ModiWatch: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute in an article on the life and work of Ratan Tata.

PM Modi accused the Congress-led INDIA bloc of wanting to take the Constitution out of Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that no power in the world can restore Article 370 there.

PM Modi said it shows that collective effort can lead to sustainable results, highlighting government campaigns that earned the Centre ₹2,364 crore ($284.82 million) through scrap disposal between 2021 and 2024.

While campaigning in Jharkhand for the upcoming state elections, PM Modi said “ek rahoge toh safe rahoge” (be united to be safe), alleging that the Congress-JMM coalition wanted to divide OBCs (Other Backward Classes) by pitting sub-castes against each other.

Speaking at a rally in Maharashtra, PM Modi accused that the Opposition party could not “tolerate” a Prime Minister from the OBC community.

Countdown to state elections

No face for BJP-led ‘Mahayuti’ in Maharashtra: The Home Minister of India, Amit Shah, said the ruling BJP-led ‘Mahayuti’ in Maharashtra will decide on who will be the Chief Minister after the State polls by consulting the alliance partners.

Congress calls sitting chief ministers to Mumbai rally: The Congress gathered the current Chief Ministers of Telangana and Himachal Pradesh in Mumbai to deny the BJP's accusation that it doesn't fulfil its election promises.

Defence Minister claims fake caste census promise by the opposition: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accused the Congress party of misleading people to believe they would conduct a caste census if voted to power and questioned why it did not carry out the exercise when the party ruled the country.

The opposition claims a decline in purchasing power: The General Secretary of Congress, Jairam Ramesh, claimed that the average Indian can buy less today than ten years ago, saying that sustained income stagnation is causing the slowdown in India’s consumption.

Parliamentary panel to review mechanisms for fake news

Parliamentary panel will review mechanisms to curb fake news: The Parliamentary Panel on Communications and Information Technology has called for a review of the mechanisms to combat fake news, two months after the Bombay High Court invalidated a crucial clause of the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, which gave the government the authority to detect "fake news" on social media platforms using its Fact Check Unit (FCU).

Domestic and international security

Extra security for Canadian High Commission: Security has been increased outside the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi as members of a Hindu-Sikh outfit marched towards it in protest against attacks on Hindu temples in Canada.

Foreign Minister highlights India-ASEAN collaboration: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India and ASEAN are major demographies and their collaboration can be crucial in tackling contemporary issues, ensuring food and health security and addressing political challenges in the shared region like Myanmar.

Read the full story:

India monitoring oceans to protect interests: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, dismissing China's dual carrier operation, said India has a highly effective mechanism for monitoring the oceans, known as maritime domain awareness, and is fully aware of "who is where and who is doing what" to ensure the country's interests are not compromised.

FDI flow news - brought to you by

IRDAI chairman seeks 100% FDI in insurance sector: Speaking at Business Standard’s event, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Chairman Debasish Panda pitched for 100% foreign direct investment in the insurance sector, saying a lot of capital is needed to achieve the goal of 'insurance for all' by 2047.

Singapore Airlines to increase investment in Air India: After Vistara's November merger, Singapore Airlines would invest an extra ₹3,194.5 crore ($384.8 million) in Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group now.

SEBI chief controversy

Anti-corruption agency seeks explanation from the head of India's stock market regulator: Lokpal, an anti-corruption agency, has asked Madhabi Puri Buch, the head of India's stock market regulator (SEBI), to clarify the conflict of interest allegations made against her in three different complaints, which referenced a recent report by the US-based Hindenburg Research.

Coal imports

Rise in coal imports: According to data compiled by the B2B e-commerce company, Mjunction Services Ltd, India's coal imports rose by 7.8% to 140.60 million tonnes (MT) in Q1 of FY 25.

Defence unit attacked by ransomware unveils report

Defence unit attacked by ransomware in 2023: According to the 2023-24 annual report of the Department of Personnel Training (DoPT), a crucial defence unit was affected by a ransomware attack in 2023.

Finance Minister praises Government digital infratructures

Finance Minister hails India’s digital infrastructures: The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said the Indian Government’s initiatives to build digital infrastructures like IndiaStack have helped even small businesses grow, innovate and reach markets overseas.

Finance Minister urges rural banks to increase credit disbursement: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged regional rural banks, to increase credit disbursement under various central government schemes.

INOX deal in UK and Tata's deal with Noida Airport

INOX India to build UK’s first liquid air energy storage facility: INOX India Ltd, a leading cryogenic technology solutions company, signed a deal with UK-based Highview Power for Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) in Manchester.

Tata Power’s deal with Noida Airport: Tata Power has signed a 25-year contract with Noida International Airport to supply 23.8 MW of renewable energy, from solar and wind projects. The deal is valued at around ₹550 crore ($65.87 million).

Air India Express will focus on flights to tier-2 and tier-3 cities: Air India’s subsidiary Air India Express will concentrate on expanding flight connectivity from metro to tier-2 and tier-3 towns as part of its continuous route rationalisation.

Views from the Op-Eds: Donald Trump's victory.

P Chidambaram (The Indian Express) writes Donald Trump's victory will be a grave setback to democracy, as more leaders in other countries will try to replicate the coarse language and divisive rhetoric. He adds, that American people majorly voted against Harris because of her gender and colour. He also suggests that American people are only concerned about immigration, inflation and crime but choose to ignore issues such as abortion and women’s rights, the sanctity of the Constitution, fairness, racial equality and wars around the world. He also stated that "Big Oil, Big Pharma and Big Tech" will gain the most from Trump's victory.

Ram Madhav (The Indian Express) writes Trump literally "stole the show" in a massive victory to return to the White House. He believes the election results should be seen as a victory of Donald Trump rather than the loss of Kamala Harris. He adds that the American people rejected Democrat's NGO-style politics that led to extreme levels of wokeism and cancel culture. He also agrees with Chidambaram that immigration played a key deciding role for the American people. He concludes by saying, that Trump is back with a vengeance and is likely to reshape American politics.

Deepankar Gupta (The Times of India) also makes the same argument about immigration policy being Trump's best tactic. He adds that Trump had a single clear message, as opposed to Kamala Harris's abstract messaging. Issues like abortion, healthcare, and global warming were not direct enough for the voters, so the Democrats lost.

Rajdeep Sardesai (India Today) writes it is apparent that incumbents across the world have been put on notice in almost every election that has happened, giving examples of election results in the UK and India apart from the US. He feels the anti-incumbency wave worldwide is due to the inability of the governments to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and close relations with the Biden administration as the major factor in Kamala's loss. He highlights the similarity between Modi's political journey to Trump's and adds "The opposition in both the US and India have fallen into the trap of challenging the personality traits of their larger-than-life ideological rivals instead of offering a distinct policy prescription of their own."

Delhi Today: Hazy; air quality will be very unhealthy.

Closing Prices Banner