After Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh govt to ban social media for children under 13

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said social media will be prohibited for children below 13 years of age within the next 90 days.Addressing the assembly, the chief minister said the government is actively debating whether the restriction should also apply to children between 13 and 16 years of age. “Definitely, we will make sure that within 90 days those below 13 years of age are not able to use social media,” said Naidu.He added that the government will soon take a call on whether to extend the ban to teenagers aged between 13 and 16.Earlier in the day, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah proposed a similar restriction while presenting the 2026–27 state budget in the Assembly at Vidhana Soudha.During his budget speech, Siddaramaiah said social media will be banned for children under the age of 16 to prevent the adverse effects of increasing mobile phone use among children.The chief minister also announced that an AI and Technology Park will be set up under Indian Institute of Science. The project will establish a robotics and artificial intelligence campus named the “Bangalore Robotics and AI Innovation Zone” in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation and Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited.On infrastructure, Siddaramaiah said two major corridor projects in Bengaluru have been approved. The North–South Corridor from Hebbal Junction to HSR Layout–Silk Board Junction and the East–West Corridor from K. R. Puram to Mysore Road will together cover 40km and are estimated to cost Rs 40,000 crore under the BOOT model.In the first phase, tenders have been invited for the 17km North–South Corridor project at ₹17,780 crore.He also announced that a tunnel road and an elevated road between Hebbal Junction and Mekhri Circle will be built by the Bangalore Development Authority at an estimated cost of Rs 2,250 crore.The Karnataka state budget has been pegged at Rs 4,48,004 crore, with a focus on technology-driven growth, infrastructure development and environmental sustainability.