Former cricketer Ajay Jadeja declared heir to Jamnagar royal throne
Jamnagar (PTI): The maharaja of the erstwhile princely state of Nawanagar, known as Jamnagar, in Gujarat, has declared his nephew and former cricketer Ajay Jadeja as his heir to the throne on the auspicious day of Dussehra on Saturday.
The 53-year-old cricketer, who played 196 ODIs and 15 test matches for India between 1992 and 2000, is a descendant of the Jamnagar royal family.
Maharaja of Jamnagar Shatrusalyasinh Jadeja is the cousin of Daulatsinghji Jadeja, the cricketer's father, a three-time Member of Parliament from Jamnagar from 1971 to 1984.
"The festival of Dussehra is believed to mark the day the Pandavas emerged victorious from exile. Today, on Dussehra, I am equally happy, as I have found a resolution to one of my dilemmas thanks to Ajay Jadeja, who has accepted to be my heir," Maharaja Jamsaheb, as he is popularly called, declared in a statement.
"Ajay Jadeja taking up the responsibility of serving the people of Jamnagar is truly a boon for its people. I express my sincere gratitude to him," he said.
Maharaja Shatrusalyasinhji was also a cricketer who captained Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy in 1966-67 and served as the head of the Saurashtra Cricket Association.
He was made the titular head of Nawanagar on February 3, 1966, after his father's death, and was married to a member of the Nepal royal family whom he later divorced.
The family are descendants of legendary cricketer Ranjitsinh Jadeja, who ruled Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
