This is what happens when a minister wears many hats. At the recently held businessline MSME Conclave in Bengaluru, Priyank Kharge, Minister for RDPR, IT & BT of Karnataka, in his address wittily said, “As IT & Rural Development Minister, I’m torn between training models and saving water. Every three ChatGPT prompts cost 500 ml. Do I push for AI or preserve water?.”

However, he was quick to add “In Karnataka, we’ll find a way to do both.”

Isn’t AI part of IT?

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is known for driving the growth of IT and ITeS in Hyderabad in the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh.

Now, apart from making frequent references to his role in making Hyderabad an IT hub, Naidu says that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new driving force for AP’s next round of growth, today.

But isn’t AI a part of IT or is Naidu seeing them as two separate entities, wonder IT experts.

Tie-up hanging by a thread

The BJP and the AIADMK have come together again for the 2026 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. But the issue that it will be an NDA coalition government under the AIADMK, as claimed by the BJP, is creating ripples in the AIADMK camp.

On Friday, Home Minister Amit Shah told a Tamil TV channel that if the NDA comes to power, it would form a coalition government. But AIADMK leaders continue to insist that it would be a government led by their party. With around 10 months left for the elections, the newly formed re-alliance seems to be hanging by a thread.

Pulses conundrum

The pulses trade is a bit upset that the Centre has extended duty-free imports of yellow peas until March 31, 2026.

Yellow peas have been held responsible for the current bearish trend in the global pulses market. The stiff competition between Russia and Canada is also keeping prices on leash. A little bird says the Centre favours prices to be lower for pulses as they are cheaper sources for protein. This will ensure that they won’t look for cheaper non-vegetarian alternatives.

Telangana’s shopping list

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has said that his government will request the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to grant permission for the Metro rail – phase 2, Musi Rejuvenation and RRR projects during his visit to Hyderabad.

Reddy and his team have been making frequent trips to the National Capital seeking the Centre’s support, but have not been too successful. At a recent event, Reddy once again questioned the Union Government for not approving the projects proposed by the Telangana government. The Centre granted permissions to Sabarmati, Yamuna and Ganga cleaning projects but has not given approval and funds to the Musi project in Hyderabad.

Making a case Reddy noted that Telangana has already slipped to 9th place in Metro rail development. Will Shah relent?

Published on June 30, 2025