THE HEADLINES::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in a programme marking a decade of the Startup India initiative in New Delhi today.
- Election Commission extends schedule for the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Goa, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Puducherry and West Bengal up to the 19th of this month.
- Indian coast guard intercepts Pakistani boat with 9 crew inside Indian waters in Arabian Sea.
- Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv issues advisory for Indian nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Israel.
- In sports, India beat USA by 6 wickets in ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
- Lakshya Sen to face Lin Chun – Yi of Chinese Taipei in men’s singles quarter final of India Open Badminton Tournament today.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a programme marking a decade of the Startup India initiative at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today. During the programme, the Prime Minister will interact with members of India’s vibrant startup ecosystem.
“Startup India was launched on 16 January 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a transformative national programme to nurture innovation, promote entrepreneurship and enable investment-driven growth. The objective of this initiative is to make India a nation of job creators rather than job seekers. As India advances towards a 7.3 trillion dollar economy by 2030 and the broader vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, startups are poised to remain central to the country’s development trajectory serving both as catalysts of growth and as enduring symbols of India’s future-ready, innovation-led economic model. With Dipendra Kumar, Saklen Akhtar for Akashvani News, Delhi.”
Select startup representatives will also share insights from their entrepreneurial journey. Bharat Sethi, Founder of Rage Coffee shared how start up india mission has regained the faith of the common man.
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The Election Commission has extended the schedule for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Goa, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Puducherry and West Bengal up to the 19th of January. With this, electors can file claims and objections till 19th of this month. In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officers of these states and Union Territories, the Election Commission said the revised schedule has been decided after considering the requests from respective CEOs and other relevant factors.
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The National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided that all candidates scheduled to appear for JEE (Main) 2026 Session 1 examination in West Bengal on the 23rd January this year will be allotted another date of examination among the advertised dates. The decision was taken in view of the Saraswati Puja celebrations in the state on 23rd of this month. NTA has advised candidates to e-mail at jeemain@nta.ac.in, or call at 011-40759000 for any query.
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Union Power Minister Manohar Lal has said that India has more than doubled its installed power generation capacity from 249 gigawatt in 2014 to over 510 gigawatt in 2025. Addressing the curtain raiser of the Bharat Electricity Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the Minister said that India has entered a new era of energy abundance defined by reliability, accessibility and resilience.
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that India is a major growth engine for the global economy. The IMF noted that India’s economic growth in the third quarter was stronger than expected. Addressing a press conference, Director of the IMF’s Communications Department, Julie Kozack said, India’s growth remains robust and is largely driven by strong domestic consumption.
The IMF had earlier projected India’s growth at 6.6 percent for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
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Indian Coast Guard has intercepted a Pakistani fishing boat with 9 crew inside Indian waters near the International Maritime Boundary Line in the Arabian Sea. According to the Indian Coast Guard, the Pakistani boat named AL-MADINA, was sighted by an ICG ship on Wednesday. On being challenged, the boat attempted to flee towards Pakistan side. However, the ICG Ship intercepted and boarded the boat in Indian waters and a total of 9 crew were found in the Pakistani boat. The boat was then towed to Porbandar port by the ICG Ship for a thorough rummaging and joint interrogation by the concerned agencies.
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In Jammu and Kashmir, the Police have attached the immovable property of a Pakistan-based terror handler in Poonch district. The action followed court directions in connection with a case registered at Mandi Police Station. The attached property consists of 10 kanal and 14 marlas of land in Mandi tehsil, with an estimated value of 22.05 lakh rupees. The land belongs to Abdul Aziz, a resident of Chamber Kanari who is currently operating as a terror handler in Pakistan. The officials said the accused had earlier exfiltrated to Pakistan and PoK. Since then, he has been involved in activities inimical to the security and sovereignty of India.
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Counting of votes for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will be held today. The counting process will begin at 10:00 a.m. A total of 15,931 candidates are in fray.
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Embassy of India in Tel Aviv has advised Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to Israel, in view of the prevailing situation in the region. Moreover, the Embassy also advised all Indian nationals currently in Israel to remain vigilant and strictly adhere to the safety guidelines and protocols issued by the Israeli authorities and the Home Front Command. In case of any emergency, Indian nationals can contact the Indian Embassy’s 24×7 helpline numbers: +972-54-7520711 and +972-54-3278392, or they can also e-mail at cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in.
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The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency meeting in New York last night amid escalating concern that thousands of people have been killed in Iran’s nation-wide protests. The meeting was called by the United States to address the crisis. During the meeting, Assistant Secretary-General of UN Martha Pobee described the situation in Iran as fluid and deeply concerning and said that all efforts must be undertaken to prevent any further deterioration.
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US President Donald Trump met Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House in Washington, DC today. During the meeting, Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize to the US President. In a social media post, Mr Trump praised María Corina Machado as a “wonderful woman” and called her act of presenting the Nobel Peace Prize as a “wonderful gesture”. On meeting the US President, María Corina Machado said that both the countries are ready to move forward quickly to achieve a transition to democracy.
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Rehearsals for the 77th Republic Day parade are underway at Kartavya Path in New Delhi, today. Preparations are ongoing for the national celebrations on January 26th. Contingents of the armed forces and security forces are participating in the rehearsals.
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The Ministry of Minority Affairs has issued an advisory after receiving representations from Haj pilgrims and other stakeholders seeking additional time to complete codal formalities. In its statement, the Ministry announced that a one-time final extension has been granted until the 25th of this month, and clarified that no further extension will be provided under any circumstances.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange color warning for dense to very dense fog conditions over Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh today. The Met Department has also predicted dense fog at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir.
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In Uttar Pradesh, dense fog prevailed at most places in the state affecting road and rail traffic. Due to cold wave and chilly conditions, in many districts schools will remain closed today and tomorrow.
“Mercury continues to plummet at many places in state due to intense cold wave conditions. Dense Fog has badly affected the rail and road traffic especially in western and tarai part of state. Long distance trains are running hours behind schedule, while road traffic disrupted badly owing to poor visibility. Meanwhile Schools in many districts including Badayun, Bareilly, Muzaffarnagar, Sambhal, Pilibhit, Saharanpur, Amroha and Bijnaur have been closed today to save the kids from the wrath of the biting cold. Sushil Chandra Tiwari, AkashVani News, Lucknow.”
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On to sports,
Ace Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will face Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei in the men’s singles quarterfinal of India Open Badminton tournament in New Delhi today. The match is scheduled to start at 3 pm. Earlier, Lakshya Sen defeated Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in straight games 21-19, 21-10 in Round of 16 match to reach the quarterfinals at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
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In the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026, India beat USA by 6 wickets (using DLS method) in the opening match of the tournament in Zimbabwe yesterday. Put in to bat first, the USA were bowled out for just 107 runs in 35.2 overs.
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And, In Women’s Premier League Cricket, UP Warriorz registered a comfortable 7-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai last night.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- the dailies have taken notice of Prime Minister Modi’s call on the Global South to shape a new world order in the inaugural session of Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth.
- With Iran temporarily closing its airspace to commercial flights and tension mounting in West Asia “India prepares to pull out its nationals from Iran, first batch ready” reports The Indian Express.
- The European commission and European Union Presidents are all set to be the Republic Day guests this year and attend the India -EU summit. The Pioneer writes “India, EU close to sealing trade deal before January 26.”
- Financial Express quoting the Commerce secretary writes “US deal very close; Talks between India and US had never broken down.”
- And Finally, Bareilly’s centuries old Alaknath Shiv temple is recasting the city from a riot-scarred trading town to UP’s newest Hindu pilgrimage hub. The Times of India headline says “Bareilly rivals Goa in visitors.”
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in a programme marking a decade of the Startup India initiative in New Delhi today.
- Election Commission extends schedule for the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Goa, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Puducherry and West Bengal up to the 19th of this month.
- Indian coast guard intercepts Pakistani boat with 9 crew inside Indian waters in Arabian Sea.
- Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv issues advisory for Indian nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Israel.
- In sports, India beat USA by 6 wickets in ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
- Lakshya Sen to face Lin Chun – Yi of Chinese Taipei in men’s singles quarter final of India Open Badminton Tournament today.
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