CURRENT AFFAIRS 28 February, 2026

CURRENT AFFAIRS 28 February, 2026

1. INDIA PAID TRIBUTES TO FREEDOM FIGHTER CHANDRA SHEKHAR AZAD ON HIS 95TH MARTYRDOM DAY ON 27TH FEBRUARY 2026  –

• Early Life & the Title ‘Azad’: Born as Chandra Shekhar Tiwari in 1906 in Alirajpur (present-day Madhya Pradesh), he left home early and actively joined Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement (1921).
• When arrested and presented before a magistrate, he famously declared his name as ‘Azad’ (Free), his father as ‘Swatantra’ (Independence), and his address as a jail cell.
• Ideological Shift: The abrupt withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922 pushed him away from Gandhian non-violence and towards militant, revolutionary nationalism.
• Hindustan Republican Army (HRA): He joined the HRA, an organization led by prominent revolutionaries Ram Prasad Bismil and Sachindranath Sanyal.
• The Kakori Conspiracy (1925): Azad played a crucial role in raising funds for the armed struggle through political dacoities, most notably the Kakori train robbery (1925).
• Founding the HSRA (1928): Along with Bhagat Singh, he reorganized the revolutionary youth to establish the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928.
• Under Bhagat Singh’s influence, the organization adopted an explicit socialist ideology, while Azad served as its core military leader and strategist.
• Assassination of John Saunders (1928): Azad masterminded and participated in the killing of British police officer John Saunders in Lahore to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
• Following the assassination, the HSRA released pamphlets signed under Azad’s pseudonym, ‘Balraj’.

2. A TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE WILL OCCUR ON 3RD MARCH 2026, VISIBLE ACROSS MOST OF INDIA, EASTERN ASIA, AUSTRALIA, THE PACIFIC OCEAN, AND THE AMERICAS –

• About: A lunar eclipse is a celestial event that occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align in a straight line (syzygy) during a full Moon phase, and the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow. Earth’s shadow structure comprises:
• Umbra: The darker, inner cone where direct sunlight is completely blocked.
• Penumbra: The lighter, outer region where sunlight is only partially obstructed.
• Types of Lunar Eclipses:
• Penumbral: Moon passes only through the penumbra, causing a subtle dimming (often difficult to detect).
• Partial: Only a portion of the Moon enters the umbra, causing part of the lunar disk to darken.
• Total: The entire Moon enters the umbra, leading to the most dramatic effect.
• Observational Features: Visible from anywhere on Earth’s night side where the Moon is above the horizon. Safe to observe with the naked eye, unlike solar eclipses.
• Blood Moon Phenomenon: During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon often appears reddish or coppery. This is due to Rayleigh scattering—Earth’s atmosphere scatters shorter blue wavelengths while refracting (bending) longer red wavelengths toward the Moon, illuminating it indirectly with the light of all of Earth’s simultaneous sunrises and sunsets.

3. INDIA SLAMS PAKISTAN AT UNHRC ON J&K –

• India strongly rejected Pakistan’s claims on Jammu & Kashmir at the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
• Right Of Reply At UNHRC: India exercised its Right of Reply after Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) raised the J&K issue at the UNHRC.
• Jammu & Kashmir As Integral Part Of India: India reiterated that Jammu & Kashmir was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India, with accession being legal and irrevocable under the Indian Independence Act, 1947.
• The PoK Dispute: Shifting the narrative, India asserted that the only legitimate outstanding dispute in the region is the illegal and forcible occupation of Indian territories by Pakistan (PoK), calling upon Islamabad to immediately vacate these areas.
• Development As Counter-Narrative: India highlighted that high voter turnout in J&K’s general and Assembly elections reflects people’s rejection of terrorism and support for democracy.
• Countering claims of suppression, India highlighted massive infrastructure growth, specifically citing the recent inauguration of the Chenab Rail Bridge in J&K, which is the highest railway bridge in the world.
• Exposing Pakistan’s financial vulnerability, India pointed out that J&K’s developmental budget is more than double the recent bailout package Pakistan received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
• Criticism of OIC’s Position: India stated that the OIC’s stance reflects bias and co-option by Pakistan, undermining its credibility.

4. AT THE AI IMPACT SUMMIT 2026, THE BENGALURU-BASED STARTUP SARVAM AI RELEASED TWO LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS (LLMS) –

• The two models were trained on 35 billion and 105 billion parameters, respectively, and were less power- and compute-intensive than comparable models.

About Large Language Models (LLMs)

• Large language models (LLMs) are advanced AI systems designed to understand and generate human-like text.
• They learn from vast amounts of written data to predict what comes next in a sentence or to create coherent responses to questions.
• Architecture and Training: LLMs use deep learning with transformer architectures, like Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), designed for processing sequential text data.
• They feature multiple neural network layers and an attention mechanism for context understanding.

5. PRAHAAR: INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICY & 7-PILLAR STRATEGY –

• Recently, the Union Government has unveiled India’s first comprehensive national counter-terrorism policy — ‘Prahaar’, notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• The policy follows through on a strategic roadmap announced by the Union Home Minister in late 2024 and was finalized following the April 2025 Pahalgam Terror Incident, which acted as a catalyst for refining Inter-Agency Coordination.

About PRAHAAR

• Zero-Tolerance Doctrine: PRAHAAR is built on the unwavering principle of Zero Tolerance Toward Terrorism.
• Whole-of-Government & Whole-of-Society Approach: It expands national security beyond policing to include civil society, technology experts and psychologists.
• Secular & Non-Profiling Framework: The policy affirms the state does not link terrorism to any religion, ethnicity, nationality or civilisation, focusing instead on the criminal and ideological networks of violence.

MCQ QUIZ

Q1.  Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) revised India’s national accounts by changing the GDP base year. Which of the following is the new GDP base year adopted by India ?

1. a) 2015-16
2. b) 2018-19
3. c) 2020-21
4. d) 2022-23

Q2.  Researchers recently noted that ocean salinity can intensify El Niño events. El Niño is primarily associated with which ocean ?

1. a) Indian Ocean
2. b) Atlantic Ocean
3. c) Pacific Ocean
4. d) Arctic Ocean

Q3.  Recently, the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal was in the news amid discussions between the UK and Mauritius. The Chagos Islands are located in which ocean ?

1. a) Indian Ocean
2. b) Pacific Ocean
3. c) Atlantic Ocean
4. d) Southern Ocean

Q4.  Which of the following features differentiate Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) from private cryptocurrencies ?

1. CBDC is legal tender backed by the central bank.
2. CBDC has intrinsic commodity value like gold.
3. CBDC is regulated and issued by the monetary authority.
4. CBDC carries sovereign guarantee.

         Select the correct answer:

1. a) 1 and 2 only
2. b) 1,3 and 4 only
3. c) 1, 2 and 3 only
4. d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Explanation-

• Statement 1 is correct: CBDC is recognized as legal tender, meaning it is officially accepted for the payment of debts and taxes, unlike most private cryptocurrencies.
• Statement 3 is correct: CBDC is strictly regulated and issued by a central bank (monetary authority), whereas private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are decentralized and operate without a central governing body.
• Statement 4 is correct: Because it is an official liability of the central bank, CBDC carries a sovereign guarantee, providing a level of safety and stability that private, unbacked crypto assets do not possess.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: CBDC is a form of fiat money, which by definition does not have intrinsic commodity value like gold or silver. Its value is derived from government decree and public trust in the central bank, not from a physical commodity.

Q5.  With reference to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, consider the following statements:

1. It was organised under the IndiaAI Mission of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
2. The summit concluded with the New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact signed by more than 80 countries.
3. The summit focused exclusively on commercial AI applications and private-sector investments.

         Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

1. a) 1 and 2 only
2. b) 1 and 3 only
3. c) 2 and 3 only
4. d) 1, 2, and 3

Explanation-

• Statement 1 – Correct: The summit was conceptualised under the IndiaAI Mission (MeitY).
• Statement 2 – Correct: The New Delhi Declaration was signed by 89 countries and international organisations.
• Statement 3 – Incorrect: The summit emphasised AI for public good — healthcare, agriculture, climate action, governance — not just commercial uses.

Answer Key