By Wellett Potter, University of New England
LONDON: (Feb 4) Would you create an interactive “digital twin” of yourself that can communicate with loved ones after your death?
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has made it possible to seemingly resurrect the dead. So-called griefbots or deathbots – an AI-generated voice, video avatar or text-based chatbot trained on the data of a deceased person – proliferate in the booming digital afterlife industry, also known as grief tech.
Deathbots are usually created by the bereaved, often as part of the grieving process. But there are also services that allow you to create a digital twin of yourself while you’re still alive. So why not create one for when you’re gone?
NAGPUR: (Feb 4) The Yavatmal district of eastern Maharashtra recorded 21 farmer suicides in January, an activist said on Wednesday, accusing the government of failing to deal with the agrarian crisis.
Kishore Tiwari, former chairman of the state government’s Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission (VNSSM), shared an official list of the farmers who allegedly died by suicide in the district last month.
PESHAWAR: (Feb 4) Armed militants abducted a police constable from his residence and later shot him dead in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, police said.
The attackers raided the house of Constable Dastgir in the Nasar Khel area on the outskirts of Sarai Naurang tehsil in Bannu district, officials said.
The assailants subjected women, children and elderly family members to violence, set the house on fire and held the family hostage before forcibly taking the constable away.
Mumbai | 3 February 2026
By: Real News of India
World Trade Center Mumbai, in association with the All India Association of Industries (AIAI), organised a Post-Budget Discussion Session to deliberate on the implications of the Union Budget 2026–27 for MSMEs, trade, industry, exports, and India’s long-term economic growth trajectory. The event brought together industry leaders, exporters, professionals, policy observers, and diplomats to analyse key budget announcements and their impact on the economy.
Speaking at the session, Mr. Siddhartha Rastogi, Principal Officer, Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer, Ambit Asset Management, stated that the Union Budget lays a clear roadmap for the coming years. Emphasising inclusive growth, he said that achieving a GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent requires strengthening India’s 6 crore MSMEs, which form the backbone of the economy. He highlighted that linking government spending with the TReDS platform would unlock liquidity and enhance order books for MSMEs, while promotion of digital payments and securitisation would improve credit flow and prevent capital from being stuck in the system.
Mr. Rastogi also welcomed the government’s focus on critical minerals and rare earth elements, noting that such initiatives would ensure stable supply chains, strengthen Atmanirbharta, and safeguard the economy from geopolitical risks.
Explaining indirect tax-related changes, Mr. Pranav Prakash Mehta, Partner, KJM INC and Specialist in Indirect Taxation, said that while the Budget did not introduce major taxation reforms, minor amendments would significantly improve ease of doing business. He noted that changes related to post-supply discounts would increase supplier accountability and ultimately benefit customers. He further added that clarifications on supply invoicing and invoice discounting would reduce litigation and speed up resolution of long-pending tax matters.
Sharing insights on direct taxation proposals, Mr. Arun Kumar Garodia, Former ITAT Member and Income Tax Consultant, said that the tax holiday announced for data centres would attract capital flows into new-age technology investments and strengthen India’s long-term investment climate. He added that changes in the taxation of share buybacks—now to be taxed under capital gains—would benefit both industry and shareholders. Reforms in Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and the decriminalisation of certain tax defaults, he said, reflect the government’s trust in the business community and promote a more collaborative growth environment.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, World Trade Center Mumbai and President, All India Association of Industries, stated that the Budget provides a strong roadmap for achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047. He said that incentives for data centres, focused support for technology-driven industries, and policy clarity would help India move towards a USD 10 trillion economy by 2030. He also emphasised that simplification of taxes and resolution of legacy issues would significantly enhance ease of doing business in the country.
The annual Post-Budget Discussion at World Trade Center Mumbai witnessed participation from over 150 business leaders, MSMEs, innovators, and diplomats from several countries. The session concluded with Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, World Trade Center Mumbai, delivering the vote of thanks.
ETAWAH (UP): (Feb 3) Uttar Pradesh Police arrested five members of an organised gang on Tuesday for allegedly being involved in large-scale Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion through fake firms, uncovering a revenue loss of about Rs 7.03 crore, officials said.
The accused created shell firms and issued fake tax invoices without any actual supply of goods to illegally generate and pass on input tax credit (ITC), Senior Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said.
Three people were arrested earlier in the matter, while five others were held on Tuesday, the officer said.
MUMBAI: (Feb 3) Actors Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri will headline Netflix’s upcoming comedy thriller film “Maa Behen”, which also features Ravi Kishan.
The movie was announced by Netflix on Tuesday during an event unveiling its India slate for 2026.
“Maa Behen” centres on Rekha and her two daughters, Jaya and Sushma, who find themselves at the centre of attention in their conservative neighbourhood after an unexpected incident leaves their neighbour’s dead body in their kitchen.
NEW DELHI: (Feb 3) US President Donald Trump’s decision to slash tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent augurs well for the country as it will boost exports, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday.
“So, actually our exports will pick up now, that is my expectation… along with having found new markets where they will continue to operate,” she said in an interview to PTI Videos.
“It is a good augury for them (exporters),” Sitharaman said.
Trump’s steep 50 per cent tariffs last year dented Indian exports by raising landed costs, squeezing exporter margins, and eroding competitiveness in the American market. Sectors such as steel, aluminium, textiles, engineering goods and some agricultural products were hit as higher duties led US buyers to shift orders to alternative suppliers.
On Monday, Trump agreed to slash US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent in exchange for India lowering trade barriers as well as stopping its purchases of Russian oil and instead buying oil from the US and potentially Venezuela.
On implementation, the deal would bring tariffs on India in line with most other Asian countries of around 15-19 per cent.
Sitharaman said while the details of the agreement will be announced soon, the cut in tariffs is a “good auguring” for exporters.
Taken together with the new markets exporters had tapped after becoming uncompetitive in the US, the “exports will pick up now,” she said.
Earlier punitive US tariffs caused India’s bilateral trade surplus with the US to shrink by USD 2.5 billion each month on average in September-December 2025 (versus the monthly average in January-August 2025), according to HSBC Global Investment Research.
There have also been USD 14 billion of equity outflows by foreign investors since July 2025 amid weak sentiment.
The new 18 per cent levy undercuts tariffs on key regional competitors such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, both facing duties of 20 per cent, restoring India’s price advantage in the US market. The move offers significant relief to a broad range of labour-intensive exports, including apparel, footwear and jewellery makers, which had been hit by punitive 50 per cent tariffs imposed in August, sharply denting competitiveness and order flows.
Earlier in the day, Sitharaman had in a post on X called the tariff reduction announcement “Good news for #MadeInIndia products. They will now face reduced tariff of 18%.”
Trump’s announcement via a social media post late Monday night is part of a general agreement under which India has apparently agreed to stop buying Russian oil, reduce “their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States to zero”, and India buying an incremental USD 500 billion of “US energy, technology, agricultural, coal, and many other products” over the next five years.
The commitment to stop buying Russian oil nullifies the additional 25 per cent punitive tariff previously levied, and thereby reduces the effective applied tariff on Indian exports to the US to 18 per cent from 50 per cent.
MUMBAI: (Feb 2) Daughter of gangster Hussain Ustara on Monday sought a permanent injunction from a Mumbai civil court against the release of upcoming Hindi film “O’ Romeo”, claiming the movie was an unauthorized biopic of her late father and portrays his life falsely.
Sanober Shaikh, daughter Hussain Shaikh (popularly known as Hussain Ustara), has filed a civil suit against the producer of the film, Sajid Nadiadwala, its director Vishal Bhardwaj and journalist-author’s Hussain Zaidi before the civil court, which will hear the matter on February 6.
The film, starring Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor in the role of Ustara, is based on Zaidi’s book “Mafia Queens of Mumbai”. The action thriller is slated to hit theatres on February 13.
NEW DELHI: (Feb 2) Suspended secretary general Kamlesh Mehta on Monday said he would approach the court as a last resort after being removed from his post during the annual general meeting of the Table Tennis Federation of India, describing the action as unfair and procedurally flawed.
Mehta was suspended as TTFI Secretary General during the federation’s annual general meeting (AGM) on January 28.
“It is deeply distressing to find oneself penalised simply for doing one’s job correctly, especially in a sport to which I have devoted my entire life,” Mehta, a former international, said in a statement.
NEW DELHI: (Feb 2) An Air India pilot on Monday reported a possible defect with the fuel control switch of a Boeing 787-8 plane, which has now been grounded for checks, and the incident comes amid the ongoing probe into the airline’s Dreamliner crash last June.
The aircraft operated the flight AI132 from London to Bengaluru, and it landed at Bengaluru on Monday morning. There were more than 200 people on board, according to sources.
Another source aware about the incident said the fuel control switch failed to be in the ‘RUN’ position and moved towards ‘CUT OFF’ position.
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