DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES India braces for AI challenge, Govt says own foundational model in 4-8 months SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 DAYS AFTER an upstart Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) lab launched DeepSeek, a low-cost foundational model, India has decidedtobuildadomesticlarge languagemodel(LLM)of itsown as part of the Rs 10,370 crore IndiaAI Mission, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Thursday. The government has also selected 10 companies to supply 18,693graphicsprocessingunits or GPUs — high end chips needed to develop machine learning tools — that can go into developing a foundational model. This is more than the initial aim of the IndiaAI Mission, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw under which the government was looking to procure 10,000 GPUs. The companies empaneled to provide the GPU services include Jio Platforms, the Hiranandani Group-backed Yotta,TataCommunications,E2E Networks, NxtGen Datacenter, CMS Computers, Ctrls Datacenters, Locuz Enterprise Solutions, Orient Technologies, and Vensysco Technologies. Jio Platforms, E2E Networks, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IAF officer set to pilot mission to space station: ‘Journey of 1.4 bn people’ ANONNA DUTT JUST A few months away from becoming the second Indian to travel to space — the first in 40 years — Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Thursday said he was embarking on a journey on behalf of 1.4 billion people of India, and wanted each one of them to share his experience. Speaking at an online press conference of the Axiom 4 mission from the United States, Shukla (40), who is one of the Shri Siddaramaiah AT THE MAHA KUMBH STAMPEDE SITE NEAR THE SANGAM Day after: VIP passes cancelled, no-vehicle zone, curbs on routes As bodies start returning home, grief echo at site of stampede Crowd control measures in place, vehicles stopped at city entry points MANISH SAHU PRAYAGRAJ, JANUARY 30 A DAY after 30 people died and 60 were injured in a pre-dawn stampede near the Sangam in Prayagraj, the administration issued a string of directives Thursday and cancelled all VVIP passes and declared the entire Maha Kumbh area as a no-vehicle zone. Routes for devotees have been made one-way to avoid overlapping given the huge rush of people heading to the ghats and returning after a dip. Entry of vehicles from all adjoiningdistrictshasbeenbanned and these will be stopped outside Prayagraj city. Instructions havealsogoneouttocompletely ban entry of four-wheelers in- THE WORLD NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 MAULSHREE SETH People search for their missing relatives following the Maha Kumbh stampede, in Prayagraj on Thursday. PTI side the city until February 4. An officer on security duty said, “It has been communicated that VVIP passes have been revoked, meaning special passes willnolongerallowvehicleentry. One-wayrouteshavebeenintroducedtofacilitatesmoothmovement of people. Additionally, vehicle entry has been restricted at the district borders. A strict ban on vehicle entry into the city will remaininplaceuntilFebruary4.” BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY PRAYAGRAJ, JANUARY 30 MUDDY FOOTWEAR, some single, some in pairs, are strewn near the Sangam ghat. So are colourful clothes and backpacks – telltale signs of the stampede thatclaimedatleast30livesaday agoandleftanother60injuredat the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. As a dense fog envelops the ghat, families and friends move in single file, holding on to a security rope and looking behind nervouslytocheckontheirloved ones. A shawl or a dupatta tied to their waist binds them all together so that they don’t lose four astronauts travelling to the International Space Station, said hehopedthathisjourneywould CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut MUMBAI, JANUARY 30 Shri D. K. Shivakumar Hon'ble Chief Minister of Karnataka Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 DAYSBEFOREDelhivotestoelect a new Assembly, a war of words erupted Thursday between AAP leaderandformerChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Election Commission of India over his remark about water for Delhi being “poisoned” in Haryana. Kejriwal accused Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of “engaging in politics” for “a job post-retirement” — he is due to retire on February DECISION 18. The AAP leader 2025 said this at a press DELHI conference when he was asked about the EC letter to him over AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav at a roadshow in New Delhi on Thursday. Tashi Tobgyal his statement. Earlier in the day, the EC had written to Kejriwal, saying his allegation that BJP-ruled Haryana had poisoned Delhi’s water supply from the Yamuna river CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RG KAR CORRUPTION CASE CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VALLABH OZARKAR OVER 60 FEARED DEAD AS U.S. PLANE COLLIDES WITH CHOPPER, CRASHES INTO RIVER PAGE 12 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Court pulls up CBI for ‘not informing’ about govt Cloud over MVA, Raut says many in nod to prosecute Ghosh CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP want to align with Sena (UBT) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla Poison remark row: Kejriwal slams CEC, Shah says AAP chief making excuses IN WHAT may widen cracks within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Thursday thatmanyintheBJPareinfavour of the two outfits coming to- gether. Adding that no official talks had taken place, he said that many in his party may also have similar sentiments. Raut’s statement followed a meeting between Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and BJP minister Chandrakant Patil at a wedding recently, where Patil said that such a union would be “a golden moment” for him. Referring to this, Raut said: CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shaping the future of growth, together EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, JANUARY 30 PULLING UP the CBI for not informing the trial court about the West Bengal government giving sanction to prosecute Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and another doctor in a corruption case, special court judge Sujit Kumar Jha on Thursday ordered the central agency to submit in writing the reason why it failed to do so. Issuing the show-cause notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the financial irregularities in the state-run hospital in thewakeof therapeandmurder of a junior doctor, the judge expressed dissatisfaction, saying three days had passed since the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shri M. B. Patil Hon’ble Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development interacting with Shri Siddaramaiah, Hon’ble Chief Minister. Join us at the Invest Karnataka 2025 Global Investors Meet, where global industry pioneers converge to reimagine a sustainable, inclusive, resilient and tech-driven future. Discover new opportunities, foster strategic partnerships, and be a part of Karnataka’s transformative growth story. Reimagining Growth As enshrined in our Constitution, “to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement” is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India. Invest Karnataka 2025 Global Investors Meet Bangalore Palace, Bengaluru Feb 12-14 Inauguration on February 11, 4 PM Gunjan Krishna, IAS Dr. S. SELVAKUMAR, IAS Commissioner for Industrial Development & Director, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka Register here Principal Secretary to Government, Commerce and Industries Department, Government of Karnataka Kolkata