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India Pulse | February 16, 2026: Your Daily Digest of India's Governance, Progress, and Vision
The India Pulse Newsletter for February 16, 2026 covers India's exports rising 13.17% to $80.45 billion in January 2026, French President Macron arriving in India, President Murmu scheduled to witness International Fleet Review 2026 in Visakhapatnam, India-France Annual Defence Dialogue 2026 to focus on industrial collaboration and strategic ties, India-AI Impact Summit 2026 underway in New Delhi, Vaishnaw highlighting India's growing creator economy and responsible AI vision, Health Minister to unveil National AI-in-Healthcare Strategy and Data Platform, Education Ministry to spotlight AI vision at summit, Jitendra Singh lauding indigenous tele-robotic ultrasound system, and Army Chief visiting Australia to strengthen bilateral military engagement.
NEWS IN DETAIL
India’s Exports Rise 13.17% To $80.45 Billion In January 2026
India’s overall exports, merchandise and services combined, increased by 13.17 percent year-on-year to 80.45 billion dollars in January this year compared with 71.09 billion dollars in January last year.
According to data released by the Commerce Ministry, overall imports during the month grew at a faster pace of 18.76 per cent, rising to 90.83 billion dollars from 76.48 billion dollars in January 2025. As a result, India’s overall trade deficit, merchandise and services combined, widened to 10.38 billion dollars in January 2026, nearly doubling from 5.39 billion dollars in the corresponding month last year.
In January, both merchandise and services exports and imports rose. Merchandise exports rose from 36.34 billion dollars to 36.56 billion dollars, while services exports rose from 34.75 billion dollars to 43.90 billion dollars.
French President Macron Arrives In India
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Mumbai late Monday night for his three-day visit to India during which he will hold discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations.
The President will also participate in the AI Impact Summit being held in Delhi. This marks the French President’s fourth visit to India.
President Murmu To Witness International Fleet Review 2026 In Visakhapatnam
President Droupadi Murmu will be on a two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh beginning February 17, 2026, to witness the International Fleet Review (IFR) 2026.
She will arrive in Visakhapatnam this evening. Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will receive her. A Presidential Banquet will be hosted later in the evening.
On February 18, 2026, the President will witness the IFR 2026 in her capacity as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. She will review an impressive array of ships, submarines and aircraft from India and friendly foreign nations off the Visakhapatnam coast.
Organised by the Indian Navy under the theme “United Through Oceans, Strengthening Bridges of Friendship,” the review showcases maritime capability, cooperation and India’s sovereign oversight at sea. The IFR is being held alongside the 13th edition of the MILAN multilateral naval exercise and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Conclave, aimed at deepening professional engagement, interoperability and strategic collaboration among participating navies in the Bay of Bengal region.
India-France Annual Defence Dialogue 2026 To Focus On Industrial Collaboration, Strategic Ties
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin will co-chair 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru on February 17, 2026. The meeting will review the entire gamut of bilateral defence cooperation, with focus on expanding industrial collaboration.
During the meeting, a defence cooperation agreement is expected to be renewed for another 10 years, with an MoU on Joint Venture for manufacturing of Hammer missiles likely to be signed in the presence of both Defence Ministers. An announcement is also expected with respect to reciprocal deployment of officers at the Indian Army and French Land Forces establishments.
The two Ministers are also expected to witness the virtual inauguration of the H125 Light Utility Helicopter Final Assembly of Tata Airbus by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron at Vemagal, Karnataka.
Defence has traditionally formed an important pillar of the relationship between the two countries. The strong and enduring bilateral ties were vividly reflected in 2024-2025 through a series of high-profile exchanges. Mr Modi was the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in July 2023, before the French President graced the Republic Day Parade 2024 as the Chief Guest.
The recent India-EU Security & Defence Partnership marks a significant step in deepening collective engagement with European nations. Military-to-Military cooperation is on an increase. India and France have been regularly carrying out three major exercises – Exercise Shakti with Army, Exercise Varuna with Navy, and Exercise Garuda with Air Force, and several other opportunity engagements.
This would be the maiden visit of Ms Catherine Vautrin to India after she took over as the French Defence Minister on October 12, 2025. The India-France Annual Defence Dialogue is a structured ministerial-level bilateral meeting to review and guide defence & security cooperation. The 5th edition of the meeting was held in France from October 11-13, 2023.
India-AI Impact Summit 2026 Underway In New Delhi
The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is underway at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The five-day Summit is the first-ever global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South.
World leaders from twenty nations are attending the event. Artificial Intelligence is a key enabler of India’s development journey, strengthening governance and improving public service delivery. The five-day Summit is bringing together global leaders, policymakers, technology companies, innovators, and experts to showcase and deliberate on the transformative potential of AI across governance, innovation, and sustainable development.
On the second day of the India AI Impact Summit on Tuesday, High-level panel discussions will continue, deepening sectoral dialogues across priority domains. The day will feature the launch of flagship Knowledge Compendiums – including the Casebooks on AI in Health, Energy, Education, Agriculture, Gender Empowerment and Disabilities – alongside a focused Seminar on Applied AI.
Recognising the strategic importance of AI, India has accorded high priority to building a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem. Initiatives such as the India AI Mission, development of AI compute infrastructure, promotion of indigenous AI models, and large-scale capacity-building programmes are laying a strong foundation for responsible and trusted AI adoption in the country.
Vaishnaw Highlights India’s Growing Creator Economy, Responsible AI Vision
Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India’s rapidly expanding creator economy is being powered by the country’s strong digital infrastructure and skilled population.
In a conversation during the session on the official satellite event of the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the minister highlighted the transformative impact of artificial intelligence across sectors.
Mr Vaishnaw asserted that India’s creator economy is rapidly growing and adapting to new technologies and new ways of working. He noted that nearly 90 per cent of the country is covered by 5G, making citizens digitally native. He added that the government is focusing on re-skilling, up-skilling and creating a new talent pipeline to prepare the workforce for emerging technologies.
Emphasising the broader implications of artificial intelligence, he said AI presents tremendous opportunities in areas such as agriculture, weather forecasting, climate action, new materials discovery and productivity. However, he cautioned that technology also carries potential risks and AI will have both positive and negative impacts. He mentioned that the government aims to maximise the benefits of AI while containing the harms.
Mr Vaishnaw further said that the India AI Impact Summit aims to understand AI’s real impact on human society and expressed hope that the deliberations during the event would yield meaningful outcomes. The minister said through the summit, India intends to play a leading role in shaping a balanced and responsible AI future.
The Minister stressed that misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes, they are attacking the foundation of the society and the trust between the institutions. He urged everyone to take the responsibility for making sure that the new technology is strengthening the trust.
Health Minister To Unveil National AI-in-Healthcare Strategy and Data Platform
Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will launch two national initiatives at the India AI Summit in New Delhi on February 17, 2026.
These initiatives include Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare for India (SAHI) and the Benchmarking Open Data Platform for Health AI (BODH).
The SAHI is a national guidance framework that enables the safe, ethical, evidence-based, and inclusive adoption of Artificial Intelligence across India’s healthcare system.
While BODH is a privacy-preserving benchmarking platform that enables rigorous evaluation of AI models using diverse, real-world health data without sharing underlying datasets. The SAHI and BODH mark a significant step in India’s journey towards building a robust, responsible, and globally competitive health AI ecosystem.
Education Ministry To Spotlight AI Vision At India AI Impact Summit
The Union Education Ministry will host a special session titled Ministry of Education – Pushing the Frontier of AI in India at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 17, 2026.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary will attend the session, underscoring the Ministry’s continued push to harness the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence in education.
The Ministry has underlined that the session aligns with the vision of the National Education Policy and the national goal of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Over the past decade, the Ministry has laid the foundation for AI-enabled education through digital platforms, policy frameworks, institutional reforms, and large-scale capacity building across school education, higher education, skilling, research, and innovation.
The Summit session will highlight India’s shift from policy vision to large-scale implementation through public digital infrastructure, Centres of Excellence, teacher training, curriculum integration, and collaboration with industry and startups.
Jitendra Singh Lauds Indigenous Tele-Robotic Ultrasound System
Science and Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said that the indigenously developed Tele-Robotic Ultrasonography (TUS) system has marked a major step in extending specialised healthcare beyond conventional settings.
Dr. Singh was speaking to the media after witnessing a live demonstration of the system that linked All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi with India’s Maitri Research Station in Antarctica.
Dr Singh said that the tele-robotic system, developed jointly by AIIMS and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in collaboration with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, uses a robotic arm with an ultrasound probe that replicates a sonographer’s hand movements with high precision and minimal delay. He noted that the system provides diagnostically reliable imaging and can support assessments of abdominal organs, cardiac functions and trauma situations.
He said the innovation exemplifies the convergence of AI, robotics and real-time clinical expertise and has wide potential applications. He further noted that the system can be used from polar research stations and disaster zones to border outposts and rural health centres, where specialist medical services are hard to access.
The Union Minister added that TUS can help bridge healthcare gaps across geography, reduce the need for emergency evacuations, and improve timely medical decision-making.
Army Chief Visits Australia to Strengthen Bilateral Military Engagement
Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi visited Forces Command and Headquarters of 2nd Division in Australia on February 16, 2026.
During his ongoing tour to Australia, Mr Dwivedi held discussions with Acting Commander Forces Command and Commander 2nd Division of the Australian Army.
The engagements focused on strengthening bilateral training cooperation, enhancing interoperability and exploring new avenues of collaboration, including niche and emerging technologies.
Meanwhile, comprehensive briefings and professional exchanges reflected the shared operational ethos of both armies and a forward-looking approach to capacity building.
The visit reaffirmed the growing India-Australia defence partnership and a mutual commitment to deeper military-to-military engagement.