WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM COMING OF AGE India’s senior citizens banish a taboo, embrace the growing industry of retirement homes and elderly community living AHMEDABAD, FEBRUARY 15, 2026 SCREEN Director Anubhuti Kashyap and actors Konkona Sensharma and Pratibha Ranta on Accused and making characters seen and heard LATE CITY 14+4 PAGES ₹6.00 F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , P A T N A , P U N E , V A D O D A R A CBC 06124/13/0010/2526 D A I L Y Happening today lNAVY’S EXERCISE MILAN begins in Visakhapatnam. This year, it is being held simultaneously with International Fleet Review and Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Conclave of Chiefs. lKERALA CM PINARAYI Vijayan will inaugurate his government's Vision 2031 International Conference on Development and Democracy. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm POlITIcs PAge 8 PM in AssAM: Cong KePt Country in dAnger ‘GUPTA WORKED WITH VIKASH YADAV, A GOVT EMPLOYEE’ Pannun plot: In Nikhil Gupta’s guilty plea, US Justice Dept names R&AW Ritika Chopra India’s ‘commitment’ to stop buying ‘additional Russian oil’ NIKHIL GUPTA’S decision to plead guilty in a United States court in the murder-for-hire conspiracy case linked to Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York was amovetobringanendtoa“long and exhausting” legal battle for himself and his family, sources close to Gupta’s family told The IndianExpress Saturday. Whilethefamilyhadaninkling that such a step could be taken, they learnt of Gupta’s final decision only through his lawyer on Friday, within hours of which the news was already Divya A Mumbai, February 14 Divya A New Delhi, February 14 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Strategic autonomy runs deep... across political spectrum’ Hetookblame onhimself… wantedtoendit: Gupta’sfamily External Affairs Minister’s remarks after Rubio says US got No MEA response; Gupta faces up to 40 yrs in jail on 3 charges, including murder-for-hire THE US Department of Justice (DoJ) has confirmed that Indian national Nikhil Gupta, charged in the 2023 assassination plot against Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, has pleaded guilty — and said that his sentence will be pronounced on May 29. The DoJ also said that Gupta(54)workedatthe“direction” of Vikash Yadav, “employed by the Government of India’s Cabinet Secretariat, S JAISHANKAR AT MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE A photo of Nikhil Gupta posted by the US DEA on X. @DEANEWYORKDIV »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi, February 14 EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Minister S Jaishankar underlined Saturday that India remains committed to strategic autonomy and will make “independent” choices which may not agree with someone’s thinking. He said this when asked if the recent trade agreement with the United States and its termson"weaning"offRussian oil didn't undermine India's strategic autonomy. Jaishankar’s remarks come as the government faces sharp External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Munich on Saturday. ANI attacks from the Opposition, which has accused it of “surrendering” to Washington in the wake of the interim trade agreement. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in a session »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Digital feudals, state In NEP, AI catalyst, role, rewiring society: technology bridge for Framing India AI map education: Pradhan INDIA AI Impact Summit AN EXPRESS SERIES C Raja Mohan New Delhi, February 14 ASNATIONALleadersandglobal entrepreneurs gather here this week for the India AI Im- pact Summit (February 16-20) todebatetheimpactofArtificial Intelligenceon“people,planet, and progress”, the mix of anxietyandanticipationishard to miss. The spectacular rise in AI-driven tech valuations over the last few years has just collided with a sharp correction in global markets. Predictions of massive job losses, in a sweeping range of white-collar sectors, from software and E. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Express News Service New Delhi, February 14 DESCRIBING ARTIFICIAL Intelligence as a “good catalyst” anda"bridge",UnionEducation Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at the Express Adda Friday thattheNationalEducationPolicy(NEP)2020focusesonusing technology to “fill learning gaps”and“takeeducationtoinaccessible areas”. Respondingtoaquestionon NEP and whether it can meet the challenges posed by AI, Pradhansaid:“Thepolicycame in2020,butworkbeganin2014. The document was brought after six years of homework. The policy gives importance to »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Will keep our interests in mind on foreign policy, says Rahman ExPrEss IN DHAKA Shubhajit Roy February 14 IN HIS first remarks since winningthenationalelectionswith a landslide majority, Bangla- desh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman, who is tipped to become the Prime Minister, underlined Saturday that he would keep in mind the “interests of Bangladesh” and its people while deciding his foreign policy. Responding to a question about former PM Sheikh Hasina’s extradition request from Dhaka, Rahman said it would “depend on the legal process”. On the future of Awami League supporters, who have been facing legal cases and alleged harassment over the past 18monthssincetheHasinagovernmentwasousted,Rahman’s cryptic response was they will follow the “rule of law”. Rahman chose his words carefully and responded in a measured manner in his first »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BNP chief Tarique Rahman, who is set to be Bangladesh PM, in Dhaka on Saturday. AP l THE OTHER 250-PLUS FAMILIES WHO LIvED ON THE PREMISES HAvE ACCEPTED COMPENSATION, MOvED OUT Govt’s Sabarmati Ashram revamp runs into resistance — one family holds out PAGE 1 anchor Parimal A Dabhi Ahmedabad, February 14 ON THE 55 acres of land where workersarebusyrestoringrows ofneatcottageswithterracottatiledroofsaspartoftheRs1,200 crore Sabarmati Ashram Redevelopment Project, one cottage on the north-west corner The Rathod family’s house on the Ashram premises. BHUPENDRA RANA stands untouched. Clothes hang on a line, a scooter is parked outside, the walls are stained with water leakage, the lime plaster has peeledoffatplacesexposingthe bricks,andtherooftilesarerun down or broken. But the family ofthelateMohanbhaiRathodis holding out on the government’s rehabilitation plan and resistingmovingout,unlikethe other 250-odd families which »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad