PM, Union ministers, Priyanka Gandhi, others meet Speaker Birla after Lok Sabha adjourned sine die
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, NCP-SP's Supriya Sule and other leaders met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in his chamber after the Winter Session of Parliament was adjourned sine die on Friday.
The leaders thanked Birla for the conduct of the session.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Ministers K Ram Mohan Naidu, Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', Chirag Paswan, and Pralhad Joshi joined the Speaker over tea.
"After the conclusion of the sixth session of the 18th Lok Sabha, a pleasant conversation took place with the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and esteemed leaders of all parties," Birla said in a post on X.
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The Winter Session of Parliament began on December 1 and concluded on Friday, with the Lok Sabha sittings for a cumulative duration of 92 hours and 25 minutes, marking 111 per cent productivity.
Ten government bills were introduced, and eight bills were passed, including those for reforms in the civil nuclear, insurance, and healthcare sectors, among others.
Parliament also passed a bill to replace the MGNREGA rural jobs scheme with the Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill.
The Lok Sabha also passed the Supplementary Demands for Grants – First Batch, 2025–26 and the Appropriation (No. 4) Bill. The Prime Minister initiated a discussion to commemorate the completion of 150 years of the national song "Vande Mataram". The House discussed the subject for 11 hours and 32 minutes, during which 65 Members participated.
Similarly, the issue of Electoral Reforms was discussed on December 9 and 10 for approximately 13 hours, with the participation of 63 members.
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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.
