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Month: July 2025

Technology

Meta and Microsoft Intensify AI Talent Hunt by Poaching DeepMind Experts

Observenow Desk July 24, 2025

Tech giants Meta and Microsoft are escalating their battle for AI supremacy, securing top-tier talent from Google DeepMind as they race to deepen their artificial intelligence capabilities. In the latest advance of this escalating war, both firms have onboarded several high-profile researchers from DeepMind, underscoring the fierce competition to lead advancements in machine learning, language models, and next-generation AI systems.

Meta has reportedly welcomed three additional DeepMind researchers into its newly established Superintelligence Labs, a division launched by CEO Mark Zuckerberg amid a broader effort to regain footing after the lukewarm reception of its previous model, Llama 4. Alongside recruits from OpenAI and Anthropic, these hires represent the company’s relentless push to catch up with industry leaders in foundational AI research. Meta’s aggressive recruitment reportedly includes compensation packages running into tens of millions of dollars.

At Microsoft, a sweeping hiring strategy has brought in more than 20 AI professionals from DeepMind. Among them is Amar Subramanya, former engineering lead on the Gemini chatbot, now serving as Microsoft’s corporate vice president for AI—a strategic hire that aligns with Microsoft’s ambition to leverage DeepMind expertise following the acquisition of Inflection AI, co-founded by Mustafa Suleyman. This talent influx is central to Microsoft’s goal of accelerating innovation in Copilot, Bing, Edge, and broader enterprise AI services.

This wave of recruitment reflects a high-stakes shift in strategy: AI capability is increasingly determined by the technical depth and vision of research teams. Talent is scarce—thought leaders estimate that only a few thousand researchers globally possess the expertise required to build advanced AI tools. As a result, technology leaders see elite scientists not just as employees but as strategic assets whose departure can reshape market dynamics. 

Meta’s Superintelligence Labs aims to centralize its artificial intelligence R&D, bringing together product teams, FAIR research units, and core model builders under one roof. Early signees include industry luminaries such as Alexandr Wang (Scale AI), Nat Friedman (former GitHub CEO), Daniel Gross (Safe Superintelligence), and Ruoming Pang (Apple). These individuals bring deep experience in scaling AI systems, reinforcing Meta’s ambition to lead the next-generation AI stack.

On the other side, Microsoft’s AI arm, led by Suleyman, brings with it a wave of DeepMind talent who previously contributed to innovations like Audio Overviews and autonomous agents. These hires are expected to drive enhancements in Microsoft Copilot’s reasoning, multimodality, and enterprise integration. The creation of a London AI hub underlines Microsoft’s intent to globalize its R&D efforts while challenging DeepMind’s influence in its London stronghold.

Meta and Microsoft’s staffing strategies spotlight larger debates in the AI world about how to balance compensation, compute infrastructure, and research autonomy. Meta has reportedly dangled signing bonuses of up to $100 million for some hires—though critics like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argue that such approaches are more about dominance than genuine innovation. Microsoft, in contrast, appears to focus on integrating research functions within existing business products and structures.

Looking ahead, the competition to secure AI talent is likely to escalate, with compute capacity, platforms, and vision increasingly forming the battleground. As both companies build out advanced AI divisions, the decisions made today—about talent, infrastructure, and research strategy—may determine who leads the next wave of artificial general intelligence.

Tags: MetaMicrosoft

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Technology

Salesforce and Sister Nivedita University Launch CRM and AI Skills Lab in Kolkata

Observenow Desk

Salesforce has partnered with Kolkata’s Sister Nivedita University to establish a state‑of‑the‑art CRM and AI skills laboratory on campus, aimed at equipping approximately 1,000 students annually with practical, industry-ready expertise. Designed as a first-of-its-kind collaboration in Eastern India, the lab will integrate Salesforce platforms such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Agentforce into SNU courses across engineering, management, media, and agriculture.

The cross-disciplinary curriculum comprises dedicated lectures, hands-on labs, and guided learning paths powered by Salesforce’s Trailhead platform. Students will receive training toward globally recognised Salesforce certifications, work on real-world projects, and benefit from mentorship opportunities. Their profiles will also be shared with partner companies for potential placements, bridging the gap between academia and employment.

To ensure effective delivery, Salesforce and Bong Bong Academy—its workforce development partner—will provide licensing, curriculum co-development, and faculty training through a “Train-the-Trainer” initiative. This approach aims to empower instructors to deliver and support CRM and AI learning effectively.

Beyond CRM and AI, SNU plans to explore tools like Tableau to support a broader campus-wide digital transformation. Administrators at the university view this as a leap toward outcome-driven, applied learning aligned with India’s National Education Policy, believing such industry-academia synergy will better prepare graduates for a fast-evolving job market.

Salesforce India’s leadership described the lab as a blueprint for nurturing local talent in the digital economy, stating the collaboration reflects the company’s ambition to empower a digitally fluent workforce. SNU’s dean echoed this sentiment, calling it a transformative movement aimed at cultivating agile, globally competitive graduates.

As demand for CRM, analytics, and AI skills continues to rise, this initiative reflects a strategic effort by both Salesforce and SNU to respond to India’s talent needs. By blending Salesforce’s proven technology with local academic infrastructure, the laboratory is poised to shape a new generation of digitally conditioned professionals ready to thrive in tomorrow’s economy.

Tags: Nivedita UniversitySalesforce

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Technology

OneBill and Cisco Join Forces to Streamline BroadWorks Billing and Boost Automation

Observenow Desk

OneBill Software, a cloud-based billing and monetization provider, has teamed up with Cisco to integrate its platform with Cisco BroadWorks, aiming to significantly enhance the billing and service activation process for service providers. This collaboration leverages OneBill’s Workflow360 engine to automate complex provisioning tasks—creating enterprise structures, user profiles, service packs, and feature assignments—through rules-based workflows triggered directly via OneBill’s intuitive interface.

The integration promises dramatic improvements in several areas. Automated provisioning accelerates onboarding by minimizing manual setup, while structured workflows greatly reduce configuration errors. This seamless synchronization enables better coordination across sales, provisioning, and billing, elevating operational efficiency and improving the customer experience. As workloads scale, OneBill’s platform ensures that systems remain responsive and reliable, reducing churn and supporting consistent service delivery.

OneBill’s founder and CEO, JK Chelladurai, emphasized that this integration strengthens the company’s position as a leader in revenue operations for digital communications. By automating routine tasks within Cisco BroadWorks, service providers can focus on strategic areas such as customer relationship management, product innovation, and market expansion.

Industry analysts see this partnership as a timely response to growing service complexity and intense competition. As communications providers diversify offerings to include cloud PBX, unified communications, and AI-enhanced voice services, their internal processes must evolve. This integration supports that evolution by delivering speed, precision, and scalability.

Looking ahead, OneBill intends to expand its partner ecosystem, integrating further with Cisco services and incorporating analytics to monitor workflow performance and identify optimization opportunities. This signals a shift toward more intelligent revenue operations systems, where automation supports not just efficiency, but also insight-driven decision-making and predictive capacity.

By joining OneBill’s cloud-native workflows with Cisco BroadWorks’ robust communications capabilities, this collaboration sets new standards for billing automation. Service providers leveraging this solution can enjoy faster onboarding, smoother operations, and enhanced customer satisfaction, positioning them to compete effectively in today’s dynamic telecom landscape.

Tags: CiscoOneBill

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Technology

Google Unveils Ambitious AI and Developer Push at Bengaluru’s I/O Connect India

Observenow Desk

Google has launched a suite of AI initiatives tailored to bolster India’s developer ecosystem and support the nation’s ambition to build homegrown artificial intelligence. Revealed at the company’s inaugural I/O Connect India event in Bengaluru on July 23, these programmes target enhanced local AI capabilities, developer productivity, and strong collaborations with the IndiaAI mission.

One of the headline announcements is the localized deployment of Gemini 2.5 Flash, Google’s lightweight yet powerful model, processed entirely within India. This ensures low-latency operations and data residency for sectors handling sensitive information—such as healthcare, finance, and public services. By processing critical workloads locally, Google aims to meet both regulatory and performance demands for enterprise-grade AI applications.

In partnership with the IndiaAI mission, Google is working directly with three selected startups—Sarvam, Soket AI, and Gnani—to develop proprietary AI models on its open-source Gemma platform. These collaborations are complemented by a technology-sharing effort with IIT Bombay’s BharatGen, focused on improving Indic language speech recognition and text-to-speech systems.

For app developers, Firebase Studio has been upgraded with agentic AI tools, offering ready-to-use templates and seamless backend integrations. This enables developers to build, deploy, and iterate full-stack AI-powered applications more efficiently and with minimal infrastructure overhead. Additionally, Google has partnered with Unity to launch a training programme targeting 500 Indian game developers, offering skills in programming, design, and asset development, thus nurturing India’s burgeoning game creation community.

The event also spotlighted the impact of Google’s ecosystem in India, with over ₹4 lakh crore in revenue generated by Google Play and Android platforms in 2024, supporting approximately 3.5 million jobs nationwide. Google reaffirmed its commitment to serving India’s mobile-first developers with local tools and support.

Echoing Google’s broader global strategy, the Bengaluru event emphasized enabling local innovation through global AI products. As Preeti Lobana, Country Manager of Google India, noted: “India’s developers are shaping how the world will use AI.” Manish Gupta, Senior Director at Google DeepMind, echoed this sentiment, celebrating Indian developers as “writing the next chapter of India’s success story”.

By aligning local model deployment, enterprise-ready tools, developer training, and deep startup partnerships, Google’s latest announcements mark a strategic pivot toward building an AI-first India. This effort goes beyond product localization—it signals a long-term commitment to ensuring that Indian innovation is powered by domestic infrastructure, generative AI platforms, and ecosystem support.

This push arrives amidst a wave of global competition in generative AI, with Google racing to convert its Gemini models into viable, scalable solutions—and doing so in ways tailored to India’s linguistic, regulatory, and market characteristics.

Tags: GoogleI/O Connect India

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Trending

YouTube Purges Nearly 11,000 Channels in Global Crackdown on State‑Linked Disinformation

Observenow Desk

In a sweeping move during the second quarter of 2025, Google’s Threat Analysis Group has removed nearly 11,000 YouTube channels identified as part of coordinated influence operations. More than 7,700 of these were tied to China, while over 2,000 were linked to Russia, reflecting escalating efforts to combat state-driven propaganda on the platform.

The Chinese-origin channels primarily disseminated content in both Chinese and English, promoting government narratives, President Xi Jinping, and perspectives on U.S. foreign policy. Similarly, Russian-linked channels disseminated multilingual content favorable to Kremlin viewpoints, often critical of Ukraine, NATO, and Western governments.

Beyond China and Russia, Google also targeted influence campaigns from Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Romania, and Ghana. These operations often centred on regional conflicts, political polarisation, or election-related messaging. Google has now removed well over 30,000 such channels in 2025, combining clean-up efforts from both Q1 and Q2.

TAG emphasises that these channels formed part of “coordinated inauthentic networks,” often operating bots and orchestrated content feeds rather than genuine grassroots users. This year’s volume marks a significant 45% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

YouTube states this purge is part of its standard quarterly transparency reports, driven by sophisticated detection systems and human review. TAG also dismantled associated AdSense accounts, Blogger blogs, and restricted related domains from Google News and Discover features.

The company’s determination to stop disinformation reflects growing awareness of online manipulation tactics. With YouTube becoming a primary news source for many, countering propaganda has become critical to maintaining the platform’s integrity and user trust.

As global narratives shift, YouTube’s aggressive moderation and transparency offer a model for other platforms struggling with coordinated influence efforts. Still, the scale of the purge highlights the persistent challenge posed by state-sponsored misinformation—and signals that TAG’s vigilance remains essential in safeguarding digital information ecosystems.

Tags: YouTube

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Trending

Elon Musk Drops Caution and Declares ‘Game On’ for AI Evolution

Observenow Desk

Elon Musk, long known for his cautionary stance on artificial intelligence, has signaled a dramatic shift, acknowledging that he had been resistant to the technology but is now fully embracing its potential. In a brief yet striking post on X last week, he admitted, “I resisted AI for too long. Living in denial. Now it is game on,” marking a key turning point in his approach to AI development.

Musk’s sudden pivot comes at a moment when AI advances are accelerating globally. It follows a public exchange in which Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised Musk for assembling one of the fastest AI-training supercomputers using 100,000 H100 chips in just 19 days—a feat Huang described as “superhuman.” Musk responded on X, reinforcing his new, assertive position in the race for AI supremacy.

This change is particularly notable given Musk’s vocal warnings about AI’s existential risks. In years past, he drew comparisons to “summoning the demon,” and described artificial intelligence as one of the greatest threats facing humanity. His recent admission reflects a pragmatic pivot from raising alarm to embracing leadership in AI innovation.

Under Musk’s renewed focus, xAI—the generative AI startup he launched in 2023—has intensified efforts to develop intelligent systems. Among its upcoming initiatives is “Baby Grok,” a child-friendly AI assistant designed to engage younger users in a safe, moderated environment. Additionally, Musk aims to integrate Grok-powered capabilities into Tesla vehicles, expanding AI applications into mobility.

The community’s reaction has been mixed. Some welcome Musk’s updated stance, arguing that bold participation from AI skeptics may foster safer, more responsible progress. Others worry that the shift toward aggressive engagement could compromise caution—particularly when designing systems for children. Critics note the delicate balance between innovation and ethics, emphasizing that pushing boundaries should not come at the cost of oversight.

As Musk redirects his energy toward AI, the implications are wide-ranging. His projects span supercomputing, autonomous vehicles, and consumer-focused chatbots, suggesting that Tesla, xAI, and possibly even SpaceX could increasingly rely on AI-driven decision-making and automation. Investors are watching closely, as Musk’s move aligns with broader tech-industry trends toward artificial general intelligence and platform-wide autonomy.

Ultimately, Musk’s acknowledgment of past resistance, paired with a bold declaration of commitment, marks a significant recalibration. From warning against forms of AI that could threaten humanity, he’s now entering the arena fully equipped. With “game on” as his new mantra, the tech world may see a more assertive Musk—one who warns less and builds more.

Tags: AI EvolutionElon MuskSpaceX

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Trending

Spark Minda and Qualcomm Collaborate to Elevate In‑Car Experience in India

Observenow Desk

Spark Minda’s flagship unit, Minda Corporation, has entered a strategic partnership with Qualcomm Technologies to develop advanced cockpit systems for the Indian automotive market. This initiative, announced on July 23, places a strong emphasis on creating next‑generation digital interiors that enhance driving comfort, connectivity, and intelligence.

Under the agreement, Minda will integrate Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Cockpit Platform—a key component of the Snapdragon Digital Chassis—into its cockpit domain controllers. These systems aim to deliver rich multimedia capabilities, AI-powered user interfaces, powerful computing performance, and seamless cloud integration. The collaboration supports both Android and QNX operating systems, offering versatile human‑machine interaction (HMI) and multi-display setups tailored for software-defined vehicles.

Suresh D, Group CTO of Minda Corporation, highlighted the partnership as a milestone in advancing intelligent cockpit technology. He noted that combining Snapdragon’s digital chassis with Minda’s expertise will enable in-car systems to be more responsive, intuitive, and driver-centric. Savi Soin, India President of Qualcomm Technologies, stated the goal is to redefine the driving experience for Indian consumers, addressing rising expectations for connected, feature-rich vehicles.

This move aligns with broader trends in the Indian automotive sector, where electrification and software integration are reshaping vehicle design and consumer demand. The collaboration supports OEMs aiming to offer SDVs equipped with premium infotainment, navigation, and connectivity—cornerstones of future mobility.

By leveraging Qualcomm’s proven global platform and Minda’s local market knowledge, the partnership could accelerate the rollout of sophisticated digital cockpits in India. Such advancements may also support over‑the‑air updates and evolving AI features, ensuring vehicles stay current through software enhancements.

The joint effort reflects India’s growing role as an innovation hub for automotive electronics and underscores the increasing importance of software-defined architecture in vehicle manufacturing. As connected and electric vehicles gain traction, intelligent cockpit solutions like these will play a pivotal role in differentiating automotive offerings and meeting consumer expectations.

Tags: QualcommSpark Minda

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Exclusive

Indian Universities Must Pivot to Employability: Higher Education Leaders Unite at Learning Spiral–ObserveNow Webinar

Observenow Desk

With rising concern over the widening chasm between academic degrees and job market readiness, a high-impact webinar hosted by ObserveNow Media, in collaboration with Learning Spiral and Amazon Web Services (AWS), sparked a timely conversation on how India’s universities can rewire their approach to skills development. Titled “Bridging the Skills-to-Jobs Gap: Leveraging AWS Skill Builder,” the session brought together leading voices from academia to explore how cloud-based platforms like AWS Skill Builder can equip students with industry-aligned, future-ready skills.

The panel featured an eminent lineup of higher education leaders, including vice chancellors, directors, and registrars of top institutions, all converging around a singular goal: moving from degree-based education to outcome-driven employability models. Hosting the webinar was Shreya Jain, Digital Journalist at ObserveNow, while the discussion was moderated by Learning Spiral’s Managing Director, Mr. Manish Mohta.

Opening the conversation, Prof. (Dr.) Manpreet S. Manna, Vice Chancellor of Chandigarh University, emphasized the urgency for academic systems to transform. “We need to adopt a skill-first philosophy where employability is not treated as an end goal but as a continuous process embedded throughout the academic lifecycle,” he said. Dr. Manna advocated for AWS Skill Builder to be used not as a supplementary tool but as a curricular core, enabling students to learn technologies that are actively shaping global industries.

Echoing this, Prof. B. S. Satyanarayana, Vice Chancellor of Dayananda Sagar University, noted, “Cloud fluency is the new digital literacy. If we expect our graduates to compete globally, we must institutionalize platforms like AWS Skill Builder into our teaching framework from the ground up.”

For Dr. K.B. Lingegowda, Vice Chancellor of Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, the bigger challenge lies in mindset shifts. “Our institutions have always focused on theory-first, skills-later. That model doesn’t work anymore. Skill-building has to begin in semester one, and it must be dynamic, modular, and credential-backed,” he asserted, underscoring the importance of continuous, stackable learning pathways.

Dr. Rajashekhar Biradar, Pro Vice Chancellor of Reva University, drew attention to the changing definition of merit in today’s job market. “Traditional grades are giving way to demonstrable skills. Employers today want to see what a student can do, not just what they know. That’s why platforms offering cloud-based hands-on learning matter now more than ever,” he said, calling on universities to establish dedicated skill labs and cloud sandboxes.

The webinar concluded with consensus that India’s higher education ecosystem is at an inflection point. Institutions must go beyond their traditional roles as centers of knowledge and emerge as platforms for workforce transformation. With the right digital tools—such as AWS Skill Builder—and a strong commitment to faculty development, policy alignment, and industry partnerships, universities can produce graduates who are not just qualified but truly employable.

As the session wrapped up, the message was clear: The future of education is not just about degrees. It’s about skills, scalability, and speed—and the institutions that adapt now will shape the workforce of tomorrow.

Tags: Amazon Web ServicesAWShigher educationIndian UniversitiesLearning Spiral

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Technology

AI Models from Google DeepMind and OpenAI Secure Gold at International Mathematical Olympiad

Observenow Desk July 23, 2025

In a landmark achievement, artificial intelligence systems from Google DeepMind and OpenAI have attained gold‑medal scores at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad, demonstrating the extraordinary leaps AI is making in high‑level reasoning. For the first time in history, these models solved five out of six IMO problems—placing them firmly in the gold medal band alongside top high‑school mathematicians.

Google’s entry, a general‑purpose reasoning model known as Gemini Deep Think, was officially evaluated and verified by the IMO committee. OpenAI, on the other hand, opted not to enter officially but reported that its experimental reasoning system achieved an equivalent gold‑level performance, as confirmed by three former IMO gold medallists. Both programs rely on natural language processing and advanced reasoning to interpret and solve complex proofs—a departure from past AI models that depended heavily on symbol manipulation.

The significance of this breakthrough goes beyond historic firsts. According to Brown University mathematics professor Junehyuk Jung, an IMO veteran and visiting researcher with DeepMind, these developments suggest that AI could soon assist in addressing unsolved problems in research‑level mathematics. “The moment we can solve hard reasoning problems in natural language,” he explained, “we open doors to collaboration between AI and mathematicians”.

OpenAI’s strategy was notably resource‑intensive, deploying an “experimental” model designed to maximize test‑time computations. By enabling parallel reasoning chains and extending the model’s “thinking” period, they reached gold‑level accuracy—albeit at considerable computational cost. Though detailed hardware figures were withheld, the approach underscores a broader shift toward depth and rigor in AI reasoning.

The broader AI community is taking note. Models that once topped benchmarks in games like Go and Poker are now proving capable in abstract intellectual challenges traditionally dominated by humans. The success of these reasoning systems marks a pivotal evolution from narrowly focused agents to general‑purpose AI capable of tackling complex, multi‑step problems in natural language.

For academia and industry alike, the implications are vast. AI tools that can interpret, reason and articulate mathematical proofs could transform scientific research, accelerating discoveries across fields that require deep analytical insight—from physics and biology to economics.

AI firms have previewed plans to extend current capabilities further. OpenAI noted that the models behind this result may not be publicly available for months, while Google is preparing a broader release of Gemini Deep Think to selective partners.

Despite the optimism, experts emphasize caution: AI’s reasoning proficiency is advancing rapidly but remains imperfect. Careful validation, transparency and collaboration with the academic community will be essential to ensuring these systems augment rather than mislead human researchers.

Still, this milestone indicates a turning point. When machines not only calculate but reason with mathematical sophistication comparable to human experts, a future of AI–human co‑creation in science moves from hypothetical to achievable. The gold medals at the IMO are proof—in more ways than one—that we’re entering a new chapter in intelligent computation.

Tags: AI modelsGoogleOpenAI

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BFSI

Jane Street Authorized to Resume India Trading After ₹567 Crore Security Deposit

Observenow Desk

Trading firm Jane Street has been granted regulatory approval to restart operations in India following a substantial ₹567 crore deposit with the country’s financial authorities. The approval clears the way for the firm to resume executing foreign exchange and interest-rate trades in the Indian market, after a prolonged suspension prompted by fresh compliance rules earlier this year .

The Reserve Bank of India had mandated that global hedge funds maintain a pre-funded balance if they wish to conduct derivatives trading locally. This requirement led Jane Street to halt spot and forward contracts for rupee trades in June, while regulators reviewed its funding plans . The firm’s recent deposit appears to satisfy RBI’s conditions, signaling a renewed commitment to activity in India’s currency markets.

Jane Street, known for its high-volume, algorithm-driven trading strategies in global asset classes, has grown more active in India in recent years. Its push into Indian markets coincides with rising volatility in global currencies and expanding institutional investor interest in non-deliverable rupee and bond futures .

Analysts suggest the firm’s re-entry could enhance liquidity and competitiveness in India’s financial ecosystem. The arrival of quantitative hedge funds like Jane Street is seen as a positive trend that may deepen market capacity, narrow bid-offer spreads, and improve efficiency for corporate and financial players seeking FX and interest derivatives hedging.

While major international banks continue to hold dominant share in rupee-denominated trading, Jane Street’s return adds diversity to the trading landscape. Market participants will be watching closely to assess how algorithmic trading influences volumes, price stability, and regulatory oversight in the coming months.

This development arrives amid a broader global shift, with India increasingly opening its capital markets to foreign participants while simultaneously enforcing stringent risk controls. Jane Street’s ability to meet the RBI’s capital pre-funding standard could pave the way for more hedge funds re-entering Indian jurisdictions.

As compliance requirements and institutional gatekeeping evolve, Jane Street’s renewed presence underscores the delicate balance between foreign capital inflows and regulatory prudence. For now, its continued engagement signals a growing confidence in India’s financial infrastructure—and sets a precedent for compliance-driven market re-engagement by global trading firms.

Tags: Jane Street

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