FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 BRIEFLY Economic security paramount: EAM New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India places a very high priority to its relationship with Japan, which has evolved over the past two decades into a broad, comprehensive and strategic partnership. Cochairing the 18th IndiaJapan Strategic Dialogue with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi here, he underlined the importance of economic security, calling it ‘paramount’ and emphasising the need to de-risk both national and global economies amid an uncertain international economic environment. The India-Japan relationship, he recalled, was primarily an economic partnership earlier. But it has evolved over the past two decades, the Indian minister said, referring to cooperation between the two nations in various international forums, including Quad, the United Nations, G4, and G20. Page 5 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | New Delhi, 16 January Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit West Bengal and Assam on 17-18 January. West Bengal and Assam are headed to Assembly polls in April-May, as also are Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry in the south. On 17 January, at around 12:45 p.m, the Prime Minister will visit Malda and flag off India’s first Vande Bharat ASHOK TUTEJA New Delhi, 16 January P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underlined the need for the startups to prepare for the future by working on new ideas in emerging domains that will play a crucial role in economic security and strategic autonomy, citing AI as a prime example. Addressing a programme marking a decade of the Startup India initiative at Bharat Mandapam here, he said that the government stands firmly with startups in every effort, expressing deep faith in their courage, confidence, and innovation, which are shaping India’s future. Recalling that "Startup India" was started ten years ago, he expressed satisfaction with the growth of the initiative and was happy to meet the youth. Emphasising that the most important aspect is the focus of India’s youth on solving real problems, he appreciated the young innovators who have shown the courage to dream new dreams. Mr Modi noted that ten years ago there was little scope for individual efforts and innovation, but those circumstances were challenged and the Startup India programme Sleeper Train between Howrah and Guwahati (Kamakhya) at Malda Town Railway Station. Thereafter, he will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple rail and road infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 3,250 crore in a public function at Malda, aimed at strengthening connectivity and accelerating development in West Bengal and the North-Eastern region. On 18 January, at around 3 p.m, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate, lay the foundation stone, and flag off various development projects worth around Rs 830 crore at Singur in Hooghly district. The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of four major railway projects in Bengal, including the new rail line between Balurghat and Hili, next-generation freight maintenance facilities at New Jalpaiguri, upgradation of the Siliguri Loco Shed, and modernisation of Vande Bharat train maintenance facilities in Jalpaiguri district. He will dedicate to the nation the electrification of rail lines between New Coochbehar–Bamanhat and New Coochbehar-Boxirhat, enabling faster, cleaner, and more energy-efficient train operations. The Prime Minister will CCPA takes action against unauthorised sale of walkie-talkies on e-commerce platforms STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE was launched, giving youth an open sky, and today the results are before the nation. “In just 10 years, the Startup India Mission has become a revolution. Today, India is the world's third-largest startup ecosystem.” he said, pointing out that ten years ago there were fewer than 500 startups in the country, while today the number has risen to more further virtually flag off 4 New Amrit Bharat Express trains ~ New Jalpaiguri-Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express; New Jalpaiguri-Tiruchirappalli Amrit Bharat Express; Alipurduar-SMVT Bengaluru Amrit Bharat Express; Alipurduar-Mumbai (Panvel) Amrit Bharat Express. This will enhance affordable and reliable long-distance rail connectivity. Prime Minister Modi will also flag off two new train services equipped with LHB coaches ~ Radhikapur-SMVT Bengaluru Express; Balurghat-SMVT Bengaluru Express ~ which will provide the region’s youth, students, and IT professionals with direct, safe, and comfortable travel connectivity to major IT and employment hubs such as Bengaluru. SILIGURI New Delhi, 16 January sensitive radio frequency bands, without mandatory statutory approvals or disclosures. These devices were sold without informing consumers about the radio frequency range on which the device operates; whether the device requires a government licence; and whether it has obtained Equipment Type Approval (ETA). It is a mandatory technical approval issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to ensure that wireless devices are compliant, safe and permitted for use in India (WPC) Many of these devices were found to operate in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band, which is a regulated spectrum also used by police, emergency services, disaster response agencies and other critical communication networks. Several products were wrongly advertised as “license-free” or “100 per cent legal,” even though their use requires government approval. In some cases, walkie-talkies were sold as toys but had very long communication ranges of up to 30 kilometres. In addition, many product listings did not clearly mention important details such as the operating frequency or whether the device had Equipment Type Approval (ETA), making it difficult for consumers to know if the product was legal to buy and use. (Representational image) than 2 lakh. He noted that in 2014, India had only four unicorns, whereas today there are nearly 125 active unicorns, and the world is watching this success story with amazement. Expressing happiness that "Startup India" has given birth to a new culture in the country, Mr Modi remarked that earlier, new businesses and ventures were largely initiated by children of big industrial families, as they alone had easy access to funding and support, while most middle-class and poor children could only dream of jobs. He highlighted that the ‘’Startup India’’ programme has changed this mindset, and now youth from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, even villages, are opening their own startups, attempting to solve the most pressing grassroots problems. He emphasised that this spirit of doing something for society and the nation holds immense value for him. | BHUBANESWAR | Saturday, 17 January 2026 Mahayuti tastes victory in Maha corporation elections STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Mumbai, 16 January The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has taken a lead in 24 of 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including Mumbai (BMC), Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Nagpur, according to partial results announced by the Maharashtra State Election Commission here on Friday. The BJP flag is likely to fly at as many as 21 municipal corporations in the state, including Mumbai, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Congress had to be content with only a handful of seats, even as the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena lost power in Mumbai after almost 30 years of dominance. In Mumbai, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance crossed the majority mark in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), securing a total of 120 wards in the 227-ward civic body. Out of these, the BJP alone has won 93 seats, while its ally Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 27 BMC wards. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) won a total of 73 seats, with the Uddhav-led Sena winning 63 seats and MNS winning 10 seats, while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP failed to open their accounts in the BMC. The Shinde-led Shiv Sena maintained its dominance in its traditional strongholds of Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. In the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the BJP has emerged with a clear upper hand; the party has either won or has taken strong leads in a large number of wards, positioning itself to dominate the corporation. In Pune, though both the NCPs led by Sharad Pawar and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar fought the elections as an alliance, they failed to convert their traditional pockets of influence into votes. • See also Page 5 India remains engaged with USA on unconditional sanctions waiver for crucial Chabahar Port project NIKHIL VYAS New Delhi, 16 January Noting that it is closely watching the unfolding situation in Iran, India on Friday said it remains engaged with the US side on an unconditional sanctions waiver for the crucial Chabahar Port project which is valid until 26 April 2026. India has strong trade links with Iran, including energy imports and the development of the crucial Chabahar Port that provides India a direct transport link to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan. In 2025, the USA extended a six-month sanctions waiver for India to continue its operations at the Chabahar port, effective from 29 October. Responding to a media query regarding reports claiming that India has exited Chabahar Port project, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal while addressing his weekly media briefing in New Delhi said: “As you are aware, on 28 October 2025, the US Treasury Department issued a letter. In that letter, we were informed about the Unconditional Sanctions Waiver. As you are aware, the sanctions waiver we have received is valid until 26 April 2026. We remain engaged with the US side in working out this arrangement." India has also faced renewed attention over its long-standing ties with Iran following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on countries doing business with Tehran. The Indian side has said the threat is expected to have a "minimal impact," noting that India-Iran trade, at about USD 1.68 billion, accounts for 0.15 per cent of New Delhi's total trade. The MEA also said that the Indian government is closely watching the fast-developing situation in Iran and assured that it will take all necessary measures for the welfare of Indians. Mr Jaiswal stated that around 9,000 Indian nationals reside in Iran, which include students, people connected to business, professionals, pilgrims and seafarers. "Given the situation there, we have issued a few advisories, asking Indian nationals to avoid all travel to Iran and Indian nationals who are already resident in Iran, to leave Iran by available means, including by commercial flights. We continue to closely watch the unfolding situation there and will take all necessary steps for the welfare of our people," the MEA spokesperson said. Protests in Iran were initially triggered by severe economic conditions, including record inflation and currency collapse, and have since spread across the country. Protesters are expressing dissent and calling for significant political and governance-related changes. Justice Verma impeachment: SC rejects judge’s plea against ‘unilateral’ constitution of inquiry committee by the Speaker PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 16 January The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken suo motu cognisance of the large-scale illegal listing and sale of walkie-talkies (Personal Mobile Radios PMRs) on e-commerce platforms and imposed monetary penalties on leading online marketplaces for violations of consumer protection and telecom regulations. The action follows the identification of over 16,970 non-compliant walkie-talkie listings across platforms. Notices were issued to 13 e-commerce entities, including Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, JioMart, Meta (Facebook Marketplace), Talk Pro, Chimiya, MaskMan Toys, India Mart, TradeIndia, Antriksh Technologies, Vardaanmart and Krishna Mart. The Authority found that several platforms were facilitating the sale of walkie-talkies operating on restricted and | PM asks startups to work on new ideas in key domains PM headed to poll-bound Bengal, Assam; to launch multiple rail, road projects STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea by Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, seeking the quashing of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision to constitute a three-member committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act to inquire into the alleged recovery of unaccounted cash from his then official residence in New Delhi, in pursuance of impeachment proceedings against him. Dismissing Justice Varma’s plea and holding that no interference was called for with the Speaker’s decision, a Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said: “The extraordinary remedy under Article 32 is confined to enforcement of Fundamental Rights and does not extend to issuing FOR ADJUDICATING JUSTICE YASHWANT VARMA’S CHALLENGE TO THE SPEAKER’S DECISION, THE SUPREME COURT FRAMED A SET OF FIVE INTERLINKED ISSUES CENTRED ON THE INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION OF SECTION 3(2) OF THE JUDGES (INQUIRY) ACT. advisory or corrective directions in relation to internal statutory mechanisms of the Parliament, where no present or inevitable infraction of any Fundamental Right is evinced. Petitioner is, thus, not entitled to any relief.” For adjudicating Justice Yashwant Varma’s challenge to the Speaker’s decision, the Supreme Court framed a set of five interlinked issues centred on the interpretation and application of Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act. At the core was the question of whether the first proviso to Section 3(2) mandates the constitution of a Joint Committee when impeachment notices are submitted in both Houses on the same day but are subsequently admitted by the Speaker, Lok Sabha, and refused by the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha. The Court also examined the competence of the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to decline admission of the motion in the absence of the Chairman, and the legal consequences of such refusal on the validity of the Speaker’s action in constituting an inquiry committee. Further, the Bench considered whether the draft decision prepared by the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha declaring the notice “not in order” was legally sustainable. Finally, the Court addressed whether, in light of these issues, Justice Varma was entitled to any relief. Answering the core questions arising from the challenge, the Supreme Court held that the proviso to Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act mandates the constitution of a Joint Committee only in one specific situation—where notices of motion given on the same day have been admitted by both Houses. The Court clarified that it does not curtail the independent authority of either House of Parliament, if one house refuses to admit the notice for impeachment. The Court further held that, in the absence of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman was fully competent to exercise the Chairman’s powers, including the refusal to admit a notice of motion.