eNews
Law firm Nishith Desai & VC Tim Draper launch digital nation hackathon
MUMBAI: The geopolitical map is getting a digital makeover, and it’s not just another crypto pipe dream. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper and legal eagle Nishith Desai have joined forces to launch the e-Tibet Hackathon—an eyebrow-raising attempt to create the world’s first truly digital nation.
Unveiled in Bengaluru on 22 March, the initiative brings together coders, policy wonks and entrepreneurs to build what amounts to a nation-state that exists entirely in the cloud. One might call it governance without the geography.
Throughout history, humanity has continuously tinkered with the concept of statehood. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 gave us sovereign nation-states with their territorial obsessions. The Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 redesigned global finance while maintaining physical borders. Now Draper and Desai are betting that 2025 will be remembered as the year nations began to exist primarily as strings of ones and zeros.
The hackathon participants aren’t merely playing SimCity with higher stakes. They’re building blockchain-based governance systems, AI-driven legal frameworks, and smart contract public services. It’s like creating an entire government IT infrastructure, minus the government buildings and grumpy civil servants.
“We are witnessing a fundamental reimagination of governance and national identity,” gushes Draper Startup House founder Vikram Bharti. “Just as Westphalia formalised nation-states and Bretton Woods reshaped financial systems, Draper Nation is setting a new precedent, one that will outlive us all.”
Desai adds: “Traditionally, states are bound by geography, requiring physical land and territorial governance. But nations, built on shared values, culture, and identity, can transcend borders. This hackathon proves that digital nations can foster futuristic economic, legal, and social cohesion without physical boundaries.”
The choice of Tibet as the prototype for this digital experiment carries obvious political overtones, though the organisers have been careful to frame it as a technological rather than a geopolitical endeavour. China, which claims Tibet as its territory, may have thoughts on a virtual alternative popping up in cyberspace.
Whether e-Tibet will join the ranks of history-altering innovations or become another footnote in the long list of tech-utopian fantasies remains to be seen. But one thing is certain—the old adage about “no man’s land” might soon need updating to “no man’s bandwidth.”
eNews
Swiggy sees record orders during India vs New Zealand T20 final
Chicken biryani tops match-day menu as fans order 7,500 times per minute at peak.
MUMBAI: India’s T20 final didn’t just break stumps, it broke Swiggy’s delivery records, proving cricket fans celebrate victories with plates, not just flags. Swiggy, India’s leading on-demand convenience platform, reported a sharp spike in food orders during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand. On 8 March 2026, overall orders rose 23.2 per cent year-on-year compared with the same date in 2025, driven by fans turning living rooms into mini stadiums complete with match-day feasts.
Key highlights from the evening:
- Orders during peak match hours (7–10 pm) were 2.1 times higher than pre-match levels.
- The highest order rate hit 7,500 orders per minute at 19:45.
- Chicken biryani reigned supreme as the most-ordered dish, followed by masala dosa, chicken fried rice, garlic breadsticks and paneer butter masala.
While metros such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad led volumes, the cricketing fever spread nationwide. Among emerging cities, Thiruvananthapuram, Surat and Rajkot recorded the strongest order growth. Smaller markets including Shillong, Agartala and Port Blair also showed significant appetite, underlining the expanding footprint of quick-commerce food delivery across India.
The surge reflects a growing trend of pairing major sporting events with doorstep delivery, turning big matches into shared, convenient celebrations. In a night where every boundary mattered, Swiggy proved the real MVP might just be the delivery partner who kept the snacks and the vibes flowing without missing a single wicket.
