THE HEADLINES ::
- Budget session of Parliament to begin today with President Droupadi Murmu’s address.
- India to launch affordable and secure indigenous AI model, says Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
- Uttar Pradesh Judicial Commission to reach Sangam Ghat today for investigation into the tragic incident at Mahakumbh.
- 67 people confirmed dead in mid-air collision between American Airlines Jet and Army Helicopter in United States.
- Israel releases 110 Palestinian prisoners after delay; Hamas frees eight more hostages in third hostage-prisoner swap.
- In Cricket, India to take on England in the Semifinals of Women’s Under-19 T-20 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
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And now news in detail,
The Budget session of Parliament will begin today with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of both Houses this morning. Following the President’s address, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Economic Survey during a brief session of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Our correspondent reports that the presentation of the Economic Survey marks the official start of the Budget session in Parliament.
The Economic Survey is a comprehensive review of the country’s current economic state and future outlook. It is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs under the guidance of the Chief Economic Advisor. Finance Minister Sitharaman will present the Union Budget tomorrow. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will discuss the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address on Monday. 16 Bills including the Finance Bill 2025, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 will be taken up for discussion and passage. The first part of the Budget session will be held from today till 13th February while the second leg of the session will be held from 10th March to 4th April. Suparna Saikia, Akashvani News, Delhi.
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The Government has announced that India is all set to launch its own safe and secure indigenous Artificial intelligence (AI) model at an affordable cost. Briefing the media in New Delhi yesterday, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted that compared to global models costing 2.5 to 3 dollars per hour usage, India’s AI Model will cost less than 100 rupees per hour after 40 per cent government subsidy. The Union Minister expressed hope that the Indian AI model is likely to be ready within 6 months.
On a query on privacy concerns around DeepSeek, Mr Vaishnaw informed that it will be hosted on Indian servers soon after security protocol checks so that users, coders, developers can benefit from its Open Source Code.
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As Delhi gears up for its 2025 Assembly elections, set to take place on February 5, the national capital is abuzz with massive campaign slogans, door-to-door canvassing, and promises of change from all major political parties.
Senior BJP leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally in Dwarka this afternoon. Other senior party leaders including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami will also be holding public meetings at different constituencies.
Earlier, Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Rajnath Singh claimed that BJP is the only party in the country which fulfils its promises. Addressing an election meeting in Vishwas Nagar assembly constituency in the national capital yesterday, Mr Singh accused AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal of misusing the trust placed by the people on him.
Meanwhile, AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the Congress party of working with the BJP to ensure his party’s defeat in the assembly polls. Addressing the media last evening, he urged Congress workers not to vote for the Congress party, claiming they are collaborating with the BJP.
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Akashvani News brings you a special series in view of Delhi assembly polls. Today, we take a look at the Patparganj constituency:
“Patparganj is considered amongst the high profile seats of Delhi. Aam Aadmi Party has given its ticket this time to popular educationist, Awadh Ojha. On the other hand, BJP has once again expressed confidence in Ravinder Singh Negi, who had given a stiff competition to the ex-Deputy CM last time. Meanwhile, Congress has placed its bet on party’s former state president Anil Chaudhary, who had been a Patparganj MLA four times before 2013. Talking about the voters, there are more than two lakh 26 thousand voters here, among which more than one lakh 22 thousand are male voters while more than one lakh four thousand are female voters. Poor condition of roads, illegal parking, filth, lack of hospitals and encroachment are among the key local issues among that can be the decider between either victory or defeat for all the three prominent candidates. Adarsh for Akashvani News, Delhi.”
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Now news from Mahakumbh,
A large number of women devotees can be seen at the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj, the world’s largest spiritual gathering. The Uttar Pradesh government has made special arrangement for women at the ghats. Our correspondent reports that several facilities are being provided to ensure a safe, secure, and comfortable environment for the women devotees.
“The security measures taken for the women and arrangements made at the ghat have instilled confidence among the women devotees to come in large numbers to attend Mahakumbh. The women police personnel deployed at the ghat are helping the women devotees to take holy dip at Triveni Sangam in hassle free manner. Talking to Akashwani News several women devotees appreciated the government, for the arrangement made for them including changing room and separate toilet.
Along with men, female priests are also performing Ganga Aarti at Sangam Ghat. With Dipendra kumar, Aman yadav Akashwani News, Prayagraj .”
The judicial commission set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to find the reasons behind the Maha Kumbh incident will visit Sangam Ghat, Prayagraj today.
The commission will investigate the cause and circumstances of the incident and submit its report within one month. They will also recommend measures to prevent such incidents in the future. The three-member commission is headed by a retired Allahabad High Court Judge, Harsh Kumar.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and DGP Prashant Kumar yesterday visited Sangam Ghat at Mahakumbh and inspected the incident area which claimed 30 lives. They urged the administration to stay motivated and adopt a build it better approach, ensuring that the upcoming Amrit Snan is flawless, with zero error in arrangements. They also emphasized that maximum officers must be deployed in high-density areas.
District Magistrate of Prayagraj, Ravindra Kumar Mandar, has denied media reports about a ban on vehicle entry due to road diversions. A viral social media post claimed that vehicle entry into Prayagraj would be restricted until 4th of February.
In a video message, Mr. Mandar clarified that there will be no diversions on 31st January, 1st February, and February 4th. He explained that vehicle entry will be restricted in Prayagraj only on 2nd February and 3rd February, due to the Amrit Snan on Vasant Panchami.
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In some international news,
United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that there are no survivors in the mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet, and an Army Black Hawk Helicopter in Washington, DC. Addressing a press briefing on the aviation disaster last night, Mr. Trump said that the administration will find out how the disaster occurred and ensured nothing like this will ever happen again.
The crash, which occurred near Ronald Reagan National Airport, involved an American Airlines regional jet carrying 60 passengers and 4 crew members, and a US Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers. Meanwhile, the Kremlin confirmed that two renowned former Russian figure skaters, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were on board the passenger plane. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov also stated that other Russian nationals were also aboard the crashed flight.
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In a major development, Israel has released 110 Palestinian prisoners as part of the next phase in the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. The process was initially delayed after crowds surged at one of the hostage handover points. However, the release was celebrated largely in Gaza and West Bank.
Earlier, 8 hostages, including 3 Israelis and 5 Thai nationals in Gaza were released after 15 months in captivity. In a social media post, the Israel Defense Forces welcomed the return of hostages and said that it remains committed to bringing back all remaining hostages that are still held in Gaza.
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Moving on to the world of sports, in the ICC Under 19 Women’s T20 World Cup, India will take on England in the semifinal match at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
“Niki Prasad led Indian side has been dominant in all the departments throughout the tournament, with batters and bowlers contributing equally. The Women in Blue will aim to reach final, scheduled on Sunday. On the other hand, in Men’s Cricket, India will face England in the fourth T20 International at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune this evening. Suryakumar Yadav led home side are currently leading the 5-match series 2-1.
Moving towards Hockey India League (HIL), where semifinal matches are scheduled for today. Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers will face Tamil Nadu Dragons at 6 PM, while JSW Soorma Hockey Club will take on Hyderabad Toofans at 8:15 PM at the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha.
Last we have from the Indian Super League (ISL) Football, where Kerala Blasters FC defeated Chennaiyin FC by 3-1 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai last night. This is the first time when Kerala Blasters FC registered an away win against Chennaiyin FC in the league. Moreover, Korou Singh scripted history for Blasters as he became the second youngest goal-scorer in the competition. CHIRAG JHA, AKASHVANI NEWS, DELHI.”
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast dense to very dense fog conditions during night and early morning hours in Gangetic West Bengal today and in isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim till tomorrow.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- As Modi 3.0 budget session begins today, a top frontline headline in The Pioneer writes ” Challenges galore as Sitharaman, team frame Financial year 26 budget.” Hindustan Times notes “The Budget will focus on the middle class, farmers, small firms, young people and women with GDP growth at 6.5 – 7 percent for the year.”
- “Government unveils mega AI plan to rival global models” states The Tribune.
- All the newspapers have referred about one of the deadliest US air disasters in almost a quarter century on their front page, killing 67 people.
- The Times of India writes about the surreal atmosphere with “All roads leading to Kotla as King Kohli returned to Ranji after 12 years creating a stampede-like situation.”
- And Finally, The Economic Times reports on a survey citing “Urban-Rural spending gap narrows in financial year ’24.” The paper adds “Inequality down across social categories too.”
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- Budget session of Parliament to begin today with President Droupadi Murmu’s address.
- India to launch affordable and secure indigenous AI model, says Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
- Uttar Pradesh Judicial Commission to reach Sangam Ghat today for investigation into the tragic incident at Mahakumbh.
- 67 people confirmed dead in mid-air collision between American Airlines Jet and Army Helicopter in United States.
- Israel releases 110 Palestinian prisoners after delay; Hamas frees eight more hostages in third hostage-prisoner swap.
- In Cricket, India to take on England in the Semifinals of Women’s Under-19 T-20 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
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