Thane: “Won the Lok Sabha, won the Assembly. Now, the goal is to achieve victory in all 29 municipal corporations and deliver development to the people. That is why the decision has been made to form a ‘Mahayuti’ (grand alliance) in all these municipal corporations, and the saffron flag of Mahayuti will fly here,” expressed Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde while speaking at a workers’ meeting in Thane on Tuesday. He also clarified that people should not believe the rumors being spread about seat allocation within the Mahayuti and that their honor will be maintained within the alliance.

A meeting of key officials was organized in Thane on Tuesday against the backdrop of the Thane Municipal Corporation elections. In this meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde guided the workers. He said that the municipal election program has been announced, the betel nut has been broken, the wedding rush has started. He said that the Shiv Sena is a ringing coin in the Thane elections which are being held after three years.

Thane is a stronghold of Shiv Sena. Nobody can, and nobody will be able to, take down the saffron flag of Balasaheb Thackeray and Dharamveer Anand Dighe Saheb here, he also said.

We made a miracle by contesting 80 seats in the assembly elections and winning 60 seats. We have the bow and arrow symbol. The opposition’s cart has been overturned in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, now we will make them bite the dust in the municipal elections as well, he indirectly taunted Uddhav Thackeray. He expressed confidence that the saffron flag of the Mahayuti (grand alliance) will flutter triumphantly in the upcoming elections in January.

Workers/activists are my tonic. They are my energy and inspiration, said Shinde, sharing his experience of the Nagpur tour. He said in emotional words that when thousands of Shiv Sainiks meet, his health also improves. Leaders come and go, positions come and go; but the worker is the true foundation of the party, he said.

While reviewing the work done for the development of Thane and Maharashtra during his tenure as Chief Minister and even after that, Shinde mentioned Samruddhi Mahamarg, Coastal Road, Atal Setu, metro projects, city parks, and major infrastructure projects. He expressed confidence that the traffic congestion in Thane will soon become a thing of the past.

Shinde appealed to people to show organizational strength by implementing the program in a single phase for the municipal elections. Let’s resolve to maintain the glory of Hindutva and the victory of Mahayuti. The saffron flag of Mahayuti must be hoisted again on the Thane Municipal Corporation. Projects have been done, schemes have been implemented, and their success has been proven before the people. He also said that with the blessings of Dharmveer Anand Dighe, victory in Thane is certain again.

Latur: Police have registered a case against the owner of a cafe premises in Maharashtra’s Latur district where a minor girl was allegedly raped earlier this month, officials said.

The incident occurred at the cafe on December 4.

The minor girl, who belongs to the Dalit community, was allegedly kidnapped and raped by an 18-year-old man at the establishment, they said.

Police traced the girl within hours of registering the complaint. The main accused and two persons who operated the cafe were subsequently arrested and booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), an official said on Tuesday.

The police on Tuesday also booked the owner of the premises, where the cafe was being operated, under section 21 (punishment for failure to report or record a case) of the POCSO Act.

The cafe owner had illegally created a secluded compartment near the kitchen area by charging extra money, offering private seating arrangements. Despite being aware of this unauthorised setup and its misuse, the premises owner allegedly ignored it and allowed the cafe owner to continue with the arrangement, the official said.

He also failed to report the matter to the police or other authorities concerned and is accused of deliberately suppressing information, the official added.

New Delhi, Dec 17: The government is reviewing the adequacy of the Copyright Act, 1957, to address emerging legal challenges arising from the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), Parliament was has been informed.

An eight-member committee has been constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on April 28 to study and analyse issues related to generative AI and its implications on copyright law, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday.

“Yes. An eight-member committee has been constituted by DPIIT on April 28, 2025, to study and analyse the emerging issues related to generative AI and its implications on Copyright law,” Prasada said.

He added that the committee has already finalised Part 1 of its working paper, which deals with the use of copyrighted content in AI training, and the same has been published for stakeholders’ feedback.

“The committee has finalised part 1 of the Working Paper on the issue of the use of copyrighted content in AI training. It has been published for stakeholders’ feedback,” the minister said.

Prasada further informed that issues relating to authorship and copyrightability of AI-generated works are currently under review and will be covered in Part 2 of the working paper.

Highlighting the mandate of the expert panel, the minister said its terms of reference (ToR) include identifying and analysing legal and policy issues arising from the use of Artificial Intelligence in the context of copyright, examining the adequacy of existing provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957, and making recommendations based on the analysis.

“To identify and analyse the legal and policy issues arising from the use of Artificial Intelligence in the context of copyright” and “to examine the adequacy of existing provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957 in addressing these issues” are among the key tasks assigned to the committee, Prasada said.

He also confirmed that the government is engaging with major stakeholders as part of the review process.

“Yes,” the minister said, in response to a query on whether the law department has engaged or plans to engage with major stakeholders, including news organisations, publishers and representatives from the technology sector, to ensure that legal reforms strike a balance between innovation and effective copyright protection.