A look at the top headlines of the day:

  1. Homes of two businessmen demolished in MP after they were caught allegedly selling ‘Chinese manjha’: Sale, use and manufacture of ‘Chinese manjha’, or glass-coated kite strings, is banned in the country. The businessmen whose homes were destroyed have been identified as Mohammed Iqbal and Hitesh Bhojwani.
  2. Air India’s response after urination incident should have been swifter, says Tata Group: We will review and repair every process to prevent or address any incidents, said N Chandrasekaran, the chairperson of the conglomerate that owns the airline.
  3. Multi-disciplinary expert team to recommend measures to mitigate Joshimath crisis, says PMO: Two petitions have also been filed in the Supreme Court and the Delhi HC on the cracks that have developed in several homes of the town due to land subsidence.
  4. Delhi records minimum temperature of 1.9 degrees Celsius – lowest since January 2021: The India Meteorological Department said that cold wave conditions will persist in northwestern parts of the country till January 10.
  5. Court asks CBI to investigate Adani Enterprises bid for coal block in Jharkhand: In 2012, the company, along with two others, were allowed to place bids for a coal block in Jharia even as they were not eligible to do so.
  6. Samajwadi Party leader arrested in Lucknow for alleged objectionable remarks about BJP functionary: On January 4, BJP youth wing social media chief had accused unidentified Samajwadi Party members of making online threats to rape and kill her.
  7. Seven Congress MLAs take oath as CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu expands Cabinet in Himachal Pradesh: With their induction, the total strength of Sukhu’s Cabinet has risen to nine. The portfolios of the newly-appointed ministers have not been announced yet.
  8. No patient with rare disease has benefited from Centre’s policy that assures financial help, says Varun Gandhi: He was referring to the National Policy for Rare Diseases aimed at helping families from prohibitively high expenses for treating rare diseases.
  9. Gautam Adani says his company operates in 22 states and not all of them are ruled by BJP: According to a 2020 report, since the BJP won the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Gautam Adani’s net worth has increased by about 230% to over $26 billion.
  10. China drops mandatory quarantine for inbound travellers: The development marks a major step for China as it had largely closed its border since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.