Top news of the day: Supreme Court stays 2026 UGC Equity Regulations; Economic Survey shows India in a bright light in an increasingly darker world, and more

Supreme Court stays 2026 UGC Equity Regulations, calls it ‘too sweeping’ The Supreme Court of India on Thursday (January 29, 2026) kept in abeyance the implementation of the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, alleged to be discriminatory on the ground that it extends the benefit of reservation only to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and members of the Other Backward Communities (OBC) while denying the same protection to general or upper castes. Economic Survey 2025 shows India in a bright light in an increasingly darker world The Economic Survey 2025-26 has painted a rosy picture of India’s domestic growth outlook, raising the country’s medium-term outlook to 7% from its earlier estimate of 6.5%. However, it has simultaneously outlined a relatively grim outlook for the global economy, estimating a 10-20% chance of a crisis worse than the global financial crisis of 2008 unfolding in 2026. Ajit Pawar cremated with full state honours; Union Ministers attend funeral The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, killed in a plane crash, were held with full state honours on Thursday (January 29, 2026) at Baramati in Pune district. Union Ministers Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, former Union Minister Sharad Pawar and BJP president Nitin Nabin attended the 66-year-old Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief’s funeral at the Vidya Pratishthan ground at Baramati, around 100 km from Pune. India monitoring reports of attacks against minorities in Bangladesh, says government India continues to monitor reports of incidents of attacks against minorities in Bangladesh, including on their homes and places of worship, and New Delhi has “consistently raised” the issue with the authorities in Dhaka, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday (January 29, 2026). Supreme Court reserves verdict on pleas for modification of earlier orders on stray dogs The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 29, 2026) reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking modification of earlier orders in the stray dogs case. A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria reserved its decision after hearing amicus curiae Gaurav Agarwal, who summarised the steps taken by states like Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Tamil Nadu SIR: Supreme Court directs ECI to display logical discrepancies at public places in voters facing deletion The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 29, 2026) directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to display the names of the persons figuring in the logical discrepancies with the reason at public places in every ward. The Bench also allowed affected persons to submit their documents or objections through their authorised representative, such as Booth Level Agent (BLA). We are on the same page, says Shashi Tharoor after meeting Rahul, Kharge Amid reports that he was upset with his party, Congress MP from Thiruvanthapuram Shashi Tharoor, met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in Mr. Kharge’s Parliament office on Thursday (January 29, 2026), and said all is good and we are moving together on the same page. Bangladesh approves shooting team’s India tour Bangladesh has approved its shooting team’s tour to New Delhi for next ‍month’s Asian Shooting Championships, days after the cricket team’s refusal ​to play in India due to safety ‌concerns cost them a place at the ​T20 World Cup. Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland in the T20 World Cup, which runs from February 7 to March 8, after they insisted they would not tour India, highlighting security concerns following soured political relations between the neighbours. Australian Open 2026: Aryna Sabalenka crushes Svitolina to reach final Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka powered into her fourth Australian Open final in a row with a dominant win over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on Thursday (January 29, 2026) in a politically charged encounter. There was no handshake afterwards as top-ranked Sabalenka triumphed 6-2, 6-3 and faces either Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula for her third Melbourne title. U.S. judge blocks Trump administration from detaining refugees in Minnesota A U.S. federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration on Wednesday (January 28, 2026) from detaining refugees in Minnesota awaiting permanent resident status and ordered the release of those in detention. U.S. President Donald Trump has sent thousands of federal immigration agents to the Democratic state as part of a sweeping crackdown that has sparked outrage over the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of officers. Wangchuk denies in Supreme Court allegations of remarks about overthrowing govt like Arab Spring Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is under detention in Jodhpur Central Jail, denied in the Supreme Court on Thursday (January 29, 2026) allegations that he made a statement to overthrow the government like the Arab Spring, emphasising that he has the democratic right to criticise and protest. Delhi court acquits L-G Saxena in 2000 defamation case filed by Medha Patkar