News of The Day : 20th February 2026

News of The Day – 20th Feb 2026

The Hindu, Indian Express, Live Mint, Business Standard, Economic Times, PIB and AIR, etc

(with Syllabus Relevance)

• Gender Budget Statement tracks women-centric allocations.
• Rise reflects focus on women-led development.
• Linked to schemes under MWCD, health, education & livelihood missions.
• Supports SDG-5 (Gender Equality) & inclusive growth strategy.

(GS-2: International Relations)

• Tehran regains strategic focus amid West Asia tensions.
• Linked to nuclear negotiations over the JCPOA framework and U.S.–Iran rivalry.
• Iran’s role in regional geopolitics
  • Strait of Hormuz, energy security, proxy conflicts.
• Implications for India: Chabahar Port connectivity, energy imports, and balancing West Asia ties.

(GS-2: International Relations)

• About Pax Silica
• Reduces dependence on China in critical tech supply chains.
• Complements India’s Semiconductor Mission & trusted tech partnerships.
• Strengthens India–US strategic tech alignment under IPEF-type frameworks.

(GS-2: International Relations)

• Donald Trump criticises the U.K. over strategic base-sharing deal.
• About Diego Garcia base.
  • Location, Strategic Significance, etc

(GS-2: International Relation)

• International Solar Alliance launches AI-for-Energy initiative.
• Uses AI for grid optimisation, demand forecasting & renewable integration.
• Strengthens India’s climate leadership in Global South.
• Supports Paris Agreement & energy transition goals.

• About ‘America-India Connect’
  • Google announces subsea cable linking India & U.S.
• Boosts digital connectivity, cloud infrastructure & data flow resilience.
• Enhances India’s role in the global digital economy.
• Important for cybersecurity & digital trade frameworks.

(GS-3: Economy)

• Data centres demand high, stable electricity & cooling infrastructure.
• Linked to AI expansion, cloud computing & Digital India growth
• Challenges: grid stability, renewable integration, transmission upgrades.
• Aligns with India’s 500 GW renewable target & green hydrogen transition.

• About GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)
  • It accelerates parallel data processing for AI/ML workloads.
• Originally for graphics rendering; now core to generative AI & deep learning.
• Enables matrix computations for neural networks.
• Strategic importance amid global chip race and AI sovereignty debates.

(GS-3: Science & Tech )

• About “MANAV Vision”
• Focus on ethical AI, capacity building & skilling.• Promotes human-centric technology governance.
• Aligns with Responsible AI principles & Digital Public Infrastructure model.

(GS-3: Science & Tech)

• About Sarvam AI, Gnani.ai, BharatGen
  • Indigenous foundational AI models to ensure data sovereignty.
• Reduces dependence on foreign LLMs.
• Promotes multilingual AI & local innovation ecosystem.
• Linked to IndiaAI Mission & semiconductor push.