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 LUCKNOW, FEBRUARY 1, 2026 SPOTLIGHT India Art Fair 2026 Beyond the Frame LATE CITY 16+4 PAGES ₹6.00 D A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , Happening today lPRImE mINISTER Narendra 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. lNOVAK DJOKOVIC AND 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. 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 , N A G P U R , Sunetra Pawar sworn in as first woman Dy CM of Maharashtra Taking forward Ajit Pawar’s ideological legacy, says Sunetra; Sharad Pawar, NCP (SP) leaders skip oath-taking P U N E , V A D O D A R A 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 5 NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar addresses the media in Baramati. PTI discontinued’: Sharad Pawar on NCP merger TRACK THESE AND MORE ON WWW.INDIANExPRESS.COM P 12 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 Alok Deshpande Mumbai, January 31 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 administered 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 Sharad Pawar and his daughter SupriyaSule,didnotattendthe ceremony. Earlier in the day, Sunetra Pawar was unanimously electedleaderoftheNCPLegislative Party. By evening, the Governor approved the allocation of »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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. INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEm Where elephants & trains cross path, an AI-enabled system prevents accidents Dheeraj mishra Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, January 31 Mid-day meal cooks protest in Chhattisgarh’s New Raipur on Saturday. JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU ‘Rs 15 to Rs 66 per day in 3 decades’: Chhattisgarh mid-day meal cooks say they want justice Jayprakash S Naidu P A T N A , India backs people of Palestine, Gaza peace plan, PM ‘It seems process will be tells Arab leaders 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. EPSTEiN boMb DroPS AgAiN: gATES, TruMP, MuSk, luTNick M U M B A I , FADNAVIS KEEPS TwO KEY PORTFOLIOS HELD BY AJIT PAwAR: FINANCE, PLANNING lTHE INDIAN COAST GUARD THE WORLD L U C K N O W , Raipur, January 31 INSIDE FOR 34 days now, hundreds of mid-day meal cooks, most of them women, have made Tuta ground in Chhattisgarh’s New Raipur their home. The key demand behind their indefinite strike: An increase in daily wages from Rs 66 per day to Rs 440, though the more pragmatic ones in the group say even a hike to Rs 261, which is paid to MGNREGA workers, would be a start. The state government’s offer so far: A hike of Rs 500 per month, a little under Rs 17 a day.Theeducationdepartment has also warned of disciplinary action against cooks who disrupt mid-day meals, and asked MoST STATES, uTs SuggESTED HikE iN MiD-DAy MEAl WorkErS’ WAgES PAgE 8 district officials to ensure the system,whichemploysaround 70,000 cooks, is not disrupted. With the two sides firm on their stand, the situation has reached a stalemate. Earlier this week, two women — Dulari Yadav (in her 60s) and Rukmani Sinha (in her 50s) — who were part of the protest, died after their health deteriorated. While doctors said both had »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 elephant movement at the 101st kilometre between Binnaguri and Dalgaon railway stations. He immediately sends an alert lFourrailwaycorridorswithdetectionsystem NagrakataMadarihat (52 km) WEST BENGAL Kamakhya-Mirza station (24 km) CinnamaraTitabar (33km) ASSAM HabaipurLumding (32km) Installed: 141 km Work ongoing: 1,158 km in 8 Zones 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 A detection panel installed at the Binnaguri railway station in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri trackandthreefeetbeneaththe ground, and coiled in a specific pattern to detect vibrations causedbyelephantmovement. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 6 years after Payal Tadvi’s death, UGC rules in focus, mother says ‘still struggling to be heard’ Sadaf modak Mumbai, January 31 FOR OVER six years now, 60year-old Abeda Tadvi has been travellingfromJalgaontoMumbai twice every month for court hearings, a 500-km journey eachway,carryingtheweightof a trial that has not yet begun. Retiredfromazillaparishad job, she and her husband Salim spend their pension carefully now, accounting for the cost of travel. The case, relating to the deathbysuicideofher26-year- old daughter Dr Payal Tadvi in 2019duetoallegedraggingand caste-based harassment, remains stuck in court. With every adjournment, Abeda says her grief “feels new again”. It was in 2019, while searching for answers to how the system failed her daughter, that Abedaspokeonthephonewith Radhika Vemula, who had lost her son Rohith to suicide three yearsearlierattheUniversityof Hyderabad. Both women, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Eye on Pakistan, Jaishankar says cross-border terrorism is unacceptable Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, January 31 PRIME MINISTER Narendra ModionSaturdaymetadelegation of top Arab leaders, who are in India for the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM), and conveyed the country’s “continued support for the people of Palestine and welcomed ongoing peace efforts, including the Gaza peace plan”. Following the meeting with Foreign Ministers, Secretary General of the League of Arab States and heads of Arab delegations, Modi posted on X: “The Arab world is a part of In- ExPRESS interview “Want India to be a bridge between Israel, Palestine” VARSEN AGHABEKIAN SHAHIN PALESTINE FOREIGN MINISTER PAgE 6 dia’sextendedneighbourhood, linked by deep civilisational bonds, vibrant people-topeopleconnectionsandenduring brotherly ties, as well as a shared commitment to peace, progress and stability.” He also expressed confidence “that enhanced cooperation in technology, energy, trade and innovation will »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New debt-GDP fiscal anchor will likely open space for higher capex Aanchal magazine New Delhi, January 31 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 Budget would be the first to detail the fine print linked to the new anchor for a full financial year, 2026-27. Policy makers in the gov- ExPRESS interview PIYUSH GOYAL UNION MINISTER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY PAgE 11 ernment are of the view that this change, which is in line with global practice, will lend »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ECONOMY JHAvEri To lEAvE DorAbJi TATA TruST PAgE 11 A file photo of Payal Tadvi, who died by suicide due to alleged caste-based harassment, with her parents, Abeda Tadvi and Salim l BEFORE MOVING TO U.S. IN 2020, HARMEET SINGH WAS LINKED TO CONTROVERSIES, INCLUDING SPOT-FIXING ALLEGATIONS, OF WHICH HE WAS LATER CLEARED Redemption at Wankhede: Mumbai spinner back from shadows — in USA jersey Devendra Pandey leftIndiaandchosetorepresent theUSAoversixyearsago.Once touted as a promising talent by WHENHARMEETSinghwalks AustralianlegendIanChappell, out to the middle of the iconic Harmeet soon found his name WankhedeStadiumnextSatur- linked to controversies — from day, wrapped in the colours of spot-fixingallegations,ofwhich theUnitedStatesofAmericafor hewaslaterclearedbytheBCCI, to being booked for his team’s opening PAGE 1 driving a car onto a gameagainstIndiaat platform at the AndtheT20WorldCup,it herirailwaystationin will mark a nostalgic 2017. return to his home Harmeet says he finally ground — and complete a jourmoved to the USA in 2020 after ney of redemption. Life has turned around dra- “growing tired” of what he calls matically for the 33-year-old “favouritism and selection left-arm spinner ever since he politics”. The decision came at Mumbai, January 31 anchor apersonalcost.Lastyear,helost his father, a real estate agent, to aheartattack.DuringtheCovid pandemic, he couldn’t attend his mother’s funeral. “I'm looking forward to the gameonSaturday,butthistime my father won’t be there at the ground. He used to come to see me play in Mumbai. I don't have my parents any more but I'll have my sister and our extended family to cheer me on. How proud my parents would havefeltiftheywerehere,”Harmeet told The Indian Express. He made his USA debut in August 2024, representing the Former Mumbai cricketer Harmeet Singh will represent USA at the T20 World Cup team after obtaining a work permit,andplayedfortheteam in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Yet, Harmeet says he, like the hundreds of thousands who have moved halfway across the world, has experienced the migrant’s dilemma — the price of chasing better opportunities abroad. The young cricketer who once charmed crowds with his control and guile now speaks with the weariness of adulthood, reflecting on responsibilities and regrets. “When you go out and try to makealiving,yougetawayfrom yourfamilyandfriends.Mypar- ents were suffering and I was awarebutstillhelpless.Thetiming was different, the atmosphere was different. For those who move abroad, the regret they have is not taking care of theirparents.Thatthoughtused to stress me,” Harmeet said. “Ihadtowatchthefinalrites of my mother on the phone, and it still hurts... I still feel that had I been here, things could have been different. Life is tough. I'm introverted in terms ofexpressingmyemotions,but that helps me in cricket — I can expressontheground,”hesaid. A few months ago, Harmeet visited Mumbai and drove to Swami Vivekanand High School in Borivali, where he trained alongside India allrounder Shardul Thakur and MumbaicaptainSiddheshLad. He also met his coach Dinesh Lad and donated Rs 10 lakh to his foundation, which trains youngsters free of cost. “When we used to play, someone else was paying our bills. I never paid my school fees — someone was there helping. God has given me a position now where I can make a small contribution. Sir can help produce »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow