peninsula of Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the south. It serves as the exclusive sea passage linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea

The Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP), launched in 2023, aims to develop border villages, improving infrastructure and stemming migration. The first phase focuses on 662–663 prioritized villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh, with a budgetary outlay of ₹4,800 crore up to 2025-26

The Orange Economy, or “creative economy,” refers to sectors driven by individual creativity, skill, and intellectual property that generate economic value through cultural goods and services. It encompasses industries like media, gaming, design, fashion, and arts, turning ideas into revenue, jobs, and cultural impact

The PM-RAHAT (Prime Minister’s Road Accident Victims’ Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment) scheme is a central government initiative launched  to provide immediate, cashless medical treatment to road accident victims

 Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 (FoF 2.0), with a ₹10,000 crore corpus, aims to accelerate India’s startup ecosystem by providing long-term capital to early-growth, deep-tech, and innovation-led manufacturing ventures. It focuses on bridging funding gaps, nurturing innovation beyond metro cities, and strengthening the domestic venture capital ecosystem.

CBDC-based Public Distribution System (PDS) launched for the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (Digital Rupee/e₹) for food subsidy distribution under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), aimed at making ration distribution in India more transparent and efficient

Brahmaputra underwater tunnel project is India’s first road-cum-rail tunnel (15.79 km) connecting Gohpur and Numaligarh in Assam. It will slash travel time from 6 hours to ~20 minutes, significantly reducing the 240 km route to 34 km. This project offers crucial strategic, economic, and ecological benefits by bypassing the Kaziranga National Park and boosting connectivity to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland