By Erick At an international level, tech has always been political. It’s why Taiwan has been fed false promises in exchange for continuing its chip production behemoth. It’s why entities like Pax Silica exist, and deals like the India Australia Canada Digital Cooperation framework have been signed. It’s why every time there is a State visit, some tech related deal or atleast an announcement that “advances bilateral relations” is made.
It’s while the PM of our nation gave an address to the Israeli Parliament, it was announced that UPI will now work in Israel thanks to an agreement that was signed. It means Indian businesses and consumers will be able to pay Israeli business and consumers more easily. Israel, after all, is a “Fatherland” according to PM Modi.
If you ever decide to send money to an Israeli, just remember that part or all of it may go towards paying a “law enforcement” official disrupt lives of innocent civilians in the West Bank, or an Air Force pilot to drop bombs on a civilian building in Gaza, or for a drone to be sent to Iran to attack an elementary school that killed more than 40 students.
A Content Creator’s Note
By no means and I a massive content creator (yet) with a following of thousands of people. I am on my way there and am immensely grateful for your love and support.
I’ve been cautious about being political on my content. But I’m at a point now where I feel it would be irresponsible to not use my platform(s) to share a message. Some of you I have the pleasure of interacting with regularly, and you recognize me as a human trying to fulfill and individual purpose, not a big corporation or production house with profits to protect. And I would like to openly adopt the principle – encouraged by your support – to use my voice to share important messages that big content creation houses are too afraid to share.
This is not about the Palestinian issue alone. This is about standing with the oppressed against the oppressors. This is about speaking out for what is being done to profit big corporations and those willing to throw innocent lives in the fire for a few dollars more. This is about speaking out against the rich and powerful, in an age where even the illusion of freedom of speech is under threat, where the collective public opinion is still the most powerful weapon of society against powerful overlords.
This is as much about the brutal Iranian regime as it is about the Israeli or US Government. This is as much about the Kashmiri Hindus and Dalits facing persecution for just existing, for no fault of theirs. This is about an activist jailed while a politician walks freely after rape and murder.
And I don’t know how far this message will travel. But I’ve decided that even small content creators like me have an obligation to use our platforms to speak out, from the heart. You may sympathise more with Israelis in the West Bank than me, and that’s okay. You may argue that Tamils must be expelled from Sri Lanka, and that may be okay (as long as you don’t act on it). I may try to seek favor from the rapist-politician by using my platform to promote his scheme, and if I do that’s okay…. for you to unfollow me because you’d understandably be disgusted.
So let us use these platforms made available to us – as long as they exist – to share messages of love and peace, but also to speak out for the oppressed, the underserved, the ones taken advantage of. The innocent people that are targeted purely for profits of a few.
I’ll leave with a book recommendation, and you can of course ask me questions.
Okay, it was nice to get this off my chest. Thank you. Now let’s talk about tech news.
Micron Opens India’s First Semiconductor Assembly and Test Facility
Inaugurated by the Prime Minister himself. This is one of the major semiconductor projects announced under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). This is in Sanad, Gujrat. The announcement said they aim to produce “hundreds of millions of AI-ready chips”.
The plant will also produce DRAM, and I’m more excited this given that we’re at the beginning of a global RAM shortage. Micron, globally, is one of the “big 3” producer of memory chips, along with SK Hynix and Samsung.
By the way, the Government plans single-window portal for global chipmakers under ISM 2.0 to address queries from businesses and manufacturers. Truly digital India.
Amazon Opens Massive Bangalore Office
Wow, Bangalore is getting a lot of offices. Just last week, Anthropic opened its Bangalore Office and earlier Google signed a deal to rent more office space. Good for us!
According to Amazon, “Spanning 1.1 million square feet, Amazon’s second-largest single-building corporate campus globally sets new standards for collaboration, sustainability, and innovation in India’s technology capital.” Source
They say it’s 15km from Bangalore Airport which depending on Bangalore traffic could take anywhere between 15 minutes and two weeks.
“Beyond corporate offices, Amazon operates 7 fulfillment centers, 3 sort centers, over 130 last mile delivery stations, and a robust network of micro-FCs for Amazon Now across Bengaluru. Additionally, over 80,000 sellers from Karnataka are already selling on Amazon India.” Source
Sarvam Launches Local Competitor to ChatGPT
Basically, Sarvam launched an AI chatbot. And it’s called Indus. It’s available now on the App / Play store.
According to Sarvam, Indus is “a simple, helpful AI designed to make your day a little easier. Whether you need to research a topic, draft a message, or just find a quick answer, Indus is ready to help. It’s built right here in India to understand the unique way we speak, search, and get things done.”
I will try it out, and if it’s worth it I’ll make a video on it.
Ashwini Vaishnaw says Platforms Must Pay Content Creators Fairly
But no measures were announced.
He said this at the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) Conclave late last week. Well, he said that social media platforms must ensure they pay content creators (including journalists) a fair share of revenue and that platforms must take accountability of the content posted by users.
If this statement – about content creators being paid fairly – is to be turned into law, the social media platforms will have to commit to full transparency with the Indian Government. This is something that large platforms have obviously been resistant to do, what with people like X and Meta (even Apple) openly challenging Government orders. But in the longer run, the Government seems to have prevailed, kinda.
SIM-binding Rule to Take Effect for Chat Apps
WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Arattai, Snapchat, Jiochat, ShareChat and Josh were formally notified by the Government in November 2025 to ensure that they operate only where a SIM is present in the user’s mobile phone. Well, that order is effective on 01st March 2026.
Also, desktop versions of these apps will have to be logged out every 12 hours.
More Speculation about Apple Pay Launching in India
International news outlets like Reuters and Bloomberg reported that Apple is in talks with ICICI, HDFC and Axis banks to launch Apple Pay in India mid-2026.
Go check out this short video I made about Apple Pay – and why it’s not yet launched in India.
What is interesting about this bit of news is that Apple is reported talking to private banks, not nationalized banks or the NPCI or the RBI.
Reliance’s AI Subsidiary Stake Allotted to Meta
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced in 2025 that it is incorporating an AI-focused subsidiary. Now, RIL allots 30% stake in AI subsidiary (which is called Reliance Enterprise Intelligence Limited) to Meta in what seems to be a restructuring.
RIL’s 70% stake is around 850 crores, so Meta’s is almost 600 crores. RIL will provide digital infrastructure and access to extensive enterprise network for distribution. What might happen is that this is restructured entirely as a joint venture.
Whatever the entity looks like, it aimed to provide two products — an enterprise AI platform-as-a-service and pre-configured AI services for industries such as sales, finance, and IT, with a focus on lowering costs.
Card Fraud on YES Bank’s FOREX Cards
Yes Bank’s Multi Currency Prepaid Forex cards (in partnership with BookMyForex) recorded an unusual increase in transaction declines. Investigations revealed that unauthorized transactions were attempted, and about $0.28m of fraudulent transactions were approved which resulted in card fraud. This was found to be the result of a data breach.
The bank accounted more security measures, including restricted transactions from the Latin American Country (where these fraudulent transactions originated).
Centre Blocks Five OTT Platforms for Streaming Obscene Content
The last time this happened was in July 2025. Well this week, The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has blocked MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel, and Jugnu. For showing obscene content.
I mean, with a name like MooXVIP and a tag line that’s “Uncut Content”, what did they expect?
BillDesk to acquire Worldline India’s Payments Business
Specifically, India’s payments operations of French fintech firm Worldline will be acquired by Billdesk. For those who won’t know, BillDesk is an Indian online payment gateway provider based in Mumbai, they’ve been around since 2000.
Together, the businesses is expected to provide “a coordinated omnichannel payments experience spanning digital transactions, recurring mandates, cross-border flows, and in-store point-of-sale (POS) and QR acceptance across urban and emerging markets”.
Jio and Airtel Infuse Massive Amounts into Their NBFC Arms, Jio Credit and Airtel Money
Very sus. Do they think that more people will find it difficult to pay for telecom services? Which means are they going to increase their prices? Yeah.
Jio FS invests ₹2,000 crore into its NBFC arm Jio Credit. But this pales in comparison to the ₹20,000 crore investment Airtel is making into its FS arm, Airtel Money. Both are for business development.
They keep wanting you to take a loan or book a fixed deposit or something.
Ola Electric Subject of Rumours
So there is reporting that Ola Electric will reduce its store count to 550, and that it may shut altogether. And late this week Ola Electric’s stock price plumetted. The rumors have no basis, Ola Electric is still the market leader for electric 2Wheelers in India although its lead is rapidly diminishing.
88 nations sign the New Delhi Declaration on AI
This was on 19th February and is old news. But I just wanted to leave this here, because both Iran and Israel signed this declaration. And now they are at war. Sigh.
That’s it for now! Don’t forget you can see the weekly TWITI video on by YouTube channel, or listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you’d like to receive the weekly news roundup directly to your inbox, subscribe to me on Substack. This is all free so share with a friend. See you next week!