Daily Current Affairs- 11th February 2026

Daily Current Affairs- 11th February 2026

India Upholds E-Cigarette Ban, Rejects Philip Morris Push for Heated Tobacco Products

In the News: The Union Health Ministry reaffirmed India's decision to maintain the nationwide ban on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, rejecting calls for regulatory relaxation that would have opened the market to devices such as IQOS. The move deals a significant setback to lobbying efforts by global tobacco major Philip Morris International, which had sought reconsideration of heat-not-burn products as reduced-risk alternatives to conventional smoking.

Key Points:

• Government's Firm Stance: The Union Health Ministry clarified that the government is not considering revoking, amending, or relaxing the 2019 prohibition on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco devices. The ban explicitly covers heated tobacco products, which are commonly marketed as reduced-risk alternatives to conventional smoking.
• India's Tobacco Crisis Context: India is the world's seventh-largest cigarette market by volume, recording over 100 billion cigarette sales annually. Tobacco-related illnesses account for more than one million deaths each year in the country. These alarming statistics reinforce the government's emphasis on strict tobacco control measures and justify the continuation of comprehensive bans on emerging tobacco products.
• What is IQOS and Heat-Not-Burn Technology: IQOS is a heated tobacco device launched by Philip Morris in 2014. Heat-not-burn devices heat processed tobacco instead of burning it, producing aerosol rather than smoke. The product is currently available in nearly 80 markets worldwide and claims over 35 million users. While the US Food and Drug Administration has allowed its marketing with certain public health claims, the technology remains controversial in global health circles.
• Impact of 2019 Ban: India's 2019 decision effectively barred products from companies such as Philip Morris and Juul from entering the Indian market. The ban was implemented under central law and covers all e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Analysts had suggested that market access could significantly expand Philip Morris' footprint in India, where its cigarette market share has grown in recent years despite the prohibition on newer products.
• Legal Framework for Tobacco Control: Tobacco control in India is governed by laws such as the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, which regulates conventional tobacco products. The 2019 prohibition on e-cigarettes represents an extension of India's comprehensive tobacco control framework to address emerging products and technologies in the tobacco industry.

Industrial Relations Code Amendment Bill Tabled in Lok Sabha

In the News: Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya introduced the Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha through a supplementary agenda during Zero Hour. The amendment seeks to clarify the legal position surrounding the repeal of earlier labour laws subsumed under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, and aims to prevent potential legal complications regarding the continuity of repealed enactments.

Key Points:

• Purpose of the Amendment: The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026 seeks to remove any scope for confusion over how certain pre-existing labour laws were repealed following the enactment of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020. The amendment is intended to eliminate ambiguity and avoid any future unwarranted legal complications regarding the continuity of repealed laws.
• Background – Industrial Relations Code, 2020: The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 consolidated and replaced three major labour legislations: the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (governing trade unions), the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (regulating conditions of industrial employment), and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (providing mechanisms for dispute resolution). This consolidation was part of the government's broader labour law reform agenda to streamline and modernize India's labour legislation.
• Section 104 and Savings Provisions: Section 104 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 contains savings provisions to ensure continuity and legal certainty for actions taken under the repealed laws. It clarifies that the repeal operates automatically upon the enforcement of the Code, occurring by statutory operation rather than executive action.
• February 2026 Notification: A notification issued in February 2026 further reaffirmed that the repeal was statutory in nature and occurred by operation of Section 104 of the Code itself, not through executive delegation. Despite this clarification, the government deemed it necessary to introduce the amendment to provide absolute legal certainty and prevent potential future legal challenges.
• Expected Legislative Process: The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour and is expected to be taken up for consideration and passing shortly. The swift introduction through supplementary agenda indicates the government's priority in addressing this technical legal issue to ensure smooth implementation of the consolidated labour law framework.

Delhi Launches Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana for Girls’ Education Support

In the News: The Delhi government announced the launch of Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana, a new welfare scheme for girls from economically weaker families in the national capital. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that the scheme will commence on April 1 and provides staged financial assistance totaling ₹56,000 across key education milestones. With accrued interest, the matured amount is expected to grow to approximately ₹1 lakh, supporting educational continuity and early-life financial security for daughters in Delhi.

Key Points:

• Scheme Overview and Financial Structure: Under Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana, daughters in Delhi will receive total assistance of ₹56,000 in installments, starting from birth and continuing until completion of their graduation or diploma. With interest accrued over time, the deposited amount is expected to grow to around ₹1 lakh upon maturity. The money will be credited to an Aadhaar-enabled bank account in the girl's name, strengthening direct benefit delivery and traceability while ensuring financial inclusion.
• Phased Payments Linked to Educational Milestones: The assistance is structured around key transition points where dropout risks often rise. The payment schedule includes: ₹11,000 at birth, ₹5,000 on admission to Class 1, ₹5,000 each on admission to Classes 6, 9, 10, and 12, and a final ₹20,000 after completion of graduation or diploma.
• Maturity Conditions and Flexibility: The scheme will mature when the beneficiary either turns 21 years of age or completes graduation or diploma, whichever occurs earlier. This creates a strong incentive for families to keep girls enrolled beyond secondary school. Importantly, the final payout remains available even if higher education is pursued outside Delhi, providing flexibility while maintaining the education-linked benefit structure.
• Eligibility Criteria and Coverage: The scheme applies to girls born in Delhi, with families required to have lived in the city for at least three years (residency requirement). Annual family income must not exceed ₹1 lakh (income ceiling for economically weaker sections). Benefits are limited to two daughters per family.
• Replacement of Ladli Yojana: The new program replaces Delhi's earlier Ladli Yojana, which was launched in 2008 as a girl child welfare and education support scheme. The government cited gaps in the old scheme such as unclaimed or pending funds due to documentation and procedural issues. A beneficiary identification drive has been initiated to trace pending cases under Ladli Yojana, release eligible dues, and clean up backlogs before transitioning to the new scheme.

Denmark Tops, Afghanistan Last! Where Do India and US Rank in Women, Peace and Security Index 2025/26

In the News: The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, in collaboration with the Peace Research Institute Oslo, released the Women, Peace and Security Index 2025/26. The fifth edition of this biennial report ranks 181 countries based on women's inclusion, justice, and security. Denmark retained the top position for the third consecutive time, while Afghanistan ranked last. The report reveals that nearly 676 million women were exposed to conflict in the past year—a 74% rise since 2010—and that global progress on women's status has largely stagnated.

Key Points:

• About the WPS Index: The Women, Peace and Security Index was first launched in 2017 and is published every two years. It measures women's well-being across three key dimensions: inclusion (economic and political participation), justice (legal equality and discrimination), and security (freedom from violence and conflict). The index uses 13 indicators to generate scores from 0 (worst) to 1 (best) for each country. It is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
• Top 10 Best Performing Countries: Denmark ranks first for the third consecutive time with a score of 0.939, followed by Iceland (0.932), Norway (0.924), Sweden (0.924), and Finland (0.921). The top 10 also includes Luxembourg (0.918), Belgium (0.912), Netherlands (0.905), Austria (0.898), and Australia (0.898). Notably, five Nordic countries occupy the top five positions, demonstrating strong social welfare systems, gender equality policies, robust women's employment, high parliamentary representation, strong legal rights, and low levels of violence against women.
• Bottom 10 Worst Performing Countries: Afghanistan ranks last at 181st position with a score of 0.279, followed by Yemen (0.323), Central African Republic (0.362), Syria (0.364), Sudan (0.397), Haiti (0.399), Democratic Republic of Congo (0.405), Burundi (0.407), South Sudan (0.411), and Myanmar (0.442).
• India's Ranking and Performance: India ranks 131st with a score of 0.607 in the WPS Index 2025/26, showing steady but uneven progress in women's inclusion and safety. India has improved in areas such as financial inclusion and maternal health, but continues to face significant challenges including gender-based violence and low female workforce participation.

Global Corruption Perceptions Index 2025

In the News: Transparency International released the 31st edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2025, revealing a concerning global decline in anti-corruption leadership. The global average score fell to 42 out of 100, the lowest in over a decade, with corruption worsening even in established democracies. The index evaluated 182 countries based on perceived public sector corruption levels.

Key Points:

• Global Average Decline: The CPI 2025 global average score stands at 42 out of 100, marking the lowest level in more than a decade. This represents a concerning downward trend in global anti-corruption efforts. The vast majority of countries (122 out of 182) scored below 50, indicating that more than two-thirds of countries are failing to keep corruption under control.
• Top Performers – Least Corrupt Countries: Denmark retained the top rank for the eighth consecutive year with a score of 89, followed by Finland (88), Singapore (84), New Zealand (81), and Norway (81). These countries are recognized for strong institutions, transparency, and effective accountability mechanisms. However, the number of countries scoring above 80 has declined from 12 a decade ago to just 5 in 2025.
• Bottom Performers – Most Corrupt Countries: South Sudan and Somalia jointly ranked lowest at 181st position with scores of 9 each, followed by Venezuela (10), Yemen (13), and Libya (13). These countries face severely repressed civil societies, political instability, weak governance structures, and high levels of conflict. Since 2012, 150 journalists covering corruption-related stories in non-conflict zones have been murdered, nearly all in countries with high corruption levels.
• India's Performance: India ranked 91st globally with a CPI score of 39 out of 100, showing slight improvement from the previous year. While India remains below the global average of 42, the ranking suggests incremental progress in governance and transparency reforms.
• Gen Z Anti-Corruption Protests: 2025 witnessed a wave of anti-corruption protests led by Gen Z, mostly in countries in the bottom half of the CPI whose scores have stagnated or declined. Young people in Nepal (34) and Madagascar (25) took to the streets criticizing leaders for abusing power while failing to deliver public services and economic opportunity.
• EU's Weakened Anti-Corruption Framework: In December 2025, the EU agreed its first Anti-Corruption Directive to harmonize criminal laws on corruption, but the framework was watered down by member states including Italy (53), which blocked criminalization of public officials' abuse of office.

India is set to get two new telescopes and upgrade one in Ladakh

In the News: In the Union Budget 2026, the Indian government approved the establishment of two major telescopes—the National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) and the National Large Optical–Near Infrared Telescope (NLOT)—along with the upgrade of the existing Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) in Ladakh. These projects are set to significantly enhance India's observational astronomy capabilities in solar physics, exoplanet research, and studies on the origins of the universe.

Key Points:

• Location – Hanle Dark Sky Reserve: All three telescope projects are located in Ladakh, at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve—India's first protected dark sky area. Hanle offers minimal light pollution, high altitude (nearly 4,500 metres), dry and stable atmosphere, and clear skies throughout the year, making it one of the best astronomical sites in Asia.
• National Large Solar Telescope (NLST): NLST is a 2-metre aperture solar telescope being built in the Merak region near Pangong Tso lake. It will operate in visible and near-infrared wavelengths to study solar magnetism, solar flares, and space-weather events that directly affect Earth's satellites, communication systems, and space missions. Expected to be operational in 5-6 years, NLST will become India's third ground-based solar observatory, complementing facilities at Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu, established 1899) and Udaipur (Rajasthan, established 1975), and supporting data from Aditya-L1, India's first space-based solar mission launched by ISRO in 2023.
• National Large Optical–Near Infrared Telescope (NLOT): NLOT is a 13.7-metre segmented-mirror telescope consisting of 90 hexagonal mirror segments working together as one large mirror. It will be constructed in Hanle for frontier research in exoplanets, stellar evolution, supernovae, and the origins of the universe. NLOT will rank among the world's largest telescopes in the optical-infrared range, with India's experience in the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project strengthening its technical expertise in segmented mirror technology.
• Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT) Upgrade: The existing HCT, operational for 25 years with a 2-metre mirror. HCT has played a key role in transient astronomy, studying short-lived cosmic events such as supernovae.