NCP leaders seek Maharashtra cabinet berth for Ajit Pawar's wife; rival camp favours merger talks
Mumbai (PTI): A day after Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's death in a plane crash, leaders of his party NCP on Thursday pushed for a state cabinet berth for his wife Sunetra, while Opposition NCP (SP) signalled it wasn't averse to taking forward efforts for merger of rival groups.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders also suggested that Sunetra Pawar should step forward and lead the outfit, which is a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP.
Senior NCP leader and FDA Minister Narhari Zirwal said it is people's wish that late Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra, a Rajya Sabha member, be inducted into the state ministry.
Asked about the NCP's future after the untimely death of Ajit Pawar, who was also the party president, Zirwal told a Marathi news channel that people want "vahini" (sister-in-law, referring to Sunetra Pawar) to be made a cabinet member.
"We will talk to our leadership about it (inducting Sunetra in cabinet) and take a decision,'' Zirwal, who was a close confidant of Ajit Pawar, said after the late politician's funeral in his hometown Baramati in Pune district.
To a question on the merger of the rival groups, ruling ally NCP and Opposition NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar, he noted, ''The two factions are already together (for local body polls). Everyone has realised that there was no point in remaining scattered and we have to be together.''
Another NCP leader and Ajit Pawar confidante, Pramod Hindurao, maintained Sunetra Pawar should carry forward the legacy of her husband and take care of party workers.
Sunetra Pawar, who fought the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on an NCP ticket, had lost to Supriya Sule, NCP (SP) working president and Sharad Pawar's daughter, in Baramati.
Meanwhile, state NCP (SP) president Shashikant Shinde told PTI that Ajit Pawar had himself spoken about sitting together and taking a decision on merger of the two NCPs after municipal and local body polls in Maharashtra.
Preliminary talks had already taken place in regard to merger, Shinde stated.
''When we had met for an alliance of the two parties for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad corporation elections (which took place on January 15), he (Ajit) had said lets sit together and discuss (merger) after Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls (scheduled on February 5)," he said.
"Ajit dada (elder brother) was an emotional man and wanted the two factions to come together and the (Pawar) family to remain united. He had felt enough was enough. If the family and parties want a reconciliation, we have no problem. Now, we have to see if we can fulfil what became his last wish," Shinde said.
Asked if the NCP (SP) was ready to join the ruling Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP, Shinde evaded a direct reply.
"Nothing can be said as of now. Lets see if there is a positive outcome of efforts towards fulfilling Ajit dada's wish (of merger). The issue of whether NCP (SP) leaders would like to be in the ruling alliance can be discussed later,'' he insisted.
Ajit Pawar (66) and four others were killed when the chartered plane carrying them crashed at the Baramati airport in Pune district on Wednesday.
In July 2023, Ajit Pawar had joined the then-Eknath Shinde-led government, triggering a split in the NCP co-founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar.
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India’s internet user base crosses 950 million in 2025: IAMAI report
Bengaluru (PTI): India’s internet user base crossed 950 million in 2025, driven largely by rapid growth in rural connectivity, rising short-video consumption, and increasing adoption of AI, according to a report released by IAMAI on Thursday.
The report also revealed that rural India accounts for 57 per cent of India’s active internet users, i.e, approximately 548 million active users.
The ‘Internet in India Report 2025,’ jointly prepared by Internet and Mobile Association of India and KANTAR, which highlights these trends, was released at the India Digital Summit in the presence of Manjula N, Secretary to the Government, Department of Electronics, IT/BT and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka.
According to the report, India now has 958 million Active Internet Users (AIU), marking an approximate 8 per cent year‑on‑year growth, reinforcing India’s position as one of the world’s largest and fastest‑evolving digital markets.
It also reveals that 44 per cent of users have engaged with AI‑enabled features such as voice search, image‑based search, chatbots, and AI filters.
"This growth of internet users continues to be led decisively by rural India, which is now home to approximately 548 million active internet users," the report said.
Rural regions now account for over 57 per cent of India’s active internet users and are growing at nearly four times the pace of urban India, signalling a structural shift in where and how digital adoption is expanding, it added.
The report highlighted that artificial intelligence has reached mass adoption in India, with 44 per cent of users engaging with AI-enabled features such as voice search, image-based search, chatbots, and AI filters.
"Usage is highest among younger audiences, with 57 per cent of users aged 15-24 years and 52 per cent of those aged 25-44 years reporting AI usage in the past year," it added.
The report further revealed that short-video consumption has emerged as a key growth driver within this expanding user base.
It noted that in 2025, 588 million (61 per cent) internet users consumed short-video content, with rural users marginally outnumbering urban users. Adoption is strongest among younger audiences, cementing their role as a key driver of digital engagement.
In the statement, citing the report, IAMAI said that quick commerce is leading a fundamental shift in how Indians shop online, with social commerce close behind, as the e‑commerce ecosystem expands beyond traditional online marketplaces.
Among urban users, 230 million people (56 per cent of the urban active internet base) shopped online in the past year, with quick commerce and social commerce gaining prominence alongside established marketplaces, it added.
IAMAI also noted that multi-device usage is on the rise, with India now having 193 million multi-device internet users, representing 20 per cent of all active internet users, up from 165 million in 2024.
"Urban adoption stands at 31 per cent, while rural India is catching up at 12 per cent. Shared device usage continues to be a key enabler of digital access: 18 per cent of internet users go online through someone else’s mobile device, and nearly 80 per cent of these users are based in rural areas," the report stated.
It also revealed that despite strong momentum, 38 per cent of India’s population—about 579 million people—remains non-active internet users.
"However, this proportion has been steadily declining year after year, signalling substantial headroom for the continued expansion of India’s digital economy," it said.
The 2025 edition of the Internet in India report is based on a sample of nearly 100,000 consumers across more than 400 towns and over 1,000 villages, it added.
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