CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ hyderabad l tuesday l february 17, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE City EDITION NGT gives green light to `80K cr Great Nicobar Project Premium lands to be affected Prohibited list to grow by 93L acres RA J E S H K U M AR THA K U R @ New Delhi After a prolonged wait, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday cleared the controversial Great Nicobar Project worth `80,000 crore, after disposing of the challenges against it. A six-member special bench of the NGT found no substantial grounds to interfere with t h e m e g a i n f r a s t r u c t u re project, observing that adequate safeguards had been incorporated into its environmental clearance. Conservationists had opposed it, saying it would cause massive ecological damage and threaten tribal communities. The Congress called the NGT clearance “deeply disappointing”. Party leader Sonia Gandhi had warned last year that it poses an existential danger to the island’s indigenous communities and is being insensitively pushed through by the government. During the hearing, the special bench recorded that all emerging concerns had been examined and addressed by a highpowered committee tasked with revisiting the project’s environmental clearance granted in 2022. “Considering the strategic importance of the project and taking into account the other relevant considerations, we don’t find any good ground to interfere,” NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava said. In a first, U.S. transports small nuclear reactor on a plane that the total extent of land currently reflected on the The state government is Bhu Bharati portal could not learnt to have drawn up dis- be precisely calculated. “In trict-wise lists to bring near- several cases, only survey ly 93 lakh acres under the numbers have been entered prohibitory category follow- without mentioning the ex, ing inputs submitted by dis- tent of land. As a result, the trict collectors. If the revised aggregate area under the list is formally notified, it prohibited list is unclear,” could unsettle thouthe official said. sands of landholders Although the who are currently in Stamps and Registrapossession of premitions department reum parcels. ceived the revised Under Section 22-A proposals from disof the Registration trict collectors nearAct, 1908, lands bely two months ago, Prime longing to the gov- concern the government has er nment, forests, so far held back from Bhoodan, assigned A substantial enforcing the updatchunk of the lands, endowments, ed list. Waqf, local bodies, lands identified “Enforcement lies in and and religious institucould lead to unrest around tions are placed in among certain secHyderabad’s the prohibited list tions,” the official peri-urban and are barred from said. He added that sale, lease, mortgage, economic zones, the collectors’ recwhere land transfer, or any other ommendations were values are form of alienation. based on detailed astronomical They are also ineligidistrict-level reble for registration. views, and warned While the proposed extent that the extent under Section is now said to be close to 93 22-A could rise further. lakh acres, the actual size of What lends volatility to the land already under prohibi- issue is the location of a large tion remains uncertain as share of these 93 lakh acres. earlier records were patchy A good chunk of these 93 lakh a n d , i n m a n y c a s e s , acres lies in and around Hyincomplete. derabad’s peri-urban ecoA senior official associat- nomic zones, where land valed with the land administra- ues are high and development tion department told TNIE pressures intense. B K a r t h e e k @ Hyderabad Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Sarvam AI stall at the India AI Impact Expo in New Delhi, as Sarvam’s co-founder Pratyush Kumar looks on | PTI Shaping solutions for the world Modi opens AI Impact Summit; India seeks consensus on copyrights R a k e s h K um a r @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the India AI Impact Summit, the largest congregation of AI experts, bringing together heads of state and government, ministers, global technology leaders, researchers, multilateral institutions, and industry stakeholders in Delhi. The five-day summit from February 16 to 20, will deliberate on the role of AI in advancing inclusive growth, strengthening public systems, and enabling sustainable development. “Inaugurated the India AI Impact Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam. Being here among innovators, researchers and tech enthusiasts gives a glimpse of the extraordinary potential of AI, Indian talent and innovation. Together, we will shape solutions not just for India but for the world,” said Modi. In a separate social media post, Modi said the event, which will be attended by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and others, is themed “Sarvajana Hitaya” (happiness for all), reflecting a shared commitment to harnessing Artificial Intelligence for humancentric progress. He welcomed the dignitaries — over 100 government representatives, including more than 20 heads of state and government and 60 ministers and vice ministers — along with more than 500 global AI leaders comprising CEOs, founders, academicians, researchers, CTOs, and representatives of philanthropic organisations. Minister of Electronics and IT (MeitY) Ashwini Vaishnaw said India is engaging with industry stakeholders to identify appropriate technical and legal frameworks to ensure that AI does not infringe upon the copyrights of content creators. During a conversation with US media mo gul Charles Rivkin, the minister said India is also seeking global consensus on the copyright issue. V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor, said AI adoption cannot happen by drift.It requires commitment to aligning tech progress with mass employability . Ideology cast aside for civic body posts I P4 Indian team to visit US to fix legal text of trade deal D ipa k m o n d a l @ New Delhi CHIEF negotiator Darpan Jain will lead a delegation to Washington next week to finalise the legal text of the proposed India–US trade agreement, the Centre said on Monday . Following the joint statement agreed earlier this month, the framework deal is now being converted into a formal legal agreement, said Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal. “The effort is to see that we can finalise and sign the legal agreement in March 2026,” he told reporters when asked about the timeline. On the proposed reduction in the reciprocal tariff from 25% to 18%, Agrawal said the US is processing the matter and that India expects it to be completed soon. “Our expectation is that it should be done this week. If not, the team will be there next week and we can pursue the matter and understand why it is taking time,” he said. The US has already removed the 25% additional tariff imposed after India agreed not to buy crude from Russia. However, the 25% reciprocal tariff has not yet been reduced to 18%, as agreed by both sides. Overall, the US imposed an additional 50% tariff on Indian goods -25% as a reciprocal tariff and another 25% linked to India’s oil purchase from Russia. 9-judge SC bench to hear pleas on religious bias I P5