WWW.INDIANExPRESS.COM What Age Cannot Tame These women are not trying to defy age but are leading engaged lives, and in doing so, are inviting us to full-bodied, potent, spirited experiences LUCKNOW JANUARY 11, 2026 ARTS ETC LATE CITY 14+4 PAgES ₹6.00 D A I L Y Music for the Sleepless F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , Happening today lROHIT SHARmA AND VIRAT Kohli will be back in action as India host New Zealand for a three-match ODI series. Match starts at 1.30 pm in Vadodara. lUNION HOmE mINISTER Amit Shah is scheduled to visit pollbound Kerala to attend various events and meet party leaders. POlITIcS PAGE 7 SOmNATh SymBOl OF cIvIlISATIONAl cOuRAGE: Pm C H A N D I g A R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A g P U R , P U N E , V A D O D A R A mOVES COmE AFTER LIFTING OF FLIGHT, BUSINESS VISA RESTRICTIONS India looks at ‘graded’ opening of economy to China, easing curbs Reciprocity from Beijing key factor, investment-related curbs on the table Aanchal magazine New Delhi, January 10 A CAREFULLY “graded” opening up of the Indian economy toChinaisunderconsideration at the highest levels of government, with any easing contingent on calibrated give-andtake by Beijing, The Indian Express has learned. The discussion comes amid therapidlyshiftingglobaltrade landscape and the looming threat of heightened US tariffs. Officials say the approach under discussion would be incrementalratherthansweeping. Indiahasalreadyeasedthebusiness visa process for Chinese workers, and the government is now examining whether some investment-related restrictions could also be relaxed. E. EcONOmY EXPlAINED more options The call to warm up to China marks a practical rebalancing of foreign policy and trade options in the wake of the India-US chill. Despite the border stand-off, some low-hanging fruit has been addressed. Reciprocity from Beijing, easing of curbs in areas such as rare earth magnets is being seen as key to movement forward. ARRESTS mADE IN HARIDwAR PAGE 11 IN PRE-BudGET mEET wITh Fm, STATES FlAG lOSS IN REvENuE “It (easing of norms for China) is being worked upon. It will take time though. There has to be reciprocity. Earlier, flightswererestored,visaswere given, entry norms were eased as we had to allow technicians for stalled projects etc. So it will happen gradually,” said an official aware of the deliberations. Beijing has curbs on a range of exports in services. There has been substantial spadework. A high-level committee chaired by NITI Aayog memberRajivGaubahadearlier recommended withdrawing curbs on Chinese investments. Separately, the Economic Survey 2023-24 had made the case for attracting investment from Chinese companies to strengthen India’s export »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 25 TOP CEOs IN DELEGATION DaysafterMeerutDalitwomankilled,her As German Chancellor visits, abducted daughter rescued, accused held ‘first bilateral outside NATO, EU’ Upasika Singhal Shubhajit Roy Meerut, January 10 TWO DAYS after a 50-year-old Dalitwomanwaskilledandher 21-year-old daughter allegedly abducted in Kapsarh village in UttarPradesh’sMeerutdistrict, police nabbed the two accused from Haridwar on Saturday. Police said the 21-year-old who was allegedly abducted was also rescued. Addressing the media, Meerut SSP Vipin Tada said: "Two days ago, an incident was P A T N A , Ackermann told The Indian Express in an exclusive interview Saturday. Merz, whose delegation inGERMANCHANCELLORFriedrichMerz’striptoIndiabegin- cludes CEOs of 25 German ning Monday is his first bilat- companies, will meet Prime eral visit outside of NATO and Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad and the European visit the SabarUnion, a “very EXPRESS mati Ashram. He strong signal,” of will head to Benthe deepening bigaluruonJanuary lateral relationship across sectors and its po- 13 where he will visit the Indian tential for the future, German Institute of Science and the Ambassador to India Philipp campusofGermanfirmBosch. New Delhi, January 10 Security personnel at the village in Meerut district on Saturday. ExPRESS reportedatSardhanapolicestation... considering the gravity of the case, over 10 teams were »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 exclusive German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann. FILE Excerptsfromtheinterview in which Ackermann flagged »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 J&K’S VAISHNO DEVI mEDICAL COLLEGE ‘Never discussed religion in class’: Dreams paused as MBBS course spiked Naveed Iqbal Srinagar, January 10 BILKISMANZOORfromcentral Kashmir’s Budgam neatly folded her white lab coat and packed it away along with her books, bedsheets and other belongings.Shewassettobecome thefirstdoctorinherfamilyafter joining the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence(SMVDIME)inKatra.Now forced to return home, she says the hardest thing will be seeing herparents,whohadsentherto college with much excitement and high hopes. The first batch of MBBS students left the campus after the NMC withdrew its nod to the college Underinstructionsfromthe staff at the institute to leave the campus by 2 pm on Friday, the first batch of MBBS students at »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow