The Editorial Page: In Central PSU turnaround stories, there’s a lesson for the states 10 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2026 JOURNAlISM of COURAGE NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 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 , LU 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 ASKS GOVT TO SET UP PANEL Of TOP JURISTS TO STUDY ISSUE Supreme Court stays new UGC rules on caste bias: ‘Will divide society’ Warns of ‘sweeping consequences’ if key questions are not addressed lwhatScasked ExPlAINED Ananthakrishnan G l How will new rules address ragging in relation to caste? l What if poor SC/ST/OBC student is harassed by well-off student from same caste? dEfINITIoNS To AcTIoN: how 2012 ANd 2026 rULES ArE dIffErENT New Delhi, January 29 IN A significant order on the new rules to deal with discrimination on campuses, mainly over caste, the Supreme Court onThursdaystayedtheUniversity Grants Commission (PromotionofEquityinHigherEducationInstitutions)Regulations, 2026, observing that they raise Happening today lAT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, an exciting clash is expected as 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic takes on twotime defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinal. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz faces Alexander Zverev in the other semifinal. important questions which, if left unexamined, could have “very sweeping consequences” and “divide society”. Issuing notice to the Centre and UGC on three petitions challenging the new rules, a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ordered that “the 2026 Regulations be kept in abeyance”. “In exercise of our lWhy separate hostels to deal with caste bias? lWhen discrimination is already defined in one subsection, why a separate definition? l With language vague, won't provisions be misused? PAgE 17 powers under Article 142, we further direct that the 2012 Regulations will continue in force till further orders,” the bench ordered. In its order, the apex court »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PROCESS ‘ON COURSE’, SAY LEADERS Days before crash, both NCP factions had met, were set to announce merger on Feb 8 lTHE AWARD PRESENTATION ceremony for the best marching contingents and tableaux of this year’s R-Day Parade will be held at the Rashtriya Rangshala Camp. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrESS.cOm ExPrESS interview “India, China should have grown-up superpower relations” JEffREY SACHS AMERICAN ECONOMIST PAgE 9 POlITIcS PAgE 7 ‘ALL good’, SAyS ThAroor AfTEr mEETINg rAhUL Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar with NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule at the Maharashtra Deputy CM’s last rites in Baramati, Thursday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are also seen. ARUL HORIZON REPORTS, PAGE 12 INDIA A VICTIM Of GEOPOLITICS, SAYS CEA Survey flags drying up of FDI/FII flow, Re stability Economic Survey estimates GDP to grow 6.8-7.2 per cent in 2026-27 Siddharth Upasani & Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, January 29 UPGRADING THE economy’s potential growth rate to 7 per cent from 6.5 per cent three yearsago,theEconomicSurvey for 2025-26 said the country is projected to grow by 6.8-7.2 per cent in the next financial year. Everything looks good — from growth, inflation, credit growthtorainfall,agri,andcorporate balance sheets, it said. But what is causing some concern to Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, the principal author of the Survey, is the global capital strike, and its adverse impact on rupee’s stability, despite strong macroeconomic fundamentals. The rupee, he said, is “punching below its weight”. In the preface to the 687pageEconomicSurvey,theCEA describes India as “a victim of geopolitics”,addingthattherupee’s valuation does not accurately reflect India’s “stellar economic fundamentals”, whichcausesinvestorstopause. While an undervalued rupee helpsoffsettheimpactofhigher US tariffs, the investor reluctance to commit to India warrants examination, he notes. Citingtherupee—whichhas weakened by almost 7 per cent INSIDE EDITORIAL PAGE PAgE 10 EcoNomIc SUrvEy fLAgS ThE kEy ProbLEmS, SoLUTIoNS AwAIT PARLIAMENT PAgE 6 comPrEhENSIvE PIcTUrE of INdIA’S rEform ExPrESS: Pm oN SUrvEy ECONOMY PAgE 15 NEw INfLATIoN: wEIghT of food ITEmS To fALL, of hoUSINg To rISE sincethestartof2025againstthe USdollarandnearlytouchedthe 92-per-dollarmarkThursday— asanexample,Nageswaransaid since India runs a merchandise tradedeficitthatisnotfullycancelled out by the services trade surplusandinwardremittances, it depends on foreign capital flows to maintain a healthy balance of payments. “When they run drier, rupee stability becomes a casualty,” he said. The paradox of 2025 has »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tables the Economic Survey in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. ANI Easing PSU stake sale to duty correction: Pointers for Budget Sukalp Sharma & Ravi Dutta Mishra New Delhi, January 29 ALLOWINGMINIMUMgovernmentshareholdinginlistedpublicsectorundertakings(PSUs)to be reduced to 26% to facilitate deeper disinvestment, further correcting inverted duty structuresandfocusingoninputtariff neutrality to enhance manufacturingcompetitiveness:theseare someofthespecificrecommen- business as Usual By EP UNNY Alok Deshpande Sources said that merger talks were at an advanced stage, and that leaders from the two THE TWO factions of the Na- sideswerepreparingtheground tionalist Congress for a formal reParty (NCP) were unificationfollowExPrESS set to make an aning the zilla parnouncement on ishad election reunification on results, when the February8,beforetheuntimely tragedy struck. However, NCP demise of Ajit Pawar came as a leaders said, while Ajit Pawar’s setback. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Baramati, Mumbai, Jan 29 exclusive Cases under Uttarakhand’s conversion law fall in court: 7 yrs, 5 full trials, all 5 acquittals Express analysed case records since 2018 when Act was introduced: Courts flag gaps in probe, consent of couples, no proof of coercion ExPrESS investigation Aiswarya Raj Dehradun, January 29 NEARLYSEVENyearsafterthe BJP government in Uttarakhand enacted a law to curb “forced religious conversions”, court records show the statute may be falling short of a basic l THEcASES,THESTATuS 62 fIRs filed under Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, passed in 2018 51 cASES wHErE STATuS IS KNOwN l 5 cases where trial has concluded, all ended in acquittal l 7caseswherethecourt dismissedthematter 30 RTIs filed to review docul 29 cases where the ments, FIRs accused got bail – 11 related to 60 cases from Uttarakhand HC, one from SC l 3 cases where bail was denied l 5 where hearing is awaited l 2 cases where accused moved HC for stay on proceedings legal test: evidence. Even as arrestscontinue,judicialscrutiny has often undercut the state’s claim, with all five cases that have gone to full trial ending in acquittals. That’s the finding of an investigation by The Indian Express into cases registered under the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act (UFRA), based on records obtained by »CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 l ROYAL BENGAL TIGER IS BELIEVED TO HAVE WALKED SOME 60 KM FROM SANCTUARY IN MADHYA PRADESH Having got a tiger after over 3 decades, Gujarat working hard to make it stay Aditi Raja stops, steps out of the vehicle and bends down: he has spottedleopardpugmarksnear a herbivore breeding centre — AS SUNLIGHT filters through a warning sign. the bamboo, mahua and teak Gujarat’s eyes have been fotrees of the thick Jambughoda cusedontheherbivorecentreat forestrangeinPanchmahaldis- JambughodasinceFebruarylast trict of Central Gujayear,whentheRatanPAGE 1 rat on a warm winter mahal corridor it is a morning, the jungle part of saw a surprise is still, broken only new guest — a Royal by the occasional bird call. Bengal Tiger. The presence of Drivingalongthemudtrack the four-year-old means that, skirting the glistening Kada after a gap of 33 years, Gujarat dam reservoir, a forest official »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Panchmahal, Chhota Udepur, January 29 anchor The herbivore breeding centre in Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary seeks to boost the prey base for the tiger. BHUPENDRA RANA New Delhi E. dations made in the Economic Survey 2025-26 that could be among the focus areas of the upcomingUnionBudget. The Survey, tabled Thursday, also called for a more pragmaticapproachtoQualityControl Orders (QCOs), proactive steps toattract more foreign direct investment (FDI), and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2