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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the New Delhi AI Impact Summit, unveiled India's 'MANAV' framework for artificial intelligence, calling AI a 'civilisational turning point' and urging global leaders to 'Democratise AI' for the Global South.
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00:00Good evening. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called artificial intelligence a global common good and civilization's turning point.
00:08As transformative as the discovery of fire, of wireless communication, or turning speech into writing.
00:16Humans may not have realized that significance then at that point of time, but it changed the way the world
00:23lived.
00:25And so will artificial intelligence.
00:27Therefore, the pitch was very clearly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Manav vision.
00:33Focusing on moral and ethical systems, accountable governance, national sovereignty, and national sovereignty over data is extremely critical.
00:42Legitimacy and also guard against deepfakes.
01:13India's Manav model for AI.
01:15Prime Minister's democratize AI message.
01:20AI ko democratize karna ho ga.
01:28Jis ka data, us ka hak pech.
01:32Jis ka data, us ka adhikar.
01:41India's aim to be a global AI hub.
01:45Design and develop in India.
01:50Deliver to the world.
01:53Deliver to humanity.
01:57Will Modi's Manav shape global AI?
02:02The big pitch was designed and developed in India.
02:08He also warned against monopolies.
02:12AI for global goods, especially for the global south, for developing countries.
02:17So, the Prime Minister's Manav pitch was all about the process of democratizing artificial intelligence.
02:25No monopolies or duopolies.
02:27He did raise concern about the threat posed by deepfakes, but it wasn't just raising a concern.
02:32There were also solutions.
02:34For example, watermark.
02:36A watermark that could perhaps help people know whether this is original or deepfake.
02:43Data sovereignty.
02:44Now, this is very critical.
02:47Jis ka data, us ka adhikar.
02:50What does this mean?
02:51What does this mean for you and I?
02:53Over the course of the next half hour, we decode the Prime Minister's Manav vision.
02:58I'm Gaurav Savant.
03:00First, we bring you this report.
03:35Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled India's governance vision, the Manav framework.
03:42As Bharat placed humanity at the center of the AI revolution in a defining moment for the future of artificial
03:49intelligence.
03:51New Delhi AI impact summit.
03:54Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday prime minister.
04:21I do not know
04:26Built on ethics, accountability, data sovereignty, accessibility and legal validity, a clear message.
04:34Democratize AI. Empower the global South.
04:40AI के लिए, इंसान सिर्फ डेटा पॉइंट न बन जाए.
04:51इंसान सिर्फ रोव मत्रियल तक सिमितन न रह जाए.
04:57इसलिए, AI को देमोर्टाइज करना होगा.
05:06इसे, इंकुलुजन और एंपॉर्मेंट का माध्यम बनाना होगा.
05:12The Prime Minister also issued a stark warning.
05:15AI, like nuclear power, can help or harm.
05:19AI भी, एक ट्रांस्फोर्मेटिव पावर है.
05:26दिशाहिन हुई, तो डिस्रप्शन, सही दिशा मिली, तो सॉल्यूशन.
05:33दिप फेक्स और फैब्रिकेटेड कंटेंट, ओपन सोसाइटीज में अस्थीरता ला रहे हैं.
05:53ताकि हमें पता हो कि हम क्या खा रहे हैं.
05:58तिक उसी तरह, डिजिटल वर्ल में कंटेंट पर भी ऑथेंटिसिटी लेबल होने चाहिए.
06:09With participation from over 100 countries and the world's biggest tech leaders under one roof,
06:15Prime Minister also positioned India as the future global hub for AI for the world.
07:01Global leaders echo India's rise in AI.
07:06Ten years ago, the world told India that 1.4 billion people could not be brought into the digital economy.
07:16India proved them wrong.
07:25From the discovery of fire to the internet to artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Modi calls this the next civilization leave.
07:33The message from the New Delhi tonight, AI must serve humanity, not replace it.
07:40Bureau Report, India Today.
07:45And the Prime Minister laid out a very detailed roadmap.
07:49It's a civilizational moment.
07:51India at the centre of it.
07:52And India keeping humanity at the centre of this AI revolution.
07:57As significant as the Prime Minister put it, as the discovery of fire of wireless.
08:02So let's explain this MANA framework.
08:06Moral and ethical systems.
08:09Accountable governance.
08:11National sovereignty.
08:13Accessibility to legal legitimacy.
08:16These are very significant words and they have a deep impact and especially in open societies like India.
08:22Because the Prime Minister also emphasised something like a deep fake, the threat it poses to an open society.
08:30So what is India's key concern and India's key demand?
08:33The core blueprint for responsible AI is open source code.
08:39No monopolies or duopolies.
08:40A call to democratise artificial intelligence.
08:43So clear warning.
08:44Technology must not remain restricted in a few hands or a few countries.
08:49Must not be just elitist.
08:52It must empower all specially developing countries, the global south.
08:57Human control is non-negotiable.
09:01And he gave the example of global positioning system, GPS.
09:05He said, GPS will tell you where to go, but you have to tell the GPS server where you want
09:10to go.
09:11So it will guide you how to get there.
09:13AI must remain under human control and command.
09:16And the real question is what humanity chooses to do with AI.
09:21Data rights and digital trust.
09:24Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the manav vision.
09:31Jiska data, uska adhikar.
09:34What does this mean?
09:35This means data must not be exploited by others, but harnessed effectively for the betterment of people of that country.
09:46Deepfakes pose a huge challenge.
09:48You just heard the Prime Minister talk about deepfakes.
09:50The challenge they pose to an open society.
09:53It could create instability in any country.
09:56So clear watermarking, clear source standards must be there.
10:03Deepfake danger, the warning, because it can destabilize any society.
10:07So what is required at this point of time is transparency and authenticity labels.
10:13They are very, very essential so that you know what is real data and what is a fake.
10:19Humans over algorithms.
10:22People must not become mere data points.
10:24AI must benefit mankind or humankind in general through shared and open development.
10:30India's global tech ambition is something that the Prime Minister spoke of.
10:33You heard him talk about asking giants to come design in India.
10:38Develop in India.
10:39Develop in India for India and for the rest of the world.
10:41Delivered to the world powered by semiconductors, secure data, quantum tech and democracy at scale.
10:49This is future at work.
10:52An era where humans and AI will co-exist.
10:56They will co-create and driven by mass scaling, upscaling and very important lifelong learning.
11:03A civilizational turning point, the Prime Minister compared AI to the discovery of fire,
11:08to speech being converted to writing and how knowledge benefited generations.
11:14And of course, wireless communication.
11:17Transformation at a historical scale.
11:20At civilizational scale.
11:21AI is that and AI is here.
11:24And finally, the ultimate goal.
11:26Sarvajan hetai.
11:28Artificial intelligence must further benefit to all.
11:34Sarvajan sukhai.
11:35And this is Bharat's civilizational philosophy.
11:40Welfare of all, happiness for all.
11:43So this was India's message to the world today.
11:45AI must serve humanity.
11:47There is no question of it replacing humanity.
11:50Let's now decode what the Prime Minister said.
11:53Dr. Pawan Duggal is an advocate in the Supreme Court.
11:55He's an expert on cyber crime and cyber security law.
11:58He joins us on this special broadcast.
12:00Sanjay Saha is a former senior police officer and the founder, director of TechConPro.
12:06Rajat Sethi joins us as a political analyst.
12:08My first question is to my colleague Cyrus John, editor, Emerging Technology here at India Today.
12:14Cyrus, the Prime Minister insisted on data sovereignty.
12:17The Prime Minister called for data to remain.
12:21If we were to take India's example, for example.
12:23Data to remain in India to train Indian AI systems to benefit Indian people.
12:28Explain data sovereignty for us.
12:30Thank you so much, Gaurav.
12:33Keeping the data of Indians within the country.
12:36And there is a reason that the Prime Minister is pushing for data centers to be developed and made in
12:41India.
12:42Where all of these big AI companies, specifically OpenAI, Google, all of them are using data of Indians.
12:49And one of the largest user bases for both these companies are in India.
12:53So the Prime Minister feels that if all of these tech companies are using data of so many Indians and
12:59training their AI models,
13:00why can't the data of the Indians stay here and train indigenous models?
13:05We need to understand, a majority of the country does not speak English.
13:10We have our Indic languages.
13:11So for AI to be trained on these Indic languages, we need to have the data within India,
13:17train the AI models on Indian languages and then serve the Indians.
13:21With just 10-12% of the population speaking English, the AI doesn't really get democratized
13:26and we need to understand that the data needs to remain in the country.
13:30And also, it's not about security as well.
13:32Tomorrow, if an AI company doesn't operate in India or it seizes operations, what happens to the AI?
13:39It will not be operational in India.
13:42And that's why we need our own AI systems.
13:44And that's why the Prime Minister is pushing for having the data within the country, processing it over here
13:49and then driving benefits from that data within the country itself and keeping it safe over here.
13:55Dr. Dugal, how would you decode the Prime Minister's insistence on data sovereignty
14:00while he calls for accessible and inclusive AI systems as a key pillar for Manav Vision?
14:07What Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said is nothing but mirroring the hopes and aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians.
14:16Our sovereignty is not just limited to our territorial boundaries.
14:21It's also inclusive of not our cyber sovereignty, but also artificial intelligence sovereignty and data sovereignty.
14:28We Indians are the most fertile generators of content all over the world.
14:33And our data is our property.
14:35It ought not to go outside the territorial boundaries of the country for the purposes of its exploitation by other
14:41stakeholders.
14:41That's why his insistence on data sovereignty or national sovereignty is a distinctive clarion call that is out to the
14:50entire world.
14:51Whether it's India, whether it's the Global South, none of these are going to go in the dark without being
14:57heard.
14:57They will have their voices very clearly heard to the extent that we are nations of the world.
15:02We are entitled to our own data and our sovereignty extends to our data.
15:06Which effectively means that India is now going to be potentially walking in the direction of protecting the data as
15:12we go forward.
15:13Okay.
15:14Dr. Sahai, currently the United States and China dominate.
15:19Can countries like India and as India leads the Global South or takes the Global South along,
15:25can India break that dominance or co-exist with that dominance as we continue to grow?
15:32I'll give you a fair idea as to where we come from.
15:35It was Deep Blue in 1997, which beat the grandmaster.
15:39It was on a brute force technology.
15:41From there we went to Watson and from Watson to DeepMind.
15:45DeepMind, 2015 we had the open AI and GPT came in 2018.
15:49So, what I intend to say, however fast the pace of AI might be, the organic growth of any particular
15:56country takes a long amount of time, huge amount of time.
16:00And most of this hard work happens outside the glare of the cameras.
16:05So, what America was able to do, there's a very clear-cut decision which was taken somewhere in 2014, 2015,
16:12where the American big tech companies, they realized that AI will never become a reality if they went in a
16:20commercial manner.
16:21And that is how OpenAI was created, with $2 billion.
16:24And OpenAI's main purpose was to create models which can be nearly as cheap as possible given to the world.
16:32And over a period of time, in 2022, on 30th of November, we had the chat GPT.
16:37GPT came, I think, a year or one and a half years earlier, making GPT-3 into a conversational model.
16:44It literally opened artificial intelligence to the world.
16:50It was unleashed to the world by chat GPT, which was primarily making GPT-3 into a conversational model.
16:58Now, China at the back end kept on doing and they did not have the nature of capital investment which
17:04was required.
17:05So, they finally ended up with a product called Deepsea.
17:09Deepsea completely changed the American model that things can be created only out of billions of dollars
17:14and trillions of dollars are expected to be invested, as Sam Altman was going all across the world.
17:21Now, Deepsea and the whole progress of China, so primarily 1 and 2, these are the slots, which have already
17:27been booked by this place as it stands now.
17:29But in the age of AI, there is nothing static.
17:32And given the nature of work which is happening in India, the direction which the government is providing, I think
17:38we need to get into the basic infra part of it, both at the AI level, which means your software
17:44level, and also at the infra level.
17:47But are we moving in the right direction and at the right pace, Rajat, just as yet?
17:53You know, let me quickly bring Rajat also into this conversation, because that's a very interesting point that you've raised.
17:58And I'll come to the point of deepfakes in just a moment.
18:01But right now, is enough being done in terms of infrastructure push, effort being made?
18:08If this is truly, Rajat, a civilizational turning point, are we, for example, spending enough on R&D?
18:15Are we keeping pace with global developments that, you know, Mr. Sahai speaks of?
18:20The short answer is no.
18:22But there is only so much that the governments can do.
18:25It is up to us creative minds who have to work hard and walk the talk.
18:31All I can say is that I am cautiously optimistic.
18:34There are the basic ingredients that are needed to build an edifice around.
18:39And most certainly, this is a civilizational moment, primarily because the way AI emerges, the controls, the entire stack controls.
18:48We should not fall into a situation that we do not have any control whatsoever.
18:54I mean, right from the hardware stack, right from the energy stack in itself.
18:58Do we have enough energy resources to power up the future data centers that will come in?
19:03Do we have the hardware that has to sit inside these data centers?
19:08Who is making those data centers at those scales which can serve 1.5 billion people?
19:13And on top of that, these TPUs and GPUs which are sitting in these data centers are currently also training
19:19the global model.
19:20So we are the raw material providers of the AI super cycle that is there out in the world.
19:25What are we going to do to control those? Those are very important questions.
19:30But again, you have to start from somewhere.
19:32And the government is showing the way forward, which is absolutely fresh.
19:36No other country around the world is getting that much of support what Indian government has done.
19:41So that is what is giving me optimism if your decision makers are thinking in the right line.
19:46And I believe the creative and the entrepreneurial energy that is there in the country.
19:50All of those basic ingredients can add up together towards a brighter future.
19:55But I just point out to the last point that you were mentioning.
19:58It is around responsible AI.
19:59I think this is the most important thing.
20:03Indian data, there should not be a scenario where Indian data is being used against Indians to attack us.
20:09I mean, look at the most ripe debate right now in the US is anthropic versus open AI.
20:14Whether those models will be open up for the US defense to train their guns against their adversaries.
20:19I think that is where the moot debates are going to happen.
20:22And India needs to have a stake.
20:24And this is where leaders and what they say, how they envision the future matters a lot.
20:28And that's exactly why we started this debate with data sovereignty.
20:33Absolutely, completely take your point.
20:36And that's why the first point that we raised was data sovereignty.
20:39But Cyrus, coming back to capabilities, you know that Rajat raised the point of where are we on the GPUs.
20:47Does India possess the kind of compute scale, for example, that is required.
20:51Our chip dependence and the need for chip independence.
20:55Research depth, influence, you know, where are we, are we in a position to influence the global AI architecture in
21:01any which way.
21:02Except of course our data going overseas.
21:05So Gaurav, the first thing is, everything is about GPUs these days.
21:08And GPUs are giving the compute power to AI to do all these calculations.
21:13Right now, India has an infrastructure of 38,000 GPUs.
21:16And the Prime Minister said that we are adding 20,000 more soon.
21:20So this cluster of about 58,000 GPUs does give us a certain sort of semblance in terms of our
21:26AI training.
21:27But we need to understand, an open AI trains its model on millions of GPUs.
21:32And that is an astronomical number in the terms of AI training it's doing on a daily basis.
21:38So while 50,000, 50,000 GPUs is a decent number, we need to scale our GPUs.
21:45Our infrastructure also needs to scale up.
21:48But the important bit is the partnerships need to come for both private entities and government entities.
21:53Because you look at in the US, the AI development is happening mostly by private players.
21:58And the government hasn't taken that initiative as yet.
22:02But in India, it's more the government driving it.
22:04So I think the private players also need to come up with more infrastructure projects,
22:09like Reliance and Ambani are doing.
22:11And then we can say that, yes, the acceleration is happening at a rate
22:15where we will be able to play, we will be able to catch up with the global players.
22:19Right now, I'd say we are doing decently, but the infrastructure definitely needs to improve in the coming days.
22:26And Rajat, then coming back to the point of India acquiring an additional 20,000 GPUs over the next six
22:31months.
22:31I think that's what the Prime Minister referred to.
22:34While that would add to overall compute power, but are we moving one in the right direction perhaps,
22:41but at the right pace, at the right speed?
22:45So directionally, yes, governments can only do so much.
22:49It's the taxpayer money which has to go into welfarism and redistribution.
22:54So it is not, though the government is attempting to bring in that early mover advantage for certain startups
23:00acquiring these GPUs because otherwise startups don't have the negotiating power to go and negotiate with an NVIDIA
23:06to get access to these GPUs.
23:07So this catch-22 problem government is trying to address, but the scale is missing.
23:13Of course, because the government can't do, it is the enforcers are these big players who should be stepping in
23:17and should be committing to ensuring that we have access to adequate amount of GPUs, TPUs, all of those technologies.
23:24We should also have our own hardware design, electronic design answers to these.
23:29Maybe if we can bring down the cost of GPU, perhaps we can then play the cost arbitrage angle and
23:35stay relevant.
23:36We need to bring one order lower the cost of the current GPUs.
23:40It is unsustainable otherwise.
23:41There are areas where I believe there is enough leg room, elbow room for the Indian entrepreneurs to come in
23:48and create value over there.
23:50And I believe hardware is one area where we can do phenomenally well, especially on the design of these futuristic
23:56GPUs.
23:58Sanjay Sahai, let me now come to the point that the Prime Minister raised on deepfakes
24:02and the instability it may cause in open societies.
24:05And this could very well be used as a weapon by hostile powers.
24:09So when the Prime Minister talks of moral and ethical systems, he is also seeking global cooperation.
24:16But in your view, is watermarking, while that may be one way forward, how do you look at,
24:25should we call it a war against deepfakes or an effort against deepfakes?
24:30See, AI governance is something at a global scale, which has just been talked about
24:34and I don't think we have even in the nascent stage of it.
24:37So that is the reality of life and none of the governments but for declaration
24:41have been able to make any dent into the whole system
24:45of either deepfakes or data or data sovereignty or even protection of data.
24:50See, at the end of the day, where does the data reside today?
24:53Data resides somewhere else primarily, most of it data.
24:56And if the data were to be left in India, it becomes extremely difficult for us to process.
25:00We barely process 10-15% of our data.
25:03Coming to deepfakes, watermarking seems to be a very simple sort of a solution where literally
25:09anybody and everybody and all types of models, they agree to it.
25:13Private players agree to it, governments agree to it, literally everybody has to agree to it.
25:17And we are also trying to somehow be fool us that watermarking will be an ultimate solution
25:23and there will be nothing beyond it and people will not be able to fake watermarking.
25:28It is basically a battle of attrition which we have not started.
25:31The battle is already there playing in our half.
25:34If you take the football field, the whole battle of deepfakes is in our side of the football field.
25:40There is absolutely nothing which we have been able to do on the deepfake fraternity
25:44which is quite strong and it operates not only for deepfakes, it operates for large number of cybercrimes
25:51and also inclusive of political espionage.
25:54So, watermarking can be a starting point but the way things will get iterated and evolve, I think the battle
26:02has to go on.
26:03So, it is a permanent battle between the good and the evil and the capability of the governments,
26:08regulatory agencies, intelligence agencies to lay their hands on people who go astray
26:13and put them to stringent punishment.
26:15I think that will help besides tackling the technology on a day-to-day basis.
26:21Rajat, quickly, before I come to Rajat, I want you to listen in to the Prime Minister talking of this
26:27ethical global governance,
26:30the Manav model and what needs to be done to tackle deepfakes. Listen in.
26:38Sathiyo,
26:39आज New Delhi AI Impact Summit में
26:43मैं AI के लिए
26:49MANAV
26:52MANAV
26:53मानव
26:56मानव विजन प्स्तुत करता हूँ
26:59मानव का अर्थ होता है Human
27:01And the mind of vision is called M. Moral and Ethical Systems,
27:11or AI, ethical guidance for aadharit.
27:16A. Accountable Governance, or transparent rules, robust oversight.
27:27And national sovereignty, yani, jiska data, uska adhikar.
27:40A. Accessible and inclusive, yani, AI monopoly nahin, multiplier bane.
27:53V. Valid and legitimate, yani, AI lawful or verifiable ho.
28:07Bharat ka yeh manov vision ikkisvi sadhi ki AI aadharit dunya mein manov taake kalyaan ki ahem kadi bane ga.
28:23A. So following the country's civilizational philosophy of Sarvajan Hittai, a benefit to all, welfare of all.
28:33What is the government doing, Cyrus?
28:35This conversation of 76,000 crore rupees for semiconductors.
28:40I think 10 odd projects have been approved.
28:43Chip dependence, does that remain one of the key areas?
28:49And, of course, India's demographic scale that we have.
28:52Now, while that takes us on a high, does our dependence just bring us down?
28:58That's one of the major concerns, Gaurav, because most of the dependence right now is on one company, NVIDIA, which
29:04is operating.
29:05Most of the chips come from Taiwan.
29:08That one small island is making chips for almost 98% of the world.
29:13And when dependence comes from one nation, you kind of have to think of other strategies.
29:18Yes, India has a semiconductor mission.
29:19We are making chips.
29:21We're trying to fabricate chips over here, but that will take some time.
29:24Most of the fabrication is happening in Taiwan.
29:26The designing, however, yes, some of it is being shifted to India.
29:31We are looking to design chips, but the primary process is of fabrication which happens through these lithography machines that
29:38are available in Taiwan.
29:39These are expensive machines, need expertise, and you cannot have them operated in every part of the world.
29:45That's why I think the fact that we need to have semiconductors labeled and made over here, the assembly needs
29:52to happen here,
29:53I think will give us the opportunity to expand our semiconductor footprint.
29:58U.S. President Donald Trump has reviewed a possible timeline for military action against Iran.
30:03The reports coming in from the United States say security officials in the United States,
30:07and these are officials of the Pentagon, also of the State Department.
30:11They're indicating that the Pentagon, operationally, is ready to strike if there is a command from the White House.
30:20So this U.S. military buildup, that's very visible.
30:23The world's largest aircraft carrier, and now you have two aircraft carrier strike groups in the region.
30:29USS Gerald R. Ford, it's currently off the coast of Morocco, it's near the Strait of Gibraltar,
30:36and is expected to move closer to Israel and Iran in the next three to four days.
30:42So is that the timeline?
30:43Is that the time that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the regime in Iran have to either agree to that dialogue,
30:51especially on capping the limits of their ballistic missile capabilities and, of course, the nukes.
31:00The vessel, we are told, has activated its AIS tracking system.
31:05It crossed the Atlantic, revealed its location and movement.
31:08So the U.S. wants the world to see where the second aircraft carrier strike group currently is.
31:13There are more than 50 additional U.S. fighter jets that have arrived in the region in the past 24
31:21hours,
31:21and these include the fifth-generation F-35s, the F-22 Raptors.
31:26They also include the F-15s and the F-16s.
31:31Apart from this, more than 170 cargo flights, the C-17 Globemasters, they've been carrying weapons, equipment.
31:39They've landed in bases across the Gulf, including in Qatar, in Jordan, in Bahrain.
31:46Apart from the Globemasters, you also have the C-5 Galaxies.
31:50They've arrived in West Asia.
31:52Now, this, according to American media reports, is perhaps the largest American military build-up
31:59after the Gulf War in this region in 2003.
32:04At the same time, the Pentagon is also repositioning some of their troops.
32:08They are repositioning their troops out of this region,
32:12taking some as a precautionary measure either to Europe,
32:16or some are being repatriated, they're being taken home.
32:19It's a step ahead of conflict to ensure safety of U.S. personnel in the region
32:25should Iran strike back at U.S. bases in the region.
32:30Does that indicate that a strike is imminent?
32:33We get you more in this report.
32:46We'll see you all right.
32:46We'll see you all right.
32:51We'll see you next time.
32:58We'll see you next time.
33:11West Asia is on the brink.
33:17Explosive signals from Washington, Tel Aviv and Tehran.
33:20A US strike on Iran is possible soon.
33:28US media reports that US President Donald Trump has reviewed a strike timeline.
33:34Top security officials say Pentagon is ready.
33:37No final order yet, but troop repositioning has begun a pre-strike move to limit Iranian
33:43retaliation.
33:46There is a massive US military surge.
33:48The world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R-4 is racing towards the Mediterranean,
33:55joining another US carrier already in the Arabian Sea.
33:58Two floating strike platforms are tightening the ring around Iran.
34:02Over 50 fighter jets deployed in 24 hours.
34:08More than 170 cargo flights, carrying weapons and high-tech systems reached Gulf bases.
34:17Satellite images show Tehran preparing for impact.
34:21Iran has sealed nuclear tunnels.
34:24Underground construction is accelerating.
34:26Clear signs that Tehran expects a strike.
34:31Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has issued a direct warning to Washington, a post showing
34:36a sunken USS Gerald R. Ford claiming Iranian weapons are more dangerous than a warship.
34:44Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has issued a strike.
34:47We are not seeking nuclear weapons, but we will not abandon our peaceful nuclear program.
34:52We are ready for verification.
34:54Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has been able to see this.
34:57Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei has been able to see this.
35:01Israel has also shifted to maximum war readiness.
35:05Highest level alert declared, Arrow, David's Sling, Iron Dome, all anti-missile defense system
35:11activated.
35:14Prime Minister Netanyahu held multiple closed-door security meetings.
35:20Diplomacy collapsing.
35:21Militaries mobilizing.
35:23One decision in Washington could trigger the next big West Asia war.
35:29Bureau Report, India Today.
35:36So is this part of the U.S. gunboat diplomacy?
35:39Quite like Otto on Bismarck, use the military hardware, position it, and then coerce the
35:45adversary into negotiations.
35:47But do keep in mind, Iran this time has made it very clear, they want dialogue, they want
35:54peace, but should there be a strike, they will strike back and hard, and this time, they will
36:00not hold back, they will use their latest weapons, including their supersonic missiles and their
36:05hypersonic missiles.
36:06Is that the reason why the Americans are also withdrawing and repositioning some of their troops
36:11in the region?
36:12Let me quickly cut across and bring in India Today's Pranay Upadhyay for more on the story.
36:18So Pranay, Pentagon's saying operationally, they're ready, all they're waiting for is an
36:23instruction from the White House.
36:26Now, is President Trump this time looking at an opportunity to strike, or is peace still
36:34being given a chance, will there be more negotiations over the next 24 to 48 hours?
36:40While United States is engaging with Iran in diplomatic negotiations, the military positioning
36:45and military posturing is very aggressive, Gaurab, as you can make out that in last one
36:49week, around 50 US military tankers, KC-135 have been moved to the Middle East, and especially
36:55the Gulf region, the Gulf bases of United States.
36:58And also, if United States have decided to move two of its aircraft carrier in the CENTCOM
37:03region, definitely this is being perceived and considered as a very aggressive posture.
37:07So definitely, President Donald Trump seems to be moving ahead with his maximum pressure
37:11policy on Iran.
37:14Having said that, recently they had two rounds of, you know, Oman-mediated deliberations
37:19with Iran.
37:20There are indications, and also there is an aggressive posture from Iran as well.
37:24So this is a very precarious and a very volatile situation that while both countries are engaging
37:29into diplomatic dialogue and conversation with each other, but there is an aggressive posture
37:33from the US side.
37:35And as well as the way IRGC has conducted a live fire drill in the Strait of Hormuz, and
37:40in the last many years, for the first time, Iran actually demonstrated how they can close
37:45the Strait of Hormuz.
37:46And in fact, there are ships of Russia as well as of China in the region for the joint military
37:52exercise with Iran.
37:53So clearly, the entire Gulf of Persia and Gulf of Oman are turning out into a very dense
38:00battlefield.
38:01And if you count the military platforms placed by all these countries, and especially the
38:07aircraft carriers and the kind of exercise, the kind of, you know, the visuals coming out
38:11from the CENTCOM region, clearly the F-18s, F-16s, and F-22s are taking sorties in the region.
38:19Besides that, the tactical instruction…
38:22In fact, this time, this time, you have the Russians and the Chinese who are sending out
38:26a counter message to the Americans that it's not… that the state of play is very fluid
38:33and they're standing with Iran.
38:34So Iran is not isolated with Russian ships and Chinese ships in these waters.
38:39So is that also a reason why the Americans will weigh all their options very closely?
38:45Because even in the Gulf countries, most Gulf partners want dialogue, want negotiations
38:51and not conflict.
38:53And if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, it impacts global economy.
38:57Absolutely, Gaurav.
38:59Around 30% or over, almost 40% of the oil trade passes through.
39:03In fact, countries like India, countries like China have their own energy interest in the
39:07region.
39:07If the Gulf of Hormuz is… if Iran tries and flows that, this is going to choke the global
39:13oil supply.
39:14It has its own ramification.
39:15Besides that, the Gulf countries, the major oil producer countries have their own concern
39:20regarding the oil prices in the region.
39:22So this is going to be a big disruptor.
39:24But definitely, the United States is weighing all the options.
39:28But will there be a direct engagement, you know, if, you know, Russia and China try and intervene
39:34or try and side with Iran?
39:36That is going to be a very, you know, very volatile and a very difficult situation.
39:42So we do not know as yet.
39:44But definitely, the military option is on the table of U.S. President Donald Trump.
39:48And we have seen in the past as well that, you know, you will recall, Gaurav, that during
39:52April and May also, U.S. engaged in dialogue with Iran, but they ended up conducting a military
39:58strike because, you know, this time, recent meeting of Iran, of Israeli Prime Minister
40:04Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, D.C., therein they discussed the Iran situation.
40:08Iran want U.S. to take military strike against the missile capabilities of Iran and the complete
40:15denuclearization of Iran as well as the missile cap to be implemented on Iran's capabilities.
40:22So these are the things which U.S. and Israel are trying to enforce.
40:26And obviously, Iran is…
40:27And that's a strict no-go.
40:28That's a strict no-go area for Iran.
40:30Iran has made it very clear.
40:32There is no question of capping the range of their ballistic missiles.
40:35And this time, what could be critical, Iran has the newer generation missiles, capabilities
40:42to make them, capabilities to use them.
40:45The supersonic missiles, the hypersonic missiles, the Khaybar Shikhan and Khurram Shahr missile,
40:52all of these that neither Israel nor the United States have anything to counter them.
40:59They've overwhelmed the Iron Dome and the David Sling in the past.
41:02They could do so again and especially in the wider West Asia, West Asia region.
41:08Absolutely, Gaurav.
41:09The kind of military equipment which is being deployed, be it in Iran or be it in the West
41:16Asian bases of the United States, definitely this poses a serious military threat or conflict
41:22situation in the region.
41:23Because if you see the strategic CM5, C5M, the heaviest strategic aircraft deployed by
41:31the United States at Al-Udayd base or be it the deployment of around 50 KC-135 strategic
41:36oil tankers in the region.
41:38This clearly shows that the United States is contemplating a situation of either countering
41:42the Iranian counter-strike or counter-military or missile strike.
41:46And in fact, what we are learning from sources that, you know, there is a list of the strategic
41:52missile bases of Iran given to President Donald Trump for potential, you know, target areas.
41:58So we have to see that whether President Donald Trump decides at a time when he is holding
42:02a Board of Peace meeting today, as we are having this conversation, there is a meeting, you
42:07know, which is scheduled in Washington, D.C., Board of Peace, many of these OIC countries
42:12are participating there and many of these countries are having, you know, a good relation with
42:17Iran and obviously they will be concerned about any player up in the West Asia region.
42:21In fact, they have reached out to the Americans and they are making it very clear a strike
42:25would destabilize the entire region and world economy.
42:28Keep tracking that story.
42:29I will come back to you for more.
42:31So is a strike on Iran imminent and what will the consequences be?
42:35We will be tracking that story very closely.
42:37But I want to shift focus to the other big story and that's closer home in India's neighborhood,
42:43Bangladesh.
42:44Bangladesh under Tariq Rahman is signaling a calibrated reset with India.
42:49So the newly appointed Minister for Youth and Sports in Bangladesh, Aminul Haq, he has indicated
42:58a desire to rebuild cricketing ties with the BCCI after relations were strained during the
43:04World Cup, T20 and that fallout of the IPL.
43:09So he's confirmed a meeting with India's Deputy High Commissioner immediately after taking
43:14oath.
43:14They've described the interaction as friendly, focused on resolving all issues through dialogue.
43:21Now, Aminul Islam said necessary steps are being taken and would be taken in line with
43:28ICC rules.
43:29He's emphasized maintaining good relations with neighboring countries.
43:33And this comes following the exit of the interim regime led by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel laureate.
43:38And after the swearing in of the new government in Dhaka, at the same time, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tariq
43:44Rahman in his national address stressed on equal rights for all citizens.
43:49Remember, India for a very long time has been talking about equal rights of all citizens, including
43:55all minorities, including Hindus.
43:58Reconciliation is something that Bangladesh is now talking about within the country.
44:03They've had a contentious election.
44:06They've prioritized.
44:07Now they're saying they will prioritize law and order.
44:10Anti-corruption is their main effort.
44:12So a broader push to stabilize governance in Bangladesh and perhaps recalibrate ties, both domestically
44:19and in the region.
44:20I quickly want to bring in India today's Indrajeet Kundu for more on this.
44:25Indrajeet, under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the relations with India were very strained.
44:33Now with Tariq Rahman Saab at the helm of affairs, do you notice a subtle shift?
44:39Is the relationship, is an effort being made to bring the relationship back on an even keel?
44:45Well, absolutely, Gaurav.
44:46You know, it's not even subtle.
44:48It's pretty explicit if you ask me because I was there in Dhaka just about 72 hours back
44:54and I've spoken to numerous leadership, you know, senior leaders in the BNP even before
45:00the government was formed.
45:01And they were very, very keen in resetting ties with India.
45:06In fact, I also spoke to officials in the Indian High Commission there.
45:09They were very categorical.
45:11They said that they would only want to safeguard Indian interests.
45:15And as far as relations with Bangladesh is concerned, it's a sovereign nation.
45:20India doesn't want to mingle in the affairs of Bangladesh.
45:23It has certain concerns and it would raise those concerns with the new leadership.
45:27This is now an elected government.
45:29The bandit of Muhammad Yunus was very limited.
45:32He was not elected.
45:33He was an interim selected, you know, person for the interim administration.
45:38And his mandate was limited.
45:40And therefore, the Indian government's engagement, if you see Gaurab, was also limited.
45:44But as soon as Tarek Rahman made his way back to Bangladesh, we saw a foreign minister
45:48going to Bangladesh, meeting Tarek Rahman even before the elections.
45:51And now with Om Birla going in, foreign secretary going and foreign secretary.
45:55And, you know, they have also reached out to the BNP.
45:59So these are all, absolutely.
46:00So these are all positive signs.
46:02And also one positive thing is there was a lot of demand from people in Bangladesh that India begin giving
46:07tourist visas to Bangladeshis.
46:09Now that seems to be also easing out given what we've seen with our High Commissions and Assistant High Commission
46:15in Chittagong.
46:16So tell me more about the sports, sporting ties.
46:19Do we see resumption of cricket, for example, that's always seen as, you know, something that builds ties between neighbours?
46:27The conversation with Amirul Haq, the sports minister, his conversation with the Deputy High Commissioner.
46:34So are they resolving all these issues?
46:37There's no reason for, you know, Bangladesh to not begin, you know, sporting ties with India.
46:43Because remember, Asit Nazrul, who was a sports advisor, he almost took a very hawkish stance with a look towards
46:51the internal politics.
46:52Even though those advisors did not contest in this election, so they did not have the mandate.
46:57So it was baffling as to why suddenly the sports advisor then, just a week back, had taken such a
47:03hawkish stance.
47:04The new government, as you said, Amirul Islam, he has been elected.
47:08He is now the sports minister and he's suggesting that there should be resumption of ties with India.
47:13So here they have the mandate of the people and they want to build, you know, rebuild and reset, you
47:19know,
47:19the strenuous relationship that India has seen with Bangladesh over the past one and a half years.
47:23Okay, I also want to quickly, quickly for a moment, you know, one, thank you Indrajit and take this report
47:30that's been raging across the country.
47:34It's led to a huge storm.
47:35It's a sequel, of course, but it's led to a storm.
47:38Once again, Kerala ahead of elections is at the heart of a political flashpoint.
47:43So with the trailer of Kerala Story 2 now out, fault lines have sharpened over faith, facts and freedom of
47:52expression.
47:52Now this controversy has moved beyond the big screen to the heart of political discourse ahead of Kerala elections.
48:01So what is the story of Kerala, you know, Kerala Story 2?
48:06Take a look.
48:18The Kerala Story 2 sequel is at the center of a political firestorm.
48:23The movie's trailer has dropped and the battle lines are sharply drawn.
48:35The film claims India could turn into an Islamic state in 25 years.
48:40It stitches together stories across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala,
48:45alleging coercion, conversion and relationships spiraling into faith-based conflict.
48:50It is being pitched as a Save Our Daughters campaign.
48:55But the political backlash has been swift.
48:58Kerala Chief Minister Pinaravijian has called the sequel a hate-mongering film,
49:03accusing it of pushing communal agenda.
49:06The Congress has alleged the movie spreads falsehoods to insult Kerala and divide society,
49:12even accusing the center of backing hate-driven propaganda.
49:28The B.J.P. has hit back.
49:30Kerala B.J.P. President Rajiv Chandrasekhar has termed the criticism, hypocrisy on free speech,
49:37saying if there is anything illegal, opponents should go to court.
49:42Kerala B.J.P. President Rajiv Chandrasekhar has come to court and address a thousand Muslim youth
49:48and radicalized them, said Article 19, freedom of expression.
49:52When a movie came out which is against the B.J.P.,
49:55where we did not protest, we did not say anything,
49:58he said Article 19, freedom of expression.
50:01So how is it that when somebody else makes a movie against his political thinking,
50:06it suddenly becomes a problem?
50:07Beef naikang.
50:09Films director Kamakhya Narayan Singh said his team is prepared for a political battle.
50:15Kerala Chief Minister Pinarai Vijayan,
50:17who has described the film once again as a propaganda,
50:20an attempt to malign the state.
50:22How do you respond to this?
50:24With very great respect,
50:27I want to tell the Chief Minister of Kerala,
50:30that A, we are not maligning any state.
50:35Kerala is our God's own country,
50:37beautiful country.
50:38I love it.
50:39We all have been multiple times to Kerala.
50:42We all know how pretty it is.
50:44But just because it is as pretty as it is,
50:47it doesn't mean that it does not have criminals.
50:50It's Kerala Story 2 goes beyond.
50:53It's a spiritual sequel of Kerala Story 1.
50:56In Kerala, see, communication is a tool to sensitize people.
51:00And filmmaking is one of them.
51:02In first, what we said as a narrative that there are this kind of things happening in Kerala,
51:09people accepted it, people went to the theaters, watched,
51:11and there was a talk among the society.
51:16People started saying that this is a thing which is happening only in Kerala.
51:19So we wanted to tell everyone in this country that it's not only in Kerala,
51:24it is everywhere.
51:30The shadow for the first film looms large.
51:33The Kerala Story, directed by Sudip Dosean,
51:36was a massive controversy in 2023.
51:40This is a global agenda.
51:41Our ex-chief minister said that the Kerala will become an Islamic state in the next 20 years.
51:47We are not united.
51:48We are taking advantage of this thing.
51:50Now with part 2, the debate returns over free speech, faith, facts, and fear.
51:55Bureau Report, India Today.
51:58Our name is Kerala.
52:01We are not united.
52:02We are not united.
52:03We are not united.
52:03Divisive for some.
52:05Save our daughters campaign.
52:08Save the filmmakers.
52:09You decide.
52:10We get you all sides of the story.
52:12That is all I have for you on India First this evening.
52:15Many thanks for watching.
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