Month: January 2026

New delhi (TIP)- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday, Jan 16, attacked the Election Commission over the “erasable ink” row, saying that the trust in democracy has “collapsed”.
Sharing a media report on the ink used in the Maharashtra civic polls allegedly being erasable, the leader of the opposition said that “vote chori” is an anti-national act.
“Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act,” Gandhi wrote on X.
The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday ordered a probe into complaints of erasable electoral ink being used during the civic polls and warned of action against those “creating confusion” after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray flagged the issue.
Thackeray accused the state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare of “openly siding” with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance and demanded his suspension.
Waghmare announced an inquiry into complaints about erasable electoral ink and said that claims that acetone or nail polish can remove it are false. He warned that anyone attempting to remove the ink or spread confusion among voters would face legal action.
The SEC clarification on the
‘erasable ink’ issue
Before ordering the inquiry, the Maharashtra SEC issued a clarification stating that attempts to remove the indelible ink applied to voters’ fingers, thereby creating confusion, are illegal. The poll body warned that if a person is found trying to vote again after removing the ink mark, appropriate legal action will be taken.
“Attempts to remove the indelible ink applied on voters’ fingers at polling stations and thereby create confusion in the voting process are illegal. The State Election Commission has clarified that if any person is found trying to vote again after removing the ink mark, appropriate legal action will be taken against them,” the SEC said in the statement.
“If anyone attempts to illegally remove the ink applied at the polling station, the concerned voter will not be allowed to vote again. Instructions in this regard have already been given to the polling staff. After a voter casts their vote, a record of it is made. Therefore, even if the ink mark is removed, the voter cannot vote again. To increase awareness, these instructions have once again been issued to all concerned,” the statement added.

New Delhi (TIP)- Defying global headwinds and hefty US tariffs, India’s merchandise exports increased 1.9% to $38.51 billion in December from $37.8 billion a year earlier, and 2.44% to $330.29 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, which was primarily driven by double-digit export growth in key markets such as China, the US and the UAE, according to data released on Thursday, Jan 15.
“Despite global trade turmoil, merchandise exports in December have grown by 1.86% from $37.8 billion to $38.51 billion,” commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Thursday while releasing trade data for December and the nine-month period.
Crucially, shipments to the US rose nearly 10% year-on-year to $65.88 billion in April-December 2025 from $60.03 billion in the corresponding period last year, although December exports logged a marginal drop to $6.88 billion from $7.01 billion a year earlier and edged down from $6.92 billion in November. “US exports have grown on-year in the first nine months of the (fiscal) year,” Agrawal said, adding that “as of now” exports to the US remain in positive territory.
The resilience comes despite the Trump administration imposing a 50% additional tariff on Indian goods from August, with exemptions for electronics and pharmaceuticals helping sustain momentum. Overall exports — merchandise and services combined — grew 4.33% to $634.26 billion in the nine-month period, with services exports estimated to have jumped 6.46% to $303.97 billion from $285.53 billion.
“One thing very clear with this trajectory, we are going to cross $850 billion of exports in the current financial year,” Agrawal said. India’s exports in 2024-25 stood at a record $824.9 billion.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president SC Ralhan said the performance was “particularly encouraging given the volatility in global trade flows, and reflects the effectiveness of government initiatives aimed at boosting exports and focused support to MSME exporters.”
“The performance assumes greater significance against the backdrop of ongoing geo-political tensions, supply-chain realignments, inflationary pressures and rising protectionism across major economies,” he added.
China emerges as bright spot
India’s exports to China surged 37% to $14.25 billion in April-December 2025 from $10.42 billion in the same period of the previous year. “We are also doing very well in China, where the growth has been very good,” Agrawal said.
The growth accelerated sharply after the US tariff action, with December exports to China jumping 67.3% to $2.05 billion from $1.22 billion a year earlier. Indian exporters of marine products, hit by US tariffs, diversified significantly to China and other markets, the commerce secretary said.
Merchandise imports from China also rose just over 13% year-on-year to $95.95 billion in the first nine months of 2025-26.
India has also raised energy imports from the US, with purchases growing 13% to $39.43 billion in the nine-month period. December imports rose 7.57% to $3.75 billion. Electronic goods exports increased 16.78% to $4.17 billion in December 2025 from $3.57 billion a year earlier.

New Delhi (TIP)- In a setback to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Supreme Court on Thursday, Jan 15, issued a notice to her, state DGP Rajeev Kumar and others on the Enforcement Directorate’s petition seeking a CBI probe against them for allegedly obstructing the agency’s raids at the I-PAC office and the premises of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata.
Terming the alleged obstruction in the ED probe “very serious”, a Bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Vipul M Pancholi agreed to examine if a state’s law-enforcing agencies could interfere with a central agency’s probe into any serious offence.
The Bench stayed the FIRs lodged by the West Bengal Police against ED officials who raided Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) — a political consultancy firm — on January 8 in connection with an alleged coal pilferage scam. It also directed the state police to protect the CCTV footage of the raids.
Asking Mamata, Rajeev Kumar, Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma and South Kolkata Deputy Commissioner Priyabatra Roy to respond to the ED petition in two weeks, the top court posted the matter for hearing on February 3.
“We are of the prima facie opinion that the present petition has raised a serious issue relating to the investigation by the ED or other central agencies, and interference by state agencies…For furtherance of the rule of law in the country, and to allow each organ to function independently, it’s necessary to examine the issue so that the offenders are not allowed to be protected under the shield of the law enforcement agencies of a particular state,” the Bench said.
“Larger questions are involved in the present manner, which if allowed to remain undecided, would further worsen the situation and there will be a situation of lawlessness prevailing in one state or the other, considering that different outfits are governing different places. True that any central agency does not have any power to interfere with the election work of any party, but if the central agency is bona fide investigating any serious offence, the question arises whether in the guise of taking shield of party activities, agencies can be restricted from carrying out power,” it wondered.
The order came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted on behalf of the ED that in the past also, Mamata interfered in the probe of central agencies. “This case reflects a very shocking pattern emerging. In the past also, whenever the statutory authorities exercised their power of investigation, the Chief Minister marched there. Officers, including the DGP and the Commissioner of Police, are accomplices and they accompany her. The uniformed police officers sit on dharna with political leaders,” Mehta told the Bench.
“Here, there was evidence that some incriminating material was lying on the premises of a company. The officers, exercising powers under Section 17 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, went there. The CM, along with the DGP and other police officials, barged into the house and took away material, including the mobile phone of an ED official. It’s an offence of theft,” the Solicitor General alleged.
She went to the media as if she had done some great thing, Mehta said, adding, “If we turn a blind eye to it, this kind of thing will continue, which will not only encourage officials not to discharge their duty but will also demoralise the central forces; the state forces will feel they can go with the CM. Let an example be set and the state officers concerned be suspended…”
The Bench said it was disturbed by the commotion at the Calcutta High Court during the hearing in the ED raids case as the High Court had to adjourn the hearing due to unmanageable chaos in the courtroom.
On behalf of the Chief Minister and West Bengal Government officials, senior counsel Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned the maintainability of the ED petition and contended that the matter should be heard by the Calcutta High Court first.

New Delhi (TIP)- India is expected to conclude the much-anticipated trade deal with the European Union by the end of January, Trade Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said on Thursday, Jan 15. The conclusion of the India-EU trade deal comes amid continued delays in talks with Washington. On January 9, India and the EU held talks in Brussels on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA).
The deal, which has been under discussion for years, is expected to boost bilateral trade relations and deepen market access, reducing dependence on China and Russia. Bilateral trade between India and the bloc totalled $140 billion in 2024, making the EU India’s largest trading partner. Agarwal added that the two sides were “very close” to finalising the pact and were exploring whether it would be viable to wrap it up before top EU leaders visit New Delhi later this month. The European Commission, negotiating on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member states, expressed cautious optimism in remarks to EU envoys, Reuters reported, citing sources.
One of the major points of dispute between the bloc and New Delhi has been automobiles and steel. The EU wants India to sharply cut import tariffs on EU cars, while India is concerned that its steel exports to the EU will be constrained by the EU’s carbon border levy and safeguard measures that lower overall steel imports. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has notified that some sensitive agricultural items have been excluded from negotiations. Trade ministry officials said India will not open its agriculture or dairy sectors under any trade pact, citing farmers’ interests. Challenges also remain over regulatory alignment and the protection of sensitive sectors, reports said.
On the India-US trade deal, Agarwal said talks are continuing and that an agreement would be reached when both sides are ready. Negotiations between New Delhi and Washington paused briefly towards the end of 2025 due to a breakdown in communication.

Can call anyone: AI crash probe body on summoning late captain’s nephew
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has rejected objections raised by the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) over its summons of Captain Varun Anand, nephew of the late Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, in the ongoing Air India Flight 171 crash investigation.
The FIP had strongly protested the January 9 notice, calling it “wholly unwarranted” and an attempt to harass an individual connected by family to the deceased pilot. The federation argued that the summons provided no clarity on its statutory basis, purpose, or the capacity in which Captain Anand was required to appear.