FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 233 | INDORE | FRIDAY | JANUARY 30, 2026 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY Sports SUNDAY SHOWDOWN P.14 India gets trade edge in Turkiye via EU FTA UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Cinema Prince chooses being real P.16 AT 6.8-7.2%, INDIA TO RETAIN WORLD-BEATING GDP GROWTH K Giriprakash EU FTA The author is a senior journalist based in Bengaluru 4Continued on | P8 fp Briefs INDORE ED cracks down on 3 officials The Indore-based SubZonal Office of the ED has made a major strike against three State government officials by filing three separate Prosecution Complaints before the designated ED court of the district. In all three cases, assets worth Rs 24.62 crore were allegedly amassed beyond known sources of income. See P2 BARAMATI Ajit Pawar cremated Grief swept through Baramati in Pune district on Thursday as Maharashtra bid farewell to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who lost his life in a tragic plane crash, with his last rites performed with full state honours. The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday said the "black box" of the Learjet aircraft has been recovered. See Nation Modi sees big moment for farmers Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI tain a healthy balance of payments. When they run drier, rupee stability becomes a casualty. What he means is that India needs continuous foreign capital to keep the rupee steady. When that capital slows, the rupee comes under pressure. The Survey also quotes the Lowy Institute, the Australian think tank, and its Power Gap Index, which delivers quite a damning assessment, showing India's power gap score at -4.0, "the lowest in Asia, excluding Russia and North Korea." Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with EU has opened a vast market for Indian goods and created major opportunities for India’s youth, farmers, manufacturers and service sector professionals. He urged industry leaders to focus on quality and capacity enhancement to fully benefit from the deal. Addressing the media in the Parliament complex ahead of the start of the Budget Session, he said FTA marked a bright beginning to the quarter and offered a glimpse of the promise of the coming century. He described the FTA with the European Union as a deal for an ambitious India and said it would help Indians explore global avenues. The Prime Minister said the agreement with 27 countries would bring significant 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Macroeconomic Paradox STRONG FUNDAMENTALS, WEAK CURRENCY K Giriprakash BENGALURU Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran opens the Economic Survey 2025-26 with a candid admission that captures the contradiction of India’s current economic state. “The paradox of 2025 is that India's strongest macroeconomic performance in decades has collided with a global system that no longer rewards macroeconomic success with currency stability, capital inflows, or strategic insulation,” he writes in the preface. This obviously does not showcase the positive aspect of the Government’s economic documents. In the country’s defence, Nageswaran describes India as a “victim of geopolitics and a strategic power gap”, acknowledging that despite achieving fiscal deficit targets (4.8 per cent vs 4.9 per cent budgeted), receiving three credit rating upgrades, and posting 8 per cent growth in H1 FY26, “the Indian rupee underperformed in 2025”. He further adds that “India runs a trade deficit in goods. Its net trade surplus in services and remittances is not enough to offset it. India depends on foreign capital flows to main- Sanjay Kumar named Bhopal CP, 14 IPS officers shifted Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Balaghat Inspector General (IG) Sanjay Kumar has been posted as commissioner of police, Bhopal, as state government on Thursday ordered transfer of 14 IPS officers. Kumar replaced Harinarayanchari Mishra, who has been posted as IG, State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), Bhopal. Additional Director General (ADG), Ujjain range, Umesh Joga, has been appointed transport commissioner. Rakesh Gupta, Director of Sports and Youth Welfare, is new ADG of Ujjain range. Lalit Shakyavar has been posted as IG, Balaghat range, while Chaitra N will take charge as IG, Shahdol range. Anshuman Yadav has been appointed new Director of Sports and Youth Welfare. Pankaj Shrivastava, currently Special Director General, Anti-Naxal Operations, has been posted as Special DG, CID. K P Venkateshwar Rao replaced him as Special DG, Anti-Naxal Operations. 4Continued on | P8 OBC Mahasabha, state govt clash over presence in SC hearing on 27% quota Next hearing on February 4 Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The OBC Mahasabha and Madhya Pradesh government clashed over their presence in Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday during the hearing on 27% OBC reservation. The SC has scheduled the next hearing for February 4. Lawyers from both sides claimed representation issues in court. Advocates for OBC Mahasabha said no lawyer from the state government was present. Senior Advocate Anoop George, appearing for the Mahasabha, said, “In today’s hearing, no lawyer represented the state, prompting the SC to express regret over its indifferent attitude. The state has been publishing recruitment advts with 27% OBC reservation, yet 13% of posts are being held illegally.” Representatives of the OBC community included June Choudhary, Rameshwar Singh Thakur and Varun Thakur. 4Continued on | P8 Sanjay rewarded for wiping out Naxals, 4th TC in two years Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The government has rewarded Sanjay Kumar for wiping out Maoists from the state by appointing him the commissioner of Bhopal. Kumar was earlier posted in the police headquarters of Bhopal. On the other hand, the government posted the fourth transport commissioner in two years. After Sanjay Jha, DP Gupta, Vivek Sharma, Umesh Joga was posted as transport commissioner (TC). Joga was appointed deputy transport commissioner two years ago. Since Joga had some issues with the then TC, he was sent to Ujjain as ADG. Joga has been posted in the transport department twice in the past two years. Similarly, the sports director, Rakesh Gupta, was transferred in less than a year. Gupta remained in the department only for ten months. Anshuman Yadav and Datla Sreenivasa Verma got posting after three months of their return from deputation. Harinarayanchari Mishra, who was shifted from the post of Bhopal commissioner, was given a less important post after a long time. Mishra has always been in the mainstream of administration. Navy wins best marching contingent award R-DAY PARADE PTI NEW DELHI Indian Navy has earned the best marching contingent award among the three wings of the armed forces at this year's Republic Day Parade, with the naval force terming this "exemplary performance" a result of tireless effort, dedication and discipline. Maharashtra won the top prize in the category of states and Union Territories for its tableau showcasing Ganeshotsav, while the Culture Ministry's float celebrating the 150-year legacy of 'Vande Mataram' 4Continued on | P8 E-paper Edit Equity can’t deepen divisions P.6 REALITY GAP | How does India sustain 7% growth in a world of ‘coercive trade’, ‘proliferating curbs’, & ‘financial stress events transmitted with fewer buffers’? The Economic Survey 2025-26 projects India will achieve 7.4 per cent real GDP growth (after adjusting for inflation) in FY26 and sustain momentum at 6.8-7.2 per cent in FY27, while upgrading the country's potential growth rate from 6.5 per cent to 7.0 per cent — a significant revision that signals confidence in India's structural capacity. Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, in his preface to the Economic Survey, the Government's annual economic review, declares this upgrade reflects how “sustained domestic reforms and public investment could lift the economy’s underlying growth capacity. That possibility is now being realised.” The survey’s confidence rests on an impressive firsthalf performance: 8 per cent growth in H1 FY26, driven by services (9.3 per cent) and manufacturing (8.4 per cent). Although the Survey is overall optimistic, its data suggest that economic momentum is slowing as the year progresses: Q3 FY26 growth stands at 7 per cent—a full percentage point below the H1 average. MUMBAI WORLD LEPROSY DAY Minimum wages for domestic workers not a fundamental right: Apex court FP News Service NEW DELHI The SC on Thursday declined to entertain a petition seeking a declaration that domestic workers have a fundamental right to be paid minimum wages, expressing concern that such a move could have unintended consequences, including widespread litigation against households and reluctance to employ domestic help. A Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi held that issues relating to fixation and implementation of minimum wages for domestic workers are best left to the state governments concerned. 4Continued on | P8 ‘Trade unions halting growth’ Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Thursday asked: "How many industrial units in the country have been closed thanks to trade unions? Let us know the realities. All traditional industries in the country, all because of these jhanda unions have been closed, all throughout the country. They don't want to work. These trade union leaders, they are largely responsible for stopping industrial growth in the country.” CONTD ON P8 Becoming a regressive society: SC Put UGC equity rules on hold FP News Service NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the operation of the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, expressing serious reservations over their language, scope and potential social impact. It said the regulations were prima facie “vague” and “capable of misuse”, warning that they could have “dangerous consequences” by further dividing society. A bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing three writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the 2026 Regulations. Issuing notice to the Union government and the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Court directed that the matter be listed next on March 19. Until then, the Regulations will remain in abeyance, Live Law and Bar & Bench report. Invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the bench also ordered that the earlier UGC Regulations of 2012 would continue to operate during the pendency of the case. This was done to ensure that students are not left without a griev- Prima facie we say that the language of the regulation is vague and experts need to look into for the language to be modulated so that it is not exploited Supreme Court ance redressal mechanism in the interim. During the hearing, the Court flagged multiple concerns with the 2026 framework. One of the central issues raised was the separate definition of “caste-based discrimination” under Regulation 3(1)(c), which limits such discrimination to members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. The bench questioned why this provision was required when Regulation 3(1)(e) already defines “discrimination” broadly to include unfair treatment on various grounds. 4Continued on | P8