India lost one of its most luminous social thinkers on Tuesday with the passing of world-renowned sociologist and social anthropologist André Béteille, whose lifelong engagement with caste, class and power reshaped the understanding of inequality in modern societies. Béteille died at his Delhi residence on 3 February at the age of 91, leaving behind a rich intellectual legacy rooted in rigorous fieldwork, ethical scholarship and an unwavering commitment to academic humility.

Born on 30 September, 1934, in Chandannagore, West Bengal, Béteille grew up in a culturally diverse, middle-class household ~ his mother was Bengali and his father French ~ an early exposure that perhaps sensitised him to questions of identity and social difference. His formal training began at the University of Calcutta, where he studied anthropology under legendary scholars such as Nirmal Kumar Bose and Tarak Chandra Das, who profoundly shaped his empirical and humanistic approach to social research.

Béteille later completed his doctoral studies under the supervision of the eminent sociologist MN Srinivas and went on to join the celebrated department of sociology at Delhi University, where generations of students encountered a rare blend of intellectual rigour and moral clarity in the classroom. It was during this phase that he produced his most influential work on caste, class and power—research that earned him global recognition.

At the heart of Béteille’s intellectual journey lay a persistent concern with inequality ~ its causes, its manifestations, and the moral challenge it posed to human societies. His scholarship was animated by a deeper normative question: how might societies move closer to equality and dismantle entrenched forms of discrimination?

Béteille’s connection with academic institutions across the country was marked by warmth and intellectual generosity. Recalling his visit to Vidyasagar University in 2004, Professor Abhijit Guha, former professor of anthropology at the university, remembered the scholar’s presence at a convocation ceremony and an informal adda with faculty members. “From him, we learnt how to become scholars and teachers with humility and compassion,” Guha said.

The campaign for the elections to the 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis across the state ended on Thursday.

Voting will take place on Saturday from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., and the counting of votes will be held on Monday, February 9.

With the campaign period over, political parties and candidates are now prohibited from publishing or broadcasting advertisements through print, electronic, or social media.

Elections are being held for 12 Zilla Parishads and 125 Panchayat Samitis in the following districts: Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, Dharashiv, and Latur.

Since Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections are held simultaneously, every voter is expected to cast two votes: one for the Zilla Parishad electoral division and one for the Panchayat Samiti electoral college.

A total of 25,482 polling stations have been set up.

To facilitate the process, 51,537 control units and 1,10,329 ballot units (EVMs) have been made available.

The State Election Commission (SEC) is using the Assembly constituency voter lists prepared by the Election Commission of India.

The lists existing as of July 1, 2025, are being used.

While the SEC cannot add or delete names, potential duplicate names have been marked with a double star (**).

The State Election Commission has launched the ‘Matadhikar’ mobile app, available on the Google Play Store, to help voters find their names, polling stations, and candidate information.

Voters can also search using their full name or EPIC (Voter ID) number on the website: https://mahasecvoterlist.in/

At the polling stations, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, women with infants, and pregnant women will be given priority.

Temporary ramps and wheelchairs will be provided where permanent ramps are unavailable.

Electricity, drinking water, shade, and toilets will be available at all centres.

Polling stations where the female voter population is high will be managed entirely by women officers and police personnel. These are designated as “Pink Polling Booths”.

Around 1.28 lakh election officials have been deployed, including 125 Returning Officers and 125 Assistant Returning Officers.

The BJP hopes to repeat its performance in the recently held elections to the nagar parishads, nagar panchayats, and municipal corporations, where it emerged at the top slot, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena is confident of increasing its presence in these elections.

On the other hand, the NCP expects to ride on the sympathy wave following the sudden and untimely death of former deputy chief minister and party president late Ajit Pawar.

Incidentally, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP is contesting these polls in an alliance with the NCP.

The Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) are contesting independently, as the opposition has not been able to work out a united front against the BJP-led Mahayuti.

The Congress, on Thursday, officially announced that it will contest independently in all the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state scheduled this year, without going for any kind of seat-sharing arrangement either with the CPI(M)-led Left Front or the Trinamool Congress.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee in New Delhi on Thursday.

The party’s representatives from West Bengal were the current state Congress president Suvankar Sarkar, former state Congress president and former five-time Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and the sole Congress Lok Sabha member from West Bengal, Isha Khan Chowdhury.

After the meeting at the residence of the Congress’s national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, in the national capital, Congress general secretary and the party’s in-charge for West Bengal, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, announced the decision of the AICC to contest the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state independently without having any alliance with any other political force.

Besides Kharge and Mir, other national-level Congress leaders present at the meeting included the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and K.C. Venugopal, among others.

“Our past experiences on alliance or seat-sharing arrangements in West Bengal weakened the grassroots-level party workers in the state to a great extent. After discussions with everyone, including the state Congress leaders, it has been decided that the Congress will contest from all 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal independently. Poll preparations will start keeping this in mind,” Mir said.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was keen on an alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front from the beginning, said that going solo was the decision of the party high command.

“We will be contesting independently this time as decided by the party’s high command,” he said.

Political observers feel that a smooth seat-sharing arrangement for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls had become inconceivable from the beginning.

“The two main architects of the seat-sharing arrangement between the Left Front and the Congress since 2016 were former CPI(M) general secretary late Sitaram Yechury and former state Congress president in West Bengal and former five-time Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

“Now, after the demise of Yechury, there is not a single national leader in the CPI(M)’s central leadership who will be vocal in convincing the party’s central leadership for an arrangement with the Congress.

“The same thing is applicable in the case of the Congress after Chowdhury was out of the party’s major decision-making ambit,” a city-based political observer said.

West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited (WEBEL), a state government enterprise, yesterday reaffirmed its strategic collaboration with Oracle to train 15,000 students and professionals by 2029 in cutting-edge digital technologies free of cost. The initiative focuses on high-impact domains such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data science, strengthening West Bengal’s position as a hub for future-ready digital talent.

The programme was formally launched in presence of Babul Supriyo, minister, department of IT & electronics. Also present were Shubhanjan Das, Secretary, IT & Electronics, Sumant Sahay, managing director, WEBEL and Shailender Kumar, Senior VP – Regional Managing Director, India and NetSuite Japac, Oracle.

Welcoming Oracle to the state’s digital skilling ecosystem, minister Babul Supriyo stated that the initiative is envisioned as a “finishing school” for students and young professionals, equipping them with industry-aligned competencies and helping fulfil the evolving manpower needs of the technology sector and what makes me most happy is that all these courses are being offered Free Of Cost.”

Representatives from leading academic institutions and industry bodies attended the event, including delegations from University of Calcutta, St. Xavier’s University, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), Techno India University, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), NASSCOM, Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) along with senior professionals from the IT industry ecosystem.

In his remarks, Shailendra Singh, India head, Oracle, emphasised Oracle’s commitment to enabling technology education and workforce readiness. He noted that expanding capabilities in AI and cloud technologies through structured training and certification pathways will help learners bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry requirements, and that Oracle is dedicated to working with government and institutional stakeholders to accelerate digital skills development at scale.

Shubhanjan Das, Secretary, IT & Electronics, underscored the importance of public-private partnerships in creating scalable skilling infrastructure and enhancing employability in high-growth technology domains.This curriculum is in tune with industry standards and is upgraded every quarter.”

Sumant Sahay, MD, WEBEL, said that the collaboration reflects WEBEL’s commitment to building a sustainable digital talent pipeline for West Bengal by integrating global-standard training frameworks with local institutional ecosystems.

Under this initiative, Oracle will provide structured digital learning, industry-aligned certification pathways, and advanced technology training through its global education platforms, enabling students and professionals to acquire competencies in next-generation technologies effectively.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Kuala Lumpur, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said India and Malaysia are working towards further enhancing bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner.

Addressing a special briefing here, MEA Secretary (East) P Kumaran said PM Modi will visit Kuala Lumpur on February 7 and 8 at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

India and Malaysia are also discussing a joint review of the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, Kumaran said.

“Our countries are working towards further enhancing our bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner… The two countries are also discussing a joint review of the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. The PM will address the Indian community in Malaysia, which numbers around 2.9 million,” the MEA official said.

He said both sides will review progress on the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

“The visit will also provide an opportunity to enhance our engagement with the ASEAN region… The PM will hold bilateral discussions with the Prime Minister of Malaysia. They will review progress on the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, particularly in priority areas of cooperation, including trade, investment, defence, security, semiconductors, digital technologies, renewable energy, education, healthcare, and people-to-people exchanges. The 10th meeting of the India-Malaysia CEO’s forum is also scheduled in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the visit. Our PM will also interact with leading Malaysian CEOs from key sectors,” he said.

“Upon invitation by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Kuala Lumpur on 7th and 8th February… Our PM had earlier visited Malaysia in 2015. During that visit, India-Malaysia bilateral relations were elevated to enhance the strategic partnership… The forthcoming visit comes within 1.5 years of the elevation of our bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the state visit to PM Amwar Ibrahim in August 2024, and reflects India’s strong commitment to our relations with Malaysia,” he said.

Even as the state government has announced an increase in the allowance under the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, a section of Muslim residents in Malda has rejected the welfare benefit, demanding instead education and employment for the young men of their families. In a significant political development, several women, along with men, quit the Trinamul Congress and joined the AIMIM in the district on Thursday.

Reacting to the development in the Muslim-dominated Malda district, senior BJP leader and former state party president Dilip Ghosh said Muslims must decide whether they wish to stand with development or align themselves with corruption, and whether they want peace or continued violence and bloodshed.

“As long as the TMC government remains in power, these things will continue. Corruption, killings and riots will persist, and Muslims will suffer the most,” Mr Ghosh said.

“Even after this, if they still want to keep this government in power, it is their choice. In a democracy, everyone has the right to decide,” he added.

The switching-over programme from the TMC to the AIMIM was held in the Paranpur-Mirzapur area under the Ratua Assembly constituency in Malda district. The programme was led by AIMIM Ratua-I Block president Jahangir Sheikh, who formally inducted the new members by handing over party flags.

Women who joined the AIMIM said they were not interested in Lakshmir Bhandar, but wanted education and employment opportunities for their sons. They alleged that the lack of jobs in the state was forcing young men to migrate to other states for work, where many had met with accidents and even lost their lives. They said their demand for jobs for the youth prompted them to leave the Trinamul Congress.

Commenting on the state Budget, Mr Ghosh said there were no expectations from the government.

“What value does a budget have when a government runs its ‘household’ on borrowed money?” he asked.

The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the growing practice of state governments appointing “acting” Directors General of Police instead of initiating the process for selecting a regular police chief in accordance with its binding guidelines issued in 2006.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that repeated delays in forwarding proposals to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for appointment of full-time DGPs not only violate the directions issued in Prakash Singh v. Union of India but also deprive eligible senior officers of fair consideration.

The Court noted that several States avoid timely compliance with the prescribed procedure and instead continue with interim arrangements by appointing acting DGPs, undermining institutional integrity and merit-based selection.

To address this systemic lapse, the Bench authorised the UPSC to proactively seek timely proposals from State governments whenever vacancies for DGPs arise. It further permitted the Commission to approach the Supreme Court if any State fails to act.

“We authorise the UPSC to write to the States to send timely proposals for recommendations of respective DGPs whenever such occasions arise. When such proposals are not sent, we direct the UPSC to move an application in the Prakash Singh case. It goes without saying that necessary consequences including accountability of the concerned States will be taken up,” the Court ordered.

Under the Supreme Court’s guidelines issued in Prakash Singh case also known as police reform case on September 22, 2006, a State government is required to appoint its DGP from a panel of three senior-most eligible officers shortlisted by the UPSC.

The directions were issued today while hearing an appeal arising from a Telangana High Court order that had directed the UPSC to process a belated proposal sent by the State for appointment of its DGP.

The UPSC objected to the High Court’s direction, pointing out that the previous DGP, Anurag Sharma, retired in 2017, and the State had failed to forward any proposal for nearly eight years. Although Telangana eventually sent a proposal with names of eligible senior ranking IPS officers in April 2025, the Commission declined to act on it, citing the prolonged delay and seeking clarity from the Supreme Court.

The UPSC also submitted that Telangana was not an isolated case and that several States routinely resort to such delay tactics.

Agreeing with the concern, the Supreme Court observed that such inaction had adversely impacted the careers of many senior officers who have since retired without ever being considered for the top post. At the same time, the Bench noted that refusing to process delayed proposals would only end up benefiting defaulting States.

Accordingly, the Court directed the UPSC to proceed with the selection process for Telangana’s DGP, stating “We hold without hesitation that the State should make recommendations for the DGP at the earliest… The zones of consideration will be on the eligibility of officers who fall under such a zone and will be on the basis of inter se merit. Commission is granted four weeks’ time to do the needful,” the Court ordered.

In a setback to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the Sabarimala gold heist case, the Kollam Vigilance Court on Thursday granted statutory bail to prime accused Unnikrishnan Potty in the second case registered against him.

Potty was granted bail in the case pertaining to the alleged theft of gold from the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple after the SIT failed to file its charge sheet within 90 days of his arrest. Earlier, the court had granted him bail in the dwarapalaka idols case as well on similar grounds.

Considering the gravity of the offence, the court imposed strict conditions on bail. Potty has been barred from entering Pathanamthitta district, directed to surrender his passport, and restrained from influencing witnesses. He has also been prohibited from leaving the state without permission.

Potty, who has been in custody for months, is released from the Thiruvananthapuram special sub jail on Thursday evening. With this, Potty becomes the fourth accused to secure bail in the case

Ahead of Potty, three of his co-accused had obtained statutory bail. Former Sabarimala administrative officer Murari Babu, former Sabarimala executive officer Sudeesh Kumar, and former administrative officer S Sreekumar had secured bail earlier.

Potty is accused of conspiring to execute the pilferage of gold from Sabarimala artefacts under the pretext of carrying out maintenance works in Chennai.

The Najafgarh zone of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed a water polluting jeans dyeing factory in Issapur ward on Thursday.

“As per the directions of Sumit Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Najafgarh Zone, a team from Najafgarh Zone conducted an inspection in areas under its jurisdiction,” the civic body said in a statement.

During the inspection, a water-polluting unit — a jeans dyeing factory — was found operating in violation of norms. The unit, having an area of more than 2000 square metres, was located near Radha Krishna Vatika, between Mitraon Village and Surehra Village in Issapur Ward. The unit was found running at the time of inspection.

Accordingly, the said polluting unit was sealed on the spot by the MCD team.

The Deputy Commissioner, Najafgarh Zone, has directed that surveys and inspections are being conducted on a daily basis across the zone. Strict action will be taken against any other polluting units found operating in violation of environmental norms.

Portugal great and Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly set to bring an end to his Saudi Pro League absence and return to action against Al-Ittihad in a high-profile clash on Friday, according to a report by Goal.com.

The update comes after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was left out of the recent derby against Al-Riyadh, amid growing frustration over how transfer funds are being allocated among clubs in Saudi Arabia. Earlier, ESPN had reported that Ronaldo was prepared to sit out a second straight league game, unhappy with the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) handling of investment and squad building at Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo did not feature in Al-Nassr’s narrow 1-0 victory over Al-Riyadh on Monday, with sources suggesting his absence was a form of protest against what he perceived as limited backing for his club, while rivals Al-Hilal continued to strengthen aggressively.

According to ESPN, the Portuguese star was particularly displeased by the attempted move involving Karim Benzema, believing that allowing high-profile transfers to benefit Al-Hilal would tilt the title race unfairly in their favour.

Despite the controversy, Ronaldo trained with the squad this week and shared images on social media wearing Al-Nassr colours. However, notably, the club’s official X handle only posted training photos of head coach Jorge Jesus and other players, with Ronaldo absent from those visuals.

Al-Nassr currently sit second in the league standings with 46 points, just one behind leaders Al-Hilal, and will face sixth-placed Al-Ittihad on Friday. Off the pitch, tensions have been simmering at the club, with sporting director Simão Coutinho and CEO José Semedo recently suspended by the PIF, a development that reportedly further angered Ronaldo and slowed down potential signings due to tightened spending.

In contrast, Al-Hilal are believed to have received a significant financial boost from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, one of the club’s key benefactors. Sources told ESPN that several of Al-Hilal’s recent signings, including Benzema, were funded by Alwaleed, who owns 25 per cent of the club, with the remaining stake held by the PIF.

While Ronaldo remains frustrated with the broader situation and is still chasing his first major trophy with Al-Nassr, sources indicate that he has offers from clubs in Europe and the United States. However, the 39-year-old is reluctant to make a move that could disrupt his preparation for the FIFA World Cup.

With the Saudi Pro League keen to retain one of its biggest global icons, Al-Nassr and the PIF have reportedly assured Ronaldo of major investment plans in the upcoming summer window, with Portugal teammate and Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes among the high-profile names being discussed.

The late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar is keen on Sharad Pawar’s Rajya Sabha MP seat, which is likely to become vacant by April 2026, and he is not keen to contest his mother Sunetra Pawar’s Rajya Sabha seat, party sources said.

According to sources, Parth Pawar is not keen to contest the Rajya Sabha MP seat from which his mother Sunetra Pawar resigned before she was sworn in because this would give him only a “partial” term in the Rajya Sabha.

However, Parth Pawar is keen on a “full term” of six years in the Rajya Sabha, and this is possible only if he contests Sharad Pawar’s Rajya Sabha MP seat, whose term will end by April 2026, sources said.

According to sources, Sharad Pawar and the late Ajit Pawar’s sons, Parth Pawar and Jay Pawar, held a long, closed-door meeting at the Vidya Pratishthan premises in Baramati on Wednesday.

The meeting discussed the construction of a memorial for Ajit Pawar, but Parth’s desire to enter the Rajya Sabha ended up becoming the main focus of the discussion, sources said.

Seven Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra are due to fall vacant in April 2026. These Rajya Sabha seats include seats held by Sharad Pawar, NCP MP Fauzia Khan, RPI (A) chief Ramdas Athawale, BJP’s Dhairyasheel Patil and Bhagwat Karad, Congress MP Rajni Patil, as well as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi.

Of all these seats, Parth is interested in Sharad Pawar’s seat because it could give him a full six-year term as a Rajya Sabha MP, sources said.

However, Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra will depend on the strength of parties in the Maharashtra state assembly.

With 288 MLAs and 7 available seats, each candidate will need 37 votes to win the election. According to the current assembly, the BJP has 135 MLAs, the Shiv Sena has 57, and the NCP has 41. This makes it possible for the ruling coalition to win several seats. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP is believed to have a sufficient number of seats to elect an independent candidate, which could strengthen Parth Pawar’s chances, if he receives the support of the party leadership, sources said.

A CID team questioned Ajit Pawar’s personal secretary, Avinash Solvat, for more than four hours at the Mantralaya (state secretariat building) about the January 28 air crash, which killed the late Deputy CM and four others at Baramati airport, sources said on Thursday.

The CID team reached Ajit Pawar’s office on the seventh floor of the Mantralaya on Wednesday and questioned Solvat till late evening, and the process is yet to be completed, sources said.

Solvat is considered one of the most trusted aides of the late Ajit Pawar, since he has been associated with Ajit Pawar for more than 15 years.

According to sources, Solvat was questioned about the late Ajit Pawar’s final travel plans, scheduled on January 28, as well as conversations held a day before the tragic air crash.

Sources said that the CID team also sought details regarding who planned the journey, what the aircraft’s technical condition was, and whether the late Ajit Pawar had noticed or mentioned anything unusual in the days leading up to the tragic air crash.

Leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and even sections of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP had demanded a high-level and transparent investigation into the tragic air crash.

As reported earlier, Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Amol Mitkari has been at the forefront of these demands and had called for the immediate release of CCTV footage of the late Ajit Pawar’s final journey, even before the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) black box analysis report was released.

Mitkari had urged the DGCA to officially release all CCTV footage from Mumbai airport, from the main entry gate to the moment the late Ajit Pawar boarded the ill-fated aircraft, dated January 28, 2026, even before the black box analysis report was made public. Mitkari had stated that such transparency is essential to dispel doubts and restore public confidence.

Mitkari had raised several unanswered questions regarding the crash, including discrepancies in the number of casualties, inconsistencies in the passenger list, the absence of burnt documents at the site and frequent changes of pilots before the flight. He also questioned why only five bodies were recovered if six people were reportedly on board.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut too had described the tragic air crash as “suspicious” and said that the people of Maharashtra have a right to know how and why Ajit Pawar died. “This was not an ordinary accident. The circumstances surrounding his death raise serious questions,” Raut had told media persons earlier.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India is signing future-ready trade agreements with developed nations, emerging as a trusted global partner and playing a key role in global welfare. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, PM Modi said India has become a strong voice of the Global South and is moving towards a new world order.

Referring to global geopolitical changes, PM Modi said a new world order is emerging after the one created following the Second World War. “If one looks objectively and without bias, the tilt is towards India. Today, India is a trusted partner, standing shoulder to shoulder with other nations,” he said.

A day after Congress Members disrupted his reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha, he targeted the party and its government on various issues.

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s “mohabbat ki dukan” slogan, the PM said it contained only “anger and hatred” for him. “The Congress cannot digest how Modi reached here. They believe the post of Prime Minister is their birthright,” he added.

He also slammed Gandhi for calling Union Minister Ravneet Bittu a traitor. Modi said, “Yesterday, the Congress called a Sikh MP a traitor. This is an insult to Sikhs and Sikh gurus. It reflects the Congress’s hatred towards the Sikh community.”

Referring to an incident in which women Congress MPs allegedly tried to block his seat, leading to the deferment of his reply, the PM said the episode was “extremely painful,” and “an insult to the President, the Constitution, tribal communities, and women.”

He also took on Congress’ prime ministers Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, claiming that for them India’s population was a liability and accused the Nehru-Gandhi family of “stealing” the name of a Gujarati-Mahatma Gandhi.

“The BJP-NDA has a different approach of looking for solutions to problems…We believe that 140 crore citizens are our strength, they think it is a liability.”

“Indira ji once went to Iran where in her speech she mentioned her conversation with Nehru ji. She said, when asked how many problems he had, my father once replied ‘35 crore’, which was our population at that time. Now the population is 57 crore, so that is the dimension of my problems….35 crore people felt like a problem to Nehruji. Can there be a leader like that? Can someone be like this to consider their own citizens a problem? We believe 140 crore Indians are our greatest strength,” he said.

He accused the Congress, DMK, and the Left of prioritising personal gain while in power and the TMC of putting pressure on courts to “help infiltrators”. “Colleagues from TMC said a lot of things. They should look within themselves…But they are lecturing us here. Even prosperous nations are driving out illegal residents from their country, but in our country, pressure is being put on the courts.”

Amid sloganeering and a walkout by Opposition members, the Prime Minister highlighted India’s growing global economic stature. He said India is signing trade agreements with major economies, and the country is now seen as a reliable partner. “Developed nations were keen to deepen economic engagement with India. After our trade deals with the EU and the US, the world felt a sense of stability and speed. These are major opportunities for our youth,” he said.

The Prime Minister said it had taken years of effort to shed the negative image created by previous governments. “That is why we focused on future-ready policies. Today, governance is driven by policy and strategy. Guided by the mantra of ‘reform, perform, transform,’ the nation has boarded the Reform Express,” he said.

Highlighting economic reforms, he said the banking sector, once burdened by mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), has now reached historic lows. “Public sector undertakings that Congress pushed towards closure are now delivering record performance,” he said.

On agriculture, Modi said previous governments ignored small farmers. “There are nearly 10 crore farmers with less than two hectares of land. Through PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi, nearly Rs 4 lakh crore has been transferred directly to small farmers, giving them new strength and confidence,” he added.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (Tata Motors PV) officially announced on Thursday that it has posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 3,486 crore in Q3FY26, due to the impact of a cyber incident at its luxury vehicle unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which severely hampered the company’s global wholesale volumes. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,485 crore in the same quarter last year.

The impact of the total exceptional cost due to the cyber incident at JLR was to the tune of Rs 800 crore, while Rs 400 crore was due to the new labour code implementation and another Rs 400 crore was due to stamp duty charges. These one-time expenses added pressure on the company’s profitability.

The consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter stood at Rs 70,108 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2025 a decline of 25.8 per cent compared to Rs 94,472 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The company’s EBITDA plummeted to Rs 1,518 crore from Rs 12,663 crore in the year-ago period, due to which the EBITDA margin shrank to 2.2% as against 13.4% in Q3FY25.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) revenue touched £4.5 billion (in British pound terms), which is a decline of 39.4% year-on-year (YoY). JLR’s performance was impacted by the cyber incident, which disrupted production and distribution, alongside a planned wind-down of legacy Jaguar models and softer market conditions in China, the company said in its exchange filing.

The company said its domestic passenger vehicle business improved on a quarter-on-quarter basis due to higher vehicle sales volumes and better incentive support during the quarter.

While global operations faced pressure due to the cyber incident, the domestic market showed signs of recovery. The company will likely focus on stabilising global operations and strengthening domestic demand going forward.

“Overall, it was a challenging quarter as anticipated on account of the carryover impact of the cyber incident at JLR. We expect performance to significantly improve in Q4 with recovery at JLR and continuing growth in domestic market share,” Tata Motors PV Chief Financial Officer Dhiman Gupta said.

“In Q3FY26, we recorded our highest-ever quarterly wholesales at 171k units driven by strong demand tailwinds from GST 2.0 and a robust festive season,” Managing Director & CEO Tata Motors PV Shailesh Chandra said.

The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the bar on BJP leader Anurag Singh Thakur from associating with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), clarifying that its 2017 direction asking the former BCCI president to “cease and desist” from the board’s functioning was never intended to operate as a permanent or lifelong disqualification.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the earlier order had to be understood in its proper context and was limited to the circumstances prevailing at that time. The clarification effectively removes the impediment to Thakur’s engagement with the BCCI, subject to the body’s rules and regulations.

In its order dated January 2, 2017, the Supreme Court had removed Thakur from the post of BCCI president and directed, “Shri Anurag Thakur, President of BCCI and Shri Ajay Shirke, Secretary, BCCI shall forthwith cease and desist from being associated with the working of BCCI.”

That direction was issued in the backdrop of proceedings relating to the implementation of the Lodha Committee reforms aimed at restructuring the governance and functioning of the BCCI. The Court had also initiated contempt and perjury proceedings against Thakur for allegedly making false statements on affidavit and obstructing the implementation of the Court’s orders.

Although the contempt proceedings were subsequently dropped, Thakur continued to remain under the cloud of the 2017 direction, which was interpreted as preventing him from any future association with the BCCI.

Clarifying the scope of that order, the Bench on Thursday held that the direction was never meant to impose a continuing or indefinite ban.

The 2017 action against Thakur stemmed from his communication with the International Cricket Council (ICC), wherein he had sought a statement suggesting that the reforms ordered by the Supreme Court amounted to “governmental interference” in the affairs of the BCCI.

At the time, the Court had taken a serious view of this conduct, observing: “Such a solicitation was but an effort to thwart the implementation of the orders of the court. An attempt was made to build up a record to indicate that implementing the orders of the Supreme Court of India would run the risk of endangering the status of BCCI as a member of ICC.”

On that basis, the Court had concluded that Thakur’s actions rendered him unfit to continue as BCCI president and had ordered his removal.

With Thursday’s clarification, the Supreme Court has now made it clear that the 2017 direction cannot be read as a permanent embargo, thereby paving the way for Thakur to associate with the BCCI in accordance with its governing framework.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will convene its 85th Public Meeting in Mumbai from 7–12 March 2026, hosted by the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI). With its more than one billion Internet users and a thriving digital economy, India is an ideal location for participants from around the world to gather at the ICANN85 Community Forum to advance the technical work that ensures the secure and stable operation of the Internet.

“Ten years after the ICANN Public Meeting in Hyderabad, the ICANN85 Community Forum in Mumbai offers the Indian Internet community an excellent opportunity to attend and participate in the global dialogue on important Internet governance issues,” said Samiran Gupta, ICANN Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement and Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region. “I want to thank our host NIXI for bringing ICANN85 to Mumbai and I look forward to a fruitful meeting.”

S Shri S. Krishnan, IAS Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) “India’s digital transformation is anchored in an open, secure, inclusive and resilient Internet. Hosting ICANN85 reflects India’s commitment to the multistakeholder model of Internet governance and to advancing policy frameworks that support innovation, inclusion, and trust in the global Internet ecosystem.”

Key Topics at ICANN85: The New gTLD Program, ICANN Community’s Role in Advancing a Multilingual Internet, and the Multistakeholder Model

ICANN85 takes place at a pivotal moment – just before the launch of the New gTLD Program in April. The program, the next expansion of the Domain Name System, helps to evolve the global digital landscape.Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are the extensions that appear after a website name—such as .travel, .company, .bank —and the New gTLD Program allows organizations to create customized domain endings like .brand, .city to better reflect their identity and audience. It provides businesses, communities, governments, and other organizations the rare opportunity to apply for new top-level domains tailored to fit their organization, community, culture, language, and customer interests. The meeting will include important updates about the New gTLD Program.

The New gTLD Program advances ICANN’s 2030 vision as the trusted steward of the Internet’s unique identifier systems to strengthen the single, globally interoperable Internet for all. This truly multilingual Internet enables people globally to use the Internet in their own languages and scripts, which matches the Indian government’s approach towards expanding Internet usage. The cultural and economic benefits of a multilingual Internet are clear. It will serve India’s local language communities as well as the needs of language communities around the world. It will also provide a unique business opportunity for India’s information technology sector.

With its cultural and linguistic diversity, India can be the torchbearer for the rest of the world, not just for enabling the next billion users to get online, but also for native speakers to use the Internet in their native script.

ICANN85 is the first ICANN Public Meeting since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the WSIS+20 Outcomes Document on 17 December 2025. The World Summit on the Information Society: 20-year review (WSIS+20) reaffirmed that the Internet is a shared global resource whose stability, openness, and interoperability depend on the multistakeholder model approach, a position strongly supported by ICANN and the government of India.

The WSIS+20 marked a reaffirmation rather than an end point, demonstrating the need to continue the work of the multistakeholder model, bringing new voices and expertise into the Internet governance ecosystem, strengthening knowledge transfer and capacity building, and sustaining engagement through forums like ICANN Public Meetings.

ICANN Community Excellence Award

Continuing its tradition of recognizing outstanding community member contributions, the ICANN Community Excellence Award will be presented at the Welcome Ceremony (9 March 2026). This award recognizes ICANN community members who have deeply invested in consensus-based solutions and contributed substantively to the ICANN multistakeholder model.

Registration

In-person registration remains open until 6 March 2026. On-site registration is not available. Attendance is free and open to all. For more information, and to register, please visit the meeting website.

About ICANN

ICANN’s mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique, so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world.

About NIXI

The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit organization set up under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. NIXI plays a critical role in strengthening India’s Internet infrastructure by facilitating efficient exchange of domestic Internet traffic, managing the .INand .भारत(.Bharat) country-code top-level domains, and promoting adoption of Internet services across the country. Through its initiatives, NIXI supports a secure, resilient, and inclusive Internet ecosystem aligned with India’s digital growth ambitions.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena will field candidates for the posts of Mayor of Mumbai and Deputy Mayor, party sources said here on Thursday.

As per the lottery system, the post of the Mayor of Mumbai has been reserved for women of the general category. Accordingly, preparations have begun to field candidates for the posts of Mumbai Mayor and Deputy Mayor despite the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena not having the required number of corporators.

Party sources said that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is keen to ensure that the BJP faces a tough contest for both posts. He has summoned Kishori Pednekar, who is Uddhav-led Shiv Sena’s group leader in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to his ‘Matoshree’ residence along with other Sena corporators. Detailed discussions are underway to decide the Sena strategy, sources said.

The Uddhav-led Shiv Sena will file applications for the posts of Mumbai Mayor and Deputy Mayor on February 7, sources said.

The Mumbai mayor will be named on February 11, and a special meeting has been organised on February 11 at 12 noon. The time to withdraw applications for the post of Mumbai mayor will be 15 minutes before corporators assemble at the BMC.

There is a strong possibility that the mayor of Mumbai will be from the BJP in the Mahayuti, since it has the largest number of corporators in the BMC, though it is still short of a majority of 114 wards. If the BMC gets a BJP mayor, it will most probably be Tejasvee Ghosalkar, whose name has been discussed.

After the reservation is announced, the names of some more women from the Mahayuti will also come to the fore for the post of mayor. In the Mumbai Municipal Corporation elections, Ward No. 2 was reserved for general women. Tejasvee Ghosalkar contested against Dhanashree Kolge of the Shiv Sena Thackeray group from Ward No. 2. Tejasvee Ghosalkar won this contest with a huge majority from the BJP. (Mumbai Municipal Corporation Reservation 2026)

However, sources said that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is keen to ensure that the BJP does not get another opportunity to elect any mayor “unopposed” to the BMC, as it happened in several municipal corporations.

The BJP-led Mahayuti has a majority in the BMC, but this time, Uddhav Thackeray is determined to put up strong candidates for the posts of Mumbai Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the BMC, sources said.

Incidentally, the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and RPI (Athawale) won the BMC elections, but the willing Mahayuti alliance still lacks four seats to touch the majority 114 mark.

The BJP won the maximum number of 89 corporators, while 29 wards were won by corporators of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. However, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has secured the second position by winning 65 wards in the BMC.

Yet, the Uddhav Thackray-led MNS and Uddhav-led Sena alliance do not have the required majority for the mayor’s post. Even if all opposition parties come together, they still cannot reach the majority of 114.