1. India will host a virtual health secretary-level meeting with other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries on February 18, 2021 to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Pakistan has been invited to attend the workshop.
2. The Rashtrapati Bhawan informed in a statement on 16th February 2021, that Kiran Bedi has been removed as Pondicherry’s Lieutenant Governor. Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan has been given an additional charge of executing the functions of Puducherry L-G, in addition to her own duties, until a new appointment is made.
3. The three fossils of the world’s earliest known living animal- the 550 million years old Dickinsonia- have been discovered by the researchers on the roof of the Bhimbetka rock shelters. They are about 40 km from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
4. India has joined a two-day navy exercise of Iran and Russia dubbed as ‘Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021’. The naval exercise is taking place in the northern part of the Indian Ocean.
5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the top commanders of the three defence forces for the very first time during his second term at the Combined Commanders’ Conference in Kevadia, Gujarat in March.
6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of key oil, gas sector projects in Tamil Nadu on February 17, 2021. PM Modi dedicated the Ramanathapuram-Thoothukodi natural gas pipeline and Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, Manali. He also laid the foundation stone of the Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam.
7. The Union Cabinet on February 17, 2021 approved the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius. Under the agreement, India will send 310 items to Mauritius and 615 items will be imported from the Indian Ocean island nation.
8. India and Russia held DG-level bilateral consultations on UNSC issues in Moscow on February 16, 2021. The Russian delegation was led by the Director of the Department of International Organizations of Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Peter Llichev, while the Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary UNP and Summits in MEA Prakash Gupta.