08012026-TTC-01.qxd 1/8/2026 12:53 AM Page 1 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 10 NO. 8 | 12 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881 B’DESH SET TO RESUME DIRECT FLIGHTS TO PAK FROM JAN 29 WORLD /thetribunechd SC TO HEAR PETITION AGAINST WANGCHUK’S DETENTION TODAY J&K SILVER JUMPS ~5K TO HIT FRESH PEAK OF ~2.56L/KG BUSINESS US SEIZES RUSSIAN-FLAGGED OIL TANKER; MOSCOW DEPLOYS SUB BACK PAGE thursday | 8 january 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com Budget to be tabled on a Sunday, session likely from Jan 28 NEW DELHI: The Budget session is likely to be held between January 28 and April 2, with the Union Budget scheduled to be presented on February 1, sources said. The first half of the Budget session will run from January 28 to February 13, while the second half will be held from March 9 to April 2. — TNS co-op Cough up ~50K upfront, Cong Punjabmullsmegadistprofits bank merger to boost tells Assam poll ticket seekers RBI likely to consider govt’s proposal for 16 entities Ruchika M Khanna Application fee fuels disquiet among grassroots workers in party THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service Wild elephant runs amok, kills 13 in two days in Jharkhand CHAIBASA (JHARKHAND): An elephant killed 13 persons in two days in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, creating panic in the region, a senior forest official said on Wednesday. Four others were also injured in the attack by the jumbo, Chaibasa Divisional Forest Officer Aditya Narayan said. — PTI Punjabextendswinter holidays in schools till January 13 amid cold CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Government on Wednesday extended the winter holidays in all schools till January 13 in view of the cold weather conditions in the state. Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said the decision was taken keeping in mind the health and safety of the children and staff. — PTI New Delhi, January 7 Even as the Congress steps up preparations for the 2026 Assam Assembly elections and brings in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to oversee ticket screening, aspirants on the ground have been handed a blunt message: deposit Rs 50,000 first if you want to be in the race. In a circular accessed by The Tribune, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has invited applications from party members seeking the party ticket but made submission of a Rs 50,000 demand draft mandatory at the application stage itself, effectively turning entry to the ticket race into a pay-first process. The directive, issued on the instructions of APCC president Gaurav Gogoi, said applications would be accepted between January 5 and January 20 and would be considered only if accompanied by a demand draft BAGHEL, SHIVAKUMAR NAMED OBSERVERS The Congress has appointed former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar as senior party observers for the Assam Assembly polls, while former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot has been named as a senior observer for the Kerala elections. drawn in favour of the APCC. While the party has described the amount as an application fee, the move has raised eyebrows within party ranks, particularly when contrasted with party practises in other states. In the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections, following the Karnataka and Telangana model, the Congress charged Rs 15,000 from reserved category applicants and Rs 25,000 from others for the Lok Sabha ticket. For the Assembly ticket in Andhra Pradesh, the amount was Rs 10,000 for unreserved category aspirants and Rs 5,000 for those from reserved categories. Similarly, during the Haryana Assembly elections, the Congress fixed Rs 20,000 per application per constituency for general category aspirants, while applicants from Scheduled Castes, Fatima walks out of jail Backward Classes and women categories were told to pay Rs 5,000 each. Against that backdrop, the flat Rs 50,000 fee in Assam, without category-wise differentiation, has triggered quiet unease among grassroots workers, especially in a state where the Legislative Assembly has 126 seats and intra-party competition is expected to be intense. The APCC has also noted that some Assembly seats may be vacated in favour of alliance partners and stated that the application fee would be reimbursed in such cases. However, the circular is silent on the mechanism and timeline for refunds. Applicants have been asked to submit a prescribed form, an undertaking and a certified copy of the voter list bearing their name. After filing the application at the APCC headquarters, aspirants must also submit Xerox copies of the application form and the demand draft to the respective district and block Congress committee presidents. The move has triggered murmurs within the party, with some workers privately questioning whether financial capacity is being made an informal filter at a time when the Congress is seeking to project itself as a platform for ordinary workers against a resource-heavy ruling party. Meanwhile, the Congress on Wednesday appointed several senior leaders as AICC observers for key poll-bound states, including Assam, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, signalling early mobilisation. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said the appointments had been made with immediate effect. The observers would oversee political strategy, organisational preparedness and coordination with state units as the party readies itself for high-stakes electoral battles. For Assam, the party has deputed former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, continued on page 8 GDP to grow at 7.4% in FY26, fastest in world New Delhi, January 7 The Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal, maintaining its status as the world’s fastest-growing major economy despite punitive US tariffs and geopolitical tensions. BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED SHOWING ON BACK OF GST OVERHAUL, RATE CUTS Gulfisha Fatima, one of the accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case, meets her mother after her release from the Tihar Jail in New Delhi. Meeran Haider, Shifa ur-Rehman and Mohd Saleem Khan also walked out of jail. PTI Houselisting ops for next Census from April to Sept 6.5crremovedfromSIR draftrollin9states,3UTs New Delhi, January 7 The Centre on Wednesday formally notified the first phase of Census 2027, which will begin with the houselisting operations, to be conducted from April 1 to September 30 this year. The exercise will cover all states and UTs, with each allocated a specific 30-day window within this six-month period, a gazette notification issued by the Home Ministry said. continued on page 8 New Delhi, January 7 The names of 6.5 crore electors were removed from the draft electoral rolls of nine states and three UTs published as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being carried out by the Election Commission. Before Phase 2 of the SIR, which commenced on October 27, the 12 states and UTs had 50.90 crore electors. After the separate draft rolls were published, the number of electors dwindled to 44.4 crore. EC officials said the names of those removed from the draft rolls have been put in the ‘ASD’ or absent, shifted and dead/duplicate category. The EC officials had earlier cited available trends to say that the collection of enumeration forms has been “much less” in urban areas compared to rural areas of the states and UTs covered in the SIR exercise. continued on page 8 The first advance estimates released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday put GDP growth in fiscal year 2025-26 at better than 7.3 per cent forecast by the RBI and the government’s initial projection of 6.3-6.8 per cent. The economy had grown at 6.5 per cent in the previous fiscal. The better-than-expected showing comes on the back of resilience shown by the economy despite the US imposing punitive tariffs of 50 per cent on Indian goods, escalating trade tensions and threatening to disrupt key export sectors. The Modi government has responded by overhauling GST, which lowered taxes on hundreds of items and implementing long-delayed labour reforms. continued on page 8 Can’t read dog’s mind when it wants to bite: SC Pulls up civic bodies, wants roads rid of canines, other animals CAUSING MISHAPS TOO It’s a serious issue. Children, adults are getting bit. People are dying not only due to dog bites, but also because of accidents caused by stray animals on roads. Justice Vikram Nath ❝ Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 7 Highlighting the increasing number of dog bite incidents across India, the Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up municipal authorities for their failure to implement Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules. “No one knows which dog is in what mood in the morning… you don’t know... We are conscious that these things are happening. Children, adults are getting bit, people are dying not only due to dog bites alone, but also because of accidents caused by stray animals on roads,” a Special Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria said. It pointed out that in the last 20 days, there were two animal-related road accidents involving two Rajasthan High Court judges and one judge was in serious condition after sustaining spinal injuries. “It’s a serious issue,” the Bench said while hearing pleas filed by dog lovers and continued on page 8 edit: a biting order c m y b Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 7 The Punjab Government is all set to amalgamate its district central cooperative banks with Punjab State Cooperative Bank (PSCB). The move is expected to ensure capital adequacy, enhance competitiveness with larger commercial banks and reduce duplication of administrative costs. A delegation of officials from the state finance and cooperative departments, led by Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, met top officials of the apex regulatory bank in Mumbai over the past two days. During the meetings, they presented two proposals — one to amalgamate all 20 district central cooperative banks (DCCBs) with the PSCB, and another to amalgamate 16 district cooperative banks, excluding those in Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur. The Tribune has learnt that, in view of ongoing litigation by the four above-mentioned DCCBs against the proposed amalgamation, the RBI is likely to consider the state government’s proposal to amalgamate only 16 DCCBs, MOVE TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS ■ Small banks struggle to maintain capital, stay profitable and meet compliance norms; limited resources hamper competitiveness ■ A merged PSCB with statewide presence can expand credit, seek Scheduled Bank status and support agri coop societies ■ Consolidation also enables stricter oversight, curbing irregularities and weak disciplinary control in individual banks whose general bodies have already passed resolutions for voluntary amalgamation with the PSCB. “This will help create a mega bank by increasing capital strength and profitability. At present, the state government has to often infuse capital into these loss-making banks every time their CRAR (capital to risk weighted assets ratio) falls below 9 per cent,” said an official source. CRAR is critical for covering potential loan defaults or investment losses. It may be recalled that the decision to amalgamate the DCCBs with the PSCB was first announced in the Budget proposals of the previous Congress government in 2017. Subsequently, during meetings with stakeholders, a consensus emerged that the move was in the larger interest of loanee farmers, the cooperative credit structure and the long-term viability of cooperative banks. The proposal was formally approved by the Council of Ministers in December 2018. On December 5, 2020, the RBI accorded “in-principle approval”, subject to the condition that all DCCBs pass resolutions in their respective general body meetings for voluntary amalgamation with the PSCB. While 16 of the 20 DCCBs unanimously approved the scheme, the general bodies of the Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr DCCBs did not. Subsequently, the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, ordered compulsory amalgamation of these four banks under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961. However, the banks challenged the move, and in December 2021, the RBI advised the state government that the amalgamation would not be possible. After the AAP government assumed power in 2022, the state again continued on page 8