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The Morning Wrap: Thaw In Nuclear Freeze; Lady Officer Leads Obama Guard of Honour

The Morning Wrap: Lady Officer Leads Obama Guard of Honour, Nuclear Thaw
U.S. President Barack Obama, left and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for the media before they held their talks, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. Seizing on their personal bond, Obama and Modi said Sunday they had made progress on nuclear cooperation and climate change, with Obama declaring a
ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. President Barack Obama, left and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for the media before they held their talks, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015. Seizing on their personal bond, Obama and Modi said Sunday they had made progress on nuclear cooperation and climate change, with Obama declaring a

The Morning Wrap is Huffpost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers

Main News

Amidst a public show of effusive bonhomie, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama announced a “breakthrough understanding” on the stalled 2008 civil nuclear agreement between the two countries. The US is expected to ease up on microscopic scrutiny of supplied equipment and India will make it less risky for US nuclear manufacturers to invest.

Wing Commander Pooja Thakur became the first ever woman to lead the ceremonial Guard of Honour that top foreign dignitaries receive on a visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Sharing a podium with PM Modi, President Barack Obama indirectly referred to Russia as a bully and talked of isolating President Vladimir Putin by ratcheting up pressure, thereby publicly espousing a position contrary to India’s. Modi, has previously described Russia as India's "best friend" and India differs from the US’ position on Russia’s moves in Crimea.

Michelle Obama accompanied her husband off Air Force One wearing India on her sleeve. Her knee-length poppy print dress and coat were from Odisha-born and Manhattan-based designer Bibhu Mohapatra's Spring 2015 collection.

The Economic Times reports that the government, in a bid to accelerate its move to the highest, international clean air standards, may consider skipping a stage; from the current BS-IV to BS-VI standards. This is because the fuel quality specifications for BS-V & VI, such as sulphur content aren’t too different and therefore easier for companies to adopt.

Off The Front Page

Justice V Ramasubramanian of the Madras High Court, refused a law graduate to enrol and practice in courts, as he had completed his graduation course without clearing high school. Ramasubramanian likened the graduate’s career progress to Superman’s underwear-on-top-style of donning a costume.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao sacked his deputy, T Rajaiah, for failing to manage swirling allegations of corruption in the health ministry, of which he is an charge, as well as for failing to effectively tackle the ongoing swine flu outbreak.

Fifty-two-year-old Abhinandan Pathak would be among the most unusual of the BJP’s supporters. A look-alike of PM Modi and a self-professed ‘devotee,’ Pathak claims to be helping the BJP’s campaign in Delhi by canvassing for votes in all the 70 seats ahead of the February 7 assembly polls.

CBI officers, who probed cases such as the 2G, CWG scams, are among the 28 from the agency who will be awarded the President’s Medals on Republic Day.

Bill and Melinda Gates are among the prominent foreigners to be conferred the Padma awards this year though it isn’t confirmed if they will be in town to personally collect them.

US President Barack Obama in his signature style of wit said that Modi was “style icon,” and he looked forward to wearing the ‘Modi kurta’ some day.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), a top Sikh religious body plans to set up its own censor board to police films and books about the Sikh religion. This comes on the back of controversies surrounding the movie Messenger of God as well as previous films such as Son of Sardar.

Amarchand & Mangaldas, one of India's most respected law firms, is set to split between estranged owners—and brothers—Cyril and Shardul Shroff. The development follows months of legal wrangling and failed attempts at arbitration to settle a family dispute.

Opinion

Megan Reed and Devesh Kapur reveal in The Hindu, through a pan-India survey that “..Seventy seven per cent of respondents felt that pants and shirt were inappropriate for young women and 92 per cent felt that shorts were inappropriate..”

Daniel Markey in The Indian Express says that Modi’s foreign policy on Pakistan is strikingly reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s on the Soviet Union.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.