Top news of the day: Supreme Court directs appointment of judicial officers for Bengal SIR; India signs pact to join U.S.-led Pax Silica, and more

Top news of the day: Supreme Court orders judicial appointments in West Bengal; India joins U.S.-led Pax Silica for critical minerals and AI supply chain.

A Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria on Friday (February 20, 2026) ordered Calcutta High Court to depute current and former judicial officers to help with the SIR process in the State. The Supreme Court also sought a status report on alleged incidents of violence in the State. The top court also ordered the Election Commission to publish the processed list of electoral rolls on February 28. 

India on Friday (February 20, 2026) signed agreement to join U.S.-led coalition Pax Silica — that is aimed at building a resilient supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence. The signing ceremony was attended by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and U.S. Envoy to India Sergio Gor among others. “Pax Silica is a declaration that future belongs to those who build and when free people join forces,” U.S .Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said.

An interim trade agreement between India and the U.S. is likely to be signed in March and operationalised in April, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday (February 20, 2026). Further, India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with the U.K. and Oman are likely to be implemented in April, while the pact with New Zealand may come into force in September, Mr. Goyal said, adding that the 27-nation European Union also wants to implement the trade deal as early as possible.

A day after French President Emmanuel Macron lauded India’s UPI architecture, the Congress on Friday (February 20, 2026) said its initial conception happened under the UPA government in 2012-2013 and likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a student in a group project who doesn’t work, but shows up to take all the credit. The Opposition party said that bereft of the capacity to come up with groundbreaking ideas, Mr. Modi is happy cutting ribbons, “blabbering ludicrous acronyms”, cursing the Congress and “stealing credit”.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Friday (February 20, 2026) deprecated the tendency of filing petitions to use the Supreme Court as a platform to “embarrass” State governments ahead of Assembly elections. The Chief Justice, heading a three-judge Bench, said petitions filed by private parties and NGOs are designed to put State governments in a tight spot. In the process, the petitioners drag the Supreme Court into the political pell-mell.

The United States is in “active ​negotiation” over the sale of Venezuelan oil to India, to ⁠help India diversify its sources of crude oil, U.S. Envoy Sergio Gor said on Friday (February 20, 2026). The U.S. has made diversification away from Russian crude a condition for cutting tariffs ‌on goods imported from Indian, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer.