Explanation: The Capacity Building Commission (CBC) launched the Rashtriya Karmayogi Large Scale Jan Seva Program to bring behavioural transformation in civil servants. Phase II concluded recently under the chairmanship of Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, Member (Human Resources), CBC. Around 10.5 lakh government servants from over 500 organisations and 65 Ministries and Departments were trained nationwide. The program promotes Seva Bhav (spirit of service) and Svadharma (duty with purpose) for citizen-centric governance. It created 822 Lead Trainers and over 16,500 Master Trainers, strengthening internal training capacity. The initiative supports Mission Karmayogi’s vision of a responsive, collaborative, and future-ready administration.

Explanation: Alpine SG Pipers, led by Indian Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa and Anish Giri, won the Global Chess League (GCL) 2025 Season 3 title in Mumbai. They defeated defending champions Triveni Continental Kings in the finals, winning 4–2 in the first match and 4.5–1.5 in the second to secure their maiden GCL title.

Explanation: Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister, passed away at 80 after a prolonged illness. She was the Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). She played a major role in restoring democracy following periods of military rule. She dominated Bangladesh’s political landscape for several decades.

Explanation: INS Imphal of the Indian Navy recently conducted a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) 2025 with the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gridley (DDG 101). It is an indigenously built stealth guided missile destroyer. INS Imphal is the third ship of Project P-15B (Visakhapatnam-class destroyers). Other ships in the class are INS Visakhapatnam, INS Mormugao, and INS Surat. It was designed by the Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Ltd. (MDL). It is the first warship named after a Northeast city — Imphal, capital of Manipur. It is also the first warship with accommodation for women officers and sailors.

Explanation: Maldives has become the first country in the world to achieve triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis. The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Maldives for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B. According to WHO, around 25,000 HIV-positive pregnant women globally need treatment to prevent transmission to babies. Hepatitis B still affects over 42 million people in the WHO Southeast Asia Region. In Maldives, over 95% of pregnant women receive antenatal care with almost universal testing for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B.

Explanation: India has been named Country of the Year at BIOFACH 2026, the world’s largest trade fair for organic products, held from 10–13 February 2026 in Nuremberg, Germany. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is organising India’s participation. India Pavilion will cover 1,074 square metres with 67 co-exhibitors including exporters, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), cooperatives, labs, and state bodies. Organic products like rice, spices, pulses, oils, fruits, and essential oils will be showcased from over 20 States and Union Territories.

Explanation: A new groundwater fish species, Gitchak nakana, has been discovered in Assam. It belongs to a newly described genus under the family Cobitidae (loaches). The name comes from the Garo language: “Gitchak” means red, referring to its blood-red colour, and “na-tok” and “kana” mean blind fish. It shows subterranean adaptations like absence of visible eyes, translucent pigmentless body, and extreme miniaturisation. It completely lacks a skull roof, with the brain covered only by skin. It lives in groundwater aquifers, which are difficult to access.

Explanation: The Sansha Yongle Blue Hole, known as the Dragon Hole, is a massive underwater sinkhole in the South China Sea studied for over a decade. Blue holes are deep, steep underwater cavities formed in limestone areas and later filled by rising sea levels. Dragon Hole is the deepest known underwater sinkhole in the world at about 301.19 meters, deeper than Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas. It lies around 25 kilometers from Discovery Reef and is called the “eye” of the South China Sea by local fishermen. The hole is almost vertical, with 130 meters width at the surface and 36 meters at the bottom.

Explanation: A third tigress was recently released into the wild at Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR), boosting tiger conservation in western Maharashtra. Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) is located in the Sahyadri Ranges of the Western Ghats, Maharashtra, and is the northernmost tiger habitat in the Western Ghats. It is the first tiger reserve of Western Maharashtra and the fourth in the state.

Explanation: Telangana has become the top State in India for recovering stolen and missing mobile phones. More than 1,00,020 phones were recovered using the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) portal. The CEIR system, developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), helps trace stolen phones and block fake devices. It is active in all 780 police stations of Telangana, with Crime Investigation Department (CID) as the nodal agency.