The Editorial Page: A question at Davos: Are we back to the era of kings? 10 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2026 Journalism of Courage NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES ₹7.00 (₹8 RAIPUR, ₹15 SRINAGAR) l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , kO L k ATA , L U C k N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Happening today INTER-DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE lAHEAD Of the Budget Ses- sion, the Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, is slated to meet in the morning. lSUPREME COURT to hear suo motu matter regarding definition of the Aravalli hills. lINDIA WILL play New Zealand in the first game of the 5-match T20 series in Nagpur. lU.S. PRESIDENT Donald Trump will address the World Economic Forum at Davos. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm INsIDE TN, KERALA GOvERNORS OBjEcT TO THEIR SPEEcHES PAGE 6 SENSEx dOwN 1,065 POINTS, NIfTY TANKS OvER 1.2% PAGE 13 Nitin Nabin assumes charge as the new BJP president, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers (from right) Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and J P Nadda, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and returning officer for the party’s organisational elections K Laxman, in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI RELATED REPORT, PAGE 6 PM calls Nabin his ‘boss’, tells BJP to stay away from Cong ‘ills’ Vikas Pathak & Liz Mathew New Delhi, January 20 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Tuesday threw his weight behind BJP’s new national president Nitin Nabin, saying the 45-year-old will be his boss in the party, and targeted the Congress, cautioning THE BIG PICTURE Young to the party PAGE 15 thatonlythosewho“savethemselves from the ills” of the Op- New portal, software, AI-powered translation: EPFO 3.0 coming soon Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, January 20 AFTERANNOUNCINGliberalised withdrawal norms and a proposal to introduce a UPIlinked facility, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to kick off its next phase of reforms that include a new portal, new software at the backendtotakeintoaccountall possible expansion over the next decade, and the use of AIpowered language translation tools to give information to members in vernacular languages, a senior government officialtoldTheIndianExpress. Branded EPFO 3.0, the revamp includes an overhaul of theFund’stechnologyarchitecture as it moves towards a core »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY New Delhi, Mumbai, January 20 A HIGH-LEVEL committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to look into the menace of ‘digital arrest’ is considering the idea of a »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ExPlAINED core banking solution key Central to the next phase of EPFO reforms will be the core banking solution. It will enable a centralised system of operations and allow members to resolve their issues at any centre. High-level panel weighs options to deal with growing menace Soumyarendra Barik & George Mathew position party would progress. Nabin took over as the BJP's 12th president, the youngestever,succeedingJPNadda,the currentUnionHealthMinister. With himat the helm, the party begins a new chapter as it tries to bring about a generational shift in its leadership. E. Kill switch, insurance as tools to fight digital arrest ‘killswitch’thatwillallowusers at the receiving end of a potentialdigitalscamtoimmediately stop all financial transactions from their accounts, The Indian Express has learnt. An insurance mechanism to cover fraud-related losses in thebankingsystemmayalsobe ontheanvilasrisingdigital-age frauds force commercial banks to rethink their risk-mitigation frameworks to better protect customersandthewiderfinancial system, according to officials involved in the proposal. The proposal for a kill switch, which is being »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2 billion-strong market... mother of all deals: EU chief on pact with India Ravi Dutta Mishra New Delhi, January 20 THE PRESIDENT of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said Tuesday that theEuropeanUnion(EU)is“on thecusp”ofsigningatradedeal with India, giving the 27member bloc the “first mover advantage”. This comes as India’s longpending trade deal with the US remains uncertain, and in the backdrop of renewed US threats of high tariffs on the EU over Greenland and a 50 per centdutyonIndiangoodssince August last year. “Right after Davos, next weekend, I will travel to India. There’s still work to do, but we are on the cusp of a historic New Delhi »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 15hoursover4 days:J&Kpolice callExpress reporterto Srinagarstation Told to sign ‘bond’, reporter does not Express News Service New Delhi, January 20 THE JAMMU and Kashmir Police called The Indian Express Assistant Editor Bashaarat MasoodtotheCyberPoliceStationinSrinagaronfourdaysbetween January 15 and January 19andaskedhimtosignabond that he would not do anything that would disturb peace. Masood, who has been reporting for The Indian Express from Srinagar for 20 years, did not sign the bond. He received a call from the police first on January 14 evening,askinghim to presenthimself at the Cyber Police Station the next day at 3.30 pm. He was called to the police station every day except Sunday. In all, he was in the police station for at least 15 hours over four days. He last went to the police station Monday morning. On January 16, the police took him from the Cyber Police Stationbefore a Magistrateand asked him to sign a bond. Anofficer,who didnotwish to be named, said the police had sought to take preventive action under Section 126 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, claiming it had information he would commit a “breach of peace” or »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2