PM Modi reiterates support for Gaza Peace Plan; Supreme Court orders blanket ban on NCERT textbook with chapter on ‘corruption’ in judiciary, and more in The Hindu’s top news of February 26, 2026.

PM Modi reiterates India’s support for Gaza Peace Plan

Addressing a joint press meet alongside Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, PM Modi said, “Peace and stability in West Asia are directly linked to India’s security interests. Therefore, from the very beginning, we have supported dialogue and a peaceful resolution… India’s position is clear, humanity must never become a victim of conflict.” “The Gaza Peace Plan has created a pathway toward peace, and India has extended its full support to these efforts. In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries,” he added.

Supreme Court orders blanket ban on NCERT textbook with chapter on ‘corruption’ in judiciary

The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 26, 2026) ordered a complete, blanket ban on the reprinting and digital dissemination of the NCERT’s newest Social Science textbook for Class 8 which includes a chapter — ‘The Role of the Judiciary in Our Society’ — on “corruption” in the judiciary. The Supreme Court was hearing a suo motu case registered over the matter. The three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, calling it a “deep-rooted conspiracy against the judiciary”, ordered an immediate seizure of the copies in circulation and called for compliance reports in two weeks. “It is fundamentally wrong to expose students to biased misconceptions at this tender age,” the CJI said.

No intention to insult judiciary, will take action, says Pradhan on NCERT book row

Saying that he is “very sad”, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday (February 26, 2026) stated that the government had “no intention” of insulting the judiciary after the Supreme Court came down heavily on the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for introducing a chapter on ‘corruption’ in the judiciary in a Class 8 textbook. The Minister promised to fix accountability and take action against those who drafted the controversial chapter.

Kerala High Court stays release of ‘The Kerala Story 2’

The Kerala High Court on Thursday (February 26, 2026) passed an interim order staying the release of the Hindi film The Kerala Story 2: Goes Beyond. The court observed that prima facie, the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC) ignored the guidelines for film certification, and directed it to re-examine the matter.

Indian armed forces need to transition from net-centric operations to intelligent warfare: CDS General Anil Chauhan

“As warfare expands from the physical to the synthetic and cognitive realms, the Indian Armed Forces need to transition from net-centric operations toward Intelligent Warfare and move beyond Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) to All-Realm All-Domain Operations (ARADO)” said Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan. Delivering the inaugural address at the CDM annual seminar on the theme ‘Multi-Domain Integrated Technologically-Empowered Resilient Armed Forces’, or MITRA, at the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad, General Chauhan said the evolving character of warfare demands a shift in doctrine, capability development and organisational thinking to retain decision advantage across the spectrum of conflict.

Pakistan living in ‘la la land’, says India at U.N. Human Rights Council in response to Islamabad’s J&K claims

India delivered a sharp rebuttal to Pakistan at the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing Islamabad of “spreading propaganda” and asserting that Jammu and Kashmir’s development trajectory stands in contrast to Pakistan’s economic troubles. Exercising India’s Right to Reply during the high-level segment held on February 25, Anupama Singh, India’s representative, rejected allegations made by Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying the grouping had allowed itself to be used as an “echo chamber” for one member state.

Diminished India’s moral standing: Congress slams Modi’s address to Israeli Parliament

The Congress on Thursday (February 26, 2026) described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the Israeli Parliament as an “unabashed defence of his host” premier Benjamin Netanyahu and one that “diminished India’s moral standing”. Hitting out at Mr. Modi, the opposition party also recalled India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s July 1947 reply to Albert Einstein’s letter to him on the subject of the creation of Israel.

Piyush Goyal holds ‘fruitful’ talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick, Ambassador Gor

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said he held “fruitful” discussions with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Thursday (February 26, 2026). The meeting comes days after negotiators on both sides decided to postpone the Indian team’s visit to Washington for a meeting that was scheduled from February 23-25 to finalise the interim agreement on trade between the two countries.

CBI conducts searches at office and residence of Anil Ambani; files fresh cases over ₹2,220 crore bank ‘fraud’

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at the office and residence of businessman Anil Ambani in the Reliance Communications Limited case, said a CBI official on Thursday (February 26, 2026). The CBI said in a statement that it has registered a second case against Reliance Communications based on a complaint from Bank of Baroda for cheating, criminal misconduct and conspiracy.

West Bengal polls: BJP will win, drive out every single infiltrator, says Home Minister Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday (February 26, 2026) exuded confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will win the upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal, and “drive out every single infiltrator” from the State after coming to power. Mr. Shah made the remark while addressing a function of the Sashastra Seema Bal in Araria district of Bihar, which falls in the Seemanchal region bordering West Bengal.

‘This is India, not North Korea’: Rahul slams PM over action against Youth Congress members

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (February 26, 2026) strongly criticised the police action against his party’s youth wing activists over the “shirtless protest”, drawing a sharp parallel between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and the authoritarian regime in North Korea. “This is India, not North Korea,” Mr. Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said in a post in Hindi on X and asserted that peaceful protest is the soul of democracy and not a crime.

989 weapons seized or recovered from Maoists since 2020, Chhattisgarh Assembly told

In the past six years, 989 weapons have been seized or recovered from Maoists in Chhattisgarh, the State government told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday (February 26, 2026). The list includes 671 weapons recovered from LWE killed by security forces in encounters, 238 submitted by Maoists who surrendered and 80 seized from arrested Maoists between January 1, 2020 and January 31 this year, the reply added.

CEO of World Economic Forum Borge Brende quits after Epstein ties scrutinised

The president and CEO ‌of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, said he was stepping ​down on Thursday (February 26, 2026), a few weeks after the forum ⁠launched an independent investigation into his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Brende, who became president of the WEF in 2017, announced his decision in a statement following disclosures ‌from the U.S. Justice Department that showed the Norwegian had three business dinners with Epstein and had also communicated with the disgraced ‌financier via email and text message.

U.S. government accused of major ‘cover-up’ over Trump sex abuse claims

Democrats on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) accused U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration of the “largest government cover-up in modern history” over reports that it withheld documents relating to allegations that the Republican leader sexually abused a minor. The Justice Department said it is reviewing its Epstein files to see if any were handled “improperly” but denied any wrongdoing.

With new data sources and process upgrades, new GDP data set to capture the economy more accurately

The new series of national accounts data to be released on Friday (February 27, 2026) will incorporate several methodological and statistical upgrades that will make India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Value Added (GVA) data more accurate and granular, an analysis of the various changes being implemented shows. Over the last week, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has made public the reports of various sub-committees tasked with looking at specific ways to upgrade the national accounts data. These upgrades include better methodologies, and the inclusion of new data sets, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) data.

India vs Zimbabwe | India seeks quick turnaround against Zimbabwe after South Africa defeat

India’s campaign has been a tale of a largely smooth cruise suddenly hitting a speed-breaker against the Proteas. Suryakumar Yadav’s men would rather see the latest stumble as an aberration while they seek a second wind in a championship veering towards its final stretch. A top-order featuring Sanju Samson may happen as the quest for a good start continues within the Indian ranks. Abhishek Sharma’s sudden drought is bound to end at some point and the think-tank is publicly backing the opener. However, it is a fact that the host’s batters are yet to fire in unison.

Published – February 26, 2026 06:19 pm IST