The Editorial Page: A question at Davos: Are we back to the era of kings? 8 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2026 Journalism of Courage AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 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 Happening today INTER-DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE lAHEAD Of the Budget Ses- sion, the Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, is slated to meet in the morning. lSUPREME COURT to hear suo motu matter regarding definition of the Aravalli hills. lINDIA WILL play New Zealand in the first game of the 5-match T20 series in Nagpur. lU.S. PRESIDENT Donald Trump will address the World Economic Forum at Davos. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm INsIDE TN, KERALA GOvERNORS OBjEcT TO THEIR SPEEcHES PAGE 12 SENSEx dOwN 1,065 POINTS, NIfTY TANKS OvER 1.2% PAGE 17 Nitin Nabin assumes charge as the new BJP president, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers (from right) Nitin Gadkari, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and J P Nadda, BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and returning officer for the party’s organisational elections K Laxman, in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI RELATED REPORT, PAGE 12 PM calls Nabin his ‘boss’, tells BJP to stay away from Cong ‘ills’ Vikas Pathak & Liz Mathew New Delhi, January 20 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Tuesday threw his weight behind BJP’s new national president Nitin Nabin, saying the 45-year-old will be his boss in the party, and targeted the Congress, cautioning THE BIG PICTURE Young to the party PAGE 14 thatonlythosewho“savethemselves from the ills” of the Op- New portal, software, AI-powered translation: EPFO 3.0 coming soon Aanchal Magazine New Delhi, January 20 AFTERANNOUNCINGliberalised withdrawal norms and a proposal to introduce a UPIlinked facility, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to kick off its next phase of reforms that include a new portal, new software at the backendtotakeintoaccountall possible expansion over the next decade, and the use of AIpowered language translation tools to give information to members in vernacular languages, a senior government officialtoldTheIndianExpress. Branded EPFO 3.0, the revamp includes an overhaul of theFund’stechnologyarchitecture as it moves towards a core »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY New Delhi, Mumbai, January 20 A HIGH-LEVEL committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to look into the menace of ‘digital arrest’ is considering the idea of a »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ExPlAINED core banking solution key Central to the next phase of EPFO reforms will be the core banking solution. It will enable a centralised system of operations and allow members to resolve their issues at any centre. High-level panel weighs options to deal with growing menace Soumyarendra Barik & George Mathew position party would progress. Nabin took over as the BJP's 12th president, the youngestever,succeedingJPNadda,the currentUnionHealthMinister. With him at the helm, the party begins a new chapter as it tries to bring about a generational shift in its leadership. E. Kill switch, insurance as tools to fight digital arrest ‘killswitch’thatwillallowusers at the receiving end of a potentialdigitalscamtoimmediately stop all financial transactions from their accounts, The Indian Express has learnt. An insurance mechanism to cover fraud-related losses in thebankingsystemmayalsobe ontheanvilasrisingdigital-age frauds force commercial banks to rethink their risk-mitigation frameworks to better protect customersandthewiderfinancial system, according to officials involved in the proposal. The proposal for a kill switch, which is being »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 15hoursover4 days:J&Kpolice callExpress reporterto Srinagarstation Told to sign ‘bond’, reporter does not Express News Service New Delhi, January 20 THE JAMMU and Kashmir Police called The Indian Express Assistant Editor Bashaarat MasoodtotheCyberPoliceStationinSrinagaronfourdaysbetween January 15 and January 19andaskedhimtosignabond that he would not do anything that would disturb peace. Masood, who has been reporting for The Indian Express from Srinagar for 20 years, did not sign the bond. He received a call from the police first on January 14 evening, asking himto present himself at the Cyber Police Station the next day at 3.30 pm. He was called to the police station every day except Sunday. In all, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Overhead water tank collapses in Surat minutes after being filled for trial, 3-yr-old among injured Kamal Saiyed Surat, January 20 THEGUJARATgovernmenton Tuesday suspended two of its engineersandregisteredanFIR afteranewly-constructedoverhead water tank collapsed AtthesiteinMandvitaluka EXPRESS within minutes of being filled to capacity during a strength test, inundating the nearby areas, in Tadkeshwar village of Mandvi taluka in Surat on Monday. Two women labourers and a minor girl were injured by the impact. Built at a cost of Rs 21.04 crore, the tank was meant to supply water to people of 35 villages in the district, under the Gaypagla water scheme. “Acting on instructions of the Chief Minister, the officials »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad