January 1, 2026 – India Headlines

Story gist: Countries worldwide began celebrating New Year 2026 starting from New Zealand and Australia. Cities in Asia and Europe marked the occasion with festivities.

Bias summary: Left-leaning Deshabhimani frames celebrations in Asia and Europe as ‘festivities and care,’ emphasizing positive and cautious tones. Center BBC provides neutral pictorial coverage of global welcomes. No right-leaning outlets cover the story, absenting conservative perspectives like security emphases or crowd control issues.

Story gist: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted user trials of the Pralay short-range ballistic missile off the Odisha coast. Two missiles were launched in quick succession.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like NDTV frame the event with national pride, highlighting ‘successful’ launches of ‘indigenous’ missiles and using ‘India’ as the actor. Center outlets like PIB report factually on DRDO’s ‘successful’ salvo launch in neutral terms. Right-leaning coverage is absent, omitting potential emphasis on defense capabilities or strategic deterrence.

Story gist: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was laid to rest in Dhaka. India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker on the sidelines of the funeral.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets like Telegraph India emphasize India’s Jaishankar meeting Pakistan’s speaker at Zia’s funeral, highlighting diplomatic tensions. Center outlets like The Hindu neutrally report the funeral and updates without geopolitical angles. Right-leaning coverage is absent, omitting potential focus on Zia’s opposition legacy or Bangladesh’s political shifts.

Story gist: India’s DRDO decodes seized Chinese PL-15 missile technology for Astra Mk-2 air-to-air missile development. DRDO fast-tracks Astra Mk3 with imminent ramjet trials targeting 2029 operational induction.

Bias summary: Left-leaning outlets absent, omitting anti-militarization or international cooperation perspectives. Center source Defence.in highlights DRDO’s progress on Astra Mk3 via trials and 2029 induction, emphasizing self-reliant advancement. Right-leaning EurAsian Times stresses Chinese PL-15 tech decoding shaping Astra Mk-2, focusing on reverse-engineering seized adversary technology.

Story gist: A delivery workers’ union called for a nationwide strike across India on New Year’s Eve. The action targets Swiggy and Zomato services.

Bias summary: Left-leaning NDTV frames the strike sympathetically, headlining ‘Demand For Fair Pay Is Just’ and highlighting AAP leader Raghav Chadha’s support for gig workers. Center outlet Moneycontrol uses a neutral, factual headline focusing on potential service disruptions. Right-leaning coverage is absent, omitting any business-defense or anti-union perspective.