Hello there! We have a short, concise edition today, bringing you exclusive coverage from the AI Alliance Pune Chapter. We will be back with our regular edition on Thursday (March 28).

In today’s newsletter:

• What top tech voices said at the AI Alliance
• Paytm finds third merchant partner

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• The Indian government's AI-led language translation system, Bhashini, will soon allow users to give voice commands in their native languages to recharge mobiles, pay FasTag bills and gas bills through an app. The government is aiming to expand Bhashini's use cases by the end of April this year. Find out more

• Even before startups could lay their hands on Nvidia's previous generation of AI chips, the company announced a new version called Blackwell last week. However, Indian data centre company Yotta says it could bring the Blackwell chips to the country as soon as January-March 2025. Find out more
  
  
• KPIT Technologies CEO and MD Kishor Patil expressed scepticism about the viability of autonomous vehicles, citing a lack of a solid business case and the inherent high costs associated with the technology. “There is no business case actually… there is a naturally high cost of autonomous vehicle and there is no clear logic to having it,” Patil said. Find out more
  
  
• Mumbai Metro MD Ashwini Bhide believes AI can revolutionise urban transportation by integrating different modes. While praising the Metro system's communication-based train control (CBTC) signalling system, she acknowledges underutilisation and emphasises its potential for various automation levels. More on that here
  
  
• OneCard co-founder and CEO Anurag Sinha has assured stakeholders that efforts are underway to address compliance concerns and resume operations with Federal Bank and South Indian Bank. This comes after the RBI instructed these banks to suspend issuance of new co-branded credit cards on March 14, impacting OneCard. Find out more
  
  
• More women are now in the driver’s seat, according to Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India. Women now account for 15 percent of the company’s sales, up from 6-7 percent previously. More on the average age of a buyer, how long you have to wait to buy a G Wagon and more here.
  

You can catch all the updates from Moneycontrol & CNBC TV18’s AI Alliance Pune in our liveblog or watch the recap of the event.

Paytm parent One97 Communications Ltd (OCL) just got a major shot in the arm! 

• OCL has roped in HDFC Bank, India's largest private sector lender, as its third partner for merchant migration

This move follows partnerships with Axis Bank and Yes Bank, all aiming to onboard a massive 3 crore merchants.

• Discussions are also underway with Canara Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank

This merchant migration stems from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placing restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), an OCL associate. 

• As a result, OCL needs banking partners to fulfill the functions previously handled by PPBL

• Bengaluru dominates the establishment of semiconductor Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India, according to a report by Nasscom and Zinnov. Government-led initiatives to foster domestic semiconductor production have significantly increased investment in recent years, the report highlights.

• Reliance Industries-run Rise Worldwide secured over 50 brand deals for the IPL 2024, including five prominent front-of-shirt sponsorships, according to a company official. Nikhil Bardia, head of Rise Worldwide, said that the company reported a 20% increase in sponsorship investments from the teams' perspective, with jersey deals alone exceeding Rs 300 crore.

• Apple announced it will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) from June 10 to June 14. The announcement comes amidst reports that the iPhone maker is in talks for an AI partnership and could unveil significant changes to iOS.
  
  
• Elon Musk announced on X that the AI chatbot Grok, developed by his startup xAI, will be available to all premium subscribers, expanding access from the previous Premium+ tier. This move comes as Musk seeks to reduce reliance on advertising by making X's subscriptions more attractive.