NEW DELHI: Sonia Gandhi, former leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, will contest the 2019 general election from the Rae Bareli seat, a family stronghold in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh that has voted for her since 2004.
The Italian-born 72-year-old, who forged a Congress-led coalition government for two successive terms in 2004 and 2009 to run the world’s largest democracy, has played a slightly reduced public role since being treated abroad for illness in 2011. In 2017 she handed over the reins of the Congress Party to her 48-year-old son Rahul Gandhi, who will contest the Amethi constituency in the state, according to the first list of candidates released by the Congress party on Thursday.
The official entry of Sonia’s daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, into electoral politics in January set the stage for the brother-sister duo to control Congress, which has ruled India for much of the time since independence from Britain in 1947.
The siblings’ great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was India’s first prime minister following independence from Britain in 1947. Their grandmother, Indira Gandhi, succeeded him after a brief interval. After she was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984, her son, Rajiv Gandhi, took over as premier.
Rajiv was killed by an ethic Tamil suicide bomber while campaigning for the general election in 1991.
Sonia initially resisted calls to enter politics before taking the plunge and lifting Congress’ flagging fortunes under her family’s brand name.
Congress is trying to build an opposition alliance against Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Congress’ power base shrivelled in the 2014 election in the face of the popularity of now-Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However the party, which won elections in some states last year, is looking to capitalize on rising discontent over weak farm income and lackluster job growth.
Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi to fight Indian polls from family bastion
Congress matriarch Sonia Gandhi to fight Indian polls from family bastion
- Sonia initially resisted calls to enter politics before taking the plunge and lifting Congress’ flagging fortunes under her family’s brand name
India’s new budget bets on AI, data centers to sustain growth
- Budget features new Bharat‑VISTAAR AI‑powered platform for agriculture sector
- It also includes tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies using Indian data centers
NEW DELHI: India’s latest budget has emerged as one of its most technology-focused, with new measures to utilize artificial intelligence, semiconductor manufacturing, and expand digital infrastructure aimed at offsetting the impact of global tariff wars.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the 2026-27 budget in parliament on Sunday, saying it would “accelerate and sustain economic growth by enhancing productivity and competitiveness” at a time when India was facing “an external environment in which trade and multilateralism are imperiled and access to resources and supply chains are disrupted.”
New Delhi has yet to secure a trade deal with its largest trading partner, the US, which last year hit it with punitive tariffs of up to 50 percent over India’s purchases of Russian oil. To mitigate their impact, India has been looking for alternative agreements, including last week’s agreement with the EU, cutting duty on 99.5 percent of Indian exports to the bloc.
The new budget prioritizes infrastructure and domestic manufacturing, with a total expenditure estimated at $583 billion.
It offers tariff concessions for products from the marine, leather, and textile industries — all of which have been affected by US tariffs — and provides duty exemptions on materials and goods used to process rare-earth minerals, make lithium ion batteries, solar glass, and components for electric vehicles.
The finance minister also announced doubled spending for semiconductor manufacturing to $4.8 billion and a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies providing cloud services using Indian data centers.
The budget also features Bharat‑VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources), a multilingual AI‑powered platform for the agriculture sector to give farmers customized, real‑time advisory on crop management, weather, soil conditions and government schemes in different Indian languages.
“There is a lot of focus on AI and technology. It is to achieve the ambitious target India has already declared — Viksit Bharat 2047. It is very clear that without technology, it would be difficult to achieve that target,” Prof. Pardeep S. Chauhan, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Arab News, referring to the government’s plan to transform the nation into a fully developed country by 2047 — the 100th anniversary of its independence.
“That was the need of the hour, and the government has taken care of it, focusing on semiconductors, AI, and rare-earth minerals.”
The technology focus also comes against the backdrop of China’s dominance in the global critical minerals supply chains, and last year’s restrictions imposed by Beijing in the wake of escalating trade tensions with the US.
“India lags far behind the US and China, particularly China,” Chauhan said. “India has taken this move to maybe after five, 10, 15 years ... compete up to some extent. Without technology, nobody can think of establishing (their) leadership — whether it’s in the economy, defense or financial infrastructure architecture. Everywhere you need technology.”
