EC summons Indian pacer Mohammed Shami, his brother, for SIR hearing in Kolkata: Reports
Kolkata: Cricketer Mohammed Shami and his brother Mohammed Kaif were summoned by the Election Commission to appear for a hearing, part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process that began on December 16, 2025, reported India Today.
Notices were issued on Monday from Kartju Nagar School in the Jadavpur area of south Kolkata, directing both to appear before the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO). However, Shami could not attend the scheduled hearing, as he is currently in Rajkot representing Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Shami is a voter in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Ward No. 93 under the Rashbehari Assembly constituency. He has been a permanent resident of Kolkata for several years tough he belonged to Uttar Pradesh.
Quoting ECI sources, the report stated that the names of Shami and his brother appeared on the hearing list due to complications in their enumeration forms, including discrepancies related to progeny mapping and self-mapping. Shami’s hearing has now been scheduled between January 9 and 11.
This comes amid criticism of the SIR process by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who earlier wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar questioning the objectives and asking whether the “ECI was aware of the goal of SIR.”
She wrote, "Although the exercise is described as time-bound, there are no clearly defined, transparent, or uniformly applicable timelines. Different States are following different criteria, and timelines are being altered arbitrarily, reflecting a glaring lack of clarity, preparedness, and procedural understanding.”
She further alleged a lack of transparency, uniform timelines and clear communication, warning that errors or ambiguities could lead to the disenfranchisement of genuine voters.
The final voter list for poll-bound West Bengal is slated to be published on February 14. More than 58 lakh names were deleted from the draft electoral rolls released in December as part of the SIR exercise.
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86 nations, two int'l organisations sign AI Impact Summit declaration: IT Min Vaishnaw
New Delhi (PTI): As many as 86 countries and two international organisations have signed the AI Impact Summit declaration, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said, adding that the US, UK, Canada, China, Denmark, and Germany are among the signatories.
The strong global backing for the declaration comes at the conclusion of the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
Vaishnaw told reporters that nations across the world have formalised and upheld principles of 'welfare of all, and happiness of all'.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's human-centric AI vision been accepted by the world. Democratising Artificial Intelligence resources so AI facilities, services and technology can reach everyone in society has been accepted by all," the minister said.
Balancing economic growth with social good has been prioritised, he added.
"Not just economic growth, even social harmony has to be kept in mind. Safety and trust are at the centre, they have been brought among the main points," Vaishnaw said, adding that a secure, trustworthy and robust AI framework has been focused on.
Other major areas of thrust include innovations and development of human capital, he noted.
"For all these areas, all countries have agreed to work together. Almost all countries that participated, including the US, the UK, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, and Germany... everyone has participated," the minister said.
The mega AI Impact Summit secured investment commitments of over USD 250 billion in infrastructure alone, with Vaishnaw on Friday terming it a "grand success".
Vaishnaw had said participation at the summit crossed five lakh visitors, reflecting strong domestic and global engagement with India's AI push.
The India AI Impact Summit brought together global policymakers, industry leaders and technology experts, positioning India as a key player in shaping international AI governance and infrastructure development.
"More than five lakh visitors participated in the exhibition, learnt a lot, and interacted with many experts from around the world. We had practically every major AI player in the world participating in large numbers. We had so many startups getting the opportunity to showcase their work. Overall, the quality of the discussion was phenomenal," he had said.
Be it the ministerial dialogue, the leaders' plenary, the main inauguration function, or the Summit overall, the quality of participation and dialogue was phenomenal, Vaishnaw had pointed out.
The investment pledges have crossed USD 250 billion for infra-related capital and around USD 20 billion on VC/deep tech investments.
Vaishnaw had said that the Summit reflected the world's confidence in India's role in the new AI age.
Delhi played host to a lineup of global tech heavyweights this week - Google's Sundar Pichai, OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's Brad Smith and Anthropic's Dario Amodei - as discussions spanned most intensely debated global topics in the tech universe, from AI's opportunities and risks, all the way to AGI, governance and the future of jobs.
