THE HEADLINES::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India is heading towards being the world’s third largest economy from being the 11th largest economy in less than two decades.
- Election Commission directs District Election Officers of West Bengal to scrutinize documents submitted by people in respect of SIR of electoral rolls by 16th February.
- Top world leaders to attend India-AI Impact Summit in New Delhi next week.
- Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asserts interests of farmers fully safeguarded in the India-US trade deal.
- And in Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026, India’s Kishorakumar Chandira Mogan wins gold, Mohammad Ansar bags bronze in men’s Hammer Throw.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that amid numerous disruptions, this decade has been one of unprecedented development for India, marked by strong delivery and by efforts that have strengthened the democracy. Addressing the ET Now Global Business Summit in New Delhi last evening, he said, global pandemics, tensions across the globe, wars, and supply chain breakdowns, the world has seen a lot in just a decade. Mr Modi said, he is very proud that, despite many setbacks, this decade has been one of development, excellent delivery, and strengthening of India’s democracy.
The Prime Minister said, when the last decade began, India was the 11th largest economy, but today, the country is rapidly moving forward and heading towards becoming the world’s third largest economy.
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Prime Minister Modi will be on a day-long visit to Assam today. Mr Modi will inaugurate and flag off various projects worth more than 5,450 crore rupees in Guwahati in the afternoon. At around 10:30 this morning he will land at the Emergency Landing Facility on Moran Bypass, developed along a national highway in Dibrugarh district, where he will also witness the aerial display of Fighters, Transport aircraft and Helicopters. The Emergency Landing Facility is the first of its kind in Northeast India designed and constructed in coordination with the Indian Air Force to support landing and take-off of military and civil aircraft during emergencies.
“The Prime Minister will arrive in Guwahati after the Dibrugarh event at around 1 PM, and will inaugurate Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu across River Brahmaputra connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati built at a cost of 3,000 crore rupees. After the bridge inauguration, the Prime Minister will proceed to Lachit Ghat, a nearby area to virtually inaugurate the temporary campus of IIM Guwahati and the National Data Centre for North Eastern Region at Amingaon in Kamrup district. In addition, the Prime Minister will flag off 225 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme for four cities of India. 100 buses for Guwahati, 50 each for Nagpur and Bhavnagar and 25 buses for Chandigarh. At 2 PM, the Prime Minister will address a Booth Sanmilan of BJP workers in Guwahati. AMINUL HAQUE Jwadder, AKASHVANI NEWS, GUWAHATI.”
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The Election Commission has instructed all the District Election Officers of West Bengal to ensure the documents which are mandated by the Commission and the Supreme Court, get uploaded in respect of the ongoing SIR process. The Commission has made it clear that by 5 PM of 16th February, all the District Election Officers (DEOs) would personally scrutinise all the documents submitted by the people in the hearing phase. If any unwarranted documents are found uploaded after the scrutiny phase, then the DEOs would be held responsible. The full bench of ECI presided by the Chief Election Commissioner held a virtual meeting with the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal attended by the DEOs and special roll observers to review the SIR process.
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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has strongly rebutted the allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, terming it a stage-managed, artificial and fake narrative. He was responding to a video allegation shared by Mr Gandhi regarding the India-US trade arrangement. In a social media post, Mr Goyal said the Congress leader made the allegations alongside party activists who were posing as farmer representatives. He dismissed the claims as completely baseless and accused Mr Gandhi of attempting to mislead the country’s Annadatas.
He noted that, India currently imports around 5.5 lakh tonnes of Apples annually due to domestic demand exceeding production. He said the government has not permitted unlimited imports but only introduced a quota lower than the existing import levels. The Commerce Minister added that imports will be allowed only at a Minimum Import Price of 80 rupees per kilogram, along with a duty of 25 rupees per kilogram.
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Mr Piyush Goyal said that there has not been any country apart from India to have finalised a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the European Union, the four-nation EFTA, and the United States.
He said that 38 countries have been covered under nine Free Trade Agreements which together cover two-thirds of the global economy. The Minister also asserted that without India it will be difficult to expand AI in the global value chain.
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The Congress party has secured a landslide victory in the Telangana municipal elections, winning 66 out of 116 municipalities. Out of the 2,582 wards where results were declared, Congress triumphed in 1,347. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi followed with 717 wards and 13 municipalities and the BJP stood third position by securing 261 wards while independents took 256 wards. A hung verdict was seen in 36 municipalities as no single party reached the majority mark.
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Akashvani News is starting a new series, ‘Prakriti ki Baat, Akashvani ke Sath’. In the first episode, we speak to Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav. In the programme, he talks about India’s commitments and achievements regarding environmental conservation, and Mission LiFE. He also shares how different ministries are working on this issue with ‘whole of government’ approach.
To listen to the podcast, tune in to 100.1 Akashvani Gold at 5:10 in the evening today. You can also listen to it on NEWSONAIR App and NEWSONAIROFFICIAL Youtube channel.
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The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 will mark a historic milestone in global cooperation on Artificial Intelligence. It will be the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. Our correspondent reports that the Summit will take place in New Delhi from the 16th to the 20th of this month.
” The Summit underlines India’s expanding role in shaping a responsible, inclusive and people-centric AI future. Leaders from twenty countries are scheduled to attend the India-AI Impact Summit in the national capital. Ministerial delegations from over 45 countries will be participating in the five day event. The UN Secretary General and Officials from several International Organizations will also join the deliberations. Representatives from the Global North and Global South, will present concrete deliverables. The Summit will host over 700 sessions covering AI safety, governance, ethical deployment, data protection and India’s vision of sovereign AI. It will also showcase national skilling initiatives such as Yuva AI for All, which is a free and accessible programme aimed at building foundational AI awareness among students and professionals. The Summit aims to enhance global collaboration, promote shared standards and establish India as a reliable partner in using AI for sustainable development. Samarth Singh, Akashvani News, Delhi”.
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The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is preparing to form the next government after winning a two-third majority in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections. According to official results released by the Election Commission for 297 seats, the BNP has won 209 seats on its own, comfortably crossing the 151-seat threshold required to form a government in the 300-member Parliament.
“BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman met well-wishers outside his Gulshan residence on Friday, thanking supporters for their backing. Senior party leaders later held a meeting at the BNP Chairman’s office to discuss the transition of power. Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said preparations were under way for the swearing-in of Members of Parliament and government formation in accordance with constitutional procedures. Newly elected MPs are likely to take oath on 16 February, officials said. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir described the victory as both joyful and emotional. He said restoring the economy, ensuring law and order, curbing corruption and delivering justice will be key priorities. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its 11-party alliance alleged irregularities in vote counting and warned of mass mobilisation if complaints are not addressed, while reaffirming support for implementing the July National Charter. Navalsang Parmar, AkashVani News, Dhaka.”
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Indian athletes delivered a strong performance in the men’s Hammer Throw at the Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026, with Kishorakumar Chandira Mogan securing gold and Mohammad Ansar taking bronze in the 30+ age category. Kishorakumar clinched the top position with a winning throw of 37.92 metres, while his compatriot Ansar earned third place on the podium at the international veterans athletics meet yesterday.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- All the dailies have covered the inauguration of new Prime Minister’s office and central secretariat as a welfare push. The Indian Express quoting the Prime Minister writes “Sewa Teerth, Kartavya Bhawan to fulfill aspirations of India.”
- Hindustan Times opens with the headline “IT stocks lose 50 billion dollars in February to AI jolt fears.”
- The Economic Times says “Digital arrest victims may be going under cover” referring to banks, insurance companies in talks for protection plan against scams where money, data transfers occur by coercion.
- Prime Minister says he looks forward to working with the new Bangladesh leader as “BNP sweeps Bangladesh polls, Tarique Rahman set to be PM” notes The Statesman.
- Under the headline “Defence ministry expands definition of family for officers housing rules”, The Pioneer reports the revised rules include parents as ‘dependents’.
- The op-ed in The Tribune cites the magic realism of an India-Pak cricket match saying it is not just a cricket match, it is the sports most powerful commercial engine where advertisers are willing to pay between 40 lakh to 1.6 crore rupees for just ten seconds of TV airtime because the eyeballs are guaranteed. The value of one such match is commonly estimated in the range of 2000 to 3000 crore rupees. While The Times of India writes “Indo-Pak clash sends ad rates soaring 25 percent; airfares, hotel bookings rise sharply ahead of key T20 world cup match in Colombo.”
- In one of the largest recruitment drives by an Indian carrier, “Indigo looks to fly-in one thousand pilots” finding itself short of crew following the new rest-rules for pilots, reports The Economic Times.
- And finally, In a ray of hope for those with deformities “AIIMS -Delhi prepares for India’s first face transplant programme”, cites The Tribune.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India is heading towards being the world’s third largest economy from being the 11th largest economy in less than two decades.
- Election Commission directs District Election Officers of West Bengal to scrutinize documents submitted by people in respect of SIR of electoral rolls by 16th February.
- Top world leaders to attend India-AI Impact Summit in New Delhi next week.
- Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal asserts interests of farmers fully safeguarded in the India-US trade deal.
- And in Open Masters Games Abu Dhabi 2026, India’s Kishorakumar Chandira Mogan wins gold, Mohammad Ansar bags bronze in men’s Hammer Throw.
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