Brief

Microsoft is accelerating its investment in India with its largest data center set to launch by mid-2026, aiming to capitalize on the rapidly growing AI market. This expansion is a key part of the company's significant capital expenditure in the region. Separately, Japan is releasing 50 million medical gloves from its national reserve due to a shortage impacting nearly 5,000 healthcare institutions, primarily caused by disruptions in petrochemical supply chains affecting raw material procurement. AI

The AI boom is driving significant investment in data centers across the Asia-Pacific region, with an estimated US$11.6 billion allocated to new developments. Markets like Malaysia, Australia, and India are seeing substantial growth in usable capacity, while more established hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore are experiencing moderate increases. This surge in demand is fueled by hyperscale cloud providers, major tech companies, and financial institutions, alongside a new category of AI-focused cloud providers. AI

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has ordered the construction of new detention centers in West Bengal to hold undocumented migrants. This directive, aimed at "apprehended foreigners" awaiting deportation, has raised concerns among minority groups, particularly Muslims, about potential arbitrary expulsions. The government cites security and socio-economic concerns as reasons for its "detect, delete, deport" policy. AI

Bangladesh is reportedly acquiring a JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jet simulator from China and Pakistan. This potential acquisition could escalate regional tensions, particularly with India, due to ongoing sensitivities in India's northeastern border region and existing strained relations between Dhaka and New Delhi. The JF-17, a joint development between Pakistan and China, is a significant combat aircraft that would enhance Bangladesh's air power and potentially replace its older MiG-29 and F-7 aircraft. AI

The Trump administration's policy change regarding green card applications is causing concern among foreign workers in the US, particularly those from Asian countries. This new rule, announced by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, will restrict the ability for individuals already in the US to adjust their status to permanent residents, requiring most to undergo overseas consular processing. This shift is expected to disrupt the long-term plans and economic security of hundreds of thousands of families and individuals. AI

New York is on the verge of banning potassium bromate, an additive used in flour for pizza crusts and bagels, due to health concerns. This potential ban has divided bakers, with some fearing it will fundamentally alter iconic New York baked goods and increase costs. Others welcome the ban, citing health benefits and the potential for improved dough fermentation and quality. AI

India is developing a US$9 billion megaport project on Great Nicobar Island, aiming to create a major transport hub by 2028 with an initial phase completion. This strategic development in the Indian Ocean is expected to enhance India's monitoring capabilities near the Strait of Malacca, a crucial trade route for China. Analysts suggest the project will bolster India's strategic position, though critics raise concerns about potential ecological damage. AI

A new framework called Structure-Guided Entity Resolution (SGER) has been developed to improve how Large Language Models (LLMs) match names, particularly in complex linguistic situations. SGER uses a two-phase curriculum to first teach the LLM about name structures and then optimize it for entity matching. This approach achieved 99.02% accuracy and an F1 score of 0.994 on Indian identity data, outperforming existing methods like GPT-4o prompting. The SGER system is now in production at Dream11, a platform serving over 250 million users, demonstrating its scalability and effectiveness in real-world multilingual applications. AI

Workers in India are increasingly involved in collecting video data to train humanoid robots. They utilize head-mounted cameras to capture footage, contributing to the development of AI-powered robotic systems. This data collection effort is a growing trend within the country's AI sector. AI

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited India, aiming to strengthen bilateral ties and reassure Prime Minister Narendra Modi following President Trump's recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Rubio characterized India as a "natural partner" and extended an invitation to Modi to visit the White House, emphasizing the importance of the US-India relationship to the Indo-Pacific strategy. The visit also served to brief India on the outcomes of the Trump-Xi meeting, which had caused strategic unease in New Delhi due to a perceived shift in US policy towards China. AI

Replit is expanding its global infrastructure by launching new compute regions in Mumbai, India, and London, England. This move aims to reduce latency for its international users, allowing code execution and development to occur in data centers closer to them. The company is also embracing a globally distributed workforce, hiring employees worldwide while maintaining a four-hour daily overlap with Pacific Standard Time working hours. AI