Sci/Tech

7-games-that-show-you-the-dark-price-of-knowledge-from-bloodborne-to-bioshock

Mon Mar 30 01:05:49 IST 2026

Dark academia is more than an aesthetic that has long dominated social media feeds, romanticising things like tweed blazers, ivy-covered libraries, and midnight espresso. You get the idea.

However, beneath that aesthetic is the darker side of dark academia—the arts' obsession with forbidden knowledge and intellectual implosion.

From the crumbling spires of Gothic universities to the grimy, brooding streets of dystopias, here are seven games that show—in their own ways—the dark toll of too much knowledge.

Bloodborne

In this classic from FromSoftware, the brains behind the ‘Soulslike’ genre, what should have been a pathbreaking medical and philosophical experiment is taken to an extreme level, ending in a colossal catastrophe that mutates most people at the Byrgenwerth College.

The Byrgenwerth plot, which forms a part of the larger story, sees The Hunter in pursuit of the nightmare that is Rom, the Vacuous Spider, so that he can advance to the next level.

Disco Elysium

One of the best examples of your own intelligence being your undoing, Disco Elysium sees you play as Harrier “Harry" Du Bois, a detective with a decaying mind on a case in the decaying world of Revachol.

Through deep dives into sociopolitics and existential theory, the game lets you shape his very psyche, offering multiple endings to fit all kinds of bizarre life trajectories.

Dishonored

Set in the plague-stricken fictional city of Dunwall, this title from Arkane Studios shows you the dark veil of erudition: how even the educated can descend into crime.

You play as Corvo—one in a series of memorable characters in the game—a supernatural bodyguard in search of the assassin that framed you for the murder of Empress Kaldwin.

Alan Wake

You'd be hard-pressed to find better characters that fit the dark academia profile than Alan Wake, who is in search of his missing wife in the rustic, haunted town of Bright Falls.

Capturing the essence of what it means to be tormented by one's own genius, this psychological horror uses the full power of its interesting mechanics and captivating storytelling to keep you up long after the credits have rolled.

Vampyr

Set in 1918 London, Vampyr has you play renowned blood specialist and newly turned vampire, Dr Jonathan Reid, torn between honouring his craft and filling his bloodthirst .

From the game's atmosphere and its brilliant soundtrack to its plot points and combat, here is a game that pays homage to the vampire tales of yore in the finest way.

A Plague Tale: Innocence

Despite being a stealth puzzler, this offering from Asobo Studios features many elements of survival horror—one that is less supernatural and more rooted in the gritty, rat-infested reality that Amicia de Rune and her little brother must overcome.

For these kids, the dark knowledge of alchemy and other forbidden truths not only becomes their superpower against the French apocalypse, but also a responsibility, that comes with its own burdens.

BioShock

Set in the 1960s, this title from 2K Studios set the ball rolling for one of the most well-known franchises in gaming history.

Rapture—the central location in the game—is a literal "underwater university" experiment gone wrong, offering insights into how unchecked intellectual ambition in an individual utopia collapses on itself, leaving behind the psychotic creatures that our hero, Jack, takes head-on.

how-aggressive-is-mark-zuckerberg-s-ai-native-push-for-meta-leaked-documents-offer-new-details-on-coding-targets

Fri Mar 27 17:59:18 IST 2026

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg wants the tech giant to go "AI-native", a term that raises questions in an era where artificial intelligence has wedged itself into the workflows of every kind of major organisation.

According to newly leaked internal documents from Meta, which set out a few of the many ways in which the company aims to achieve Mark Zuckerberg's vision for the future, the tech giant has set targets for how much AI should be used by employees for daily coding tasks.

What exactly does it mean to be 'AI-native'?

With the growing use of artificial intelligence in tech companies across the globe, being 'AI-native' has come to mean more than simply increasing AI usage to keep up with the times.

This is because tech giants that aim to increase AI usage don't just see it as an afterthought, but as a critical part of a completely new ecosystem: one that enables data-driven decision making using a blend of advanced AI and human involvement behind the scenes.

Meta's aggressive AI strategy, however, has also come at the cost of looming layoffs en masse, with a Reuters report earlier this month noting that the tech giant is planning to cut about 20 per cent of its workforce (or approximately 15,800 jobs) in the coming months.

With about 15,800 jobs at stake, the colossal cuts would surpass the 11,000-job cut in November 2022—followed by another 10,000 in the spring of 2023—as a part of what it had called the 2022-23 'Year of Efficiency', making the upcoming ones the deepest hitting cuts in the company's history, in pursuit of the AI-native aim.

On AI use for tasks

According to the newly leaked internal documents, Meta has set goals on AI usage parameters for late last year and 2026, a Business Insider report said.

The documents also involve related data on AI usage across various organisations.

One such parameter, laid out for Meta's creation org—which is responsible for building and maintaining core creative experiences—aims to have 65 per cent of engineers write more than 75 per cent of their committed code using AI. Committed code is code that has been saved and tracked in a project.

Meta's Scalable Machine Learning org, which focuses on AI models and infrastructure, had a goal for February 2026 to have AI assist 50-80 per cent of coding, the document said. However, the company has said that this goal is not being tracked via metrics.

The document also listed several company-wide goals for Q4 2025 spanning Messenger, WhatsApp, Facebook, and other major Meta products. One such goal is to have 80 per cent of mid-level to senior-level engineers adopt AI tools such as DevMate, Metamate, and Google's Gemini. For these goals, the report cites a note that the focus here is on "tool adoption" rather than increasing the percentage of code written by AI.

"It's well-known that this is a priority and we're focused on using AI to help employees with their day-to-day work," a Meta spokesperson said in the report, adding that Meta's performance programme focuses more on the impact from AI tool usage, rather than just usage.

india-gcc-tier-2-expansion-opinion

Fri Mar 27 15:00:43 IST 2026

India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem has traditionally been anchored in major metropolitan hubs such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, and Gurugram.

For decades, these cities have hosted large technology and operations teams for multinational enterprises, supporting functions ranging from digital engineering and analytics to financial services and product development.

However, the next phase of GCC expansion in India is increasingly moving beyond these established locations. Global enterprises are now exploring Tier-2 cities as viable destinations for technology and innovation teams. Cities such as Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mangalore are gradually emerging as alternative locations where companies can access skilled professionals while maintaining operational efficiency.

India currently hosts more than 1,700 GCCs employing nearly 1.9 million professionals and generating over $64 billion in annual revenue, according to industry reports. As global enterprises expand their technology, data, and digital operations from India, hiring demand continues to rise. This growth is pushing companies to explore new talent pools beyond saturated metropolitan markets.

Rising costs and talent competition

One of the primary factors driving the expansion into Tier-2 cities is the increasing cost of operating in major technology hubs. Over the past decade, cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad have seen rising commercial real estate prices, growing infrastructure pressure, and intense competition for experienced professionals. As GCCs expand their mandates to include advanced technology functions such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, the demand for specialised talent has intensified. Companies often face longer hiring cycles and higher compensation expectations for these roles in traditional hubs.

The growing acceptance of remote and hybrid work models has also enabled companies to rethink traditional hiring strategies. Rather than relying exclusively on centralised offices, many organisations are building distributed teams across multiple regions. This approach allows companies to tap into talent pools that may not be available in major metropolitan cities. As a result, GCCs are increasingly adopting flexible hiring models that combine physical centres with distributed teams across several locations.

Tech roles driving GCC expansion

Many of the centres established in emerging hubs are focused on areas such as digital engineering, advanced analytics, and enterprise technology platforms.

Roles related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, data engineering, cloud architecture, cybersecurity, and digital product development are increasingly in demand, as these capabilities support ongoing digital transformation efforts across industries, including banking, automotive, manufacturing, and consumer technology.

Tier-2 cities hosting GCC ops

Several Tier-2 cities have already begun attracting global capability centres across industries.

In Ahmedabad, Kraft Heinz has established a GCC with over 600 professionals supporting global operations across analytics, finance, and technology functions. Thiruvananthapuram has emerged as a technology hub through the Technopark ecosystem. Nissan Digital operates a centre here with more than 200 employees, while Allianz Services employs over 1,500 professionals supporting global insurance and financial services operations.

Coimbatore hosts a major Bosch Global Software Technologies presence with more than 5,000 employees, working on embedded engineering and digital engineering solutions for global products.

In Mangalore, Bose has established a technology centre with 25+ employees, with plans to expand the team to over 100 professionals supporting software engineering and product development.

Talent, cost, and preference shift

For junior and mid-level roles, yes, and more reliably than metros. Most of India's 1.5 million annual engineering graduates come from Tier-2 institutions.

Add the post-COVID reverse migration of experienced professionals who left metros by choice, and you have a ready pool with metro pedigree and hometown loyalty. Attrition runs 10–15 percentage points lower than Tier-1 cities. That changes hiring economics entirely.

The real challenge is mid and senior leadership. Professionals with 12–20 years of experience in scaled GCC environments, heads of engineering, analytics leads, and delivery directors, are scarce in Tier-2 cities. Most of that talent is either embedded in metro GCCs or not actively looking. Relocating them requires a compelling proposition beyond salary: meaningful mandates, ownership, and a genuine career path. Many GCCs underestimate this and end up with strong junior benches but thin leadership layers.

The ones that solve it, by rotating leaders from metros, building internal growth paths and giving Tier-2 centres real capability charters, find that over time, retention compounds. What starts as a cost play gradually becomes a value creation engine, as stable teams build domain depth, institutional knowledge, and eventually, innovation capability that metro centres with high churn simply cannot match.

Cost is what gets the proposal approved. It is not why the best GCCs stay and grow. The real saving is not the Day 1 salary. It is the hidden cost of replacing 20 per cent of your workforce every year, which is what Tier-1 cities demand. When you price that in, the Tier-2 option is often the cheaper one over a 3-year horizon. The person who grew up in a Tier-2 city, spent five years at a metro GCC, and came back — they already know what a metro offers, but chose not to stay.

At 80 per cent of metro pay with zero rent inflation, zero commute, and proximity to family, it is not a compromise. It is the deal they actually want. The question is not why they would stay; the question is why we assumed they all wanted to leave in the first place.

The rise of Tier-2 cities as GCC destinations could reshape India’s broader talent landscape. As global companies expand operations into emerging hubs, they are likely to accelerate workforce development and skill creation across regions.

Local universities and technical institutions may increasingly align programs with industry demand in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data engineering. This shift could also contribute to more balanced economic growth by distributing high-value technology jobs beyond major metropolitan areas.

The author is the founder and CEO of Zyoin Group, a talent advisory firm.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

ai-clone-mark-zuckerberg

Fri Mar 27 13:28:34 IST 2026

There are days when it already feels like you are slightly behind yourself. A message you meant to reply to. An email you opened and never went back to. A decision sitting somewhere at the back of your mind while you move on to the next thing. Work has a way of piling up like this, quietly, without making a fuss. And then there is that familiar thought: if only you could be in two places at once, things would feel easier.

It is not an extraordinary idea. Just a quiet, practical one. The kind that comes up in the middle of an ordinary day, when you realise there is more to do than you can keep up with. It is also the kind of problem technology has always tried to solve.

As Mark Zuckerberg suggested while outlining his vision for AI, the goal is not to automate all valuable work, but to support individuals with intelligence shaped around their lives.

Mark Zuckerberg is creating an AI clone of himself. Recent reports suggest that he has been building an internal AI system to assist him in his role as chief executive. It helps him find information quickly, bring together answers, and move through decisions with fewer of the delays that typically come with large organisations.

The idea of being in more than one place at once

At one level, this sounds like efficiency. The kind that makes work smoother and faster. But it also feels familiar in a quieter way.

Most days are not made up of one big task, but many small ones. Messages, replies, follow-ups, decisions. Things that are left hanging. An AI system, at least in theory, helps close some of those gaps. It responds when you cannot. It keeps things moving.

At Meta, this seems to be part of a larger shift towards AI that feels more personal. Not just tools you use now and then, but systems that begin to adjust to the way you work.

So what would it take to create a version of you?

The question sounds bigger than it really is.

It begins with something you are already doing. Every message you send, every email you write, every decision you make leaves behind a pattern. You may not notice it, but it builds over time.

You tend to phrase things in a certain way. You reply with a certain rhythm. You make similar choices in similar situations. None of this feels planned, but it repeats often enough to be recognised.

As Manish Goyal, a UX designer at Onething Design Studio, says, “What looks like spontaneity is often repetition. The way we respond online becomes predictable over time.”

This is what such systems learn from. Not your personality in the abstract, but your habits in practice. The words you choose, the tone you fall into, the way you respond to certain kinds of messages.

Over time, this can be used to train a system to do something simple but powerful. To suggest what you might say next. Then, to complete that response. And eventually, to send it.

It does not happen all at once. It begins with small assistance. Drafting a reply. Finishing a sentence. Offering options. But as the system sees more of your behaviour, it becomes better at predicting it.

AI does not need to fully understand you. It only needs enough of these patterns to begin guessing what you might do next. And once it can do that reliably, it starts to feel less like a tool, and more like a version of you.

When AI begins to speak in your voice

At first, it feels simple. Helpful, even. A suggested reply here, a drafted message there, a small saving of time. But there comes a point where something shifts. The system is no longer just helping you respond. It begins to respond in a way that feels like you would have written it yourself.

Zuckerberg’s own use of an AI system is still quite practical. It helps him move through information more quickly and make decisions with less delay. But the idea behind it goes further. If a system can recognise how you usually respond, it can begin to respond on your behalf. And in many cases, the difference may not be obvious.

But there is a limit to how far this can go.

What cannot be learned

This is where the idea becomes harder to ignore. These systems rely on your past, on everything you have already said and done. They do not know how you might change your mind tomorrow. They cannot account for instinct, contradiction, or the small inconsistencies that make people human.

As Prachi Saxena, clinical psychologist and co-founder of The Emotional Wellness Initiatives, explains, “A person is not just a pattern of responses. We are shaped by context, emotion, memory, even unpredictability. That is the part no system can fully replicate.”

And yet, in everyday interaction, that difference may not always be obvious. If something sounds like you, follows your way of thinking, and carries your tone, does it matter whether you actually wrote it, or does it simply matter that it feels like you did?

Zuckerberg’s experiment is still at an early stage. There is no fully independent version of a person yet. What exists today is more limited, systems that assist, retrieve, and summarise. But the direction, at least for now, seems clear. Creating a version of yourself does not begin with technology. It begins with behaviour, with the patterns you leave behind, often without realising it. Technology is simply becoming better at reading them.

And once it can, the question is no longer whether a version of you can exist. It is what part of you it is really capturing, and what part of you is still your own.

rocket-parts-falling-from-the-sky-should-we-worry

Mon Mar 23 16:59:23 IST 2026

You are going about your day, fishing in the sea near Thondi in Tamil Nadu, and suddenly you spot a large metal object floating in the water. Your first thought? Could this be a missile? That is exactly what happened on March 12, 2026, when fishermen near Thondi spotted a strange metallic piece floating off the coast of Thiruppalaikudi in Ramanathapuram district. They did the right thing — they immediately informed the Devipattinam Marine Police, who then brought in scientists from ISRO.

By March 18, the object had drifted closer to the shore. A three-member team from ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram arrived to examine it. After careful inspection, the mystery was solved. It was not a missile. It was a piece of India's own PSLV rocket — specifically, a component called the SITVC system from the rocket's first stage.

Now, what exactly is this SITVC (Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control)? Think of it like the steering wheel of a rocket. When a rocket is roaring upward after liftoff, it needs to adjust its direction precisely, just like how you steer a car. The SITVC does this job by injecting special fluid into the rocket's exhaust. This creates an imbalance in the thrust, which nudges the rocket left, right, or wherever it needs to go. It is a very clever piece of engineering, sitting at the bottom of the rocket's first stage—the big solid fuel booster that gives the enormous initial push during liftoff.

“A rocket is not one single machine that goes all the way to space. It is built in stages like a multi-storey building that sheds its floors one by one as it climbs higher. The first stage, which is the bottom-most and largest part, burns its fuel completely within the first couple of minutes after launch. Once its job is done, it separates from the rest of the rocket and falls away. This separation happens over the ocean, far from populated areas, and that is completely by design,” explained space expert Girish Linganna.

So, where does this separated stage go? It falls. Straight down into the ocean. As it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere at very high speed, the friction generates intense heat enough to burn most of the metal to nothing. In almost all cases, the debris burns up completely before reaching the water. But in rare situations, heavier and denser components like the SITVC system do not burn fully. They survive the heat and splash down into the ocean. That is what happened here.

A senior ISRO scientist has confirmed there is nothing to worry about. The part is inert, meaning it has no fuel, no explosive material, nothing dangerous. It is essentially a heavy piece of metal that has done its job and come to rest. Scientists are still checking records to determine which specific PSLV mission this piece belongs to, as multiple launches happen over the years and tracking every separated component is a complex task.

This is not an isolated incident. In December 2025, a piece of ISRO's LVM-III rocket was found along the Malai Munthal coastal area in Sri Lanka. Just two months later, in February 2026, another large piece of the same LVM-III rocket was discovered on an uninhabited island in Laamu Atoll in the Maldives. Space agencies around the world are increasingly paying attention to this issue.

“To prevent such debris from causing accidents, space agencies carefully calculate 'drop zones' — specific ocean regions where separated rocket stages are expected to fall. These zones are chosen to be far from shipping lanes and coastlines. Ships and aircraft are warned in advance through official notices. Recovery teams are sometimes deployed. Most modern rockets are now being designed with "passivation" technology — meaning leftover fuel and pressure are vented out after separation, so there is no risk of explosion. Some advanced rockets, like SpaceX's Falcon 9, even land their first stages back on platforms to be reused, eliminating debris entirely,” added Linganna.

India too is working on reusable rocket technology. But until that becomes standard, incidents like this will occasionally remind us of something rather poetic that the very machine that carries our satellites to space quietly falls back to Earth, piece by piece, mostly unseen, usually burned away, and only rarely washing up on a fisherman's shore.

not-just-fear-7-games-where-survival-is-the-real-horror-from-last-of-us-to-amnesia-the-bunker

Mon Mar 23 01:36:12 IST 2026

If you thought horror in video games is simply a matter of jumpscares and eerie creatures that pop out of the dark, think again, because survival horror flips the script.

What makes this subgenre so great—and so flexible—is that when done right, the narrative draws you in, forcing you to feel powerless in someone's nightmare fuel.

In these games, fear is not only about what is chasing you, but also what you lack: ammunition, safe spaces, checkpoints, and most importantly, certainty.

Here are 7 games that make you lose yourself in a hostile world:

The Last of Us

Naughty Dog’s award-winning post-apocalyptic title is often remembered for its storytelling, but its horror truly lies in scarcity.

You play as Joel, a smuggler and single dad, tasked with escorting Ellie, an immune teenager, through a dystopian version of America in search of a cure for a deadly virus that has laid waste to the world.

Every choice you make needs you to think ten times, because the infected are dangerous, but it is human desperation shown on screen that gives you the chills.

Metro: Exodus

Set in a devastated Russia, this atmospheric game builds dread using the environment rather than spectacle.

Based on the novels of Glukhovsky, the third game from the series follows the plight of the protagonist Artyom, his wife Ana, and a crew of surviving Spartan Rangers as they set out on a cross-continental journey across nuclear-war-ravaged Moscow in search of safe harbour.

“Metro Exodus successfully manages to put you in wide-open spaces without ever giving you much room to breathe,” says IGN in its review of the game, perfectly encapsulating the feeling of claustrophobia you get as the game pulls you in.

Alien: Isolation

Few games have sparked as much online fights on survival horror games as Alien: Isolation, adapted from the 1979 film.

You play as Amanda, who investigates the disappearance of her mother, Ellen Ripley, aboard the space station Sevastopol, which was once ravaged by the threat of a fearsome alien.

While folks go back and forth on the pacing and gameplay, one thing is for certain—few games can capture the anxiety of being hunted by an alien made with a frustratingly efficient AI.

Dead Space

Sure, this niche offering from EA Redwood Shores has deadly monsters called Necromorphs that are worse than gruesome, but the game itself is ultimately about staying calm under pressure.

This sci-fi survival horror sees you play as Isaac Clarke, who navigates a mining spaceship overrun with those Necromorphs as he battles his own psychosis.

Apart from keeping your options limited, making every choice a step against death, the impact of Clarke's mind on the narration adds to what makes the game a gripping, grotesque treat.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

This first-person survival horror from Capcom brings back many aspects the classic Resident Evil games, while immersing you into the creepy narrative in new ways that linger in your mind long after the end credits have rolled.

Swapping traditional monsters for the inhumanly human Baker family and their grotesque plantation, you play as Ethan Winters, an everyman in search of his long-lost wife in a hostile world.

Amnesia: The Bunker

Like Dead Space, the sense of dread and the tension of this survival horror from Frictional Games comes from being limited by memory, making you something like a lost child in the unforgiving, claustrophobic world of The Stalker.

From where to go to whether to use a torch, every decision that Henri Clement makes is loaded with fear and uncertainty that reach out of the screen and grip you.

The Evil Within

Director Shinji Mikami's last foray into the survival horror genre takes one of his masterpieces, Resident Evil 4, and makes it bleaker, creepier, and much more gripping.

You play as Sebastian Castellanos, a detective who is investigating a multiple homicide at a hospital, only to eventually find himself in the becomes trapped in the nightmarish, shifting reality that is STEM.

The game thrives on flux—nothing is stable around you, as monsters that are often painfully difficult to fight throw themselves at you, making survival a battle for the last drop of sanity.

space-junk-crisis-how-49-dead-indian-satellites-could-disrupt-your-gps-and-internet

Sat Mar 21 15:25:25 IST 2026

Imagine throwing your old, broken phone out of the window and just leaving it there, floating in the air forever. Sounds strange, right? Well, something very similar is happening hundreds of kilometres above our heads except instead of phones, we are talking about dead satellites and rocket parts silently drifting in space. And India is a part of this growing problem.

In a written reply given in the Lok Sabha, Union Science and Technology and Space Minister Dr Jitendra Singh confirmed that India currently has 129 trackable pieces of space debris orbiting the earth. Out of these, 49 are non-functional satellites, meaning they were once launched with a purpose, did their job, and now simply hang in space with no way to steer, no power, and no use. Think of them as abandoned vehicles parked on a busy highway, except this highway is outer space, and there is no traffic police up there.

Of these 49 dead satellites, 23 are in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the zone roughly 200 to 2,000 kilometres above earth, where most communication and weather satellites operate. The remaining 26 are in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), which sits about 36,000 kilometres above the equator. This is where satellites stay fixed over one spot on earth, commonly used for television broadcasting and weather forecasting. Having dead satellites in both these zones is a serious concern because these are the most active and crowded areas in space.

The remaining 80 pieces of debris include 40 rocket parts from India's workhorse rocket PSLV, 4 from GSLV, and 3 from the heavier LVM3 rocket. On top of that, there are 33 fragments that broke off from a PSLV-C3 rocket stage that fell apart in orbit. These fragments are especially dangerous because they are irregular in shape and difficult to track precisely.

Now, why should a common person on the ground care about all this?

“Space debris travels at roughly 10 kilometres per second. That is about 36,000 kilometres per hour. At that speed, even a small screw or a paint flake can punch through a working satellite like a bullet. When a working satellite gets damaged or destroyed this way, it creates even more debris, which then threatens more satellites. This chain reaction is called the Kessler Syndrome, and if it goes unchecked, entire orbits could become unusable. That means no GPS on your phone, no weather forecasts on your television, no satellite internet, things that millions of Indians now depend on every single day,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

To tackle this, the Indian government launched the Debris Free Space Mission, or DFSM, in 2024. The target is bold and clear: zero space debris from all Indian space activities by the year 2030. This applies to both government missions and private space companies operating under India's growing space sector.

ISRO has already started building new design rules where rockets and satellites must carry extra fuel. This extra fuel is used at the end of a satellite's life to push it into a disposal orbit or bring it back into earth's atmosphere, where it burns up safely. Simple logic: clean up after yourself.

A big step forward came in early 2025 when India successfully demonstrated the SpaDeX mission. In this mission, two small spacecraft automatically docked and separated from each other in orbit without any human directly controlling them at that moment. This is a crucial technology because future debris-removal missions will need spacecraft to approach, grab, and redirect dead satellites without a human sitting inside. Think of it as teaching a robot to catch a moving ball while both are floating in zero gravity.

“Scientists are also developing robotic arms that can reach out and grab space junk, as well as drag sails and tethers that can slow debris down so it falls back into the atmosphere and burns up. Meanwhile, Project Netra India's own space surveillance system keeps a constant watch on all these floating objects and sends collision warnings to operators of active satellites. It is essentially India's radar system for space traffic,” added Linganna.

The road ahead is not easy. With only a few years left until 2030, India must move quickly from planning to real action. Every new launch must follow stricter debris-free rules. Every old satellite must be accounted for. And international cooperation will be just as important, because space does not belong to one country alone.

did-modi-govt-consider-preloading-state-run-apps-like-aadhaar-on-phones

Fri Mar 20 11:28:28 IST 2026

A proposal by the Narendra Modi-led Union government to have major technology companies, including Apple, Samsung, and Google, pre-install its biometric identification app, Aadhaar, on new phones was reportedly opposed by the Indian IT industry body, MAIT.

Reuters reported that according to industry documents, the Aadhaar request was one of six such demands made by the Indian government, which the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) pushed back against.

The development comes just months after a similar directive for the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app was revoked. The telecom security app was presented as a solution to combat mobile-related fraud, cybercrime, and device theft, but it triggered a political storm last year after the Centre directed smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the app on all new devices. In December, following widespread criticism, the government revoked the order.

Why did MAIT oppose the Centre’s move?

Aadhaar is a unique 12-digit identification number for nearly 1.34 billion residents, and is linked to fingerprints and iris scans. It is widely used for verification processes in banking and telecommunications. Despite assurances from the government that the Aadhaar system is safe, there have been concerns over privacy, especially in the backdrop of data leaks where personal details of millions of Aadhaar holders have appeared on the dark web.

According to an internal email from MAIT dated January 13, India's Aadhaar authority, UIDAI, approached the IT ministry in January to engage with Google, Apple and leading smartphone manufacturers to explore the possibility of pre-installing a new version of its Aadhaar app.

The request was opposed by companies because of concerns over increased production costs and functional issues for users, according to the MAIT's documents. Apple and Samsung, in particular, highlighted safety and security concerns with the proposal, the Reuters report said.

None of the companies have publicly made any comments on the matter so far. In a statement to Reuters, MAIT emphasised that its internal communications are confidential. They added that the use of such material in reporting "risks distorting the true context of industry discussions" and could potentially hinder their advocacy efforts.

As per a January email sent by MAIT to its members, which was reviewed by Reuters, UIDAI reasoned that the pre-installation would enable people to "readily access essential Aadhaar functionalities without the need for separate downloads" and "enhance its reach and accessibility". However, MAIT's member companies said that pre-installation "would not drive greater public good", and that it would mean producing separate devices for India and other global markets. MAIT also pointed out that, apart from Russia, no other country mandates the pre-installation of government apps on mobile phones.

The recently launched Aadhaar app, introduced in January, allows users to update their personal information, manage profiles for their family members, and secure their biometric data to prevent misuse.

It remains unclear whether the government is still actively pursuing this proposal or if it has been discontinued.

MAIT had also sent a letter to IT ministry official Ravinder Kumar Meena on March 10, opposing another government request for the pre-installation of an app called Sachet, a disaster alert service.

china-tiangong-space-station-cherry-tomatoes

Wed Mar 18 15:07:42 IST 2026

Imagine floating thousands of kilometres above the Earth, feeling a little homesick, and then suddenly spotting a tiny, bright red cherry tomato growing right in front of you. That is exactly what is happening right now on China's Tiangong space station. It is one of the most exciting things happening in space right now.

China's Tiangong station has been up there for about five years. It is shaped like the English letter "T" and is smaller than the famous International Space Station (ISS), which is a joint project of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. But smaller does not mean less important. Tiangong has two full science laboratories, can hold up to six astronauts (China calls them taikonauts, which simply means "space sailors" in Chinese), and is doing some truly remarkable work.

Interestingly, the taikonauts on board have successfully grown and harvested real, actual cherry tomatoes inside the space station. Earlier videos shared by the crew show small plants inside a box-shaped system, filled with beautiful yellow and red cherry tomatoes. The roots of the plants are visible through tiny windows, being sprayed continuously with a fine mist of nutrients. A special LED light, designed to copy natural sunlight, helps the plants grow healthy and strong.

But how do you even grow a plant in space? There is no soil up there, no rain, no sunshine coming through a window.

“This is where a smart farming method called aeroponics comes in. In simple words, aeroponics means growing plants in air. Instead of putting the roots in soil or water, the roots are left hanging in the air and sprayed regularly with a fine mist that contains all the nutrients the plant needs, like a tiny spa treatment for roots. This uses far less water than normal farming and even less than hydroponics, which is growing plants in water without soil,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

Tomatoes are just the beginning. According to global media reports, the crew is now planning to grow wheat, carrots, and even medicinal plants, the kind used in medicines, to understand just how powerful this space farming system can be for long future missions.

So why does this matter so much? “Think about a future mission to Mars. It would take about seven to nine months just to get there. You cannot carry enough food for the entire journey. But if astronauts can grow their own food while travelling, they become self-sufficient. They do not need to depend on Earth for every meal. That changes everything about how far humans can travel in space,” remarked Linganna.

And it is not just about food. NASA itself noted in 2023 that gardening in space gives astronauts a huge mental boost. Being in space for months can feel lonely and stressful. Tending to a plant, watching it grow, and eating something fresh gives a feeling of home, of life, of calm. It is good for the mind as much as the stomach.

Have other astronauts tried this before? Yes, very much. NASA astronauts on the ISS have been growing tomatoes and other plants for many years as part of their research. They have successfully grown lettuce, radishes, and peppers, too. In fact, NASA made a big announcement saying the first tomatoes successfully grown in space were on the ISS.

So globally, both China and the US are now seriously racing to master space farming, each learning from the other's experiments, even if they do not always work together directly. Russia, part of the ISS program, has also done plant experiments on board. The European Space Agency has run projects studying how seeds behave in zero gravity. The world's space agencies all agree on one thing: if humans ever want to live beyond Earth, they must learn to grow their own food up there. China's little cherry tomatoes are a delicious step in that direction.

iit-bombay-to-host-deep-tech-summit-featuring-137-start-ups

Tue Mar 17 17:23:42 IST 2026

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay is set to host the Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit this March, bringing together some of India’s most promising technology-driven start-ups, along with investors, policymakers and academic leaders.

The two-day national showcase will feature around 137 deep-tech start-ups selected from more than 3,000 applications received across the country, marking one of the largest curated platforms for research-led innovation in India.

The pre-summit is part of the larger Bharat Innovates 2026 initiative, which aims to position India’s deep-tech ecosystem on the global stage. Announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, the initiative will culminate in an international showcase in France later this year. The IIT Bombay event is expected to serve as a key national stepping stone toward that global engagement.

The summit will be inaugurated by Prof Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and Chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology & Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will also be present, alongside senior government officials, including Dr Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education; Prof Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology; and Dr Rajesh Sudhir Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology. Dr K Radhakrishnan, Chairperson of the Board of Governors at IIT Bombay, will also attend.

Speaking ahead of the event, IIT Bombay Director Prof. Shireesh Kedare said the summit reflects the collective strength of India’s premier academic and research institutions in nurturing deep-tech innovation. He highlighted the role of IITs and IISc, whose incubators, faculty and mentors were instrumental in evaluating and guiding start-ups through the selection process.

The summit will feature a mix of exhibitions, investor interactions and networking opportunities. Start-ups will showcase innovations spanning sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean energy, advanced materials and space technology—areas where deep-tech solutions are increasingly seen as critical to economic growth and strategic capability.

A key highlight will be a series of start-up pitch sessions, where founders will present their technologies and business models to leading investors and industry stakeholders. These sessions are expected to facilitate funding opportunities as well as strategic partnerships.

In a reverse format, the summit will also host 'reverse pitch' sessions, where investors and industry leaders will outline priority sectors and specific research and development challenges. This approach is aimed at aligning start-up innovation with real-world industry needs and fostering collaborative problem-solving.

Participating institutions from across the IIT ecosystem will set up dedicated stalls to present their innovation pipelines. These will include live demonstrations of technologies, ongoing research projects and incubation programmes, offering a glimpse into how academic institutions are driving entrepreneurship.

Beyond showcasing start-ups, the event will also host discussions on strengthening India’s deep-tech ecosystem. Policymakers, researchers and industry leaders are expected to deliberate on issues such as funding gaps, technology transfer, scaling challenges and global market access for Indian innovations.

The summit comes at a time when India is pushing to expand its footprint in deep-tech sectors, which typically require high levels of research, capital and long development cycles but hold significant potential for long-term impact.

According to organisers, the selected start-ups represent innovations at various stages of development—from early research (Technology Readiness Levels 3–4) to near-commercial solutions (TRL 8–9). These ventures will be mentored and supported under the Bharat Innovates programme before being introduced to global stakeholders later this year.

Bharat Innovates 2026 is an initiative of the Ministry of Education, with strategic guidance from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser. It focuses on identifying and nurturing around 100 high-potential, research-backed innovations emerging from higher education institutions and centrally funded technical institutes.

By convening key players across academia, government and industry, the IIT Bombay pre-summit is expected to play a crucial role in shaping India’s deep-tech narrative—bridging the gap between lab research and market-ready innovation, and preparing Indian start-ups for global visibility.

With the international showcase in France on the horizon, the event signals a concerted effort to position India not just as a start-up hub but also as a leader in cutting-edge, research-driven technologies.

navic-in-crisis-why-indias-gps-alternative-faces-a-race-against-time

Mon Mar 16 16:31:01 IST 2026

Imagine relying on your phone's map to find your way home during heavy rain, or a train driver depending on signals to avoid accidents. That's the magic of satellite navigation systems like America's GPS, which we all use daily without a second thought.

However, India's own NavIC, our homegrown answer to GPS, is now in deep trouble. With just three working satellites left, it's like trying to play cricket with only a few players on the field: you can't win properly.

While global giants like GPS boast over 30 satellites buzzing in space, ensuring smooth service everywhere, NavIC is struggling to even stay in the game. This isn't just a technical glitch; it's a wake-up call for our nation's self-reliance in space tech that affects farmers, fishermen, and everyday folks like you and me.

Let's break it down. NavIC—short for Navigation with Indian Constellation—is India's satellite system designed to give accurate location info, just like Global Positioning System (GPS). It helps with everything from tracking vehicles to sending disaster alerts.

However, a key satellite called IRNSS-1F, launched back in March 2016, said goodbye after its 10-year life ended on March 10, 2026. The big problem? Its atomic clock—the super-precise heart of the satellite—stopped ticking.

Think of an atomic clock as a watch that's accurate to a billionth of a second. It measures how long a signal takes to travel from space to your device, calculating your exact spot on Earth. Even a tiny time error can throw your location off by hundreds of metres, like mistaking Delhi for Gurgaon!

“Without this clock, IRNSS-1F can only send one-way signals, meaning it broadcasts data to Earth but can't help with two-way navigation. It's like a radio that plays songs but can't take requests. For NavIC to pinpoint locations accurately, it needs at least four satellites working together at once. Right now, only three are fully operational for navigation: the IRNSS-1B (launched in April 2014), IRNSS-1L (April 2018), and the newer NVS-01 (May 2023). The IRNSS-1B is already past its 10-year design life, so it could fail any day, like an old scooter that's still running, but might conk out on the road. NVS-01 is fresh and reliable, but one lone warrior can't hold the fort for an entire system meant for seven satellites,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

Compare this to the big players. America's GPS has about 31 operational satellites orbiting Earth, making it rock-solid for global use—from guiding planes to helping you order food online.

Russia's GLONASS runs with 24 satellites, China's BeiDou with 35, and Europe's Galileo with around 30. These systems are like well-oiled machines with backups galore, rarely facing downtime. But NavIC? Out of 11 satellites launched so far, only three provide full Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services as of March 13, 2026. Four others are stuck sending one-way messages after losing navigation ability, one is retired, and two never reached the right orbit.

The troubles began with those imported atomic clocks in older satellites. Depending on foreign technology proved risky—they failed repeatedly, turning strong satellites into half-useful ones.

That's why the new NVS series is a step up; NVS-01 uses homegrown clocks and supports the L1 signal band.

This means future phones could use NavIC with just a software update, no extra hardware needed. But even that upgrade is stalled. NVS-02, launched in January 2025, got hit by an electrical fault: its engine didn't fire right, leaving it in the wrong orbit and useless for navigation.

Delays in replacements are piling up, and with only three satellites, NavIC is way below its designed strength of seven.

“This hits us where it hurts—right in daily life. About 8,700 trains already use NavIC for real-time tracking, with plans to cover 12,000. It warns of disasters, guides ships at sea, and tracks vehicles to keep roads safe. Fishermen rely on it to find fish spots without crossing borders, and farmers use it for precise farming. But with the system teetering, these services are at risk. Imagine a cyclone warning delayed because signals aren't strong enough? Lives could be in danger. It's not just about maps; it's about safety and progress for common people like auto drivers, delivery boys, and villagers,” pointed out Linganna.

Experts say that there is hope if we act fast. By learning from global leaders who keep launching backups, India can ramp up replacements and fix these glitches.

NavIC was built to make us independent, not dependent on foreign systems that could be switched off in crises. It's time to boost our space efforts, like a family fixing their old roof before the monsoon.

how-an-11-year-old-girl-stumbled-into-the-discovery-of-the-largest-marine-reptile-ever-known

Sun Mar 15 12:48:41 IST 2026

It began as a routine stroll along the windswept shores of Somerset, but for 11-year-old Ruby Reynolds and her father, a flash of bone among the stones at Blue Anchor was about to rewrite natural history. What they initially mistook for mere fragments turned out to be the jawbone of a prehistoric titan—Ichthyotitan Severnensis— the largest ever known marine reptile, stretching a staggering 82 feet from snout to tail.

The discovery was made in late May 2020 when the father-daughter duo were looking for fossils on the beaches. While recalling the incident, Justin Reynolds said that it was "bigger than any piece of bone I had ever found before."

The researchers have now identified Ichthyotitan severnensis as the largest known reptile that ever existed on earth.

How was the marine giant Ichthyotitan Severnensis discovered?

The photos captured by Ruby and her father were studied by palaeontologist Dean Lomax, who had initially identified it as an ichthyosauria, an order of large extinct marine reptiles.

The discovery acted like a final puzzle piece clicking into place. When these new fragments were compared with a jawbone discovered in 2016 by local collector Paul de la Salle, the true scale of the creature became apparent. Once reconstructed, the jaw spanned over 6.5 feet, confirming that both finds belonged to the same colossal, previously unknown species.

Formally named Ichthyotitan severnensis in the journal PLOS ONE, the species represents a new peak in prehistoric scale. Scientists used the massive jawbone to estimate a total body length of 82 feet, confirming that this 'giant fish-lizard' was nearly as long as a modern blue whale.

Palaeontologists described the fossils as "unusual and extremely large". They also noted that the reptile is "genuinely enormous, roughly the length of a blue whale."

The internal bone structure examination found evidence that the animal was still growing when it died.

Why is the discovery significant?

This discovery effectively redraws the map of the Triassic oceans. The creature's unique jaw structure and preserved physiological markers suggest a remarkably streamlined predator—one engineered for high-speed, long-distance pursuits across the vast, prehistoric deep.

Researchers also point out that the discovery highlights the rich fossil potential of the Somerset coastline.

The specimen offers the first clear evidence of a truly gigantic ichthyosaur from the Triassic era. It has set the stage for future breakthroughs, raising hopes that a complete skull or skeleton of this ocean-dwelling titan remains buried in the region, waiting to be unearthed.

clair-obscur-expedition-33-returns-to-glory-at-gdca-2026-check-full-list-of-winners

Sat Mar 14 16:43:07 IST 2026

Sandfall Interactive really chose to storm gaming awards this year too, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 going on to repeat its Game Awards 2025 success at the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) 2026, held on Thursday.

The famed turn-based RPG was already one of the most nominated games at the premier event of the GDC Festival of Gaming 2026, followed by Ghost of Yōtei, Blue Prince, Donkey Kong Bananza, Split Fiction, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Hades II.

This year, while Emmy Award-winning game designer Don Daglow was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award, Rebecca Ann Heineman, a veteran game developer and one of the first video game players, was posthumously honoured with the 2026 Ambassador Award.

Here is the full list of winners from every category:

Best Design

BALL X PIT

Blue Prince - WINNER

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Donkey Kong Bananza

Split Fiction

Best Narrative

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - WINNER

Despelote

Dispatch

Ghost of Yōtei

Split Fiction

Best Technology

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach - WINNER

Donkey Kong Bananza

Ghost of Yōtei

Split Fiction

Game of the Year

Blue Prince

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - WINNER

Donkey Kong Bananza

Ghost of Yōtei

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Split Fiction

Best Audio

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - WINNER

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Ghost of Yōtei

Rift of the NecroDancer

South of Midnight

Best Visual Art

Absolum

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - WINNER

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Ghost of Yōtei

Hades II

Keeper

Innovation Award

BALL X PIT

Baby Steps

Blue Prince - WINNER

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Donkey Kong Bananza

Social Impact

And Roger

Consume Me - WINNER

Despelote

Dispatch

Best Debut

BALL X PIT

Blue Prince

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - WINNER

Dispatch

earth-observation-satellites-isro-esa-partnership

Sat Mar 14 13:17:01 IST 2026

Imagine two very smart neighbours, living far apart, deciding to share notes, tools, and ideas—not to compete, but to protect the same home. That is exactly what happened at the beginning of March 2026, when India's space agency ISRO and Europe's space agency ESA shook hands on a fresh agreement.

The agreement is about checking each other's satellite data for accuracy, testing space instruments together, and doing joint science studies. In simple words, both teams will now cross-check their space homework to make sure the information coming from satellites about our Earth, its land, rivers, air, forests, and oceans is fully correct and trustworthy.

This friendship is not new. India and Europe have been working together in space since 1978—that is, almost 50 years. It was renewed in 2002 and has grown stronger since. ESA's ground stations helped India's Chandrayaan Moon missions and the Aditya L1 solar probe reach their targets safely. In return, ISRO's own deep space antenna has helped ESA's missions too. Real friendship always goes both ways, and this partnership is a beautiful example of that.

However, why should ordinary people care about satellites and space data? In plain language, satellites are like giant cameras and sensors floating above us in space, watching our Earth around the clock. They can spot a flood forming days before it hits a village. They can see if crops are healthy or dying due to drought. They track cyclones moving towards coastlines and warn fishermen to return home early. They measure air pollution floating over our cities. For a farmer in Vidarbha or a fisherman in Tamil Nadu, this data is not just science; it is life-saving information that arrives in time.

“India, today, operates a strong fleet of working Earth observation satellites. Cartosat-3, with its sharp sub-metre resolution, enables detailed 3D mapping and coastal studies. Resourcesat-2 and 2A provide essential data for agriculture, land use, forestry, water resources, and drought monitoring. RISAT-1A uses radar imaging that works in all weather and even at night, supporting crop monitoring, flood mapping, and soil studies. Oceansat-3 tracks ocean colour, wind, and waves—directly helping fishermen, climate scientists, and monsoon forecasters. These satellites are working every single day, silently, for the benefit of every Indian,” remarked space analyst Girish Linganna.

The biggest and most exciting current mission is NISAR—a joint satellite built together by India's ISRO and America's NASA. It was declared fully operational in January 2026, with its very first pictures capturing the Godavari River Delta. Think of NISAR as a radar eye in the sky that can see through clouds, rain, and complete darkness. It can detect movement of land and ice surfaces down to the centimetre, helping with disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, and farm management. By February 2026, NISAR data was already being used to create soil moisture maps across central India and the Indo-Gangetic plains—real data, already helping real farmers on the ground.

“On the European side, ESA is bringing powerful new tools. One of the most exciting is a satellite called FLEX. Think of it this way—when plants are healthy, they glow very faintly during photosynthesis, the process by which they make food from sunlight. This glow is invisible to our eyes, but FLEX can detect it from space. This tells scientists whether forests and crops are healthy or under stress from heat and drought. FLEX is expected to launch in 2026, and with ISRO and ESA now working as partners, India too will benefit from this extraordinary plant-health data. Another important ESA mission called BIOMASS, launched in 2025, measures how much carbon our forests are storing, critical information in the fight against climate change and the protection of forests worldwide,” explained Linganna.

ISRO is also working towards sending Indians to space through the Gaganyaan mission, and ESA is supporting this by providing tracking antennas to monitor the spacecraft during flight. This is a true partnership going beyond paperwork into genuine action.

But what does all of this mean for the common people? It means weather forecasts will get more accurate. It means coastal communities will receive earlier and better flood and cyclone warnings. It means farmers will know in advance if their crops need extra water or care. It means our forests will be better protected and our seas better monitored.

gaganyaans-dream-burns-brighter-after-isros-sea-level-test-of-the-cryogenic-engine

Fri Mar 13 13:41:52 IST 2026

On March 10, 2026, something remarkable happened quietly at a remote testing facility in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu. India's space agency, ISRO, successfully ran its most powerful cryogenic rocket engine — the CE20 — at full power for a continuous 165 seconds at the sea level. That is nearly three minutes of raw, controlled fire. And everything worked exactly as planned.

This may sound like just another test, but for India's space programme and especially for the Gaganyaan mission that aims to send Indian astronauts to space, this moment carries enormous meaning.

"The CE20 cryogenic engine is the heart of the upper stage of India's heaviest rocket, the LVM3. Think of LVM3 as a very large and powerful truck that carries satellites and spacecraft into orbit. The CE20 engine sits on top of this rocket and does the final push — the most critical job of sending the payload into the right path in space. Until now, this engine was operating at a thrust level of 19 tonnes. But ISRO has bigger plans. Future missions will need this engine to push harder — at 22 tonnes of thrust — so that the rocket can carry heavier satellites and more equipment into space," explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

So why is testing this engine at sea level such a big challenge?

The CE20 is designed to work in space, where there is almost no air pressure. Its nozzle — the large cone-shaped part at the bottom of the engine from where fire blasts out, is specially built for those near-vacuum conditions. When you try to run such an engine here on Earth, where air pressure is normal and high, the exhaust gases inside that large nozzle suddenly lose control. They stop flowing smoothly along the nozzle walls and break away abruptly. This is called flow separation. When this happens, it creates violent shaking and extreme heat at that breaking point, which can damage or even destroy the nozzle. It is like trying to pour water through a funnel designed for outer space — things simply do not behave the same way on the ground.

To solve this problem, ISRO developed and used a Nozzle Protection System. This is a specially engineered protective arrangement that shields the nozzle from the dangerous heat and shaking forces during ground testing. Earlier, this system was tested at the lower thrust of 19 tonnes. This time, ISRO successfully used it at the full 22-tonne thrust level — a first, and a very important one.

"The engine was also fired using a multi-element igniter — a clever ignition system with multiple points of ignition that helps the cryogenic fuel catch fire smoothly and reliably, instead of having one single point that might fail or cause an uneven start. This is extremely important for human spaceflight, where there is absolutely no room for error," added Linganna.

Now, what does all this mean for Gaganyaan — India's dream mission to send its own astronauts to space?

Everything actually; before any engine is allowed to fly on a mission, it must pass what is called a flight acceptance test — a final ground test that confirms the engine is fully ready and safe to fly. With the upgrade to 22-tonne thrust planned for future missions, this flight acceptance test must also be done at 22 tonnes. The successful test proves that ISRO's test facility, the protective systems, and the engine itself are all ready for that critical final certification.

Beyond this, the same CE20 engine used in this test has now completed a record 20 successful hot tests — meaning 20 times this engine has been run with actual cryogenic fuel, proving technology after technology with the same engine. Engineers used these tests to validate homegrown turbopump bearings — the high-speed rotating parts that push cryogenic fuel under extreme pressure into the engine — and indigenous sensors that monitor temperature, pressure, and engine health in real time. Both were developed and built right here in India.

"The tests also proved that the engine can restart by itself in space without needing a separate startup system — a capability called bootstrap start mode — which is vital for missions that need the engine to fire more than once during flight," pointed out Linganna.

India is not just testing an engine. It is proving, piece by piece, that it has the technology, the skill, and the determination to send its own people safely to space and bring them back home.

ai-for-global-south-india-mission-opinion-guest

Thu Mar 12 17:12:03 IST 2026

India, home to 1.4 billion people, stands at a pivotal moment in harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) not as a Western luxury, but as a necessity for survival and scale. The recently concluded India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi underscored this ambition, shifting global discourse from risk-obsessed regulation to developmental.

Held from February 16-20 at Bharat Mandapam, the summit - India's flagship under the IndiaAI Mission, drew global leaders to emphasise "AI for People, Planet, and Progress." Unlike prior Western-led events in Bletchley (UK, 2023), Seoul (South Korea, 2024), and Paris (France 2025), it prioritised use cases for the Global South—healthcare access, agricultural yields and governance efficiency.

Outcomes included India's entry into the US-led Pax Silica which will secure supply chains for AI, semiconductors, and critical minerals for "AI Commons" to democratise compute and datasets, establishing compute infrastructure, building indigenous Large Language Models (LLMs), creation of data platform across 20 sectors, talent development, start-up support and projects for AI safety, including bias mitigation and deepfake detection.

AI is transforming India's creaking bureaucracy, where manual processes serve a population larger than the EU and US combined. The India AI Mission, with ₹10,371 crore ($1.24 billion) over five years, has deployed 38,000+ GPUs for sovereign compute, enabling tools like MuleHunter.AI (RBI’s initiative) to detect banking fraud and BharatGen, a multimodal LLM for public services.

In agriculture, AI-driven Kisan e-Mitra chatbots and satellite analytics cut fertiliser overuse by 40% in pilots, boosting yields 12-30 per cent across 77 crops while curbing emissions. Railways' Kavach 2.0 prevents collisions on 3,500 km of track, and NPCI's systems block ₹25 crore ($3 million) in daily UPI scams.

For citizens, AI bypasses infrastructure bottlenecks: e-Sanjeevani telemedicine translates Malayalam queries to Hindi, slashing consult times by 22 per cent; courts auto-generate bilingual judgments, clearing 12,000 backlogs. Bhashini enables real-time translation across 22 languages, while YUVAi equips 8-12 graders with AI skills. Flood forecasting via BrahmaSATARK saved ₹180 crore in Kerala by predicting disasters six days early. These interventions prioritise access over perfection, serving 1.4 billion without Western-style prerequisites like universal broadband.

Western models—the European Union's binding AI Act with risk tiers and GDPR-tied privacy, or the US focus on individual rights—clash with India's realities. The EU bans manipulative AI and mandates bias audits; America emphasises explainability. India, via advisory Principles for Responsible AI (2018) and DPDPA (2023), opts for sector-specific guidelines stressing "AI for All": inclusivity, equality, and societal good over hyper-individualism.

India's diverse datasets (via AIKosh's 3,000+ entries) aim for cultural rootedness, countering Western models trained on English-centric data. Privacy yields to collective utility—think Aadhaar's biometrics enabling UPI for 500 million unbanked—while safety nets like the India AI Safety Institute test for harms.

This "Eastern" paradigm, akin to UAE collaborations, values community harmony and holistic progress, not just autonomy. Overlooking some Western sensitivities—like exhaustive consent for every data point—frees India to deploy AI in law enforcement (e.g., Maharashtra's MARVEL) or predictive policing where speed saves lives amid terror threats and disasters.

Balance comes through indigenisation: Sarvam AI's sovereign LLMs ensure data sovereignty, with 20,000 more GPUs announced at the summit. NASSCOM reports 87% enterprise AI adoption, adding USD 500-600 billion to GDP by 2030. Yet challenges persist—digital divides, talent retention, and fragmented data. India's response: FutureSkills PRIME (3.37 lakh completions) and startup financing.

Concerns raised by civil society groups, activists, and some industry observers about India's relatively light-touch, advisory approach to AI regulation compared to stricter Western frameworks like the EU AI Act. However, for a nation where 65 per cent lack formal banking and doctors serve 834 patients each, ethical absolutism is a straitjacket. India's model evolves via pilots: bias-mitigated healthcare AI, explainable governance tools, under Safe & Trusted AI pillar.

The summit positioned India as a key connector for the Global South, sharing its DPI-AI tools like UPI and Aadhaar with other nations while pushing for open AI models to counter Big Tech monopolies. By the 2027 Geneva summit, India's 180,000 AI-powered startups and 6 million tech jobs could reshape global standards. In the end, practical ethics prevail - rules designed to enable progress rather than hinder it.

In sum, India's AI path forged at New Delhi rejects imported dogma for a sovereign, scaled model. It bets that for 1.4 billion aspirations, bold deployment with calibrated safeguards outpaces cautious perfectionism. The world, especially the South, watches closely.

The writer is partner, Grant Thornton Bharat. His PhD research was on the factors affecting the use of AI by governments in India.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

why-satellite-firm-planet-labs-is-extending-its-middle-east-image-delay-to-14-days

Wed Mar 11 15:20:32 IST 2026

Satellite images firm Planet Labs announced on Tuesday that it is extending its restriction on access to imagery of the Middle East to prevent US adversaries from using it to attack the US and its allies. The California-based firm operates a large fleet of earth imaging satellites.

The images by the firm are sold frequently to governments, companies and media.

On Monday, the firm said that it was extending its restriction to a period of two weeks from a delay of four days.

"After consulting with experts inside and outside of government... Planet has decided to take additional, proactive measures to ensure our imagery is not tactically leveraged by adversarial actors to target allied and NATO-partner personnel and civilians," a statement said. “All of Iran and nearby allied bases, in addition to the Gulf States and existing conflict zones", will be blocked for 14 days, it said.

Planet Labs was founded in 2010 by NASA scientists.

The most recent images that cover the Gulf states were released by the firm on March 6.

The decision showcases the role of commercial satellite operators in global conflicts.

Images from the satellite firm supply intelligence to clients worldwide,

According to a Planet Labs spokesperson, the move to extend the delay was temporary and made in an effort to"o limit any uncontrolled distribution of the images that might result in their unintentional access and use as tactical leverage by adversarial actors.”
Some space specialists say that Iran could be accessing commercial imagery via other adversaries of the US.

Another firm, Vantor, which also deals in high-resolution satellite images, said that it had a policy of not distributing images of US or allied bases during times of geopolitical conflict.

“During times of geopolitical conflict, Vantor may implement enhanced access controls to prevent the misuse of sensitive geospatial intelligence and to help protect allied forces and civilians," it said.

instagram-messages-not-loading-downdetector-confirms-ig-isnt-working-for-many

Wed Mar 11 14:42:07 IST 2026

Finding it difficult to send messages on Instagram? Well, it is not just you. Users across the world have been facing issues on Wednesday while trying to DM someone via the Meta-owned social media platform.

According to Downdetector, a website that provides real-time information about the status of various websites, the issue still persists. In India alone, thousands of reports were filed, while US users across Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, New York, and Washington joined the trend, a report said. Downdetector data reportedly showed that Indian users started experiencing the outage around 7:40am IST on Wednesday, and apart from the difficulty is using the messaging feature, many people have reported server connection issues as well. A minority is also finding to hard to load their older chats (message history), X posts claimed.

A broader Meta server issue can be ruled out since Instagram's sister platforms WhatsApp and Facebook remains operational without any glitches. Apart from the messaging difficulty, users were also having problems with their Instagram feed, as posts were reportedly not loading. Refreshing the feed and opening profile pages were restricted for these users, reports said.

Meta has not issued an official statement on the issue during the time of compiling this report.

Outages usually get fixed within a few hours. Meta apps were down for users across UK, US, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. on December 11, 2024, affecting lakhs of users. While some users were unable to refresh their feeds, the applications froze for some others. When some users opened Facebook, they were shown a message reading “We're working on getting this fixed as soon as we can.” The issue was later resolved with Meta various Meta platforms confirming it in separate official posts.

from-expedition-33-to-silksong-7-games-with-the-most-game-developers-choice-awards-2026-nominations

Sun Mar 08 17:15:44 IST 2026

Spring is nearly here, and with it comes one of the first of many gaming awards this year, the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) at the GDC Festival of Gaming 2026.

Taking place on March 12, one of the gaming world’s biggest nights sees the runaway hit from yesteryear, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, looking to return to the spotlight.

However, it faces tough competition from various indie giants, making this year’s nominations list a must-watch.

Here are the seven most nominated titles at the GDCA 2026:

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The obvious Goliath in the running for Game of the Year—among seven other nominations—is a turn-based RPG from French indie studio Sandfall Interactive.

Set in the dystopian world of Lumiere, you lead a suicide squad against The Paintress, a godlike figure with the power to erase people of a certain age every year.

Ghost of Yotei

Sony’s critically acclaimed follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima secured five nominations.

Set in the lands surrounding Mount Yōtei in 1603, the game has been praised for the way in which it reinvented its own gold standard, and specifically for its atmosphere and technical merits.

Blue Prince

An underrated giant in the indie space, this title from Dogubomb earned four nominations, taking the fight to the top award too.

This cryptic first-person mystery/strategy title sees players explore an eerie mansion that is a puzzle in itself that presents a singular goal—to find the elusive 46th room laid out in a dead uncle's will.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Nintendo's Donkey Kong Bananza may have won just one award at The Game Awards 2025—in addition to a nomination for the top prize—and yet, it was its wider impact that got everybody talking.

The game is best known for offering a lighter 'toybox' tone as compared to the other games in the fray—as well as a well-crafted kinetic energy—that eaasily makes it a strong challenger.

Split Fiction

As enchanting, fast-paced and genre-uprooting as they come is Hazelight Studios' brilliant co-op game Split Fiction, which turned heads at The Game Awards last year for the sheer genius behind its making.

This multiplayer-only title garnered four nominations, and features two protagonists who are trapped in series of virtual reality worlds from which they must escape.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

This metroidvania giant from indie studio Team Cherry is touted as one of the main indie giants in the fray with Split Fiction and crowd favourite Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the top award.

Winning Best Action/Adventure game at the Game Awards 2025—in addition to a number of other nominations—Hollow Knight: Silksong sees you play as Hornet, a character who parkours through the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom, crafts tools, and faces brutally precise bosses that frustrate as much as they did in the prequel.

Hades II

Despite fans often appreciating the perfectionism behind this roguelite offering from Supergiant Games, it went from six nominations at The Game Awards 2025 to just one nomination for a quality the veteran developers fixated on: visual art.

Employing unique narrative tools, the game features Hades' daughter Melinoe's quest to defeat her grandfather Chronos, the Titan of Time.

explainer-india-is-building-bodyguards-for-its-satellites-here-is-why

Sat Mar 07 15:37:48 IST 2026

Imagine you have a very expensive, very important security camera placed high above your house. That camera watches your borders, tracks enemies, maps your land, and sends you critical information 24 hours a day. Now imagine someone else's camera slowly drifting towards yours — getting closer and closer until it is just one kilometre away. That is not an accident. That is a threat.

This is exactly what happened to India in 2024. A satellite from a neighbouring country whose identity was not revealed came within just 1 kilometre of an Indian satellite that was performing land mapping and ground surveillance. Bloomberg News had first reported this incident in September 2024, revealed that this near-miss shook India's space security establishment badly. And that one incident changed everything.

So what exactly is a bodyguard satellite?

“Think of it like a security guard, but in space. A bodyguard satellite is a spacecraft whose only job is to protect another important satellite. It hovers nearby, watches for threats, detects suspicious movements from enemy satellites, and if needed, responds,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

It is being reported in the media that India is now building two types of these bodyguard satellites. The first type has a robotic arm, yes, a mechanical arm in space, that can physically grab a threatening satellite and move it away. The second type works in a group. When a small enemy satellite tries to get close to an Indian asset, these bodyguard satellites surround it in a box-like formation and push it away. Like bouncers at a nightclub, but 500 kilometres above the Earth.

Why is India doing this now?

Two events forced India's hand. First, the 2024 near-miss incident. Second, and more urgently, last year's military standoff with Pakistan. During those four tense days of conflict, satellites played a massive role. Both sides used them to locate targets, track troop movements, and position radar systems. But here is the alarming part: a research group working under India's own defence ministry reported in May that China reportedly provided satellite support to Pakistan during the conflict. This helped Pakistan improve the positioning of its radar and air-defence systems.

India was essentially being watched from space by a third country while fighting a two-front situation. That exposed a deep vulnerability. India's satellites could see the enemy. However, India's satellites could also be targeted, blinded, or interfered with, and India had no way to stop that.

Who else is doing this?

India is not alone in this race but it is behind, and it knows it. “China is already far ahead. There are reports that China has been testing "dogfighting" satellites, a spacecraft specifically designed to manoeuvre aggressively around other satellites in space.

China has likely already developed the ability to physically interfere with or even attach itself to another country's satellite. With over 1,100 active satellites compared to India's little over 100, according to satellite tracking website N2YO.com, China's space dominance is not just technological, it is numerical,” pointed out Linganna.

Japan's defence ministry has also started developing its own prototype bodyguard satellite to protect against so-called "killer satellites," as reported by the media last year. The European Defence Fund has been studying similar programmes since at least 2023. The race to protect assets in space is already on, and multiple major powers have quietly entered it.

What is India's bigger plan?

The bodyguard satellite programme is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Bloomberg has reported that India's government has been in advanced talks with private startups to build and launch the first test bodyguard satellite in the first half of this year. More launches are expected. After the technology is proven, government agencies will take over and scale it up.

In parallel, India is fast-tracking its Space-Based Surveillance programme and planning to launch more than 50 spy satellites capable of providing imaging even at night and in all weather conditions. Long-term plans include launching up to 150 new satellites, creating a permanent "eye in the sky" watching India's borders continuously.

India is also building monitoring stations inside the country and at key overseas locations to track foreign satellites in real time. Bloomberg sources confirm that talks with France and the UAE on joint satellite tracking and monitoring cooperation are already underway.

“Space was once considered neutral ground — a place for science, communication, and weather forecasting. That age is over. Space is now a battlefield. Countries are positioning killer satellites, bodyguard satellites, and surveillance systems above our heads every single day. India has woken up to this reality. Slowly, but surely, it is now building its own army above the clouds,” remarked Linganna.

opinion-or-from-draft-to-notification-why-indias-sgi-rules-still-miss-the-point

Sat Mar 07 14:24:57 IST 2026

Released in draft form in October 2025 and notified in February 2026, the IT Amendment Rules on Synthetically Generated Information (SGI) have generated significant public debate. The concern that they seek to address—namely the growing misuse of deepfakes, manipulated media, and AI-enabled fraud—is both real and urgent. The approach they adopt reflects an emerging institutional consensus that deceptive AI-generated and manipulated content should be governed through transparency and accountability measures. Other measures that the government has taken in this regard include MeitY’s 2024 advisory, the Election Commission’s disclosure directions for synthetically generated campaign material, the Madras High Court’s directions in X v. Union of India (2025), the SOP subsequently issued by MeitY, and the already existing due diligence framework under the IT Rules, 2021.

The difficulty lies in the regulatory design. Even in their notified form, the Amendment Rules move beyond the scope and logic of existing transparency-based interventions.

Overbreadth, Subjectivity, and Label Fatigue

The Amendment Rules risk pushing intermediaries into a form of proactive monitoring that sits uneasily with India’s existing legal framework. The IT Rules, 2021 already contained a limited “reasonable” obligation for Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) to proactively identify certain categories of unlawful content. The notified 2026 amendments expand that obligation in important respects by bringing SGI within a structured due diligence regime that requires verification of user declarations, prominent labelling, and embedded provenance markers.

While the Rules narrow the scope to specific media types and introduce explicit carve-outs for routine or good-faith editing, accessibility enhancements, and educational or research materials, they continue to extend obligations beyond strictly unlawful content into broad classes of synthetic media, irrespective of demonstrated harm.

Although the notified definition of SGI is more tailored than the draft, concerns regarding overbreadth and interpretive uncertainty remain. The operative trigger is not demonstrable harm or intent to deceive, but whether content ‘appears to be real, authentic, or true’ and is ‘likely to be perceived as indistinguishable from a natural person or real-world event.’ These perception-based standards inject subjectivity into compliance determinations and require intermediaries to anticipate how viewers might interpret content. The boundary between realistic simulation and unlawful deception is often context-dependent, and this ambiguity may generate compliance uncertainty in practice. The Rules also condition safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act on adherence to these due diligence requirements, heightening the regulatory stakes of classification errors.

Imposing enhanced verification and labelling obligations may harm rather than benefit the interests of users online. The requirement to deploy technical systems capable of identifying and marking qualifying SGI at scale, coupled with persistent metadata and non-removable provenance markers, could incentivise platforms to err on the side of precaution. False positives, wherein lawful or contextually legitimate content is classified and labelled as SGI, may distort user engagement and undermine trust. At scale, the cumulative effect may be a form of "label fatigue", where frequent disclosures dilute their own communicative value.

Regulators should also recognise that interoperable provenance standards and techno-legal frameworks developed through multi-stakeholder collaboration may provide more flexible and resilient approaches to managing synthetic media risk than compliance mandates alone.

A shift away from the Notice-and-Takedown framework

The Supreme Court’s decision in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India is often understood as reaffirming a notice-and-takedown model for intermediary due diligence, where obligations are, in the main, triggered by court or government directions. The notified Rules, however, move in a materially different direction. While they retain a formal notice-based structure, they compress compliance timelines to an extent that fundamentally alters the practical architecture of enforcement.

Under the amended Rule 3(1)(d), intermediaries are now required to remove or disable access to unlawful content within three hours of receiving a valid court or government order. Grievance redressal timelines have also been significantly tightened, with shorter windows in certain cases—including as little as two hours for specified categories of content. These timelines represent a dramatic departure from the earlier 36-hour framework under the 2021 Rules.

Such compression is not merely procedural but is likely to reshape the compliance environment. A three-hour takedown window, particularly at scale, leaves little room for contextual evaluation, internal escalation, or careful legal assessment. Even where notices are validly issued, the risk of error increases as platforms are compelled to act almost immediately. In high-volume systems handling millions of posts daily, this may incentivise defensive "over-removal" rather than calibrated moderation.

Moreover, when combined with proactive technical deployment duties relating to synthetically generated information, the regime begins to resemble a hybrid model: part notice-and-takedown, part continuous monitoring architecture. The cumulative effect is a shift away from a reactive, knowledge-based safe-harbour model toward one that increasingly expects near-real-time detection and response. Where timelines approach immediacy, due-process safeguards—including clarity of notice, internal review mechanisms, and user appeal rights—become even more important. Without such guardrails, accelerated compliance risks undermining both speech protection and legal certainty.

Asymmetric incentives

The notified Rules move beyond the traditional ‘actual knowledge’ model that the law has otherwise sought to preserve. Even as the IT Rules, 2021 envisage liability consequences being linked to actual knowledge of unlawful content through court or government directions, the amended framework exposes intermediaries to consequences where their deployed technical measures fail to prevent or appropriately label synthetically generated information.

Detection tools, while improving, remain imperfect, vary across content types, and can be defeated through adversarial techniques. At the scale at which major platforms operate, false positives and false negatives are not edge cases; they are inevitable. Faced with that uncertainty, intermediaries may respond by suppressing borderline or ambiguous content pre-emptively, often without the procedural safeguards that typically accompany restrictions on speech, such as notice, a chance to be heard, appeal, or meaningful review.

It is true that the notified Rules clarify that the removal or disabling of access to content in compliance with their provisions does not violate Section 79(2) of the IT Act. However, the interaction between proactive detection duties and the statutory safe-harbour architecture continues to raise interpretive questions, particularly where liability exposure may hinge on the adequacy of technical systems rather than on actual knowledge of specific unlawful content.

Although the amended framework provides some assurance regarding compliance-based removals, it simultaneously hardens certain obligations—replacing discretionary formulations with the mandatory deployment of technical measures. This recalibration may narrow the space for voluntary, good-faith moderation beyond the strict confines of the Rules and could generate uncertainty regarding the outer limits of safe-harbour protection in practice.

Where risk turns on intent, context, and downstream use, accountability should be allocated accordingly. A more future-proof approach would therefore adopt a risk-sensitive, value-chain-based accountability model rooted in shared responsibility. Such a framework should be developed through structured consultation with technical experts, civil society, fact-checkers, platforms, and public authorities, and complemented by sustained investments in digital literacy.

(The author is associate professor at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.)

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.)

student-innovation-india-iit-indore-maker-ecosystem

Fri Mar 06 16:41:33 IST 2026

In laboratories that resemble workshops more than classrooms, a quiet shift is underway in India’s engineering education. Students are no longer waiting until their final year to build something meaningful. They are designing, prototyping, testing, failing, refining and in many cases, filing patents while still in their second or third year. At the centre of this transformation is a growing maker ecosystem anchored by the Indian Institute of Technology Indore and the Maker Bhavan Foundation, where curiosity is treated not as a prelude to learning but as its engine.

In a physics lab buzzing with whirring tabletop machines and animated debate, a group of first-year engineering students huddle around a deceptively simple challenge: design a device that allows an egg to fall from the sixth floor without breaking. The exercise is not about spectacle. It is about thinking about how to work within constraints, test assumptions, iterate failures, and arrive at a solution that holds up in the real world.

This is the spirit driving a subtle but consequential transformation at IIT Indore, where hands-on tinkering has moved from the margins to the centre of engineering education. In collaboration with Maker Bhavan Foundation, the institute is reimagining how students, especially those from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, engage with science, technology, and innovation.

“Students can make the best use of their vision and thought processes when learning is experiential,” IIT Indore Director Suhas Joshi tells THE WEEK. The institute’s maker spaces, he explains, are intentionally open and flexible. Students stitch their own aprons, design simple mechanical tools, and experiment with materials in ways that blur the line between classroom theory and workshop practice.

“Expose them early,” Joshi says. “Let them express their approach to solving a problem. Engineering is about solving problems in constrained environments, with limited resources and clear boundaries.”

The impact is visible. “Earlier, students wouldn’t even come to the lab,” a supervisor remarks with a smile. “Now they don’t want to leave.”

At the heart of this movement lies Maker Bhavan Foundation’s broader ambition to democratise innovation across Indian higher education. Founder Hemant Kanakia started the initiative with a simple but ambitious goal to collaborate with 1,000 colleges across the country and establish tinkering labs that encourage hands-on problem-solving.

“If you develop the habit of looking around and asking questions, innovation follows naturally,” Hemant says. Maker Bhavan works with institutions to identify thematic problem areas ranging from sustainability and safety to healthcare and challenges students to build solutions with tangible applications.

Its six-week innovation programmes are intensive. Students must ideate, prototype, test, and present within tight timelines. The emphasis, Hemant notes, is firmly on process rather than product. “You can become an entrepreneur,” he tells students. “But first, you must learn how to think like an engineer.”

One of the most daunting hurdles for student innovators is the patenting process, often perceived as expensive, opaque, and inaccessible. IIT Indore and Maker Bhavan are actively trying to dismantle that fear.

“Patent filing is challenging and costly, yes,” Joshi acknowledges. “And lawyers need to clearly understand your process.” To bridge this gap, Maker Bhavan conducts workshops on intellectual property, guiding students through documentation, claims drafting, and prior-art searches. The foundation also assists with filings, turning what once felt like an elite domain into a learnable skill.

The projects emerging from these maker spaces are grounded in everyday realities. Aqua Loop, developed at IIT Indore, addresses efficient water management, an issue acutely felt across urban and rural India. The system focuses on closed-loop reuse and intelligent monitoring, alerting users to contamination and wastage. The Madhya Pradesh government is already in discussions with the institute to explore pathways for deployment.

Elsewhere, safety-driven innovation is taking shape in similarly grounded ways. Agni Rakshak, developed by Gayatri and Prerna from Trinity College of Engineering, addresses fire-related hazards through a device designed for affordability and ease of use. Fire safety solutions often fail not because technology is lacking, but because they are expensive, complex, or poorly adapted to Indian conditions. Agni Rakshak prioritises manufacturability using locally available components, making adoption in homes, small businesses, and institutions feasible.

The range of innovation is wide. Vayu Setu, an AI-powered autonomous delivery drone, explores last-mile delivery solutions for healthcare and emergency contexts, factoring in Indian terrain, regulatory constraints, and logistical challenges. Alongside such high-tech projects are quieter healthcare innovations, assistive devices for mobility, rehabilitation aids, and low-cost diagnostic tools. Many originate from personal encounters, such as an elderly relative struggling with movement, a lack of affordable therapy equipment, or delayed diagnoses due to inaccessible testing.

Students in early semesters are identifying gaps, water wastage, fire safety, healthcare accessibility, logistics inefficiencies and converting them into working prototypes. Students are introduced early to intellectual property fundamentals, prior art searches, novelty claims, and the ethical dimensions of patenting. The message is clear: innovation does not end at the prototype. If an idea has value, it deserves protection.

This has resulted in a growing pipeline of patentable ideas emerging from undergraduate labs. Students who once viewed patents as the preserve of corporations or senior researchers are now filing provisional applications themselves, guided by mentors who demystify the process.

What is unfolding at IIT Indore and through Maker Bhavan Foundation offers a glimpse of what engineering education in India could look like at scale. It is education rooted not in rote learning or delayed application, but in continuous engagement with the real world.

From curiosity to creation, and from creation to protection, these students are learning that innovation is not a moment of inspiration but a disciplined, collaborative process. With the right institutional support, that process can begin far earlier and go much further than traditional models ever allowed.

why-users-are-mass-cancelling-their-chatgpt-subscription-anthropic-sees-user-surge-pentagon-deal-sam-altman

Tue Mar 03 17:42:19 IST 2026

OpenAI’s deal with the US Department of War has created a backlash from many of its users who are now mass-cancelling their subscriptions to ChatGPT.

Many users are reportedly leaving the AI chatbot and switching to Anthorpic’s Claude after the company refused to give the Pentagon unrestricted access to its models.

Over the weekend, “cancel ChatGPT” trended across Reddit and X.

Reports said that uninstallations of the chatbot's mobile app jumped to 295 per cent on Saturday. ChatGPT downloads also fell by 13 per cent on Saturday. One-star reviews for the app also grew by about 775 per cent on Saturday and then grew by 100 per cent on the following day.

Meanwhile, Anthropic’s Claude surged 37 per cent on Friday and 51 per cent on Saturday.

The same day, Claude became the top free app on Apple’s App Store in the US, according to data from Sensor Tower. In an internal report, the company said that its free users grew by more than 60 per cent.

U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered Federal agencies to stop using Anthropic after the company refused the deal.

One website that called for the boycott of ChatGPT claims that more than 1.5 million users cancelled their subscriptions.

They cite multiple reasons, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s acceptance of the Pentagon deal and their ‘resume screening tool’ collaboration with the Trump administration's ICE. They also mention OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife's $25 million donation to MAGA Inc in 2025 and how Sam Altman donated $1M to Trump's 2025 Inaugural Fund.

Altman had reassured on Friday that the deal they made with the Pentagon would have “prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance” and maintain “human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems.”

However, OpenAI immediately jumping to the deal has many wary of the assurance given.

In one post, Altman said that he made a mistake and said that he “shouldn't have rushed to the deadline on Friday.”

"The issues are super complex and demand clear communication. We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy. Good learning experience for me as we face higher-stakes decisions in the future,” Altman wrote.

In his most recent post, Altman said that the company was working with the DoW to make its principles very clear.

“The democratic process must stay in control, and we must democratize AI. OpenAI should not decide the fate of the world; no private company should. We need to work with governments, but also we need to make sure individuals get increasing power.” He also said that he reiterated that Anthropic should not be designated as a Supply Chain Risk, and that we hope the DoW offers them the same terms we’ve agreed to.

the-brain-behind-india-s-space-dreams-on-isros-4-year-mission-for-home-grown-semiconductor-chips

Mon Mar 02 18:22:21 IST 2026

For many years, India had a quiet, but painful, problem. Every time ISRO wanted to build a satellite or send a rocket to space, they had to buy special computer chips from other countries.

These tiny chips, called semiconductors, are the brain behind every machine—from your mobile phone to a spacecraft flying lakhs of kilometres away. Buying them from outside meant delays, high costs, and one more reason to depend on foreign nations. Now, India has decided to change this story completely.

ISRO has announced a bold plan to manufacture its own semiconductor chips right here in India—within the next four years. This is not a small thing. This is India saying: "We will not just launch rockets. We will also build the brains inside those rockets."

What exactly is a semiconductor chip?

Think of a semiconductor chip as the brain of any electronic device. Just like our brain controls everything our body does, these tiny chips control everything a satellite or spacecraft does—where it goes, what data it collects, and how it communicates back to Earth. Without these chips, a satellite is just a useless metal box floating in space.

"The challenge is that chips used in space missions are not ordinary chips. They have to survive rocket launches with extreme vibrations, temperatures that go from burning hot to freezing cold within minutes, and constant radiation from the sun and cosmos that would destroy a normal chip within hours. These are called space-grade chips, and making them is a highly skilled job," explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

ISRO's progress so far

The ISRO's Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) is located in Chandigarh. This facility has already created a chip called the Vikram 32-bit processor, formally introduced to the world during Semicon India 2025 in New Delhi by Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The Vikram processor is designed specifically to handle the brutal conditions of space, and has been tested and proven to survive what ordinary chips cannot.

This is a proud achievement because India did not buy this chip from America, Japan, or South Korea—it was designed, built, and tested, right here at home.

This chip-making effort is part of a much larger national mission. The Government of India has set aside Rs 76,000 crore under the Semicon India Mission. The goal is to build chip manufacturing plants and chip design centres all across the country, reduce India's dependence on imported chips, and eventually turn India into a global hub for semiconductor production.

The government's official target is to become what they call a "full-stack semiconductor nation". This means India wants to design, manufacture, and use its own chips for broadband internet, defence systems, smart electricity meters, space technology, and much more. Everything. End-to-end. Made in India.

IIT Madras is also doing its part

ISRO is not working alone. IIT Madras has been developing advanced processors under a project called SHAKTI. These processors are built on something called the RISC-V design: a free and open-source blueprint for making chips that any country or company can use without paying licence fees to foreign companies. Think of RISC-V as a recipe that the whole world can cook from, without asking for anyone's permission.

ISRO and IIT Madras have already worked together to test aerospace-grade processors built on this RISC-V design. This kind of teamwork between a space agency and an engineering institution is exactly what India needs to build a strong, homegrown technology ecosystem.

How will this help future missions?

The benefits are very real and very direct.

"When ISRO makes its own chips, it does not have to wait for another country to approve the sale. It does not have to worry about global chip shortages caused by wars, pandemics, or political tensions—all of which have disrupted supply chains in recent years. It can also customise the chip exactly the way a mission needs it—faster, stronger, more radiation-proof," remarked Linganna.

For future missions like Gaganyaan, India's first crewed spaceflight, having a homegrown space-grade processor is not just a matter of pride, but also a matter of safety. The lives of astronauts sitting inside that spacecraft will depend on the reliability of every chip on board.

Beyond space, this semiconductor push is expected to create thousands of high-skilled jobs, attract global investors, and position India as a serious player in the global technology market. Chips are the foundation of the modern world and India is finally building that foundation for itself.

the-road-to-semiconductor-self-reliance-starts-with-simple-chips-or-opinion

Mon Mar 02 15:28:26 IST 2026

Semiconductor chips are used by millions of Indian citizens every day: from cell phones and laptops all the way to data centre servers (which power email, social media and instant communication apps, among many other things), to the GPU servers needed for AI training and inference are powered by semiconductor chips.

Semiconductor chips are used not just for carrying out the computation, but also for the storage and retrieval of information (like data, pictures, videos, etc.). The latter types of chips are used in storage devices like SSDs, which are responsible for quickly storing and retrieving data and videos.

Contemporary computer systems are assembled via a very complex supply chain that is located at multiple places all across the globe. Consider an Android phone. All such devices need multiple components: a System on a Chip (SoC), which is the brain of the computer, a display device, memory (DRAM) and storage (NAND Flash) devices, which help in permanent and temporary processing and storage of data, pictures, etc.

These components have to be procured and then assembled together to create the working phone. Once assembled, a complex software ecosystem of operating systems, compilers, runtimes and application development frameworks is required to ensure that the phone is usable by the end user. Let us focus purely on the hardware.

Assembling a phone in today’s world is no easy task. To get a sense of the complexity and the geopolitics involved in assembling the phone, let us trace the journeys of the four main components that make up a modern phone—the SoC, the display device and the memory and storage devices.

The SoC’s journey begins as intellectual property (IP), with core designs often licensed from ARM, a UK-based company. An American firm like Qualcomm or a Taiwanese one like MediaTek then creates a detailed design for the processor, which is then sent to a semiconductor foundry to be “fabricated”. These multi-billion dollar foundries, run by TSMC (Taiwan) or Samsung (South Korea), etch billions of transistors onto silicon wafers. These wafers are then shipped to Malaysia or Vietnam, to be cut, tested, and packaged into the final SoC to be sent to the phone assembly line.

The same is the case with the other components in the phone. An OLED screen for the display comes from the US or Germany, the glass cover from Corning (USA) and is all assembled together to form the display in South Korea (Samsung/LG) or China (BOE).

The phone's RAM and storage rely on chips dominated by three big companies: Samsung and SK Hynix (South Korea), and Micron (USA). These chips also need “fabrication” like the SoC and are often sent to another country for packaging. Finally, the camera is made of technology licensed from Sony (Japan). The camera also requires a large number of minuscule motors to provide autofocus and image stabilisation, which generally come from another Japanese specialist company.

Finally, all these intricate parts are meticulously assembled into one compact module by a company like LG Innotek in South Korea or Sunny Optical in China.

One thing is quite obvious: there is very little in the supply chain steps from before that India is currently capable of doing indigenously. The design of these chips, both for computation and storage, is mostly done outside India. Whatever design is being done within Indian borders is being done by multinational corporations, who hold the intellectual property for those designs.

The country, of course, doesn't have any fabrication facility for “manufacturing” semiconductor wafers, except SCL Mohali, which is capable of a much older fabrication process based on 180nm technology. This is 11 technology generations behind the technology node in which the current generation of SoCs is being fabricated (which is 2/3 nm process technology).

Catching up in the semiconductor world, especially for setting up fabrication facilities, is a capital-intensive task. For example, setting up a facility for fabricating chips in 45 nm, which is roughly 5-6 generations behind the current state of the art, but still an acceptable technology node for SoCs that do not need high performance, would require capital investments of approximately $10 billion. This number can increase by one order of magnitude for a state-of-the-art technology node facility.

But it is not all doom and gloom. Given that we started late as a country in this area, in order to catch up, we should start doing the things that are not as capital-intensive, have smaller setup timelines, would create a large number of jobs and provide incentives to the ecosystem to grow. OSATs (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test), or facilities which are responsible for assembling together discrete components (e.g. all the components of the smartphone mentioned above to create a phone) into working products, are a step in the right direction. Although many components they put together will still be imported, these are a good start for multiple reasons. Similar to what happened when car manufacturing companies started in India, the hope is that OSATs (or the in-house versions for other companies) will incentivise the local ecosystem to create, manufacture and supply semiconductor components which they need, creating a virtuous cycle of organic growth, and not just for the semiconductor industry.

The OSAT ecosystem will also provide an impetus for local designs by providing local startups access to markets that were previously non-existent within the Indian mainland. There are a large number of low complexity but high volume semiconductor chips called microcontrollers that are being used in everyday appliances like washing machines, CCTV cameras, microwave ovens, BLDC motor controllers and hobbyist development boards (like the Arduino).

Today, more than 90 per cent of these chips are being imported and are put together to be used as modules, many times by units within India. OSATs with their high-volume production capacities will only increase the demand and volume for these chips. The other benefit of microcontrollers is that they do not have very high performance requirements like server-class CPUs or GPUs, and hence can be fabricated in much “older” technology nodes indigenously, for example, in SCL Mohali, reducing the dependence on imports.

Once the OSATs are established, they can serve as customers which Indian chip startups (or even established design companies) can readily access and interact with. The presence of these facilities within the Indian shores lowers access friction for Indian fabless startups to have conversations with their potential customers (the OSATs), help better understand their requirements, as well as the market they serve. These conversations allow the existing players to gain a better understanding of where the gaps lie and help design better products which can serve as replacements to existing ones.

Successfully creating IP for low complexity and high volume devices, translating them into products, which in turn are used within the semiconductor ecosystem within India, will provide the indigenous companies the confidence and maturity to be able to create and deliver products. In addition, it will also provide the much-needed confidence in the indigenous ecosystem to be able to take on more complex designs like server-class CPUs and GPUs and in due course, on time, deliver on them successfully.

The author is Associate Professor of Computer Science, Ashoka University

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

gdc-festival-of-gaming-7-things-to-watch-out-for-from-the-awards-to-agentic-ai-focus

Sat Feb 28 01:32:46 IST 2026

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is undergoing a radical transformation for its 40th anniversary, at the crux of which is its official rebrand as the GDC Festival of Gaming.

Featuring every single type of role, discipline, and tech involved in bringing games to life, the five-day event is all set to return to San Francisco’s Moscone Center from March 9-13 this year, with broader perspectives, new interactive formats, and "more opportunities to learn, collaborate, and celebrate together".

Here are the seven biggest things to watch out for, on the road to the GDC's 40th anniversary this year:

Kojima out, Pardo in

After Hideo Kojima's shock withdrawal from the keynote slot for reasons unknown, the GDC faced the mammoth task of finding someone to replace him. Enter Rob Pardo, a top executive at Blizzard Entertainment and one of the chief minds behind the World of Warcraft games.

The veteran game developer, renowned for his enduring online games, is all set to deliver his keynote address on March 12.

The big price drop

Finally ditching its corporate, expensive reputation, the show has swapped its complex badge system for a simplified set of four passes, starting at $549 for students and $649 for indie studios/startups.

This is said to be a major reduction in prices from the previous years, promising a more diverse, curious crowd with folks of all ages.

'Clair Obscur' back for more?

It looks like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not ready to get off the spotlight yet, as the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) on March 12 this year sees the French turn-based indie RPG leading with eight nominations.

However, like in the Game Awards 2025, it is set to face heavy competition in the 'Game of the Year' category, where it faces off against Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Agentic AI in gaming

In exciting sessions from Big Tech companies that show how far artificial intelligence has penetrated the gaming community, you get to see how Google Deepmind reworks NPCs to follow "game-world reasoning" and how agentic AI can be used to personalise experiences, among many others that just want to show you how to make your games feel more alive.

Paint the town red with GDC Nights

Calling the GDC a "festival" wasn't just a simple name change, as the aim is more to spread the celebration of games throughout San Francisco.

This year, even the opening night on March—among other nights—is set to take place outdoors at the Ballpark, where the gaming community reunites for tabletop battles, surprise activations, classic ballpark bites, and a fan-voted movie screening (this year, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).

The "console-class" makeover

Semiconductor giant Arm, which has a gaming arm of its own, seeks to address the AAA gap between console and mobile games this year with a series of discussions on every advantage that the former holds over the latter.

Featuring developers like Epic Games, Sumo Digital, and tech giants like NVIDIA, the Expo floor is set to see a number of events on topics like neural rendering, the future of ray tracing, and emerginng technologies that will decide the future of gaming.

Looking into the future

Amid the recent industry-wide layoffs outlined in its State of the Industry Report 2026, the GDC has introduced a number of sessions that teach you the business of survival as a game developer/company—covering everything from modern best practices to securing sustainable funding.

after-anthropic-pentagon-clash-more-than-200-google-employees-sign-letter-urging-tech-giant-to-avoid-military-ties

Fri Feb 27 16:59:59 IST 2026

Over 100 employees at Google have signed a letter urging the tech company to steer clear of military engagements.

The letter, addressed to Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist of the company’s AI division DeepMind, demanded that Google distance itself from potential military entanglements.

“Please do everything in your power to stop any deal which crosses these basic red lines,” the employees wrote. “We love working at Google and want to be proud of our work,” the New York Times reported.

In another public letter published by about 300 employees, 236 from Google and 65 from OpenAI, said that the Pentagon is negotiating with Google and OpenAI to “try to get them to agree to what Anthropic has refused.”

“They're trying to divide each company with fear that the other will give in. That strategy only works if none of us knows where the others stand. This letter serves to create shared understanding and solidarity in the face of this pressure from the Department of War, “ the letter read.

The letters have come amid a showdown between Anthropic and the Trump administration. Anthropic, an AI startup behind the Claude model, has been under intense pressure from the Pentagon to loosen its restrictions on military use of its tech.

The Pentagon already has a $200 million contract with the company. Now it is asking for freedom to apply its technology to US defence.

US Defense Secratary Pete Hegseth had given Anthropic until Friday, 5:01 pm to either give the military unrestricted access or face penalties which would involve being forced to hand over the technology anyway.

Hegseth had also told Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that it would invoke the Defense Production Act to force the company to tailor its AI model to the military's needs.

About 24 hours before the deadline set by US military officials to bend its ethical policies Amodei refused bend to the pressure. In a recent statement, Anthropic said it “will not alter core safeguards to accommodate use cases that could endanger human rights or violate international norms.”

Military officials warned that if Amodei doesn't make a move, they would pull Anthropic’s contract but also “deem them a supply chain risk,” a designation given to foreign adversaries, which would then derail the company’s critical partnerships with other businesses.

If Anthropic gives in to the military’s pressure, the company would lose trust in the booming AI industry.

Google’s employees have warned against the potential use of its Gemini AI for the military. They fear that its models could be used for mass surveillance and for the use of autonomous weapons, which would have no human oversight.

Dean, Google's AI chief annd of its most influential software engineers has supported the concerns and expressed solidarity with Anthropic. “Mass surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment and has a chilling effect on freedom of expression,” he wrote in a social media post. “Surveillance systems are prone to misuse for political or discriminatory purposes.”

An evening before Hegseth met with Anthropic's CEO, the Pentagon confirmed that it signed an agreement with Elon Musk's xAI's model Grok to use it in classified systems.

isro-reveals-the-tiny-glitch-that-doomed-the-nvs-02

Thu Feb 26 14:49:28 IST 2026

More than a year after NVS-02 failed to reach its planned orbit, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) clearly explained what went wrong and the corrective steps taken to prevent such issues in future missions. This helped many Indians understand what happened to this important navigation satellite.

NVS-02 was launched aboard the GSLV-F15 rocket from Sriharikota at 6:23 a.m. on January 29, 2025. It was ISRO’s first launch of the year, the 17th GSLV flight and the 11th Mk2 mission. The launch phase was flawless. About 19 minutes after liftoff, the satellite was placed into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), measuring about 170 km at perigee and 37,785 km at apogee, with an inclination of 20.8 degrees. GTO is a temporary orbit that helps a satellite gradually move to its final geosynchronous position.

After separation, the spacecraft deployed its solar panels and stabilised itself. These systems worked normally. The next step was orbit raising moving into a circular Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO), where the satellite would rotate with Earth and remain fixed over one location. However, this crucial step failed.

ISRO confirmed that orbit-raising manoeuvres could not be carried out because the valves allowing oxidiser to flow into the main engine did not open. Without an oxidiser, the engine could not fire, and without thrust, the satellite could not reach its final slot.

As a result, NVS-02 remains in GTO. Other onboard systems power, communication and controls are functioning normally. The spacecraft is healthy, but since it could not reach geosynchronous orbit, it cannot deliver reliable navigation services as planned. The main mission objective was not achieved.

ISRO formed a Failure Analysis Committee headed by former Chairman A. S. Kiran Kumar to investigate the pyro valve failure. A pyro valve is a small but critical device that opens using a tiny explosive charge to release fuel or oxidiser inside the engine. If it does not open, the engine cannot operate.

“The investigation found that the ignition signal did not reach the pyro valve in the oxidiser line. The issue was traced to an electrical connection linked to the pyro valves in both the primary and backup systems. In simple terms, a small electrical contact became loose. Because of this, the ignition signal could not activate either valve. Even the backup system failed, as the loose contact affected both,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

As per this analyst, fuel system connectors link wires, valves and fuel lines inside the spacecraft. The loose contact within these connectors prevented the signal from reaching the valves. As a result, the oxidiser could not flow, the engine could not start, and orbit raising could not take place.

NVS-02, weighing 2,250 kg, is the second satellite in the NVS series. Like NVS-01, it transmits navigation signals in L1, L5 and S bands and carries a C-band ranging payload that helps ground stations measure its exact distance and maintain high accuracy. The satellite was designed to provide two services — Standard Positioning Service (SPS) and Restricted Service (RS). SPS is for the general public, including mobile phones, vehicle navigation systems, ships and aircraft. It offers position accuracy better than 20 metres (2σ) and timing accuracy better than 40 nanoseconds (2σ) in the main service area.

The term 2σ (two sigma) means the accuracy is reliable about 95 per cent of the time. In simple words, if the system promises 20 metres accuracy at 2σ, then in about 95 per cent of cases the error will remain within 20 metres.

Restricted Service is meant only for authorised users such as the military and strategic agencies. It uses encrypted signals that cannot be accessed or tampered with publicly. RS provides higher accuracy, stronger reliability and protection against jamming or spoofing. SPS serves civilians, while RS supports defence and strategic operations.

“While NVS-02 was a setback, ISRO demonstrated its resilience soon after. On November 2, 2025, CMS-03 (GSAT-7R) was launched aboard the LVM-3 M5, India’s most powerful rocket. The mission was a major boost for the Indian Navy and successfully validated the improved dual-connector fix in the pyro system. The flawless performance proved that ISRO does not merely face failures, it studies them, strengthens its systems and evolves with every mission,” remarked Linganna.

trust-consent-accountability-union-minister-ashwani-vaishnaw-signals-tougher-line-for-digital-platforms

Thu Feb 26 13:48:50 IST 2026

At the DNPA Conclave 2026 under the theme “The New World Order of News”, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw issued one of his strongest warnings yet to digital platforms, urging them to take responsibility for the content they host and to prioritise user safety, consent and institutional trust in the evolving digital ecosystem.

Addressing editors, publishers and technology leaders at the event organised by the Digital News Publishers Association, Vaishnaw said the internet has entered a new phase where platforms can no longer function as passive intermediaries.

“Platforms must wake up,” he said, adding that technology companies must understand the importance of reinforcing trust in the institutions that human society has built over thousands of years.

He stressed that accountability for online content is no longer optional. “Platforms must take the responsibility for the content that is hosted by them,” the minister said, linking platform design, algorithmic amplification and content distribution directly to the broader health of democratic discourse.

The online safety of children and citizens, he emphasised, is the responsibility of the platforms themselves, not merely of regulators or users.

Vaishnaw warned that failure to uphold these principles would carry consequences. “Non-adherence to these principles will definitely make them responsible because the nature of the internet has changed now,” he said, suggesting that regulatory expectations will increasingly shift toward demonstrable responsibility rather than policy statements.

A key part of his address focused on the risks posed by synthetic media and artificial intelligence. Vaishnaw said the rapid rise of AI-generated images, voices and videos requires urgent ethical safeguards.

“Synthetic content should not be generated without the consent of the person whose face or voice or personality has been used,” he said, underlining the government’s growing concern over deepfakes, impersonation and reputational harm.

"All that so-called content, when it reaches the common citizen, they start questioning the very basic structure of the society," he said.

He added that the challenge is not limited to India, noting that it is "happening everywhere, not only in India," and reflects a broader global concern over the misuse of emerging technologies.

Calling the present moment a turning point, the minister said, “the time has come to make that big inflectional change,” urging platforms to cooperate with society’s expectations. He added that public sentiment is increasingly demanding stronger safeguards and that such calls for reform must be respected.

"The threat is coming from so many different angles—deepfakes which can make you believe things which have never happened anyway," the minister stated.

Vaishnaw also cautioned against sustained misinformation campaigns that distort public perception. "Disinformation barrage can cause that sense of distrust, which doesn't exist in real life," he said.

He further pointed to fabricated digital material targeting respected individuals, such as "creating synthetically generated pictures of people well respected in society, creating videos which have absolutely no correlation with reality".

The minister’s remarks resonated with the conclave’s broader theme, which explored how journalism, technology and artificial intelligence are reshaping information flows.

Speaking at the conclave, Mariam Mammen Mathew, Chairperson of the DNPA and CEO of Malayala Manorama Online, underscored the urgency of strengthening the digital news ecosystem. "At a time when Al is reshaping the very foundations of news, it is critical for publishers, policymakers and platforms to come together and build a framework rooted in trust and responsibility," Mathew said.

She noted that as algorithms and platforms play a greater role in shaping what audiences see, safeguarding the credibility and sustainability of journalism has become a collective responsibility.

She emphasised that publishers, platforms and policymakers must work together to ensure that reliable reporting retains visibility and value in a technology-driven environment. Without such collaboration, she cautioned, the information ecosystem risks becoming fragmented and vulnerable to manipulation.

the-silent-saboteur-helium-delays-historic-artemis-ii-moon-mission

Wed Feb 25 17:27:12 IST 2026

Imagine you have packed your bags, said goodbye to your family, done every possible rehearsal, and are sitting at the door ready to leave and then something small goes wrong with your vehicle. You have no choice but to go back inside. That is exactly what happened with NASA's Artemis II mission, the one that was supposed to carry human beings to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

NASA has announced that it is rolling its massive space launch system rocket, along with the Orion spacecraft sitting on top of it, back to its assembly building. The rollback has begun, and because of this, the first crewed Moon mission in over fifty years will now happen not earlier than April.

What makes this even more dramatic is the timing. Just one day before this announcement, NASA was proudly saying it was ready to launch as soon as March 6. The team had just completed a successful wet dress rehearsal on February 19, which basically means they filled the rocket with fuel and ran through the entire countdown without actually launching, just to make sure everything was working perfectly. Everything looked good. The mood was confident.

Then, on February 21, something unexpected happened. Engineers noticed that the helium supply to the rocket's upper stage, the top section of the rocket, was suddenly cut off without any warning.

Now, why is helium so important here? “Helium is not the fuel. It is used to maintain pressure inside the tanks that hold the real fuel, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Think of it this way: if you want water to flow properly through a pipe, there has to be enough pressure pushing it. The same logic applies here. Without the right helium pressure, the liquid fuel cannot flow properly to the rocket engine. And without that, the engine cannot fire, and the spacecraft cannot move toward the Moon. So a helium problem, even though it sounds small, is actually a very serious matter,” explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

What is particularly frustrating is that this problem did not appear during the big practice test. It was found only later, during routine checks after the rehearsal was over. This means the rocket passed its final big exam but then showed a problem in a smaller follow-up check. Engineers are now carefully going through the helium pipes, a control valve inside the upper stage, and a filter that connects the ground equipment to the rocket, trying to pinpoint exactly where the trouble started.

Until the exact problem is found and fixed, NASA is using a backup system to keep the upper stage safely pressurised so that nothing gets damaged while the rocket waits.

This is not the first time something like this has happened. During the Artemis 1 mission back in 2022, a faulty helium check valve in the same type of upper stage forced NASA to roll the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The difference this time is that the 2022 problem was caught during the wet dress rehearsal itself, whereas now it appeared only after the rehearsal was finished.

So why does the rocket need to go all the way back to that building? The Vehicle Assembly Building, the VAB, is one of the largest buildings in the world by volume, standing 525 feet tall. It is the only place where this kind of large-scale repair work can be done safely. The building has giant cranes and a controlled environment that allows engineers to work on the rocket's upper stage without any risk from weather or other outside conditions. There is simply no other option.

“The journey back to the VAB is slow and deliberate. The rocket travels about 6.8 kilometres on a specially built road at roughly 1.6 kilometres per hour. It rides on NASA's giant moving platform called the crawler, which weighs around 3,000 tons by itself and can carry up to 8,100 tons. This machine burns nearly 625 litres of diesel for every single mile it moves. It is just to give an idea of how massive this whole setup truly is,” added Linganna.

Because of the Moon's specific orbital path, Artemis 2 can only launch during a narrow window of a few days, and this window comes around just once every four weeks. The March 6–11 window is now gone. NASA is currently targeting the next window, which runs from April 1 to April 6. If repairs take longer than expected, the delay could stretch even further.

The four crew members, Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, have already been released from their pre-launch quarantine and sent back to Houston to wait once more.

supreme-court-to-hear-meta-whatsapp-privacy-policy-case-heres-what-it-is-about

Sun Feb 22 14:20:32 IST 2026

The Supreme Court on Monday is slated to hear pleas of Meta and WhatsApp against a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore over their privacy policy.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi is likely to hear the matter.

On February 3, the bench had made strong observations against Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp, saying they could not "play with the right to privacy of citizens in the name of data sharing" and alleged that they were creating a monopoly in the market and committing theft of private information of customers.

Decrying WhatsApp's privacy policy, the bench referred to "silent customers" who were unorganised, digitally dependent and unaware of the implications of data-sharing policies, and asserted, "We will not allow the rights of any citizen of this country to be damaged." WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms Inc.

The top court was hearing the appeals of the two tech giants against a CCI order that imposed a penalty of Rs 213.14 crore on them over the privacy policy.

On November 4, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) set aside a section of a CCI order that had banned WhatsApp from sharing data with Meta Platforms Inc for advertising purposes for five years, but retained the Rs 213-crore penalty.

Later, the NCLAT clarified that its order in the WhatsApp matter on privacy and consent safeguards also applies to user data collection and sharing for non-WhatsApp purposes, including non-advertising and advertising.

The top court said that it would pass an interim order on February 9 and ordered that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology also be made a party to the appeals of the two companies.

The bench is also seized of a cross-appeal by the CCI, which assailed the NCLAT ruling to the extent that it allowed WhatsApp and Meta to continue sharing users' data for advertising purposes.

the-privacy-revolution-is-your-data-finally-yours

Fri Feb 20 14:48:35 IST 2026

For nearly a decade, the right to privacy has primarily relied upon the Puttaswamy v. Union of India verdict by the Supreme Court in 2017. But as we step into 2026, it has shifted from the courtroom to smartphones. With the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025, now fully operationalized, the rules of the game for Big Tech, the government, and 900 million Indian internet users have been rewritten.

We are currently in the "Grace Period"—an 18-month window that began in late 2025. While companies have until May 2027 for total systemic compliance, the "digital-first" enforcement era has officially begun.

Remember the days when we had to click "accept" on a fifty-page document just to use a basic flashlight app? Those days are now numbered. According to new DPDP rules, companies are mandated to provide a standalone notice that is clear and itemized. These notices must also be available in all 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

The Consent Manager

2026 sees the rise of a new entity—the Consent Manager. Registered with the newly formed Data Protection Board, these platforms will act as your "privacy dashboard," allowing you to see, manage, and withdraw consent across multiple apps in one place.

The Right to be Forgotten

The DPDP framework introduces a "business inactivity" threshold. According to this, if you do not interact with a service for more than 3 years, then the company is generally required to erase your data, thereby avoiding permanent "digital ghosting."

Protection for children

The rules for children (under 18) are among the strictest globally. Apps must now use "verifiable" methods—potentially linked to Digital Lockers or tokenized ID systems—to ensure a parent has actually approved a child's data use. Additionally, targeted advertising and behavioral tracking of children are strictly prohibited under DPDP Rules 2025. For a generation that grew up "online," this creates a protected space to develop without being algorithmically profiled from birth.

The critics

Despite these advantages, this rule has also invited criticism. The primary critique revolves around the amendment made to the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005. By removing the "public interest" override in Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, the government has essentially made all personal information held by the state off-limits to citizens. Critics argue this turns a "right to know" into a "right to deny," potentially shielding corrupt officials under the guise of "privacy."

Furthermore, the Union Government retains the power to exempt "State instrumentalities" from major parts of the law for reasons of national security. In a digital age, the line between "public safety" and "mass surveillance" remains thin and blurry.

Enforcement and fines

The Data Protection Board (DPB) is now active. Operating as a "digital-first" adjudicatory body, it has the power to levy staggering fines: up to Rs 250 crore for data breaches. Companies must notify the Board within 72 hours after a breach. For the first time, privacy in India has a price tag that even the world's largest tech giants cannot ignore.

As we navigate this "Phase 1" of implementation in early 2026, the power balance has shifted. We are no longer just "users"—we are Data Principals. While the state's exemptions remain a concern for civil liberties, the era of companies treating our personal data as their private property is coming to an end. The next 12 months are critical. Will the DPB truly stand as an independent guardian of our digital lives, or will state surveillance shadow all the benefits of the law?

opinion-as-india-scales-ai-who-counts-its-carbon

Fri Feb 20 14:07:06 IST 2026

India is preparing to host its most ambitious conversations on artificial intelligence. The India AI Impact Summit is expected to position the country as a global hub for innovation, digital infrastructure, and responsible AI deployment. As governments gather to discuss the future of intelligent systems, another equally urgent conversation must accompany it: the climate cost of powering AI at scale.

Climate policy, at its core, is about limits – how much energy we use, how much carbon we emit, and how carefully we manage scarce natural resources. Over the last decade, the climate imperative has reshaped decisions across power, transport, manufacturing, and urban development. Yet deeply resource-intensive artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly through infrastructure without being placed squarely within the same climate accounting framework.

This is not a contradiction born out of neglect. In fact, industry and governments globally have begun exploring renewable-powered data centres and more efficient AI models. But these efforts remain fragmented and are yet to be fully embedded within the climate governance agenda. India faces a quiet paradox: accelerating digital expansion while accounting for its adverse environmental impacts.

AI is frequently described as virtual and weightless. In reality, it relies on physical infrastructure – vast data centres packed with servers, cooling systems, and a continuous power supply. Data centres today account for roughly one to two per cent of global electricity consumption, and projections suggest this demand could double by the end of the decade.

Even everyday use illustrates the scale challenge. A single generative AI query can consume several times as much electricity as a traditional web search, depending on the model's complexity and computational intensity.

For India, these trends carry particular weight. The country is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable, grappling with extreme heat, water stress, and rising energy demand. Simultaneously, India’s data centre capacity is projected to grow several-fold as AI adoption expands across governance, industry, and services. This growth is central to digital ambition, but it is not climate-neutral.

During heatwaves, when households and healthcare facilities draw heavily on electricity to cope with rising temperatures, AI-driven data centres remain always-on. Their cooling requirements intensify precisely when grids are under maximum strain. This is not a flaw of AI; it is an infrastructure reality that must be incorporated into national planning. Water is another hidden dimension. Cooling systems in large data centres can consume millions of litres of water daily. India cannot afford to overlook trade-offs that accompany digital growth in a warming climate.

India has an opportunity to move beyond ad hoc sustainability measures and instead shape how AI infrastructure itself is designed, located, and regulated. Environmental governance frameworks are already evolving in parallel, along with emerging conversations on groundwater management, which will increasingly apply to large digital infrastructure projects.

Equally important is the role of green building standards. India already has well-established rating systems for sustainable construction, including the GRIHA framework. As digital infrastructure expands, the development of dedicated sustainability ratings for data centres, tailored to their unique energy, cooling, and water demands, can play a critical role in setting benchmarks for responsible growth.

Rather than retrofitting sustainability after large-scale expansion, India can encourage the development of demonstrator AI and data centre projects that define best practice from the outset. Such models can specify optimal capacity thresholds, land and lab size, renewable energy sourcing, water recycling and zero-liquid-discharge norms, waste management standards, and minimum sustainability ratings. Over time, these models can inform regulation, investment decisions, and state-level approvals, ensuring that AI infrastructure scales within clearly defined environmental guardrails.

To be clear, AI offers powerful tools for climate solutions. It enhances weather forecasting, optimises renewable energy, strengthens disaster preparedness, and supports sustainable agriculture. These benefits are real and vital. But the gains enabled by AI are rarely weighed against the emissions and resources required to power the AI ecosystem. In climate terms, we are counting savings without fully accounting for the costs.

The deeper gap is one of integration. Climate strategy and AI strategy are evolving in parallel rather than together. While India’s AI Summit rightly emphasises ethics, governance, and innovation, it also presents an opportunity to widen the lens. Unlike emissions from factories or vehicles, which are regulated, monitored, and disclosed, AI’s environmental footprint is often aggregated within broader IT reporting, making its specific impact difficult to isolate. Sustainability discussions exist, but they are not yet commensurate with the speed and scale of AI infrastructure expansion.

India’s AI Summit, therefore, arrives at a pivotal moment. It offers the country a chance to lead not just in responsible AI use but also in responsible AI infrastructure. A clear, achievable path forward is evident. Measurement through disclosure of energy and water use linked to AI systems and data centres. Alignment through renewable energy integration and location planning. Efficiency by design through leaner models and responsible deployment. And integration of AI infrastructure into India’s broader climate, urban, and resource planning frameworks.

The climate challenge is ultimately about choices. AI will undoubtedly shape India’s future economy and governance. The question before policymakers is whether this growth will be shaped early by environmental discipline, or whether sustainability will be forced to catch up later.

India has an opportunity to set a global example, demonstrating that leadership in AI and leadership in climate responsibility need not diverge. Innovation and sustainability can advance together, but only if we recognise, plan for, and regulate the physical footprint behind the digital promise.

AI will shape the future. The real test is whether climate discipline shapes AI in return.

Leena Nandan is former secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and distinguished fellow, Earth Science and Climate Change at TERI; and Suryaprabha Sadasivan is Senior Vice President, Chase Advisors.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.

what-is-pax-silica-and-what-does-india-joining-the-us-led-tech-alliance-mean-for-strategy

Fri Feb 20 12:31:44 IST 2026

India joined the Pax Silica, a US-led global tech strategic alliance, on Friday. The US said that it was “very excited” to have extended an invitation to India to join the initiative.

The move is expected to strengthen bilateral ties between the countries in areas like production of critical minerals and semiconductors and the rising Artificial Intelligence space, to build a secure and resilient global silicon and technology system.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and US Ambassador Sergio Gor signed the Pax Silica declaration, marking New Delhi's entry into the grouping in the presence of other officials.

The move also comes amid the efforts by the two countries to finalise a proposed trade deal.

What is Pax Silica?

The Pax Silica initiative is run by the US Department of State to advance efforts in AI and supply chain security and reduce reliance on non-aligned nations.

It was launched in December 2025, and its member countries currently include Australia, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

One of the primary objectives of the pact is to reduce coercive dependencies on one country for materials or products to avoid being pressured or manipulated in global trade.

The long-term objective of the pact is to bring together technology-driven economies so that they can fully harness the economic potential of artificial intelligence and benefit from the emerging AI-powered global economy.

Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg told reporters on Friday. "We are very excited to have extended an invitation for India to join' Pax Silica, and I'll be travelling to India in just a couple of weeks for a major signing with the Indian Government."

"India is also home to a large and very large mining and processing operations, which obviously hold great promise to make significant contributions to the supply chain ecosystem. And so there's a lot of terrain in which we will be able to partner with India," he said.

He also said, "India is probably the only other country on Earth to be able to rival China with respect to the breadth and depth of the sheer volume of young, technically trained talent, human talent."

The declaration of the initiative also emphasises the importance of fair market prices.

The initiative has been made as an apparent move to counter China, which alone mines around 70 per cent of key rare earth minerals.

Beijing’s Global Times has described the move as an attempt to decouple China from the the global semiconductor supply chain, which it warned would hike costs. However, China’s response to the group has been limited.

how-indias-gaganyaan-uncrewed-module-will-dock-with-the-iss

Thu Feb 19 18:48:33 IST 2026

Picture this: A white-and-orange capsule with the Indian tricolour painted on it is floating silently in space, 400 kilometres above Earth. It is slowly, carefully moving towards the International Space Station — a giant laboratory the size of a football field that has been orbiting our planet since 1998.

India and America are seriously talking about sending an uncrewed Gaganyaan module to dock with the ISS. The module will not carry any human but just instruments and cargo. Docking simply means joining two spacecraft together in space, like connecting two coaches of a train, except this train is travelling at 28,000 kilometres per hour and there is no room for even a small mistake. ISRO and NASA are working on this together as equal partners, which itself is a big deal because America does not partner with just anyone in space.

The proposal, if realised, would mark India’s first autonomous rendezvous and docking with an operational international space station and significantly elevate the country’s human spaceflight roadmap from short-duration orbital missions to sustained space infrastructure capability. The initiative builds upon expanding cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), particularly after the 2023 India-US Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation. The collaboration gained momentum with India’s participation in Axiom Mission 4, which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla flying to the ISS to conduct microgravity experiments and operational training directly benefiting the Gaganyaan program.

“The proposal, if realised, would mark India’s first autonomous rendezvous and docking with an operational international space station and significantly elevate the country’s human spaceflight roadmap from short-duration orbital missions to sustained space infrastructure capability,” explained Srimathy Kesan, the founder and CEO of SpaceKidz India Limited.

Without mastering docking and proximity operations, a country cannot independently build or sustain an orbital station. “This becomes particularly important for India’s planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), a modular Indian space station targeted for initial module launches in the early 2030s and full operational capability by 2035. BAS is envisioned as a 20-tonne class space station operating in Low Earth Orbit,” added Kesan.

Gaganyaan was approved in 2018 with a budget of approximately Rs 10,000 crore and represents India’s first indigenous human spaceflight mission. The program aims to send three astronauts to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at about 400 km altitude for three to seven days aboard the human-rated LVM3 (HLVM3). The 5.3-tonne Crew Module is designed for habitation, re-entry, and splashdown, while the Service Module provides propulsion, power, and orbital maneuvering capability.

Now, why does this uncrewed docking matter so much? Think of it as a practice exam before the final board exam. India's big goal is to have its own space station — called Bharatiya Antariksh Station — ready by 2035. “To build and run a space station, you must first master the skill of docking spacecraft perfectly. ISRO already practised this with its SpaDeX satellites in 2024 and 2025, where two small Indian satellites successfully docked with each other in orbit. But docking with the ISS the most complex object ever built and placed in space is a completely different level of challenge and confidence-builder,” remarked space analyst Girish Linganna.

It also keeps Gaganyaan's own schedule moving forward without delay. The first uncrewed Gaganyaan flight, called G1, is planned for March 2026. It will carry Vyommitra — a half-humanoid robot whose name literally means "space friend" — who will sit inside the capsule, check cabin conditions, talk to ground control, and prove that the spacecraft is safe enough for real human beings. But the mission does not end in space. After completing its work in orbit, the capsule will re-enter Earth's atmosphere at scorching speeds, glowing like a fireball in the sky, before slowing down with parachutes and splashing into the Bay of Bengal. That splashdown is perhaps the most thrilling part of the whole mission — India's own capsule coming back home to Indian waters, proving the full circle of a crewed spaceflight is possible. Imagine a calm, sensor-filled robot floating inside an Indian spacecraft, quietly sending data back home that will one day protect the lives of Indian astronauts. After two more such uncrewed test flights, the actual crewed mission with Indian astronauts called gaganyatris is planned for 2027.

Uncrewed module has earlier also docked with the ISS before. “Russia sends cargo ships called Progress regularly. SpaceX's Dragon, Japan's HTV, and Europe's ATV have all docked with the ISS carrying food, equipment, and supplies. What makes India's attempt special is that no country building its very first crewed spacecraft has ever tested its capabilities by docking with the world's most important space laboratory. It is like a first-year boxer stepping into the ring with a world champion not to fight, but to learn by being there,” added Linganna.

If successfully executed, an uncrewed Gaganyaan docking with the ISS would position India among the limited group of nations capable of autonomous human-rated docking operations. It would bridge India’s near-term human spaceflight goals with its long-term Bharatiya Antariksh Station ambitions, marking the evolution from launch capability to sustained orbital infrastructure competence.

how-telangana-plans-to-achieve-a-net-zero-city-target-by-2034

Thu Feb 19 15:07:12 IST 2026

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday said Hyderabad will become a net-zero city by 2034, declaring climate action a central pillar of the state’s development strategy. Addressing Mumbai Climate Week, the Chief Minister said Hyderabad would become the first city in the country to conduct a comprehensive carbon footprint audit as an initial step towards achieving net-zero status.

He said there would be no pollution-causing industrial units in the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) area — the 2,153 sq. km Hyderabad region within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) — by 2034. Manufacturing units would instead be shifted to the Peri Urban Region Economy (PURE) area, located between the ORR and the Regional Ring Road (RRR), and this new manufacturing base would be powered mostly by green energy.

The Chief Minister stated that Telangana currently consumes approximately 16,610 MW of power daily, and this demand is expected to increase to around 34,000 MW over the next eight years. The state aims to generate at least 25 per cent of this requirement from renewable energy sources.

As part of emission-reduction measures, the state government has provided tax exemptions for electric vehicles in the CURE area and announced plans to retrofit about two lakh auto-rickshaws to make them pollution-free. The government is also introducing 3,000 electric buses in the CURE area.

Revanth Reddy said data centres operating in Telangana are increasingly seeking exclusively green power and that the government is focusing on expanding renewable energy production to meet this growing demand.

Stating that the country is facing a “climate emergency”, the Chief Minister said governments must give equal priority to ecological conservation along with investments, manufacturing, consumption and development.

He outlined plans to rejuvenate the Musi River, develop water grids, revive the ancient chain of lakes system and protect water bodies across Hyderabad.

He also highlighted the establishment of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), which he said has played a key role in protecting lakes and government lands in the city. According to HYDRAA officials, the agency has so far saved more than 30 lakes and government lands worth about `70,000 crore.

pm-modi-unveils-manav-vision-a-humanfirst-shared-ai-future-at-india-ai-impact-summit

Thu Feb 19 11:29:48 IST 2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took to the stage at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi to unveil India’s MANAV vision for artificial intelligence, calling for technology that is powerful but firmly anchored in human welfare, ethics and sovereignty.

Addressing global leaders, CEOs and researchers, the PM said India is both a builder of new technologies and a fast adopter, and now wants to shape how AI is governed worldwide.

What MANAV vision means

Modi said MANA—the Hindi word for “human”—is also an acronym that captures India’s five core principles for AI: Moral and ethical systems, Accountable governance, National sovereignty (especially data rights), Accessible and inclusive technology, and Valid, legitimate AI systems that people can trust.

The benchmark for AI, he stressed, must be the welfare and happiness of all, echoing the summit’s theme of “Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya”.

Calling AI a historic transformation comparable to the invention of wireless communication, Modi argued that the real question is not what AI might do decades from now, but what we can do with AI in the present to expand human capabilities.

India sees the future in AI, stressed the Prime Minister, as he said he believes that any model that succeeds in India’s scale and diversity can be deployed anywhere in the world.

Democratise AI, guard against deepfakes

Modi also used the stage to underline that AI must be democratised and treated as a global common good rather than a tool controlled by a few platforms or countries.

It should become a vehicle for inclusion and empowerment, particularly for the Global South, and not reduce people to mere data points or raw material, he warned.

AI is a transformative power that can lead to solutions or destruction depending on how it is used. Societies must give an open sky to AI, but keep the reins in our hands, he said.

Deepfakes and fabricated content threaten to destabilise open societies by spreading misinformation at scale, echoing earlier warnings he has made on AI-generated videos and synthetic media, PM Modi cautioned.

To counter this, the Prime Minister pitched for authenticity labels on AI-generated content—similar to nutrition labels on food packets or health warnings on cigarettes—so people know when an image, video or clip has been created or altered by AI. He linked this to ongoing Indian proposals that would require platforms to clearly tag synthetically generated information.

yes-this-is-ai-emmanuel-macron-strikes-a-pose-with-pm-modi-ahead-of-india-ai-impact-summit-appearance-in-viral-photo

Wed Feb 18 22:45:40 IST 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday shared an AI-generated post on X featuring himself and PM Narendra Modi, ahead of his official appearance at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

The photo, which visibly says 'Yes, this is AI' at the bottom, shows the two leaders making a heart symbol with their hands, looking forward, and smiling wide.

"When friends connect, innovation follows. Ready for the AI Impact Summit," Macron wrote in the post, which garnered more than 15,000 likes within a few hours.

Surrounded by screens and computers to highlight technological collaborations between the two countries, the photo also shows two white mugs bearing the Indian and French flags on them.

Taking place from February 16-20 (later extended to February 21) at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the Summit, which is centred around artificial intelligence, brings together policymakers, industry leaders, innovators, and creators from India and abroad.

Macron's arrival for the Summit on Thursday comes on the last day of the French President's—and First Lady Brigitte Macron's—three-day official visit to India, at Modi's behest.

This is Macron's first time in Mumbai, and fourth visit to India, aimed at boosting strategic partnerships and assessing regional and global issues.

Netizens react

"Brothers celebrating Operation Sindoor," an X user wrote, referring to military ties between New Delhi and Paris.

"A partnership of visions! ... Looking forward to seeing the AI Impact translate into real-world solutions for both nations," another X user said.

"Building and distributing AI solutions requires significant infrastructure, including data centers and high-speed networks, which can be a logistical challenge in certain regions," a third user pointed out.

epstein-files-fallout-bill-gates-does-a-u-turn-to-skip-ai-summit

Thu Feb 19 10:42:51 IST 2026

After repeated back and forth, Bill Gates has decided not to attend the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Gates was scheduled to deliver a keynote address this Thursday, the fourth day of the summit, at Bharat Mandapam.

The Gates Foundation on Thursday confirmed that its chairman won't attend the meeting "after careful consideration". Recently, Gates has been in focus over his alleged links mentioned in the Epstein files.

Also read | Did Bill Gates get STD after sex with Russian girls? Microsoft co-founder responds to claims in Epstein files

Representing the Gates Foundation, Ankur Vora will be attending the summit.

"After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr Gates will not be delivering his keynote address. The Gates Foundation will be represented by Ankur Vora, President of Africa and India Offices, who will speak later today at the Summit," read the Gates Foundation statement.

They also noted that the Gates Foundation remains fully committed to our work in India to advance our shared health and development goals.

The latest decision came just a day after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation dismissed speculation that he would deliver the keynote speech at the summit.

The announcement came against the backdrop of the tech billionaire facing growing scrutiny and online backlash over his name appearing several times in the recent email shared by the US Justice Department related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Earlier this week, Gates arrived in India for a visit to Andhra Pradesh. He met Chief Minister N. N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan. He was received at the Gannavaram Airport by Minister for Human Resources Development Nara Lokesh.

Gates’s 2026 visit to India was shadowed by significant social media backlash. Critics leveraged recent disclosures from the Epstein files to question his presence, while others reignited long-standing concerns that his philanthropic initiatives treat the Indian population as a 'testing ground' for experimental products

Gates has already refuted the allegations linked to the Epstein files as “absolutely absurd and completely false.”

why-youtube-homepage-was-not-loading-heres-what-googles-statement-said

Wed Feb 18 10:54:37 IST 2026

After the popular video streaming platform YouTube witnessed a global service outage on Tuesday, its parent company, Google, acknowledged the issue before confirming that it had been resolved.

After YouTube service disruptions were experienced by users across multiple countries, Google initially clarified that its team was working to fix the problem. "An issue with our recommendations system prevented videos from appearing across surfaces on YouTube (including the homepage, the YouTube app, YouTube Music and YouTube Kids). The homepage is back, but we're still working on a full fix. We're also seeing a small number of reports that some people are unable to log in to YouTube TV. This is related to the broader issue across YouTube, and we're also working on a fix here," the statement said.

The update regarding the issue being resolved was released later. It read: "The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal! We really appreciate you bearing with us while we sorted this out."

The same was confirmed through the official social media handles of the video streaming platform. "Aaaand we're back!! This issue has been fixed across YouTube. Thanks for all the reports and for bearing with us while we sorted it out," it said.

During the worst of the outage, visitors to the website's homepage were greeted with an invitation to come back later. There were over 19,000 complaints logged within minutes during the morning hours in India alone regarding YouTube services being hit, a report said. Meanwhile, over 320,000 American users reported an outage, the report added. It is estimated that there are more than 2.5 billion users actively using YouTube each month.

at-india-ai-impact-summit-2026-experts-chart-india-s-path-to-digital-sovereignty

Wed Feb 18 20:10:27 IST 2026

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes industries and becomes embedded in nearly every profession, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 convened a crucial session bringing together security specialists and AI experts to deliberate on a pressing concern—how a nation can safeguard its digital sovereignty while strengthening national security.

Abhishek Verma, Head of Digital Government Advisory at KPMG in India, who moderated the discussion, underscored the breathtaking pace at which AI models are evolving.

“What seems pathbreaking today becomes obsolete in a matter of weeks. The latest models from OpenAI have dwarfed almost everything available in the public domain, much like the recent disruption caused by emerging Chinese models,” Verma observed.

He framed the central question before the panel: with intelligent technology moving so rapidly, how does a country secure its technological sovereignty without compromising national security priorities?

Talking about the evolution of internal security, Ajay Singhal, IPS, Director General of Haryana Police, reflected on how policing itself has transformed in recent years—from traditional lathi PT methods to the AI era of cybercrime and digital enforcement.

"As this transformation accelerates, sovereign systems become essential to protect police infrastructure and ensure that security remains uncompromised," Singhal noted.

Notably, there is also a need to prioritise defence initiatives that would keep systems trusted, while also enabling strong public-private collaboration, and ensuring that AI augmentations are not distorted.

Lt. Gen. Harsh Chibber, AVSM, VSM, PhD, Director General of Information Services, Indian Army, emphasised that India’s defence establishment was already embedding advanced technologies into its systems.

“DGIS is leading India’s adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) and next-gen technologies and also keeps human judgment central in mission-critical decisions and autonomous systems," Chibber says.

The real debate now—across nations—is about the outcome of innovations in the fast-moving space of AI.

Pier Stefano Sailer, Digital Sovereignty Lead at KPMG Global, noted that since Sovereign AI is now dominating conversations, particularly on national security, across governments, "the central question is what they aim to achieve through their emerging regulatory regimes".

In the Indian context, the new innovations should be aimed at confronting its structural challenges.

Brijesh Singh, IPS, Principal Secretary and Director General of Information and Public Relations, Government of Maharashtra, says:

“As India pursues sovereign AI, we must confront data gaps that shape our models. Determining whether overcoming these gaps is itself an act of sovereignty—and whether progress should be in big bang disruptions or incremental changes—lies at the heart of our strategic choices.”

From the industry side, Martin Willcox, Head of Analytics Sales at Teradata, stressed on the importance of robust data foundations in India.

He said that the path forward was clear, and urged people to "stay hungry for data, and stay genuinely intelligent in how it’s used".

“India’s security modernisation hinges upon data infrastructure. Further, open formats, such as open source models, and interoperability will keep AI systems accurate and secure," he added.

Preet Saxena, Global Director of Data and Analytics at Concentrix, touched a very important aspect about innovations in AI, suggesting that a model of collaboration for government and private undertakings would act as the catalyst for scale.

“To accelerate indigenous AI, India needs dynamic public private collaboration. We should optimise the consumption layer while remaining mindful of AI’s carbon footprint, thereby keeping an eye on ESG responsibilities as well.”

However, Mandar Kulkarni, National Security Officer (India and South Asia) at Microsoft, framed sovereignty as a calibrated process rather than a sudden shift.

“In sovereignty discussions, the real challenge is balancing time with sensitivity—deciding how fast to move while ensuring that critical assets remain secure and strategically protected. It is about taking incremental steps towards sovereignty rather than trying to make everything.”

is-india-set-to-restrict-social-media-access-for-users-under-16

Wed Feb 18 07:54:51 IST 2026

The central government is likely to amend the Information Technology Rules, 2021 to introduce age-based restrictions on social media access for users below 16, according to media reports citing officials.

The proposed move would align with steps taken by Australia, where children under 16 have been barred from using major social media platforms, including TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Threads.

However, the Centre is reportedly not considering a complete ban for teenagers, but rather a calibrated approach.

“Certain accounts should be accessible, while others should not. We must carefully assess whether children should have access to specific types of content,” an unnamed official from the IT Ministry was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit on Tuesday, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw underscored the need for stronger safeguards to protect children and shield society from online harms.

“...Right now, we are in discussions regarding deepfakes and age-based restrictions with various social media platforms to determine the most appropriate course of action,” the minister said.

Vaishnaw also emphasised that all companies — including Netflix, YouTube, Meta, and X — must comply with India’s legal framework and constitutional provisions.

“There is certainly a need to protect our children and society from these harms. We have initiated dialogue with industry stakeholders to determine what additional regulations may be required beyond the existing framework,” he added.

According to a report by CNBC, any regulatory crackdown in India could significantly impact companies such as Meta and Google, both of which have hundreds of millions of users in the country.

This marks the first time the government has explicitly indicated its intent to introduce restrictions on children’s access to social media. The government’s Economic Survey, released last month, had suggested that age-based access controls for online platforms be considered.

At present, India does not impose a minimum age requirement for accessing social media platforms. However, the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act requires platforms to obtain parental consent before processing the personal data of individuals under 18.

Since Australia implemented its under-16 social media ban in December, debate has intensified globally over whether similar measures should be adopted elsewhere. Denmark has approved rules to block users under 15 from social media, while Spain is considering comparable restrictions.

In Australia, the new regulations do not impose penalties on children or their parents for violating the under-16 social media ban. Instead, the responsibility rests with social media companies. Platforms that commit serious or repeated breaches of the rules can face fines of up to A$49.5 million.

how-do-you-make-ai-trustworthy-for-large-scale-usage

Tue Feb 17 17:33:38 IST 2026

On the second day of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, a session titled 'Scaling Trusted AI: Global Practices, Local Impact' focused on a basic but difficult question: How do you make AI trustworthy enough to use at scale?

The discussion therefore centred on to bring together practical lessons from companies already deploying AI. The idea was to move beyond theory and offer measurable, workable frameworks that organisations can adapt to different markets, especially emerging and resource-constrained ones.

Navrina Singh, Founder and CEO of Credo AI, said the conversation around AI now should shift from building to verifying. “It is not just about building AI. It is about verifying, governing and earning trust in AI,” she said. Companies today rely heavily on third-party AI systems. The challenge, she pointed out, is understanding which systems can be trusted and how to unpack complex AI supply chains. Governance, in her view, should not be an afterthought. It should be embedded into procurement, development and deployment processes from the start.

Fabrice Ciais, Vice President of Responsible AI at G42, spoke about building AI at national scale. Based in Abu Dhabi, G42 develops large data centres and AI models tailored for different industries and languages, including Arabic-English and Kazakh-English systems. He stressed that when AI is developed for government use or critical infrastructure, responsible AI cannot remain a corporate guideline, it must align with national priorities and protections. For countries investing in sovereign AI, trust and security are linked.

Caroline Louveaux, Chief Privacy Officer at Mastercard, said AI is not new to the financial sector. Mastercard has used AI for years to secure its payment network and detect fraud. Recently, the company has applied generative AI techniques to improve fraud detection accuracy by 300 per cent. But, she said, innovation alone is not enough. “For innovation to scale, people have to trust it.” She explained that Mastercard integrates privacy and responsible AI principles at the design stage, which helps the company stay ahead of regulatory requirements and maintain customer confidence.

Magesh Bagavathi, Senior Vice President at PepsiCo, brought a personal note into the discussion. “Thirty years ago, I was working in Nehru Place before I ended up here,” he said, underlining how much India’s technology landscape has evolved. But even with global platforms and scale, he stressed that “local makes a difference.”

Referring to large consumer ecosystems such as PepsiCo that serve close to 1.4 billion customers globally on a daily basis, he said scale brings responsibility. AI systems built for such reach must align with the broader vision of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the idea that the world is one family.

While companies often highlight the benefits AI brings to business and consumers, he cautioned that the same systems can also create harm—for individuals or even for the planet—if not handled carefully.

According to him, organisations must focus on two things simultaneously: innovating at speed and not taking undue risks while doing so. Speed is essential in competitive markets, but unchecked speed can amplify mistakes.

Rajeev Kumar Gupta, EVP and CTO of PB Fintech Limited, said that in banking and financial services, trust is not optional. “Without trust, innovation becomes a liability,” he noted. The sector is accountable not only to customers but also to regulators, and long-term brand equity depends on maintaining that credibility.

When PB Fintech launched Policybazaar, it began building direct relationships with customers at scale. Today, the platform interacts with close to a million customers every day and has served over 200–250 million users over time. At that scale, AI becomes essential. It helps determine who qualifies for an insurance policy, whose loan application gets sanctioned, and who may be attempting fraud. With millions of daily interactions, summarising data, assessing risk and making timely decisions would not be possible manually.

Gupta emphasised that everything the company does is regulated. That regulatory framework shapes how AI models are designed and deployed. In financial services, AI systems must be transparent, auditable and aligned with compliance standards.

epstine-files-impact-bill-gates-withdraws-from-india-ai-summit

Tue Feb 17 15:24:23 IST 2026

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will attend the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi and deliver his scheduled keynote address, the Gates Foundation confirmed on Tuesday. The clarification came after reports suggesting that Gates had withdrawn from the summit due to the ongoing Epstein controversy.

The reports stem from newly released files by the US Justice Department, which allege that Gates asked one of his advisers for medication to treat sexually transmitted diseases, reportedly from "sex with Russian girls." Gates’ spokesperson has called these allegations "absolutely absurd and completely false."

Speculation about Gates' attendance grew after his name was found missing from the summit's speaker list on Tuesday.

Earlier last week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also cancelled his plans to attend the summit. While Nvidia did not provide an official reason, some speculated his withdrawal could be linked to Gates' involvement in the event. Huang had been one of the key attractions at the summit.

In its statement, the Gates Foundation noted that India is a global leader in artificial intelligence, powered by one of the world’s largest AI talent pools, rapid adoption across sectors, and innovation at population scale.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AI has become central to India’s vision of Viksit Bharat, driving inclusive growth and responsible innovation," it said. "India’s distinctive public-private model, bringing together government, startups, academia, and industry, is proving that AI can be built for impact, for inclusion, and for the world."

Meanwhile, Gates is currently on a tour of Andhra Pradesh, where he praised the state's innovations in health, agriculture, and education. In a post on X, Gates thanked Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for the warm welcome, saying, "It’s exciting to witness Andhra Pradesh's growth being accelerated through AI, technology, and innovations across health, agriculture & education."

During his visit to the state’s capital, Amaravati, Gates engaged in several activities, including a meeting with the Chief Minister and officials to review presentations on the use of technology in governance. He also visited a banana orchard near the Krishna River in Undavalli village, located in Guntur district.

in-words-and-in-deeds-pm-modi-makes-a-push-for-atmanirbhar-ai

Mon Feb 16 20:22:53 IST 2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in general, and a homegrown AI model in particular, was mighty evident from one conspicuous detail related to the organising of the India Impact AI Summit in the capital this week. The PM’s decision to make at least three trips to Bharat Mandapam, the main venue of the mammoth event.

After his inaugural address at the AI Expo, Modi followed it up on Monday evening with a visit to the Expo itself, taking time to interact with the exhibitors and check out the stack of innovations on display.

Later this week, on Thursday morning, he will take the stage again at Bharat Mandapam’s main conference hall, where he will give the keynote at the formal summit on Thursday, this time accompanied by nearly two dozen world leaders, as well as some of the biggest names in technology today, including the top leaders from the likes of Google, OpenAI, Meta and Adobe.

The message from the top was clear: India is serious about AI, and pretty serious about using AI for bridging the gap between the global south and north.

Of course, the proof of the pudding may be in the eating, and we will have to wait and see how much India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem lives up to the AI challenge, but the optics were crystal clear: "Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya” as the formal motto of the summit goes, which translates into ”Welfare for All, Happiness for All".

It’s a tall ask for a country that is at best an ‘also-ran’ in the global AI sweepstakes as of now, but not for want of ambition, very apparently. As the banners that have gone up all across the nation proclaim ‘AI means all inclusive’, or, as the PM himself mentioned in his speech on Monday, “AI also stands for aspirational India.”

For a leader who has turned devising acronyms into a speechwriter’s essential requisite, AI is ripe for the picking. As the PM himself said earlier, “For us, India has double AI — for the world it may stand for artificial intelligence, but for Modi, it also stands for ‘aspirational India,” the PM quipped, referring to himself in the third person.

The PM’s time spent in the Expo was also indicative of the larger message of India’s need for local models for AI. Except for one or two instances, like his quick peek into the Meta (parent of WhatsApp) stall, for example, virtually all his stops at the Exhibition hall, mind you, we are talking of a 70,000 sq mt area spread across 10 arenas and some 300 curated pavilions, were carefully reserved for Indian AI efforts.

This included anything from Sarvam.ai, which is working on large language models (including, recently, translating Modi’s Mann ki Baat into various Indian regional languages in Modi’s own voice, using AI) to Bharti Airtel which is using AI fraud detection tools, to Pune C-DAC’s AIRAWAT (AI Research, Analytics, and Knowledge Assimilation) supercomputing platform and Noida’s Addverb, which uses AI and robotics for warehouse logistics.

The AI Expo will run concurrently with the India AI Impact Summit this week, and is conceptualised on three thematic ‘chakras’ — People, Planet and Progress. The Summit itself features a week-long set of seminars and discussions, peaking with the global leaders summit on Thursday and Friday.

MeitY minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also announced the imminent launch of a ‘Create in India’ mission in the country as an industry, employment and future-oriented mission. “(The Mission) will look at strengthening what we have, making sure we become the most preferred platform for the world (to create) a future-ready talent pipeline,” he said.

entrepreneurial-energy-and-technical-acumen-is-unique-in-india-anthropics-ceo-dario-amodei

Mon Feb 16 19:59:09 IST 2026

AI firm Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei said entrepreneurial energy and technical acumen is unique in the country and he has seen the company’s India business doubling over the last four months.

“It's just really incredible to see kind of rate at which things are happening in India. I have seen many exciting applications here and they are pretty unique. One set that that I have seen is applications around large number of languages in India. Building things that interoperate between those languages and make it easier to translate or able to be multilingual. Government bodies elsewhere also don't move this fast,” said Amodei during Anthropic’s Builder Summit in Bengaluru.

He also expressed excitement at the pure scale of India with hundred millions of people in the market and where rapid AI experimentation was possible. Today, Anthropic also officially opened its first India office in Bengaluru and second in Asia after Tokyo. India is also globally the second-largest market for Claude.ai, from Anthrophic. Interestingly, nearly half of Claude usage in India comprises computer and mathematical tasks: building applications, modernising systems, and shipping production software.

“Since we announced our operations in India in October 2025 our revenue has become almost double here. We are partnering with organisations such as Cognizant, Air India, Razorpay etc. lndia is already home to extraordinary technical talent, digital infrastructure at scale, and a proven track record of using technology to improve people’s lives. That’s exactly the foundation you need to make sure this technology reaches the people who can benefit from it most,” remarked Irina Ghose, Managing Director of India, Anthropic.

Anthropic is also working with Karya and the Collective Intelligence Project to build evaluations testing performance on locally relevant tasks across domains like agriculture and law, in partnership with domain experts from Indian non-profits including Digital Green and Adalat AI. To support its growing customer base, the company’s India team will offer applied AI expertise to enterprise customers, digital natives and startups, to help them design, build, and scale Claude-powered solutions tailored to their business needs.

Air India is using Claude Code to help developers ship custom software faster and at lower cost, as part of a broader push to use agentic AI across its operations and IT services major Cognizant has deployed Claude to 350,000 employees globally to modernise legacy systems, accelerate software development, and support AI adoption among its enterprise clients.

At Razorpay, AI is integrated into risk systems, decision-making processes, and operations across the company. Similarly, Anthropic is supporting Adalat AI to improve access to judicial services with a national WhatsApp helpline which was launched today. Using Claude, the firm provides instant case updates, plus translation, document summarisation, and interactive querying of legal documents in native Indian languages.

The Indian Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), with the support of non-profit Bharat Digital, recently launched the first official Indian government MCP server, enabling users of AI systems to access and query authoritative national statistics in an open and interoperable manner. In the private sector, Swiggy uses the Model Context Protocol to allow people to order groceries and make dining reservations directly through Claude.

nfdc-backed-ai-cinema-showcase-to-feature-at-india-ai-impact-summit-2026-all-you-need-to-know

Mon Feb 16 17:56:22 IST 2026

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 will see an exciting AI Cinema Showcase under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that will explore the intersection of cinema and emerging technologies.

The event is organised by LTM, an AI-centric tech services firm—and its BlueVerse CraftStudio—in collaboration with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Waves Bazaar, a government-backed digital marketplace.

Taking place from February 16-20 at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 brings together policymakers, industry leaders, innovators, and creators from India and abroad.

This includes a number of big names, such as Google's parent company Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, among many others.

Highlighting good and creative cases of artificial intelligence use by Indian filmmakers, the Showcase aligns with India's larger aims of promoting human-centric, ethical AI.

This is expected to open up wider discussions connecting AI use in policy and technological applications with its use in the cultural and creative space.

"The Showcase will feature a curated selection of pre-created AI-driven short films, focusing on narrative strength, creative intent, cinematic quality, and responsible use of AI. Selected films will be screened at the Immersive Room AI Theatre at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting pavilion," a statement said.

This comes months after the same organisations kicked off India’s first AI Film Festival and Hackathon, in collaboration with the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

The event took place at the 56th edition of the IFFI in Goa from November 20-28 last year.

Just like the Showcase this year, this event provided a space for filmmakers, creators, technologists, and innovators to experiment with AI-powered storytelling tools and showcase creative use cases in cinema.

"Cinema has always reflected the power of human imagination. Today, AI gives us a new lens that expands our ability to dream, design, and express. The IFFI AI Film Festival will be a playground for that evolution," Shekhar Kapur, the Festival Director that year, had said in a statement.

india-ai-impact-2026-can-india-secure-its-future-without-owning-the-ai-stack

Mon Feb 16 17:48:57 IST 2026

At a time when artificial intelligence is fast becoming the backbone of governance, defence and economic power, a high-level session during the India AI Impact 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi brought together policymakers, global technology leaders and industry experts to deliberate on a pressing question: Can India secure its digital future without owning the layers that power it?

The panellists suggested that digital sovereignty is about control - of data, of infrastructure, of models, and of the very cognitive systems that increasingly influence decision-making.

Brijesh Singh, IPS, Principal Secretary and DGIPR, Government of Maharashtra, brought the conversation down from theory to practice. Modern policing, he noted, is already inseparable from technology. Whether it is monitoring crowd flows at large gatherings like the Kumbh Mela or deploying number plate recognition systems across cities, AI tools are deeply embedded in operational frameworks.

But there is a catch. Models built without local context can carry error margins of up to 40 percent. An algorithm that performs well elsewhere may falter in India. "It is with all the model across the world," he said.

The real concern, Singh suggested, is dependence. If sovereign systems are essentially imported solutions, designed and controlled externally, the illusion of control can collapse at a critical moment. Sovereignty must therefore exist at every layer, data, infrastructure, governance architecture and what he described as “cognitive infrastructure.” India, he argued, has no shortage of talent. What it needs is the confidence to build and trust its own stack.

The discussion also included insights from Ajay Singhal, IPS, Director General of Police, Haryana, and Lt. Gen. Harsh Chibber, Director General of Information Systems, Indian Army, who emphasised the growing role of secure digital systems in internal security and defence operations.

If the policing lens focused on application, Martin Willcox, Global Head of Analytics at Teradata, shifted the attention to architecture. There is, he said, no good AI without good data.

For sovereign AI to work, India must modernise and integrate its data ecosystems. This means creating a platform that can cut across domains.

Willcox warned described a concept known as the “training trap”, the urge to pour enormous resources into building massive proprietary foundation models from scratch. Open-source models, he observed, are rapidly catching up with proprietary ones. Rather than obsessing over training, India might be better served by focusing on inference, deploying AI systems that are efficient, faster and more cost-effective.

In national security contexts, structured data still dominates. The answer, he suggested, is not one monolithic model but a toolbox, interoperable systems that can be inspected, adapted and trusted.

For Preet Saxena, Global Lead for Data and Analytics at Concentrix, the state cannot walk this path alone. The private sector is already building prototypes capable of scaling. Structured collaboration — from hackathons to public-private partnerships — can accelerate deployment while distributing risk.

But speed cannot come at the cost of responsibility. AI infrastructure consumes energy, shapes labour markets and influences governance. Questions of sustainability and ESG must become part of the sovereign AI conversation.

From the vantage point of global technology deployment, Mandar Kulkarni, National Security Officer (India and South Asia) at Microsoft, framed sovereignty as a layered construct. He further defined four layers: Data Sovereignty to ensure national data is not accessed or exploited beyond intended jurisdictions; Operational Sovereignty to guarantee continuity of critical services; Technology Sovereignty to build or control the technological stack that underpins digital systems; AI Sovereignty to ensure that models are trained on Indian data, reflect Indian ethics and are explainable.

AI sovereignty, he noted, is distinct from data sovereignty. It raises deeper questions: What data was the model trained on? Does it reflect Indian realities? Can its decisions be explained? The “black box” problem becomes more than a technical issue; it becomes a strategic one. The "black box problem" refers to the inability to understand, interpret, or trace how complex AI systems, particularly deep learning and neural networks, arrive at specific decisions or predictions.

Pier Stefano Sailer, Global Lead for Digital Sovereignty at KPMG, argued that countries often swing between two extremes — total state control or unrestrained private dominance. India, he suggested, has the opportunity to chart a middle path, combining strong public digital infrastructure with private innovation and investment.

By the end of the session, one theme stood out. Digital sovereignty is not about isolation. Nor is it about rejecting global collaboration. It is about ensuring that the foundational layers of AI, the data, the compute, the models and the governance frameworks, are aligned with national priorities.

india-guinness-world-record-attempt-in-ai-responsibility-begins-today

Mon Feb 16 11:55:29 IST 2026

India is gearing up for a national conversation on how people use Artificial Intelligence, with the government launching a massive digital pledge drive that will also attempt a Guinness World Records title.

The two‑day campaign, starting Monday, February 16, aims to get lakhs of Indians to publicly commit to using AI in an ethical, inclusive and responsible manner.

Record bid for ‘AI responsibility’ pledges

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), under the IndiaAI Mission and in partnership with Intel India, began a 24‑hour drive targeting the Guinness World Records title for the “Most pledges received for an AI responsibility campaign in 24 hours.”

The pledge window opened at 8 am on February 16 and will run nationwide, coinciding with the inaugural day of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

Citizens can participate by visiting the dedicated portal aipledge.indiaai.gov.in, completing a short registration, verifying their identity via OTP on email or phone, answering a few scenario‑based questions about responsible AI use and then submitting the formal pledge.

Participants will receive a digital badge jointly issued by IndiaAI and Intel India, along with links to government‑led AI learning pathways so they can continue to build their understanding of the technology.

Open to all, focused on youth and trust

The Centre stressed that the campaign was designed to be lightweight and accessible: it requires no microphone or camera, carries no minimum marks or eligibility criteria and can be completed from any device with an internet connection.

The idea is to make it easy for students, teachers, parents, government staff, PSU employees, industry professionals, startups and ordinary citizens from all regions to join in.

The questions in the pledge journey focus on issues like data privacy, accountability, fairness and tackling misinformation, nudging people to think about the consequences of AI before they click “submit.”

MeitY positioned the drive as a key citizen‑engagement pillar of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, which began on February 16, Monday, with the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled in the evening.

The Summit is set to bring together world leaders, policymakers, researchers, startups and civil society around the themes of People, Planet and Progress, with a strong emphasis on using AI for inclusive development.

By combining a record‑setting attempt with learning and public participation, the government hopes to set a global benchmark for responsible AI engagement and strengthen public trust in emerging technologies.

sarvajana-hitaya-sarvajana-sukhaya-pm-modi-highlights-ai-expo-theme-affirms-indias-leadership-in-ai-transformation

Mon Feb 16 10:24:04 IST 2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ahead of the inauguration of the India AI Impact Expo 2026 in New Delhi, emphasised the theme of the event, Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya (welfare for all, happiness for all). He underscored India's position at the forefront of the artificial intelligence transformation, stating that the country’s advancements in AI reflect both ambition and responsibility.

In a post on 'X,' Modi wrote, "The theme of the Summit is Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya or welfare for all, happiness for all, reflecting our shared commitment to harnessing Artificial Intelligence for human-centric progress."

The Prime Minister welcomed global leaders, industry pioneers, innovators, policymakers, researchers, and technology enthusiasts to the Summit. "Bringing the world together to discuss AI! Starting today, India hosts the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi," he said, highlighting the event's focus on collaboration and innovation.

Modi emphasised that AI is transforming sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, and business. "The AI Impact Summit will enrich global discourse on diverse aspects of AI, such as innovation, collaboration, responsible use and more. I am confident that the outcomes of the Summit will help shape a future that is progressive, innovative and opportunity-driven," he added.

India's strides in AI, Modi stated, are a testament to its leadership in the field. "From digital public infrastructure to a vibrant StartUp ecosystem and cutting-edge research, our strides in AI reflect both ambition and responsibility," he said.

The Expo, scheduled from February 16 to 20, will serve as a national platform to showcase AI in action, where policy meets practice, innovation scales, and technology impacts the daily lives of citizens.

It will feature 13 international pavilions, reflecting global cooperation in the AI ecosystem, with participating countries including Australia, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, Estonia, Tajikistan, and several African nations.