A whopping 2.5 lakh folks attended the Coldplay concert events in Ahmedabad over two days. And what do 2.5 lakh folks do once they get collectively? Depart behind waste. Heaps of it. Round 550 tonnes of rubbish was generated within the metropolis. It took a complete of 492 sanitation staff on two shifts to clear all of it up. The round the clock, real-time waste assortment was among the many many “data set” by the Gujarat authorities in pulling off Coldplay’s “greatest live performance” but. An impressed Prime Minister has already floated the thought of a “live performance financial system” to rake in tourism revenues.
On that notice, let’s get to as we speak’s version.
Huge Story
Who’s polluting the Yamuna River? The reply depends upon who you ask. Prior to now few days, Aam Aadmi Get together (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal has stirred up a storm, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP)-led Haryana authorities of “poisoning” the Yamuna waters. The Nayab Saini authorities, after all, denies the costs.
The politics: Why the sudden hullaballoo over the Yamuna waters? Nicely, Delhi is simply days away from the high-stakes Meeting elections. The nationwide capital will vote on February 5. Consequently, Kejriwal’s remarks have come below the Election Fee’s scrutiny. Appearing on complaints by the BJP and Congress, the polling physique has demanded proof from Kejriwal over his claims, which it stated “promoted disharmony and enmity”. In flip, Kejriwal insists that Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is “participating in politics” for “a job post-retirement”.
The info: Kejriwal’s claims are solely fictional. The Yamuna River, certainly, has dangerous ranges of ammonia, which render even water therapy vegetation ineffective. However the issue isn’t new. The place do the pollution come from? Paperwork obtained by the Proper to Info (RTI) Act from the Higher Yamuna River Board, which regulates the river waters, level fingers in direction of industrial models in Panipat and Sonipat. However few sources in Delhi are simply as a lot to be blamed.
The best way ahead: Shailaja Chandra, former chief secretary of Delhi, writes on the necessity to rise above politics to deal with the Yamuna drawback. The revival of the river calls for cooperation from all states and stakeholders.
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Solely in Specific
AI, made-in-India: India has determined to leap on the bogus intelligence (AI) bandwagon, impressed by the low-cost Chinese language mannequin DeepSeek. It intends to construct a home giant language mannequin of its personal as a part of the Rs 10,370 crore IndiaAI Mission. Has India received what it takes? Nicely, we had specialists write for our weekly Dis/Agree column to tell the talk.
AI specialists B Ravindran and Krishnan Narayanan consider India has the expertise and the resolve. “The time for collective AI motion is now“.
In the meantime, cyber safety analyst Subimal Bhattacharjee is extra cautious. Noting India’s lag in creating foundational fashions, he suggests a multi-pronged technique for our AI ambitions.
From the Entrance Web page
The aftermath: The Uttar Pradesh authorities is seeking to make amends after a pre-dawn stampede on the Sangam in Prayagraj on Wednesday killed at the least 30 folks. A day later, It issued a string of directives, together with the cancelling of all VVIP passes and declaring the complete Maha Kumbh space as a no-vehicle zone.
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Traces of the incident stay on the mela grounds with footwear, garments and backpacks strewn close to the Sangam ghat. The ambulances and safety personnel are nearer and extra in numbers. Reporting from the bottom, my colleague Maulshree Seth writes of the nervous air on the Maha Kumbh as devotees train extra warning than earlier than.
For extra on the Maha Kumbh stampede, tune in to as we speak’s episode of the ‘3 issues’ podcast.
Should Learn
Tax cuts? The Price range Session of Parliament kicks off as we speak. Tomorrow, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will current the Union Price range 2025-26. There are a number of requires the federal government to chop taxes, which begs the query: Are Indians paying extra taxes than these in different international locations? It’s not really easy. Udit Misra finds that the reply lies in a cautious evaluation of incomes, financial progress and the extent of a rustic’s democracy. Learn his evaluation.
House chronicles: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is taking one for the group—for 1.4 billion folks to be exact. He’s about to change into the second Indian to journey to house. As he prepares to enter house as a part of the USA’ Axiom 4 mission, Shukla has discovered a mentor within the first Indian that went to house 40 years in the past.
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And Lastly…
As Virat Kohli returned to home first-class cricket after 13 years, so did the crowds on the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium for Delhi’s Ranji Trophy tie towards Railways. Authorities scrambled to accommodate folks within the stands as 12,000 followers turned up on the Kotla. With Delhi’s flip to bat as we speak, followers would possibly get to see Kohli in motion as we speak.
That’s all for as we speak of us. Till tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
