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India hosted a major international AI summit in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Modi unveiled an ethical AI governance vision called 'MANAV', culminating in 86 countries signing the New Delhi Declaration. Concurrently, major domestic investments were announced, with the Adani Group and Reliance committing a combined $210 billion toward AI-ready data centers and infrastructure. In legal developments, a Delhi court discharged all 23 accused, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, in the excise policy case, finding no evidence of a criminal conspiracy and directing the CBI to take action against the investigating officer. Separately, Delhi Police filed a case over the online leak of a manuscript by former Army Chief General M.M. Naravane.
Several violent incidents were reported, including a murder-suicide in Noida and a shooting outside a film director's home in Mumbai, where a gang claimed responsibility. A slab collapse at a Mumbai metro construction site resulted in one death, leading to arrests and fines. In politics, the Congress party secured a decisive victory in Telangana's municipal elections, while opposition figures Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal criticized the government following a biker's death in Delhi.
The AI summit also drew significant international participation and commentary. Top tech executives, including Sam Altman of OpenAI and Sundar Pichai of Google, attended, with multiple companies announcing new projects in India, such as OpenAI's partnership with Tata and a $2 billion AI hub investment by Nvidia and Yotta. French President Emmanuel Macron attended, praising India's digital transformation, while Bill Gates withdrew from the event. A controversy emerged when Galgotias University was asked to vacate the summit after presenting a Chinese-made robot dog as its own creation.
In other matters, Minister Hardeep Puri acknowledged past meetings with Jeffrey Epstein as part of an official delegation, a topic raised in parliament by Rahul Gandhi. India's Supreme Court issued a strong warning to Meta's WhatsApp over data privacy, with the Chief Justice stating the company should 'exit India' if it cannot comply with local rules. In sports, India won a cricket match against Pakistan, with player Axar Patel commenting on the rivalry. Separately, tech investor Vinod Khosla predicted AI would render traditional IT outsourcing obsolete within five years.
12 topics | 278 sources
India hosted a major international AI summit called the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the event, which included an expo with over 600 startups. During the summit, Modi unveiled a vision for AI governance called 'MANAV,' which emphasizes ethical and inclusive development. Several major announcements and partnerships were made at the summit. Google announced a new subsea cable to boost AI connectivity between India and the US. The Tata Group and OpenAI formed a partnership to develop AI data centers in India. Companies including Reliance and Adani announced plans for massive investments, totaling over $200 billion, in AI and data centers. French President Macron attended and praised India's digital transformation. The summit concluded with 86 countries signing a New Delhi Declaration on AI. The event faced some organizational issues, including a controversy where Galgotias University was asked to leave after presenting a Chinese-made robot dog as its own. Bill Gates, who was scheduled to speak, pulled out of the event, with his foundation citing scheduling issues.
Delhi Police have filed a case over the circulation of an unpublished book by former Army Chief General Naravane. The police questioned staff at publisher Penguin Random House India about a pre-print 'leak' of the book. Separately, a BJP member of parliament has initiated a motion to cancel the Lok Sabha membership of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi criticized the media and used a social media post by Naravane to counter the publisher's claims about the book's availability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to students, encouraging them to focus on their future. Separately, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar personally invited Modi to the wedding of his son, Arjun Tendulkar, to Saaniya Chandhok.
Several separate violent incidents occurred in Indian cities. In Noida, a man shot his girlfriend and then himself in a car, with the woman's family claiming the couple was a victim of fraud. In Mumbai, five rounds were fired outside the home of film director Rohit Shetty, with a gang claiming responsibility for the shooting. Separately, five people were arrested and contractors were fined after a slab collapse at a Mumbai metro construction site killed one person. In local politics, Ritu Tawde of the BJP party is set to become the next mayor of Mumbai.
A court in Delhi has discharged all 23 accused, including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the excise policy case. The court found no evidence of an overarching conspiracy or criminal intent. The judge also directed the CBI to take action against the investigating officer in the case.
10 topics | 163 sources
Feb 12 — Feb 19
Indian minister acknowledges meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, denies wrongdoingHardeep Puri, a minister in the Indian government, has acknowledged meeting the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein several times. Puri said the meetings occurred as part of an official delegation and that he realized Epstein's character, denying any personal wrongdoing. This came after opposition leader Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in parliament, questioning why businessman Anil Ambani, whose name also appears in the released documents, was not in jail. The Indian government has dismissed the documents as 'trashy ruminations'.
Feb 25 — Feb 27
Congress wins big in Telangana local elections as party faces internal disputesThe Congress party won a decisive victory in municipal elections in Telangana, gaining control of over 1,500 wards. This result is seen as a major boost for the state's Congress government and a significant setback for the BJP and the BRS party in the region. Meanwhile, the national Congress party is dealing with several internal issues. These include a leadership dispute in Karnataka involving 38 legislators, the expulsion of a member who then insulted Rahul Gandhi, and a decision to contest upcoming elections in Bengal alone without an alliance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the Congress in a speech, and the Supreme Court made several rulings on separate cases, including one stating a minor has rights over reproductive choices.
Feb 12 — Feb 5
Netflix releases a reality show about wealthy Indians living in DubaiNetflix has released a new reality series called 'Desi Bling' that follows the lives of wealthy Indian expatriates living in Dubai. The show features cast members like a billionaire's wife, who mentioned in an episode that she receives three kilograms of gold every year.
Feb 15 — Feb 19
Tech billionaire predicts AI will replace IT and BPO services within five yearsVinod Khosla, a prominent tech investor, said in an interview that artificial intelligence will make traditional IT and business process outsourcing services obsolete within five years. This prediction comes as shares of major Indian IT firms like Infosys and TCS fell sharply following the release of a powerful new AI tool from the company Anthropic. Separately, there are several developments in India's AI sector. A new Indian AI model called Sarvam AI claims to outperform models from Google and ChatGPT. Another report details the difficult working conditions for some women in India who are paid to watch and label abusive online content to help train AI systems.
Feb 3
India's Supreme Court warns Meta over WhatsApp's data privacy policiesIndia's Supreme Court issued a strong warning to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, over its data privacy and sharing policies. The Chief Justice reportedly told the company to 'exit India' if it could not comply with the country's rules on protecting citizen privacy. The court's comments came during a hearing on a case related to WhatsApp's data sharing practices.