Operation Sindoor reinforced message that people must contribute to nation-building: IAF chief
New Delhi (PTI): Chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, on Thursday praised NCC cadets for their contributions during Operation Sindoor, and said the military action reinforced the message that life is not just about earning money or personal pursuits, but also doing something for the country.
Addressing cadets at the ongoing National Cadet Corps (NCC) Republic Day Camp at Delhi Cantonment, the IAF chief urged them to continue giving their best for the country, irrespective of whether they join the armed forces later or pursue other professions.
He also exhorted them not to be deterred by failures but to emerge stronger from any setback, citing his own journey to the top post.
Singh said he too faced failures in his life and career, but he rose to become an IAF chief, which he described as something "that was destined".
"So, whether you are a soldier or a military leader in uniform, or a regular citizen, give your best and contribute to nation-building," he said.
The IAF chief told the NCC cadets that the role played by them in civil defence activities during Operation Sindoor motivated many people.
"Operation Sindoor has brought a lot of awareness. It is not just about earning money or doing things only for oneself in life, it is equally important to do something for the country," he asserted.
Operation Sindoor was carried out by the Indian armed forces in the early hours of May 7, 2025, targeting terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 civilian lives last April.
A large number of NCC cadets assisted in emergency drills, blood donation camps and other civil defence activities during the operation, officials said.
A total of 2,406 NCC cadets, including 898 girls, from across the country are participating in the nearly month-long camp, which was inaugurated on Monday by Vice President C P Radhakrishnan.
It will culminate with the NCC PM Rally on January 28.
Before his address, the IAF chief attended several cultural performances.
In one of the dance acts, a group of cadets visually depicted Operation Sindoor, portraying air strikes and air defence measures.
The performance included a poster carrying the logo of Operation Sindoor, while also honouring the vision of a Viksit Bharat.
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Ambani, Adani pledge USD 210 bn for India's AI push
New Delhi (PTI): Conglomerates run by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani committed USD 210 billion investment to creating infrastructure that will help India emerge as an AI development hub.
At the India AI Impact Summit, Ambani announced a Rs 10 lakh crore (about USD 110 billion) investment in artificial intelligence over the next seven years in gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, leveraging up to 10 GW of green power surplus, and a nationwide edge-compute layer integrated with telecom and digital operator Jio's networks to deliver low-latency AI across India.
"Our resolve is clear: make intelligence as ubiquitous as connectivity," he said. "When compute becomes infrastructure, innovation will become inevitable."
Adani, on the other hand, unveiled a USD 100-billion investment to develop renewable-energy-powered, hyperscale AI-ready data centres by 2035 -- one of the world's largest integrated energy-compute commitments.
The initiative is expected to catalyse an additional USD 150 billion across server manufacturing, cloud platforms, and supporting industries, creating a projected USD 250 billion AI infrastructure ecosystem in India.
India must architect its own artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure rather than rely on imports, Adani Group executive director Jeet Adani said on Thursday, warning that AI will redefine national sovereignty.
Other major investments announced at the Summit included USD 50 billion commitment by Microsoft by the end of the decade to expand artificial intelligence access across the Global South. "India, not surprisingly, is one of the largest," its vice chair and president, Brad Smith, said.
The firm had unveiled USD 17.5 billion investment in AI investments in India last year.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a new subsea cable initiative to boost AI connectivity between India, the US and other locations, alongside partnerships for cloud infrastructure platform support to over 20 million public servants across 800 districts.
Yotta Data Services, backed by a real estate group headed by Niranjan Hiranandani, announced over USD 2 billion spend on Nvidia's latest chips in an artificial intelligence computing hub it is setting up just outside the national capital.
While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) signed up ChatGPT parent OpenAI as its first customer for its data centre unit under the global AI infrastructure initiative Stargate, infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro announced a proposed venture with Nvidia to build AI-ready data centre infrastructure, advanced computing platforms, and ecosystem enablement required to support large-scale AI workloads.
