PM Modi to Co-Chair AI Summit Alongside Macron in France from February 10-12

On the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US, Congress leader Ravinder Sharma says, "We are protesting against the objectionable treatment meted out to illegal Indian immigrants by the US. They treated them like terrorists...It is tantamount to insulting the nation...India should have sent its aircraft...The government should lodge a strong protest and the US should apologise..."
 

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the continuation and restructuring of the Central Sector Scheme 'Skill India Programme (SIP)' till 2026 with an overlay outlay of Rs 8,800 crore from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
Briefing reporters after meeting of union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the approval underscores the government's commitment to building a skilled, future-ready workforce by integrating demand-driven, technology-enabled, and industry-aligned training across the country.

BJP leader K. S. Radhakrishnan says, "...I would like to clarify that the BJP did not have a plan to make use of the Corporate Social Responsibility fund to provide either two-wheelers or laptops or any home appliances to any family...If some of the office bearers of the party are involved in this scam in a wrong manner then it is up to the party's high command to initiate the action against them. But I can be sure that the BJP is not going to support any of the scamsters in this Rs 1000 crore scam initiated by Ananthu Krishnan..."

Fire broke out in a match factory in the SIDCO Industrial Area in Kovilpatti. Fire tenders are at the spot. More details awaited.

Union Minister Nityanand Rai says, "Today I met the Prime Minister along with all the NDA MPs. PM Modi's blessings are always on Bihar and today's meeting makes it clear that PM Modi gives a lot of importance to Bihar's development and heritage...Bihar is on the path of development and the development of Bihar is the priority of the Prime Minister..."
 

BJP candidate from Moti Nagar constituency Harish Khurana says, "The Election Commission is an independent body... Opposition leaders make allegations when they are losing elections... They remember all these things when they lose elections. Arvind Kejriwal is also preparing the ground because he is losing... People have faith in PM Modi and people want a double-engine government in Delhi..."

On the allegations of anomalies in the voter list of Maharashtra by the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC says, "Rahul Gandhi holds press conferences and makes statements every day... He (Rahul Gandhi) does not know that the mandate of the people decides victory or defeat... As far as Maharashtra is concerned, you saw the trailer during the Maharashtra assembly elections and tomorrow you will see the same results in the Delhi assembly elections. He (Rahul Gandhi) should think why he makes such baseless allegations against the Election Commission..."

On Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) outbreak, Maharashtra Health Minister,  Prakash Abitkar says, "... Clean water is the right of the people. Those who cause problems in the delivery of clean water to the people should be taken action against and therefore, Maharashtra government is bringing a law under which the action will be taken against those who cause pollution... We have conducted a meeting for it with all the stakeholders and then law and judiciary's opinion will also be taken and then we will work on this after the Budget session... there is no need to worry about the virus (GBS), we are working to control the situation..."

On Rahul Gandhi alleging discrepancies in Maharashtra voter's list, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar says, "Tell him to do his own probe and appoint his own team to investigate it. Tomorrow, Delhi election results will be announced and after losing, people will start blaming... There is no point in such things... It's the people who decide about the results. In a democracy, people vote and elect their leaders but some people try to create misunderstandings. They make such statements to motivate their party workers..."

On the allegations of anomalies in the voter list of Maharashtra by the Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister SP Singh Baghel says, "...Those who were saying in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that the Constitution is in danger are now blaming the election system. This is not good for democracy..."

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is participating in the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected mayor and councillors in Dehradun Municipal Corporation

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari says, "... BJP is going to form the government with a good majority... BJP has a courtesy and if someone says something wrong then we will definitely ask for an investigation... If someone accuses someone then he should have a basis for it, and if there is no basis then people will definitely know their truth ..."

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal says, "It is very unfortunate that on one hand Arvind Kejriwal makes allegations against the BJP and when we request the Lieutenant Governor to take action on the allegations and he sends it to the ACB, the accusers run away... Arvind Kejriwal should tell from where did he receive calls and what is their veracity?... All the allegations that were made were false..."

On Arvind Kerjiwal's tweet, AAP MP Sanjay Singh says, "... Even a class 10th student can add up all votes and tell us, why didn't they (Election Commission) do it?..."

On Rahul Gandhi alleging discrepancies in Maharashtra voter's list, JMM MP Mahua Maji says, "Again and again questions are being raised in Election Commission. If questions are being raised, then the Election Commission should answer immediately to maintain its credibility."
 

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of "refusing to upload" Form 17C, which provides the data of the total number of votes polled by the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in each Delhi Assembly constituency.
"EC has refused to upload form 17C and number of votes polled per booth in each assembly despite several requests," the AAP chief said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

On LoP & Congress MP Rahul Gandhi alleging discrepancies in Maharashtra voter's list, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske says,"...He is giving all false data. As the population is increasing, 18-year-old voters are also increasing. Why did they not speak up at the time of the Lok Sabha elections? Rahul Gandhi has been rejected by Maharashtra. There is no need to pay attention to his childish statements."

Anti Corruption Branch serves notice to AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal to join investigation over after allegations of 'offer of bribe to MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party''.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh says, "BJP is the most corrupt party in the country. BJP always believes in breaking other parties...BJP toppled governments in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh. Do we need a certificate from them that they are not dishonest...We have complained about this and demanded an inquiry. After our allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva went to Delhi LG and he has written a letter to AC...I have come to lodge a complaint and want an inquiry into it. I have given the phone number from which AAP leader Mukesh Kumar Ahlawat was contacted..."

ACB officials leave from the residence of AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

On the deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh says, "... This (deportation) has happened before as well... but the circumstances this time are different. The way they (Indian immigrants) were sent to India in shackles is against human rights... Why did the Indian government not send its own plane to the US? Or why were they not brought back in the civilian plane the way they were brought back earlier?... They are Indians... The Indian government should have found the right way to bring them back and should have raised this issue strongly with the US administration."

On fire incident at Mahakumbh today, Akhilesh Yadav says, "Sachchai yeh hai ki BJP ne Kumbh mein aag lagadi, Kumbh ki hi aag lagadi...

AAP Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar says, "BJP is rattled by their loss... They are somehow trying to trouble Arvind Kejriwal before tomorrow's results. The ACB team neither has any legal notice nor do they have any stamp. Sanjay Singh is in the ACB Office to register our complaints against the BJP... What is the point of coming here without any papers..."
 

The ACB team has been denied entry to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, with the team now waiting outside on the lawn. 

Kejriwal's staff has insisted that the ACB team provide an official notice before they can proceed with any actions. 

An explosion occurred at a firecracker manufacturing unit in Nadia district of West Bengal on Friday, resulting in the injury of a few people, a police officer said.

The factory was located in a congested residential area of Kalyani, he said.

"Our officers are inspecting the incident. The cause of the explosion is not known. A few people were injured. They have been sent to a nearby hospital," the officer told PTI.

The suspected presence of leopards in some villages of Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district has sparked panic among locals.

On Friday, a full-grown leopard allegedly took away a goat from a courtyard of a house in the district's Bhareri area.

The goat was in the courtyard when the leopard allegedly attacked the animal around 4 pm.

"It has become difficult to venture out during mornings and evenings due to the leopard menace," said Kishore Chand, the pradhan of Bhukker gram panchayat.

A fire broke out at the ISKCON camp in Mahakumbh Nagar on Friday and quickly spread to over a dozen nearby camps, leaving them gutted, officials said. No casualties have been reported. Chief Fire Officer Pramod Sharma told PTI that the blaze was reported at 10.35 am after which around a dozen water tenders were rushed to the spot.

Three people were killed in a blast at a kite string manufacturing unit in the Quila area of this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Friday.The factory owner was among those killed in the blast that occurred around 10 am, they said.Superintendent of Police (Traffic) said the explosion occurred when sulphur, potash and glass were being mixed for coating kite strings. Two people died on the spot while a third succumbed in hospital.

Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday said India can certainly achieve over 7 per cent growth rate and the nation should aspire for that. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its bi-monthly monetary policy has projected 6.7 per cent growth for financial year 2025-26, up from 6.4 per cent estimated for the current fiscal.

 A Bijnor court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of torturing and burning his wife to death. Additional sessions judge Anupam Singh on February 5 sentenced 37-year-old Sachin to life imprisonment and imposed a Rs 25,000 fine, said prosecution lawyer Varun Rajput.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena on Friday ordered an anti corruption branch (ACB) probe into allegations by AAP leaders that the BJP had attempted to poach its candidates, officials said. The direction to the chief secretary came in response to a representation by Delhi BJP general secretary Vishnu Mittal to the LG's office.

Delhi Police have busted a "Digital Arrest" scam, arresting five Indian operatives working for a Chinese company operating from Jhansi.

The accused impersonated law enforcement officers, threatening victims with arrest unless they transferred large sums of money, according to the police statement.
The arrests were made after an 81-year-old retired Army personnel, Gopal, complained with the Delhi Police.

A woman from Bihar's Samastipur gave birth to a baby girl in a train coach at Anand Vihar Railway Station in Delhi with the help of Railway Protection Force (RPF).

RPF Sub-Inspector Naveen Kumari, who was on duty on Thursday at the time, swiftly responded to the situation, coordinating with a police constable and fellow passengers to help with the delivery before arranging for the mother and child to be transferred to a hospital for further care.

RBI Under New Governor Cuts Interest Rate for First Time in 5 Years

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were trading in the positive territory on Friday after the RBI under new Governor Sanjay Malhotra cut interest rate for the first time in nearly five years.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex traded 233.96 points higher at 78,290.08 in the late morning trade. The NSE Nifty quoted 83.40 points up at 23,686.75.

From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Bharti Airtel's stock surged nearly 5 per cent after the firm reported a more than five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 16,134.6 crore boosted by consolidation of the Indus Tower business and benefits of tariff hikes flowing into the quarter.

Tata Steel, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and Zomato were the other gainers.

Parliament Budget Session: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Arrives at Parliament

A massive fire broke out at a jute factory in West Bengal's Howrah district on Friday.

Visuals show fire services conducting dousing operations at the spot.

No casualties or injuries have been reported from the incident as yet.

The reason for the blaze is yet to be ascertained.

RG Kar rape-murder case: Calcutta High Court admits appeal of CBI challenging trial court’s life term sentence to convict Sanjay Roy.

More than 397.4 million devotees have taken a holy dip in the sacred confluence of river Ganga, Yamuna and mystical Saraswati in the ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj.
This data pertains to February 6, 2025, as per the Uttar Pradesh Government Information Department.

Meanwhile, serene visuals emerged from the Triveni Sangam ghats today as devotees took a holy dip in the Mahakumbh.

 Four persons, including two women, were killed and 17 injured in an accident involving a two-wheeler, a private minibus and a trailer truck in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district on Friday morning, police said.

The accident occurred in the Mhow tehsil of the district when a bike and a minibus rammed into a trailer truck negotiating a slope, an official said.

Two men on the bike and as many women on the minibus died at the scene in the Manpur area, Additional Superintendent of Police Rupesh Dwivedi told PTI over the phone.

He said 17 people were injured and they were rushed to the government-run MY Hospital in Indor

A Delhi court on Friday deferred to February 12 its verdict in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots murder case against former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar.Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, who was scheduled to pass the order on Friday, deferred the pronouncement.The case pertains to the killing of two persons in Saraswati Vihar area here during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. PTI MNR

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra Cut Repo Rate by 25 Basis Points in Policy Review

A meeting of all 70 candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party is likely to be held today ahead of the Delhi Assembly Election results scheduled on February 8.

As per the sources, the meeting will be held at 11:30 am regarding the party's preparation for the results and allegations concerning the horse-trading of MLAs.
After most exit polls predicted a clear victory for the BJP in the Delhi Assembly elections, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal levelled serious allegations against the BJP.

In a post on social media X, Kejriwal indirectly accused the BJP of attempting to poach AAP candidates to join the party. Delhi Chief Minister Atishi also echoed the same allegations. BJP has vehemently dismissed the allegations.

Police in central Maharashtra’s Beed district have introduced a QR (Quick Response) code system to help citizens share vital inputs, suggestions and feedback concerning the department through their mobile phones, an official has said.

The QR codes have been displayed at all police stations in the district and also on the desks of the station in-charges.

The new system will be directly under the control of the office of the superintendent of police (SP), and the personal details of the citizens interacting through it will be kept confidential, according to an official release on Thursday.

A prominent college and a school in Delhi received bomb threats over email on Friday, prompting police to deploy explosive disposal units and dog squads to comb the premises, officials said.

The threat emails were sent to St Stephen's College, a constituent of the Delhi University, and the Ahlcon International School in Mayur Vihar.

"At 7:42 am, St Stephen's College received a bomb threat via email. Our bomb and dog squads are on the ground, checking the entire premises," a senior police officer said.

The air quality in the national capital improved and was recorded in the 'moderate' category on Friday morning.

The improvement in the air quality comes after the AQI remained in the poor category in the previous days.

The overall AQI was recorded as 170 at 8 am on Friday, February 7, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Professor Surekha Dangwal, a member of the expert committee that drafted the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand and the Vice Chancellor of Doon University, has clarified that the registration under UCC has nothing to do with the domicile or Permanent Residence Certificate of the state.
 

Several Schools in Delhi and Noida Get Bomb Threat, Investigation Underway

India on Thursday condemned the vandalism of Bangladesh's founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's residence in Dhaka, calling the act "regrettable."\

In response to media queries regarding the vandalism if Rahman's residence, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "It is regrettable that the historic residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, a symbol of the heroic resistance of the people of Bangladesh against the forces of occupation and oppression, was destroyed on February 5, 2025."

Police here on Thursday ordered the closure of history-sheets of criminals aged 70 or above to help them turn a new leaf in life.

The initiative comes under Operation Kavach, a district-wide drive aimed at verifying and addressing the status of history-sheeters, Superintendent of Police Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, who issued the order, said.

According to a statement, a total of 2,200 history-sheeters in the district were scrutinised with physical verification. The findings revealed that 123 of these individuals were 70 years or older, 24 were above 80, and two were even over 90.

There also were several who had not committed any crimes in the past 10, 20, or even 30 years.

RBI likely to cut repo rate by 25 bps in Governor Sanjay Malhotra's first policy move

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday evening ceremoniously inaugurated the fifth edition of the India-Japan Intellectual Conclave, titled 'Kizuna: Co-creating Ecosystems for Change - Technology, Education, and Logistics', in Guwahati.

The two-day conclave, organized by Asian Confluence in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan and the Ministry of External Affairs, has brought together experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from India and Japan.

Border Security Force (BSF) troops recovered a drone from the border area of Amritsar in Punjab.

Taking to X, BSF Punjab Frontier said on Thursday that based on specific intelligence input, BSF troops recovered a DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone from the border area of Amritsar.

The drone, which had flown from the Pakistani side, was retrieved from Village Mahawa, District Amritsar, the BSF added.

KGF actress Srinidhi Shetty visited the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela and took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam on Wednesday. She was accompanied by her father on the trip.
Taking to her Instagram handle, Srinidhi shared a series of photos and videos capturing her best moments at the Maha Kumbh Mela.

In one of the pictures, the actress was seen sitting on a boat, wearing a safety jacket as she traveled towards the Triveni Sangam for the holy dip.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP on Thursday of attempting to poach his party candidates ahead of the Delhi Assembly poll results on February 8.The BJP dismissed the allegation and threatened legal action. In a post on X, Kejriwal claimed that 16 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates had received offers from the BJP with the promise of ministerial positions and Rs 15 crore each if they switch sides.