THE HEADLINES:
- Lok Sabha takes up discussion on Motion of Thanks to President’s address on first day of Budget session.
- Moving the motion, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal says, President’s address lays out an inspiring vision for country’s future.
- US-India Strategic Partnership Forum welcomes Union Budget 2026-27 calling it progressive and investment friendly; SBI Chairman says, Budget strengthens India’s global competitiveness in innovation and advanced manufacturing.
- Supreme Court directs Centre to set up tribunal to settle Pennaiyar river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
- Low visibility due to fog in National Capital disrupts movement of several flights and trains.
- Asian Rifle And Pistol Shooting Championships 2026 kicks off in New Delhi.
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The Lok Sabha has taken up discussion on the motion of thanks on President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament. Moving the motion in the lower House today, Union Minister and BJP MP Sarbananda Sonowal termed the address of President Murmu as remarkable. He said, the president’s address provided an inspiring vision for the future of the country. He said, it reflects the government’s vision of social justice, inclusive growth and commitment towards building Viksit Bharat.
Mr Sonowal said, before 2014 during Congress led government, India faced policy paralysis, corruption driven government and delay in execution of projects. He highlighted that in 2014, when the Narendra Modi government came to power, India has embarked upon a journey of rapid growth and all round progress. The Minister said, from being a part of the fragile five economies of the world in 2014, now the country has become the fourth largest economy of the world. Mr Sonowal said that 44 lakh crore rupees have been transferred directly into the account of beneficiaries through DBT.
Tejasvi Surya of BJP seconded the motion of thanks moved by Mr Sonowal.
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Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that a total of 18 hours have been allotted in the Lok Sabha for the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament. Talking to reporters outside Parliament, Mr Rijiju said, the discussion will spread over three days and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reply to the discussion in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
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The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) has welcomed the Union Budget 2026-27, describing it as a progressive and comprehensive roadmap that strengthens India’s competitiveness, boosts investment, and enhances ease of doing business. In a statement, USISPF said the Budget’s strong focus on trade facilitation, customs modernisation, tariff rationalisation, banking sector reforms, and strategic sectoral support aligns closely with industry priorities and reinforces India’s position as an attractive global investment destination.
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State Bank of India Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty has said that Union Budget is a significant step towards making India a global hub for innovation and advanced manufacturing with global competitiveness. Mr Setty said, this year’s budget maintains policy continuity, tax predictability while attempting a fine balance between rural and urban, legacy and sunrise sectors.
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Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has said, the Union budget provides opportunities for youth, women, the middle class, and presents a clear roadmap for strengthening the country’s economy.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi today, Mrs Gupta termed this year’s budget as the next-generation Budget, linking sectors such as health, sports, tourism, and infrastructure directly with the employment generation. She especially welcomed the provision for girls’ hostels in every district.
The Chief Minister also noted the increased budget allocation to 12 thousand 500 crore rupees for the Delhi Police.
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The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to set up a tribunal to adjudicate the long-pending dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing the waters of the Pennaiyar river. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and N V Anjaria asked the Central government to issue a notification and constitute the water disputes tribunal within one month.
Justice Nath said there was no reason to delay the formation of a tribunal for resolving the inter-state water dispute between the two states.
The case was filed by the Tamil Nadu government in 2018, challenging the construction of check dams and diversion works by Karnataka on the Pennaiyar river. Tamil Nadu argued that water in an inter-state river is a national asset and no state can claim exclusive rights over it. The detailed judgment is awaited.
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President Droupadi Murmu will be on a six-day visit to Odisha and Chhattisgarh from today. She is scheduled to arrive at Bhubaneswar this evening. Our Bhubaneswar Correspondent has more on this:
“President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to undertake a series of religious, academic and developmental engagements in Odisha over the next few days. Tomorrow, the President will offer prayers at the Maa Biraja Temple in Jajpur and perform rituals at Navi Gaya. She will attend the 12th Convocation Ceremony of Fakir Mohan University in Balasore as the Chief Guest. In the evening, President Murmu will proceed to Puri for darshan at the Shree Jagannath Temple. On Wednesday, the President will visit her home district Mayurbhanj On Thursday, President Murmu will attend a special programme at the Rairangpur Jagannath Temple and visit Simlipal National Park. On the 6th of this month, to attend the Black Swan Summit India. The President is scheduled to leave for Chhattisgarh on the 7th of this month. Prakash Dash, AkashvanI NEWS, Bhubaneswar.”
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Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty has alleged that gold smugglers had visited Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. He made the allegation while referring to the Sabarimala gold case in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance Court in Kollam granted bail to former Sabarimala Executive Officer Sudheesh Kumar in the Sabari Mala gold case. The court also extended the judicial custody of former Devaswom Board President N. Vasu by 14 more days. The bail plea of the main accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, will be considered on Wednesday, while head priest Thantri Kandaru Rajeevaru has submitted a bail application.
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The third edition of the tri-services Future Warfare Course commenced in New Delhi today. The three-week programme aims to prepare officers for the complex challenges of modern warfare. It features an enhanced curriculum covering specialised subjects and domain-specific developments in military operations.
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External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will embark on a 3 day visit to the United States today. He will participate in the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting convened by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said, the Ministerial meeting will focus on supply chain resilience, clean energy transitions, and strategic cooperation in critical minerals. Dr Jaishankar will also hold meetings with senior members of the US administration during the visit.
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The Rajya Sabha has taken up discussion on the motion of thanks on the President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament. A total of 16 hours have been allotted for the discussion. Nominated Member C Sadanandan Master moved the motion.
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Defence delegation led by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan arrived in Armenia for a four-day official visit. The visit marks an important step in taking forward shared strategic interests and enhancing long-term defence and security collaboration between the two Nations.
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Low visibility in the National Capital due to fog has disrupted the movement of several flights and trains. Delhi Airport has issued an advisory asking passengers to contact their concerned airlines for the updated flight information. According to Indian Railways, as many as 11 trains are delayed by over two hours. Passengers are advised to check the latest status of the trains before arriving at the station to board them.
The IMD has forecast dense fog conditions over Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, East Rajasthan, and West Uttar Pradesh during the next two days. IMD said, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds are also likely to prevail over Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Muzaffarabad till tomorrow.
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Benchmark domestic equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, were trading around half a per cent higher in afternoon trade today. The Sensex surged 474 points to 81 thousand and 197, while the Nifty rose 112 points to 24 thousand and 937, when reports last came in.
On the sectoral front, Services, Utilities and Power were rising the most while Telecommunication, Healthcare and IT were major laggards.
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Indian women sportspersons Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and chess prodigy Divya Deshmukh are among the nominees for the 2025 BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2025 Awards. A Report:
“Captain Harmanpreet Kaur led India to its maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title in 2025, playing a key role with match-winning performances. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana continued her remarkable form. Chess star Divya Deshmukh created history by becoming the first Indian and youngest winner of the FIDE Women’s World Cup, earning the Grandmaster title. Shooter Suruchi Singh impressed with multiple gold medals in ISSF World Cups and rose to world number one in the 10-metre air pistol category.Track athlete Jyothi Yarraji also made headlines after qualifying for the Olympics and winning gold in the Asian Athletics Championships. The nominees were selected by an eminent jury after evaluating performances during 2025. With Tapan Maharana’s report, this is, Akashvani News, Delhi.”
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Asian Rifle And Pistol Shooting Championships 2026 has begun at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in New Delhi, today. The event will bring together elite athletes from across Asia for two weeks of exciting competition. Competitions will be held in men’s, women’s, junior, and youth categories across 10 m, 25 m, and 50 m rifle and pistol events. The competitions will include individual, team, and mixed team formats, showcasing a full range of shooting talent.
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The presentation ceremony of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards was held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles this morning. It was hosted by Comedian Trevor Noah for his sixth and final time. The ceremony was defined by a historic win for Bad Bunny, who took home Album of the Year, and a groundbreaking first-ever Grammy for a K-Pop act.
Music film Awards went to heartfelt documentary ‘Music by John Williams’, which means director Steven Spielberg has officially won his first Grammy. That makes him an EGOT winner – an artist with an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar.
Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama also won his first Grammy for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording for “Meditations: The Reflections Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama”. Musician Rufus Wainwright accepted the award on the his behalf.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :
- Both Houses of Parliament take up discussion on Motion of Thanks to President’s address on first day of Budget session.
- US-India Strategic Partnership Forum welcomes Union Budget 2026-27 calling it progressive and investment friendly; SBI Chairman says, Budget strengthens India’s global competitiveness in innovation and advanced manufacturing.
- Supreme Court directs Centre to set up tribunal to settle Pennaiyar river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
- Low visibility due to fog in National Capital disrupts movement of several flights and trains.
- Asian Rifle And Pistol Shooting Championships 2026 kicks off in New Delhi.