N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons with Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI

New Delhi: Tata Group and OpenAI entered into a strategic partnership, placing a significant bet on India’s AI infrastructure playbook. In the first phase, TCS will build AI infrastructure with 100MW capacity, scalable up to 1GW. The platform is intended to support next-generation AI training and inference workloads while advancing India’s ambition to become a global AI hub. As part of the global Stargate initiative, OpenAI and Tata Group will develop local, AI-ready data centre capacity focused on data residency, security, and long-term domestic capability. “The infrastructure is designed as a purpose-built AI compute optimised for training and inference workloads,” said N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, at the India AI Impact Summit here on Thursday. He described the partnership as a unique opportunity for OpenAI and TCS to transform industries. OpenAI will become the first customer of TCS’ HyperVault data centre business. Recently, TCS secured $1 billion from private equity firm TPG to advance its AI data centre strategy in India, aligning with its goal of becoming the largest AI-led technology services firm. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “India is already leading the way in AI adoption, and with its talent, ambition, and strong govt support, it is well placed to help shape its future. Through OpenAI for India and our partnership with Tata Group, we’re working together to build the infrastructure, skills, and local partnerships needed to build AI with India, for India, and in India, so that more people across the country can access and benefit from it.“ Tata Group also plans to roll out ChatGPT Enterprise to employees over the coming years, beginning with hundreds of thousands at TCS, making it one of the largest enterprise AI deployments worldwide. TCS will adopt OpenAI’s Codex to standardise AI-native software development across teams. OpenAI will expand its certification programme in India, with TCS becoming the first participating organisation outside the United States. The certifications aim to equip professionals with practical, role-agnostic AI skills applicable across industries. As India positions itself at the centre of the global AI transformation, Tata Group is placing a multi-layered bet on intelligence infrastructure. “We established India’s first large-scale AI-optimised infrastructure for next-generation AI training and inference,” Chandrasekaran said. Beyond infrastructure, he identified data as the second pillar. “We are building an AI data insights platform. Intelligence must become accessible across the full diversity of Indian contexts,” he said. TCS and Tata Communications are jointly building what he described as an “AI operating system for industries”. The final pillar is semiconductors.

NEW DELHI: Election Commission is planning to commence the third round of special intensive revision in April. While the first phase was for Bihar, Phase 2 covered a dozen states and Union territories. The commission wrote on Thursday to chief electoral officers of the 22 remaining states/UTs, including Delhi, saying the SIR process “is expected to start from April 2026” and requested them to complete the SIR preparatory work at the earliest. Weeks before EC announced Phase 2 of SIR on Oct 27, 2025, it had similarly written to CEOs of all states/UTs except Bihar. However, SIR was announced for only 12. This indicates not all 22 pending states/UTs are likely to be included in Phase 3, even though their electorate is only about 39 crore compared to the 60 crore already covered.The states/UTs mentioned in the communication include Manipur and Uttarakhand, where the terms of current assemblies will expire in March 2027. Others on the list are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura and Telangana; besides the UTs of Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Ladakh and Delhi. Phase 3 may continue till June or early July in the event of extensions. Significantly, phase 3 will coincide with the houselisting stage of Census 2027, to be held over a 45-day time frame between April 1 and Sept 30 this year as individually notified by the states/UTs. Some states such as Delhi, Haryana and Odisha that have already notified their houselisting timelines may thus need to revise these timelines or request EC for inclusion in the next phase of SIR. Some states/UTs that have not yet notified houselisting dates may choose to schedule the first phase of census after June-July or request that SIR be conducted in a later phase.

New Delhi, Feb 19 (ANI): Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani speaks during the Opening Ceremony of India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi on Thursday. (India AI/ANI Video Grab)

New Delhi: Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani on Thursday said his conglomerate has lined up investments of $110 billion (Rs 10 lakh crore) to build India’s sovereign artificial intelligence infrastructure. At a scale befitting India’s ambition, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate plans to invest the mega-sum over seven years to build India’s sovereign artificial intelligence infrastructure, including data centres and a nationwide edge compute network, Ambani said. Data centres, the backbone of artificial intelligence, house the high-performance chips and servers required to train and run large AI models, a process that demands enormous computing power. They also consume a lot of electricity. Reliance Industries and Jio would “connect India to the intelligence era” after having connected it to affordable broadband, Ambani said. “This is patient, disciplined nation-building capital,” he said, adding that India “cannot afford to rent intelligence” and must reduce the cost of compute as dramatically as it reduced the cost of data. Last month, Ambani had announced large investments in data centres in Gujarat. On Thursday, he said construction has begun on multi-gigawatt AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, with over 120 megawatts expected to come online in the second half of 2026. The facilities will be backed by up to 10 gigawatts of green energy capacity in Kutch and Andhra Pradesh. A nationwide edge layer integrated with Jio’s telecom network will bring low-latency AI services closer to users, from kirana stores to farms and clinics. The data centres business in India is expected to fire up with the Union Budget 2026-27 introducing a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign cloud service providers using Indian data centres for global operations. “India will emerge as one of the greatest AI powers in the world in the 21st century,” Ambani said. He further outlined five principles guiding what he called “Jio Intelligence,” multilingual AI across Indian languages, data residency and security, productivity-led use cases, job creation through high-skill work, and ecosystem partnerships with enterprises, startups, IITs and research institutions. AI must be driven by “social relevance, not momentary craze,” he said, calling for global cooperation in areas such as chips and critical minerals, warning against hoarding and polarisation. “For the first time, humans are creating human-like systems that can learn, speak, analyse, move and produce autonomously. AI is the Mantra that powers every Yantra or every machine and system. To work faster, better and smarter. I see AI as a modern day Akshay Patra, the legendary vessel in Mahabharat that provided endless nourishment to all,” he said.

MUMBAI: A suit dating back to the year India got independence finally stood disposed of by the Bombay high court this month, with the fourth generation of the original land owner amicably settling a property dispute. The estate included vast portions of the village of Dahisar in north Mumbai. The area was a whopping 2,891 acres or over 1,100 hectares. It was 3.5 times the size of Central Park in New York.Over the decades, the legal battle saw repeated pleas against sale of parcels of land in Dahisar to private parties, as well as an acquisition by the state under the Salsette Law and Forest Act.Justice Farhan Dubash, one of the newest judges of the high court, put a quietus via a consent term order to the legal tussle 78 years, or over three quarters of a century later, on a suit filed on Oct 7, 1947.The original suit had sought administration of the estate of one Haji Alimohammed Haji Cassum following his demise, as per personal laws applicable. It was filed by Badrushama, widow of Suleman Haji Alimohammed Haji Cassum, versus Salim Dawood Agboatwala and others.Justice Dubash, began his order with: “This order disposes of probably the oldest Suit that is currently pending before the Bombay high court.”Over the years, several orders were passed in the matter, including a preliminary decree passed on Nov 25, 1952 that determined the legal share of all heirs.Before that, the HC appointed a court receiver in 1950 to look after the property. Successive generations continued the legal battle before the HC. Finally, with the litigation entering the fourth generation, all heirs decided to amicably settle. They filed consent terms before the HC on Feb 5. The terms were accepted, and the suit was struck off from a pendency list to a disposed one.This verdict resulted in one of the longest pending cases in the history of the Bombay HC coming to a close.The HC recorded the agreement arrived at between the parties after hearing Kevic Setalvad, senior counsel with advocate Vijaylaxmi Kulkarni appearing for the plaintiffs, and Anupam Surve, counsel with solicitor Nanu Hormasjee and Co for contesting heirs.The settlement was between Ateeq Anwar Agboatwala, a power of attorney holder for the first plaintiff, and other members of the Agboatwala family.At the end of the settlement, what was payable to the court receiver towards costs and charges in the matter was Rs 7 lakh. After deducting this amount, the rest of the undisclosed amount is to be returned on or before Feb 20, 2026 to the family.

Mohammed Shami was in sensational form in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025/26 season. He recently picked up 8 wickets in the semi-final game against Jammu and Kashmir, playing for Bengal. However, he could lead his side to the final of the competition. Shami has been out of the Indian team since 9th March 2025, when India won the ICC Champions Trophy.

Mohammed Shami has also been removed from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) central contract. However, he keeps delivering in the domestic circuit and has been a top performer for Bengal across every tournament they have featured in. He has been the second-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal with 37 wickets in the season.

Mohammed Shami to make a comeback?

The Men’s Selection Committee member RP Singh was present at the Kalyani Ground and witnessed Mohammed Shami’s excellent bowling performance. In the same game, he also smashed a fifty in the first innings.

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There might be a chance that Shami might be called up for the Test team, where he last featured on 7 June 2023 vs Australia. Shami was brilliant in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Supreme Court sends notice to Mohammed Shami

However, problems do not go away for Mohammed Shami, despite on-field problems with his fitness and selection. Off the field, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to India speedster after his wife, Hasin Jahan, filed a petition to transfer of their ongoing domestic violence and alimony case from Kolkata to Delhi.

The notice comes from a bench formed by Justices Manoj Mishra and Ujjal Bhuyan, asking the speedster and the West Bengal government to respond to Jahan’s appeal. The ongoing case, which has been proceeding in Kolkata, can be shifted to the capital state if the court accepts Jahan’s plea.

Jahan stated in her argument that the move to Delhi was required to provide better educational possibilities for their daughter, and that, as a result, she would be unable to attend court proceedings in West Bengal.

Hasin Jahan further stated that Shami, as a professional cricketer, travels widely throughout the country for matches and training purposes. She claimed that Shami has sufficient resources to contest the lawsuit in Delhi without encountering any issues. She also brought out the point that her family lives in Uttar Pradesh, which is closer to Delhi than Kolkata.

Mohammed Shami’s career is over?

Jahan has also requested that the monthly alimony for herself and her daughter be raised from INR 4 lakh to INR 10 lakh. The conflict began in 2018 when Jahan filed a criminal case in West Bengal, alleging cruelty and harassment. She later claimed compensation under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, as well as the requirements for maintenance.

However, there has been no response to the recent notice sent to Shami, as the Supreme Court will now have a look at whether the reasons provided by his wife are enough to transfer the case from Kolkata to Delhi, keeping a tap on the convenience of both parties.

Also Read: Ryan ten Doeschate reveals how opposition teams can destroy India in T20 World Cup 2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with French President Emmanuel Macron.

PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday spoke on the need to shield children from the harms of AI and social media. “We must become even more vigilant about children’s safety. Just as a school syllabus is carefully curated, the AI space too must be child-safe and family-guided,” Modi said at the India AI Impact Summit. Addressing the summit earlier, Macron expressed hope that India would join France and other countries in banning social media networks for children under 15 years of age, emphasising that protecting children is about not just regulation but civilisation as well. He said there was no reason to expose children to content online that is legally forbidden in the real world. Govts must work together for safe Net: Macron The French leader struck a bullish note on India being part of AI revolution and benefiting from it. Backing India and Europe’s AI aspirations, he said India had proved the world wrong after being told a decade ago that 1.4 billion people could not be brought into the digital economy. On a ban on social media networks for children under 15 years of age, Macron said France is embarking on the journey, with several European countries also committed to it. Australia has become the first country to ban social media for children under 16 and, in India, BJP ally TDP has pushed for a regulation along similar lines. “I know, Mr Prime Minister, you will join this club. And this is great news that India will join such an approach to protect children and teenagers,” he said, referring to Narendra Modi who was in the audience along with other global leaders and tech bigwigs. IT minister Ashwini Vaishnav had on Tuesday said that India was debating the issue of restricting children’s access to social media. “Our platforms, govts and regulators should be working together to make the Internet and social media a safe space,” Macron said. He also emphasised France’s shared vision with India to ensure access to AI for everyone at a time when it has become a “major field of strategic competition”. “Hegemony from any quarter is not a fatality. There is a path for innovation, independence and strategic autonomy. And this path, I’m convinced, is what countries like France and India must take together,” he said, heaping praise on India for its advances in providing digital access, be it for identity or financial transaction, to its entire population. “That is not just a tech story. That is a civilisation story,” he said. “Access to Al for all is critical. France and India share a common vision: a sovereign Al used to protect our planet and to foster prosperity for all.” He said the future of Al will be built by those who combine innovation and responsibility, and technology with humanity. “India and France will help shape this future together. We are determined to continue to shape the rules of the game. And to do it with our allies because we believe in core shared values.“