Billionaires want TOTAL control | TWITI #40 of 2026

Noida airport is renamed to Narendra Modi airport? Tell you what – let some airport in Tamil Nadu be renamed to… Narendra Podi airport.

The Government of India has ordered a suspension of mobile Internet services within a 4 km radius ke the Janpath-Kartavya Path crossing, obviously part of the crazy security and intimidation measures against the protest. Social Media platforms have also been advised by the Government to “prioritize action against unlawful, false or manipulated content” linked to the protest. I wish action was taken against the IT Cell accounts telling random people to “go to Pakistan”.

Elon Musk says of Starlink in India, “Unfortunately, we are being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people. You can guess who they are … This is a crime against the people of India!” Okay what’s hilarious is he calling anyone else an oligarch, and accusing literally anyone else of maintaining a chokehold.

In response, Telecom minister says three companies have received Satcom licenses and will start operating once revenue model is finalized. He didn’t say who those three companies are… but anyway.

Some celebrities weighed in – including Kamal Hassan. And the Leader of thể Opposition. No word from Ambani (or Adani) though.

US bars Microsoft, Adobe, and major IT firms from green card program for skilled foreign workers. This ban extends to Cognizant, Wipro and others too – allegedly over H1B visa abuses. Whatever.

Sony denies warranty to a user who bought a PS5 on Swiggy Instamart – saying it’s not an authorized dealer.

Apple event coming up on the 13th – particularly for smart home product releases. Watch out for the price in India.

Amazon’s next round of layoffs globally affects atleast 100 employees in India. Primarily across retail and customer service functions. Even as Amazon plans to spend some $220b on AI Infrastructure globally, and Bezos telling everyone that AI will “make a three day workweek possible”. Btw, I realised something this week – many greedy white men seem to fancy women who have gone through plastic surgery disasters. Just look at Lauren Sanchez and Susan Dell, among others.

Globally, safety leaders still call attention to AI risks and leaders are trying to respond to this . In India, Union Minister Vaishnaw has said that the Government will release a consultation paper on AI regulation within a month, which will establish the foundation for upcoming AI regulations in India.

Headlines

UPI MDR implementation has been delayed. Good.

• Karnataka Government signs MoU with ElevenLabs to bring Voice AI to public services. WHO even asked for this? Why didn’t they go with a sovereign voice AI model? So many questions.
• Vinfast has signed letters of intent with more than 50 dealers across India to establish E2W showrooms across 34 cities. Vinfast also plans to build charging infrastructure.
• Razorpay partners with OpenAI to help Indian brands advertise on ChatGPT. They’re also working with NPCI on infrastructure that allows merchants to create ChatGPT-native storefronts. Globally, OpenAI agents continue to go rogue with websites like Wiki being hacked.
• Facebook has rolled out a new Reels-centric feed in India that opens with reels instead of posts (or, as we millennials still call it, the “Wall”). Basically Facebook is trying to be like TikTok.

Book Recommendation of the Week

Taipei Story, another masterpiece by RF Kuang. Also inspired by my own trip to Taiwan. Lovely place.