THE HEADLINES :-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan hold talks in New Delhi; Sign agreements to boost cooperation in defence, space, energy and investment sectors.
- IMF raises India’s economic growth forecast to 7.3 per cent for current fiscal.
- BJP Working President Nitin Nabin all set to become party’s new National president.
- Supreme Court expresses concern over exorbitant rise in airfares during festivals.
- Railways runs 244 special trains for Mauni Amavasya; Facilitates over 4 lakh fifty thousand passengers.
- In Women’s Premier League Cricket, match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Giants underway in Vadodara.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held delegation level talks with President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at his official residence in New Delhi. During the meeting, several agreements were signed in the fields of Defence, Space, Energy, Supercomputing and Food Safety between India and UAE. Briefing the media about the outcomes of the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, agreements were signed for strategic defence partnership and joint initiatives on space infrastructure development and its commercialisation.
Mr Misri said, agreement was also inked for UAE’s participation in the development of special investment region at Dholera in Gujarat.
The Foreign Secretary said, India and UAE have agreed for establishment of a supercomputing cluster in India. He said, both sides have also agreed to double bilateral trade to two hundred billion dollars by 2032.
Mr Misri said, Prime Minister Modi and UAE President condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism. He said, both the leaders emphasised that no country should provide a safe haven to those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist acts.
The two leaders agreed to continue cooperation within the framework of the Financial Action Task Force to counter terror financing and strengthen anti-money laundering efforts. They also directed their teams to work towards connecting Micro, Small and Medium Sector Enterprises.
The UAE President arrived in New Delhi this evening. In a special gesture, Prime Minister Modi received President Zayed Al Nahyan at the airport.
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised India’s economic growth outlook to 7.3 per cent for current fiscal. We have a report:
“In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF cited better-than-expected corporate earnings in the third quarter and strong momentum heading into the fourth quarter of the current fiscal for upward revision of India’s growth projection by 0.7 percentage point. The IMF signalled that the global economy has largely absorbed the immediate impact of tariff-related shocks. In its previous staff report, the IMF had projected 6.6 per cent growth for Financial Year 2025-2026, Meanwhile, the IMF has projected 6.4 per cent growth for India in the financial year 2026-2027. Tanvi Khurana from News Desk for Akashvani News.”
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Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today said that the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project is witnessing steady progress with the installation of overhead electrification masts advancing along the corridor. Mr Vaishnaw in a social media post, said, the development marks an important step towards enabling electric traction for country’s first high-speed rail system and reflects consistent on-ground execution under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Earlier, the Minister informed that India has achieved a record electronics exports of 47 billion dollars last year. He said, around 30 billion dollar came from the production -linked incentive driven smartphone exports.
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World Economic Forum begins at Davos in Switzerland tonight. More than three thousand global leaders are expected to attend the 56th annual meeting. Over 100 Indian CEOs are in the Swiss town, along with a large government delegation to take part in the five day talkfest. Besides, Union Ministers, including Ashwini Vaishnaw, Pralhad Joshi and K Rammohan Naidu, are also expected to participate. Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Jharkhand will showcase their respective states for prospective investors.
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BJP Working President Nitin Nabin is set to become the new National president of the party. BJP’s National Returning Officer Dr. K. Laxman announced that only Mr Nabin’s name was proposed for the post of BJP National President. However, the formal announcement on his election as new National President will be made tomorrow. Dr Laxman said, all 37 sets of nomination papers were received in favour of Nitin Nabin for the post of the National President. On scrutiny, all sets of nomination papers were found to be duly-filled up in the required format and were valid.
BJP National President JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and other members of the Parliamentary Party Board proposed the name of Nitin Nabin for the post of National President.
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Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has accused the Congress of misleading the people of the country on the Viksit Bharat G RAM G Act. Mr Chouhan was addressing a press conference in New Delhi today. He said, under MGNREGA, the rights given by Congress existed only on paper. The Minister stressed that the Viksit Bharat G RAM G Act guarantees at least 125 days of wage employment to every rural household from the earlier 100 days of employment.
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In Chhattisgarh, nine Maoists including six women surrendered in Gariaband district today. They were carrying a total reward of 48 lakh rupees. Speaking on the occasion, Inspector General of Police Amresh Mishra said, with their surrender, now no active Maoists are left in Gariaband district.
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Around 10 thousand special guests have been invited to witness the 77th Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi on the 26th of this month as part of the government’s effort to enhance public participation in national events. More from our correspondent:
“The Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Path of New Delhi is a unique blend of the country’s cultural diversity and military prowess. According to the Defence Ministry, guests include best innovators, start-ups, self help groups and best performers under various government initiatives. People with exemplary work in income and employment generation have also been invited. The Ministry said that the guests have been invited with the objective of honouring their contributions to nation-building and increasing Jan Bhagidari in events of national importance. The special guests include the winners of World Para Athletics Championship, Students trained under Atal Innovation Mission, farmers practicing natural farming and beneficiaries under PM SMILE scheme among others. With Rishu Jaiswal, Bhanu Pratap Singh for Akashvani News, Delhi.”
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Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi visited the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Republic Day Camp 2026 in New Delhi today. Addressing the NCC cadets, Admiral Tripathi highlighted that NCC has played a crucial role in shaping young minds with values of discipline, selfless service, and national pride.
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Supreme Court today directed the Election Commission (EC) to display the names of voters categorized under the logical discrepancies list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The apex court was hearing pleas alleging arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.
Noting that one crore twenty five lakh voters in the state, figured on the logical discrepancies list, the court directed the poll panel to display the names of those on the logical discrepancies list at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices, where documents and objections will also be submitted.
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The Apex Court has raised concern over exorbitant rise in airfares during festivals. The court said, it would interfere with the unpredictable fluctuations in airfares. Hearing a PIL, the court termed the exorbitant rise of airfares by airlines as exploitation and asked the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to file their replies. The top court listed the matter for further hearing on the 23rd of next month after Additional Solicitor General Anil Kaushik sought time to file a reply on behalf of the Centre.
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Indian Railways operated 244 special trains during the Mauni Amavasya period carrying over 4 lakh 50 thousand passengers. The Railways has successfully managed the peak festival rush of devotees during the Mouni Amavasya period between 3rd and 18th of this month.
The Ministry of Railways said, Prayagraj witnessed the peak of festive travel yesterday with 40 special trains in operation carrying approximately one lakh passengers.
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In Afghanistan, several people were reportedly killed and many others injured in a blast at a hotel in a heavily guarded part of central Kabul today. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer today said that US President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs against allies over Greenland is completely wrong and a trade war is in no one’s interest. Mr. Starmer was speaking at a news conference in London.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for dense fog conditions tomorrow at isolated places over Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab. Meanwhile, the air quality in Delhi-NCR continues to remain in the severe category.
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In Women’s Premier League, WPL Cricket, Royal Challengers Bengaluru has set a target of 179 runs for Gujarat Giants in the first clash of the Vadodara leg. Put into bat, Royal Challengers Bengaluru scored 178 runs losing six wickets in 20 overs. The WPL 2026 is being conducted in a two-city format. After completing the Navi Mumbai leg of the tournament, all five teams have relocated to Gujarat for the second half of the competition.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan hold talks in New Delhi; Sign agreements to boost cooperation in defence, space, energy and investment sectors.
- IMF raises India’s economic growth forecast to 7.3 per cent for current fiscal.
- BJP Working President Nitin Nabin all set to become party’s new National president.
- Supreme Court expresses concern over exorbitant rise in airfares during festivals.
- Railways runs 244 special trains for Mauni Amavasya; Facilitates over 4 lakh fifty thousand passengers.
- In Women’s Premier League Cricket, match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Giants underway in Vadodara.
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