Leaving a complete void in the entertainment industry, veteran star Pravina Deshpande breathed her last at the age of 60 on February 17. The actress, known for her memorable supporting roles in Marathi and Hindi cinema, passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer since 2019. Her family shared the heartbreaking news on social media, revealing her final rites were conducted on the same day in the afternoon at the Hindu Crematorium in Andheri, Mumbai.

Best remembered for her role in Salman Khan’s 2011 film Ready, as well as impactful roles in several TV serials, Pravina Deshpande enjoyed a career spanning decades, working across Hindi and Marathi films, television serials, and web series.

The Delhi Government has taken a historic step in modernising school education with the launch of CM Shri Schools, the nation’s first AI-driven comprehensive education model. One of these schools was inaugurated on Tuesday by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at Sarojini Nagar. The foundation stones for 75 such schools across the Capital were also laid.

This initiative aligns with the National Education Policy, aiming to provide students with technology-integrated, globally competitive education directly within government schools. CM Shri Schools are being developed as “Centres of Excellence”, offering modern infrastructure, skill development, career guidance, and holistic personality growth.

“These schools are not just new buildings, they represent our commitment to making Delhi’s children globally competitive,” said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. AI-enabled smart classrooms, equipped with interactive panels, digital content, and advanced learning tools, will allow personalised education based on each student’s ability.

The Assam Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) approved a proposal to reserve 3% of the Class I and Class II government jobs for the “tea tribes” and Adivasi community.

The approval, in addition to a similar decision for the community in Class III and Class IV government jobs, is significant ahead of the elections to the 126-member Assembly expected by April. The “tea tribes”, a term used to mean Adivasis who were brought by the British planters from central India, and “ex-tea tribes” (those who are no longer associated with tea plantations) account for almost 20% of the voters in Assam.

Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have achieved a breakthrough in Indian entomology with the discovery of a new soil-dwelling micro-arthropod species from the eastern Himalayas, underscoring the region’s global ecological significance.

In a historic first, ZSI researchers have described a new species of Diplura — primitive, wingless hexapods. Diplura means "double tail" in Greek.

This is for the first time an Indian research team has formally documented a species from this group within the country.

The species, named Lepidocampa sikkimensis, was identified from specimens collected near Ravangla in Sikkim, with additional records from Kurseong in Bengal, indicating a wider distribution across the eastern Himalayan landscape.

India and South Korea on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their Special Strategic Partnership, agreeing to advance ties in 2026 through a series of high-level engagements including visits by senior ministers and joint commission meetings.

The pledges came during the 6th Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue (FPSD) held in Seoul, co-chaired by P. Kumaran, Secretary (East) in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and Park Yoon-joo, First Vice Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea.

The two sides held comprehensive discussions covering the full range of bilateral relations — from political and economic cooperation to defence, security, science and technology, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. Kumaran spotlighted significant opportunities for Korean firms in India’s shipbuilding and maritime sectors and called for stronger collaboration on economic security.

Kerala has taken a significant step by approving India's first comprehensive graphene policy, hailed as the wonder material of the future, aiming to position itself as a global hub for research, development and production of this advanced material.

As the first step, the Union Cabinet has approved the Grefine Park. Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev outlined a series of strategic incentives to attract both domestic and global investors, including a 50 per cent subsidy on lease payments for manufacturing units established in government-managed parks.

This initiative is part of a broader vision to transform the state into a global hub for advanced materials, supported by the planned establishment of a graphene industrial park in Palakkad and a dedicated Digital Innovation Centre backed by a 200 crore investment.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced a first-of-its-kind initiative to create pollinator or “Bee Corridors” along national highways as part of its sustainable infrastructure programme.

The project marks a shift from ornamental roadside plantations to ecological vegetation, with continuous stretches of bee-friendly plants and flowering trees aimed at ensuring year-round availability of nectar and pollen.

The initiative is intended to address growing ecological stress on honeybees and other pollinators, which affects pollination services, agricultural productivity and ecological balance.

India’s evolving role as a global manufacturing backbone for next-generation biologics came into focus during a panel discussion on advanced therapies at BioAsia 2026 here on Tuesday where industry leaders pointed to the country’s capacity to scale complex technologies ranging from vaccines and RNA platforms to cell and gene therapies.

The panel, moderated by Gil Bashe, chair, Global Health and Purpose at Finn Partners, brought together senior executives and clinicians who underlined that innovation in biologics was no longer a solo pursuit but depended on collaboration, manufacturing depth and the ability to deliver therapies at scale.

Setting the context, Raches Ella, chief development officer of Bharat Biotech, highlighted India’s centrality to global vaccine production. “One in three children worldwide receives a vaccine produced in India, with manufacturing spanning research and development through to commercial production. The company’s ambition is to reach the entire global birth cohort of about 125 million children each year,” he added.

In a major boost to India’s indigenous shipbuilding capabilities, the first Cadet Training Ship (CTS), ‘Krishna’, was launched on 16 February 2026 at L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli, Chennai, for the Indian Navy.

The vessel is being constructed by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as part of a three-ship Cadet Training Ship project.

The U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense on Sunday (February 16, 2026) for the first time ‌transported a small nuclear reactor on a cargo plane from California to Utah to demonstrate the potential to quickly deploy nuclear power for military and civilian ⁠use.

The agencies partnered with California-based Valar Atomics to fly one of the company’s Ward microreactors on a C-17 aircraft — without nuclear fuel — to Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Under ‌Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey were on the C-17 flight with the reactor and its components, and hailed the event as a breakthrough ‌for U.S. nuclear energy and military logistics.