Trump, Biden confident of big victory as the US goes for polls
Washington: US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Tuesday exuded confidence of a big victory in the presidential polls as Americans in large numbers headed to cast their ballots to decide the fate of the two leaders in the world's most significant democratic exercise.
Trump predicted that a red wave would re-elect him to the White House, while his Democratic challenger Biden is confident of a big win .
Addressing as many as five election rallies in as many states on the last day of the campaigning, Trump exuded confidence of winning the race with a much greater margin.
We are gonna have a red wave. It's gonna be a beautiful sight, Trump told thousands of his supporters in Wisconsin on Monday.
At his last rally at Grand Rapids in Michigan, which passed midnight, Trump asked his supporters to give him a bit bigger margin of victory.
"We want to do it just like last time. ..but give me a little more margin than last time," the president told his cheering supporters who had waited for him for hours in the bitter Michigan cold.
The level of enthusiasm and I think you are going to see a great red wave tomorrow, Trump, 74, told his supporters in Florida.
Meanwhile, Biden, 77, at an event in Pittsburgh on Monday, which was headlined by popular singer Lady Gaga, said he is confident of a big win.
Folks, I have a feeling we're coming together for a big win tomorrow, he said.
Tomorrow, we can put an end to a presidency that has left hard-working Americans out in the cold. Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has fanned the flames of hatred.
"Tomorrow we can put an end to a presidency that has failed to protect this nation said the former vice president.
Biden continues to lead over Trump with the polls indicating that the margin between the two leaders.
In the key battleground states, the average lead of Biden by Tuesday morning has reduced to 2.3 percent, according to Real Clear Politics which keeps track of all major opinion polls.
This is within the margin of error. The top battleground States are Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
Biden's average national lead is not 6.7 percentage points, according to Real Clear Politics.
Nate Silver from FiveThirtyEight.Com, which is known for the prediction of election results, said that Biden is favored to win the election.
Our model forecasts Biden to win the popular vote by 8 percentage points, 1 more than twice Clinton's projected margin at the end of 2016," Silver said on Tuesday.
Indeed, some of the dynamics that allowed Trump to prevail in 2016 wouldn't seem to exist this year. There are considerably fewer undecided voters in this race just 4.8 percent of voters say they're undecided or plan to vote for third-party candidates, as compared to 12.5 percent at the end of 2016. And the polls have been considerably more stable this year than they were four years ago, he wrote.
"Finally, unlike the 'Comey letter' in the closing days of the campaign four years ago when then-FBI Director James Comey told Congress that new evidence had turned up pertinent to the investigation into the private email server that Clinton used as secretary of state there's been no major development in the final 10 days to further shake up the race, Silver said.
According to The Hill newspaper, the key to the White House depends on the election results of five states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona.
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Siddaramaiah gives push for AI in Karnataka Budget
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said to further strengthen the AI sector, AI and Robotics Technology Park under IISc, will set up a robotics and AI campus called "Bangalore Robotics and AI Innovation Zone" during the current year.
This campus will be set up in collaboration with ISRO and Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS), Siddaramaiah added.
Presenting Karnataka Budget 2026-27, he said, a centre of Excellence for AI will be set up at IIIT Raichur at a cost of Rs 5 crore.
Noting that Karnataka is the first state to introduce the Global Capability Center (GCC) Policy, the CM said, as a result of the progressive policies of the government, more than 550 GCCs are currently operating in the state.
"Under this policy, the target is to establish 500 new GCCs in the state by 2029, which are expected to create employment for 3.5 lakh people and generate an economic output of USD 50 billion. A new IT park will be established in Mangalore to promote GCC by KEONICS," he said.
With the support extended to the IT sector, more than 30,000 employees are working in 100 companies in Mysuru, the CM said.
To ease the congestion in Bengaluru and to strengthen economic activities beyond Bengaluru, Myasuru city will be developed as the second IT city of the state, he added.
To support drone testing and performance appraisal, a drone testing facility will be established in Chikkaballapur district, he said.
"During the current year, Rs 4 crore will be allocated for the development of an advanced surgical-assisted robot (COBOT)" in collaboration with IIIT-Bangalore and NIMHANS. This technology will facilitate improved outcomes in neurosurgical procedures, he added.
The CM said that infrastructure facilities will be developed at the Centre for Human Genetics at a total cost of Rs 20 crore to accommodate the newly established Institute of Advanced Genome Editing and Gene Therapy, along with other biotechnology-based laboratories.
With the objective of establishing a state-of-the-art AI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, two centres of excellence will be set up in collaboration with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms and NASSCOM at a total cost of Rs 16 crore, he said.
Rs 10 crore will be allocated to implement the first phase of the Quantum Road Map over five years and this will train and develop high-quality human resources required in the quantum technology sector, he said.
Noting that a detailed project report has been prepared and submitted to the Central Government to establish a state-of-the-art 'Science City at a cost of Rs 233 crore in Adinarayana Hosahalli, Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said, upon its approval, the State will take further steps, including design and development.
To inculcate scientific temper among students, Science centres have been established in all the districts, and planetariums have been set up in 11 districts. In the current year, six new planetariums will be developed in Vijayanagar, Ballari, Chitradurga, Yadgiri, Koppal and Bidar districts at a unit cost of Rs 4 crores and a total cost of Rs.24 crore, he said.
Highlighting that Karnataka is leading in the country's Information Technology sector, the CM said, "Our state has contributed to 43 per cent of India's IT exports. Under the new IT Policy 2025-30, software exports are expected to reach Rs 11.5 lakh crore by 2030."
Karnataka State has moved up from 21st position in the previous year to 14th in the global start-up ecosystem and is home to over 18,000 active Start-ups, he said.
"Bengaluru is also ranked 5th in the world's top 50 AI cities in the field of AI and Big Data," Siddaramaiah said.
The LEAP is a flagship initiative of the Government, launched with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore to promote start-ups and entrepreneurship in cities beyond Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said.
To increase employment opportunities through long-term industry-academia partnerships, a super 100 industry-academia adoption programme will be implemented in collaboration with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission(KDEM).
Karnataka ranks among the leading states in the ESDM and semiconductor sectors, he said.
It is a matter of pride that major global companies like Foxconn, LAM Research, and Applied Materials have recently invested in the state. The state anticipates investments to the tune of Rs 45,000 crore from companies in this sector, Siddaramaiah added.
