OPINION, P10 WELL BEING Aye forAI,but some fear too FE LINES ACING YOUR PILATES GAME AI soothing nerves With many studios mushrooming across cities in India, how an all-age workout regime is becoming more relevant than ever, reshaping the way people train Page 9 ACROSS THE AISLE , P CHIDAMBARAM VOL. XXII, NO. 26 Artificial Intelligence assisted studying is the students’ new go-to prep strategy Page 6 SPOTLIGHT Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM AI'S CLASS ACT FINANCIAL EXPRESS ON SUNDAY KOLKATA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2026 16 Pages, `12 (NE States `13 & Andaman `20) P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , ● Private jet use rising as wedding budgets touch sky VAISHALI DAR New Delhi, February 21 IN INDIA'S EVER-expanding wedding economy, estimated at over $75 billion, luxury has long been the norm. Private wedding charters are now becoming the newest status symbol for ultra-elite families planning destination wed- ■ WORDS WORTH, P4 A river and its stories Dear diary, hello again! ● India could gain by seeking better terms in trade deal 'Journalling’ is back, and with a liberating twist for digitally overwhelmed souls. The one which has minimal brain rot, little online engagement and zero use of AI MUKESH JAGOTA & AGENCIES New Delhi/Washington, February 21 FPIsoffload`11K-crIT sharesinFebfirsthalf 1,126 -1,835 -10,956 Dec Jan Feb* -5,794 Nov -2,194 Oct -11,285 Aug -6,050 -19,901 Jul Sep 1,166 Jun -2,436 May Apr -15,213 FPIs inflows in IT sector (` crore) *Up to Feb 15 MadeinIndia chipmustfor nation:Modi THE FOUNDATION OF developed India will be laid on the basis of self-reliance forwhich having chips made in India is very important, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said on Saturday.Inavirtualaddresstolay the foundation stone of India Chip—theHCLGroupandFoxconn JV— Modi said a weak supply chain of tiny chips duringthepandemichalteddevelopment of several economies and stopped work at factories. "Developed India will be built only when India is selfreliant. For this, Made in India chip is very important,” Modi said. ■ PAGE 3 2026 FPIs top selling ( Feb 1-15) IT FMCG Healthcare Consumer durables Telecom FPIs top buying (Feb 1-15) Capital goods Financial services Oil and gas Metals & mining Power K O C H I , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E dings in India. The recent Mantena and Vamsi Gadiraju wedding in Udaipur, with an estimated 600 guests from over40 countries,sawmanyflowninonspeciallyarrangedprivatecharters. The Ambani family in 2024 also chartered a fleet of over 100privateplanesfortheirson AnantAmbani'swedding. The Indian Air Charter Services Market report from Market Research Future projects theaircharter-servicesmarket is projected to grow from $3348 million in 2025 to $5891 million by 2035, WEDDING WINGS ■ Operators report a 25% yearon-year rise in bookings ■ Key demandfromUdaipur, Jaipur,Jaisalmer, Agra,Goa andLakshadweep ■ Charters are being used for helicopter entries, flying in guest lists & in-air proposals exhibiting a CAGR of 5.81% during the forecast period 2025-2035. Luxury operators feel wed- dings have emerged as one of the fastest-growing contributors, driven by both HNIs and aspirationalconsumerswilling to splurge for a once-in-a-lifetime event. As perKotak Private Luxury Index released in December, India’s luxury market heads toward an estimated $85 billion by 2030. Private jet operator owner Santosh Sharma, founder and chief executive officer of Foresee Aviation and BookMyJet, confirmed that the company has already completed eight wedding charters thisyearand expects 10-12 movements, with fouralreadyconfirmed in the coming months. “The demand in 2025 was almost 25% higher than the previous year. Continued on Page 2 NEW DELHI DECLARATION Trumphikesglobaltariffsto AI summit ends withvision for 15%from10%injustaday collaborativeAI ■ LEISURE, P7 -10,956 -1,182 -1,051 -434 -106 H Y D E R A B A D , INTERIM MEASURE COMES INTO EFFECT IMMEDIATELY Travelling along the mighty Brahmaputra, author Sanjoy Hazarika reflects on the region’s many challenges in a book that traces his journeys along the river’s course through multiple countries FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTORS (FPIs) sold nearly `11,000 crore ($1.2 bn) worth of IT shares between February 1 and 15, marking the highest fortnightly outflows in past six months, as per NSDL data. This is in contrast with the broader trend, where FPIs purchased shares worth `19,675 crore ($2.2 bn) during the February first half, their highest fortnightly inflows in seven months. The IT Index was the worst-performer, down 14% amid concerns that AI-led tech disruption. -Compiled by Kishor Kadam READ TO LEAD Newweddingedict:Band,bajaa,baraat&Bombardier WHAT'S INSIDE 2025 C H E N N A I , From schools to counselling rooms,AI has entered education quietly Page 5 8,032 6,175 4,678 3,279 3,272 Source: NSDL PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said on Saturday he will increase the global 10% tariff he announced one day ago to 15%, in reaction to the US Supreme Court’s ruling that his mechanism for applying tariffs was illegal.“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% WorldwideTariffonCountries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the US off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump said in a social-media post. Trump said that he was making the decision“Based on a thorough,detailed,and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on tariffs issued yesterday,” by the US Supreme Court. Hours ● US, UK, China, France among 88 signatories US PRESIDENT (Decision)basedona thorough,detailed, andcompletereview oftheridiculous, poorlywritten,and extraordinarily anti-American decisionontariffs issuedyesterday aftertheSupremeCourtruling on Friday,Trump had imposed a 10% global tariff on foreign goods, moving to preserve his trade agenda. The 15% additional tariffs are for all trade partners of the US as an interim measure. For India, this would mean animmediatereductioninreciprocal tariffs from 25%,without offering any trade-related concessions.The18%tarifffor India,mentioned in the February6 joint statement issued by the US and India, was yet to take effect, and the two sides press conference in that regard. Some steps have been announced by the US Administration. We are studying all these developments for their implications," the ministry said.Therewasno officialreaction to the hiked 15% tariffs till the time of going to press. However, after the initial announcementof 10% tariffs, experts said on Saturday the odds have increased for India to make trade terms with the United States more equitable. Continued on Page 2 India,Brazil set $30-bn trade target INDIA AND BRAZIL on Saturday set an annual bilateral trade target of $30 billion in the next fiveyears and signed a pactforcooperationinthearea of critical minerals following wide-ranging talks between PrimeMinisterNarendraModi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The two leaders also vowed to shore up ties in a range of other sectors, including defence,energy,healthcareand digital public infrastructure, while emphasising a deeper strategic engagement to navigatethefragmentedgeopolitical environment. Modi said India and Brazil are unanimous that terrorism anditssupportersare'enemies' of humanity. Continued on Page 2 ■ The declaration proposes a ■ Declarationstructured aroundsevenkey pillars, representingAI’sfoundation Global AI Impact Commons to scale AI use THE US, UK, China,and France areamongthe88countriesand internationalorganisationsthat endorsed the'New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact' on Saturday,marking the conclusion of the IndiaAI Impact Summit. Ontheprincipleof'Sarvajan Hitaya, Sarvajan Sukhaya' — Welfare forall,Happiness forall — the declaration underscores that the benefits of AI must be equitablysharedacrosshumanity.Itemphasisesstrengthening international cooperation and multi-stakeholderengagement, respectingnationalsovereignty, advancing AI through accessible, and trustworthy frameworks.The declaration is structured around seven key pillars, thatrepresentthefoundationof globalAIcooperation.Theseare democratisingAIresources,economic growth and social good, secure and trustedAI,AI forscience,accessforsocialempowerment, human capital development,andresilient,efficientand innovativeAIsystems. At the core of the document is the idea of"democratising AI resources" — that AI must not deepen existing digital divides, and instead, focus on the the Continued on Page 2 OpenAI targets $600-bn spending were targeting the interim deal's rollout in April, as the new development muddied the situation. The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Saturday reacted to the earlier announcementof 10% tariffs, saying it is studying the implications of the US Supreme Court judgment on tariffs and steps announced by the US administration. "We have noted the US Supreme Court judgment on tariffs yesterday. President Trump has also addressed a DISCUSS US TRADE POLICY, TARIFFS MUKESH JAGOTA/PTI New Delhi, February 21 AI ROADMAP OJASVI GUPTA New Delhi, February 21 DONALD TRUMP, Bangladesh set to begin full visa ops roughly $600 billion in total compute spend through 2030, a source told Reuters, as the company lays groundwork for an IPO that could value it at up to $1 trillion. ■ PAGE 16 after Bangladesh put in place a “technical pause” on issuing visas to Indians for non-essential travel, Dhaka is learnt to be in the process of resuming full visa operations. ■ PAGE 2 OPENAI IS TARGETTING PM Narendra Modi with Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday AP ASHWINI VAISHNAW, UNION MINISTER OF ELECTRONICS & IT Notjust economic growth,even harmonyhas tobekeptin mind need for enhancing affordabilityand accesstoAI resources. A key proposal emerging from the summit is the deployment for open source AI applications,while keeping in mind the principle of economic growth and social good. To have an open source model for the engagement of developersandstakeholdersisa fundamentalthatwasreflected inthekeynotesofglobalAIleaders, including Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman and Sarvam's Pratyush Kumar. OVER A MONTH MG battery rental blueprint inspires Maruti, Tata ● Toyota,VinFast also to offer plan, which lowers costs VIKRAM CHAUDHARY New Delhi, February 21 THISWEEK,THE electricvehicle (EV) marketwitnessed a big shift as India’s two largest carmakers embraced the batteryas-a-service (BaaS) model.Following Maruti Suzuki’s entry with the eVitara on Tuesday, Tata Motors launched the new Punch EVon Fridaywith a battery rental scheme. The entry-level model of the eVitara costs `15.99 lakh upfront. But under BaaS, the price drops to just `10.99 lakh, plus running cost of `3.99 per km. The telematics system of the eVitarawill track the number of kilometres driven, and the car owner will be billed each month based on that usage. If the car is driven, let’s say, 1,000 km, the BaaS bill will be `3,990. Maruti Suzuki also launched a package to eliminate both range and resale anxiety, such as assured buyback of the carafterthreeyears at 60% of its original price, eight-year battery warranty, ALL CHARGED UP ■ eVitara costs `15.99 lakh upfront, but `10.99 lakh plus `3.99 per km with battery rental ■ Hero’s EV arm Vida saw monthly sales more than double after launching the VX2 with battery rental ■ Toyota has confirmed that its Ebella EV will be launched with battery rental, assured buybacks ■ Vietnamese carmaker VinFast expected to launch its VF 3 micro-EV with BaaS by mid-2026 ■ Punch EV costs `9.69 lakh upfront, but `6.49 lakh plus `2.6 per km with battery rental free home charger, and one year of free charging. Similarly, the Punch EV, priced `9.69 lakh upfront, is available underBaaS for`6.49 lakh, and a running cost of `2.6 per km. It comes with a lifetime battery warranty covering unlimited kilometres. These moves follow the disruptive path carved out by Kolkata the MG Windsor. In 2025, the Windsor dominated the EV landscape, selling 46,735 units and capturing nearly a quarter of India’s total EVpassenger vehicle sales (197,098 units).The secret to MG’s success was not just the machine, but also mathematics — by decoupling the battery cost, MG was able to market the Windsor,a big car,at a psychological floor of `9.99 lakh. However, Anurag Mehrotra, MD of JSW MG Motor India,told FE that only12% of total EVs sold were actually purchased under the BaaS scheme. If the adoption rate is so low, how did it drive record sales?“BaaS is the hook; peace of mind closes the deal,” a Delhi-based MG dealer told FE.According to the dealer,the sub-`10 lakh price drives massive footfalls. Once in the showroom, the salesperson uses ‘EV calculators’ to show that a driver covering 90,000 km over five years saves `5.8 lakh in fuel costs. When told about the variable monthly bill,88% of customers eventually choose full ownership, but the BaaS pricing was the initial lure. Other manufacturers are nowracing to replicate this model. Continued on Page 2