HIGHLIGHTS AT 9.30 PM

Following are the top stories at 9.30 pm: NATION DEL110 DEF-INDIA-OMAN Defence Secy holds talks with senior military official of Oman New Delhi: Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar on Monday held extensive talks with Oman's Secretary General of Defence Mohammed bin Nasser bin Ali Al-Zabbi on expanding bilateral defence and strategic ties.

DEL46 ADDRESS-HEALTH 90 pc of India's adult population has received first dose of Covid vaccine: Prez New Delhi: About 90 per cent of India's adult population has received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine whereas over 70 per cent have been administered both the doses, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Monday.

DEL109 ADDRESS-CONG President's address a speech of govt's failure, claims Congress New Delhi: The Congress on Monday said the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session was about the ''failures'' of the BJP government in fulfilling the promises made so far.

DEL108 EC-SATAV-DISQUALIFICATION President rejects plea to disqualify late Congress leader Rajeev Satav as RS member New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected a petition seeking disqualification of Rajeev Satav's Rajya Sabha membership for allegedly holding a subsisting contract with a government company.

DEL104 POLL-EC-LD RALLIES EC extends ban on roadshows till Feb 11; relaxes norms for public meets, door-to-door campaign New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday extended the Covid-induced ban on roadshows, 'padyatras', vehicle rallies and processions in the five poll-bound states till February 11, but relaxed norms for door-to-door campaigning and physical public meetings for all phases.

DEL102 ADDRESS-PM PM Modi hails president's address, says it talked about collective vision of 130 crore Indian New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed President Ram Nath Kovind's address to Parliament, saying it talked about India's developmental strides and reflected the collective vision of 130 crore Indians to take the nation to newer heights in the times to come.

DEL103 MEA-INDIA-RUSSIA India, Russia agree to deepen cooperation at UN New Delhi: India and Russia on Monday agreed to deepen cooperation at the UN Security Council after the two sides held wide-ranging talks on issues before the global body.

DEL98 PM-LD NCW Role of women continuously expanding, women commissions need to widen their scope of work: PM New Delhi: Noting that the role of women in the society is continuously expanding, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the women commissions will have to increase their scope of work and give a new direction to the women of their states.

DEL97 SESSION-RS ALLPARTY Govt not to bring any legislative business in RS during 1st part of Budget Session: Sources New Delhi: The government told an all-party meeting Monday that it does not intend to bring any legislative business in Rajya Sabha during the first part of the Budget Session which is till February 11, sources said.

DEL95 JOSHI-ALLPARTY-PEGASUS No need for separate discussion on Pegasus issue now, matter sub judice: Pralhad Joshi New Delhi: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday said there is no need for a separate discussion on the Pegasus issue now as the matter is sub-judice. DEL90 PREZ-EDU-NEP Local languages being promoted through NEP: President New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind Monday said local languages are being promoted through the new National Education Policy (NEP), while changes have been made in UGC regulations to link higher education with skill development.

DEL88 PM-2NDLD SESSION Elections keep happening but budget session very important, must make it fruitful: PM New Delhi: Elections keep happening but Parliament's Budget session is very important as it draws a blueprint for the entire year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday and urged all MPs to make it fruitful by holding discussions with an ''open mind''.

DEL85 ADDRESS-GOVERNANCE Govt committed to increasing accountability towards citizens: President Kovind New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday said the Centre is committed to increasing the accountability of government departments towards citizens. DEL62 ARMY-DHILLON 'Operation Maa' author in Kashmir, Lt Gen Dhillon hangs up his boots New Delhi: After serving at various strategic postings in the Indian Army during his career spanning 39 years, Lt Gen KJS Dhillon retired on Monday, with his last assignment being that of Director General Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence). PAR39 PAR-2NDLD ADDRESS Top priority to poor, marginalised, says President; lauds COVID response New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday said his government's policies have given top priority to the poor and marginalised sections of the society and highlighted the COVID response, record procurement of farm produce and improvement in internal security as ''collective achievements'' of the billion-plus citizens of the country.

PAR38 BIZ-RS-LD ADJOURN FM tables Economic Survey in Rajya Sabha New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday tabled a copy of the Economic Survey 2021-22 in Rajya Sabha. PAR38 BIZ-RS-LD ADJOURN FM tables Economic Survey in Rajya Sabha New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday tabled a copy of the Economic Survey 2021-22 in Rajya Sabha.

PAR37 ADDRESS-DIPLOMACY India strengthened standing in rapidly evolving global environment: Kovind New Delhi: India has strengthened its standing in the rapidly evolving global environment through improvement in diplomatic relations, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Monday.

PAR31 PAR-LD ADDRESS President lauds ''collective achievements'' in India's growth story New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday listed the fight against the Covid pandemic, record procurement of farm produce and steps taken to improve internal security as ''collective achievements'' in the long journey to achieve ambitious goals for the country.

PAR30 PAR-ADDRESS-CLIMATE CHANGE India's emerged as a responsible global voice on climate change: Kovind New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) India has emerged as a responsible global voice on the issue of climate change and its ambitions are a testimony to the country's sensitivity towards nature, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Monday.

ELN9 POLLS-LD PM-UP Five years ago, rioters and muscle men used to be law unto themselves in UP: PM Modi Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday targeted the Samajwadi Party, saying five years ago, muscle men and rioters used to be the law unto themselves in Uttar Pradesh.

ELN2 PB-POLLS-CHANNI NOMINATION Charanjit Channi files nomination papers from Bhadaur, says he has come to constituency like Sudama Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister and Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday filed his nomination papers from the Bhadaur (SC) seat in Barnala district.

DEL4 VIRUS-CASES India reports over 2.09 lakh Covid cases, 959 fatalities New Delhi: With 2,09,918 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of cases increased to over 4.13 crore, according to Union health ministry data updated on Monday.

DEL17 CBI-IAS-PF CBI seeks sanction from UP govt to probe role of bureaucrats in PF investment irregularities New Delhi: The CBI has sought sanction from the Uttar Pradeh government to investigate the alleged role of three senior bureaucrats in connection with alleged irregularities in the investment of over Rs 4,300 crore of provident fund of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) employees in scam-hit DHFL and other housing finance companies, sources said.

LEGAL LGD21 SC-SUCCESSION ACT Three-judge bench to hear plea challenging validity of provision of Hindu Succession Act: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that a three-judge bench would hear a plea challenging the constitutional validity of section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, on the ground that there is apparent discrimination in the devolution in case of a woman dying intestate, in comparison to male, who dies without making any will.

LGD18 SC-MOVIE-GANDHI SC declines to entertain plea seeking stay on streaming of movie “Why I killed Gandhi” New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking a stay on the streaming of the movie “Why I Killed Gandhi” released on Over The Top (OTT) platform ‘Limelight’, on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

LGD17 SC-LD MAJITHIA SC asks Punjab police to not arrest SAD leader Majithia in drugs case till Feb 23 New Delhi: In a relief to SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, the Supreme Court Monday directed Punjab Police not to arrest him till February 23 in a drugs case so he can undertake electioneering, saying “we are a democracy” where politicians be permitted to file nominations and it should not get the impression that “motivated” cases are filed.

LGD16 SC-NAVY-PERMANENT COMMISSION SC restrains Centre from releasing from service some naval officers who were denied PC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday restrained the Centre and Navy from releasing from services some officers (both male and female), who were not granted a permanent commission and sought reply from the Centre.

LGD15 DL-HC-TWITTER-SUSPENSION Delhi HC seeks Twitter's stand on plea against illegal suspension of account New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the stand of microblogging platform Twitter on a petition challenging the “out of the blue” illegal suspension of a user account for alleged violation of its rules.

LGD14 SC-TEJPAL SC judge recuses from hearing Tejpal's plea in sexual assault case New Delhi: Senior-most Supreme Court Judge Justice U U Lalit on Monday recused himself from hearing the appeal of journalist Tarun Tejpal against the Bombay High Court's order rejecting his plea for an in-camera hearing of the proceedings challenging his acquittal in a 2013 rape case.

LGD11 SC-VIRUS-VACCINE Nobody losing anything due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Centre tells SC New Delhi: The Centre on Monday opposed in the Supreme Court the arguments that people are losing their jobs and rations allegedly due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates issued by various states and authorities, saying nobody is “losing anything”.

LGD9 DL-COURT-UPHAAR Court directs police to procure sanctions to prosecute Sushil Ansal for fraud in passport renewal New Delhi: A court here on Monday granted three weeks to Delhi police to procure requisite sanctions from the authorities concerned to prosecute Sushil Ansal, convicted in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire which killed 59 people, for allegedly playing fraud while getting his passport renewed.

LGM2 KL-HC-RSS WORKER-KILLING Certain aspects in RSS worker's killing in Palakkad require CBI probe: Kerala HC Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday said that certain aspects in relation to the killing of an RSS worker, who was hacked to death in November last year in Palakkad district, require to be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

LGD2 SC-NAMAZ-GURUGRAM Gurugram ‘namaz’ row: SC agrees to hear plea for contempt action against Haryana officials New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list for urgent hearing a former Rajya Sabha lawmaker's plea seeking contempt action against top Haryana government officials over alleged disruptions in the offering of Friday ‘namaz’ in Gurugram.

LGD10 SC-MINORITIES SC expresses displeasure over non-filing of affidavit by Centre New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday expressed displeasure that the Centre has not yet filed its counter affidavit on a plea, which has challenged the validity of section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Education Institution Act 2004, and granted “one further opportunity” to the government to file it subject to cost of Rs 7,500.

BUSINESS DEL91 BIZ-BUDGET FM to boost budget spending to support eco growth New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to strike a fine balance between being fiscally prudent and growth supportive when she presents her fourth straight budget on Tuesday, which is expected to have plans to boost spending to revive investment and create jobs.

DEL107 BIZ-CEA-ECONOMY Abatement of pandemic to kick in virtuous investment cycle, generate jobs: CEA New Delhi: Pinning hopes on rapid vaccination drive, newly appointed Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Monday said that abatement of the COVID-19 pandemic would kick in virtuous cycle investment leading to job creation.

DEL100 BIZ-GST GST collection tops Rs 1.38 lakh cr in Jan New Delhi: GST collection in January crossed Rs 1.38 lakh crore in January, a growth of 15 per cent over the year-ago period.

DEL96 BIZ-LD-INFRA-GROWTH Core sector growth recovers to 3.8 pc in Dec New Delhi: Production of eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 3.8 per cent in December 2021 against a 0.4 per cent contraction in the same month last year on better show by coal, cement and refinery products, according to the official data released on Monday.

DEL35 BIZ-LD SURVEY GDP to grow 8-8.5 pc in FY'23; economy well placed to meet challenges: Survey New Delhi: India's economy is expected to grow by 8-8.5 per cent in the fiscal beginning April 1 and is well placed to meet the future challenges on the back of widespread vaccine coverage, supply-side reforms and easing of regulations, said the pre-Budget Economic Survey on Monday.

DEL57 BIZ-LD NINL-SALE Tata Steel Long Products to acquire NINL for Rs 12,100 cr New Delhi: In its second acquisition of a PSU in recent weeks, Tata group firm beat the likes of Jindal Stel and JSW Steel to snap loss-making Odisha-based Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) for Rs 12,100 crore.

DEL39 BIZ-SURVEY-PRIVATISATION Air India sale to boost privatisation; need to encourage private participation across sectors: Survey New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Air India sale will give a boost to India's privatisation drive, the Economic Survey said on Monday, as it suggested redefining the public sector role in business enterprises to encourage private participation in all sectors.

FOREIGN FGN43 UK-JOHNSON-APOLOGY Boris Johnson says sorry after 'partygate' report released London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised Monday for lockdown-flouting parties in Downing Street -- but insisted that he and his government can be trusted. (AP) FGN41 UK-JOHNSON-2NDLD PARTYGATE Report slams 'serious failure' of UK govt's lockdown parties London: Social gatherings held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff while Britain was in lockdown represent a ''serious failure'' to observe the standards expected of government, an investigation found on Monday. (AP) FGN38 UAE-CORPORATE-TAX UAE to impose federal corporate tax for the first time Dubai: The United Arab Emirates announced Monday it is introducing for the first time a federal corporate tax on business earnings. It's the latest measure to bring the country in line with many governments worldwide but one that also chips away at its competitive advantage. (AP) FGN37 UKRAINE-CRISIS Ukraine crisis updates: What to know amid the fears of war The Hague: Talks to stave off the threat of war in Eastern Europe are moving to the United Nations Security Council on Monday. But Russia, a veto-wielding member of the Security Council, has already dismissed the meeting as a “PR stunt”.