Parliament budget session: Presidential Address, Union Budget on Feb 1, Motion of Thanks, and reconvening schedule.
An all-party meeting chaired by the Defence Minister focused on procedural arrangements for the upcoming Parliament budget session, including the Presidential Address to a joint sitting, presentation of the Union Budget, and the debate on the Motion of Thanks; the session will occur in two parts with a recess and reconvening dates to coordinate orderly conduct of business.

Film Jana Nayagan: Madras High Court set aside order directing CBFC to grant censor certificate over procedural lapse.
The Madras High Court First Bench set aside a single judge's order directing the CBFC to grant a censor certificate to the film Jana Nayagan, finding that the single judge should have allowed the CBFC time to file a counter-affidavit. The Bench permitted the producer to seek early disposal before the single judge and left the single judge to decide if referral to the revising committee was appropriate; an examining committee had earlier recommended certification before the Chairperson referred the matter to the revising committee after a complaint.

India energy sector offers $500 billion in investment opportunities, with refining expansion and trade deals to boost growth.
India's energy sector offers USD 500 billion in investment opportunities, with targets of USD 100 billion in oil and gas investments by 2030 and refining capacity rising from 260 MTPA to 300 MTPA; the address links the India-EU Free Trade Agreement and the India-UK trade deal as complementary instruments to boost manufacturing, services, energy security, sustainability, and inclusive growth.

Bengaluru pilots five climate-tech solutions with grant funding to test low carbon construction, water reuse, and circular materials.
Five climate-tech startups have been awarded Rs. 25 lakhs each under Namma Bengaluru Challenge '26 to pilot solutions tackling construction emissions, water stress, and waste in Bengaluru. The consortium-based program uses pilot funding and partner-hosted deployments to generate operational evidence, de-risk technologies, and create pathways for city-level adoption and scale, with pilots spanning low carbon construction materials, decentralized wastewater reuse, plastic-free packaging, and compostable biomaterials.

Biologics partnership advances development and global manufacturing of multi functional fusion proteins for oncology and autoimmune therapies.
WuXi Biologics will provide integrated, end to end development and manufacturing services-including cell line, process and bioassay development, formulation development, and GMP manufacturing-to accelerate CMC execution, clinical translation, and scalable global development of HanchorBio's FBDBTM derived multi functional fusion protein portfolio.

SDHI wins USD 227M contract for six IMO Type II chemical tankers with option for six more, LNG-ready propulsion.
SDHI contracted to build six 18,000 DWT IMO Type II chemical tankers for USD 227 million, with an option for six more; first delivery due within 33 months. Vessels will be Ice Class 1A, classed by DNV, designed by Marinform AS and StoGda, and equipped with dual-fuel LNG ready hybrid propulsion and high automation; the contract follows the shipyard's revitalization and is linked to policy support under the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance scheme.

Amity University Maharashtra convocation awards honorary doctorates to Attorney General and industry leader; celebrates graduates and research milestones.
Amity University Maharashtra conferred honorary doctorates on the Attorney General and an industry executive for contributions to constitutional law, human rights, public policy, and transformative leadership in energy; both honorees urged graduates to continue learning and assume social responsibility. The convocation recognised 1,521 graduates, including 25 doctoral scholars and 151 medal recipients. The university highlighted institutional distinctions, scholarship programmes, international research collaborations, and attainment of NBA Washington Accord accreditation as markers of academic and research excellence.

Unitree's 2025 sales data: shipments exceeded 5,500 humanoid robots; mass production exceeded 6,500 units.
Unitree states that 2025 shipments of humanoid robots to end customers exceeded 5,500 units and mass production output exceeded 6,500 units, clarifying that "shipment volume" means units sold and delivered (not orders). The reported figures apply only to pure humanoid robots and exclude dual arm wheeled and other robot types, and the company advises against combining different robot form numbers for direct comparison.

Openhouse early learning adopts a hands-on 'learn by doing' model across preschool and extracurricular programs.
Openhouse applies a learn-by-doing pedagogy across preschool and extracurricular programs, aligning space design, curricula, materials, and a proprietary game-based levelling system to prioritize hands-on application, experimentation, and milestone-based progress rather than exams. Operational measures include small batch sizes, an internal teacher training academy, parent-teacher collaboration for individualized settling-in, digital progress updates, and local parent communities; multiple centres operate in Bengaluru and Kolkata and admissions are open for forthcoming academic years.

Stock markets recovered as bank earnings, portfolio flows and positive global cues lifted benchmarks.
Stock benchmarks reversed early declines to trade higher as global market strength and buying in blue chip banks and industrials spurred recovery. Axis Bank rose after reporting modest quarterly profit growth while Kotak Mahindra underperformed following disappointing results. Net portfolio flows showed foreign institutional selling and domestic institutional buying, and broader sentiment was aided by positive Asian and US markets, lower Brent crude and reports of an India-EU trade and strategic pact announcement.

Magnett app enables profile-less, presence-based social discovery with compliments and digital drink offers to spark real-world connections.
Magnett app replaces profile-based matching with real-world, presence-based discovery allowing users to connect instantly with nearby people through low-pressure signals like compliments and digital drink offers; it partners with venues as Magnett Hubs to foster in-person encounters and is seeking strategic funding and venue partnerships to scale globally.

Supreme Court pleas seek expedited trials, highway safety measures, electoral roll review, and digital search-and-seizure guidelines.
Supreme Court matters include a petition by an acid attack survivor seeking an expedited trial; pleas on National Highway safety and encroachment removal; applications to direct BCCI elections for lapsed terms; challenges to the Election Commission's intensive electoral roll revision exercise; and a PIL seeking comprehensive guidelines for the search and seizure of digital devices to prevent unreasonable law-enforcement interference. High Court matters include a challenge to penalties based on global turnover and a suo motu on night shelter conditions.

Togolese woman detained at Kochi airport after 4 kg Methaqualone seizure; drugs handed to Customs and case registered.
Airport screening discovered a suitcase with a hidden false bottom containing two packets of Methaqualone (nearly 4 kg, approx. Rs 2 crore). The Togolese passenger was detained, the drugs seized and handed over to Customs, a formal case registered, and the individual placed in Customs custody pending court presentation while authorities investigate possible links to a larger smuggling network.

Minnesota disputes federal accounts of immigration shootings and sues to preserve evidence while seeking investigatory access.
A public dispute arose after two fatal shootings during a federal immigration operation, with Minnesota publishing materials to counter federal statements and suing to preserve evidence when state investigators were denied scene access. The litigation and a judge's order to prevent alteration of evidence highlight a departure from customary practice of federal-led civil-rights use-of-force investigations; the core issues are evidence preservation and investigative access amid strained federal-state law-enforcement cooperation.

India Israel ties deepen with a Bilateral Investment Treaty, TOR toward an FTA, and a joint action plan for 2026.
Israel describes India as a trusted strategic partner and highlights institutional steps advancing economic integration: a Bilateral Investment Treaty has been signed, Terms of Reference have been agreed to guide negotiations toward a Free Trade Agreement, and a joint action plan for 2026 has been adopted as a roadmap. High level visits, expanded direct air links, and sectoral cooperation in defence, innovation, agriculture, water, science and health are identified as operational enablers of these treaty and implementation processes.

Border Patrol commander departure linked to federal enforcement shift after fatal shooting amid local criticism and leadership reassignment
A senior Border Patrol commander is expected to leave Minneapolis as federal authorities dispatch a senior official to take charge of ICE operations, reflecting a reconfiguration of federal enforcement posture following public scrutiny of a fatal Border Patrol shooting and the commander's public defense of disputed accounts.

Federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota faces lawsuits challenging the surge, evidence preservation, and limits on executive authority.
The state and cities sued to halt or limit a federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota after fatal shootings by federal officers, challenging the constitutional bounds of executive immigration authority and seeking reductions in federal personnel and preservation of evidence; the court probed federal requests for state records, the unusual nature of the dispute, and related injunctions and stays governing federal crowd control and evidence handling.

Europe cannot self-defend without US support; NATO spending pledges and the nuclear umbrella remain central and highlight capability gaps.
Europe cannot realistically self-defend without US military support and the US nuclear umbrella; NATO's Article 5 remains the legal foundation of collective defence. Recent summit commitments set ambitious defence and security infrastructure spending targets as GDP shares, but genuine strategic autonomy would demand far greater defence expenditure, nuclear forces, and extensive industrial investment to close capability gaps.

Minnesota immigration enforcement surge faces legal challenge seeking halt to operations and reduction of federal agents.
A legal challenge seeks to halt Operation Metro Surge, restore federal officer levels and limit enforcement scope by ordering a reduction of deployed federal personnel to pre-surge levels, alleging constitutional violations from aggressive federal immigration operations that resulted in fatal shootings; the Justice Department opposes the request as legally frivolous and seeks rejection or a stay pending appeal.

India-UK AI partnership aims to advance AI development, safety commitments, and inclusive access across sectors.
India and the United Kingdom emphasised cooperative AI development and AI safety commitments, mobilising joint investment, training, university fellowships, and ministerial engagement to scale capabilities, while coupling the technology agenda with FTA implementation, inclusive access objectives, and sectoral policy roundtables to operationalise collaboration.