Wednesday, January 21, 2026 The Foundation Day of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura | Vol. 69 No. 92 | 34 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation GAMES MONEY Gold breaches `1.5L/ 10g-mark; silver soars to record `3.23L/kg on global jitters P.11 Cinema Emraan Hashmi opens up on his latest web series – Taskaree India start 5-match T20I series against NZ today ahead of World Cup title defence Edit Beldanga shows why Mamata fears dismounting the tiger Whistleblower report flags earlier electrical fire to US Senate End of the silver AI-171 CRASH FPJ EXCLUSIVE Rachel Chitra CHENNAI A whistleblower report submitted to the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) shows the Air India Boeing 787-8 AI-171 that crashed 32 seconds after takeoff on June 12, 2025 killing 260 people, had a long history of electrical and computingsystem faults, including a major electrical fire in 2022 and subsequent replacements of coresystem components. The Foundation for Aviation Safety (FAS), which presented the material to PSI on January 12, told it that VT-ANB’s (VT being the registration code that indicates it is Indian and ANB the unique identification of the aircraft) problems began “the very first day” the aircraft arrived in India on February 1, 2014, and continued through its 11-year life. Boeing has a real-time, live transmission of faults under its Aircraft Health Management transmitted via satellite by providers like Inmarsat and SITA to clients like Air India. The submission to the Senate describes a “wide variety” of issues, including repeated circuit-breaker trips, avionics and software faults, wire damage, smoke and fumes, short circuits, loss of electrical current, electrical surges, burning, and overheating of power-distribution components — “including a very serious fire.” 4Contd on | nation Trump in cartographic takeover of Greenland Agencies ‘Chagos deal act of stupidity’ WASHINGTON DC US President Trump on Tuesday shared multiple posts on his Truth Social platform showing maps and images depicting Canada, Greenland and Venezuela as part of the United States, while reiterating that Greenland is imperative for national and world security. In one post, Trump shared an image, possibly AI generated, of an old photograph of himself seated inside the Oval Office with several European leaders, with a US flag in the background that depicted Canada, Greenland and Venezuela as `10L cr gone as global tensions rattle bourses part of the United States. The leaders visible in the image included French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and President of the European Indian equities witnessed a dramatic erosion in market capitalisation on Tuesday, with investors losing nearly Rs 10 lakh crore in a single trading session, underscoring the fragility of market- sentiment in the face of global uncertainty. The sharp fall reduced the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies to around Rs 455 lakh crore from more than Rs 465 lakh crore a day earlier. The sell-off was triggered by renewed fears of a US-EU trade confrontation linked to Greenland tariffs, compounded by President Donald Trump’s increasingly strident rhetoric. These developments reignited risk aversion across global markets, spilling over into domestic equities. 4See also | money CAT FINDS IN FAVOUR OF WANKHEDE FPJ News Service MUMBAI The principal bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday set aside a disciplinary charge framed against Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sameer Wankhede by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), holding that the action was driven by bias, malice and personal vendetta, and appeared to be aimed at stalling his promotion. A Bench of Justice Ranjit More (Chairman) and Rajinder Kashyap (Member-Administrative) allowed Wankhede’s challenge to Charge Memorandum No. 30/2025 dated August 18, 2025, and restrained the authorities from proceeding further on its basis, Bar & Bench reports. 4Contd on | nation Scan & Watch 4Contd on | nation 4See also | world Delhi to pick Mumbai mayor Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI FPJ News Service MUMBAI Commission Ursula von der Leyen, among others. UK defended its decision to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after US President Trump criticised the move. Trump attacked the plan, calling it an act of “stupidity” and saying it showed why he needed to take over Greenland smoothly; his own administration had previously supported the Chagos agreement. The decision on who will become the next mayor of BMC is now expected to be taken in New Delhi instead of Mumbai, amid an ongoing power tussle between BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. With power-sharing talks reaching a crucial stage, senior leaders from both sides have gathered in the national capital for high-level discussions. Former MP Rahul Shewale, a close aide of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has rushed to Delhi to hold talks with the BJP leadership. Several senior BJP leaders from Maharashtra and Mumbai are also present in the capital, indicating that a final powersharing formula for the country’s richest civic body may soon be worked out. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | city $96bn MoUs MMRDA has secured $96 billion in investment commitments on the very first day of World Economic Forum 2026. In the presence of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, MMRDA signed 10 MoUs, marking the largest single-day investment inflow for the authority to date. SEE CITY ‘I AM A WORKER, NITIN MY BOSS’ Two students beaten over Shivaji queries Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar FPJ News Service NEW DELHI VASAI VIRAR Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described BJP working president Nitin Nabin as his “boss” in party matters, saying that as BJP national president, Nabin’s responsibility extends beyond managing the party to ensuring coordination among all NDA allies. Addressing party leaders, ministers and chief ministers at the BJP headquarters, Modi said, “When it comes to party matters, mananiya Nitin Nabin ji… I am a worker, and you are my boss.” He urged party workers to follow the new president’s leadership. Nabin, 45, became the youngest national president of what Modi described as the “world’s largest political party”. In two separate incidents in three days, two BCom students of Viva College in Virar West were allegedly assaulted and threatened by a group of fellow students over questions related to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajˍ. The incidents have led to police action and an internal inquiry by the college authorities. The first incident took place on Saturday when Nehal Dubey was allegedly confronted inside his classroom by a group of students. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation When it comes to party matters, mananiya Nitin Nabin ji… I am a worker, and you are my boss. PM Narendra Modi on new BJP president Soon, Rameshwaram Café here S Balakrishnan MUMBAI It's official. Bengaluru's hugely iconic quick service restaurant (QSR) Rameshwaram Cafe will open its Mumbai outlet on February 9. A pooja will be performed on February 6 and the following three days there will be a soft launch during which Mumbaikars can help themselves to yummy idlis and dosas on the house. The location is in Eros building cheek-by-jowl with Nita Ambani's swank Swadesh, which sells premium handi- Coming to Churchgate on February 9 crafts and other stuff. The restaurant will occupy all of 6,000 sq ft. The ground floor will have self-service, while the kitchen will be at the mezzanine level and the dining area will be on the first floor. The restaurant will be open from 7 am to midnight which will be a major benefit for rail commuters. 4Contd on | nation ‘India, EU on the cusp of mother of all trade deals’ PTI NEW DELHI India and the EU are on the cusp of a historic free trade agreement that could create a market of nearly two billion people and account for almost a quarter of global GDP, European Commission President By invitation K Giriprakash Ed Pierson of FAS DRY RUN? | US president shares a map depicting Greenland, Canada, Venezuela as part of his country, shocking the world linings playbook for our IT firms Ursula von der Leyen said at WEF in Davos on Tuesday, ahead of her visit to India. She said the two sides are close to concluding talks on the trade deal, which she termed as the “mother of all deals”. 4Contd on | nation T he old playbook of Indian IT services companies — hire more people, deliver more projects, grow revenue and profits — is now broken. The Q3 results lay bare this stress, which is likely to persist for several winters. The new labour code has intensified this pressure, shaving off over half a billion dollars in Q3 net profit, while the clients' demand for faster implementation of Hiring down from 2.03 L in FY22 to 17. New labour code has shaved off over half a billion dollars in net profit for third quarter AI at much lower costs has led these firms to cut hirings at an alarming pace: the top five IT services companies added just 17 net hires for the first nine months of the current financial year, the lowest since their existence. Compare this to FY22, when these companies hired a total of 2.03 lakh employees. 4Contd on | nation K Giriprakash is a senior journalist based in Bengaluru No sewage treatment plant, no OC: HC Urvi Mahajani MUMBAI The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government and all civic authorities across the state not to grant Occupancy Certificates (OCs) to any structure unless it strictly complies with ap- proved building plans and permissions, and has functional sewage treatment plants (STPs) in place for highrise buildings. A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri expressed serious concern over the “enormous magnitude” of environmental dam- age caused by untreated sewage being discharged into the Ulhas river, particularly from constructions in the Thane district. The court noted that around 438 allegedly unauthorised structures had come up in the region without adequate sewage treatment facilities. The directions were passed while hearing a petition filed by a Badlapur resident, who raised issues of illegal constructions by a developer and the consequent discharge of untreated sewage into the river. 4Contd on | nation