Top news of the day February 20, 2026

SC directs assignment of judicial officers to complete SIR in West Bengal, calls it an ‘extraordinary situation’

A Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria on Friday (February 20, 2026) ordered Calcutta High Court to depute current and former judicial officers to help with the SIR process in the State. The Supreme Court also sought a status report on alleged incidents of violence in the State. The top court also ordered the Election Commission to publish the processed list of electoral rolls on February 28. 

India signs agreement to join U.S.-led coalition Pax Silica

India on Friday (February 20, 2026) signed agreement to join U.S.-led coalition Pax Silica — that is aimed at building a resilient supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence. The signing ceremony was attended by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and U.S. Envoy to India Sergio Gor among others. “Pax Silica is a declaration that future belongs to those who build and when free people join forces,” U.S .Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said.

India-U.S. interim trade pact likely to be operationalised in April, says Piyush Goyal

An interim trade agreement between India and the U.S. is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday (February 20, 2026). Further, India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with the U.K. and Oman are likely to be implemented in April, while the pact with New Zealand may come into force in September, Mr. Goyal said, adding that the 27-nation European Union also wants to implement the trade deal as early as possible.

Classmate who does no work, but shows up to take all credit: Congress’ dig at PM over UPI

A day after French President Emmanuel Macron lauded India’s UPI architecture, the Congress on Friday (February 20, 2026) said its initial conception happened under the UPA government in 2012-2013 and likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a student in a group project who doesn’t work, but shows up to take all the credit. The Opposition party said that bereft of the capacity to come up with groundbreaking ideas, Mr. Modi is happy cutting ribbons, “blabbering ludicrous acronyms”, cursing the Congress and “stealing credit”.

Petitions filed to use top court as platform to ‘embarrass’ States ahead of polls, says SC

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday (February 20, 2026) deprecated the tendency of filing petitions to use the Supreme Court as a platform to “embarrass” State governments ahead of Assembly elections. The Chief Justice, heading a three-judge Bench, said petitions filed by private parties and NGOs are designed to put State governments in a tight spot. In the process, the petitioners drag the Supreme Court into the political pell-mell.

U.S. negotiating with India on Venezuelan oil sale to help diversity its sources, Envoy Sergio Gor says

The United States is in “active ​negotiation” over the sale of Venezuelan oil to India, to ⁠help India diversify its sources of crude oil, U.S. Envoy Sergio Gor said on Friday (February 20, 2026). The U.S. has made diversification away from Russian crude a condition for cutting tariffs ‌on goods imported from Indian, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer.

Police continue to search Mountbatten-Windsor’s former stately home, day after his arrest

Police continued on Friday (February 20, 2026) to search the former home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a day after the former prince was held in custody for the best part of 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public office linked to his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following one of the most tumultuous days in the modern history of Britain’s royal family, the former Prince Andrew is back at his new home on the Sandringham estate, King Charles III’s private retreat, which is around 115 miles (185 kilometres) north of London.

Supreme Court rejects plea for ban on naming mosques after Babur

The Supreme Court on Friday (February 20, 2026) dismissed a petition seeking a ban on naming mosques after the first Mughal emperor Babur. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta rejected a plea by Devki Nandan Pandey, a petitioner-in-person from Uttar Pradesh, who sought a blanket judicial restraint on naming mosques after Babur or using the nomenclature ‘Babri Masjid’.

Florida airport to be renamed after U.S. President Donald Trump

An airport in Florida will soon be renamed after U.S. President Donald Trump, after a bill proposing the change was approved by the state’s legislature on Thursday (February 19, 2026). Mr. Trump, a real estate mogul who has plastered his name on buildings around the world, has sought to leave his mark on the country in an unprecedented image and building campaign.

Youth Congress workers hold ‘shirtless protest’ at AI Summit, 10 detained

A group of Indian Youth Congress workers on Friday (February 20, 2026) staged a dramatic ‘shirtless protest’ at an AI Impact Summit exhibition hall, walking around holding T-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by security personnel.

Kerala SIR: State has a little over 2.69 crore voters in final list (Tiki Rajwi)

Kerala has a little over 2.69 crore voters as per the final voters list prepared by the Election Commission of India (EC) after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the roll. The final electoral roll will be formally published on Saturday (February 21, 2026) as per the schedule announced by the ECI, Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar said in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday (February 20, 2026). Of the 2,69,53,644 voters in all, 1,38,27,319 are women, 1,31,26,048 are men and 277 are transgender voters.

Published – February 20, 2026 05:42 pm IST