THE HEADLINES :-
- Centre clears procurement of Rafale Fighter jets and other military hardware, worth nearly three lakh sixty thousand crore rupees; Majority of these fighter aircraft to be manufactured in the country.
- Government working for resilient and self-reliant India by giving a push to economic growth and ensuring inclusive development, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha.
- Parliament passes Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, providing legal clarity after repealing of old labour laws.
- Counting of votes underway in Bangladesh after polling concludes for crucial Parliamentary Election and simultaneous referendum.
- Medal rush continues for India at Asian Shooting Championships as country bags three more gold on penultimate day in New Delhi.
- In Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, India set a target of 210 runs for Namibia in group-stage clash in National Capital.
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The Defence Acquisition Council today cleared proposals worth nearly three lakh sixty thousand crore rupees, to enhance the capability of the Armed Forces. The Defence Ministry has informed that Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) was accorded for the procurement of Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) Rafale and other military hardware, including Combat Missiles and Air-Ship Based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite for the Indian Air Force. The Ministry said, the majority of MRFA, to be procured will be manufactured in India. It further said that AoN was accorded for the procurement of Anti-Tank Mines (Vibhav) and overhaul of Vehicle Platforms of Armoured Recovery Vehicles, T-72 Tanks and Infantry Combat Vehicles for the Indian Army. For the Indian Navy, AoN was cleared for four MW Marine Gas Turbine based Electric Power Generator and P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft.
Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry has signed a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the acquisition of eight Dornier 228 Aircraft. The contract worth two thousand three hundred twelve crore rupees also includes Operational Role Equipment for the Indian Coast Guard.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said, the government is working for a resilient and self-reliant India by giving a push to economic growth and ensuring inclusive development. The Minister was replying to a discussion on Union Budget-2026-27 in the Rajya Sabha. Ms Sitharaman had presented the Budget in Parliament on the 1st of this month. The Finance Minister said today, high growth has been maintained while keeping inflation low.
Ms Sitharaman stressed that emphasis in the budget this time has been laid on building domestic manufacturing capacity. She said, special provisions and budgetary allocations were made for the Biopharma, Semiconductor Mission 2.0, rare earth corridors, container manufacturing ecosystem, sports goods, textiles, Champion MSMEs. She said, focus has been made on developing human capital to create employment opportunities in coming years.
The Finance Minister countered the Opposition charge of expenditure curtailment in many welfare schemes. She said, sufficient budgetary allocations have been made for the welfare schemes. She also negated the opposition’s allegations on middle-class suppression, saying economic reforms undertaken by the NDA government have led to middle class expansion.
Earlier, participating in the discussion, G.C. Chandrashekhar of the Congress alleged, the Budget is not up to the mark and as per the expectation of the people.
Meanwhile, the Parliament has passed the Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026 with the Rajya Sabha approving it this evening. The bill seeks to amend the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and provide legal clarity after repealing of old labour laws. The amendment aimed to avoid any future complication over the continuity of three laws namely the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which was replaced by the Industrial Relations Code of 2020. The Lok Sabha had passed the legislation earlier in the day. After passage of the Bill, the Upper House was adjourned till 11 AM tomorrow.
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The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day following noisy scenes between the treasury bench and opposition bench members. When the Lok Sabha took up matters of urgent public importance, after the passage of the Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, 2026, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey raised the issue of a motion against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for misleading the nation. Demanding a discussion on Mr. Gandhi’s conduct, Mr. Dubey said, membership of Rahul Gandhi should be cancelled and he should be barred from contesting elections in the future. The remarks led to strong protests from opposition members. Amid the din, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day.
Earlier, speaking to media outside Parliament, the BJP MP said, he has moved a motion in the Lower House against Rahul Gandhi for having links with foreign institutions.
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President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be on a state visit to India from the 18th to 22nd of this month on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the upcoming India-AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated this while briefing the media in the national capital today.
The spokesperson further added that French President Emmanuel Macron will also be paying a three-day official visit for the Summit.
On India-US trade talks, Mr Jaiswal said the Joint Statement on the framework for an Interim Trade Agreement remains the basis of both nations’ mutual understanding in the matter.
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The engineering sector has hailed the Interim Trade Agreement between India and the United States. Talking exclusively to Akashvani News, Former Chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council of India Arun Kumar Garodia said, the deal will significantly boost engineering exports in the near future.
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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today said that India is at the cutting edge of technology and this progress is possible only when both the government and the private sector encourage young innovators. The Minister was addressing INDovation, Medtech Innovation and Startup Showcase Programme in New Delhi. Later, speaking to the media, the Minister said it is inspiring to see India’s innovation and startup ecosystem growing.
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In Bangladesh, counting of votes is underway soon after polling concluded for the 13th national Parliamentary Election and simultaneous referendum today. Voting was held across 299 constituencies. The contest pits two coalitions led by former allies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami. Alongside electing a new government, people voted on proposed constitutional and institutional reforms under the “July Charter. The country’s Election Commission said, despite a few isolated incidents, including grenade explosions in two districts, overall the situation remained under control. More from our Dhaka Correspondent:
“Although the Commission said no polling centre suspended voting and the overall situation remained under control, some incidents were reported. These included grenade explosions in two districts and the alleged assault of an independent woman candidate in Rajshahi-3. Four people also reportedly died due to health-related complications during the day. Meanwhile, an 11-party alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami met the Chief Election Commissioner, demanding suspension of voting in three constituencies, citing allegations of irregularities and obstruction. Navalsang Parmar, Akashwani News, Dhaka.”
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India’s retail inflation stood at 2.75 per cent in January on an annual basis under the newly released Consumer Price Index series, compared with 1.33 per cent under the old series in December last year. Despite the increase, inflation remained within the Reserve Bank of India’s tolerance limit.
Meanwhile, the Statistics and Programme Implementation Ministry today released the new series of the Consumer Price Index with the base year 2024. This revised index has replaced the previous base year of 2012 and it has expanded the item basket from earlier 299 to 358 items. Addressing the media Secretary in the Ministry Dr Saurabh Garg said the revision has been done due to significant changes in household consumption patterns.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hosted BJP Panchayat members, Municipality members and members of corporations from across Kerala at his residence in New Delhi. BJP corporators from Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where the BJP won with a historic mandate were also present on the occasion. In a social media post, the Prime Minister said, he discussed a wide range of subjects, notably ways to deepen the BJP’s connect with the people.
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At the Asian Shooting Championships, the medal rush continued for India as the country bagged three more gold on the penultimate day in New Delhi. Two-time Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar set a new world record en route to winning the yellow metal in the Senior Men’s individual 50 metre rifle 3 positions event.
Earlier, the Indian trio of Neeraj, Aishwary, and Akhil also won the team gold. In Junior Men’s 50 metre rifle 3 positions event, Adriyan Karmakar secured his second gold medal of the championship.
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In Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, India have set a target of 210 runs for Namibia in a Group A clash in Delhi. Put into bat first, India posted 209 runs losing nine wickets in 20 overs. In reply, Namibia were 33 for 1 in 3.4 overs, when reports last came in.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-
- Centre clears procurement of Rafale Fighter jets and other military hardware, worth nearly three lakh sixty thousand crore rupees; Majority of these fighter aircraft to be manufactured in the country.
- Government working for resilient and self-reliant India by giving a push to economic growth and ensuring inclusive development, says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha.
- Parliament passes Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill, providing legal clarity after repealing of old labour laws.
- Counting of votes underway in Bangladesh after polling concludes for crucial Parliamentary Election and simultaneous referendum.
- Medal rush continues for India at Asian Shooting Championships as country bags three more gold on penultimate day in New Delhi.
- In Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, India set a target of 210 runs for Namibia in group-stage clash in National Capital.
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