THE HEADLINES:
- Around two crore eighty nine lakh voters excluded in draft electoral roll in Uttar Pradesh after Special Intensive Revision.
- Centre emphasizes on addressing public transport gaps and crop residue management to improve air quality in Delhi-NCR.
- Mega skilling drive launched to provide Artificial Intelligence knowledge to 10 lakh youth in a year. Global AI Impact Summit to be held in New Delhi next month.
- United Nations not to send observers for upcoming Parliamentary polls in Bangladesh.
- European leaders reject US President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland.
- And, in Squash, Anahat Singh enters maiden Women’s Under-19 final at British Junior Open in Birmingham.
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Names of a total of two crore eighty nine lakh voters have been excluded in the draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh released by the Election Commission today after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said, out of over 15 crore 44 lakh voters, the names of more than 12 crore 55 lakh people have been retained in the draft electoral roll. He said, the poll panel did not receive the signed forms of two crore eighty nine lakh voters which is 18.70 percent of people in the existing voter list. Of these, 2.17 crore have moved and names of 25 lakh 47 thousands were registered in more than one place.
More from our correspondent:
Mr. Navdeep Rinva informed that the period for receiving claims and objections has been set from January 6 to February 6, 2026. During the notice phase that is from today to 27 February 2026, the decision on the claims and objections will be resolved. The final publication of the electoral roll of Uttar Pradesh will be done on March 6, 2026. BLO, ECINET mobile app, ceouttarpradesh.nic.in or voters.eci.gov.in can be used to check names in the voter list. Form-6 will be used for new voters, Form-6k for foreign residents, Form-7 for name deletion or objection and Form-8 for correction/replacement. The application forms can be obtained and submitted from the Voter Registration Center (VRC) BLO, Tehsil, at ceouttarpradesh.nic.in, or can also be applied online through the internet mobile app/voters.eci.gov.in.
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Still with SIR the Poll panel has issued strict instructions to West Bengal election authorities that all notices related to alleged data inconsistencies or logical discrepancies detected in the draft electoral rolls of the state during the ongoing SIR must be downloaded immediately and delivered to the concerned voters within the next four to five days.
Following the directive, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal has directed all district electoral officers that starting today, a detailed report must be submitted daily on how many logical discrepancy notices were served in each assembly constituency.
During the SIR exercise in the state, about 1.36 crore voters’ names initially appeared in the list of data inconsistencies. However, after subsequent verification and corrections, that number has decreased to around 94.49 lakh.
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Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav today chaired a high-level meeting to undertake a detailed review of Action Plans of Rajasthan and Punjab governments for tackling air pollution in Delhi-NCR. This was the fifth meeting in the series of such reviews. During the meeting, the Minister stressed on addressing public transport gaps and crop residue management to improve air quality in Delhi-NCR. He said, from this month, review of action plans will be held every month at the Ministerial level. Reviewing Rajasthan’s detailed action plan, Mr Yadav highlighted that public transport gaps need to be addressed in Alwar, Bhiwadi, Neemrana and Bharatpur. He said electric buses must be procured on priority, with a timeline-wise proposal to be submitted. Going through Punjab’s presentation, Mr Yadav emphasised that all Crop Residue Management machines must be ensured to be in working condition and used efficiently.
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Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today launched mega skilling programme to provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) knowledge to 10 lakh youth acoss the country within a year. Mr Vaishnaw launched the programme while virtually addressing the Rajasthan Regional AI Impact Summit in Jaipur. He said AI, is emerging as a transformative force across sectors.
Mr. Vaishnaw announced that the Global AI Impact Summit will be held in New Delhi next month. He said, as part of the preparations for the Global AI Summit, regional AI summits are being held in all states of the country.
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Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today released 55 rare and valuable literary works, representing country’s five classical languages. These are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Odia. The books have been published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Mr Pradhan said, India’s languages connect and unite the nation’s society.
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Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal today said that eliminating malnutrition is essential for building a Viksit Bharat and securing the country’s long-term social and economic future. The Minister was addressing a CSR Conclave on Nutrition organised by the National Dairy Development Board in New Delhi.
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Prime Minister’s flagship platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, PRAGATI, has marked a significant milestone with the successful conduct of its 50th meeting. Since its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, PRAGATI has transformed governance by enabling real-time monitoring and resolution of key infrastructure projects and public grievances through direct Prime Ministerial review. The platform exemplifies cooperative federalism, bringing together the Centre, States, and Union Ministries on a single digital interface. Over a decade, PRAGATI has helped accelerate decision-making, resolution of issues causing delay in key infrastructure projects, and instilled a strong culture of accountability. Today, in this special series, our correspondent takes a look on Bogibeel Rail-cum-Road Bridge over the Brahmaputra river.
India’s longest and Asia’s second longest rail-cum-road bridge, Bogibeel bridge is the lifeline of the north eastern part of the country and facilitating connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The 4.9 kilometre long bridge has boosted connectivity for around 50 lakh people residing in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The project was sanctioned in 1997-98, while the work commenced on 21st April, 2002 under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government. Even after nearly 13 years since commencement of construction, the Bogibeel Bridge project had achieved only 72 per cent physical progress while the cost escalated by five times. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed this project in PRAGATI in May 2015. Recognising its critical role in regional connectivity and national security, the Prime Minister directed that the project should be taken up in mission mode. It was only after Prime Minister Modi’s intervention, the pace of work accelerated leading to completion of the bridge on 25th December, 2018. Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan said that PRAGATI has helped commissioning of critical projects like Bogibeel Rail cum Road Bridge over river Brahmaputra.
The Bogibeel Rail-cum-Road Bridge plays a critical role in strengthening national security and strategic preparedness in the eastern region by facilitating swift movement of defence forces and their equipment. The bridge has also ensured swift, uninterrupted, and all-weather connectivity across the Brahmaputra. With Dipendra Kumar, Suparna Saikia, Akashvani News Delhi.”
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The United Nations will not send observers for parliamentary elections in Bangladesh to be held on 12th of next month. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told media that the UN deploys election observers only with a mandate from the General Assembly or Security Council. The spokesperson, however said, the UN office in Dhaka may provide technical support if separately approved.
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European leaders today rejected US President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland. Leaders from major European powers who are meeting in Paris, said in a joint statement that the Arctic island belongs to its people, following renewed interest by the US President in taking over the Danish territory. The joint statement was issued by leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark. The US President’s threats about annexing Greenland, coming in the immediate aftermath of the US operation in Venezuela, have alarmed Denmark and reignited global debate over sovereignty and alliance politics.
Meanwhile, the European leaders who are Ukraine’s allies, are meeting in the French capital today to agree that the security guarantees must include binding commitments to support Kyiv in the case of a future armed attack by Russia.
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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar today said India-Luxembourg relations have come a long way and India sees Luxembourg as a very important partner. In his opening remarks during his meeting with Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister, Xavier Bettel, Dr Jaishankar thanked Luxembourg for being an advocate of deepening ties between India and European Union. Earlier in the day, the External Affairs Minister met Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden.
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Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr. L Murugan visited the Indian Institute of Mass Communication at Kottayam in Kerala today. During his visit, the Minister interacted with the students. He highlighted the rapidly evolving nature of the media industry, stating that the visual media sector offers endless possibilities.
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Leading medical experts in the country have warned against the excessive use of antibiotics and the resulting problem of antimicrobial resistance. In his last month Mann Ki Baat programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the people to use antibiotics rationally with the proper advice of Doctors.
Professor in the Department of Microbiology at AIIMS Delhi, Dr. Hitender Gautam, said that antimicrobial resistance has become a major problem and advised people not to take antibiotics without doctors’ prescription.
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The India Meteorological Department, IMD has forecast dense to very dense fog over Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and East Rajasthan tomorrow. According to Indian Railways, more than 18 Delhi-bound trains are running late due to low visibility.
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In Squash, top-seeded Indian Anahat Singh advanced to her maiden women’s under-19 final at the British Junior Open in Birmingham today. The 17-year-old defeated Egypt’s Malika El Karaksy in the semifinals. Singh will face European junior champion and second seed Lauren Baltayan of France in the final.
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In Badminton, India’s Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty have progressed to the second round of Men’s singles in Malaysia Open in Kuala Lampur. Lakshya defeated Jia Heng Jason Teh of Singapore in a thrilling opener. In another match, Ayush Shetty defeated Paris Olympics bronze medallist Malaysian player Lee Zii Jia.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-
- Around two crore eighty nine lakh voters excluded in draft electoral roll in Uttar Pradesh after Special Intensive Revision.
- Centre emphasizes on addressing public transport gaps and crop residue management to improve air quality in Delhi-NCR.
- Mega skilling drive launched to provide Artificial Intelligence knowledge to 10 lakh youth in a year. Global AI Impact Summit to be held in New Delhi next month.
- United Nations not to send observers for upcoming Parliamentary polls in Bangladesh.
- European leaders reject US President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland.
- And, in Squash, Anahat Singh enters maiden Women’s Under-19 final at British Junior Open in Birmingham.
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