Official visit of President of Seychelles’ to India
Key Strategic Outcome: Joint Vision (SESEL)
The two leaders announced a Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth and Security through Enhanced Linkages (SESEL), aimed at deepening cooperation across security, development, sustainability, and economic growth.
They reaffirmed Seychelles’ importance in India’s Vision MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) framework for the Indian Ocean Region.
Major Announcements & Agreements
1. Special Economic Package – USD 175 Million
India announced a USD 175 million Special Economic Package, consisting of:
- USD 125 million Line of Credit (Rupee-denominated)
- USD 50 million Grant assistance
The package supports:
- Development projects
- Capacity building (civilian & defence officials)
- Maritime security
- Digital transformation
2. Digital Transformation & DPI
India agreed to assist Seychelles in building Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), including:
- Digital governance systems
- Digital payments
- Public service delivery platforms
This aligns with India’s digital development model for the Global South.
3. Health & Essential Commodities
Healthcare Support
- Donation of 10 advanced ambulances
- Support for constructing a new hospital
- Recruitment and deputation of Indian medical specialists
- Mental health training programs
- Strengthened public health institutional linkages
Food & Medicines
- Donation of 1,000 metric tons of grains
- Recognition of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) to ease procurement of affordable medicines
- Institutionalized mechanism for sourcing affordable food and essential commodities from India
4. Capacity Building & Human Resource Development
Expanded cooperation through:
- Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programmes
- Customized civil servant training via National Centre for Good Governance
- Cybersecurity and financial intelligence training
- Institutional linkages in marine sciences, policing, agriculture, finance, climate change, and renewable energy
- SME promotion initiatives
5. Climate Action & Renewable Energy
The two sides agreed to:
- Expand renewable energy cooperation
- Support Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems
- Provide technical assistance for power grid management
- Promote green public transport transition
- Enhance cooperation under the International Solar Alliance
- Support Seychelles’ participation in the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
India also pledged continued advocacy for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in international financial institutions.
6. Trade, Investment & Connectivity
Focus areas include:
- Affordable housing
- Digital technology & AI
- Financial services
- Blue economy
- Tourism and fisheries
Both sides agreed to:
- Enhance bilateral trade
- Increase flight connectivity
- Encourage Indian investment in Seychelles
7. Hydrography & Blue Economy
- Establishment of a Seychelles Hydrographic Unit (SHU) with Indian assistance
- More joint hydrographic surveys
- 3rd Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on Hydrography to be held in Seychelles in early 2026
8. Defence & Maritime Security
Both leaders reaffirmed commitment to:
- A free, open, and secure Indian Ocean Region
- Countering piracy, narcotics trafficking, illegal fishing, and transnational crime
- Enhancing maritime domain awareness and coordinated operations
India will continue:
- Joint maritime surveillance
- Capacity building for Seychelles Defence Forces
- Provision of naval and air assets
- Participation in Seychelles’ National Day celebrations
9. Regional & Multilateral Cooperation
- Seychelles to become a full member of the Colombo Security Conclave
- Seychelles reaffirmed support for India’s permanent membership at the UN Security Council
Network Readiness Index (NRI) 2025
Network Readiness Index (NRI) 2025 – India’s Performance
India has improved its position by four ranks and is now placed at 45th in the Network Readiness Index 2025, released on 4 February 2026.
The report evaluates the network-readiness landscape of 127 economies.
It is prepared by the Portulans Institute, an independent, non-profit research and educational institute based in Washington, DC.
Improvement in Score
- 2024 Score: 53.63 / 100
- 2025 Score: 54.43 / 100
- Change: Increase of 0.80 points
This reflects measurable improvement in India’s digital ecosystem and policy environment.
Assessment Framework
The NRI evaluates countries across four pillars:
- Technology
- People
- Governance
- Impact
The assessment is based on 53 indicators covering digital infrastructure, digital skills, regulatory quality, and socio-economic impact.
India’s Global Rankings in Key Indicators
1st Rank (Global Leadership)
- Annual investment in telecommunication services
- AI scientific publications
- ICT services exports
- E-commerce legislation
2nd Rank
- FTTH / Building Internet subscriptions
- Mobile broadband internet traffic (within the country)
- International Internet bandwidth
3rd Rank
- Domestic market scale
- Income inequality
Performance Relative to Income Level
- India has greater network readiness than expected for its income level.
- Ranked 2nd among lower-middle-income countries.
This indicates strong digital advancement relative to economic status.
BHASHINI Operates Entirely on Indian sovereign cloud
Key Announcement
Yotta Data Services successfully deployed BHASHINI’s end-to-end AI stack on:
- Yotta’s Government Community Cloud (GCC)
- Shakti Cloud (NVIDIA H100-enabled infrastructure)
With this migration, BHASHINI now operates entirely on Indian sovereign cloud and GPU infrastructure, ensuring:
- Data residency within India
- Jurisdictional control
- Sovereign AI capability
- Secure citizen interaction data
This milestone aligns with the objectives of the IndiaAI Mission.
Strategic Significance
The transformation represents:
- A major step toward AI sovereignty
- Migration from hyperscaler cloud environments to indigenous infrastructure
- Strengthened digital public infrastructure (DPI)
- Enhanced strategic autonomy and vendor neutrality
It reinforces India’s ambition to build self-reliant, scalable AI systems for public use.
Performance & Efficiency Gains
The migration delivered:
- Up to 40% performance improvement
- 20–30% cost savings
- Sustained 99.99% uptime
- Zero data loss
- Migration of over 200 TiB of data
- Transfer of 3.5+ billion files
Execution timeline: 2–3 months
Real-World Validation: Maha Kumbh 2025
The deployment was validated at Maha Kumbh 2025, the world’s largest religious gathering.
At population scale, BHASHINI:
- Delivered real-time translation
- Provided voice-based assistance
- Supported 11+ Indian languages
- Powered multilingual assistant ‘Kumbh Sah’AI’yak’
This demonstrated the system’s ability to operate at massive national scale.
Technical Scope of Migration
The migration included BHASHINI’s complete AI stack:
- Multilingual datasets
- AI models
- APIs
- Containerized services
- Orchestration pipelines
- Databases
- Storage systems
The architecture is:
- Open-source
- Cloud-agnostic
- Modular and reusable
- Designed for long-term vendor neutrality
Policy & Institutional Impact
The transformation was showcased at:
“The India AI Sovereignty Dialogues”, a pre-summit event of the AI Impact Summit 2026.
It sets a blueprint for:
- Ministries
- Public sector units
- National-scale programs
It provides a reference model for transitioning from global hyperscalers to Indian sovereign cloud infrastructure.
About BHASHINI
BHASHINI is:
- An AI-powered language translation platform
- Focused on bridging literacy, language, and digital divides
- Built around voice-first multilingual AI solutions
- Designed as a collaborative AI public platform
Its mission: Inclusive digital communication across India’s linguistic diversity.
About IndiaAI Mission
The IndiaAI Mission is a Government of India initiative under MeitY focused on:
- Building sovereign AI infrastructure
- Expanding compute and data access
- Promoting indigenous AI innovation
- Supporting startups and enterprises
- Ensuring responsible and inclusive AI adoption
Launch of STQC Lab Automation Portal – SATYA
The initiative is launched under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
About STQC
The Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC) plays a crucial role in:
- Ensuring quality of electronic and IT products
- Certifying security and reliability standards
- Supporting trusted digital and technology ecosystems
What is SATYA Portal?
SATYA is a Lab Automation Portal that:
- Brings STQC services onto a single, integrated digital platform
- Enables end-to-end digital certification processes
- Improves transparency, accountability, and service efficiency
It modernizes and digitizes quality certification workflows.
Key Benefits
For Industry & Citizens
- Faster service delivery
- Greater predictability
- Enhanced trust in certification processes
For Startups & MSMEs
- Reduced procedural burden
- Faster market access for compliant products
- Improved ease of doing business
For Government
- Strengthened digital governance
- Increased transparency and accountability
- Robust yet accessible quality assurance system
Policy Alignment
The SATYA Portal aligns with:
- Digital India vision
- “Minimum Government – Maximum Governance”
- Ease of Doing Business reforms
- Strengthening cybersecurity and trusted digital ecosystems
Strategic Significance
The launch contributes to:
- Building a trusted digital ecosystem
- Supporting India’s emergence as a global technology and manufacturing hub
- Enhancing transparency in public service delivery
- Strengthening quality assurance mechanisms in the electronics and IT sector
NHAI Asset Monetisation via Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT)
Key Announcement
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has accepted an offer of ₹9,500 crore from the Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) for monetisation of operational highway assets.
- Total Length Monetised: Over 260 km
- States Covered: Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka
Highway Stretches Monetised
The five sections include:
- Gorhar–Barwa Adda (80.52 km) – Jharkhand
- Chilakaluripet–Vijayawada (69.4 km) – Andhra Pradesh
- Chennai Bypass (32.6 km) – Tamil Nadu
- Chennai–Tada (33 km) – Tamil Nadu
- Neelmangla–Tumkur (44.6 km) – Karnataka
These are operational National Highway assets.
What is Public InvIT Model?
RIIT is a Public Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) sponsored by NHAI.
Key Features:
- Monetises operational infrastructure assets
- Raises capital from retail and domestic investors
- Provides stable, long-term returns
- Enhances public participation in infrastructure growth
Alignment with National Policy
The monetisation is aligned with the Government of India’s:
- National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) objectives
- Strategy to unlock value from operational infrastructure
- Efforts to increase private sector participation
Future Roadmap
- Over the next 3–5 years, NHAI plans to monetise approximately 1,500 km of additional highway assets through RIIT.
Strategic Significance
This initiative:
- Broadens retail investor participation
- Creates a high-quality, long-term infrastructure investment instrument
- Demonstrates investor confidence in India’s mature road infrastructure portfolio
- Strengthens NHAI’s asset monetisation programme
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is a small but ecologically significant sanctuary located on the banks of the Kaveri River near Mysuru, Karnataka, India. It is one of the most important bird habitats in the state and a major attraction for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts.
Key Features
- Established: 1940s, primarily to protect local and migratory birds.
- Area: Approximately 0.67 square kilometers, spread across several small islets in the river.
- Biodiversity:
- Home to over 170 bird species, including migratory species from Siberia and Europe.
- Notable birds: Painted stork, Oriental darter, Ibis, Egrets, and several species of kingfishers.
- Flora: Mangroves, reeds, and riverine vegetation supporting both birds and aquatic life.
Attractions & Activities
- Boat Rides: Visitors can take guided boat tours to see birds up close on the river islands.
- Birdwatching: Especially rich during the migratory season (October–March).
- Photography: A favorite spot for wildlife photographers due to dense bird populations and scenic river views.
Conservation Importance
- Declared an eco-sensitive zone to prevent urban development or industrial activity from disturbing birds.
- Plays a crucial role in protecting migratory birds and maintaining riverine biodiversity.
- NHAI has proposed noise barriers along nearby highways to reduce disturbance from traffic.
Location
- Located about 15 km from Mysuru city on the Kaveri River.
- Close to other wildlife areas like the buffer zone of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve.
Ranganathittu serves as an excellent example of small-scale, high-impact conservation, where even tiny islets can support rich biodiversity.