1-2 February 2026 Current Affairs

Shows fintech–bank convergence .

Paysharp – PA-P Licence

• Expansion of offline digital payments ecosystem .

9️⃣ Digital Assets & Global Finance

UAE – First USD-Backed Stablecoin Approved

• Major step in regulating digital assets .

• Exam angle:

  • Central banks & crypto regulation

  • Payment tokens vs cryptocurrencies

🔟 Governance, Representation & Leadership

Sunetra Pawar – First Woman Deputy CM of Maharashtra

• Historic gender milestone in state executive leadership.

Sarah Mullally – Archbishop of Canterbury

• First woman to head Church of England (1,400 years).

• Often appears in global current affairs prelims .

1️⃣1️⃣ Defence & Indigenous Capability

HAL – Kota Ravi as CMD

• Leadership continuity in defence PSU governance .

Indian Army – Shield AI Agreement

• Procurement of V-BAT VTOL UAS , manufactured in India.

• Links to defence indigenisation & ISR capability .

Alpha Design Technologies – Pechora SAM Upgrade

• Modernisation of legacy air-defence systems through domestic industry .