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PM Modi, German Chancellor Merz enjoy kite flying in Ahmedabad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the International Kite Festival-2026 at Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad and later enjoyed kite flying with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

After paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at the Sabarmati Ashram, PM Modi and Chancellor Merz went to the Sabarmati Riverfront, where the state government has organised the kite festival.

At the venue, Modi and Merz interacted with women artisans and understood the process of making kites. After the inauguration, both the leaders took a ride on the ground in an open vehicle and also tried their hands at flying kites.

As many as 135 kitists from 50 countries and nearly 1,000 kite enthusiasts from India are participating in the International Kite Festival-2026 in Ahmedabad, according to a Gujarat government release.

As part of the festival, the kitists have already visited places like Rajkot, Surat, Dholavira (in Kutch) and Statue of Unity (Narmada) during the last two days and enthralled the visitors, it said, adding that the festival in Ahmedabad will continue till January 14.

Economy faces many challenges, meaningful steps needed in Budget: Congress

The Congress on Monday hoped that the forthcoming Union Budget will take meaningful steps to address the challenges of sluggish private corporate investment and disparities in income as higher GDP growth rates in actuality will simply not be sustainable.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said household savings rates have declined considerably, and wealth, income, and consumption inequalities continue to deepen.

Ramesh said it remains to be seen if the forthcoming Union Budget boldly comes out of the comfort zone of statistical illusions, acknowledges realities and challenges, and takes meaningful steps to deal with them.

Noting that the schedule for the forthcoming session of Parliament has been announced, he said the 2026-27 Budget will be presented 20 days from now.

"It will no doubt reflect the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission that had submitted its report on November 17, 2025. These recommendations, covering the period 2026/27- 2031/32, relate to the sharing of tax revenues between the Centre and States and the distribution of these revenues among the States themselves," he said in a post on X.

The States, already deeply concerned by the new 60:40 cost sharing formula in the law that bulldozed away MGNREGA, will certainly be keeping their fingers even more crossed than ever, Ramesh said.

"The economy faces many challenges. Three stand out. First, rates of private corporate investment remain markedly sluggish -- tax cuts and healthy profits notwithstanding. Second, household savings rates have declined considerably, constraining investment capacity. Third, wealth, income, and consumption inequalities continue to deepen," he said.

Washington Sundar ruled out of ODI series against NZ due to rib injury

India all-rounder Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the ODI series against New Zealand after suffering a rib injury in the series opener in Vadodara.

The 26-year-old, who bowled five overs for 27 runs, walked off midway through the New Zealand innings and did not return to field on Sunday. Despite the discomfort, he later came out to bat at No. 8 as India picked a four-wicket win.

"Washington has been ruled out due to onset on discomfort in his left lower rib area," a BCCI official told PTI.

Washington is the third Indian player to pick up an injury, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was ruled out of the ongoing series after suffering a side strain last week while Tilak Varma is unavailable for the first three T20Is against New Zealand due to a groin injury which required surgery.

ISRO's PSLV-C62 lifts off with earth observation satellite, 14 other payloads

ISRO's trusted workhorse PSLV lifted off from the spaceport at Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) on Monday, carrying an earth observation satellite along with 14 other commercial payloads for both domestic and overseas customers.

Marking the first launch of the year, the mission is part of the contract secured by NewSpace India Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO.

The 44.4 metre tall four-stage PSLV-C62 rocket soared from the first launch pad at a prefixed time of 10.18 hours on Monday.

After a journey of 17 minutes, it is expected to place the satellites into Sun Synchronous Orbit at an altitude of about 511 km.

After the separation of all the satellites, scientists would restart the fourth stage (PS4) of the rocket to de-boost and enter a re-entry trajectory for the separation of the last satellite, the Kestrel Initial Technology Demonstrator (KID) capsule.

This process is expected to last over two hours after lift-off.

Both the PS4 stage and the KID capsule would re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and make a splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean, ISRO said.

PM Modi, German Chancellor Merz pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Monday morning and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi.

Sabarmati Ashram, also known as Gandhi Ashram, was established by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917. It was home to Gandhi from 1917 until 1930 and served as one of the main centres of India's freedom struggle.

After paying tributes to the Father of the Nation at the historic ashram, both the leaders reached Sabarmati Riverfront to inaugurate the International Kite Festival.

This will be followed by bilateral engagements at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, where both leaders will review the progress made in the India-Germany strategic partnership, which has recently completed 25 years.

In the evening, Modi will join delegation-level talks between the two countries at Mahatma Mandir, followed by a joint press statement, officials said.

The MEA had earlier said Prime Minister Modi and Chancellor Merz will also engage with business and industry leaders and exchange views on issues of regional and global importance.

Protest blocks NH-66 in Kasaragod over toll collection

Traffic was blocked on NH-66 in Arikady, Kasaragod, Kerala on Monday as protesters opposed the commencement of toll collection, police said.

More than 500 protesters, led by Manjeshwar MLA A K M Ashraf, staged a sit-in on the road near the toll plaza demanding the withdrawal of toll collection.

Over 300 police personnel have been deployed in the area to control the situation.

According to police, the protesters had formed an action council last year against the setting up of the toll plaza at Arikady.

They contend that the toll plaza is located just 22 km from the next toll point at Thalapady, which violates the National Highways Authority of India guideline stipulating a minimum distance of 60 km between two toll plazas, an official said.

However, toll plaza operators said the toll plaza is actually meant to come up at Chalingal, but construction of that stretch has not been completed, following which a temporary toll booth was set up at Arikady.

“We did not expect toll collection to begin as the case is pending before the court. We will defeat any such attempt as more people will arrive to protest against this injustice,” MLA Ashraf said.

He said toll collection should not be allowed at the temporary plaza until the court delivers its verdict.

Sensex declines 455.35 points to 83,120.89 in early trade

Nifty is also down, 135.35 points to 25,547.95.

Karur stampede case: TVK chief Vijay leaves for Delhi for CBI probe

TVK chief Vijay on Monday left for Delhi to appear before the CBI in connection with the Karur stampede case, and his party has requested police authorities in the national capital to ensure the security of its founder-leader.

Complying with the summons issued to him, Vijay will appear before the authorities for questioning at the CBI headquarters.

He departed from Chennai at 7 am by a chartered flight, party sources said.

TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna accompanied Vijay.

On January 6, officials said the CBI has issued a notice to Vijay to appear for questioning on January 12 at the agency headquarters in Delhi in connection with the Karur stampede case.

The central probe agency has questioned several office bearers of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in the case.

The CBI took over the case from an SIT following a Supreme Court order, and the investigating agency has been gathering evidence relating to the stampede that occurred during a political meeting addressed by Vijay on September 27, 2025 in Karur, Tamil Nadu. The incident had left 41 dead and more than 60 injured.

Trump describes himself as 'Acting President of Venezuela'

US President Donald Trump has posted a photo of himself on his social media site Truth Social with his designation listed as "Acting President of Venezuela."

The post on Truth Social on Sunday has Trump's official portrait and then the designation “Acting President of Venezuela, “Incumbent January 2026.”

It also has his designation as the 45th and 47th President of the United States, who assumed office on January 20, 2025.

Earlier this month, the US carried out a “large-scale" strike against Venezuela, capturing the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, who, along with his wife Cilia Flores, was flown to New York, where they were indicted on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges.

Three killed in car-van collision in Kerala

Three people were killed after a car collided with a pickup van at Kunnamangalam, Kozhikode, early on Monday, police said.

The deceased were identified as Nihal of Vavad, Subik of Engapuzha, and Sameer of Pozhuthana, in the neighbouring Wayanad district.

Two others sustained serious injuries in the accident, police said.

According to police, Nihal and Subik were travelling in the car heading towards Koduvally, while Sameer was driving the pickup van in the opposite direction.

The accident occurred at around 2.50 am, when the two vehicles collided head-on.

Both vehicles were severely damaged, and the victims were extricated with the help of fire force personnel using hydraulic cutters.

Though all the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, three of them succumbed to their injuries, police said.

The injured persons are undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Medical College, and the condition of one of them is said to be critical.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

The bodies will be handed over to relatives after postmortem examinations, police said.