Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creates sand art of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the first day of the Budget Session, in Puri on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Hopes running high of tax cut as Nirmala Sitharaman presents record 8th budget

A cut or tweak in income tax rates/slabs to ease the burden of the middle class struggling with high prices and stagnant wage growth is widely expected in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s record-setting eighth consecutive Budget. Expectations of relief on income tax, particularly for lower middle class, is high after Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked goddess of wealth for elevating poor and middle class.

Economy’s fundamentals robust amid ‘strong downsides’: Economic Survey

India’s economy is expected to grow in the range of 6.3% and 6.8% in 2025-26 from an estimated 6.4% this year, according to the Economic Survey for 2024-25, tabled in Parliament on Friday. It noted that the fundamentals of the domestic economy remain robust, with upsides to investment, output, and disinflation in the coming year peppered by “equally strong, prominently extraneous, downsides”.

Seven outgoing AAP MLAs resign ahead of Delhi polls

With less than a week before the Assembly polls in Delhi, at least seven outgoing AAP MLAs have resigned from the party. Sources said these MLAs were disgruntled after being denied tickets for the February 5 polls and were touch with other parties.

Economic Survey a powerful indictment of economic policies pursued by Modi government: Congress 

The Economic Survey is a “powerful indictment” of the economic policies pursued by the Narendra Modi-led Union government, Congress leaders said on Friday (January 31, 2025), especially underlining Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran’s prescription to the government to “get out of the way”.

Days after stampede, MEA to take massive delegation of diplomats to Maha Kumbh

The Ministry of External Affairs will take a large group of diplomats to Prayagraj on Saturday (February 1, 2025), for a specially arranged visit hosted by the government just days after the stampede at the Maha Kumbh. According to officials, 118 senior diplomats, and their spouses, representing 77 countries have confirmed their participation in the one-day programme.

Congress leader’s comments are in poor taste and avoidable: Rashtrapati Bhavan

Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s reaction to President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament triggered a political row, with the Rashtrapati Bhavan terming Ms. Gandhi’s comments to be in “poor taste, unfortunate and entirely avoidable”.

Opposition’s dissent notes removed from Waqf report

Significant portions of the dissent notes filed by the Opposition parties were redacted from the 944-page-long final report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, published by the panel, leading to outrage from the members. 

India, U.S. working on PM Modi’s visit: MEA

India and the U.S. are working on an early visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S., the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday (January 31, 2025). Modi and US President Donald Trump held a telephonic conversation on January 27. This was their first phone conversation since the American leader’s inauguration last week.

Rwanda-backed M23 advances in DRC as volunteers rally to fight back

The Rwandan-backed armed group M23 moved south as it closed in on a key military airport in DR Congo, with queues of young men volunteering to defend a provincial capital on Friday. The group captured most of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, earlier this week and has vowed to march all the way to the capital Kinshasa.

Myanmar junta extends state of emergency by six months

Myanmar’s junta extended a state of emergency by six months on Friday (January 31, 2025), four years after it seized power triggering a civil war that has claimed thousands of lives. The country is mired in a bloody, multi-sided conflict stemming from the February 1, 2021 putsch that ended a 10-year experiment with democracy.

Harshit and tweakers derail England’s chase as India takes unassailable lead

England looked on course to level the T20I series before tripping up against pacer Harshit Rana and the spin duo of Varun Chakaravathy and Ravi Bishnoi to hand India an unbeatable 3-1 lead at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday.