A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Priyanka Gandhi named Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East region: Rahul Gandhi said he is happy that his sister will now work with him, while Narendra Modi said that for BJP workers, ‘the party itself is our family’.
  2. ‘Railways to provide 23,000 jobs in next two years under upper-caste quota category,’ says Piyush Goyal: The railway minister said the national transporter plans to provide around 4 lakh jobs in the next two years.
  3. Justice Lokur ‘disappointed’ that SC collegium did not release December 12 decision in public domain: In December, the collegium decided to elevate Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Rajendra Menon to the top court. However, it changed the decision a month later.
  4. Cabinet approves increase in Autonomous Councils’ powers in Sixth Schedule areas in North East: The ministry also announced the establishment of state finance commissions in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
  5. Plea in Supreme Court challenges Rakesh Asthana’s appointment to Bureau of Civil Aviation: Advocate ML Sharma challenged the appointment citing a pending FIR against the former CBI deputy chief on bribery allegations.
  6. Centre will not grant citizenship without consent of states, says home ministry on controversial bill: The ministry is also considering a proposal to provide incentives to people who are willing to settle in parts of India other than the North East.
  7. I spent five days in a jungle during Diwali every year to reflect on life, says Narendra Modi: The prime minister told the Facebook page ‘Humans of Bombay’ that he had cleaned utensils as a pracharak for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
  8. Former IAS officer Shah Faesal seeks donations for ‘clean politics’ in Jammu and Kashmir: Faesal said he has decided to start his independent political journey and sought financial support for the people’s movement.
  9. US Senate to vote on two competing proposals on Thursday to end government shutdown: One bill proposes to grant fund for Trump’s border wall, while the other seeks short-term funds to keep government departments running till February 8.
  10. Agnivesh urges Pope Francis to defend nuns who protested against rape-accused bishop: In a letter to the pontiff, the activist said the Catholic Church’s decision to issue transfer orders to the five Kerala-based nuns ‘reeked of vindictiveness’.