THE HEADLINES:
The Supreme Court allows deployment of judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha for claim verification under Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar emphasizes on pure electoral rolls, Says, it is bedrock of any democracy.
Vice President CP Radhakrishnan says tourism is a powerful instrument for soft diplomacy and a key pillar of the India-US economic corridor; Inaugurates Tourism Leadership Summit-2026 in New Delhi.
Country’s GDP growth likely at 8.1 percent in the third quarter of current fiscal year amid strong domestic demand, highlights SBI report.
And, in the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, England to take on Pakistan in a Group 2 Super 8 match in Sri Lanka this evening.
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The Supreme Court has permitted the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to deploy civil judges and requisition judicial officers from neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha to deal with 80 lakh claims and objections under the Special Intensive Revision SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant took note of a letter from the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice stating that 250 district judges engaged in the exercise would require around 80 days to complete the verification process. Considering the time constraints, the apex court allowed the deployment of additional civil judges and asked the Calcutta High Court to seek judicial officers of similar rank from Jharkhand and Odisha.
The court directed the Election Commission to bear the expenses for deploying officers from the two states. It also permitted the poll panel to publish the final electoral roll on the 28th of February and clarified that supplementary lists may be issued as verification progresses. Earlier, expressing concern over the dispute between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission, the court had ordered deployment of serving and former district judges to assist in completing the revision exercise.
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Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has emphasized on pure electoral rolls in the country saying that it is bedrock of any democracy. Mr Kumar said this while addressing the National Round Table Conference of Election Commission of India and State Election Commissioners at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today. The Chief Election Commissioner said that the Special Intensive Revision exercise was started to include all the eligible electors in the electoral rolls while ineligible electors should be excluded from it.
The CEC asserted that apart from making the electoral roll pure and accessible, the Election Commission also stresses on transparency and ease of voting.
The primary objective of the Conference is to foster synergies in the functioning of the Election Commission and State Election Commissioners with respect to electoral processes and logistics within their legal frameworks. The Round Table Conference is being held after a gap of 27 years. The last such Conference was held in the year 1999.
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Vice President CP Radhakrishnan today inaugurated the Tourism Leadership Summit-2026 organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in New Delhi. Addressing the gathering, Mr Radhakrishnan said, tourism is more than an industry it is a bridge between cultures and a driver of economic opportunities. He said, tourism is a powerful instrument for soft diplomacy and a key pillar of the India US economic corridor.
The Vice President highlighted that travelers seek experiences, authenticity, sustainability, culture, heritage, wellness and meaningful connection. Mr Radhakrishnan said tourism is one of the largest employment generators. He stressed on investing in skills, entrepreneurship and women-led enterprises to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth of the tourism sector.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be embarking on a two day state visit to Israel from tomorrow. The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold wide ranging talks with his Israeli counterpart Mr Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. Later a series of programs will be held in Jerusalem. Ambassador of India to Israel J P Singh has termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel as historic. Talking to Akashvani News in Jerusalem, Mr Singh said, India and Israel are on the same page on the issue of terrorism.
Mr Singh said when Prime Minister Modi visited Israel in 2017, both the leaders had laid the foundation for the strengthening of bilateral tiles. He further added that the time has come to build on that strategic partnership and take it to a new phase. Giving information of PM Modi’s visit, He said, several agreements will be signed after the talks between both Prime Ministers.
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A Delhi Court today granted four days’ police custody of Indian Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu Chib in connection with the protest held at Bharat Mandapam during the India AI Impact Summit 2026. According to officials, Chib is accused of being the main conspirator and mastermind behind the incident of unlawful assembly and was reportedly involved in raising anti-national slogans. Delhi Police alleged that Chib in conspiracy with other co-accused obstructed and assaulted police officials on duty and during interrogation. The police stated that the investigation into the case is ongoing, and Chib’s custody has been sought for further questioning and proper investigation.
Addressing the media in New Delhi today, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was a mastermind behind this act. He demanded that Mr. Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge must apologise to the countrymen.
Over the arrest of Indian Youth Congress President BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, the act of the congress was not even supported by its own leaders and alliance partners. Talking to media in New Delhi today, Mr Poonawalla alleged that the act which happened at Bharat Mandapam, was deep conspiracy and senior congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi were part of that conspiracy.
Meanwhile the congress has condemned the arrest of its Youth wing chief and workers. In a social media post, Party General Secretary in charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the protest was peaceful and legitimate. He added that the arrest made by the Delhi Police is completely illegal.
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The country’s economy is estimated to have grown by 8.1 per cent in the third quarter of the current financial year. This has been stated in a research report released today by the State Bank of India. A Report:
According to the report, high-frequency indicators suggest that economic activity remained resilient in the quarter ended 31st December 2025. It noted that the economy has sustained strong growth momentum despite global headwinds. The report said rural consumption continues to remain robust, backed by encouraging trends in both farm and non-farm sectors. It also observed that urban consumption has recorded a steady uptick since the last festive season, supported by fiscal stimulus. The assessment comes at a time when India is set to revise its GDP base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23. The new GDP series is scheduled to be released on 27th February 2026. With Ankit’s report, this is Anuja Kumar, for Akashvani News, Delhi.
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The government’s asset monetization initiative under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) 2.0 is expected to increase the country’s GDP by 40 lakh crore rupees over the next 5 to 10 years. NITI Aayog’s report has highlighted that asset monetisation is expected to play a key role in boosting infrastructure investment and supporting economic growth by unlocking value from existing public assets and reinvesting the proceeds into new infrastructure projects.
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In the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, England will take on Pakistan in a Group 2 Super 8 match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka this evening. The match will start at 7 PM.
Earlier, West Indies defeated Zimbabwe by 107 runs in the Super 8 match of Group 1 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai last-night. Chasing a target of 255 runs set by the West Indies, Zimbabwe managed to score only 147 runs in 17.4 overs.
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In Women’s cricket, Australia were 61 for 2 in 13 overs against India in the first ODI match played at Brisbane, Australia. Earlier, batting first, India scored 214 runs. Smriti Mandhana held the early part of the innings with a knock of 58 from 68 balls. Harmanpreet scored 53 off 84 deliveries to steady the innings after early setbacks.
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Benchmark domestic equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, were trading around 1.4 per cent lower during afternoon trade today. The Sensex slipped 1 thousand 225 points to 82 thousand and 72 while the Nifty shed by 345 points to 25 thousand and 368, when reports last came in. Among the sectoral indices, the IT index plunged around five per cent amid persistent concerns over artificial intelligence-led disruption. Weakness was also seen in Realty, Telecommunication, and Chemicals.
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India Meteorological Department, has forecast light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds over Andaman and Nicobar till tomorrow. Similar conditions with scattered rainfall are likely to prevail over Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha for today. The Met Department has also predicted thunderstorms accompanied with Lightning over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Sub Himalayan West Bengal, East Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Coastal Andhra Pradesh.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
The Supreme Court allows deployment of judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha for claim verification under Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar emphasizes on pure electoral rolls, Says, it is bedrock of any democracy.
Vice President CP Radhakrishnan says tourism is a powerful instrument for soft diplomacy and a key pillar of the India-US economic corridor; Inaugurates Tourism Leadership Summit-2026 in New Delhi.
Country’s GDP growth likely at 8.1 percent in the third quarter of current fiscal year amid strong domestic demand, highlights SBI report.
And, in the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, England to take on Pakistan in a Group 2 Super 8 match in Sri Lanka this evening.
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