The Ideas Page: Like Nandan Nilekani for Aadhaar, India’s AI moment needs a leader 9 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Happening today lPRESIDENT DROUPADI Murmu will witness the International Fleet Review at Visakhapatnam. The exercise is likely to feature INS Vikrant leading a line-up of over 50 Indian vessels. lDENMARK'S KING is sched- uled to visit Greenland as the Nordic nation asserts its sovereignty over the Arctic island in response to US President Donald Trump's push to buy it. lUNION HOME MINISTER Amit Shah is scheduled to visit poll-bound West Bengal and participate in several programmes at ISKCON temple in Mayapur. The visit, described as devotional in nature, will be one of Shah's shortest trips to the state in recent months, lasting around two hours at the temple complex in Nadia, sources said. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm IN ‘UNPREDICTABLE’ wORLD, PARTNERSHIP FRAMED AS ‘PROGRESS, STABILITY’ India and France upgrade ties to strategic partnership PushforRafale indigenous content,MRO facilitiesfor aeroengines Defence to critical minerals, tech to innovation: 21 major outcomes of talks between Modi and Macron in Mumbai Vallabh Ozarkar & Shubhajit Roy Mumbai, New Delhi, February 17 INDIA AND France elevated their bilateral ties to a Special GlobalStrategicPartnershipfollowing talks in Mumbai Tuesday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. With the meeting resulting in 21 important outcomes in areas ranging from defence to criticalminerals,techandinnovation to startups, advanced materialstohealthandskilling, Modiunderlinedthat“thispartnership will provide stability andprogress”in“thiseraofunpredictable global dynamics”. Macron said India is one of the most trusted partners of France. “From Rafale jets to submarines, we are expanding defence cooperation,” he said. Thetwoleadersvirtuallyinaugurated the H125 light utility »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Amrita Nayak Dutta New Delhi, February 17 PM Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai, Tuesday. SANKHADEEP BANERjEE RELATED REPORT, PAGE 12 THE6THIndia-FranceAnnual Defence Dialogue, held in Bengaluru Tuesday, witnessed a strong push for enhancing indigenous content — up to 50 per cent — in the Rafale fighter aircraft to be manufactured in »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 I have known Imran Meta raises concerns over 3-hr timeline from time he was 17, for takedown of social media content treat him humanely: Gavaskar urges Pak Soumyarendra Barik New Delhi, February 17 Joins cricket legends in appeal to let doctors of Imran’s choosing treat him Sriram Veera Mumbai, February 17 SOME OF cricket’s most celebrated figures, from Sunil Gavaskar to Greg Chappell, set aside old rivalries on Tuesday and signed a joint appeal demandingthatPakistan’sgovernment treat the imprisoned former prime minister and World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan with basic dignity, provideurgentmedicalcareand guarantee fair access to courts. The open letter was signed by14formercaptainsspanning sixdecadesofthegame,including Mike Atherton (England); Allan Border, and Ian and Greg Chappell (Australia); Gavaskar and Kapil Dev (India); Clive Lloyd (West Indies); and John Imran Khan has been in custody since August 2023 Wright (New Zealand). “Greg Chappell messaged askingifIwouldsigntheappeal along with the other former skippers and I agreed straightaway,” Gavaskar told The Indian Express. “I have known Imran since he was 17 years old when India wasplayingatWorcester...after »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 sPOrT t20 worLd cUP: AUStrALIA oUt, zImbAbwE IN SUPEr EIGhtS PAGE 18 l RAISING CONCERNS over India’s recently notified social media rules which prescribe strict content takedown timelines, social media giant Meta, which operates platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said Tuesday that the norms might be “challenging”tocomplywithfromanoperational standpoint. Rob Sherman, Meta vice president policy and deputy chief privacy officer, told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing India-AI Impact Summit:“Operationally,threehours During the AI summit at Bharat Mandapam, Tuesday. PRAVEEN KHANNA (the takedown window) is going to be really challenging.” According to Sherman, the government had not consulted withtheindustrybeforenotifying the rules. Gujarat passes Bill extending work hours from 9 to 10, allowing night shift for women in shops Parimal A Dabhi Gandhinagar, February 17 THE GUJARAT Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed an amendment Bill that proposes to allow women to work during night hours and extend the daily working time from nine to 10 hours in shops and establishmentsinthestate.The Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of EmploymentandConditionofService) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, introduced in the House by Labour, Skill Development and Employment Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya, was passed following a debate in the House. Speaking on the occasion, Bavaliya said that the increase in the daily working hours will increase “customers’ convenience”. Referring to the amendment allowing women to work during night hours at shops, Bavaliya said, "With this amendment bringing increased employment opportunities, women will be able to prove their talent without any hindrance...Gujarat state is moving ahead in the direction ofwomen'sempowermentand (with the latest amendment) it will get further boost." "The daily working hours limit has been increased from 9 to 10 with an intention to increase the economic development of »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 “Traditionally, the Indian governmenthasbeenquiteconsultativewhenitcomestothese things. This is an example where I think we are concerned that had they come to us and talked to us about it, we would have talked about some of the operationalchallenges,”hesaid. Last week, the IT Ministry notifiedamendmentstotheInformation Technology (IntermediaryGuidelinesandDigital MediaEthicsCode)Rules,2021. Oneofthechangesithasimplemented is that social media platforms must now remove problematic content within two-three hours as opposed to »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 business as Usual By EP UNNY GujArAT PAGE 3 AftEr SchooLS, SEvErAL coUrtS rEcEIvE hoAx bomb thrEAtS Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla hands over a letter from PM Narendra Modi to Bangladesh PM Tarique Rahman in Dhaka, Tuesday. ANI Rahman takes charge in Dhaka, Modi extends India invitation Om Birla meets new PM, reaffirms commitment to deepen relations Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, February 17 TARIQUE RAHMAN, chief of the centre-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was sworn in TuesdayasthenewPrimeMinister of Bangladesh, 18 months after the overthrow of the government of Sheikh Hasina. Rahman, 60, was adminis- tered the oath of office at a ceremony held in the South Plaza of the parliament building in Dhaka. The last time the BNP was in power, from 2001 to 2006, Rahman’s mother KhaledaZiawasPrimeMinister.She died in December 2025, days after Rahman returned to the country from the UK where he »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PUNE LAND DEAL Govt probe panel finds no role of Parth Pawar, points to official lapses Vallabh Ozarkar Mumbai, February 17 AN OFFICIAL probe into the controversial 41-acre land deal in Pune’s Mundhwa area has found no criminal liability on the part of Parth Pawar, son of former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, the late Ajit Pawar – but recommended action against two revenue officials for procedural lapses related to the transaction, The Indian Express has learnt. The report prepared by a committee headed by IAS officer Vikas Shankar Kharage, nowAdditionalChiefSecretary (Revenue), has been submitted to the Revenue Department under Cabinet Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and is expected to be placed before Findings expected to clear the way for Parth Pawar’s likely nomination to the Rajya Sabha Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Bawankule confirmed that “the report of the committee...whichwasappointedtoinquire into the irregularities in the land purchase deed pertaining to Survey Nos. 88/1 to 88/26 at Mouje Mundhwa, Taluka Pune City, District Pune »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HIS VIDEO FLAYING ‘OPEN SALE OF DRUGS’ WENT VIRAL, AMRITSAR POLICE GOT HIM TO RETRACT ‘Getting drugs like Zomato order’: His son dead, a Punjab cop’s helplessness Kamaldeep Singh Brar Constable Ashok Kumar Saini — who lost his son Akash last Friday, just a day after he had IT WAS a curious “fact check” been released from his latest bytheAmritsarpolice.Twenty- rehab stint — is “like ordering four hours after a viral video of from Zomato”. a Head Constable sitting with Shamsher Singh Sandhu, a the body of his 26-year-old son leaderoftherulingAamAadmi on the road, saying he had died Party (AAP), whose wife Surjit of drugs, and flaying their Kaur is a local municipal coun“open sale” in their neighbour- cillor,sharesthe“helplessness”. hood Guru NanakHe says he has himPAGE 1 purainAmritsar,poselfadmittedaround liceputoutavideoof 22 addicts to drug the father “retractrehab centres in the ing” his claims. last one-and-a-half years, only But, in Guru Nanakpura, lo- to watch his efforts defeated by cated barely 7 km from the the easy availability of drugs. GoldenTemple,thefactsspeak Noting that youths falling for themselves. prey to drugs mostly belong to Getting drugs, says Head poor families, a frustrated Amritsar, February 17 anchor Sandhu says: “How do you make people understand that drugs are bad for them?” However, Akash was not meant to be one of them. Saini talks about an intelligent son and a talented athlete, who played football for alma maters Khalsa School and Khalsa College. He went on to do B.Sc. in Hotel Management from Chief Khalsa Diwan, an Amritsarbased educational institution set up in 1902, with first-class honors. “He was a bright boy,” says Saini, focused on his career, for which he had also given up sports. Deployed with the Punjab Armed Police, the 51-year-old Head Constable Ashok Kumar Saini; (right) his son Akash recalls when all that started coming apart. It was 2020-21, and Saini was away on election duty in Uttar Pradesh, when he got a phone call from a concerned acquaintance. “I was told my son had fallen into bad company.” Saini’sheartsank,andwhen he returned home, his apprehension was confirmed: he had joinedtheranksofparentsfight- ing Punjab’s drug epidemic. Saini, who has one more child, a daughter, says his wife andhesparednoeffortnavigating the costly and gruelling world of rehabilitation for the next few years. Akash spent time at rehab centres across AmritsarandnearbySriHargobindpur, with the family spending between Rs 15,000Rs 20,000 per month. The Head Constable is the only earning member of the family. But,everytimeAkashcame out, their fight started all over again, Saini says. “Inside centres, addicts are healthy, they eat well, and are disciplined. But the moment they step out, the temptation is Ahmedabad everywhere.” It’s like “a home delivery” service, says a bitter Saini. “Addicts make a phone call, and drugs are delivered right on the street.Youcannotshadowyour child 24 hours a day.” Saini says he tried to sell his house to move the family away, but that he could not get a fair price as Guru Nanakpura is known for its “drug activity”. Asked about this, Assistant Commissioner of Police Jaspal Singh said he didn’t have “the exact data”. “However, since the anti-drug campaign started, we have conducted many round-ups and registeredseveralcases.”Describing Guru Nanakpura as “a slum kind of area”, Singh added that drug addiction there “is not excessively high”. “There were many addicts, but it's under control now.” Saini says he had got Akash home on Thursday last week full of hope as he had been “officiallyclean”fortwomonthsat the rehab centre. There was a function at the family’s ancestral home, and Saini thought it would be good for Akash to attend it. Their last conversation was Akash telling his father that he was stepping out of the house for 10 minutes. “His body was clean. I had no reason to suspect he would directly go and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2