17022026-TTB-01.qxd 2/17/2026 12:08 AM Page 1 c m y b 13 CHANDIGARH | GURUGRAM | JALANDHAR | BATHINDA | VOL. 146 NO. 47 | 14 PAGES | ~5.00 | REGD. NO. CHD/0006/2024-2026 ESTABLISHED IN 1881  HARYANA YUNUS STEPS DOWN AS TARIQUE SET TO TAKE PM OATH TODAY WORLD /thetribunechd 14 TOURIST SPOTS SHUT AFTER PAHALGAM ATTACK REOPEN J&K INDIA’S MERCHANDISE EXPORTS TO US SHRINK 21.7% IN JAN BUSINESS US AMBASSADOR GOR VISITS WESTERN COMMAND BACK PAGE tuesday | 17 february 2026 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com ‘AI for all’: PM positions India as tech hub, kicks off global summit World leaders, industry giants, innovators in Delhi for five-day event THE TRIBUNE @ Gagandeep Arora Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 16 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the India AI Impact Expo at Bharat Mandapam, formally opening the exhibition component of the five-day India AI Impact Summit that will run till February 20, positioning the country at the centre of the global artificial intelligence conversation. Touring multiple pavilions after the inauguration, the Prime Minister visited stalls set up by Indian start-ups and technology firms showcasing indigenous and sovereign AI capabilities. Giving a call for “AI for all”, PM Modi lauded home-grown large language and foundational models such as Sarvam AI, Bharat Gen and Gnani.AI, underscoring the importance of building domestic technological capacity. PM Narendra Modi with Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani at the inauguration of the India AI Impact Expo. PTI “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,” PM Modi said. The inauguration comes at a time when nations are racing to build compute infrastructure, secure semiconductor supply chains and develop sovereign models amid growing concerns over data security, algorithmic bias and tech- nological dependence. For India, the opportunity is matched by structural challenges such as scaling domestic compute capacity, ensuring access to high-quality multilingual datasets, expanding AI skilling and bridging digital divide. In a post on X, PM Modi welcomed global participants, saying the summit had brought together “world leaders, captains of industry, innovators, policymakers, researchers and tech enthusiasts”. He high- lighted the summit theme— sarvajana hitaya, sarvajana sukhaya—as reflecting India’s commitment to harnessing technology for human-centric progress. “AI today is transforming several sectors, including healthcare, education, agriculture, governance and enterprise,” Modi said, adding that the summit would enrich global discourse on innovation, collaboration and responsible use. continued on page 8 Indian team in US next week to finaliselegalaccordfortradedeal Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 16 Indian negotiators will travel to Washington next week to finalise the legal agreement around the just-concluded Indo-US trade deal. Darpan Jain, India’s chief negotiator, will lead the delegation. Top Commerce Ministry sources today said efforts were underway to sign the legal agreement by March but “no firm deadlines can be attributed to the same as the process involves several intricacies that both sides need to resolve”. Importantly, the ministry has clarified that digital trade and services were not on the table between the two nations during the negotiations for the interim trade deal which has been announced. “This segment will only come up at a later stage when the Bilateral Trade Agreement is negotiated,” a top official said. Apart from this, officials also said that Indian stakeholders needed to review the fact sheet which the Centre had put out on the deal and its nuances. Responding to the ongoing Congress criticism that India had given away a lot in the deal, a senior official source said, “We should study the Indian fact sheet. Nuances of ISRAEL FTA NOT UNTIL NEXT FEW MONTHS Terms of reference for the IndoIsrael FTA have been signed and negotiations are on but officials said they did not see an outcome in terms of the FTA in the next few months. INDIA, UK EYE APRIL OPERATIONALISATION Both sides are working to operationalise the FTA as soon as possible. The effort is to operationalise by April but firm deadlines cannot be fixed. IN TALKS WITH CANADA ON TERMS OF REFERENCE Teams are engaged with Canada to finalise terms of reference for FTA, say officials. MODI TO VISIT ISRAEL NEXT WEEK, SAYS BIBI INSIDE the deal will be clear once the legal agreement is signed and details of every tariff line listed. Why jump the gun? Also, the US fact sheet was amended because they realised they had made a mistake by mentioning something that was not part of the talks.” The official reference was to the US deletion of the mention that India would lower or eliminate tariffs on certain pulses as part of the Step up fight to eradicate drugs: Mann Govt can’t fight alone, every village, every household must chip in: Kejriwal Balwant Garg CM BACK IN HOSPITAL Tribune News Service HP Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla being welcomed by CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on the first day of Vidhan Sabha session in Shimla on Monday. HP Guv skips cut in grant, ends 50-page address in 3 minutes Pratibha Chauhan Tribune News Service Shimla, February 16 The three-day Budget session of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha began on a politically charged note on Monday, with Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla concluding his 50-page address in under three minutes after declining to read key portions related to the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG). Soon after commencing his speech, the Governor said paragraphs three to 16 contained remarks concerning a constitutional body and, therefore, would not be read out. The skipped sections primarily dealt with the recommendation of the 16th Finance Commission to discontinue RDG to the state, an issue that has triggered intense political debate in recent weeks. Limiting himself to the opening paragraphs, the Governor said the session had been convened to pass Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26, present the Budget for 2026-27 and transact important legislative business. Expressing confidence in the House, he said members would uphold the tradition of constructive deliberation on the government policies. The address, prepared by the state government and approved by the Cabinet, contained detailed references to the constitutional provision under Article 275(1), which enables grants to states facing a gap between revenue receipts and expenditure. From the First Finance Commission in 1952 up to the 15th Finance Commission (2020-25), Himachal Pradesh has consistently received RDG support. The written speech described the discontinuation of RDG by the 16th Finance Commission as a matter of serious concern, particularly for small and hill states. Of the 17 states that had been receiving RDG, several are special category states where such grants form a substantial share of annual budgets. The omitted portion further underlined that for a hilly and border state like Himachal, limited revenuegeneration capacity due to geographical and resource constraints makes Central assistance critical. It cautioned that ending RDG could strain finances needed for development projects, social welfare initiatives and disaster management. Moga, February 16 Ending hours of suspense around his attendance at the Aam Aadmi Party’s mega rally at Killi Chahal village in Moga district today, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann reached the venue from a Mohali hospital and called for intensifying the fight against drugs with a “zindagi zindabad, no murdabad” slogan. Starting the second phase of the fight against drugs in the state, Mann made a scathing attack on previous regimes, accusing them of pushing Punjab into a “drug cesspool” for political and financial gains. “We are breaking the drug supply chain, rehabilitating addicts and taking strict action against drug suppli- Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann was re-admitted to a private Mohali hospital on Monday evening, hours after he was discharged from the facility. Mann experienced exhaustion after a rally in Moga and was brought back to the hospital around 8 pm, said sources. << Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann speaks during a rally at Killi Chahal village in Moga. ANI ers. There is now a ‘lok lehar’ (people’s wave) against drugs, and this collective resolve is the only way to eliminate this menace,” he said, adding that his government was committed to uprooting those responsible for ruining the state. Accompanied by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Mann said since the launch of the state’s anti-drug crusade on March 1, 2025, the campaign had gained massive public support. “Initial- ly, people were skeptical, but as the days passed, their faith strengthened. It is the people’s trust that has empowered us to act firmly,” he said. AAP leaders gave a call to reject other parties in the next Assembly elections as they had “ruined Punjab for their personal gains”. In this political-cum-anti-drug rally, state Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and DGP Gaurav Yadav also addressed the gathering, giving details of the government’s achievements in its crusade against drugs in 2025. Highlighting the role of village defence committees (VDCs), Yadav said over 1.5 lakh members had been enrolled, with more than 70,000 identity cards issued. continued on page 8 deal and that it had committed to buy $500 billion worth of products in five years. The latter was changed to “intends to buy”. “A joint statement has been agreed and put in the public domain. The contours of the deal have to be now translated into a legal document. Both sides are engaged in finalising the legal document. Virtual engagements are going on, and next week, chief negotiator Darpan Jain will lead a delegation to the US to finalise the legal element,” top ministry sources said. They added that this work would carry on in Washington and in India in March, if need be. “The effort is to finalise the legal agreement by March 2026. But we will still not put a firm deadline to it because the legal document has certain intricacies which both sides will need to resolve,” said the source. On the question as to when the reciprocal tariff would be lowered to 18 per cent after the punitive 25 per cent tariff had been dropped, top officials said, “The 25 per cent tariff has already gone and the 25 to 18 per cent journey is being processed. Our expectation is it should be done this week but in case it is not, our team continued on page 8 Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 16 The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain petitions seeking action against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over a viral video allegedly showing him taking aim and firing with a rifle at members of a particular community. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant asked the petitioners to approach the Gauhati High Court. It asked the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court to expedite the hearing in the matter. “Why haven’t you gone to the Gauhati High Court? Don’t undermine its authority. Will ask parties to use restraint and remain within the boundaries of constitu- Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 16 The Ludhiana police claim to have busted a child trafficking racket with the arrest of five women, including the mother of a newborn who allegedly sold the two-dayold baby girl for Rs 2.1 lakh. The child was born on February 13 at a private hospital in Ludhiana to Sunita Devi, a migrant from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, who lives in the Sherpur Kalan area of the city. Already a mother of four daughters, Sunita reportedly became distressed on learning that she had given birth to another girl. Additional DCP Sameer Verma said the woman allegedly told the police that she would have kept the child if a boy was born. “After learning that the baby was a girl, New Delhi, February 16 The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) adjudicating authority on Monday passed an order imposing a penalty of Rs 184 crore on news portal NewsClick and its promoter Prabir Purkayastha. According to sources, the adjudication order states that the company owning the portal — PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt Ltd — has been penalised Rs 120 crore, while Purkayastha faces a separate penalty of Rs 64 crore for alleged violations. The penalty has been imposed on the news portal and its owner for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law involving foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign inward remit- The accused in Ludhiana police custody on Monday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Sunita approached a hospital nurse, who contacted BAMS doctor Manmeet Kaur. The doctor then informed her friend Ruchi, who reached out to Mandeep Kaur of Nangal village in Moga district. Mandeep, who had been c m y b childless for years after marriage, expressed interest in taking the baby,” said Verma. The police said the group finalised the illegal sale of the child for Rs 2.1 lakh, of which around Rs 60,000 was continued on page 8 NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has dismissed the applications challenging the Great Nicobar infrastructure project, stating that adequate safeguards are in place under the environmental clearance. However, it has directed the authorities to ensure strict compliance with all the conditions of the clearance. INSIDE 2 Pakistanis among 3juvenilesfleefacility JAMMU: Three inmates, including two Pakistani nationals, escaped from a juvenile home in the border area of Jammu after allegedly attacking and injuring two policemen on duty on Monday. The three were identified as gangster Karajeet Singh of RS Pura and Pak nationals Mohammad Sunaullah and Ahsan Anwar. INSIDE Courtframescharges against Lalu, Rabri NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Monday formally framed charges against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi in the alleged land-for-job scam being probed by the CBI. Both leaders appeared before the court, denied the allegations and said that they would face trial. INSIDE SC junks shooting video pleas against Assam CM Unhappy over birth of 5th daughter, ~184-cr FEMA penalty migrant woman sells her for ~2.1 lakh slapped on NewsClick, Mother, doc among 5 arrested for child trafficking in Ludhiana promoter Purkayastha Tribune News Service Green nod to Great Nicobar infra project tances. The adjudication proceedings arose from a complaint under Section 16 of FEMA filed by the ED alleging contravention of FEMA and the rules and regulations made thereunder in connection with the receipt and utilisation of foreign funds. The adjudicating authority, after a detailed examination of the records, evidence and submissions of the notices, held that FDI amounting to approximately Rs 9.59 crore was received during 2018-19 by misrepresenting the nature of business activity in statutory filings, thereby bypassing the prescribed sectoral conditions and entry route requirements under FEMA. It further noted that foreign inward remittances aggregating Rs 82.63 crore, purportedly continued on page 8 tional morality, but this is becoming a trend just before the polls. This is a disturbing trend that every matter ends up here. We have already deprived high courts of environmental and commercial litigations,” the Bench said. On behalf of the petitioners, senior advocate AM Singhvi alleged that Sarma was a habitual and repeat offender, and urged the court to entertain the matter. The Bench had on February 10 agreed to consider listing a petition filed by Left leaders seeking action against Sarma. Referring to the upcoming Assembly polls in Assam, the top court had said the problem was that a part of the elections was fought in the SC. edit: sarma’s speeches HCrejectssuspended PunjabDIGBhullar’s pleaforregularbail Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 16 The Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissed suspended Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar’s plea for regular bail in a corruption case. Among other things, Bhullar had told Justice Sumeet Goel’s Bench that the investigations stood concluded and the final probe report had already been filed on December 3 last year, rendering further custodial interrogation unnecessary. In his petition, Bhullar had claimed that the prosecution proposed to examine predominantly then official witnesses and the complainant in the case. The petitioner claimed he stood suspended from service, eliminating any plausible apprehension of influencing witnesses or continued on page 8