Times of India

Stock market today: BSE Sensex and Nifty50, the Indian equity benchmark indices, opened in green on Friday, a day ahead of the Union Budget 2025 presentation. While BSE Sensex was near 76,900, Nifty50 was above 23,300.

Wriddhiman Saha, a former Team India wicketkeeper batter, explained his national team departure was a strategic decision. Despite retiring officially, he harbors no resentment and appreciates the opportunities cricket has given him. Relishing his career highlights, he looks forward to spending time with family after 18 years of professional commitment.

SHO Brijesh Tiwari from Soraon police station was suspended for allegedly pouring ash into food prepared for pilgrims. After the video went viral, authorities conducted an investigation and confirmed his guilt. The incident occurred during a bhandara for devotees without police permission.

During his confirmation hearing, Trump's FBI nominee Kash Patel recounted experiencing racism and threats to his life. While addressing concerns about his loyalty to Trump, he maintained his stance against violence and denied intentions to oversee politically motivated investigations.

Aman Sehrawat, the Paris Olympics bronze medallist, and other Indian wrestlers will miss the Zagreb Open due to the Wrestling Federation of India's lack of clearance from the sports ministry. Despite submitting entries in advance, the WFI didn't receive the necessary authorisation, leading to the cancellation of the trip. This follows previous misses at tournaments in Belarus and Egypt.

US President Donald Trump responded sarcastically to reporters’ questions about visiting the Potomac River crash site, asking if they wanted him to go swimming. The incident involved a mid-air collision between a jet and a military helicopter, presumed to have claimed 67 lives. His remarks were condemned online for being insensitive.

Budget Economic Survey 2025: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Economic Survey 2024-25 in Parliament today, offering detailed analysis and future projections of the Indian economy. The document, prepared by the Economic Division, is expected to highlight key economic indicators and introduce solutions to pressing issues.

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian astronaut on the International Space Station with the Axiom Mission 4 in 2025. As an Indian Air Force pilot, he will join a diverse international crew for a 14-day mission conducting experiments and outreach programs. Shukla aims to showcase Indian culture in space, including performing yoga onboard.

Bajaj Broking Research highlights top stock picks including Tata Steel, and Bharat Electronics for January 31, 2025. Nifty and Bank Nifty indices show potential for pullbacks and consolidation.

Consumption inequality in rural and urban areas of India decreased in 2023-24 compared to the previous year, as shown by the HCES. Average monthly per capita consumption expenditure also rose across the 18 major states, with the highest increases in rural Odisha and urban Punjab.

The Election Commission may order a criminal FIR against former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for failing to substantiate claims that Haryana's BJP government poisoned Yamuna waters. The EC emphasized that his allegations could incite public disorder and disharmony between states, raising possibilities of legal action for violating the model code of conduct.

The Supreme Court, with the Centre's agreement, plans to reappoint up to five retired HC judges per HC to address the backlog of 62 lakh cases. Ad hoc judges will be paired with sitting judges to hear criminal cases without taking new ones.

The investigation into the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) outbreak in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad has not linked Campylobacter jejuni in water samples to the cases. With the caseload rising to 130 and 20 patients on ventilators, NIV will now genetically analyze the bacterial genome to understand if a high-risk strain caused the surge in GBS cases.

The Tamil Nadu government, led by M K Stalin, plans to file a review petition against the Supreme Court's ruling banning domicile-based reservation in PG medical courses. This decision threatens the state's 69% reservation policy and affects quotas for in-service candidates and minorities.

India will host Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI models on its servers to evaluate security parameters. The government is procuring 18,693 GPUs to support AI development, part of the Rs 10,372 crore IndiaAI mission. IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized that India, seen as a trusted partner, will ensure data privacy by hosting these models locally.

Parliament's standing committee on communications and information technology, led by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, will review media laws on Friday. Key issues include rampant paid news, fake news, sensationalism in TV news, declining newspaper readership, and the impact of social media control by foreign corporates.

During the Mauni Amavasya at the Maha Kumbh, a stampede caused chaos and separated pilgrims from their families. People like Leena Sahoo and Mukesh Chauhan experienced the anguish of searching for lost loved ones amidst the crowd. While some were reunited, others continued to search in vain.

Six pilgrims from UP and Bihar returning from Maha Kumbh died in two separate accidents on Thursday, raising the death toll to 28 since the start of the event. A collision in Jaunpur killed three from UP, while another crash on Purvanchal Expressway involved three from Bihar. Recent accidents highlight the dangers faced by pilgrims traveling to and from Prayagraj.

Despite the tragic stampede at Sangam claiming 30 lives on Maha Kumbh’s most significant day, pilgrims continue to attend, viewing it as 'the will of God.' Past incidents like the 1954 stampede, resulting in 800 deaths, have not deterred Hindu society from attending such religious congregations.

Taylor Swift was seen showing support for her NFL star boyfriend Travis Kelce during the AFC Championship. She was also spotted with a new friend, Brittany Mahomes, amid distancing herself from longtime friend Blake Lively. With the Super Bowl 2025 on the horizon, fans are eager to see more of Taylor and Brittany together.