Cyclone Biparjoy: 37,800 people evacuated from coastal areas in Gujarat
Naliya (PTI): As Cyclone Biparjoy barrels towards the Kutch coast in Gujarat, the government said they have so far evacuated nearly 37,800 people living near the sea in eight districts of the state.
The powerful cyclone will make landfall near Jakhau port on the evening of June 15, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
"VSCS (very severe cyclonic storm) BIPARJOY over Arabian sea moved north northwestward and lay centered at 2.30 IST of 14th June, about 280 km WSW of Jakhau port. To cross near Jakhau Port (Gujarat) by evening of 15th June as VSCS," IMD said in the latest post.
The Gujarat government said in a release that they have so far evacuated 37,794 people living along the coastline.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the state government's emergency operations centre on Tuesday night for a review of the preparedness, it said.
The cyclone has "extensive damaging potential" and is likely to impact Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka and Jamnagar districts the most, IMD has said.
The state government is aiming to evacuate people residing within 10 km from the shore, said an official. So far, one fatality related to the cyclone has been recorded, he said.
Evacuation operations will continue on Wednesday, officials said.
The cyclone is likely to hit the shore near Jakhau port between Mandvi in Kutch and Karachi in Pakistan with sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph, gusting to 150 kmph on Thursday evening (June 15).
The met department has predicted extremely heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds in coastal parts of the Saurashtra-Kutch region, especially in the districts of Kutch, Porbandar and Devbhumi Dwarka.
After it makes landfall and weakens, Biparjoy is likely to remain north-eastward and is expected to move towards extreme south Rajasthan. It is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rain in north Gujarat between June 15-17.
Fishing activities have been suspended till June 16, ports are shut and ships are anchored as the sea turned turbulent and weather became inclement with extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds in the region due to the approaching cyclone.
The government said 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 12 of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are on standby in the districts of Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Gir Somnath, Morbi and Valsad.
Otherwise a bustling shipping hub, the Jakhau port on Tuesday looked like a haunted jetty following the evacuation of its entire human population.
In a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked the Gujarat government to make arrangements for moving people living in sensitive places to safer locations and ensure all necessary services like electricity, telecommunication, health and drinking water, said an official statement.
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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.
