By Erick Last week I went on a rant about Deepinder Goyal, and someone commented on my video saying… well, see for yourself.
No hate against this person – in fact I’m proud of both him and myself that we could agree to disagree and move on.
It reminded me about the whole billionaire worship culture where some skewed capitalist school has taught us to worship wealth and the wealthy, without giving too much thought to how these people accumulated their wealth.
When I was a kid, my father said once “no billionaire has amassed a billion without blood on their hands”. At that time I dismissed his notion as welalth-jealousy (albeit I’ll acknowledge that I had a very comfortable upbringing) but his words ring true ever more right now.
This is far worse in the west. Look at Elon Musk, who has made his almost 1 trillion dollar nominal (i.e. questionable) fortunate by just selling hype, promises and vaporware. And he thinks he can do whatever he wants, because there are people who will defend him no matter what. And that’s because he has created this persona.
| Image: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Back home, I noticed this acutely over the past week. There are people in India who were quick to come to the defense of Deepinder Goyal, only because he’s a “self-made billionaire” and a “pioneer”. This is amplified in recent years by elevating startup founders and tech entrepreneurs as celebrities, almost God-like status.
Let’s not forget they are humans too. Look at Zoho chief Sridhar Vembu, who even I have a lot of respect for and who has been building value since 1996 via Zoho which today is a powerhouse to reckon with. We got reminded of his human-ness this week when it was revealed that he’s undergoing divorce proceedings in the US. And that’s okay I guess – it’s his personal life, he’s not made any tall claims about it and the only bit of news that’s to report is the US court ordered him to provide a $1.7b bond (more on that below). And that’s okay, I still respect then man and so do millions others.
I have a lot to say about this culture of billionaire worship, which will have its own blog post. For now, what I’ll say is that these billionaires – especially the ones touted to be self-made – cannot expect to be shunned from those who criticize celebrities. They chose to enjoy public life and adoration – largely because it fuels their product and gets them more money – and they cannot come out and crap on the common man (e.g. gig workers) and expect everyone to believe them without question.
Anyway, onto this week’s tech news roundup for India.
Tamil Nadu Launches Free Laptop Scheme For 20 Lakh Students
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin launched the ‘Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil’ scheme to distribute 20 lakh free laptops to college students. The first phase will provide 10 lakh laptops with a budget allocation of INR 2,000 crore and distribution started this week. The laptops feature Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processors, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD storage.
Students will receive devices from Dell, Acer, and HP with Windows 11, BOSS Linux, and – wait for it – a six-month Perplexity Pro subscription. Okay. Just in time before the global RAM price increase. Although I wonder – since this is for students – if iPads or android tablets or even Chromebooks would have sufficed. Also, I wonder if it will be possible to change the laptop’s wallpaper. Still, better than nothing I guess.
Tamil Nadu also announced a 100 crore Deeptech Startup Policy. This aims to position the state as a global deeptech hub, prioritising sectors such as AI, blockchain, semiconductors, electronics manufacturing, spacetech and AR/VR.
Zepto Rolls Out In-App UPI Payment Feature
Quick commerce platform Zepto quietly launched an in-app UPI payment option that eliminates redirects to external payment apps. Users can enter and authorize UPI credentials entirely within the Zepto app after a one-time setup. The feature removes reliance on third-party apps like Google Pay or PhonePe. This internal payment flow gives Zepto direct visibility into transaction success and failure rates, crucial metrics for high-frequency commerce.
Last week, Rediff announced it was launching its own UPI. And dozens of others announced their own UPI in 2025. In case you’re wondering – according to the latest data from NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India), there are 685 banks and payment service providers live on UPI as of December 2025. All to make payments and transfer money conveniently.
Bill To Eliminate H-1B Visa Program Introduced In US Congress
Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced bill HR 6937 seeking to abolish – not reduce, abolish – the H-1B visa program. The legislation proposes amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the H-1B category. The bill was filed on January 2, just days before Greene stepped down from Congress. Starting 2027, the H-1B lottery system will prioritize higher-paid workers within each profession instead of equal selection chances.
This is not the first bit of news on the H1B visa – it’s been under threat of removal for a while now (for example, see TWITI #38 of 2025) and looks like it won’t be the last.
Begs the question – Is it really worth studying in the US anymore?
Apple Ships $50 Billion Worth Of iPhones From India In 2025
Apple exported iPhones worth $50 billion from India in 2025, a major milestone for Make in India. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the achievement, attributing it to India’s push toward becoming a producer economy. Electronics production in India has increased sixfold over the last 11 years.
According to India’s Economic Times, total production has now exceeded $50 billion worth of iPhones. The figure is based specifically on the exports made since Apple enrolled in India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) program in 2021.
At this point I’m not even going to ask about tariffs. But I will remind you – after a few days of Trump threatening to block iPhones made in India and telling Tim Cook to build more in America, this happened and he shut up.
CCI Approves Prosus Stake Increase In Rapido
The Competition Commission of India cleared Dutch investment firm Prosus’ proposal to acquire additional equity in Rapido. The approval covers shares being acquired by MIH Investments One BV, Prosus’ indirect wholly-owned subsidiary. Prosus acquired shares worth approximately INR 1,968 crore from Swiggy in September 2025.
I wonder if this is because Rapido plans to begin work on its IPO listing process by the end of 2026.
I’ll admit, every bit of Rapido news is a chance for me to share the below image – and it’s one of my favorite images ever because of – I don’t know but I love it.
PM Modi Chairs Roundtable With 12 Indian AI Startups
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roundtable discussion with 12 Indian AI startups ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The startups qualified under the Foundation Model Pillar of the IndiaAI Mission. They are working on diverse applications including healthcare diagnostics, multilingual LLMs, and engineering simulations.
Modi emphasized that startups are co-architects of India’s future with immense capacity for innovation and large-scale implementation. He also told them to focus on building real value and not “toys”. Good.
US Court Orders Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu To Post $1.7 Billion Bond
A California court ordered Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu to post a $1.7 billion bond in his ongoing divorce case. The Superior Court of California in Alameda County issued the order in January 2025. The court also appointed a receiver over multiple Zoho entities in the US to protect his ex-wife’s rights. Vembu’s counsel called the bond amount legally untenable and stated he managed to borrow $150 million against shares.
US Commerce Secretary Suggests India-US Trade Deal Stalled Over Modi Call
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed the India-US trade deal collapsed because PM Modi did not personally call President Trump.
LOL.
Lutnick stated he had set up the deal but political leadership engagement was essential to close it. The Trump administration expected the India deal to be completed before agreements with Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines (none of which happened btw).
This is so obvious I don’t need to say it – Trump cronies are either trying to get attention or crying over spilled milk. We didn’t sign this stupid trade deal because it’s not really a deal – it’s an attempt at bullying and India will stand up to bullies. That’s a clearer message that’s being sent here.
UIDAI Launches Udai Mascot And Announces New Aadhaar App
The Unique Identification Authority of India unveiled ‘Udai’ as the official Aadhaar mascot to simplify service communication. The mascot was selected through a national competition on MyGov that received 875 entries.
UIDAI will launch a new Aadhaar app on January 28, which is also celebrated as UIDAI Day. The mascot will appear across Aadhaar platforms including the app and portal for user interactions.
TCS Pauses Year-End Appraisals For WFO Non-Compliant Employees
Tata Consultancy Services put final anniversary appraisals on hold for employees who violated work-from-office mandates. The freeze affects those marked WFO non-compliant during Q2 FY26 covering July to September 2025. Employees who remain non-compliant could be excluded from the FY26 banding cycle entirely. TCS requires employees to work from office five days a week, stricter than most IT peers. So much for flexibility and being employee-first and all.
Zomato Parent Eternal Gets Two Fresh GST Notices
Zomato and Blinkit parent Eternal has received two fresh GST demand orders totalling about INR 27.6 Cr from tax authorities in the state of West Bengal. This is the third tax demand the Zomato parent has received from tax authorities in West Bengal this week itself. Earlier on Tuesday (January 6), the company had received an order worth INR 1.92 Cr for short payment of output tax for FY20.
Government Not Satisfied with Grok’s Response over Explicit Content
Last week, the Indian Government asked X Corp to clarify more on how its Grok is allowing its “spicy” and “undress” feature so openly for all, and why it exists in the first place. X Corp allegedly – and not surprisingly – provided a very detailed written response which is far from adequate. The government has asked X for more details, including specific action taken on obscene content linked to its Grok AI and measures to prevent a repeat in future, sources said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Indonesia blocked Grok altogether, and looks like the Indian Government is heading the same way. I mean, how unsettling is it knowing that anyone with a phone can use Grok to literally undress real people in images. And there are no guardrails to stop pictures of children undressed.
Shame on Apple and Google for allowing Grok on their app stores, which clearly violates every community guideline ever.
Other News in Brief
- SaaS giant Amagi’s IPO will open on January 13 and subsequently close on January 16, making the company the first new-age tech company to list in 2026.
- Amazon Pay would allow customers to open FDs starting from INR 1,000, without the need to open separate savings accounts with its partner institutions
- UP Cabinet Approves Incentives For INR 3,000+ Cr Semiconductor Investments in the State. Overall, the objective of these incentives is to attract large-scale semiconductor investments to the state.
- There’s no further update on last week’s Gig worker strike, but read this piece from the Indian Express which touched my heart.
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