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/India Press Agency/

By Nitya Chakraborty Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stepped into his 75th year on Wednesday, September 17.His birthday is being celebrated by the BJP nationally. The significance is much more as PM’s 75th birthday celebrations have coincided with the centenary programmes on the founding of the RSS in 1925.On October 2 this year, Vijaya Dasami […]

The article Decoding Prime Minister Narendra Modi As A Political Leader On His 75th Birthday appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on IPA Newspack.

Government officials in New Delhi have unveiled a secure integrated circuit solution, fully developed within India, designed to underpin future digital identity systems including e-passports. All intellectual property is said to reside domestically, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s tech self-sufficiency drive.

The secure IC is embedded with a “smart OS”, enabling secure authentication, encryption, and identity verification. It is intended for deployment in identity credentials issued by federal authorities. Verification features include tamper resistance, cryptographic protection of stored data, and interoperability with global identity verification standards. The OS is modular, allowing updates and extension of features such as biometric modules, NFC, and remote authentication.

The development is part of the broader India Semiconductor Mission and Semicon India Programme, with an investment outlay of ₹76,000 crore supporting chip fabrication, assembly, display fabs, and design projects. The pilot line for this secure chip is being hosted in Gujarat at an OSAT facility.

Sources indicate that ten semiconductor manufacturing projects have been approved across six states—Gujarat, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh—with total investment commitments exceeding ₹1.60 lakh crore. These projects include multiple fabs, ATMP/OSAT facilities, and chip design initiatives.

Among recent achievements is the development of Vikram-3201, a 32-bit space-grade processor by the ISRO Semiconductor Laboratory, presented to the Prime Minister at Semicon India 2025. It has been validated in the PSLV-C60 mission and is said to be robust under extreme launch-vehicle conditions. It was fabricated using a 180 nm CMOS process.

The secure IC is expected to be somewhat different in specifications from Vikram-3201: targeted more towards identity and citizen services rather than space applications. Performance metrics are likely less extreme, but security requirements—such as resistance to physical tampering, side-channel attack mitigation, secure boot, and cryptographic module certification—are being prioritised. Implementation of secure OS standards is underway.

In tandem with hardware development, the government has accelerated IP and design ecosystem support. Under the Design Linked Incentive scheme, 23 design projects have been approved to foster startups, MSMEs, and academic participation. Skill development in VLSI design, packaging, EDA tools, and fab-operations is being emphasised.

Policy observers note that global supply-chain disruptions and geopolitical shifts have provided a backdrop that intensifies India’s push for technological sovereignty. External partnerships—for example in materials, equipment, packaging technologies—are being pursued to fill gaps in the domestic ecosystem.

Challenges remain. Process node maturity is one area—while the 180 nm node is proven and reliable for many applications including space, more advanced nodes dominate consumer electronics and high-performance identity solutions globally. Also, certifications for security standards, supply of trusted materials, secure hardware lifecycle management, and scaling production to volumes needed for national identity issuance will test capacity. Ensuring interoperability with international identity verification frameworks will also be essential.

Prosus NV has raised its holding in Urban Company Ltd to 7.35 per cent, after acquiring roughly an additional 4 percentage points by investing about $139 million, ahead of the home services startup’s Initial Public Offering. This move positions Prosus as one of Urban Company’s largest shareholders and signals strong institutional faith in the firm’s prospects.

Urban Company’s IPO drew overwhelming demand — it was subscribed over 103 times — and its shares listed at a premium of about 57.5 per cent over the issue price on the National Stock Exchange, opening at ₹162.25 versus the ₹103 issue price. The listing surged the company’s market valuation to nearly $2.8 billion.

According to Ashutosh Sharma, head of Prosus India Ecosystem, the firm increased its stake during the IPO allotment. Prosus first backed Urban Company in 2021; this latest acquisition underscores its continued appetite for stakes in Indian startups with domestic consumer and service-led business models.

Urban Company, founded in 2014 by Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Varun Khaitan, and Raghav Chandra, operates across home services such as beauty, cleaning, appliance repair and plumbing. It has expanded into over 50 cities in India and also operates in international markets including UAE and Singapore. The company reported strong financial performance in its fiscal year ending 2025, with revenue growth of around 36 per cent year-on-year and its first net profit of approximately ₹239–₹240 crore.

Investor enthusiasm was evident in the IPO process. Qualified Institutional Buyers led the subscription with particularly strong bids. The grey market premium, which reflects expectations ahead of listing, had risen to over 50 per cent above the issue price, signalling investor confidence in an upward listing trajectory.

Prosus’s move comes amid a broader trend of institutional investors increasing their exposure to Indian startups ahead of IPOs, particularly those in consumer-facing, service-oriented sectors. Earlier urban and tech-led listings have attracted robust demand, and IPOs that show solid unit economics—strong margins, revenue growth, steps toward profit—are being favoured by capital.

Urban Company’s stock market debut saw a steep rise: the shares not only opened with a 57.5 per cent premium on NSE, but trading surged further, reflecting both investor optimism and perceived underpricing in its IPO offer.

Prosus, headquartered in the Netherlands and known for its early stake in Tencent Holdings, has invested over $8-9 billion in the Indian startup ecosystem. It has backed firms such as Swiggy, Meesho, and PayU. Its amplified investment in Urban Company exemplifies a strategy of anchoring bets on firms that combine growth potential with improving financial metrics.

Hong Kong’s technology sector soared as benchmarks hit their highest point since 2021, supported by mounting investor confidence in China’s artificial intelligence ambitions. The Hang Seng Tech Index jumped about 4.2%, reaching a level not seen since November 2021, while Alibaba, Baidu and other major players saw robust gains on optimism around AI innovation.

Baidu led the charge, climbing roughly 16% in Hong Kong trading—its biggest surge since March 2022—as analysts upgraded its outlook in light of growing belief in its chip-development strategy. Alibaba also rose strongly; its Hong Kong-listed shares have reached levels unseen since late 2021, bolstered by its expanding cloud and AI-linked operations. Market watchers noted increasing activity in China Unicom and internal chip design projects contributing to the momentum.

This surge comes amid broader trends: domestic AI developers are accelerating roll-outs of proprietary chips, cloud computing investment is rising, and regulatory signals suggest stronger support for technology self-reliance. Meanwhile, progress in international matters—such as negotiations over TikTok’s operations—has reduced investor uncertainty, further boosting risk appetite in equity markets.

While enthusiasm is widespread, concerns persist among analysts over the sustainability of growth. High valuations have raised questions about how quickly revenue from AI and cloud services can scale. The technical challenge of chip design and the global competition in semiconductor technology remain formidable barriers.

Saudi entities Hassana Investment Company and AviLease have formed a joint venture to offer aircraft-leasing opportunities, signalling a major step in the Kingdom’s drive to build up its aviation financing infrastructure under its National Aviation Strategy. Hassana will own a majority of the new venture; AviLease—backed by the Public Investment Fund—will supply aircraft servicing.

The joint venture’s launch includes a deal to acquire a fleet of ten fuel-efficient, new-technology aircraft from AviLease, all currently leased to carriers based in Saudi Arabia. The portfolio reflects a shift towards greener, more sustainable aviation assets.

Hassana, which manages funds for the General Organization for Social Insurance, sees this as a chance to deepen exposure to resilient asset classes that generate long-term cash flows. Hani Al-Jeha­ni, Acting CEO and CIO of Hassana, emphasised the partnership aligns with its mandate to pursue investments that offer sustainable returns while supporting national aviation goals.

AviLease, established in 2022 as part of the sovereign wealth fund’s expanding portfolio, is expanding rapidly. The company has placed large orders for new Boeing and Airbus aircraft and completed a sizeable financing facility earlier this year. It manages a global portfolio worth several billion dollars. Edward O’Byrne, CEO of AviLease, described the joint venture as foundational to scaling up Saudi Arabia’s aviation ecosystem and creating a platform attractive to both domestic and international investors.

Fahad Al-Saif, Chairman of AviLease, noted that the partnership marks one of the first private-sector-led steps into the aviation financing domain within Saudi Arabia, reinforcing the role of investment institutions in strengthening the sector.

The move supports Saudi Arabia’s ambition to draw 150 million visitors annually by 2030, up from earlier targets, and to enhance the economic multiplier effects of tourism, trade, and transport infrastructure. Aviation financing is seen as a key enabler in achieving these goals, since airlines often face high capital costs.

ADQ and Azerbaijan Investment Holding have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue joint projects in the financial services sector, aiming to improve market connectivity and bolster the investment environment for sustainable economic growth.

The agreement follows their establishment of a joint investment platform in December 2023, under which both organisations committed equal capital to developing sectors such as agriculture, technology, pharmaceuticals and energy infrastructure across Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Central Asia—with possible expansion beyond those regions.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of ADQ, said the deal exemplifies the strategy of deploying patient capital and leveraging investment know-how to stimulate economic diversification, foster industrial expansion, and enhance regional connectivity and competitiveness.

Ruslan Alikhanov, Chief Executive Officer of AIH, described the partnership as a key move to unlock new growth opportunities for Azerbaijan, emphasising that combining capital and expertise will support more diversified development and position Azerbaijan as a proactive actor in regional investment networks.

AIH, founded in 2020, manages strategic state-owned enterprises, enhancing governance, boosting operational efficiency and channeling investment into national priorities. ADQ is recognised for investing in critical infrastructure, global supply chains, and strategic sectors that align with broader national and regional economic transformation agendas.

Trade between the UAE and Azerbaijan has been strengthening, with non-oil trade rising 43 per cent year-on-year to reach about USD 2.4 billion in 2024. UAE investments into Azerbaijan have crossed USD 1 billion, reflecting the deepening economic partnership.

Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 has forged a strengthened alliance with the Japan External Trade Organization aimed at building deeper cross-border innovation, particularly in Web3, AI, spatial intelligence and sustainable tech sectors. Hub71 used its presence at Tokyo’s WebX and the Blockchain Leaders Summit to push forward new collaboration programmes and investment pathways.

At these events, Hub71 spotlighted a number of startups from Abu Dhabi—among them bitgrit, xMap, Aqua Development, Chainsight, Nodeshift, Bit2Me and 1Money—making connections with Japanese investors, corporate entities and ecosystem partners. The showcasing was closely aligned with Japan’s innovation priorities, including governance in blockchain and sustainable water solutions.

Key to the partnership is the launch of the J-StarX Programme, developed jointly by Hub71, JETRO and Elixir Capital, which will host seven Japanese Web3 startups in Abu Dhabi to facilitate scale-ups, market access, and ecosystem integration. Entrepreneurs in this programme will benefit from capital, mentoring, regulatory guidance and networking in the UAE’s tech environment.

Hub71 also assumed title-sponsorship of the Blockchain Leaders Summit in Tokyo, delivering the opening keynote. Executives emphasised the UAE’s position as an enabling region for innovators seeking overseas expansion, and positioned Abu Dhabi as a gateway for startups to penetrate Asia on one side and Middle East markets on the other.

Peter Abou Hachem, Head of Growth and Strategy at Hub71, stated that the collaboration underscores “the value of global connectivity”, and that Japan’s leadership in Web3 and innovation aligns with Hub71’s mission. He noted that through partners like JETRO, both ecosystems can unlock opportunities in market reach, talent exchange and frontier technologies.