THE HEADLINES :-
- Second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meet discusses issues of mutual interest in New Delhi; Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciates Arab League’s role in regional peace and stability.
- External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar stresses on zero tolerance for terrorism in his opening remarks.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha tomorrow.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah accuses TMC government of West Bengal of dividing society and weakening the State.
- NCP leader Sunetra Pawar becomes the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
- In sports, India’s Devika Sihag enters the final of Thailand Masters Badminton in Bangkok.
- Elena Rybakina stuns Aryna Sabalenka to win her maiden Women’s Singles title of Australian Open Tennis tournament.
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The second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is being held in New Delhi. Leaders of all 22 Arab Nations are taking part in a meet which is being hosted by India for the first time and taking place after a gap of 10 years.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the delegation of Foreign Ministers of Arab countries, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States and Heads of Arab delegations. During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi conveyed his appreciation for the important role played by the Arab League in supporting efforts towards regional peace and stability. He reiterated India’s continued support for the people of Palestine and welcomed the ongoing peace efforts, including the Gaza peace plan. The Prime Minister highlighted the deep and historic people-to-people ties between India and the Arab world.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, in his opening remarks, stressed on zero tolerance for terrorism and said, it must be an uncompromising universal norm. He said terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is a common threat for India and the Arab nations.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026-27 in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. Later, the copy of the budget will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha. It will be the third Budget of the Narendra Modi government in its third term. Before the budget Preparation, the Finance Minister held pre Budget consultation meetings with several stakeholders. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had also held extensive pre-Budget consultations on various aspects related to agriculture and rural development and submitted a compiled report of suggestions to the Finance Minister. More from our correspondent.
“Finance Minister Sitharaman is set to present a record ninth consecutive Union Budget, since assuming office in 2019. In her budget speech, she will outline the government’s revenue and expenditure plans for the next financial year. The Budget is expected to outline the government’s economic roadmap for the coming year, with a focus on growth, employment generation and fiscal stability. During the course of Budget preparation, various inputs have been sought from the citizens, including youth, through various platforms, which will reflect in the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27. The Budget documents will be available on the Union Budget Mobile App and the website after the completion of the Budget Speech in Parliament. After the presentation of the Union Budget, Finance Minister will interact with around thirty college students from different regions of the country. The Budget session which began on 28th January will continue till 2nd April. With Dipendra Kumar, Suparna Saikia, Akashvani News Delhi.”
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Meanwhile, in a break from the usual weekend routine, the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, will hold a live trading session tomorrow despite it being a Sunday.
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Prime Minister’s flagship platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, PRAGATI, has marked a significant milestone with the successful conduct of its 50th meeting. Since its launch in 2015, PRAGATI has transformed governance by enabling real-time monitoring and resolution of key infrastructure projects and public grievances through direct Prime Ministerial review. In this special series, today, our correspondent takes a look at the projects related to the Uttarakhand.
“Uttarakhand is a strategically significant Himalayan State, hosting nationally critical infrastructure projects related to connectivity, power generation, telecom expansion, and pilgrimage infrastructure. Despite challenging terrain and ecological sensitivities, the State has emerged as an important focus area under the PRAGATI monitoring ecosystem. At present, 42 projects with a cumulative investment of three lakh 50 thousand crore rupees are being monitored in Uttarakhand. Of these, 15 high-value projects, amounting to one lakh 22 thousand crore rupees are reviewed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the PRAGATI mechanism. These include key projects such as the Char Dham Road Connectivity, Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Railway Line, Delhi-Dehradun Expressway packages, and large hydroelectric projects. A total of 69 issues have been raised in these projects and of them 67 issues have already been resolved. With Dipendra Kumar, Bhanu Pratap Singh, Akashvani News Delhi.”
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Union Home Minister Amit Shah today launched a sharp attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress, accusing them of dividing society and weakening the State. Addressing a BJP rally in Bagdogra, Mr. Shah alleged that the Mamata Banerjee-led government has damaged Bengal’s social unity by pitting communities against each other.
Earlier today, addressing a party workers conference at Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas, Mr. Shah said, the SIR process will continue in the state. Demanding an impartial investigation into the warehouse fire at Nazirabad where 27 people were charred to death Mr. Shah said that this incident is the result of corruption by the ruling party.
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Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar today took oath as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister. The 62-year-old is the state’s first woman deputy chief minister. This comes after the sudden demise of her husband and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash earlier this week.
Earlier today, Ms Pawar was unanimously elected as the NCP Legislature Party leader during a meeting of the party’s legislature wing, held at the office of late Ajit Pawar in the Vidhan Bhavan complex in South Mumbai. Her name was proposed by senior NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil and seconded by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
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Patna Bird Sanctuary in Etah district Uttar Pradesh and Chhari-Dhand in Kutch district of Gujarat have been added to India’s Ramsar network. Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav made the announcement in this regard. The Minister informed that the two wetlands provide habitat to hundreds of migratory and resident bird species. The areas are also home to wildlife such as chinkara, wolves, caracal, desert cats and desert foxes, besides endangered birds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness over the inclusion of two new wetlands in the list of Ramsar sites. In a social media post, Mr Modi congratulated local citizens of these districts.
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Hospitals in Gaza said that Israeli strikes killed at least 23 Palestinians today, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the fighting. A day after Israel accused Hamas of new ceasefire violations, strikes hit locations throughout Gaza. The casualties included two women and six children from two different families. Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said, an airstrike also hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 11 people. The series of strikes also came a day before the Rafah crossing along the border with Egypt is set to open in Gaza’s southernmost city.
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Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan today said that the grand celebration of the 77th Republic Day Parade stood as a vibrant reflection of India’s unity in diversity. Speaking at the closing ceremony of Bharat Parv 2026 in New Delhi, Mr. Radhakrishnan said, it is an experience that brings alive the timeless spirit of the country, with each state and region telling its own unique story. The Vice President said that the Republic Day Parade was the reaffirmation of the unwavering commitment to the sovereignty and security of the nation. The Vice President also inaugurated 39th Surajkund International Self-Reliant Crafts Festival at Surajkund in Faridabad district of Haryana today.
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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today distributed 5,555 e-cycles to women, including students, within a span of 24 hours, thereby setting a new Guinness Book of World Records. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naidu said, the e-cycles will help women to save up to 1000 rupees -1500 rupees per month and promote environmental sustainability and at the same time help to improve self confidence among women.
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In Badminton, India’s Devika Sihag has entered the final of the Thailand Masters 2026 tournament defeating Huang Yu Hsun of Chinese Taipei 22-20, 21-13 in the semi-final in Bangkok this evening. In another women’s singles quarterfinal, Isharani Baruah bowed out after losing to Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching.
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In Australian Open Tennis, Elena Rybakina has won her maiden women’s singles title defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6‑4, 4‑6, 6-4 in the final. The Kazakh fifth seed’s huge ball-striking caused all sorts of problems for twice champion Sabalenka.
In the Men’s Singles final, fourth seed Serbian, Novak Djokovic will face world number one Carlos Alcaraz of Spain tomorrow.
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In Men’s Cricket, India have set a target of 272 runs for New Zealand in the fifth and final T-20 International of the five match series in Thiruvananthapuram. In reply, the visitors were 50 for 1 in 3.2 overs, when reports last came in. Opting to bat first, India scored 271 runs for the loss of five wickets in stipulated 20 overs, with the help of Ishan Kishan’s maiden T20 century. He scored 103 off 43 balls. Suryakumar Yadav led Indian team has already clinched the series, winning the first three games.
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India Meteorological Department, IMD has issued an orange colour warning of thunderstorms accompanied with hailstorm at isolated places over East Rajasthan and West Madhya Pradesh, tomorrow. Cold day conditions are also expected over East Uttar Pradesh and dense fog conditions over Odisha.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-
- Second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meet discusses issues of mutual interest in New Delhi; Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciates Arab League’s role in regional peace and stability.
- External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar stresses on zero tolerance for terrorism in his opening remarks.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha tomorrow.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah accuses TMC government of West Bengal of dividing society and weakening the State.
- NCP leader Sunetra Pawar becomes the first woman Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
- In sports, India’s Devika Sihag enters the final of Thailand Masters Badminton in Bangkok.
- Elena Rybakina stuns Aryna Sabalenka to win her maiden Women’s Singles title of Australian Open Tennis tournament.
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