Ex-Assam Congress Chief Bhupen Borah To Join BJP On Feb 22: Himanta Sarma

Senior Assam leader Bhupen Borah, who quit the Congress ahead of the coming state elections, will stand by his decision and will join the BJP on February 22, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said. "Bhupen Borah has decided to not withdraw his resignation and after our discussion, he has decided to join the BJP," Sarma told reporters today. 

Borah was asked to take time and rethink his decision to quit the party he has served for decades. But despite considerable firefighting by Rahul Gandhi and the party's state unit chief Gaurav Gogoi, he  --- after an hour-long meeting with  Sarma -- has decided to stand by his decision, the Chief Minister said.

Borah, who was appointed to the Congress Committee top post in 2021, quit the party after he was allegedly sidelined and over-ruled. 

In May last year, Gaurav Gogoi replaced him in the Congress state unit's top post. Although he was given the responsibility of the coalition committee, Gogoi was making all the important decisions.

Sources close to Bora said he was hurt by the party's disregard for his hard work. "The main reason is humiliation," Borah had told NDTV in an exclusive interview. 

"I have got through the same pain that Bhupen Borah went through," said Sarma who had also moved to the BJP after spending years in the Congress.  

The Congress, Sarma said, has "serious problems they don't want to address". They just want to "appease a particular person". 

"The Congress leadership is immature. They should have addressed the issues Bhupen Borah raised. Only Rahul Gandhi calling the disgruntled leader does not work. They should have made a genuine effort to retain Bhupen Borah," he added.

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At India AI Summit, A Robot That Walks Like Dog And Thinks Like Engineer

A quadruped machine that can navigate rubble, climb stairs, and diagnose mechanical failures without human intervention is the centre of attention at the India AI Summit.

This robot, developed for industrial "Physical AI" by Tata Consultancy Services, is designed to operate in industrial environments such as construction sites, warehouses, manufacturing plants and distribution centres. 

By mimicking the movement of an animal and combining it with high-performance onboard processing, the unit can patrol construction sites, factories, and warehouses to perform inspections in complex, noisy, and risky environments. Today, inspections in such places are mostly manual, which increases the risk while checking equipment, recording readings and pointing out errors. 

In heavy industries, even a small, unnoticed issue like a pressure drop or voltage fluctuation can turn into major downtime or a serious safety incident.

That's where this quadruped changes the game.

In the live demonstration, the quadruped robot operates inside a simulated factory setup. It walks independently across uneven surfaces, climbs elevated stairs and accesses restricted or difficult zones.

The robot's autonomy is driven by an integrated suite of LiDAR, depth cameras, and environmental sensors, all managed by an onboard GPU that allows it to interpret data in real time. 

The robot captures readings from critical equipment such as compressors, electrical panels and power distribution units. Rather than simply recording video for a remote operator, the robot uses "closed-loop logic" to investigate anomalies. For instance, if it detects a pressure drop in a compressor, it does not just log the error; it automatically reroutes itself to check the connected power distribution units, attempting to validate the root cause before alerting a human technician. 

When the system finds a problem, it immediately sends a maintenance alert. Technicians are informed at once so they can take action quickly. Humans are still involved in the process. The goal is not to replace workers but to keep them away from dangerous areas and help them work faster and smarter. This ability to cross-reference symptoms makes the machine an active diagnostic tool rather than a passive observer.

Beyond simple equipment monitoring, the robot is capable of detecting gas leaks, thermal fluctuations, and welding defects that the human eye might miss. On construction sites, it functions as an autonomous auditor, scanning structural joints and comparing the physical progress of a building against its digital architectural blueprints. It also serves a safety function by monitoring work zones for compliance, identifying whether personnel are wearing required protective gear and triggering alerts if violations occur.

By taking over the tasks of manual patrolling, the robot keeps workers away from high-voltage panels and chemical-leak zones while providing them with more accurate data. The system is built to bridge the gap between digital AI and the physical world.

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Mani Shankar Aiyar's Prediction On Pinarayi Vijayan Return Sparks Row

Mani Shankar Aiyar's opinion that Pinarayi Vijayan will be back again as the Chief Minister of Kerala has sparked a furore in the Congress. In a post on X, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera said, "Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar has had no connection whatsoever with the Congress for the past few years. He speaks and writes purely in his personal capacity".

The CPM - to which Pinarayi Vijayan belongs -- and the Congress are at loggerheads in Kerala and the two parties were voted in alternately every assembly election till the last, when the Left-led Front came to power for a second term. 

Aiyar has now predicted a third term for Vijayan.  Applauding Kerala as the country's leader in Panchayati Raj at an event that was also attended by Vijayan, he said, "So, in the presence of the Chief Minister, who I am confident will continue in office, I renew my plea: to reinforce Kerala as the best Panchayati Raj state in the country, state law should be amended based on practical experience." 

Then, declaring that there is no champion for Panchayati Raj left in the country, he said, "Therefore, I must fall at your feet, Chief Minister Vijayan, and request you to pick up the baton that the Congress has dropped. Thank you, and may Kerala prosper".

His words have deeply embarrassed the Congress, which hopes to return to power in the assembly election due this year. Reports said that state Congress chief Ramesh Chennithala had earlier warned party leaders about attending the conference where the events took place, saying it was orchestrated to boost the Left. 

Aiyar had earlier embarrassed the Congress multiple times by deviating from the party line. The key occasions include his derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his comment that China had "allegedly invaded" India in 1962 in May 2024. He had apologised after intense criticism. 

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"My Father Ravi Shankar Was Never Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma's Guru": Anoushka

Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma, a sitarist and music producer from the Rikhi Ram lineage of instrument makers, has a separate fan base among music lovers. From being the first sitarist to perform solo at the White House to advocating music as a therapeutic tool for emotional well-being, the musician carries forward a culturally rich classical tradition. He has, however, often called himself the last and youngest disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar – a claim recently opposed by the legendary musician's daughter, Anoushka Shankar.

Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma has often revealed in past interviews how a conversation with Pandit Ravi Shankar marked a turning point in his musical journey. Nullifying his claims, however, Anoushka Shankar mentioned that he was never formally a disciple of her father. “Rishab is really talented, and he is clearly speaking to people in a really wonderful way. I think there is some misunderstanding about his guruship,” Anoushka told Humans Of Bombay.

Although Anoushka praised Rishabh's talents, she clarified, “He learnt very intensively with someone very dear to me, one of my father's senior disciples, Parimal Sadaphal, and he had a couple of lessons with my father, very informally, with Parimal uncle also in the room.”

“We knew him from childhood because he was the son of our instrument maker, Sanjay Rikiram Sharma. So somehow that has gone, blown up into some story of him being his last disciple or the youngest disciple, which isn't true. But he is super talented and deserves all success with or without that story,” she continued.

When Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma Called Himself "The Last Disciple Of Pandit Ravi Shankar"

In a video uploaded on his official Instagram handle, Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma can be seen playing the sitar. While the tunes are magical, it was his caption that instantly grabbed the attention of many. 

The side note read, “Music can heal, believes 24-year-old sitar player Rishab Rikhiram Sharma, who belongs to a family of luthiers and is the last disciple of late sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.”

Take a look:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rishab Rikhiram Sharma (@rishabsmusic)

When Rishab Rikhiram Sharma Spoke Of His Lineage With Ravi Shankar

In a previous conversation, Rishabh revealed his deep-rooted connection with Pandit Ravi Shankar. Calling the legendary musician his guru, he told Bani Anand that Ravi Shankar had once called his father, Sanjay Rikiram, and asked him to bring Rishabh to him. “Once we were there, Guruji was like, ‘OK, take out your sitar and play for me a little bit.' I played, and then he picked up his guitar and played the same composition,” he shared.

Talking about the turning point in his life, Rishabh shared, “After that, he turned to my parents and said, ‘With your permission, your kid has a lot of talent, I would love to be his guru and teach him,' and I saw my parents' jaw drop to the floor because God himself had come down and said, ‘Can I teach your child?' So my dad didn't have the courage to ask him. For him to offer to be my guru was amazing.”

On the work front, Anoushka Shankar is currently on her Chapters Tour 2026 in India, marking 30 remarkable years of celebrating music.

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