The Editorial Page: In Central PSU turnaround stories, there’s a lesson for the states 8 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2026 JOURNALISm of COURAgE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹5.00 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 REg.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REgN. NO. 1543/57 PROCESS ‘ON COURSE’, SAY LEADERS Days before crash, both NCP factions had met, were set to announce merger on Feb 8 EXPRESS exclusive 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 Alok Deshpande Baramati, Mumbai, Jan 29 THE TWO factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were set to make an announcement on reunification on February8,beforetheuntimelydemise of Ajit Pawar came as a setback. Sources said that merger talkswereatanadvancedstage, and that leaders from the two sides were preparing the ground for a formal reunificationfollowingthezillaparishad election results, when the tragedy struck. However, NCP leaders said, while Ajit Pawar’s death may have cast uncertainty over the immediate timeline of the plans, the underlying political process remains intact. In fact, late Wednesday night, senior NCP leaders who rushed to Baramati to pay their respects to Ajit Pawar held a meeting where, sources said, the urgency of continuing the consultations amid the changing political situation was discussed. Sources also said that reunification would be a step towards the Sharad Pawar-led NCP“joiningthegovernment”. Currently, while the NCP faction that was led by Ajit Pawar is a part of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, the NCP (SP) is a member of the Maha Vikas Aghadi including the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. The Maharashtra deputy chiefministerwasakeylinkbetween the two NCP factions, INDIA A VICTIM Of GEOPOLITICS, SAYS CEA Siddharth Upasani & Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, January 29 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, PHOTOS PAgES 5, 6 Business as Usual By EP UNNY Baramati bids Ajit Pawar tearful farewell, cremated with full state honours Manoj More, Soham Shah, Alok Deshpande Baramati, January 29 and played a pivotal role in reopeningchannelsofcommunication with the Sharad Pawarled faction as well as led the negotiations from the front. SeniorNCP(SP)MLAJayant PatilandNCP(SP)chiefShashikant Shinde confirmed to The Indian Express that merger »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CHANTS OF “Ekach waada, Ajit Dada” (One promise only, AjitDada)and“AjitDadaparat ya”(Ajit Dada come back) filled the air from early morning till Maharashtra Deputy Chief MinisterAjitPawar’scremation took place around Thursday noon in Baramati on Thursday with full state honours. Lakhs poured into the ground at Vidya Pratishthan – aninstitutionownedbythePawars – with their eyes brimming with tears, trying to catch »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 8 EcoNomIc SUrvEy fLAGS tHE kEy ProBLEmS, SoLUtIoNS AwAIt PARLIAMENT PAGE 7 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- 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 to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sharad Pawar at the funeral. PTI After Ajit Pawar’s death, NCP moves to keep Dy CM post in the family 116 144 179 75 Alok Deshpande Mumbai, January 29 THE NATIONALIST Congress Party (NCP) is unlikely to give up the Deputy Chief Minister’s post in Maharashtra after the death of party president Ajit Pawar, who held the post, even as it appears willing to let go of the Finance portfolio he handled. Partyleadershavealsoindicated that a meeting of the legislative party will be held in the coming week, where the name of Sunetra Pawar, wife of AjitPawarandRajyaSabhaMP, is likely to be proposed as the legislative party leader. OnWednesdaynight,senior NCP leaders met informally in Baramati to discuss organisational issues. According to sources, the key matter was to appoint a legislative party leader, the post held by Ajit Pawar. Maharashtra minister »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 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 13 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 l UTTARAkHAND FREEDOM OF RELIgION ACT 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 6 Mumbai