Current Affairs 16 February 2026

Urban Challenge Fund (UCF)

The Union Cabinet has approved the launch of the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) with a Central assistance of ₹1 lakh crore to promote transformative urban infrastructure projects. The scheme will operate from FY 2025–26 to 2030–31 (extendable till 2033–34) and aims to develop resilient, inclusive and climate-responsive cities.

The fund marks a shift from traditional grant-based financing to a market-linked and reform-driven model, where:

• Central assistance will cover 25% of project cost
• At least 50% of funding must be mobilised from market sources such as municipal bonds, bank loans and PPPs
• It is expected to catalyse ₹4 lakh crore investment in the urban sector.

UCF Scheme Coverage:

• Cities with population ≥ 10 lakh
• All State/Union Territory capitals
• Major industrial cities (≥ 1 lakh population)
• Smaller cities and ULBs (through a Credit Repayment Guarantee Scheme)

A ₹5,000 crore corpus will improve the creditworthiness of 4,223 cities, especially Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, enabling them to access market finance.

Andhra Pradesh Budget 2026–27

The Andhra Pradesh Budget 2026–27, presented by Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav, has a total outlay of ₹3,32,205 crore, focusing on inclusive growth, welfare expansion, infrastructure and human capital development.

Key Highlights:

• Revenue Expenditure: ₹2,56,142 crore
• Capital Expenditure: ₹48,697 crore
• Highest Allocation:
  • School Education – over ₹32,300 crore (largest share)

Welfare Allocations:

• Backward Classes Welfare: ₹23,650.88 crore
• Social Welfare: ₹11,118.84 crore
• EWS Welfare: ₹10,699.33 crore

Health Sector:

• ₹2,144 crore – Reproductive & Child Health programmes
• ₹838 crore – Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission
• ₹4,000 crore – Dr. NTR Vaidya Seva Trust

Infrastructure & Basic Amenities:

• ₹4,000 crore – Jal Jeevan Mission (drinking water)
• ₹5,451 crore – Housing programmes
• ₹1,037 crore – Swachh Bharat Mission
• ₹955 crore – National Rural Livelihood Mission

New Initiative:

• AP Wealth Fund with a ₹100 crore seed corpus to attract private equity and build long-term financial resilience.

Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Budget 2026–27

Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu presented the Agriculture & Allied Sectors Budget 2026–27 in the State Legislative Assembly with a total outlay of ₹53,753 crore.

Major Allocations:

Sectoral Allocations:

A.K. Ramanujan Prize for Translation

Two academic works from West Bengal Sipra Mukherjee and Mrinmoy Pramanick won the A.K. Ramanujan Prize for their English translation of Dalit poet Kalyani Thakur Charal’s selected works titled “I Belong to Nowhere.” She translated the two literary works into English.

Study on Indus and Ganga Basin

A recent study by researchers from IIT Gandhinagar reveals contrasting hydrological trends in India’s two major river basins.

Key Findings:

• The Indus basin streamflow was increased by 8% (1980-2021). This is rise is manily due to higher precipitation formed due to western disturbances and monsoon variability.
• The Ganga basin streamflow declined by 17% during the same period and the major cause to this is the excessive groundwater extraction for irrigation.

First Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) of the Northeast

The first emergency landing facility (ELF) of the Northeast was inaugurated on the Moran Bypass of the National Highway 127 in Assam’s Dibrugarh.

What is an ELF?

An Emergency Landing Facility is an “alternative runway” designed on a national highway system. Some stretches are built with specialised Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) to use it as a landing facility for fighter jets in an emergency situation.

Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu

The Prime Minister of India recently inaugurated the Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu across the brahmaputra River in Guwahati, Assam. It was built at an estimated cost of ₹3,030 crore. The bridge is named after Kumar Bhaskar Varman who was a famous ruler of the ancient Kamrupa Kingdom from the seventh century.

Commemorative Postage Stamps on Puppets of India

The Department of Posts released a set of 8 commemorative postage stamps on “Puppets of India” on 13 February 2026 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The objective of this is to celebrate India’s traditional puppetry heritage and to recognise puppetry as an ancient storytelling medium.

Puppetry Forms Featured on the Stamps:

• Kathputli – Rajasthan
• Yakshagana Sutrada Gombeyatta – Karnataka
• Daanger Putul – West Bengal
• Kathi Kundhei – Odisha
• Benir Putul – West Bengal
• Pavakathakali – Kerala
• Ravanachhaya – Odisha
• Tolu Bommalatta – Andhra Pradesh

Tamsa River Rejuvenation under Namami Gange

The Tamsa River, an important tributary of the Ganga flowing through Ambedkar Nagar, Ayodhya, and Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh), has been successfully rejuvenated under the Namami Gange Programme through a community-led model. The restoration covered an 89-km stretch in Azamgarh district and involved 111 Gram Panchayats.

PM RAHAT scheme

The Government of India has launched the PM RAHAT (Road Accident Victim Hospitalization and Assured Treatment) Scheme to provide cashless treatment up to ₹1.5 lakh per victim for 7 days following a road accident.

The scheme is integrated with the ERSS 112 helpline to ensure victims receive treatment within the Golden Hour, which is crucial for saving lives. It operates through a technology-driven system by linking the eDAR platform (MoRTH) with the Transaction Management System (TMS 2.0) of the National Health Authority.

Reimbursements to hospitals will be made through the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF).

Country’s First Underwater Road-cum-Rail Tunnel in Assam

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of a 4-lane access-controlled greenfield corridor from Gohpur (NH-15) to Numaligarh (NH-715) in Assam at a cost of ₹18,662 crore under the EPC mode.

The project includes a 15.79 km road-cum-rail tunnel under the Brahmaputra River, which will be:

• India’s first underwater road-cum-rail tunnel
• Second of its kind in the world

Hyderabad–Panaji Economic Corridor

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister has approved the widening of National Highway-167 from Gudebellur to Mahabubnagar in Telangana. This stretch is a part of the Hyderabad–Panaji Economic Corridor. The total estimated cost of the project is ₹3,175.08 crore.

CBDC-Based Public Distribution System (PDS) Launched in Gujarat

Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-based Public Distribution System (PDS) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, marking a major step in the digital transformation of food grain distribution.

Major Features:

• Digital distribution of food grains to ensure accurate delivery.
• The ‘Annapurna’ machine was launched, which can dispense 25kg food grains in 35 seconds.
• Integration with Digital India ecosystem similar to Direct Benefit Transfer model.
• Aims to eliminate leakages and middlemen in PDS.

Disclaimer: This article is prepared for competitive exam preparation using publicly available information.