The Times of India

Sets Up Lab For Testing And Calibration

Anuradha Roy is the author of five novels. Her first, An Atlas of Impossible Longing, was translated into 16 languages. Sleeping on Jupiter, her third novel, won the DSC Prize for Fiction 2016 and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015. All the Lives We Never Lived won the 2022 Sahitya Akademi Award and was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. 'Called by the Hills is her first work of nonfiction.

The Enforcement Directorate accused West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee of obstructing a money-laundering probe into a coal smuggling syndicate. The ED claims Banerjee, accompanied by police, entered a residence and I-PAC office, seizing documents and electronic devices. Banerjee rejected the allegations, calling the searches politically motivated and an attempt to seize TMC's election strategy.

ISRO's PSLV C62 mission, scheduled for January 12, 2026, will launch the advanced earth observation satellite EOS-N1, enhancing India's surveillance capabilities. The mission also carries a European demonstrator satellite and 17 other payloads, including India's first on-orbit satellite refuelling payload, AayulSAT. This launch marks a significant comeback for the PSLV program after a previous setback.

Parliamentary committee members debated inviting opposition parties to discuss a bill to remove PMs, CMs, and ministers arrested for over 30 days on serious charges. Concerns were raised about replacing removed leaders and whether the Leader of Opposition could be removed under the bill's provisions.

The Union home ministry has notified the timeline for the first phase of Census 2027, focusing on housing and houselisting operations. This phase will be conducted over 30 days between April 1 and September 30 this year, with an option for 15-day self-enumeration before the main operation.

New Delhi is set to host a major international conference from January 21-23, bringing together nearly 100 delegates from 42 election management bodies. The event, themed 'Democracy for an inclusive, resilient and sustainable world,' aims to foster global cooperation, share best practices, and address contemporary challenges in election management. India's Election Commission is organizing this significant gathering.

The Election Commission has announced that relatives of voters living outside Bengal can appear on their behalf for physical SIR hearings. This relief is for thousands of migrant workers, students, and NRIs summoned for hearings, which are crucial for electoral roll discrepancies. The EC aims to ease logistical burdens and ensure broader participation in the verification process.

The Delhi High Court has ordered Congress and AAP to remove social media posts within 24 hours that linked BJP's Dushyant Kumar Gautam to a 2022 Uttarakhand resort murder. The court also restrained the parties from posting further content targeting Gautam as the alleged VIP in the case, citing irreparable damage to his reputation.

A proposal to raise the Employees Provident Fund Organisation's monthly wage ceiling beyond Rs 15,000 is back on the table, with suggestions for an increase to Rs 25,000-30,000. This move aims to bring more low-wage and minimum-wage earners, especially in the unorganised sector, under the social security net.

A special CBI court in Guwahati has framed charges against six men for their alleged involvement in a brutal ethnic violence crime in Manipur. The case, involving the stripping and parading of three women, with two gang-raped, marks the first CBI investigation into the Manipur violence to proceed to trial.

Jewellery shops in Bihar will now prohibit customers with covered faces, citing security concerns due to rising gold and silver prices. The decision, aimed at preventing theft and aiding identification in case of incidents, will be gradually implemented nationwide. Shop owners will politely refuse service to those who refuse to reveal their faces.

At 97, Nagpur University alumnus Vinayak Pande is poised to become India's oldest Doctor of Literature recipient. He will be awarded the DLitt in economics for his thesis on 'Global Economic Recession' at the university's 113th convocation. Pande, unable to attend due to health advice, believes research has no retirement age.

Following India's military retaliation against a terror attack, Pakistan urgently sought US mediation to halt New Delhi's strikes. FARA filings reveal Islamabad's frantic lobbying efforts, involving over 60 contacts with US officials and media. Pakistan's hired firm, Squire Patton Boggs, aimed to secure American intervention to somehow halt India's operations, indicating significant behind-the-scenes panic.