This Week in Tech India (TWITI) #48 of 2025

Wow we are already into the last month of 2025. Good things are coming in 2026 including my very own podcast, maybe? Stay tuned!

The so-called “Black Friday” just ended. Let me just say what I said before – Black Friday has no cultural origins or significance and is just a concept created for people to spend money the possibly don’t have to buy things they possibly don’t need.

Anyway. Here are the more important things that happened this week in Tech India:

• India has launched the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI), the country’s first dedicated industry body for artificial intelligence, aimed at driving ethical, inclusive, and innovation-led adoption of AI across creative and technology sectors. Led by National Convenor Dr. Sandeep Goyal, AIAI will function as a policy think tank, innovation incubator, and industry forum, with a multidisciplinary board set to include leaders from top corporates and creative domains. The association’s key objectives include shaping policy and advocacy, establishing certification frameworks for ethical AI, skilling over 10,000 creative professionals in AI by 2026, incubating India-specific AI tools, and protecting intellectual property and cultural identity in the AI era. AIAI’s launch marks a significant step toward ensuring India leads in responsible AI development and deployment, bridging innovation with regulation and safeguarding Indian creativity and talent.
• Prime Minister Modi virtually unveiled Skyroot AI’s first orbital rocket, Vikram-I, at the company’s new Infinity Campus in Hyderabad on November 27, 2025. Vikram-I is India’s first privately developed orbital rocket, designed to launch satellites into low Earth orbit and marking a major milestone for India’s private space sector. The Infinity Campus, spanning 200,000 square feet, is set to enable rapid development and manufacturing of orbital rockets, supporting India’s ambition to become a global leader in commercial space launches. Skyroot said the new 200,000-square-foot facility can produce one rocket a month. The company plans to enter the global launch market with Vikram-1, which is scheduled for its first mission in early 2026. Will we start seeing reusable rockets and also Indian billionaires taking space trips? If so, take that Elon!

• Apple has moved the Delhi High Court to challenge new antitrust laws that allow the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to calculate fines based on a company’s global turnover, rather than just its India-specific revenue. The amended law, which came into force in 2024, could expose Apple to a potential penalty of up to $38 billion if the CCI finds the company guilty of anti-competitive practices, a figure calculated as 10% of Apple’s average global turnover from all products and services over the past three fiscal years. Apple argues that this approach is arbitrary, disproportionate, and unconstitutional, citing past Supreme Court rulings that limited penalties to revenue directly related to the infringing product or market. The case is scheduled to be heard on December 3, with Apple seeking to prevent retrospective application of the new rules and urging the court to limit penalties to India-specific turnover.
• Apple, Amazon and other US tech giants like Meta, Cisco, HP, and Intel have jointly opposed Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea’s demand to allocate the 6 GHz spectrum band for mobile services, including 6G, in India. These companies argue that the entire 6 GHz band should be reserved for Wi-Fi use, citing concerns over technical and commercial readiness for mobile services in this band. Reliance Jio and other telecom operators want the full 1200 MHz spectrum in the 6 GHz band auctioned for mobile use to support 5G and future 6G networks, but the government has proposed splitting the band—reserving the lower 500 MHz for unlicensed Wi-Fi and the upper portion for mobile. The US tech coalition warns that allocating the upper 6 GHz for mobile could reduce exchequer revenues and give foreign OTT players an unfair advantage, while Indian telcos argue that splitting the band would undermine India’s 6G ambitions and network quality.​ These American companies clearly think that their lobbying practice will work in India too!
• A Delhi restaurateur, Gagandeep Singh Sapra, owner of Tadka Rani in Greater Kailash 1, has publicly accused Zomato of “system-level bias” in its rider allocation system, alleging that his restaurant is repeatedly shown as “unavailable” during peak hours while nearby outlets within about 50 metres remain open and continue receiving orders. In a screen recording shared on X, he claims this pattern has persisted for over a month despite multiple escalations to the company, and argues that the issue goes beyond normal dynamic load management, linking it instead to commission pressures that he says already exceed 52% of his sales. The complaint has prompted a response from Zomato’s food delivery CEO, Aditya Mangla, who has said the company will investigate, and has also reignited a wider conversation among small restaurants about transparency and fairness in food-delivery algorithms that control visibility, delivery capacity, and revenue during crucial peak hours.
• The Union Cabinet has approved a landmark ₹7,280 crore scheme to establish India’s first integrated ecosystem for manufacturing Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM), aiming to build a domestic capacity of 6,000 metric tons per annum and reduce reliance on imports. REPMs are crucial for electric vehicles, wind turbines, defence systems, and aerospace technologies, and this initiative will cover the entire value chain—from rare earth oxide conversion to finished magnets—strengthening supply chains for these sectors and supporting green technologies. The scheme includes sales-linked incentives and capital subsidies to attract investment, generate employment, and position India as a global player in high-tech magnet manufacturing, while also advancing the country’s self-reliance and sustainability goals.​
• The Indian government has ordered messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, and others to ensure their services can only be used if the user has the active SIM card associated with their account physically present in their device. Under new rules from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), these apps must be continuously linked to the registered SIM, and access will be blocked if the SIM is removed or deactivated, a measure aimed at curbing cyber fraud and digital impersonation. The directive also mandates that web-based versions, such as WhatsApp Web, automatically log out every six hours, requiring users to re-authenticate using a QR code. Platforms have 90 days to implement these changes, with compliance reports due within 120 days, and non-compliance may lead to regulatory action. This rule will affect how users access messaging apps, making it harder to switch devices or use apps without the original SIM, especially for travelers and multi-device users.
• WhatsApp is currently testing a cross-platform messaging feature that would allow users to send messages to people on other apps, including India’s homegrown messaging app Arattai, without needing to switch apps or install Arattai. This feature is being piloted in the EU beta version due to new Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations, which require large platforms to enable interoperability and prevent monopolistic practices. For now, the feature is limited to beta testers in Europe and supports only a few third-party apps, but if expanded globally, it could allow WhatsApp users in India to message Arattai users directly from within WhatsApp. However, for Arattai to qualify, it must meet WhatsApp’s stringent end-to-end encryption standards, which Arattai is currently working to implement. I wonder why. WhatsApp is still arguably the most popular messaging app in India, do they feel they need to do this to maintain the lead?
• Meesho is set to make its public market debut with a ₹5,421 crore IPO, scheduled to open for subscription from December 3 to December 5, 2025, with shares priced between ₹105 and ₹111 per share and a tentative listing date of December 10, 2025, on both the BSE and NSE. The issue includes a fresh issue of ₹4,250 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) component, with proceeds earmarked for cloud infrastructure, AI and machine learning team expansion, marketing, and strategic acquisitions. As one of India’s leading e-commerce platforms, Meesho boasts over 213 million annual transacting users and has built a strong presence in Tier-2, Tier-3, and smaller towns, focusing on a “value commerce” model that serves small businesses and consumers alike. Meesho has officially been rated as India’s fastest growing e-commerce company. I predict an e-commerce bubble that will burst.
• Adani Group plans to invest up to $5 billion in Google’s AI data center project in India, as part of a landmark partnership to build the country’s largest AI data center campus in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This move is a response to the surging demand for high-capacity data infrastructure to support AI workloads, with Google committing $15 billion over five years to the project. The collaboration will see AdaniConneX, a joint venture between Adani Enterprises and EdgeConneX, providing land, power, and green energy infrastructure, positioning the facility as one of Asia’s most advanced AI hubs. The project aims to drive India’s AI capabilities, enhance grid resilience, and establish Visakhapatnam as a global technology destination.​ That’s a lot of money flowing into Vishakapatnam, good for them!

A bit of global news – The US, under President Donald Trump, has announced a “permanent pause” on immigration from all “Third World countries.” This policy, declared following a security incident in Washington DC, is not yet fully defined in terms of specific countries affected, but it is expected to align with previous travel bans targeting 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Chad, Yemen, Cuba, Venezuela, and others. The administration has also announced a review of all green cards held by individuals from these countries.

Note that India is not in the list of these 19 countries. Because they simply can’t. Imagine having a Silicon Valley without Indians. Hehe.