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Current Affairs 1 February 2026

What happened on 1 February 2026, grouped by exam topic. The 16th Finance Commission advised the Centre to bring its fiscal deficit down to 3.5% of GDP by 2030-31, and asked states to keep theirs within 3% of GSDP. The Budget proposed seven new high-speed rail corridors: Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri.

Updated: 20 news items 10 MCQs with answers

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Mind map

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Current Affairs 1 February 2026 — Full notes

Published:

Current Affairs 1 February 2026 — 20 news items

At a glance

the top events

The most important events of this page, and how many news items each topic holds.

Top events
  1. 1 Feb — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 on 1 February 2026, her ninth consecutive budget. Morarji Desai still holds the record for the most budgets, with 10 over different terms.
  2. 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission report was tabled in Parliament along with the Budget. It kept the states' share in central taxes at 41%, same as the 15th Commission, and made "contribution to GDP" a new criterion in place of "tax and fiscal effort".
  3. 1 Feb — The Budget proposed seven new high-speed rail corridors: Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri.
  4. 1 Feb — The simpler Income Tax Act, 2025 replaces the Income Tax Act, 1961 and comes into force on 1 April 2026. Tax slabs for FY27 were kept unchanged.
  5. 1 Feb — Customs duty on imports for personal use was cut from 20% to 10%. Duty was removed fully on all cancer drugs and medicines for 7 rare diseases.
  6. 1 Feb — Foreign companies serving global customers through data centres in India get tax relief until 2047. The tax-holiday period for offshore banking units in GIFT City was raised from 10 to 20 years.
  7. 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission kept the states' share in central taxes at 41%, the same as the 15th, but added a new criterion based on each state's contribution to national GDP.
  8. 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission advised the Centre to bring its fiscal deficit down to 3.5% of GDP by 2030-31, and asked states to keep theirs within 3% of GSDP.
News by topic
Government & States
1 one-liners
Economy & Banking
19 one-liners

Government & States

1 one-liners

Policy · laws · schemes · states.

National
  • 1 Feb — The Budget proposed seven new high-speed rail corridors: Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri.

Economy & Banking

19 one-liners

RBI · markets · trade · reports.

Economy & Banking

19 one-liners

19 Economy & Banking — 1 Feb.

  • 1 Feb — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 on 1 February 2026, her ninth consecutive budget. Morarji Desai still holds the record for the most budgets, with 10 over different terms.
  • 1 Feb — The record for the most Union Budgets still belongs to Morarji Desai, who presented 10 Budgets in different terms (six in 1959-64 and four in 1967-69).
  • 1 Feb — The Budget 2026-27 sets capital expenditure at about ₹12.2 lakh crore (around 3.1% of GDP) and the fiscal deficit target at 4.3% of GDP, down from 4.4% in the revised estimate of the previous year.
  • 1 Feb — The Budget expects nominal GDP growth of about 10.5% and real GDP growth of about 7% for FY27.
  • 1 Feb — The fiscal deficit for FY27 is set at 4.3% of GDP, slightly better than 4.4% last year. The government wants to keep it below 4.5%.
  • 1 Feb — The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to be about 55.6% in FY27. The government aims to bring it down to 50% by 2030-31.
  • 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission report was tabled in Parliament along with the Budget. It kept the states' share in central taxes at 41%, same as the 15th Commission, and made "contribution to GDP" a new criterion in place of "tax and fiscal effort".
  • 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission recommended grants of about ₹9.47 lakh crore for the next five years, mainly for urban and rural local bodies and for disaster management.
  • 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission advised the Centre to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.5% of GDP by 2030-31. It also asked for steps to move power distribution companies into private hands.
  • 1 Feb — The Biopharma Shakti Mission will get ₹10,000 crore over five years to make India a global hub for biologics and biosimilars. New National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) will also be set up.
  • 1 Feb — The Budget announced India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 to strengthen the making of semiconductor equipment and materials, the supply chain and research.
  • 1 Feb — The outlay of the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme was raised from ₹22,919 crore to ₹40,000 crore.
  • 1 Feb — New dedicated Rare Earth corridors will be built in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu to strengthen the whole chain of mining and processing of rare earth minerals.
  • 1 Feb — Under the "Champion MSME" initiative, a ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund was announced to build globally competitive companies.
  • 1 Feb — The simpler Income Tax Act, 2025 replaces the Income Tax Act, 1961 and comes into force on 1 April 2026. Tax slabs for FY27 were kept unchanged.
  • 1 Feb — Customs duty on imports for personal use was cut from 20% to 10%. Duty was removed fully on all cancer drugs and medicines for 7 rare diseases.
  • 1 Feb — Foreign companies serving global customers through data centres in India get tax relief until 2047. The tax-holiday period for offshore banking units in GIFT City was raised from 10 to 20 years.
  • 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission kept the states' share in central taxes at 41%, the same as the 15th, but added a new criterion based on each state's contribution to national GDP.
  • 1 Feb — The 16th Finance Commission advised the Centre to bring its fiscal deficit down to 3.5% of GDP by 2030-31, and asked states to keep theirs within 3% of GSDP.

Quick quiz

test yourself

Practice questions on this period. Tap an option to check your answer.

Fill in the blank: one-liner flashcards
Finance Minister _____ presented the Union Budget 2026-27 on 1 February 2026, her ninth consecutive budget. Morarji Desai still holds the record for the most budgets, with 10 over different terms.
Nirmala Sitharaman
The _____ report was tabled in Parliament along with the Budget. It kept the states' share in central taxes at 41%, same as the 15th Commission, and made "contribution to GDP" a new criterion in place of "tax and fiscal effort".
16th Finance Commission
The record for the most Union Budgets still belongs to _____, who presented 10 Budgets in different terms (six in 1959-64 and four in 1967-69).
Morarji Desai
The Budget 2026-27 sets capital expenditure at about _____ (around 3.1% of GDP) and the fiscal deficit target at 4.3% of GDP, down from 4.4% in the revised estimate of the previous year.
₹12.2 lakh crore
The Budget expects nominal GDP growth of about _____ and real GDP growth of about 7% for FY27.
10.5%
The fiscal deficit for FY27 is set at _____, slightly better than 4.4% last year. The government wants to keep it below 4.5%.
4.3% of GDP
The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to be about _____ in FY27. The government aims to bring it down to 50% by 2030-31.
55.6%
The 16th Finance Commission recommended grants of about _____ for the next five years, mainly for urban and rural local bodies and for disaster management.
₹9.47 lakh crore
The 16th Finance Commission advised the Centre to cut the fiscal deficit to _____. It also asked for steps to move power distribution companies into private hands.
3.5% of GDP by 2030-31
The _____ will get ₹10,000 crore over five years to make India a global hub for biologics and biosimilars. New National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) will also be set up.
Biopharma Shakti Mission
MCQs

  1. Whose record of the most Union Budgets (10) is still unbroken after Nirmala Sitharaman presented her ninth consecutive one?

    1. P. Chidambaram
    2. Morarji Desai
    3. Pranab Mukherjee
    4. Manmohan Singh
    Show answer

    Answer: Morarji Desai — Morarji Desai presented 10 Budgets across two terms (1959-64 and 1967-69), so he still holds the record.

  2. In which of these states were new Rare Earth corridors announced in Budget 2026-27?

    1. Rajasthan
    2. Punjab
    3. Assam
    4. Odisha
    Show answer

    Answer: Odisha — The corridors are for Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

  3. What is the fiscal deficit target for FY27 in the Union Budget 2026-27?

    1. 3.5% of GDP
    2. 4.4% of GDP
    3. 4.3% of GDP
    4. 5.1% of GDP
    Show answer

    Answer: 4.3% of GDP — The target is 4.3% of GDP, slightly better than 4.4% in the previous year.

  4. Which launch aims to raise about ₹6.72 lakh crore through asset monetisation from FY2025-26 to 2029-30?

    1. Make in India 2.0
    2. National Monetisation Pipeline 2.0
    3. PM Gati Shakti 2.0
    4. Asset Reconstruction Mission
    Show answer

    Answer: National Monetisation Pipeline 2.0 — NMP 2.0 was launched on 24 February 2026 and also aims to attract ₹5.18 lakh crore of private investment.

  5. Which new criterion did the 16th Finance Commission add in place of "tax and fiscal effort"?

    1. Contribution to GDP
    2. Population density
    3. Forest cover
    4. Per capita income
    Show answer

    Answer: Contribution to GDP — "Contribution to GDP" became the new criterion for sharing taxes among states.

  6. Which of these was NOT among the seven high-speed rail corridors proposed in the Budget?

    1. Jaipur-Ahmedabad
    2. Mumbai-Pune
    3. Delhi-Varanasi
    4. Hyderabad-Chennai
    Show answer

    Answer: Jaipur-Ahmedabad — The seven corridors do not include Jaipur-Ahmedabad; Mumbai-Pune, Delhi-Varanasi and Hyderabad-Chennai were proposed.

  7. Union Budget 2026-27 was the which consecutive budget of Nirmala Sitharaman?

    1. Seventh
    2. Eighth
    3. Tenth
    4. Ninth
    Show answer

    Answer: Ninth — It was her ninth consecutive budget, presented on 1 February 2026.

  8. What share of central taxes did the 16th Finance Commission recommend for the states?

    1. 32%
    2. 42%
    3. 50%
    4. 41%
    Show answer

    Answer: 41% — The share stayed at 41%, the same as the 15th Finance Commission.

  9. The new Income Tax Act 2025 comes into effect from:

    1. 1 January 2026
    2. 1 February 2026
    3. 1 April 2026
    4. 1 April 2027
    Show answer

    Answer: 1 April 2026 — The Act replaces the 1961 law from 1 April 2026.

  10. The Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme was increased to how much in the Budget?

    1. ₹22,919 crore
    2. ₹40,000 crore
    3. ₹30,000 crore
    4. ₹50,000 crore
    Show answer

    Answer: ₹40,000 crore — Its outlay rose from ₹22,919 crore to ₹40,000 crore.

Frequently asked questions

What are the important current affairs of 1 February 2026?

The 16th Finance Commission advised the Centre to bring its fiscal deficit down to 3.5% of GDP by 2030-31, and asked states to keep theirs within 3% of GSDP. The Budget proposed seven new high-speed rail corridors: Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri. The mind map above holds all 20 news items.

How is this page arranged?

The mind map has one branch for each exam topic: government and states, international and agreements, economy and banking, science, defence and environment, sports, days and culture, and awards, appointments and books. Tap a branch to open its one-liners. The same news is also written out as plain text below the map.

How many months of current affairs should I study?

For most exams the last 6 months matter most; state PCS and UPSC add the previous 6 months. Read month by month using the month filter, then practise the MCQs.

Is this free?

Yes. Every mind map, one-liner, question and answer on the current affairs pages is free to read.

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