The Editorial Page: Equality isn’t enemy of growth. High inequality erodes social trust 14 TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAgE NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 24 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 Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) : VB - G RAM G (�वक सत भारत - जी राम जी) Act, 2025 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 125 DAYS Basic facilities will be established in every village Roads will be built, schools, anganwadis and hospitals will come up Development to be well planned Guaranteed Wage Employment Viksit Gram Panchayats paving the way for Viksit Bharat cbc 35101/13/0071/2526 19 KEY pACTS SIgNED: NEW BILATERAL INDO-pACIFIC CONSULTATION MECHANISM From defence to visa-free transit, India & Germany push forward Modi, Merz back conclusion of India-EU FTA as key outcome of EU-India Summit on January 27 l Keyoutcomes VISA-FREE TRANSIT for Indian passport holders for transiting through Germany SETTINg Up TRACK 1.5 Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue BILATERAL DIALOgUE mechanism on Indo-Pacific ADOpTION OF WORK pLAN parimal A Dabhi & Shubhajit Roy of India-Germany Digital Dialogue (2025-2027) Gandhinagar, New Delhi, January 12 ASVISITINGGermanChancellor Friedrich Merz and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks in Gandhinagar on Monday, India and Germanysigned19pacts—including roadmaps on defence industrial cooperation and higher education, joint declaration on critical minerals and EUR 1.24 BN for priority projects in renewable energies, green hydrogen, PM e-Bus Sewa LAUNCH OF BATTERY Storage Working Group INSIDE PM Narendra Modi, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz fly kites in Ahmedabad, Monday. BHUPENDRA RANA semiconductorecosystem,abilateraldialogue mechanismon Indo-Pacific — and also an- nounced a visa-free entry regime for Indian passengers transiting through Germany. This means that Indian passport holders will be »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2 PAGE 9 ArIhA’S fAmILy hoLdS oN to hoPE AS Pm rAISES ISSUE Happening Setback for ISRO: PSLV today mission fails again, lINDIA OpEN BADMINTON begins. World's top shuttlers are in Delhi for the annual Super 750 badminton event. The 2026 edition carries additional significance as it comes ahead of the World Championships to be held in India in August. lFISHERIES MINISTER RAJIV Ranjan Singh will attend a three-day global summit on blue food security in Israel. The event will focus on enhancing food production in extreme climates. lSUpREME COURT will continue hearing a plea filed by the wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk against his detention under the National Security Act. deviates from path Second successive failure for a PSLV rocket since its last flight in May 2025 Anonna Dutt & Amitabh Sinha New Delhi, January 12 THE INDIAN Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered a majorsetbackonMonday,with its PSLV-C62 mission, the first of the year, failing to reach its intendedorbitbecauseofproblems in the rocket. The PSLV-C62 rocket was carrying EOS-N1, an earth observation satellite, and 15 other payloads,includingsevenfrom Brazil and Nepal. All the payloads were lost. “The PSLV-C62 mission encountered an anomaly during the end of PS3 (third stage) of the vehicle. A detailed analysis »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2 ISRO’s PSLV-C62 rocket after lift-off from Sriharikota, Monday. PTI ExPLAINED: THIRD-STAGE ISSuE FOR A SECOND TIME, PAGE 22 By EP UNNY Also proposes introducing competitive tests in Class 11, more weight to board exam results in college admissions Vidheesha Kuntamalla New Delhi, January 12 A COMMITTEE appointed by the central government has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the country’s high school education system with the aim of reducing students’ dependence on coaching centres, The Month after kept out, India invited to join Pax Silica: membership expected to boost AI infrastructure Ravi Dutta Mishra New Delhi, January 12 AMID ANTICIPATION that IndiaandtheUSareclosetosigning the first phase of the longawaited trade deal, US Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor Mondaysaidthatthe“nextcall” ontradebetweenthetwocountriesissettohappenonJanuary 13. Gor also invited India to the Pax Silica initiative, a month after leaving New Delhi out of theUS-ledinitiative,indicating a dialling down of tensions between the two countries. Pax Silica is a US-led initiative focused on securing AI and tech supply-chains, aimed at bringing“friendlyandtrusted” countries together to ensure that key technologies are safe, reliable, and not controlled by hostileplay,accordingtotheUS State Department. This strategic initiative, seenasacountertoChina’sgrip on the global manufacturing supply chain, was launched on December 12 to “reduce coercivedependencies”andbuilda “secure, prosperous, and innovation-driven silicon supply Indian Express collegeadmissions ExPRESS has learnt. and exploring the The proposals possibilityofintroinclude capping ducing competicoachingclassesat2tive tests in Class 11. 3hoursdaily,redesigningschool The committee headed by curricula to mirror post-school Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Departcompetitive entrance examin- ment of Higher Education, was ations,givinggreaterweightage set up by the Ministry of Educato board examination results in tiononJune17,2025toexamine exclusive Sergio Gor arrives at the uS Embassy in New Delhi, Monday. PTI Gor outreach: Trump-PM friendship, hotline to White House, his connect Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, January 12 BARELY DAYS after US CommerceSecretaryHoward Lutnick publicly blamed India for delays in concluding a trade deal, US Ambassadordesignate Sergio Gor struck a markedly conciliatory note in NewDelhi,signallingaclearat- tempt at outreach at a moment when the bilateral relationship is under strain. By announcing that trade negotiators would speakasearlyasTuesday, and by confirming that India would be invited into the US-led strategic initiative PaxSilica, Gor sought to reassure New Delhi that E. »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2 JalJeevan To turn Rajghat plant into ‘nightlife hub’, Delhi outlaytobecut 60%thisyear power dept draws on NY, Harikishan Sharma London, Essen, Toronto New Delhi, January 12 Cap coaching hours, align curricula with JEE and NEET: Centre’s panel Business as Usual New envoy breaks ice: Trade talks today, India in US-led AI, supply chain alliance »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2 TO CUT DEpENDENCE OF HIgH SCHOOL STUDENTS ON COACHINg INSTITUTES TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPRESS.COM AMBASSADOR-DESIgNATE SERgIO gOR gayathri Mani New Delhi, January 12 gapsinschooleducation,the“effectivenessandfairnessofcompetitiveentranceexaminations”, the rise of dummy schools, and the expanding influence of coaching institutes on the academic trajectories of students. The panel — which included CBSE chairman Rahul Singh, Director General of the NationalTestingAgency(NTA) RajeshLakhani, andprofessors from IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, and NIT Trichy — is learnt to »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2 TAKING INSPIRATION from four global cities — New York’s High Line, London’s Battersea Power Station, Essen’s Zollverein Coal Mine and Toronto’s Distillery District — the Delhi government’s power departmenthasproposedamegaredevelopment of the Rajghat Thermal Power Plant, which has been lying defunct for over a decade now, to create a vibrant nightlife hub with cafés, concerts, Sufi nights and recreational spaces. According to sources, the powerdepartmentstudiedsuccessful redevelopment models from across the country and abroad for its proposal to redevelop the plant, spread across 28 acres of land. “Theinitialproposalisinthe planningstage...onceitisfinalised, it will be sent to the Cabinet for further approval and financial sanction. Further, the detailed project report will be prepared for execution on the ground,” said a senior official. Last year, the Delhi Governmentwasconsideringtheareafor building a new Secretariat. “People in Delhi don't have »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2 THE CENTRE is planning to cut the outlay of its flagship rural tap water scheme or Jal JeevanMission(JJM)byalmost 60percentfromRs67,000crore allocated in Budget 2025-26 to Rs17,000croreintherevisedestimates (RE) of the current financial year, The Indian Express has learned. It is learned that the Ministry of Finance has recently communicated to the Ministry of Jal Shakti about the lower JJM outlay for the year. Sources said the Ministry of Jal Shakti is still awaiting the Cabinet to approve an extensionoftheschemetill2028,and »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2 l 2001-2025 DATA SHARED BY BIHAR DGP SHOWS TRADITIONAL OFFENCES THAT FuELLED STATE’S ‘JuNGLE RAJ’ IMAGE DECLINING Murder to riots, serious violent crimes in Bihar fall to lowest in over two decades changed, with traditional violent offences that fuelled the ‘Jungle Raj’ image declining SERIOUS CRIMES such as from peaks in the early 2000s murder and dacoityfell to their and mid-2010s. lowest in 25 years in Bihar last Murder cases, at 3,619 in year, an analysis of data shows, 2001, stayed above 3,000 beevenascasesoftheft, tween2005and2015 PAGE 1 burglary and cyber but began falling crime saw an uptick. from 2016, dropping Data between to 2,581. Despite 2001 and 2025 — the most re- brief spikes in 2019 and 2020, cent figures were shared by the downward trend conBiharDirectorGeneralofPolice tinued, reaching 2,556 in 2025 Vinay Kumar last week — — the lowest in the past paints a picture of how the two-and-a-half decades. state’s crime profile has Dacoity presents one of the anchor sharpest long-term declines in the dataset. From more than 1,200casesannuallyintheearly 2000s,includingapeakof1,297 cases in 2004, numbers fell steadily over the next two decades.By2015,dacoitycaseshad declined to 426, and by 2025, to 174 — a reduction of more than 80percentover25yearsandthe lowest level since 2001. Robbery, while more volatile, also shows a clear downward trajectory from its early peak. After touching 2,909 cases in 2004, robberies declined sharply to a low of 1,266 lSharpdecline 14,000 NUMBER OF CASES Himanshu Harsh Patna, January 12 12,000 10,000 13,566 8,520 nRIOTS nMURDERS 8,000 6,000 2,502 3,861 4,000 2,000 3,619 2000 2,556 2005 2010 cases in 2012. Although intermittentspikeswererecordedin subsequent years, including 2015 2020 2025 during the pandemic, the figure fell again to 1,558 cases in 2025, nearly half the level re- corded in 2004. Riot-related cases show the most pronounced drop. From 8,520casesin2001,riotssurged through the 2000s and early 2010s, peaking at 13,566 cases in 2014. Since then, numbers havedroppedsharply,fallingto 7,262 cases in 2019 and further to 2,502 cases in 2025 — the lowest since 2001 and an over 80% decline from the mid2010s peak. Unlikeotherviolentcrimes, rape cases have risen, from 746 cases in 2000 to a peak of 2,205 cases in 2024. The year 2025 marked a marginal fall to 2,025 cases, although levels remain significantly higher than two decades ago. Despite the notable decline in several categories of violent crime in recent years, total cognisable crime in Bihar has increased — a trend that frequently features in public and politicaldebate.Datafrom2001 to 2024 shows that this rise is largely driven by non-violent offencessuchastheft,burglary, non-ransom kidnapping, cyber-related complaints and regulatory offences. New Delhi Theft has emerged as one of the largest contributors to overall cognisable crime in the state over the past decade. Burglary followed a similar upward trajectory, though at a smaller scale. While kidnapping has seen an overall rise, experts argue that elopement-related cases, child custody disputes and missing-personcomplaintsare often registered under kidnapping provisions. In contrast, kidnapping for ransom has declined over the past two »CONTINUED ON pAgE 2