The Editorial Page: On building public AI, governments must be tactical but remain flexible 8 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) 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 lAS THE AI IMPACT SUMMIT begins in New Delhi, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, in collaboration with Intel India, will launch a nationwide campaign to mobilise people to commit to ethical, inclusive and responsible use of AI. lMICROSOfT fOUNDER BIll Ishan blitz sinks Pakistan AI summit begins today, real-world solutions on table MODI TO INAUGURATE EXPO AT BHARAT MANDAPAM Convincing win in Colombo takes India to T20 World Cup Super Eights Gates is scheduled to visit Andhra Pradesh and meet CM N Chandrababu Naidu, IT Minister Nara Lokesh and Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan to explore deeper collaboration in education, health and agriculture. Tech majors, leaders from across world head to India for deliberations TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm Soumyarendra Barik New Delhi, February 15 business as Usual By EP UNNY Ishan Kishan on his way to a quickfire 77 during the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in Colombo, Sunday. ANI ExPrEss IN ThE wOrlD PAGE 10 SRI LANKA Venkata Krishna B Colombo, February 15 EUroPE PUShES bAck oN U.S. ‘cIvILISAtIoNAL ErASUrE’ cLAIm IT DID not rain in Colombo as was feared. But it rained sixes and fours from the mighty willow of Ishan Kishan, it rained wickets for the excellent seampair of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, and later the guileful spin pack, ending in a comfortable 61-run victory for India over Pakistan. Not even Rs 3-CR BAIl BOND YET TO BE PAID rain, it seems, can rain on India’s parade. Themarginofvictoryissuggestive enough of the supremacy India wields over Pakistan — a rivalry that India truly ownsandrequiresthetheatrics and shenanigans to sustain its lost charm — but does not fully capture the various layers of their domination and deception.Intalentandskillandstature and structure, India is light years ahead of Pakistan. Hence, India’s celebrations were seldom feverish. Raw joy was masked in a stone-cold exterior. Routine group stage wins don’t excite them. Only biggerfeatscaninspirewildcelebrations. sPOrT PAGE 15 INdIA LANd ANothEr bLow oN oNcE-GrEAt rIvALry India’s domination has begun to resemble a bloodless coup, devoid of resistance and drama, exuding a calm ruth- lessness reminiscent of Ricky Ponting’s Australia. Put into bat, Pakistan captain Salman Agha, flashing a grin, said the surface looked tacky. He had stocked his side with spinners of all hues and took the new ball himself to shock Indians. But Pakistan’s luck of the night ended there, when he tricked Abhishek Sharma into a false shot in the last ball of the first over. India, like champion teams perform, has a hero for every moment. Sunday’s hero was Ishan. The surface was difficult by T20 norms, some ballsstoppedatbatsmen,some held up. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 13 COUNTRIES INVITED TO CEREMONY STARTING MONDAY, New Delhiwillbecometheepicentre of global discourse around artificial intelligence (AI) as India hosts the AI Impact Summit 2026, with the country looking toputforthitsprowessinbuilding real-world AI solutions, become the leading voice on AI in the Global South, and secure a seat at the high table of technological leadership. Coming to the Global South for the first time, the summit, scheduledfromFebruary16-20, willbeofficiallyinauguratedby Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 19. At 5 pm Monday, Modi will inauguratetheco-locatedIndia AI Impact Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam. The Expo, the Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday,willserveas“anational demonstration of AI in action, wherepolicymeetspractice,innovationmeetsscale,andtechnology meets the everyday citizen”. The summit represents the latestchapterinanevolvinginternational conversation on AI governance and innovation. What began as the AI Safety SummitatBletchleyParkinthe UKinNovember2023,where28 countries signed the landmark Bletchley Declaration focusing on identifying AI safety risks, hasprogressivelybroadenedits scope. The Seoul Summit in Outside Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the India AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi on Sunday. ABHINAV SAHA India expanding infra... we invite world’s data to reside with us: PM Express News Service New Delhi, February 15 AHEADOFthehigh-profilefiveday AI Impact Summit, which kicksoffonMonday,PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said that Indiaislayingthefoundationfor a thriving artificial intelligence ecosystem by expanding computing power and data centre infracapacity.Inawritteninterview to PTI, the Prime Minister emphasised that data centres will be a massive job-creator for the Indian youth — “we invite the whole world’s data to reside in India,” he remarked. The summit is being positioned as the first major AI gathering in the Global South. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address the main ple- Wife runs pillar to post LS Speaker Om Birla to attend to free Indian held in Rahman swearing-in tomorrow AI shakes statecraft: Mali over firm dispute »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Modi unable to travel to Dhaka owing to talks with Macron Divya A New Delhi, February 15 ALMOST EXACTLY a year ago, Nitin Gulhane flew back to Mali’s capital Bamako to join work, after a couple of months offforhiswife’sdeliveryandan angioplasty procedure. The plan was that his wife Priyanka and their two children would follow soon. However, on February 25, four days after Gulhane landed inBamako,the42-year-oldwas arrested.Thefamilysaysthearrest was the fallout of a financial dispute between the New Delhi-based Aar Ess Exim Pvt Ltd (AEEPL), where Gulhane is employedasaprojectmanager, and the local Malian entity for whom the firm is executing hydropowerandelectricitydistribution projects. Five months ago, Gulhane ExPrEss IN DHAKA Shubhajit Roy February 15 Nitin and Priyanka Gulhane with their children and Nitin’s mother finally secured bail. However, heremainsincarcerated,asper Priyanka,becausethebailbond of around Rs 3 crore in Indian currency is yet to be paid by his employer despite assurances, including to Union Ministry of »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE GOVERNMENT Sunday decided to send Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to Dhaka as India’s representative at the swearing-inceremonyofBangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman as the country’s Prime Minister on Tuesday. The BNP, through the interim government in Bangladesh, had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the ceremony, but he has sched- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla uled meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron in Mumbai. Macron and Modi are to meet Tuesday afternoon for bilateral meetings, before the French President travels to New Delhi for the Artificial Intelligence summit. IntheearlyhoursofSunday, the BNP said Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the interim government, had invited the heads of government of 13 countries.Invitationshavebeen extendedtoChina,SaudiArabia, India, Pakistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal,theMaldivesandBhutan. Bangladesh parliament’s newly-electedmemberswillbe sworninTuesdaymorningand Rahman, along with members of his Cabinet, will be administered the oath of office in the evening. In New Delhi Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “Om Birla, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, will represent the Government of India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected government of Bangladesh led by Tarique Rahman, Chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in Dhaka on February 17, 2026.” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prediction markets test diplomats, spies C Raja Mohan New Delhi, February 15 AS WORLD leaders gather in New Delhi this week for the AI Summit to debate how governments should deploy artificial intelligence for public good, a less-noticed but more unsettling transformation is under way. While governments discuss how to regulate the transformative technological revolution,AI-drivenprediction markets are beginning to constrainstatebehaviour—including on decisions about war and peace. E. INDIA PM Narendra Modi nary on February 19. Intheinterview,Modispoke at length about the Union Budget, asserting that none of his government's budgets has been made with an attitude of creating run-of-the-mill “bahi khata” documents, as “that is not our approach.” Recalling that a few years ago he had declared from the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EDITOrIAl PAGE GLobAL SoUth mUSt SEIzE ItS AI momENt P 8 ExPlAINED PAGE 7 At GLobAL EvENt, INdIA AImS to SPotLIGht LocAL SoLUtIoNS AI Impact Summit AN EXPRESS SERIES If Trump 2.0 ushered in diplomacy breaking live as social media posts, in the age of AI, statecraft will not rest solely in the chancelleries. It will unfold indigitalmarketplaceswherealgorithmscontinuouslycalculate »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Whether it’s Nvidia, Anthropic, OpenAI or Google, companies are looking at India to hire AI engineers’ ABHISHEK SINGH CEO of IndiaAI Mission PAGE 14 l ENROLLMENT CAMPS FOR YUVASATHI SCHEME BEGAN ON SUNDAY ACROSS ALL 294 ASSEMBLY SEATS IN WEST BENGAL MSc grads to Class X passouts: All line up for Mamata’s cash doles for jobless youths Tanusree Bose the Madhyamik (Class 10 state board) exams and is aged between 21 and 40 years will reFROM CLASS X passouts to ceive a monthly allowance of thosewithaMaster'sdegreein Rs 1,500 for a maximum chemistry,allstoodinlongser- period of five years. “There are no permanent pentine queues at the enrollmentcampssetupbytheTMC jobshereinWestBengal.Ihave governmentinWestBengalfor applied for jobs in so many its newly announced Banglar places, but nothing has maYuvasathi – a monthly cash terialised so far. I am dependallowance scheme ent on my family. PAGE 1 With this money, at foreducated,jobless youth in the state least I will be able to meet my expenses thatwasannounced in this year’s interim Budget. until I get a job,” said 29-yearUnder the scheme, the old Anupam Jana, who has launch of which was advanced done post-graduation and has toApril1byChiefMinisterMa- been looking for a job for the mata Banerjee recently, any last three years, at the enrolljobless youth who has passed ment camp in Haldia. Kolkata, February 15 anchor The enrollment camps, set up in all the 294 Assembly constituencies, will continue till February 26. It will function from 10 am to 5 pm every day. The camps are also receiving applications for the 'Lakshmir Bhandar' direct benefit transfer scheme for women, and Krishak Bandhu and farm labourer allowance initiatives launched this year. At Namkhana camp in South 24 Parganas district, Asha Rani was waiting for her turn, carrying her two-yearold son. “I am a Madhyamik (class X state board) passout. I was married off by my parents after I completed my 10th. I have now started study- DOcumENTsAskED l Class X marksheet/certificate l Age proof l Aadhaar/Voter ID l Bank details l Passport-size photographs l Mobile number & email address Crowd at an enrollment camp for Yuvasathi scheme in Kolkata’s Tala area on Sunday. EXPRESS ing again. So, I am applying as this will help me pay for my studies and not put much financial pressure on my in- laws,” Rani said. College goer Anita Sarkar, 21, from Bhowanipore, also said that the money from the scheme would help her buy books for competitive examinations. At another camp in Ranaghat in Nadia district, 31year-old Dipak Kundu had also lined up to enroll himself Kolkata in the scheme. “I have applied for the SSC Group C and Group D examination. With the money from this scheme, I can pay for the fees for other competitive examinations also,” said Kundu. However, at the same camp, Ritabrata Dutta, who had also come to collect enrollment forms for the scheme, was critical of the scheme. “What will happen with Rs 1500 a month. Instead, the government would have givenusjobsorbroughtindustries to the state,” said Dutta, who said he done BEd and has beenlookingforagovernment job for the past six years. Binapani Devi, an elderly woman in Rampurhat in Birbhum district, said she was collecting the form for her son, who has gone out of the state in search of a job. “My son asked me to collect the form on his behalf. Even getting Rs 1,500 will provide him some succour from the acute financial crunch. But yes, a job is more preferable than an unemployment allowance,” PTI quoted the woman as saying. The scheme, which was initially planned to be rolled out from August 15, was recently advanced by the chief minister to April 1. While advancing the launch of the scheme, the chief minister had said »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2