TODAY NEWS ON January 01, 2026

Centre pre-publishes draft Rules for four Labour Codes

The Union Labour Ministry has pre-published the draft Rules for the four Labour Codes on the Ministry’s website and the public has been given 45 days’ time to respond to the rules. The rules define workers, wages, types of employment, gratuity, bonus and social security of workers, including gig workers. The rules mandate 48 hours of work per week and lays down the measures in workplaces where women are working in night shifts.

Centre’s fiscal deficit 62% of full year’s target by end-November, higher than last year

The Centre’s fiscal deficit at the end of November 2025 stood at ₹9.77 lakh crore, which is 62.3% of the amount budgeted for the full financial year 2025-26. Last year, at the same time, the fiscal deficit had stood at 52.5% of the budgeted amount. The reason for this widening of the fiscal deficit at this point of time is because capital expenditure has grown significantly in the April-November 2025 period, while tax revenues have lagged.

Telcos accuse Adani-run Navi Mumbai airport of blocking mobile infra, allege monopoly arrangements

Telecom companies are sparring with the Adani Group and have sought the Centre’s intervention over the latter’s refusal to grant “right of way” (RoW) at the recently opened Navi Mumbai airport for deploying infrastructure to provide cellular services to air travellers, alleging “monopolistic arrangements” by the airport operator which has deployed an in-building network and has sought from telcos “extortionary charges” that “undermine competition and consumer choice”.

Shah outlines BJP action plan for Bengal polls, projects Dilip Ghosh as key face

Union Home Minister Amit Shah outlined an action plan for the BJP’s West Bengal unit while reviewing its preparedness for the Assembly polls due early next year. Addressing the party’s public representatives, both past and present, Mr. Shah sought to project a unified front, while indicating former state president Dilip Ghosh as one of the main faces of the saffron camp for the elections.

Indore water contamination: Official dismissed, two others suspended as death toll rises to 10; probe panel formed

An official was dismissed from service and two others suspended even as the death toll climbed to 10 in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh where more than 2,000 people have fallen ill after consuming contaminated water supplied by the municipal corporation, officials said. The deceased include a six-month-old child, who passed away on Wednesday (December 31, 2025), and six women. More than 100 people from Indore’s Bhagirathpura area have been admitted to hospitals in the past one week after drinking water from a municipal supply line.

India imposes three-year tariff on some steel products after ‘sudden, sharp’ increase in imports

India has imposed a three-year import tariff ​of between 11% and 12% on ‌some steel products, according to ​a finance ministry order published, as the government aims to curb cheap shipments from China. The levy, locally known as a safeguard duty, will be imposed at 12% in the ​first year followed by 11.5% in ⁠the second year and then 11% in the third year.

Himachal may roll out regulated cannabis cultivation within months, says CM Sukhu

The Himachal Pradesh government is moving towards legalising and regulating cannabis cultivation, with projections indicating that a fully developed framework could generate annual revenues of ₹1,000 crore to ₹2,000 crore for the State. “We are working on finalising the modalities of the policy, including rules and regulations surrounding the hemp cultivation, keeping in view the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1989. I am hopeful that in a month or two it should be ready, which would then be approved by the State Cabinet,” Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told The Hindu.

Army trains villagers in upper Doda as anti-terror preparedness intensifies

Amid an increased focus on terrorist activity in the Chenab Valley in Jammu, the Army provided step-by-step training to local civilians who have volunteered to work as Village Defence Guards (VDGs) to counter potential terror attacks. Officials said 17 remote villages located in the hilly Bhalessa area of Doda district, at an altitude of around 7,705 feet, are being covered under the training programme. The villagers are being trained in the use of high-calibre and self-loading rifles. Scores of men and women have enrolled as VDGs in the district.

Gig workers’ strike reveals intolerable working conditions

On New Year’s eve, one of the most lucrative days for app-based platforms, tens of thousands of platform workers across India chose to log out. For workers who live off daily earnings, shoulder debt, and have invested heavily in vehicles, fuel, and phones, this decision is not merely symbolic. It is existential. When workers struggling to meet basic needs give up a peak-demand day, it signals two clear things: how intolerable working conditions in the platform economy have become, and how heroic their collective act of resistance is. The strike signals the arrival of a conscious and organised platform workforce with a new commitment to take the fight for platform regulation head-on and sustain it in pursuit of rights, safety and dignity.

26/11 hero Sadanand Date appointed as new DGP of Maharashtra; to take charge on January 3

Sadanand Vasant Date, a soft-spoken yet tough taskmaster and a decorated officer of the 26/11 terror attacks, was on Wednesday (December 31, 2025) appointed as the new Director General of Maharashtra Police (DGP). A 1990 batch IPS officer, the 59-year-old Mr. Date will succeed Rashmi Shukla, who retires on January 3. He will have a fixed tenure of two years as the head of the over two lakh strong Maharashtra Police force.

Russia releases video footage to challenge Kyiv over alleged drone attack

Russia’s Defence Ministry released video footage of what it said ‍was a downed drone at a briefing intended to ​show Ukraine tried this week to attack a ‌presidential residence and challenge Kyiv’s ​denials that such an attack took place. Kyiv says Moscow has produced no evidence to support its allegations and that Russia invented the alleged attack to block progress at talks on ending the war in Ukraine. Officials in several Western countries ​have cast doubt on Russia’s version of events ⁠and questioned whether there was any attack.

Latest deep-sea search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 gets underway

A deep-sea search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 began in the Indian Ocean, reviving efforts to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries more than a decade after the jet vanished with 239 people on board. Malaysia’s Transport Ministry said that a search vessel, the Armada 86 05, arrived at a designated search area with two autonomous underwater vehicles.