WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM The Boy from Jiaganj To those outside, Arijit Singh is the voice of Hindi cinema. But in Bengal’s Murshidabad, he is still the neighbourhood boy JAIPUR, FEBRUARY 1, 2026 SPOTLIGHT India Art Fair 2026 Beyond the Frame LATE CITY 12+4 PAGES ₹6.00 D A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , Happening today 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 , FADNAVIS KEEPS TwO KEY PORTFOLIOS HELD BY AJIT PAwAR: FINANCE, PLANNING lPRImE mINISTER Narendra Sunetra Pawar sworn in as first woman Dy CM of Maharashtra lNOVAK DJOKOVIC AND Taking forward Ajit Pawar’s ideological legacy, says Sunetra; Sharad Pawar, NCP (SP) leaders skip oath-taking Modi will visit Adampur Airport in Punjab, which is being renamed as ‘Sri Guru Ravidas Ji Airport’. The PM will also inaugurate the terminal building at Halwara Airport in Ludhiana. Carlos Alcaraz play in the Australian Open men's singles final. Djokovic, 38, can become the most successful player in tennis major history if he wins his 25th title, while Alcaraz, 22, can emerge as the youngest to complete a career Grand Slam. will observe its 50th Raising Day with an event in New Delhi. Raised on February 1, 1977, the ICG was envisioned to address emerging maritime challenges. P8 Alok Deshpande Mumbai, January 31 58 56 2023-24 2024-25 28.4 81 58 2022-23 82 59 2021-22 28.1 31 63 2020-21 28.2 83 26.6 75 53 2019-20 84 25.3 71 50 2018-19 29.1 25.1 70 50 2017-18 89 25.1 69 50 PAGE 9 nCentre nState nCombined 2016-17 PIYUSHGOYAL UNION MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY THE CENTRE’S fiscal arithmetic is set to see a significant transition with the operational target for fiscal consolidation moving to debt-to-GDP ratio instead of fiscal deficit as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her ninth consecutiveBudgetonSunday. While the government had stated its intent to shift to the new fiscal guidance metric, the lCombinedpublicdebt(%ofGDP) 23.7 69 New Delhi, January 31 interview »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 UNION BUDGET DOCUMENTS; SBI RESEARCH »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEm Where elephants & trains cross path, an AI-enabled system prevents accidents Dheeraj mishra lFourrailwaycorridorswithdetectionsystem Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, January 31 IT IS 6:36 am. Inside the noisy control room surrounded by tea gardens in Binnaguri Railway Station in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, a buzzer suddenly goes out loud. SK Sunil, the station superintendent, rushes to check the Intrusion Detection System panel. The display shows ele- Alok Deshpande & manoj more Mumbai, Pune, January 31 ASSUNETRAPawar,thewifeof Ajit Pawar, was sworn in as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister, uncertainty deepened overthelong-contemplatedreunificationofthetwoNationalistCongressPartyfactions,with party patriarch Sharad Pawar onSaturdaydistancinghimself fromboththemergertalksand her elevation. Breaking his silence on speculation over a possible reunification of the two NCP fac- E. ExPLAINED What next Ajit Pawar’s death seems to have dealt a crippling blow to NCP reunification plans. However, once the dust settles, the family and both factions are expected to come together and take the process forward. tions, Pawar said that merger talks with nephew Ajit Pawar, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Eye on Pakistan, Jaishankar says cross-border terrorism is unacceptable Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, January 31 PRIME MINISTER Narendra ModionSaturdaymetadelegationoftopArableaders,whoare in India for the second IndiaArab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting,andconveyedthecountry's “continued support for the people of Palestine and wel- ExPRESS interview VARSENAGHABEKIAN SHAHIN PALESTINE FOREIGN MINISTER PAgE 6 comed ongoing peace efforts, includingtheGazapeaceplan”. Following the meeting with Foreign ministers, Secretary General of the League of Arab »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New debt-GDP fiscal anchor will likely open space for higher capex Aanchal magazine ExPRESS lative Party. By evening, the Governor approvedtheallocationofportfolios,withthekeyFinanceand Planning departments, which were held by Ajit Pawar, allocated to Fadnavis. Sunetra Pawar was given three relativelylow-profileportfolios: State Excise, Sports and Youth Welfare,andMinorityDevelopment and Auqaf — all held 52 CHHATTisgArH mid-dAy mEAl Cooks sAy THEy WANT jusTiCE THREE DAYS after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a plane crash near the Baramati airport, his wife Sunetra Pawar succeeded him at the forefront of the ruling Mahayuti alliance and was sworn in Saturday as the state’s first woman Deputy CM. The oath of office was ad- ministered by Governor Acharya Devvrat in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the other Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Leaders of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP, including SharadPawarandhisdaughter SupriyaSule,didnotattendthe ceremony. Earlier in the day, Sunetra Pawar was unanimously electedleaderoftheNCPLegis- 2015-16 PAgE 4 INDIA-ARAB FOREIGN mINISTERS’ mEETING Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Arab League Foreign Ministers and delegations in New Delhi. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval are also seen. PTI JOINT STATEMENT, PAGE 4 Pawar on NCP merger Maharashtra Governor Acharya Devvrat administers the oath to Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar in Mumbai on Saturday. CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde are also seen. GANESH SHIRSHEKAR NATION V A D O D A R A NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar addresses the media in Baramati. PTI TRACK THESE AND MORE ON WWW.INDIANExPRESS.COM EPsTEiN bomb droPs AgAiN: gATEs, TrumP, musk, luTNiCk P U N E , India backs people of Palestine, Gaza peace plan, PM ‘It seems process will be discontinued’: Sharad tells Arab leaders lTHE INDIAN COAST GUARD THE WORLD P A T N A , NagrakataMadarihat (52 km) WEST BENGAL Kamakhya-Mirza station (24 km) Installed: 141 km Work ongoing: 1,158 km in 8 Zones CinnamaraTitabar (33km) ASSAM HabaipurLumding (32km) phant movement at the 101st kilometre between Binnaguri and Dalgaon railway stations. He immediately sends an alert to the loco pilot of the train en routeinstructinghimtoreduce speed to 25 kmph. The signal originates from optical fibres laid almost 20 metres away from the railway trackandthreefeetbeneaththe ground, and coiled in a specific pattern to detect vibrations »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l WAS LINKED TO CONTROVERSIES, INCLUDING SPOT-FIXING ALLEGATIONS, OF WHICH HE WAS CLEARED Redemption at Wankhede: Mumbai spinner returns from the shadows — in USA jersey Devendra Pandey matically for the 33-year-old left-arm spinner ever since he leftIndiaandchosetorepresent WHENHARMEETSinghwalks theUSAoversixyearsago.Once out to the middle of the iconic touted as a promising talent by WankhedeStadiumnextSatur- AustralianlegendIanChappell, day, wrapped in the colours of Harmeet soon found his name linked to controthe United States of PAGE 1 versies — from spotAmerica for his fixing allegations, of team’sopeninggame which he was later against India at the T20 World Cup, it will mark a cleared by the BCCI, to being nostalgic return to his home booked for driving a car onto a ground — and complete a jour- platformattheAndherirailway station in 2017. ney of redemption. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Life has turned around draMumbai, January 31 R AS Pre & Foundation Batch Online & Offline 27 tuojh ls u;k cSp izkjEHk Exclusive Live Batch from Classroom RAS Pre. 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