THE HEADLINES::
- Amidst continued standoff with opposition, both Houses of Parliament to resume budget discussion today.
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla not to attend proceedings till the opposition moved no-confidence notice against him is resolved.
- India to import Crude Oil from cheapest, best-quality non-sanctioned sources.
- External Affairs Minister interacts with his BRICS counterparts in New Delhi; terms the grouping as valuable forum for international cooperation.
- In ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan defeat USA by 32-runs in group A clash in Colombo.
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Both the Houses of Parliament will resume the discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 today. Participating in the discussion in Rajya Sabha yesterday, Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora said, during this very politically and economically tumultuous time, India stands alone as a rare island of macroeconomic growth and stability.
Surendra Singh Nagar of BJP said, the Budget prioritizes, increasing economic growth rate, fulfilling people’s expectations and ensuring that in the social sector all schemes reach the people. Surendra Singh Nagar of BJP said, the Budget prioritises on increasing economic growth rate and fulfilling people’s expectations. He said, it also ensures that benefits of all schemes reach the people. Masthan Rao Beedha of TDP said, this budget combines macroeconomic stability, infrastructure growth, technological transformation and social inclusion. Fauzia Khan of NCP-SCP expressed concern over drop in child-focused expenditure.
Kanimozhi NVN Somu of DMK, Neeraj Dangi of Congress, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray of TMC also spoke on the budget. In the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor initiated discussion. He criticised the Budget saying that government spending has reduced and tax receipts have remained flat. He alleged that this year’s Budget ignored unemployment, rising living costs, and inequality. Participating in the discussion, Aparajita Sarangi of BJP said, the Budget reflects commitment, conviction and consistency of the Government.
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Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has decided on moral grounds that he will not attend the proceedings of the House till the no-confidence motion notice brought by the Opposition against him is resolved. Yesterday, the Opposition gave a notice of no-confidence motion against Mr Birla. The opposition has submitted the notice to the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. Sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that the notice will be examined and processed as per rules. 118 members of opposition parties including Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, RJD and Left parties have signed the notice submitted to the Secretary General. However, TMC MPs stayed away from signing the notice.
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The government has said, India will continue to import crude oil from the countries where it is cheap and of the best quality, and the Indian oil companies will purchase oil considering the geopolitical situation and non-sanctioned sources. Top officials of the Ministries of External Affairs and Commerce conveyed this to Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor yesterday. Mr Tharoor told reporters that the meeting was attended by 28 of the 30 members and it was extremely effective. Mr Tharoor said, most of the time of the meeting was devoted to the Indo-US trade deal and India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and all subjects including Russian oil and agricultural products were discussed. He said, the officials responded to each and every question in great detail with confidence. He said that the officials conveyed to the committee that India will work on finalising the interim agreement with the US and people will have to wait for its finer details. Mr Tharoor said, India is among the countries which got the lowest rate.
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Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in New Delhi yesterday. Talking to media after the meeting Mr Chouhan said, Andhra Pradesh contributes nearly 10 per cent to India’s agriculture. He informed that the central government has constituted a team to strengthen the agricultural roadmap in the state through several schemes and initiatives. Mr Chouhan also noted that Andhra Pradesh is working rapidly to implement several schemes announced in the Union Budget 2026-27.
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US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador, Jamieson Greer described India was a viable option for US companies seeking to diversify away from China, noting its manufacturing capacity and workforce strength. On the recently concluded framework of the India-US interim trade agreement, Greer expressed optimism, saying India is ‘really committed’, adding that India have started expanding some of their commitments with respect to purchases. He said, they’ve already rolled back some of the digital services tax that affected us, and they’re moving to reduce tariffs. This is going to be a really important deal, and it’s going to reverberate for many years to come.
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The Association of Manufacturers of Ayurvedic Medicines (AMAM) has hailed the India-US trade deal calling it a positive and stabilising development for the pharmaceutical sector of the country. Talking to media, President of AMAM, Dr Pradeep Multani said, the interim framework provides crucial policy certainty as pharmaceuticals particularly generic medicines will remain protected from adverse tariff measures ensuring continuity of exports to the US.
Mr Multani underlined that pharmaceutical companies play a vital role in delivering high quality affordable medicines to millions of American patients.
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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar interacted with BRICS 2026 Sherpas and Country Representatives yesterday. In a social media post, Dr Jaishankar said that as BRICS completes 20 years, it stands as a valuable forum for international cooperation, consultation and coordination, taking forward its people-centric agenda. The Minister added that he values the suggestions and perspectives brought in by different delegations to advance BRICS 2026 priorities of resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability.
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At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a three-day official visit to India, commencing the 17th of this month. President Macron will participate in the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on 19th February. Ministry of External Affairs has said, during the visit, both leaders will hold discussions on strengthening bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas as enshrined in the Horizon 2047 Roadmap.
The leaders will discuss regional and global issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington today seeking to press him to adopt a tougher line on Iran’s ballistic missile programme in the next round of talks. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said discussion will be focused on energy and deregulation.
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The two-day “Road to AI Impact Summit 2026” kicked off at Symbiosis International University in Dubai yesterday. It is organized in collaboration with the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. The event is a precursor to the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi to be held from 16th of this month. It brings together policymakers, academics, and industry leaders to explore the purposeful use of artificial intelligence and its societal impact. Ambassador of India to the UAE, Dr Deepak Mittal and Consul General of India to Dubai, Satish Sivan among others attended the event.
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As Bangladesh prepares for voting in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election tomorrow, minority leaders and Islamic scholars have expressed support for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), while concerns remain over violence and the election environment. Our Dhaka Correspondent reports, a delegation from the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad and the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council met the BNP Election Management Committee at its office in Dhaka yesterday. Minority leaders said the meeting was a courtesy visit and focused on issues of security, inclusion and the overall election situation.
“More than 2,000 candidates from 51 parties are contesting the polls, with voting set to take place from 7:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon on February 12. Security has been tightened nationwide, with nearly 900,000 personnel deployed. However, clashes between rival party activists and allegations of voter intimidation have raised fresh questions over how peaceful and fair the election will be. Navalsang Parmar, Akashvani News, Dhaka.”
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On the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science today, Akashvani News will broadcast a conversation with Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research in its Podcast series ‘Person behind the story’. Dr. N. Kalaiselvi is the first woman to serve as DG, CSIR.
Tune in to Akashvani FM Gold this morning at 9.10 AM to listen to the podcast. It will also be broadcast at 5.10 PM today.
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In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan defeated USA by 32-runs in group A clash at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo last night. Put into bat first, Pakistan scored 190 for the loss of nine wickets in the stipulated twenty overs. Sahibzada Farhan with 73 was the top scorer.
In another match, New Zealand defeated UAE by 10 wickets in the Group D clash at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai last evening. While, Netherlands defeated Namibia by 7 wickets wickets in the Group A clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Today, in the Group ‘D’ match, South Africa will take on Afghanistan at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from 11 AM. In the Group ‘B’ match, Australia will face Ireland at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo from 3 PM. In the Group ‘C’ match, England will take on West Indies at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai from 7 PM.
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In FIH Pro League Men’s Hockey, former World and Olympic Champions, Belgium produced a thrilling second-half comeback to defeat Argentina 5-3 at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela yesterday.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- “Official Vande Mataram rules: 6 stanzas must; before anthem” leads Hindustan Times.
- “Government to launch upgraded version of 2008 scheme to support education of girls” informs The Hindu.
- “French President Macron to visit India next week” informs The Statesman.
- “Opposition, barring TMC, submits notice for removal of Speaker” leads The Times Of India. “Om Birla to stay away from Lok Sabha till removal notice decided” says The Pioneer.
- “Book isn’t published: Ex-Army Chief Naravane echoes Penguin” reports The Tribune.
- In another story, the paper writes “Delhi, Beijing review ties, stress need to address ‘sensitive issues'”.
- Hindustan Times citing a US fact sheet says “India committed to stopping Russia oil buys.”
- “Government Amends IT Rules, with Focus on AI Content” states the Economic Times.
- On the T20 World Cup, Financial Express reports “Viewership across ICC digital platforms jumps 53 percent.”
- The Indian Express in it’s editorial piece says, “It’s a truce, but T20 row leaves behind questions”. The paper writes, suspense over the India-Pakistan T20 World Cup game and the accompanying political drama came to a close on Monday, but not before tense late-night meetings were held over the weekend and the ICC got the opportunity for lofty grandstanding. But the facts of the matter were considerably less rosy. It was only at the proverbial last minute, when hard economic common sense apparently prevailed, that those involved in the dispute awoke to the potential consequences of an ICC event minus the money spinner game of India versus Pakistan.”
- And finally, “CBSE shifts to online evaluation for Class XII, but Class X to be manual” reports The Times Of India.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,
- Amidst continued standoff with opposition, both Houses of Parliament to resume budget discussion today.
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla not to attend proceedings till the opposition moved no-confidence notice against him is resolved.
- India to import Crude Oil from cheapest, best-quality non-sanctioned sources.
- External Affairs Minister interacts with his BRICS counterparts in New Delhi; terms the grouping as valuable forum for international cooperation.
- In ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan defeat USA by 32-runs in group A clash in Colombo.
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