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Here is the top, trending news of Wednesday, February 25, 2026, including Indian politics, states' politics, geopolitics, federal issues, economics, development issues, sports, entertainment, and so on.
Read updates below.
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- 25 Feb 2026 3:09 PM IST
TCS not afraid of AI, fine with revenue 'cannibalisation' as well: CEO Krithivasan
Country's largest IT services company TCS is "not afraid" of artificial intelligence and is also fine with revenue "cannibalisation" through the deployment of AI tools by its associates, Managing Director and Chief Executive K Krithivasan said on Wednesday (February 25).
TCS is finding that senior-level employees are slower in building AI-based solutions compared to the "proficient" younger staff, Krithivasan said at the annual NTLF event. "We encourage our associates to go out (to the customers and use AI), even if it means cannibalising our revenues," he added.
TCS is "insisting" that each of its over 6 lakh staffers are AI fluent, Krithivasan said, insisting that the company is not "afraid" of the new technology taking away livelihood.
As part of the same efforts, the company has asked associates to explore how it can use AI in projects, even if it means forgoing some part of revenues, he said. Krithivasan said everybody wants to learn the new AI skills, and there is no case of creating incentives for them to learn.
- 25 Feb 2026 2:21 PM IST
Left veteran Nallakannu dies at 101
CPI leader R Nallakannu died in Chennai on Wednesday. He was 101.
The communist veteran and freedom fighter was one of Tamil Nadu’s most respected political and social figures. Affectionately known as RNK or Ayya Nallakannu, he passed away after an over eight-decade career in public life, placing the struggles of the working class, agricultural labourers, Dalits, minorities, the environment, and the oppressed above everything else.
Detailed obituary coming soon.
- 25 Feb 2026 2:08 PM IST
Tourist from Bhopal killed as SUV driven by youth hits car in Goa
A tourist from Bhopal was killed after a sports utility vehicle (SUV), allegedly driven by a 19-year-old visitor who was later arrested, hit his car in North Goa.
The accident took place at Assagao village on Monday.
Bhagatram Sharma, 65, suffered serious injuries when a Mahindra Thar driven by Shaurya Goyal, a Delhi resident, hit one side of the hatchback carrying him and his family, police said.
Sharma was rushed to a nearby hospital, but doctors declared him dead.
Police said two other occupants of the hatchback, including an infant, sustained minor injuries in the accident.
Goyal was arrested by Anjuna police for rash and negligent driving.
Asked about reports that a woman was driving the Thar and that Goyal switched seats after the accident, police said they are investigating all angles.
- 25 Feb 2026 2:07 PM IST
300 IIM-Nagpur students boycott exam over debarment of 40 peers
Nearly 300 first-year MBA students at IIM Nagpur have reportedly boycotted their mid-term exam, protesting against the debarment of 40 classmates who had attended a farewell party in violation of the institute’s rules.
As many as 75 students from the first and second-year batches reportedly went to a farewell party organised for seniors on the night of February 21 without permission and returned to their hostel on the B-school campus the next morning.
These students should have returned by 10 pm, but they came late. They also did not inform their parents about being late. Since they violated the rules, the institution took action against 40 first-year students who went out and debarred them from their mid-term examination, which was scheduled on Tuesday.
However, around 300 first-year students, including the 40 debarred, staged a “silent protest” in the institute against the action and did not appear for the exam.
Some second-year students who had gone to the farewell party also participated in the protest, fearing they would also not be allowed to appear for their exam on Wednesday.
The institute’s director was out of town when this issue occurred.
The issue has now been resolved, and the second-year MBA students appeared for their end-term exam on Wednesday. The examination for the 300 first-year students who had boycotted it will be held on a later date.
- 25 Feb 2026 1:33 PM IST
Jawaharlal Nehru statue vandalised in Cachar district ahead of Assembly polls
A statue of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was vandalised in Assam’s Cachar district, police said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday at Pailapool market under Lakhipur police station limits. CCTV footage showed unidentified miscreants uprooting the statue using an excavator.
"We have not found any eyewitness to the incident. However, it was on a CCTV footage that some unknown miscreants were seen demolishing the statue with the help of an excavator," Lakhipur police station officer-in-charge Sankar Dayal told PTI.
Police have detained one person and seized the excavator, though the driver remains absconding. An FIR has been registered, officials told Press Trust of India.
Meanwhile, Indian National Congress’s Silchar president Sajal Acherjee alleged the act was planned to create tension ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled for March–April.
- 25 Feb 2026 1:30 PM IST
Rs 5 crore Yaba tablets seized in Assam, four held
Assam Police have seized banned ‘Yaba’ tablets valued at around Rs 5 crore and arrested four people in Hailakandi district, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
‘Yaba’, often referred to as “crazy medicine”, is a highly addictive substance made from a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine.
Detailing the crackdown, Sarma said the district police carried out back-to-back operations. "The @HailakandiPolice strikes twice in two nights. 1.21 lakh Yaba tablets worth Rs 5 cr seized. 3,500 cough syrup bottles seized," he wrote in a post on X.
In addition to the tablets, officers recovered 3,500 bottles of cough syrup during the raids. Four alleged drug peddlers were taken into custody in connection with the seizures, he added.
- 25 Feb 2026 1:29 PM IST
Ex-Sri Lanka intel chief arrested over 2019 Easter blasts
Sri Lanka’s former state intelligence chief Suresh Sally was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, police sources said.
Officers from the Crime Investigation Department detained Sally in the Colombo suburb of Peliyagoda as he was heading to work at a non-governmental organisation, the sources said. The arrest relates to the coordinated attacks that killed 270 people, including 11 Indians, at churches and five-star hotels in Colombo.
A retired Major General, Sally had led the state intelligence service under the Rajapaksa administration before 2015 and was serving in a diplomatic post abroad when the bombings occurred.
The attacks were carried out by a local militant group. Questions later arose over whether authorities had failed to act on prior intelligence, including warnings shared by India. The government at the time, led by president Maithripala Sirisena, faced criticism for not preventing the strikes.
The current National People’s Power government reopened investigations in late 2024, citing earlier political interference. An official police statement is awaited.
- 25 Feb 2026 1:24 PM IST
MSRTC salary arrears credited to 86,000 employees: Maharashtra Transport Minister
The pending salary hike dues have been credited to the bank accounts of nearly 86,000 employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik said on Wednesday.
When the corporation faced difficulty in clearing the arrears due to paucity of funds, the government immediately made a provision of Rs 100 crore, a statement issued by Sarnaik's spokesperson said quoting him.
"This is not just financial assistance but a reflection of the government's sensitivity and commitment towards employees," Sarnaik said.
The dues for February were deposited in the bank accounts of employees on Tuesday, the statement said.
In October 2025, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, with the consent of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and then Deputy CM Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, announced a monthly grant of around Rs 65 crore during a meeting with trade unions. The process of clearing arrears began in December.
However, due to technical issues and lack of funds, the February instalment could not be disbursed on time, leading to discontent among employees, the statement said.
Sarnaik said he had held discussions with Fadnavis and his deputies and demanded Rs 210 crore.
"Out of this, Rs 100 crore has been immediately released, and the remaining amount will also be made available soon," he said.
- 25 Feb 2026 1:22 PM IST
Many 'MeToo' accused continue to thrive: Konkona Sensharma on 'MeToo', new film
Actor Konkona Sensharma’s new film “Accused” casts her as a London-based doctor whose life unravels after colleagues level allegations of workplace sexual harassment. Directed by Anubhuti Kashyap, the drama follows a same-sex married couple thrown into crisis as scrutiny intensifies and public opinion begins to harden.
Speaking about the wider #MeToo movement, Sensharma said that while some structural changes have followed, accountability remains uneven. "It's just a very unfortunate situation. This is the reality we all know, we know the people who have been accused, we can see so many of them thriving. A lot of that is actually dependent on us, on all of us as a society, who we choose to work with, whose work we want to watch, how many opportunities do we give these people,” she said.
Kashyap noted that Internal Complaints Committees and workplace mechanisms are among the movement’s tangible outcomes. “Some good has happened because some of these structures have been put in place... But I hope the good of it stays and grows,” she said. The film premieres on Netflix on February 27.
- 25 Feb 2026 1:16 PM IST
Class 10 admit cards accompanied by pass certificates can be used as ID: SC in West Bengal SIR
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (February 25) clarified that Class 10 admit card accompanied by pass certificate can be produced as supplementary documentation for identity verification in the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi passed the order after senior advocate DS Naidu mentioned the matter. The lawyer expressed concerns about whether such admit cards can be permitted to be a standalone identity document. The top court said it has already directed that the admit card will only be a supplementary document."All documents mentioned in para 3(iii) of order dated February 24, 2026 which are not uploaded so far and received before February 15, shall be submitted by the Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers to the presiding judicial officers by tomorrow 5 pm. "Similarly, para 3(iii)(c) is clarified to the effect that Madhyamik (Class 10) admit cards may be submitted along with pass certificate for the purpose of birth certificate and purposes of parentage," the bench said.The apex court on Tuesday allowed the deployment of West Bengal civil judges, in addition to 250 district judges, and the requisitioning of judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha to handle 80 lakh claims and objections of those facing deletion from the electoral roll in the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.It took note of a February 22 letter of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul that even if 250 district judges deployed in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise will take around 80 days to deal with the claims and objections of those put under logical discrepancy and unmapped categories. The logical discrepancies in progeny linking with the 2002 voter list include instances of a mismatch in the parent's name and the age difference between a voter and his/her parent being less than 15 years or more than 50 years. While issuing a slew of fresh directions, CJI Kant took note of the fact that even if each judicial officer deals with 250 claims and objections per day, the exercise will take around 80 days to conclude.The deadline for West Bengal SIR is February 28.
