NEW DELHI: Isro will usher in the new year with the first launch of 2026 — PSLV C62 mission — on Monday (January 12) at 10.17 am from the first launchpad at the Sriharikota spaceport. The rocket will launch an advanced earth observation satellite EOS-N1 (codenamed ‘Anvesha’), another ‘eye in the sky’ that will boost India’s surveillance powers from space. Besides the primary payload EOS-N1, PSLV will also be carrying an European demonstrator satellite and 17 other satellites belonging to Indian and foreign agencies.EOS-N1 is a hyperspectral imaging satellite developed primarily for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is capable of “seeing” in hundreds of wavelengths to identify materials on the ground—making it a high-priority asset for national security and surveillance. It will help India secure its borders because of its advanced remote sensing capabilities and will also be used in various fields such as agriculture, urban mapping and environmental observation.Besides EOS-N1, 18 secondary payloads, including Europe’s Kestrel Initial Demonstrator (KID), will piggyback on the primary satellite and will be placed in space. The KID mission will feature an experimental re-entry of a small capsule in collaboration with a Spanish startup, with a planned splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean. Other secondary payloads are cubesats from Indian startups and universities, including OrbitAID’s AayulSAT, CV Raman Global University’s CGUSAT-1, Dhruva Space’s DA-1, Space Kidz India’s SR-2, Assam Don Bosco University’s Lachit-1, Akshath Aerospace’s Solaras-S4 and Dayanand Sagar University’s DSAT-1.Bengaluru-based space startup OrbitAID Aerospace is set to make history with AayulSAT, India’s first on-orbit satellite refuelling payload. AayulSAT aims to extend satellite lifespans by enabling refuelling and servicing in orbit, addressing space debris and sustainability challenges.The upcoming PSLVC62 mission is also seen as a comeback for the PSLV programme following the earlier setback with PSLV-C61 in May 2025. The earlier PSLV-C61 mission had failed to launch EOS-09 earth observation satellite due to a technical issue in the rocket’s third stage, specifically a drop in chamber pressure, preventing the satellite from reaching its intended sun-synchronous polar orbit. While the first two stages performed normally, the anomaly in the third stage led to the mission failure.

NEW DELHI: Members of a parliamentary committee on Wednesday debated whether opposition parties, which have refused joining their panel formed to study a bill aimed at “decriminalisation” of politics, should be invited to offer their views on the proposed law and if the leader of opposition can be removed from office under its provisions.Law Commission of India chairperson Dinesh Maheshwari was among the key figures who shared their views with the Joint Committee of Parliament scrutinising the Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill and two related bills, which seek removal from office of PM, CMs and ministers if they are under arrest for 30 days and more on serious criminal charges.A BJP MP, sources said, flagged a scenario when the governing party refuses to name the replacement for PM and CMs in case they are removed from office due to their detention and said amendments should be made to plug this loophole to rule out such a possibility that can cripple governance, especially in times of crisis in the country or a state.If such a case arises, then the president of the country or the governor of a state should be legally empowered to use their discretion if a replacement of the arrested head of govt is not forthcoming, he suggested.Congress and most other opposition parties have refused to join the committee, which is headed by BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi, as they have slammed the bill as unconstitutional and politically motivated.The committee has only two MPs from the opposition among its members-Supriya Sule of NCP(SP) and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi.When one of them suggested that opposition parties should be invited to offer their views on the bill, several MPs questioned the proposal noting that they had ignored repeated suggestions by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to join the panel. Some members also wondered if the leader of opposition can be removed from office under the bill’s provisions. Though the two LoPs in Parliament, and LoPs in state assemblies enjoy certain govt protocols, they are not considered part of the executive and are not covered under the current provisions of the bill. Sources said Maheshwari and Hyderabad-based National Academy of Legal Studies and Research’s VC Sri Krishna Deva Rao agreed with the idea behind the bill’s aim for decriminalisation of politics amid several suggestions made by them and committee’s members.

NEW DELHI/ RAJKOT: Ahead of the launch of year-long “Somnath Swabhiman Parv” by PM Narendra Modi on Jan 11, BJP on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on Congress for its govt’s opposition to the reconstruction of the revered temple and flagged letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to accuse him of “hating” the deity.BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Nehru believed the temple’s reconstruction and association of Congress stalwarts like Rajendra Prasad, then President, harmed India’s global image and said the opposition party continued to follow a similar distaste for the country’s Hindu heritage.At a press conference in Delhi, Trivedi said the first PM addressed his Pakistani counterpart Liaquat Ali Khan as “my dear nawabzada” to protest false reports in that country over the temple’s construction instead of defending India’s civilisational memory.He also wrote to India’s ambassador in China to play down its significance apparently to minimise any adverse reaction from Mao Zedong, the Rajya Sabha MP said, alleging that he pursued “blind appeasement politics by repeatedly emphasising his opposition to then President Rajendra Prasad’s association with its inauguration. “Our opposition to Nehru is not personal but on principles. His letters underline how scary and dangerous his ideas were. We are not tarnishing his image. We are merely unmasking it as Congress continues to follow the same principle,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.Modi will offer prayers at the temple and pay tributes at the statue of Sardar Patel outside its precincts. He is also scheduled to attend a roadshow and Shaurya Yatra, dedicated to those who laid down their lives defending the temple from invaders, and address a large public gathering.“The year marks 1,000 years since Mahmud Ghazni’s attack on the Somnath temple in 1026 AD, while also completing 75 years of Sardar Patel’s historic resolve to rebuild the shrine. To mark this rare convergence, the festival has been planned to honour Somnath’s legacy of resilience and valour,” Gujarat minister Jitu Vaghani said. Highlighting the key attractions of the festival, the Gujarat minister said a mega drone show featuring 3,000 drones – the largest of its kind – will depict the history and grandeur of Somnath in the night sky.Prime Minister Modi’s visit on Jan 11, which marks 1,000 years of the temple’s destruction by Mahmud Ghazni, and his projection of its revival as a tribute to India’s cultural resilience coupled with Nehru’s wariness of the revered temple’s rebuilding have provided a fresh ballast to BJP’s campaign to paint Congress as indifferent if not outrightly hostile to the country’s Hindu heritage but being rather sensitive to interests of minorities, especially Muslims. Nehru wrote over 17 letters to question the need for Somnath temple’s reconstruction, including to the then president, vice president, cabinet ministers and chief ministers, and asked public broadcasters to minimise its coverage.He said Nehru prioritised “external appeasement over internal self-confidence”. “Somnath was plundered by Mahmud Ghazni and Khilji in the past, but in independent India, Pandit Nehru harboured the greatest hatred towards Lord Somnath,” he alleged.

New Delhi: The Union home ministry Wednesday formally notified the timeline for the first phase of Census 2027 — involving housing and houselisting operations — declaring that it shall be conducted over a 30-day period, to be specified by each state or Union territory, between April 1 and Sept 30 this year. Invoking its powers under Sections 3 and 17A of the Census Act, 1948, read with 6A and 6D of Census Rules, 1990, and in supersession of the notification dated Jan 7, 2020, “except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession”, the Centre declared in the notification that the houselisting operations of Census 2027 shall have an option for self-enumeration, “which shall be conducted in 15 days’ time just before the start of house-to-house houselisting operations of 30 days”.

Census to be held digitally for first time

The release of schedule for first phase of the exercise formally kickstarts what was a decennial exercise, before the Covid outbreak delayed Census 2021. It shall be conducted in two phases – houselisting and housing census followed by population enumeration – between April 1, 2026 and Feb 28, 2027, with 00:00 hours of March 1, 2027, as the reference date (except for UT of Ladakh and snow-bound areas and non-synchronous areas of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand).On Dec 12 last year, the Union cabinet chaired by PM Modi had approved the proposal for conducting Census of India 2027 at a cost of Rs 11,718.2 crore. The population enumeration phase of the latest census will also capture caste identity.About 30 lakh field functionaries will be involved in the Census, the largest administrative and statistical exercise in the world. Being the first digital census, it will involve the use of mobile app for data collection and a central portal for monitoring purposes, ensuring better quality data.The govt had last month stated that Census data dissemination will be much better and done in a user-friendly way so that all queries on required parameters for policymaking are available at the click of a button.Census-as-a-service (CaaS) will deliver data to ministries in a clean, machine-readable and actionable format.The Census process involves visiting each and every household and canvassing separate questionnaires for houselisting & housing census and population enumeration.The enumerators, generally government teachers and appointed by state govts, will do the Census fieldwork in addition to their regular duties.A dedicated portal, namely Census Management & Monitoring System (CMMS) portal, has been developed for managing and monitoring the entire process on a real-time basis. Public can self-enumerate through the Census app or portal in the 15-day period before start of the 30-day houselisting phase in their state/UT. Suitable security features have been provisioned for the digital census.

NEW DELHI: The income tax department on Wednesday flagged major risks associated with virtual digital assets (VDA), such as cryptocurrency, joining the Reserve Bank of India in opposing the entry of these instruments.In a presentation to the parliamentary standing committee of finance, the tax authorities flagged as to how anonymous, borderless and near-instant value transfer made it possible to move funds through a system without regulated financial intermediaries, a person familiar with the discussions told TOI.Besides, offshore exchanges, private wallets and decentralised platforms made it very difficult for the authorities to detect taxable income and also made the holdings opaque since the beneficial owners were not easily known.Jurisdictional limitations with offshore VDA activity were also flagged as multiple jurisdictions may be involved, with little ability to check flows, making verification and recovery of tax dues virtually impossible. Although there have been efforts in recent months on sharing of information, it remains difficult, inhibiting the ability of tax officials to undertake proper assessment and reconstruction of transaction chains.India is among a group of countries which have so far been reluctant to allow cryptocurrency and stablecoin despite intense lobbying and pressure from some govts. Earlier, on multiple occasions, RBI had flagged its concerns, including the lack of any underlying asset making it a risky bet for investors, and even enforcement agencies are wary especially due to VDAs being instruments that can be used for money laundering and terror financing.The tax department said that since crypto platforms operate overseas, enforcement action may be tough, including issuing summons, or TDS collection. Many of the exchanges are also unregistered with the Financial Intelligence Unit and are outside the ambit of the tax department.Indian tax authorities have sought to build in safeguards, including TDS, to track beneficiaries and have also mandated registration of entities dealing in crypto and other VDAs.

SRINAGAR: BJP and Hindu groups on Wednesday celebrated the National Medical Commission’s decision to withdraw permission to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Reasi, Jammu, to run an MBBS course from 2025-26 academic session, while J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah reacted sharply, accusing them of playing with the future of students.As activists of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti — a conglomerate of Hindu social and religious organisations that led an agitation against the admission of non-Hindu students to the shrine board-run medical college — held victory marches in Jammu, burst crackers and danced, Omar on Wednesday evening said it was unfortunate that people were celebrating the “closure of a medical college”. “In other parts of the country people fight to get such institutions,” he said. “If you are happy to destroy the future of our children, then go ahead and burst crackers.”The Sangharsh Samiti had been protesting since Nov against the admission of 42 Muslim students, mostly from Kashmir, in the first batch of 50, with only seven Hindus and one Sikh among the selected candidates. Its contention was that an institution funded by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board should give preference to Hindu students and those who have faith in Mata Vaishno Devi.CM Omar said within two years, the institute’s intake capacity would have risen to 400, of which about 250 would have come from Jammu. “Now, no one will get those seats because the college has been closed in the name of religion,” he said. Students who fail to secure admission in medical colleges in future should remember the role played by the Sangharsh Samiti in closing this institute, he added.On Tuesday, barely an hour before the NMC order, the CM had said the medical college was not worth running given the religious politics played around it, and had suggested shutting it down. “In the given scenario, I don’t feel the students themselves would like to study there. We request GoI and the health ministry to adjust these children in other colleges. Had I been a parent of these students, I wouldn’t send them there,” Omar had said.Although NMC stated that the Letter of Permission was being withdrawn as an inspection found non-compliance with minimum standards, the Sangharsh Samiti claimed it was a result of its prolonged agitation. “This is our first major victory,” its representatives said at a news briefing, adding, “Our current protest has ended but there are more issues, like the Shrine Board Act which needs amendment.”BJP’s J&K president and Rajya Sabha member Sat Sharma, too, welcomed the NMC decision, and thanked LG Manoj Sinha and Union health minister J P Nadda, for withdrawal of permission while safeguarding the interests of selected students.Kashmir-based parties, however, slammed the decision, terming it Jammu’s loss, and blamed BJP. NC minister Javed Rana said admissions in educational institutions shouldn’t be sought on the basis of religion. He accused BJP of “communalising” the issue of admissions in SMVDIME.PDP called it “a ruthless setback” for Jammu region, and blamed BJP. “People of Jammu must wake up to the reality that religious polarisation only sabotages their future. This entire episode was cynically engineered by BJP for narrow political gains in the name of religion, and it is Jammu that has been made to pay the price,” PDP youth wing president Aditya Gupta said.