DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 24 PAGES India braces for AI challenge, Govt says own foundational model in 4-8 months SOUMYARENDRA BARIK NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 DAYS AFTER an upstart Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) lab launched DeepSeek, a low-cost foundationalmodel,Indiahasdecided to build a domestic large languagemodel(LLM)of itsown as part of the Rs 10,370 crore IndiaAIMission,UnionITMinister AshwiniVaishnawsaidThursday. The government has also se- Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw lected 10 companies to supply 18,693graphicsprocessingunits or GPUs — high end chips needed to develop machine learning tools — that can go into CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IAF officer set to pilot mission to space station: ‘Journey of 1.4 bn people’ ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 JUST A few months away from becoming the second Indian to travel to space — the first in 40 years — Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Thursday said CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 AT THE MAHA KUMBH STAMPEDE SITE NEAR THE SANGAM Day after: VIP passes cancelled, no-vehicle zone, curbs on routes As bodies start returning home, grief echo at site of stampede Crowd control measures in place, vehicles stopped at city entry points MANISH SAHU PRAYAGRAJ, JANUARY 30 A DAY after 30 people died and 60 were injured in a pre-dawn stampede near the Sangam in Prayagraj, the administration issued a string of directives Thursday, cancelled all VVIP passes and declared the entire Maha Kumbh area as a no-vehicle zone. Routes for devotees have been made one-way to avoid overlapping,giventhehugerush of people heading to the ghats and returning after a dip. Entry of vehicles from all adjoiningdistrictshasbeenbanned and these will be stopped outside Prayagraj city. Instructions havealsogoneouttocompletely ban entry of four-wheelers inside the city until February 4. MAULSHREE SETH PRAYAGRAJ, JANUARY 30 People search for their missing relatives following the Maha Kumbh stampede, in Prayagraj on Thursday. PTI An officer on security duty said,“Ithasbeencommunicated that VVIP passes have been revoked, meaning special passes will no longer allow vehicle entry. One-way routes have been introduced to facilitate smooth movement of people. Additionally, vehicle entry has been restricted at the district borders. A strict ban on vehicle entry into the city will remain in place until February 4.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY MUDDY FOOTWEAR, some single, some in pairs, are strewn near the Sangam ghat. So are colourful clothes and backpacks — telltale signs of the stampede thatclaimedatleast30livesaday agoandleftanother60injuredat the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. As a dense fog envelops the ghat, families and friends move in single file, holding on to a security rope and looking behind nervouslytocheckontheirloved ones. A shawl or a dupatta tied to their waist binds them all together so that they don’t lose each other. As they walk, there CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Poison remark row: Kejriwal slams CEC, Shah says AAP chief making excuses Submit evidence for claim: EC; Kejriwal says CEC looking for post-retirement job EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 30 DAYSBEFOREDelhivotestoelect a new Assembly, a war of words erupted Thursday between AAP leaderandformerChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Election Commission of India over his remark about water for Delhi being “poisoned” in Haryana. Kejriwal accused Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar of “engaginginpolitics”for“ajob CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DECISION 2025 DELHI ● EC, police team reach Punjab CM’s house in Delhi to probe complaint ● Sirsa steps up campaign PAGE 4 THE WORLD OVER 60 FEARED DEAD AS U.S. PLANE COLLIDES WITH CHOPPER, CRASHES INTO RIVER PAGE 17