National
Former cricketer Kirti Azad backs under-pressure Virat Kohli
Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad on Friday backed under-pressure skipper Virat Kohli for his lean patch, saying there have always been ups and downs in any cricketer’s career and added, “In India, we basically have the winning spirit and not sportsman spirit in public”.
Kohli’s last international hundred came in November 2019 and though he has scored a couple of 40s in the series so far, the expectations are always sky high from the skipper.
“When the batsman is batting well, we will shower praise like anything but when he struggles a bit, we quickly curse him. Any player can have good or bad days. In India, we basically have the winning spirit and not sportsman spirit in public. We have to learn it (change our mindset). If Anderson is bowling really well and taking wickets then Kohli is not the only one to be held responsible. Anderson also (should) be praised. This is called sportsman spirit,” Kirti, part of India’s World Cup winning squad in 1983, told IANS.
Asked if winning the toss and batting first was the right decision in Leeds, the cricketer-turned-politician said any team in the world would have batted first there.
“Toss, doesn’t matter… these are all things to say. Any batsman would have batted first here…any team,” he emphasised.
Hailing England bowlers, Kirti advised Indians also to understand the situations and plan accordingly.
“I will talk simple and technical. You will see how the England bowlers kept the ball outside the off-stump and on driving length. It had everything – swing, the use of seam, perfect line and length, how to use the crease and also, how to set up batsmen before removing them. England bowlers were accurate in the first innings.
“Now if we talk about our bowlers, when they bowled, the England batsman did not give the ball a chance to swing. I have also seen one thing in all the Tests, our bowlers will bowl three good balls but then deliver the next on the leg stump… and what happens is the batman manages to get a run, takes the pressure off. The discipline which I saw among England bowlers was not there in the Indians,” he added.
At the end of the second day of the third Test on Thursday, Indian bowlers managed to fight back against the hosts but the dismal batting performance on the first day rendered the comeback by the bowlers meaningless.
Fifties from England’s top three and the 23rd Test century from skipper Joe Root (121) at No. 4 took England to 423/8 at stumps, 345 runs ahead of the visitors.
National
Market volatility over Greenland issue to continue due to ‘few sticking points’: Report

New Delhi, Jan 24 : Investors are likely to remain on edge over the proposed US framework on Greenland, and near-term volatility related to this issue can continue, a report has said.
The report from Bank of Baroda said that market participants are awaiting more details that could determine whether negotiations succeed or unravel.
“Going ahead, investors are likely to await more details of the deal, as there are a few sticking points which can derail the negotiations. Hence, some volatility can be expected,” the report said.
Several analysts expect the arrangement to resemble an update of the existing security agreement between the US and Denmark, which was signed in 1951, the report noted.
Further negotiations will follow in due course which will cover areas such as US military presence in Greenland, as well as use of its mineral resources and sovereignty, said Aditi Gupta, Economist, Bank of Baroda.
US President Donald Trump has framed Washington’s interest in Greenland as driven by national security concerns, but the island’s largely unexplored mineral wealth including oil, gas and rare earth elements is of interest to US, the report said.
“The announcement of a framework deal between the US and NATO has helped to soothe investors’ nerves, however the details of the deal are still fuzzy,” it added.
Geo-political tensions escalated and markets went into turmoil after the US President intensified rhetoric to annex Greenland and threatened economic measures against European countries that oppose US plans. In response, several European nations, including France, Germany, Sweden amongst others increased military deployment in Greenland, further escalating tensions.
Trump had announced a 10 per cent additional tariff on goods from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands and Finland from February 1, 2026. The rate was expected to increase to 25 per cent by June 1, 2026.
Later, he backed off from his threat of imposing tariffs on European countries along the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.
Crime
Two Held With ₹68 Lakh Cash Near India-Myanmar Border In Mizoram; Heroin Worth ₹78 Lakh Seized

Aizawl: Two persons were arrested with Rs 68 lakh in cash near the India-Myanmar border in east Mizoram’s Champhai district, officials said on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, the Assam Rifles intercepted a vehicle at Zote village on August 11, they said.
Upon thorough checking, Rs 60 lakh in cash was recovered from two persons in the vehicle.
The duo, identified as Joseph Lalthansanga and Vanlalruati, could not state any proper reason why they were carrying such a huge amount of cash. They were subsequently handed over to the police for legal action, officials said.
In another operation, the Assam Rifles recovered 94.6 gram of heroin, worth Rs 78 lakh, from the village on Wednesday.
The drugs were handed over to the Excise and Narcotics Department, officials said.
National
India’s AI Tech Spending Projected To Reach Rs. 92 Thousand Crore By 2028: Report

India’s AI technology spending is projected to grow at an annualised rate of 38 per cent from 2023 to reach $10.4 billion (approximately Rs. 92 thousand crore) in 2028, a report said on Thursday.
Around 40 per cent of organisations in India have already implemented agentic AI, and close to 50 per cent are planning to use the technology within the next 12 months, IDC InfoBrief and UiPath said in a joint report.
In 2025, AI investments are focused on building the foundational infrastructure required to power transformative, high-value use cases.
According to the report, the adoption is surging, fueled by a tech-savvy workforce, expanding digital infrastructure, and government-backed initiatives.
Organisations’ spending on enterprise automation, multilingual AI models, and agentic deployments is driving this momentum further.
The benefits are already visible, as 80 per cent of Indian companies say agentic AI boosts productivity, while 73 per cent say it improves decision-making, the report said.
According to the report, agentic AI is gaining strong traction across the manufacturing, retail and wholesale, healthcare, and life sciences industries, which heavily rely on data and repetitive decision-making cycles.
“Agentic automation is rapidly redefining business operations across India. While enterprises in this region are embracing the full potential of AI agents to streamline workflows and autonomously execute complex business processes, trust and security remain barriers to widespread implementation,” said DebDeep Sengupta, Area Vice President, South Asia, UiPath.
Our agentic automation platform directly addresses these challenges, breaking down barriers to enterprise AI adoption by enhancing security and compliance, improving accuracy and reliability for agentic outcomes, Sengupta added.
About 69 per cent of Indian organisations are using agentic AI to enhance productivity, 59 per cent to drive personalised customer engagement, while 57 per cent apply it to risk and fraud detection, highlighting how agentic AI is being applied across front and back-office functions, the report highlighted.
“Becoming an AI-fueled business is no longer an option in today’s unpredictable climate. For many organisations, it’s fast becoming a strategic necessity,” said Deepika Giri, Associate Vice President, IDC Asia/Pacific.
Across the region, organisations are embracing agentic AI and agentic automation at scale, Giri added.
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