Historic victory: US media declare Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s first Muslim mayor
New York: In a historic breakthrough for progressive politics, Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has been elected as the first Muslim mayor of New York City, US media reported on Wednesday.
Mamdani, 34, defeated former state governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as a third-party candidate after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary earlier this year. The Associated Press reported that the election recorded the city’s highest voter turnout in decades.
Running on an ambitious progressive platform, Mamdani pledged free childcare, free bus transport, and a rent freeze covering nearly one million rent-regulated tenants, promises that struck a chord with liberal and working-class voters alike.
NBC described Mamdani’s grassroots campaign as a movement built on “affordability, equity, and inclusion,” while the New York Times highlighted that he will also become the youngest person to lead New York City in over a century.
Celebrations erupted at an election night rally in Brooklyn as supporters hailed the victory as a transformative moment for both the city’s politics and its diverse communities.
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Indian AI startups should work towards global leadership: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the world's trust in India is its biggest strength and emphasised the need to ensure that Indian Artificial Intelligence (AI) models are ethical, unbiased, transparent, and based on data privacy principles.
He also said that the startups should work towards global leadership from this country, and noted that India can promote affordable AI, inclusive AI, and frugal innovation globally.
Chairing a roundtable with Indian AI start-ups ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Modi suggested that Indian AI models should be distinct and should promote local and indigenous content and regional languages, an official statement said.
The prime minister said startups and artificial intelligence entrepreneurs are the co-architects of the country's future.
As many as 12 Indian AI start-ups that have qualified for the 'AI for ALL: Global Impact Challenge' summit to be held next month attended the roundtable and presented their ideas and work.
During the meeting, Modi highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence in bringing about transformation in society.
He noted that India will host the India AI Impact summit next month, through which the country will play a major role in the technology sector.
The prime minister highlighted that India is making efforts to bring about a transformation by leveraging AI.
He emphasised that startups and AI entrepreneurs are the co-architects of India's future and said the country has immense capacity for both innovation and large-scale implementation.
India should present a unique AI model to the world that reflects the spirit of 'Made in India, Made for the World', Modi said.
These start-ups are working in a diverse set of areas, including Indian language foundation models, multilingual LLMs, speech-to-text, text-to-audio and text-to-video; 3D content using generative AI for e-commerce, marketing, and personalised content creation; engineering simulations, material research and advanced analytics for data-driven decision-making across industries; healthcare diagnostics and medical research, among others.
The AI start-ups commended India's strong commitment to advancing the artificial intelligence ecosystem in the country. They highlighted the rapid growth and vast future potential of the AI sector, observing that the centre of gravity of artificial intelligence innovation and deployment is beginning to shift towards India.
The leaders said India now offers a robust and enabling environment for AI development, firmly placing the country on the global AI map.
The meeting was attended by CEOs, heads and representatives of Indian AI start-ups, including Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, Gan, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra and Zenteiq.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were also present in the meeting.
A PMO press release reads, "PM chairs Roundtable with Indian AI Start-Ups. 12 Indian AI Start-ups, who have qualified for the AI for ALL: Global Impact Challenge in the India AI Impact Summit 2026, present their ideas and work." pic.twitter.com/RvjNly04hl
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 8, 2026
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