DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM cbc 22201/13/0334/2324 SINCE 1932 Poll bond details delay: SC to consider contempt petition against SBI chief ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, MARCH 7 THE SUPREME Court said Thursday it will look into a requesttolistforhearingapetition by the NGO Association for DemocraticReforms(ADR)seeking contempt of court proceedings against the Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) for not furnishingthedetailsof purchase of electoralbondstotheElection Commissionof India(ECI)within the March 6 deadline set by the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Now, not after LS elections’ AT THE heart of the petition seeking action against SBI is the demand for disclosure of donor names before the Lok Sabha polls. The ADR maintains that the SBI has the systems in place to comply with the SC order within the timeframe set by the court when it struck down the poll bond scheme. LUCKNOW, MARCH 7 A BHARATIYA Janata Party (BJP) office-bearer was shot dead by unidentified assailants at UdhapurvillageinUttarPradesh's Jaunpur district on Thursday. Onepersonhasbeenarrested in this connection, police said. J&K breathes free... from shackles of Article 370, dynastic politics: Modi In first trip to the Valley after end of J&K special status, PM flags development NAVEED IQBAL BJP office-bearer shot dead in Jaunpur village, police say main accused arrested EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE UNVEILS MULTIPLE PROJECTS FOR UT The incident took place around 10 am when some persons intercepted Pramod Yadav (55) when he was travelling in his car and opened fire at him, they added. Jaunpur Superintendent of Police Ajay Pal said, “A case has beenregisteredagainstfourpersonsunderSection302(murder) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SRINAGAR, MARCH 7 DESCRIBING THE abrogation of Article 370 as “bandishon se azadi” (freedom from impediments) while highlighting the Centre’s development and welfare measures for the Union Territory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that “Jammu & Kashmir is breathing freely today” and “attaining new heights”. On his first visit to the Valley sincetheendof thespecialstatus of J&K in August 2019, Modi told a public rally at the Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar that this “naya (new) Jammu and PrimeMinisterNarendraModiatBakshiStadiuminSrinagar whereheaddressedapublicrallyonThursday. PTI GOVT & POLITICS FRIEND NAZIM BROUGHT SWEET REVOLUTION IN BEEKEEPING: PM P6 Kashmir is the one that we had been waiting for… for decades” and with the “shackles re- moved” there are now “equal opportunities and rights for everyone” in the UT. TargetingtheCongressandits allies, he said they “misled the peopleof JammuandKashmirin the name of (Article) 370” and “onlyafewpoliticalfamiliesbenefited”fromitwhich“thepeople of J&K have now realised”. DescribingJ&Kasthe“mastak” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In big AI push, Rs 10,000-cr plan for computing capacity gets Govt nod SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, MARCH 7 THE UNION Cabinet Thursday approved the India AI Mission with an outlay of Rs 10,372 crore for the next five years, under which the government will allocate funds towards subsidising private companies looking to set up artificial intelligence (AI) compute capacityin thecountry and also allocate seed funding for AI startups, and create a frameworkforcuratingnon-per- OTHER DECISIONS DEARNESS ALLOWANCE forgovtstaff hikedby4% to50%;gratuitylimitup from`20lakhto`25lakh ONE-YEAR extension to Rs 300 per cylinder targeted subsidy under the PM Ujjwala Yojana UNNATI 2024 Scheme to push industrialisation in the North-East approved PAGE8 Congress focus on youth as Rahul promises govt jobs and startup funds sonal data, among other things. “WithAIMission… compute power (will be) available to innovators, startups, students, and educational institutions,” IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a statement. Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a post on X: “AI is one of the greatest inventions of our time, this programme will position us as a force shaping the future of AI for India and for the world.” The Indian Express had first CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, MARCH 7 SHARPENING HIS pitch for the youth ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Thursday announced theparty’sfivepromises,includingfillinggovernmentjobvacanciesandbringing in a right to apprenticeship, if voted to power. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge with Rahul Gandhi in Banswara, Thursday. PTI INDIA ENGAGES WITH TALIBAN MINISTER P 7 Lucknow