Kuldeep, Ashwin summit peak Kuldeep Yadav’s five-wicket haul and R Ashwin’s four helped hosts India skittle out England for 218 runs on Day One at Dharamsala on Thursday. This is fourth fivewicket haul for Kuldeep. Playing his 100th Test, Ashwin cleaned up the tail while Ravindra Jadeja took one. Fifties by openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal took India to 135 for one | PTI | P13 tirunelveli l friday l march 08, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION 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 Cabinet clears L10K cr to boost AI ecosystem Centre hikes DA, DR to 50% of basic pay; extends `300 LPG subsidy through FY25 M o n i k a Ya d a v @ New Delhi Close on the heels of the Centre’s plan to regulate AI tools deployed in India by big tech companies, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved an outlay of `10,371.92 crore for the national-level IndiaAI Mission to boost the artificial intelligence ecosystem in the country . The IndiaAI Mission encompasses various components. It includes the IndiaAI Compute Capacity to build a scalable AI computing ecosystem with 10,000 or more graphics processing units through public private partnership for startups and researchers. Next, the IndiaAI Innovation Centre will focus on developing indigenous large multimodal models and foundational models in critical sectors. The IndiaAI Datasets Platform will streamline access to quality non-personal datasets and the IndiaAI Startup Financing pillar will support deep-tech AI startups and provide them access to funding to enable futuristic AI projects. The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made a few populist announcements ahead of the 2024 general elections, including the release of additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to 49.18 lakh Central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to 67.95 lakh pensioners with effect from January 1, 2024. This represents an increase of 4% over the existing rate of 46% for basic pay/pension to compensate against price rise. This will set the exchequer back by `12,868 crore per annum. “This increase is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission,” the government said. The Cabinet also gave nod to the continuation of targeted subsidy of ` 300 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 kg cylinder) for up to 12 refills per year for 10.27 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana during FY25. The total expenditure will be `12,000 crore for FY25. The subsidy is credited directly to bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries. The Centre also cleared the commerce ministry’s proposal for `10,037 crore outlay for the UNNATI industrialisation scheme aimed at developing the northeastern states. Modi says new J&K breathing freely now; Cong unveils youth outreach PM guarantees efforts Rahul guarantees to fill to win more J&K hearts 30L govt job vacancies F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar R a j e s h A s n a n i @ Jaipur In his first visit to Kashmir after the reading down of Article 370 in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said J&K is the head (mastak) of India, which is breathing freely after the removal of its special powers. “I am happy and grateful for your love today Modi will . not leave any stone unturned to return this love and affection,” the PM said. In his outreach, he said, “I am doing this hard work to win your hearts. I believe I am on the right path and will continue my efforts to win more hearts. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said. J&K, Modi said, is not just a region but is the head of the country. “And a head held high is a symbol of development and respect.” He said this is the new (naya) J&K the country was waiting for since decades. It Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday offered a slew of guarantees to the youth, including filling up 30 lakh government job vacancies if voted to power at the Centre. Calling it Bharti bharosa (assurance on filling up vacancies), he said it would be done within specified timeframes. Rahul was speaking at a rally during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Banswara. “In addition, the Congress commits to offering at least one-year apprenticeship to every diploma holder and graduate in both government and private sectors within their first year of graduation, with a stipend of approximately `1 lakh per annum,” he said. Rahul labeled this assurance as Pehli naukri pakki (first job guarantee) and said the promise would be made legally binding akin to Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Srinagar | PTI has the courage to overcome all challenges, he added. On the PM’s visit, normal life remained unaffected. There was no shutdown as no separatist or militant group had issued such a call. Recalling the surge in foreign tourist arrivals in the valley he said J&K is attract, ing more and more celebrities and international guests. “People should also come to J&K and host their weddings here,” he suggested. The PM, however, did not touch upon the restoration of statehood and assembly polls in J&K. express read Plea for contempt action against SBI New Delhi: Two NGOs sought to haul up the SBI before the SC for contempt, alleging it wilfully disobeyed the timeline to submit data on contributions to political parties through electoral bonds to the poll panel by March 6 | P7 Delhi court summons Kejriwal on March 16 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at a public meeting in Banswara | PTI the MNREGA scheme. In all, he offered five guarantees to the youth — recruitment, trust, confirmed first job, freedom from paper leaks and youth empowerment. The party packaged it as Yuva Nyay (justice to youth). As for paper leaks, he said, “we propose a legislative solution. This law will involve revamping examination protocols, giving precedence to government agencies over private entities. Should a leak occur despite these precautions, stringent legal measures will be implemented.” New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on March 16 following a fresh complaint by the ED for evading its summonses in a case related to the excise scam | P8 Stalin inaugurates 800mw thermal plant The North Chennai Super Critical Thermal Power Station, built at a cost of `10,158 crore at Athipattu in Thiruvallur district on 190 acres, is the state’s biggest thermal power plant | P4 Pondy girl’s body laid to rest, two cops transferred E x pr e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ Puducherry The body of the nine-year-old girl who was found murdered in a drain was laid to rest on Thursday at Muthialpet in Puducherry. A large number of people, including MLAs and DGP B Srinivas, attended the funeral and paid floral tributes to the child. The inspector and sub-inspector of the Muthialpet police station, where the girl-missing complaint was first filed, were transferred after allegations were raised about shoddy investigation. Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, after a meeting with senior police of- ficials including the DGP on Thursday, urged Chief Minister N Rangaswamy to ensure that an expeditious and detailed investigation is conducted into the murder of the Class 5 student. In a letter to the CM, the L-G said police must accord top priority to the case. Underscoring the need to have strong legal evidence to prosecute the culprits, the L-G said DNA testing is under way to gather conclusive evidence to establish the crime. The L-G also said immediate action would be taken against all those involved in drug cases across the union territory, including those with political affiliation. The political party (DMK) with which Jaffer Sadiq, an alleged lynchpin of a drug cartel, was associated in Tamil Nadu should come forward to provide information about his associates who may have links with people in Puducherry, she said.
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