News theft is happening in the country, says senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan
Kalaburagi: Senior journalist and founding editor of The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan, has said that while there is widespread debate over electoral malpractice, a far more serious phenomenon has already taken place in India, the theft of news.
Speaking at the launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi, Varadarajan remarked that since 2014, news has been systematically taken away from the people. “Whether vote theft is happening or not is still debated. But before that, news theft has undoubtedly taken place in this country,” he said.
He observed that information relevant to people’s lives and problems is increasingly being kept away from the public. According to him, it has become difficult to carry people’s concerns to political leaders because mainstream media has distanced itself from its core responsibility. “Mainstream media has largely vanished from the battlefield of news,” he stated.
Varadarajan said that during moments when large media houses were expected to stand with the public and deliver crucial information, they instead chose to remain silent or absent. This vacuum, he noted, has made the emergence of alternative and independent media platforms necessary.
“These platforms may be small in scale, but they play a vital role,” he said, describing Vartha Bharati as one such independent media outlet. He accused large media organisations of contributing to the erosion of people’s lives, culture, and democratic values in the country, while asserting that small, independent journalism continues to offer strong resistance.
Recalling that Vartha Bharati began its journey in Mangaluru and has now expanded to the Kalyana Karnataka region, Varadarajan said independent media outlets are no longer isolated. “We are not alone anymore. Vartha Bharati stands with us,” he said.
The event also marked the release of Vartha Bharati's 23rd annual special issue and a compilation of selected editorials, along with a special Kalyana Karnataka supplement.
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FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
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"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
