The Editorial Page: Let players play, let diplomats do the work of diplomacy 8 THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) 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 lSUPREME cOURT to hear a plea filed by Gitanjali J Angmo, the wife of jailed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, against his detention under the National Security Act. lUNITED NATIONS to release 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2026' report which will present global and regional economic outlooks for the year ahead. lTOP INDIAN shuttlers — P V Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and Ayush Shetty — will be in action at the pre-quarterfinal stage of the Malaysia Open Super 1000. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm FIRST ADVANcE ESTIMATES AHEAD OF UNION BUDGET GDP growth in FY26 expected at 7.4% despite US tariff troubles Nominal GDP growth at 5-year low of 8%: Statistics ministry data Siddharth Upasani New Delhi, January 7 INDIA’S REAL GDP growth is expected to rise sharply to 7.4 percentinthecurrentfiscal,according to the government’s first advance estimate of the number, on the back of a sharp reboundinmanufacturingsectorgrowthto7percentfrom4.5 per cent last year despite problems caused by the 50 per cent US tariffs on Indian goods. According to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), while the real GDP growth is projected to rise from 6.5 per cent in 2024-25, nominal growth — orgrowthwithoutadjustingfor price increases — is set to fall to afive-yearlowofjust8percent. The nominal GDP number willbeakeyinputincalculations E. ExPlAINED New gDp data from next month This first advance estimate will have a short shelf life because GDP data released February 27 onward will be as per a new series with a base year of 2022-23 as against 2011-12 now. Updating the base year is key to a correct picture of economy. for the upcoming Budget for 2026-27,especiallyfortabulating the growth in tax collections. Whilebroadlyinlinewithexpectations,MoSPI’sfirstadvanceestimateconfirmstheviewamong economists that growth is set to slow down in the second half of the fiscal year. The last time India’s nominal GDP growth was lower was in the pandemic year of 202021,whentheeconomyhadcontracted by 1.2 per cent. In rupee terms, the nominal GDP in 2025-26 is seen at Rs 357 lakh crore. Using the exchange rate of 89.89 per US dollar that the rupee closed Wednesday, the GDP amounts to $3.97 trillion, just short of the $4-trillion mark. According to Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist of rating agency Crisil, the 60-basispoint (bps) gap between nominal and real GDP growth in 2025-26 will be the lowest since 2011-12. “Next fiscal, we expect the nominal and real growth to flip — nominal growth is expectedtorisetoclosetoitslongterm average at 10.5-11 per cent and real growth to be at 6.7 per cent,” Joshi said. »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘No due process’: Vaishno Devi 2.89 cRORE DELETIONS IN STATE’S DRAFT ROLL medical college got nod 4 months BJP’s target after SIR deletions in before NMC withdrew permission UP: Add 200 voters to each booth Lalmani Verma Lucknow, January 7 HOURS AFTER the Election Commission (EC) released the draft electoral roll of UP with 2.89 crore deletions, comprising18.70%oftheelectorate,the top leadership of the state's rulingBJPmettoshareitsconcern Arun Sharma Katra (J&K), January 7 »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, January 7 US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s latest remark claiming “Prime Minister Modi came to seeme,‘Sir,mayIseeyouplease’. Yes”hasledtoasenseofdisquiet in Delhi, which has chosen not to issue an official response, at least for the time being. Whilethisisnotthefirsttime that Trump has made commentstargetingIndia,Delhihas been restrained in its response. On Tuesday, Trump said Modi is “not that happy with me” because of the tariffs Washington imposed on Delhi over its purchaseofRussianoil—the25per cent penalty took the tariffs on Business as Usual By EP UNNY India to 50 per cent. Trump also said India told him it has been waiting five years for the Apache helicopters. “We are changing it… India ordered 68 Apaches,” he said. In Delhi, government sourcescontradictedtheclaim, sayingIndiahasonlybought28 ApachehelicoptersfromtheUS — 22 for the IAF, 6 for the Indian Army. And that all these helicoptershadbeendelivered. The first deal of 22 Apache helicopters was signed during the Obama administration in September 2015, and were delivered during the Trump administration’s first term. »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ThE wOrlD pAgE 10 exclusive Students outside the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence on Wednesday. ARUN SHARMA College tried to expand student pool thrice, was rejected each time Anonna Dutt & Kaunain Sheriff M New Delhi, January 7 MONTHS BEFORE it became ground zero of protests against admission being granted to Muslim students, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of MedicalExcellence(SMVDIME)had soughtpermissionfromcentral authorities–thrice–toplaceall its seats under the All India Quota, The Indian Express has learnt. Typically, 85% of seats in a medicalcollegeareallocatedto students from the state based on their NEET scores, while 15% are allotted under the All India Quota as per the national »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EC serves SIR notice to Amartya, hearing on Jan 16 at his residence Atri Mitra Kolkata, January 7 THE ELECTION Commission on Wednesday served a notice to Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in connection with the ongoing SpecialIntensiveRevision(SIR) ofelectoralrollsinWestBengal, seekingahearingofthe92-yearold economist on January 16 at his Santiniketan residence, »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MORE REpORTS, pAgE 3 28, not 68: US President’s claim on Apaches for India not correct CM, state BJP chief hold meeting with ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs College has faced protests against admission to Muslim students THE NATIONAL Medical Commission’sdecisiontowithdraw permission to run an MBBS course at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of MedicalExcellence(SMVDIME)flies in the face of its own green signal from just four months ago, when the institute was given a go-ahead following extensive inspections and due diligence, officials say. Officials from the institute and from central health bodies also said the decision appeared to be made in “undue haste” and without “due process”. “Colleges are usually served a show cause notice based on the onlinedataorasurpriseinspection. Then, a decision is taken based on the reply, followed by a first appeal before the NMC and a second appeal before the health ministry. Officials from the regulatory body confirmed According to the EC, 12.55 crore voters made it to UP’s draft roll while the state topped thetotalnumberofdeletionsin the country, mainly due to over the large ExPrEss electors being number of exclumarked as desions ahead of Asceased, shifted, sembly elections absent or enrolled next year. The top brass also gave the state's party at multiple places. Pointing out that there are leaders a target: get at least 200 voters added at every polling 1.77 lakh polling booths after boothbeforetheelectoralrollis the recent rationalisation finalised. »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Disquiet on Trump’s PM remark, but Delhi chooses not to react An EC team comprising the local BLO outside Amartya Sen’s Santiniketan residence, Pratichi, on Wednesday. EXPRESS Fadnavis orders immediate exit as BJP ties up with Cong, AIMIM in local body polls Alok Deshpande Mumbai, January 7 A DAY after it came to light that BJP units had tied up with the Congress at Ambernath in Thane and the AIMIM at Akot in Akola to gain majority control in the two local bodies following the municipal elections last month, Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendraFadnavisdirected his party to break both alliances while saying they were “not acceptable”. At the same time, the Congress dissolved the party's city unit in Ambernath, about 60 km from Mumbai, and suspended its chief Pradip Patil while the AIMIM warned its corporatorsinAkot,whichfalls in the Vidarbha region, of legal action if they did not pull out from the BJP alliance. Reacting Wednesday to the tie-ups in Ambernath and Akot, Fadnavis said, “Alliance with Congress and AIMIM is notacceptable.Itwillhavetobe broken.Accordingly,directives have been issued. The matter will be looked into, and disciplinary action will be taken if »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l CM PROMISES SPEEDY TRIAL, LAW AGAINST ‘HONOUR KILLING’ ‘Never thought caste could make a father kill’: Shockwaves of a death in Karnataka Kiran Parashar Vivekananda: “I dreamt that my child may some day play with Manya’s father. I MANYA’S FATHER and his never thought that caste could had been friends for long, says make a father kill his own Vivekananda Dhoddamani, daughter.” Caste violence, his voice breaking. PAGE 1 even ‘honour killThat is what ings’, are not new to bewilders the 22Karnataka. Howyear-old Dalit youth the most, a fortnight after Ma- ever, the circumstances of Manya’s Lingayat family allegedly nya’s killing have shaken the killed the pregnant 20-year- state, prompting protests by Dalit organisations and conold. Friendship was okay; with demnationbyLingayatgroups, marriage, Vivekananda and whichhelda‘RepentanceDay’. Manya's father PrakashManya crossed a line. Says Bengaluru, January 7 anchor Vivekananda Dhoddamani with Manya; she was killed on Dec 21 gouda Patil and relatives Veeranagouda Patil and Arunagouda Patil are under arrest for her killing, charged for murder and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. On January 4, Chief MinisterSiddaramaiahannounced a fast-track court for a speedy trial in the case, as well as appointmentofaprivateprosecutor, to ensure there is no delay in trying the case. Siddaramaiah said his government wouldalsodiscussaspeciallaw to curb ‘honour killing’. »cONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata U.S. SEIzES RUSSIA-FLAggED OIL TANkER, ANgERS MOScOW