India Pulse | February 11, 2026: Your Daily Digest of India's Governance, Progress, and Vision
The India Pulse Newsletter for February 11, 2026 covers India’s new IT Rules targeting AI misinformation, Centre issuing guidelines for rendition of National Song Vande Mataram, government planning privilege notice against Rahul Gandhi, Exercise Vayu Shakti to highlight success of Op Sindoor, Rajya Sabha to resume Union Budget 2026-27 debate, Industrial Relations Code Amendment Bill 2026 introduced in Lok Sabha, and ECI organises EVM/VVPAT awareness campaign in poll-bound states.
NEWS IN DETAIL
India’s New IT Rules Target AI Misinformation
The Indian government is tightening its grip on AI-generated and deepfake content, mandating that social media platforms to take down objectionable material within 3 hours and making the labelling of AI-generated content compulsory.
Under the new rules, if a social media platform becomes aware of illegal or misleading AI content, it will be mandatory on their part to remove it or block its access within 3 hours. Previously, the time limit for this was 36 hours.
The government has directed digital platforms to inform users about rules and regulations every three months. Users must also be informed that sharing illegal or objectionable content generated by AI may result in action under various laws.
The new rules require social media companies to deploy technical tools to identify AI-generated content. Such content must be clearly labeled and a permanent digital identity or metadata must be added, which cannot be removed.
In addition, platforms must ensure that the following types of AI content are blocked or removed:
Sexually exploitative or pornographic material involving children
Private or objectionable images and videos obtained without consent
Fake documents or electronic records
Content depicting weapons, explosives, or violence
Deepfake representations of individuals or events
Major social media platforms will now require users to declare whether the content they share is AI-generated. Companies will also be required to verify this through technical means. Failure to comply with the rules could result in the platform’s legal protections being terminated.
The government has replaced the Indian Penal Code with the Indian Criminal Code 2023 in the new rules. This amendment is in line with the country’s new criminal laws. The government believes that these amendments will effectively control the spread of fake news, deepfakes and misleading propaganda on digital platforms and strengthen online security.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a gazette notification on Tuesday, amending the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The new rules will come into force on February 20, 2026. The amendments geared to curb user harm from deepfakes and misinformation aims to impose obligations on two key sets of players in the digital ecosystem: one social media platforms and providers of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Grok and Gemini.
Centre Issues Guidelines For Rendition Of National Song Vande Mataram
The union government has issued detailed guidelines on the observance of India’s National Song, Vande Mataram, directing that all six stanzas of the official version must be rendered first whenever the National Song and the National Anthem are performed together.
According to the Union Home Ministry, the full six-stanza version is to be sung or played on key state occasions such as the arrival of the President, the unfurling of the National Flag, and addresses by Governors, among other formal events.
Under these directions, the official version of the National Song shall be played on the occasion of Civil Investitures, upon arrival and departure of the President and Governor at formal State functions and other functions organised by the Government. It should also be played immediately before and after the President addresses the Nation over All India Radio-Akashvani and Television, and when the National Flag is brought on parade. The Ministry further added that people present at assemblies where the national song is performed must stand in an attention posture.
Government to Move Privilege Notice Against Rahul Gandhi: Kiren Rijiju
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government will move a Privilege Notice against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for making baseless statements and misleading the Lok Sabha during the Budget discussion.
Talking to news persons on Wednesday, Mr Rijiju said Rahul Gandhi also made useless and false allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Rijiju noted that on what basis Mr Gandhi made a serious allegation without giving any notice. He further stated that there are very clear-cut rules of procedure and conduct of business in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to substantiate the allegations.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that he has requested him to authenticate the points he has made in the House. He also criticised Rahul Gandhi for making allegations against Minister Hardeep Singh Puri without giving any notice. He added that it is a serious breach of privilege and the government will move the necessary notice with the Speaker. He alleged that the leader of the Opposition did not make any useful substantive contribution to the Budget Discussion.
Exercise Vayu Shakti To Highlight Success Of Op Sindoor, Reaffirming IAF’s Dominance In Airspace
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will demonstrate its precision targeting capabilities at Exercise Vayu Shakti to be held in Pokhran, Rajasthan, on February 27, 2026.
The full dress rehearsal of Exercise Vayu Shakti will be held on February 24, 2026.
Briefing the media at the curtain-raiser event in New Delhi on Wednesday, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor informed that over 120 defence assets will be deployed during the exercise.
Underlining that Rafale was a hero during Operation Sindoor, Air Marshal Kapoor said that the Indian Air Force is looking forward to inducting more MRFA-Multi Role Fighter Aircraft.
A total of 77 fighter aircraft, 43 helicopters, and 8 transport aircraft will participate in Exercise Vayu Shakti. The exercise will feature fighter aircraft including the Rafale, Sukhoi, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Jaguar and LCA Tejas. Vayushakti-26 will also highlight the success of Operation Sindoor, reaffirming IAF’s primacy in airspace dominance, long-range precision targeting, and multi-domain operations. It will demonstrate the integrated and joint operations with the Indian Army.
Air Marshal Kapoor highlighted that the message from Operation Sindoor was clear: that terrorism will not be tolerated, and every act of terror carried out on the country’s soil will be responded to appropriately.
The exercise will also showcase glimpses of how the Air Force plays a crucial role in humanitarian assistance and disaster management by providing rapid airlift, rescue and evacuation from conflict zones within the country as well as abroad.
Advanced weapon systems such as Short Range Loitering Munitions, Akash, SpyDer and Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems, carrying out day, dusk and night missions, will be featured in the exercise.
Rajya Sabha To Resume Union Budget 2026–27 Debate
The Rajya Sabha will resume discussions on the Union Budget 2026-27 on Thursday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to reply to the general debate on the Union Budget. In the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, she highlighted the robustness of the economy and the government’s vision for the coming years to accelerate growth.
The Report of the Standing Committee of Finance on ‘Roadmap for Indian economic growth in light of global economic and geopolitical circumstance will be presented by MP Bhartruhari Mahtab in the lower house of Parliament.
The first phase of the budget session commenced on the 28th of January and will continue till Friday. After the recess, the second phase will take place from 9th March to 2nd April of this year.
Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill 2026 Introduced in Lok Sabha
Seeking to avoid any future unwarranted complication over the continuity of certain laws replaced by the Industrial Relations Code of 2020, an amendment bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill 2026 was introduced by Union Minister of Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya in the House during Zero Hour.
According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, replaces the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, relating to trade unions, industrial employment and industrial disputes.
ECI Organises EVM/VVPAT Awareness Campaign In Poll-bound States
Election Commission of India (ECI) is organising extensive EVM/VVPAT Awareness Campaigns across the poll-bound States/UT of Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to familiarise voters with the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units.
The campaign is being conducted through EVM Demonstration Centres (EDCs) and Mobile Demonstration Vans (MDVs) in a structured and time-bound manner.
EVM Demonstration Centres have been established and operationalised at District Election Officer (DEO) Headquarters as well as at Returning Officer/Revenue Sub- Division Headquarters across the five States/UTs.
As on February 10, 2026, over 1.20 lakh electors took part in the EVM Demonstration camps at the EDCs across the 5 States/UTs and over 1.16 lakh electors cast mock votes in these demonstrations, the ECI said in a statement.
Over 29 thousand Polling Station Locations (PSL) have been covered by MDVs already, it added.