Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that he had submitted his clarification to Akal Takht's acting Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj over his alleged remarks on the Sikh code of conduct and an objectionable video and would abide by the verdict pronounced by the Sikh clergy.

After the nearly hour-long meeting with Giani Gargaj and Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Baba Tek Singh Dhanaula here, Mann, in a media interaction, said: "They said they would go through the explanation and take a decision accordingly. I will abide by the verdict pronounced by the Sikh clergy."

Startups can play an important role in building a self-reliant programme nuclear programme by contributing to technology development, said Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman, Atomic Energy Commission on Thursday.

Kakodkar told that the country’s nuclear programme has been built on self-reliance.

Despite technology embargoes in the past, India developed advanced reactor systems indigenously, which are now performing extremely well.

Expressing concern over rising drug abuse among the youth in Punjab, President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said that in recent years, the problem has emerged as a serious challenge, affecting the youth the most.

“This problem is impacting not only health but also the social, economic, and moral fabric of society. A lasting solution to this problem is essential for a healthy society,” she said in her address at the 50th golden jubilee convocation of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) here.

US-based Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla sold 225 units of its only electric vehicle in India, Model Y SUV, in calendar year 2025, according to industry data.

Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) data showed that Tesla retailed 64 units in September, 40 in October, 48 in November and 73 in December.

US electric‑vehicle maker is yet to complete a year of retail deliveries in India as it opened its maiden showroom in July.

Assam Rifles troops have seized drugs worth Rs 29.4 crore and arrested a drug peddler in Mizoram, officials said on Thursday.

A defence spokesman said that acting on credible Intelligence inputs related to narcotics trafficking, Assam Rifles conducted an operation in the Zemabawk area of Aizawl district on Wednesday afternoon.

During the operation, the paramilitary troops intercepted a suspicious vehicle. A swift and thorough search led to the recovery of 9.8 kg of highly addictive methamphetamine tablets valued at over Rs 29.4 crore.

India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is considering whether it should start regulating the country’s unlisted share market, which currently operates largely outside its direct control, chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Investment Bankers of India’s annual convention for 2025–26 here, Pandey said the issue is being discussed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

India is ranked fourth globally in public confidence, and the country is headed in the right direction, with 81 per cent expressing optimism compared with a 48 per cent global average, a report said on Thursday.

The report from SEC Newgate stated that India holds organisations to high standards, with 89 per cent of respondents ranking socially responsible business as highly important versus a global average of 80 per cent.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday spoke with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar regarding the safety of students from the union territory currently studying in Iran.

The CM said on X, “Just spoke to EAM about the evolving situation in Iran. He shared his assessment of the ground situation & the plans that the External Affairs Ministry is working on. I’m grateful for his assurance that all steps will be taken to safeguard the interests & lives of students & other people from J&K who are in Iran now”.

The prevalence of autoimmune diseases is increasing, especially in women, and the ongoing winter season, along with high pollution, may be worsening the symptoms, said an expert from the All India Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi on Wednesday.

Dr. Uma Kumar, Professor and head of department of Rheumatology, AIIMS, explained that autoimmune diseases develop through a complex process, which may be limited to a single organ or be systemic.

Six members of a family were burnt alive at their residence in a devastating fire that broke out early Thursday at Talagna village in Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh, said police.

One family member survived the incident that occurred at around 2 a.m. at the residence of Mohan Singh.

The blaze spread speedily, allowing the trapped people little time to move out to safety.

As the nation marks the decade of the ‘Startup India’ initiative, the revolution is no longer merely an economic phenomenon; it has become a nation-building instrument, reshaping how the India creates capability, opportunity, and confidence for the next century.

‘Startup India’ was launched on January 16, 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a transformative national programme to nurture innovation, promote entrepreneurship and enable investment-driven growth, with the objective of making India a nation of job creators rather than job seekers.

 Actress Shraddha Kapoor feels that there’s something truly special about exploring one’s own city after dark and said that nothing compares to the comfort of late-night drives through familiar streets.

Shraddha took to her Instagram Stories to share a video of herself inside a car during the wee hours, with the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus glowing beautifully in the background. She added the A.R. Rahman track “Rehna Tu” from the 2009 film Delhi-6.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is concerned regarding the slow rate of verification of identification documents provided by "unmapped" voters who have participated in the current hearing sessions concerning the draft voters' list in West Bengal.

Amid this situation, the Commission has directed the District Magistrates (DMs), who are also the District Electoral Officers (DEOs), to expedite the process of document authentication, considering that the deadline for publication of the final voters list is February 14 this year.

 Superstar Rajinikanth, who greeted fans outside his residence on the happy occasion of Pongal, has now disclosed that shooting for his eagerly-awaited upcoming film with director Cibi Chakravarthy will begin in April this year.

Rajinikanth, as expected, met fans who had gathered outside his residence to greet him on the festival of Pongal. The superstar, who stepped out of his residence, waved to his fans and wished them a happy Pongal, before talking to the media present at the venue.

On the occasion of Army Day on Thursday, Bollywood actress Yami Gautam took a moment to honour the nation’s armed forces.

Yami took to X, where she re-shared a posed by a music label featuring various scenes from the 2024 political thriller film “Article 370.”

She wrote: Happy Army Day. Today & everyday. Jai Hind.”

Army Day is celebrated on 15 January every year in India, in recognition of Lieutenant General Kodandera M. Cariappa's taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Francis Roy Bucher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India, on 15 January 1949.

The makers of director Vignesh Raja's film, featuring actor Dhanush in the lead, have announced the title of the eagerly awaited action entertainer as 'Kara' on the festival day of Pongal.

Taking to its X timeline to make the announcement, Vels Film International, the production house producing the film, wrote, "#D54 is #கர. #HappyPongal. Directed by @vigneshraja89. Produced by @IshariKGanesh. A @gvprakash musical."

Senior Democrats sharply criticised the Trump administration after it moved to halt immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, calling the decision discriminatory, harmful to families, and damaging to US economic and moral standing.

Sen. Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts said the State Department’s decision to stop processing immigrant visas amounted to a sweeping ban that would separate families and hurt states that depend on immigrants for education and economic growth.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will consider the record of election-related violence in the last seven elections in West Bengal since 2014 as the determining factor for the extent and pattern of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) deployment for the 2026 Assembly polls in the state.

These seven elections, whose poll-violence records will be under ECI's consideration, include the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, 2019, and 2024, the state Assembly elections in 2016 and 2021, and the polls for the three-tier panchayat system in West Bengal in 2018 and 2023.

Hyundai Motor, Porsche Korea and two other automakers will voluntarily recall more than 340,000 vehicles in South Korea to fix various component defects, the transport ministry here said on Thursday.

The four companies, including Kia Corp. and Mercedes-Benz Korea, are recalling a combined 344,073 vehicles across 74 models, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, reports news agency.

The Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) continues to grapple with an intense winter spell, as bone-chilling cold wave conditions persist, worsening both weather and air quality across the region. The situation in the national capital remains extremely concerning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing the 350 mark in several areas, placing air quality in the 'very poor' to 'severe' categories.

Unabated cold accompanied by chilly winds blowing into the plains from mountains continued in Kashmir on Thursday and Jammu city also reeled under unprecedented chilly weather.

The maximum temperature was 7.4 degrees Celsius in Jammu on Wednesday, while the minimum was 4.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

With just a gap of 3 degrees between the maximum and minimum temperatures, Jammu city is witnessing unprecedented cold weather, made worse by fog that continued throughout the day with varying intensity.

Jammu city on Wednesday recorded the 4th lowest maximum temperature ever at 7.4 degrees Celsius.

South Korea's central bank again left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday as a weakened won and rising inflation concerns limited room for further easing.

In a widely expected decision, the Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) held the key rate at 2.5 per cent at its rate-setting meeting in Seoul, marking the fifth consecutive on-hold decision since July, reports news agency.

The Indian stock markets remain closed on Thursday on account of municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra.

In an earlier notification, the BSE said there will be no trading in the equity segment, equity derivatives, commodity derivatives, and electronic gold receipts on that day. It also said that equity derivative contracts originally scheduled to expire on January 15, 2026, expired a day earlier. These revisions will be reflected in the end-of-day contract master files.

The NSE also said that January 15 will be a trading holiday in both the capital market and futures and options segments.

In a devastating incident, five individuals perished in a head-on collision between a loading vehicle and a tractor-trolley in the Berasia police station area, near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

The accident occurred around 9.30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Narela region of the Berasia constituency, as reported by local authorities. The victims, residents of Vidisha and Sironj districts, were en route to Hoshangabad (Narmadapuram) for a holy dip in the Narmada River the following day, a common pilgrimage during auspicious occasions.