YouTube has launched an AI avatar tool for Shorts that lets creators clone their face and voice using a short selfie recording, then deploy a photorealistic avatar, powered by Google's Veo AI models, in clips up to eight seconds long without filming themselves. The feature is live globally for users 18 and older, excluding Europe, and was first signaled by CEO Neal Mohan in his January 2026 annual letter. YouTube attaches SynthID and C2PA labels to mark output as AI-generated, automatically deletes avatars after three years of inactivity, and restricts avatar creation to the account owner. What happens to the underlying facial and voice data remains unaddressed. India's IT Amendment Rules 2026, which came into force February 20, require platforms to deploy reasonable technical measures against deceptive avatar content and to embed permanent, unremovable labels on synthetic media, non-compliance costs platforms safe harbour under Section 79 of the IT Act. YouTube's current setup partially satisfies the avatar-creation requirement but SFLC.in notes the rules are harm-and-deception-triggered, not consent-based, meaning unauthorised use of a likeness may not trip the legal threshold unless content is also misleading. As of publication, Google has not confirmed whether it has implemented the SGI labelling mandate. Non-celebrities have limited recourse: Indian personality rights precedent, anchored by the Bombay High Court's March 2026 Shilpa Shetty ruling, currently covers only public figures.
India's government plans to amend the Payment and Settlement Systems Act to restore UPI merchant discount rates, ending the zero-MDR regime in place since January 2020.
India's government has introduced the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposing changes to payments regulation, income tax, and the Finance Act to attract FDI and support Make in India. The Bill's final shape will depend on parliamentary debate and committee review.
The government's Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposes to replace the blanket UPI MDR ban with a system allowing the Centre to notify which payment modes stay fee-free.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rs 5,000 crore Bhogapuram greenfield airport in Andhra Pradesh, built under a public-private partnership model. He also laid foundation stones for infrastructure projects worth nearly Rs 18,000 crore in the state, signalling a broad investment push for the region.
