IBM Software Lab formally inaugurated by CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow. #IT

#History time:

Rome, 140 BCE. The Republic is fracturing. The common people are restless, demanding reform, threatening the patrician class.

The Senate's solution isn't political reform. It's carbohydrates.

They establish the grain dole. Free wheat distributed to Roman citizens in the city. Eventually this expands to 200,000 recipients getting about 33 kilograms per month. Enough to live on. Just barely.

The phrase "bread and circuses" originates here. Give the masses cheap grain and entertainment, and they won't revolt. They'll be too tired and too distracted.

But here's what gets memory-holed from history class: The Roman elite weren't eating the grain dole. They were eating meat. Lots of it.

A typical patrician banquet included oysters, roasted boar, venison, game birds, fattened dormice, fish, and exotic meats imported from across the empire. The feast could last six hours. Courses and courses of animal protein and fat.

Meanwhile the grain dole recipients were eating wheat porridge. Maybe some vegetables if they could afford them. Meat was prohibitively expensive for the average Roman. They'd eat it once or twice a year during festivals, if that.

The result played out over generations. The patrician class produced tall, robust individuals who led military campaigns and ran the empire. The plebeian class got shorter, weaker, more prone to disease.

Roman military recruitment standards had to be repeatedly lowered because the urban poor fed on grain couldn't meet the physical requirements for legion service. The rural poor, who still had access to hunting and small-scale animal farming, remained the backbone of the military.

The pattern is clear in skeletal remains. Urban Romans show markers of nutritional stress and shorter stature. Rural Romans and the elite show better nutrition and taller stature.

The grain dole kept the masses alive. It also kept them weak. By design.

The Roman elite knew what they were doing. Feed the masses bread. Keep them docile. Eat meat yourself. Stay strong.

https://x.com/i/status/2025762960933790170

BREAKING: India advised its citizens to leave IRAN

#geopolitics

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has revealed how Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim administration, plotted to remove him, didn't allow him to travel abroad and kept him in the dark on the US trade deal. #IndianSubcontinent

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/bangladesh-muhammad-yunus-president-mohammed-shahabuddin-reveals-ouster-plot-bnp-tarique-rahman-2872840-2026-02-23

BharatGen ties up with Parag Naik's #Semiconductor Venture for Sovereign #AI Hardware

https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/bharatgen-ties-up-with-parag-naiks-semiconductor-venture-for-sovereign-ai-hardware20260223092901/

#Aviation #Defence

From Microsoft, Meta to Nvidia: Global tech giants to invest $700 billion dollar in #AI as India rises as a global #tech hub.

https://zeenews.india.com/technology/from-microsoft-meta-to-nvidia-global-tech-giants-to-invest-700-billion-dollar-in-ai-as-india-rises-as-a-global-tech-hub-3019647.html

PLI scheme draws ₹2.16 trillion investment, drives ₹20.41 trillion in sales across 14 sectors. #MakeInIndia

https://www.livemint.com/industry/manufacturing/pli-scheme-draws-2-16-trillion-investment-drives-20-41-trillion-in-sales-across-14-sectors-11771593441889.html

India’s iPhone #exports hit $23 billion in 2025 as smartphones become top export segment. #MakeInIndia #Tech

India and France sign Amending Protocol to update Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC)

Amending Protocol to India-France DTAC to boost investment and strengthen economic cooperation, Aligns tax treaty with international standards. #Trade 🇮🇳🤝🇫🇷

Canada Formally announces the visit of PM Mark Carney to India 🇮🇳🤝🇨🇦

PM Mark Carney will meet with business leaders to identify investment opportunities in Canada and create new partnerships between businesses in both nations

PM Modi, PM Mark Carney will focus on elevating and expanding the Canada-India relationship, with ambitious new partnerships in trade, energy, technology and artificial intelligence (AI), talent and culture, and defence. #ForeignAffairs #Geopolitics

2025 marks a turning point of sorts for India’s electric vehicle industry.

Sales of battery-operated cars and small trucks doubled, lifting overall #EV sales growth 17% year-on-year, according to a BloombergNEF report.

In the passenger car segment, EV share of total sales is at 4.6%, a whisker away from the 5% tipping point for mainstream adoption.

Indigenous engine design as per KOEL; although may have to use vendors for components & simulation support.

Kirloskar says on track to deliver 🇮🇳first locally mfg marine diesel engine — 4stroke, 6 MW V12 model — to the Indian Navy by Apr 2028

Project awarded in April 2025 under Make-I defence indigenisation scheme, Kirloskar is developing a >50% indigenous marine engine; dedicated in-house mfg facility being set up in Nashik. #aatmarnirbharbharat

Swan Defence exploring a tie-up with Samsung Heavy Industries to scale complex shipbuilding at Pipavav.

A licence-led collaboration for MR tankers and potentially VLGCs, with Samsung providing designs and engineering, while construction happens in India. #shipbuilding

UP: ₹6,650 cr MoUs covering 3 initiatives signed during SG meet.

₹2,500 cr - 40 MW Hyperscale DC, Noida
₹3,500 cr - 100 acre Int'l township near Jewar Airport
₹650 cr - 50 acres logistics park on Kanpur-Lucknow Highway

Additional MoUs for skill dev & aviation training with 🇸🇬Institute of Technical Education. CM Yogi also met leaders from DBS, GIC & Temasek to explore further investments in infra, RE & logistics. 🇮🇳🤝🇸🇬 #ForeignAffairs