Yes, "Air India made the change after receiving approval from India’s Director General of Civil Aviation to operate on the NOPAC and PACOTS tracks that cross the Pacific Ocean."
That, and ETOPS planning.
Yeah, much of the assumptions here seem to not account for ETOPS rules
In the context of ETOPS180 there isn't much of the northern hemisphere that's off limits to you.
You can try various ETOPS (Engines Turn On or Passengers Swim) times on the Great Circle Mapper: