Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Rejecting bail, SC tells AAP leader Sisodia to approach trial or high court
In a setback to Manish Sisodia, who resigned from his post as deputy chief minister, and his party, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed his petition seeking either quashing of the FIR in the liquor policy case or grant of bail, and said he must move the trial court or Delhi high court seeking the twin reliefs.
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Kashmiri Pandit assassin among 2 terrorists, 1 soldier killed in Pulwama
The killer of a Kashmiri Pandit man was among two terrorists shot dead around 1am Tuesday in an operation lasting several hours at a village mosque in Awantipora of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district that also left a soldier of 55 Rashtriya Rifles killed and one of his colleagues wounded, J&K police said.
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Pakistan court grants ex-PM Imran interim bail in Toshakhana case
Pakistan's Islamabad high court granted interim bail to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday, hours after a sessions court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him for skipping hearings in the Toshakhana case pertaining to purchase of gifts from the state depository.
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Repolling ordered in 4 polling stations in Nagaland
Monday, February 27, 2023
AI to get this year six wide-body A350s meant for Aeroflot
Air India international passengers will soon get the much-awaited ca- bin product as the back-in-Tata- fold airline will induct six wide-body A350 aircraft into its fleet this year, said Campbell Wilson, Air India CEO and MD. At $70 billion, AI for the first time confirmed the list price of its record order for 470 aircraft that are a mix of Airbus and Boeing wide and narrow bodies.
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Honor Magic 5 Series With Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 5,100mAh Battery Launched at MWC 2023
Honor Magic 5 series was unveiled by the company on the first day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. The flagship lineup from the Shenzen-based company includes Honor Magic 5, and Honor Magic 5 Pro. The smartphone company also unveiled the Honor Magic Vs, which is its first foldable flagship to debut outside China. The Honor Magic 5 series smartphones come equipped with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Moreover, the Honor Magic 5 Pro packs a bundle of significant upgrades.
Honor Magic 5, Honor Magic 5 Pro, Honor Magic Vs price, availablity
The MWC 2023 witnessed the launch of latest flagship smartphones from Honor, which included non-foldable Magic 5 series and company's first global foldable smartphone — the Honor Magic Vs. The Honor Magic 5 Pro comes five colour variants — Black, Glacier Blue, Meadow Green, Orange and Coral Purple, while the vanilla Magic 5 variant comes in Blue and Black colour options. Similarly, the Honor Magic Vs also offers Cyan and Black colour variants.
The Honor Magic 5 will be available at the stating price of EUR 899 (nearly Rs. 78,800), while the Honor Magic 5 Pro comes at EUR 1199 (nearly Rs. 1,05,100) for the 12GB RAM and 512 GB storage model. On the other hand, the Honor Magic Vs offers similar configuration at EUR 1599 (nearly Rs. 1,40,300).
The company has not revealed any date regarding the availability of the smartphones yet.
Honor Magic 5 Pro specifications
The smartphone features a 6.81-inch OLED display with 19.54:9 aspect ratio. It gets quad-curved floating screen with support for gestures. The Honor Magic 5 runs on MagicOS 7.1, based on Android 13. It packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC coupled with Adreno 740 GPU.
For optics, the smartphone gets a triple unit rear camera unit led by a 50-megapixel wide primary sensor, a 50-megapixel ultra wide camera and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens with OIS. It also sports a rear single LED flash in the camera unit. Meanwhile, users get a 12-megapixel front snapper with 3D depth camera for selfies and video calls.
The Honor Magic 5 Pro packs a 5,100 mAh battery with 66W SuperCharge charger and 50W support for wireless charging. The dual-SIM smartphone gets connectivity support for 5G, WiFi, Bluetooth and USB Type-C. It is IP68-rated for water and dust resistance.
Honor Magic 5 specifications
On the other hand, the Honor Magic 5 offers a 6.73-inch OLED display with 19.54:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone has similar details as its high-end variant when it comes to operating system and processor.
Meanwhile, the tripe rear camera setup includes a 54-megapixel wide main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 32-megapixel telephoto lens, along with a 12-megapixel front camera for selfies and video calls. The Honor Magic 5 is backed by a 5,100mAh battery. Other specifications are similar to the Honor Magic 5 Pro.
Honor Magic Vs specifications
Claimed to be the company's first foldable smartphone to be launched outside China, the Honor Magic Vs offers 7.9-inch inner display and 6.45-inch external screen, with screen-to-body ratio of 90 percent.
The smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC coupled with Adreno 730 GPU. The keyboard supports gestures and comes equipped with three-key navigation. Just like the other two smartphones in the Magic series, the Honor Magic Vs also runs on Android-13 based MagicOS 7.1.
The optics specifications of the smartphone include a 54-megapixel led triple camera setup and a 16-megapixel front snapper. The rear camera unit also has a 50-megapixel ultra-wide shooter and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens.
It gets a 5,000mAh coupled with an HONOR 66W SuperCharge charger. With USB Type-C cable, the Honor Magic Vs gets WiFi, Bluetooth, and 5G connectivity support.
After facing headwinds in India last year, Xiaomi is all set to take on the competition in 2023. What are the company's plans for its wide product portfolio and its Make in India commitment in the country? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Sunday, February 26, 2023
PM Modi to release Rs 16,800cr aid to over 8cr farmers today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday release the 13th instalment amount of more than Rs 16,800 crore to over eight crore beneficiary farmers under the income support scheme -PM-Kisan -at Belagavi, Karnataka. Under the scheme, Rs 6,000 is annually released directly into each of the eligible landholder farmers' bank accounts in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000.
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India sends Mirages for 'Cobra Warrior' exercise in UK
Going full-throttle for multi-nation air combat wargames, India on Sunday dispatched Mirage-2000 fighters and other aircraft for the 'Cobra Warrior' exercise in the United Kingdom. Five Mirage-2000 jets, two C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift planes and one IL-78 mid-air refuelling aircraft, along with 145 IAF personnel, flew from the Jamnagar air-base for the exercise at Waddington in the UK.
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Kashmiri Pandit out to buy groceries shot in year’s 1st targeted killing
A Kashmiri Pandit man working as a guard of a bank was shot dead by terrorists in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district Sunday morning in the first fatal attack since October last year on the community that along with migrant workers had faced a spate of targeted strikes in the Valley.
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Buoyed by Bharat Jodo, Congress planning East-to-West Yatra
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, in his concluding address to the three-day brainstorming session in Raipur, lauded the Bharat Jodo Yatra for spreading the vision of "inclusive India" as an alternative to BJP's world view. Also, enthused by its success, the party has decided to launch this year a follow up to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, this time from East-to-West - Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh to Porbandar in Gujarat.
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Russia praises 'constructive' role of India's G20 presidency
Following the G20 meeting of the finance ministers, which ended without a joint communique because of differences between G7 and Russia and China, Russia "noted" what it described as India's constructive role in the negotiations. In an official statement, the Russian foreign ministry said the Indian presidency strove for a fair consideration of interests and positions of all countries.
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Saturday, February 25, 2023
Pattern in Dalit, Adivasi student suicides in top institutes: CJI
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said on Saturday that he was disturbed by incidents of students from marginalised communities taking their lives in top institutions like the IITs and national law universities, and that there was a pattern in Dalit and Adivasi students dying by suicide that should be questioned.
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Xiaomi 13 Lite Appears on Geekbench Listing Ahead of Global Launch; Specifications Leaked
Xiaomi 13 series will be launched in Barcelona on February 26, a day before the Mobile World Congress 2023 begins. The company will unveil three models in this series — the Xiaomi 13, the Xiaomi 13 Pro, and the Xiaomi 13 Lite. While the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro were already launched in China, the global series will reportedly have one more addition i.e, the Xiaomi 13 Lite. The details about all three devices have been doing rounds on the internet. Now, the Xiaomi 13 Lite has appeared on a Geekbench listing, suggesting the processor and its performance.
According to a report by Gizmochina, the upcoming Xiaomi 13 Lite has been spotted on the Geekbench certification site with model number 2210129SG. The listing suggests that the handset will be powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC coupled with 8GB RAM. The phone is hinted to come pre-installed with Android 12, paired with MIUI 13 skin. Additionally, the listing reveals that the phone has scored 793 in single-core tests and 2,938 in multi-core tests.
While the Geekbench listing has only this much information, the phone was recently spotted on German e-retailer CyberPort for a brief time. The listing reportedly revealed its detailed specifications and pricing. Xiaomi 13 Lite is speculated to be available in two shades – Black and Pink.
The other two models — Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro — were already launched in the Chinese market in December 2022. The global variants of the phone are speculated to carry the same features as their Chinese variants. The vanilla variant in the series runs MIUI 14 and has a 6.73-inch 2K OLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
The phones also appeared on a European retail site, suggesting that the Xiaomi 13 will be priced at EUR 999.90 (roughly Rs. 88,300) for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant, while the Xiaomi 13 Pro will cost EUR 1,299.90 (roughly Rs. 1,14,700). Both smartphones are said to be available in lack and white colour options.
Xiaomi 12 Pro is littered with features, but is that enough? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Friday, February 24, 2023
Horoscope today: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and others
No clean chit to Monu Manesar, insist Rajasthan cops
Meta Steps Up Chatbot Buzz, Announces Research Tool LLaMA as Rival to Microsoft's ChatGPT, Google's LaMDA
Meta Platforms introduced a research tool for building artificial intelligence-based chatbots and other products, seeking to create a buzz for its own technology in a field lately focused on internet rivals Google and Microsoft.
The tool, LLaMA, is Meta's latest entry in the realm of large language models, which “have shown a lot of promise in generating text, having conversations, summarizing written material and more complicated tasks like solving math theorems or predicting protein structures,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in an Facebook post on Friday.
For now LLaMA isn't in use in Meta's products, which include social networks Facebook and Instagram, according to a spokesperson. The company plans to make the technology available to AI researchers.
“Meta is committed to this open model of research,” Zuckerberg wrote.
Large language models are massive AI systems that suck up enormous volumes of digital text — from news articles, social media posts or other internet sources — and use that written material to train software that predicts and generates content on its own when given a prompt or query. The models can be used for tasks like writing essays, composing tweets, generating chatbot conversations and suggesting computer programming code.
The technology has become popular, and controversial, in recent months as more companies have started to build them and introduce tests of products based on the models, spotlighting a new area of competition among tech giants. Microsoft is investing billions in OpenAI, the maker of GPT-3, the large language model that runs the ChatGPT chatbot. The software maker this month unveiled a test version of its Bing search engine running on OpenAI's chat technology, which raised immediate concerns over its sometimes-inappropriate responses.
Alphabet's Google has a model called LaMDA, or Language Model for Dialogue Applications. The internet search and advertising leader is testing a chat-based, AI-powered search product called Bard, which also still has some glitches.
Meta previously launched a large language model called OPT-175B, but LLaMA is a newer and more advanced system. Another model Meta released late last year, Galactica, was quickly pulled back after researchers discovered it was routinely sharing biased or inaccurate information with people who used it.
Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority inside the company, often talking about its importance to improving Meta's products on earnings conference calls and in interviews. While LLaMA is not being used in Meta products now, it's possible that it will be in the future. Meta for now relies on AI for all kinds of functions, including content moderation and ranking material that appears in user feeds.
Making the LLaMA model open-source allows outsiders to see more clearly how the system works, tweak it to their needs and collaborate on related projects. Last year, Big Science and Hugging Face released BLOOM, an open-source LLM that was intended to make this kind of technology more accessible.
© 2023 Bloomberg LP
How does the Redmi 12 Pro+ fare against its competitor, the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G? Is it a worthy successor to the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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China Directs Tech Companies Not to Offer Access to ChatGPT on Their Platforms: Report
In yet another clampdown on big tech companies, China has instructed them not to offer access to ChatGPT services on their platforms, either directly or via third parties, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia.
Beijing's clampdown on ChatGPT, the hugely popular AI-powered chatbot, comes as little surprise to many in China's tech industry.
Chinese state media outlet blasted the chatbot for spreading US government 'misinformation' amid growing alarm in Beijing over the AI-powered chatbot's uncensored replies to user queries, reported Nikkei Asia.
On Monday, state-owned media outlet China Daily said in a post on Weibo, China's heavily censored equivalent of Twitter, that the chatbot "could provide a helping hand to the US government in its spread of disinformation and its manipulation of global narratives for its own geopolitical interests."
Tencent Holdings and Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, have been instructed not to offer access to ChatGPT services on their platforms.
The sources added that tech companies will also need to report to regulators before they launch their own ChatGPT-like services.
ChatGPT, developed by Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI, is not officially available in China but some internet users have been able to access it using a virtual private network (VPN), reported Nikkei Asia.
There have also been dozens of "mini programs" released by third-party developers on Tencent's WeChat social media app that claim to offer services from ChatGPT.
Under regulatory pressure, Tencent has suspended several such third-party services regardless of whether they were connected to ChatGPT or were in fact copycats, people familiar with the matter told Nikkei.
This is not the first time that China has blocked foreign websites or applications. Beijing has banned dozens of prominent US websites and apps.
Between 2009 and 2010, it moved to block Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Between 2018 and 2019, it instituted bans on Reddit and Wikipedia.
The latest move by regulators comes amid an official backlash against ChatGPT. Sources in the tech industry say they are not surprised by such a clampdown, reported Nikkei Asia.
"Our understanding from the beginning is that ChatGPT can never enter China due to issues with censorship, and China will need its own versions of ChatGPT," said one executive from a leading tech company.
An executive from another leading Chinese tech player said that even without a direct warning his company would not use ChatGPT, reported Nikkei Asia.
"We have already been a target of the Chinese regulator [amid the tech industry crackdown in recent years], so even if there were no such ban, we would never take the initiative to add ChatGPT to our platforms because its responses are uncontrollable," the person said.
"There will inevitably be some users who ask the chatbot politically sensitive questions, but the platform would be held accountable for the results."
Since ChatGPT took the tech world by storm, Chinese tech giants, including Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu, have rushed to unveil their own plans for developing ChatGPT-like services.
These companies have been cautious about wording their announcements, however, with all of them stressing that their services are ChatGPT-like but do not integrate ChatGPT itself, reported Nikkei Asia.
China's clampdown on ChatGPT comes as tensions between the world's two largest economies continue to escalate.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this week that new information suggests Beijing could provide "lethal support" to Russia in the Ukraine war, triggering concerns over a new Cold War. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the claims were false and accused Washington of spreading lies.
After facing headwinds in India last year, Xiaomi is all set to take on the competition in 2023. What are the company's plans for its wide product portfolio and its Make in India committment in the country? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Ericsson Could Cut 8,500 Jobs Under Cost-Cutting Plans, Reveals Internal Memo
Telecom equipment maker Ericsson will lay off 8,500 employees globally as part of its plan to cut costs, a memo sent to employees and seen by Reuters said.
While technology companies such as Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet have laid off thousands of employees citing economic conditions, Ericsson's move would be the largest layoff to hit the industry.
"The way headcount reductions will be managed will differ depending on local country practice," Chief Executive Borje Ekholm wrote in the memo.
"In several countries the headcount reductions have already been communicated this week," he said.
On Monday, the company, which employs more than 1,05,000 worldwide, announced plans to cut about 1,400 jobs in Sweden.
While Ericsson did not disclose which geography would be most affected, analysts had predicted that North America would likely be most affected and growing markets such as India the least.
The company said in December it would cut costs by 9 billion crowns ($880 million or nearly 7,300 crore) by the end of 2023 as demand slows in some markets, including North America.
"It is our obligation to take this cost out to remain competitive," Ekholm said in the memo. "Our biggest enemy right now may be complacency."
Many telecom companies had beefed up their inventories during the height of the pandemic which is now leading to slowing orders for telecom equipment makers.
Verizon, one of the largest telecom companies, plans to spend between $18.25 billion (nearly Rs. 151,400 crore) and $19.25 billion (nearly Rs. 1,59,700 crore) this year, down from a capital expenditure budget of $23 billion last year.
Ericsson Chief Financial Officer Carl Mellander had earlier told Reuters that cost cuts would involve reducing consultants, real estate and employee headcount.
Nordic rival Nokia has not announced any plans to lay off employees.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
The iQoo Neo 7 packs a lot of power at an affordable price. But did the company cut the right corners to keep the price low? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Thursday, February 23, 2023
Read your daily horoscope predictions here
Cong’s Khera deplaned, arrested at IGI, gets bail
High drama unfolded at IGI Airport on Thursday after Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera was deplaned from a Raipur-bound flight moments before take-off and arrested by Assam cops over his remark on PM Modi, triggering protests by party members on the tarmac. Hours later, the Supreme Court granted interim Khera bail, but deprecated his comments and refused to club the FIRs for now.
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Court rejects dowry harassment pleas against Nawazuddin
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Modi changed the way India is looked at globally: Nadda
Asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the way the country is looked at globally, BJP president J P Nadda on Wednesday said that India under Modi’s leadership does not shy away from taking a stand on complex issues. Releasing the book, “Modi: Shaping a Global Order in Flux”, Nadda explained that the Indian foreign policy is more assertive and firm as Indian government leaders earlier did not “dare” to visit Israel due to domestic vote bank politics.
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Amazon Acquires One Medical at $3.5 Billion After FTC's Approval; Announces to Cut Subscription Fee
Amazon.com said on Wednesday it had completed its $3.5 billion (nearly Rs. 29,000 crore) takeover of primary care provider One Medical, a day after a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) official announced that the agency would not challenge the deal.
The acquisition, announced last July, gives the online retailer a virtual health offering as well as offices for in-person medical services for the first time.
It reflects Amazon's long-held ambition to greatly simplify how consumers navigate healthcare in the United States, a lofty goal it has yet to realize even as the company has rolled out a virtual pharmacy and other programs.
In a statement, Amazon's Chief Executive Andy Jassy said the deal would help the company improve, speed up and personalize care for patients. "If you fast forward 10 years from now, people are not going to believe how primary care was administered," he said.
Amazon shares rose 2 percent in morning trade.
The company also announced it would discount One Medical membership to $144 (nearly Rs. 11,900) from $199 (nearly Rs. 16,500) for the first year to new customers, irrespective of whether they are subscribers to Amazon's Prime loyalty program. Membership covers access to One Medical's virtual care services, referral and insurance navigation, Amazon said.
The FTC official on Tuesday said the agency would watch for any possible harm to competition caused by the tie-up, along with how consumer data is used. Antitrust agencies can file complaints to undo a merger after it is complete.
The FTC is also probing Amazon's plan to buy iRobot, maker of the autonomous Roomba vacuum, for $1.7 billion (nearly Rs. 14,100).
Amazon said it had no layoff plans for One Medical after closing the deal. Amir Dan Rubin, One Medical's chief executive, will remain with the company and report to Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, the retailer said.
One Medical had 836,000 members at last year's end and 2022 net revenue of $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,300 crore). It had a physical presence in 27 markets across the United States, from San Diego to Cape Cod, it said in its annual report.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
The OnePlus 11 5G was launched at the company's Cloud 11 launch event which also saw the debut of several other devices. We discuss this new handset and all of OnePlus' new hardware on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Facebook Parent Meta Plans Another Round of Job Cuts, May Lay Off Over 1,000 Employees: Report
Facebook-parent Meta Platforms is planning a fresh round of job cuts in a reorganisation and downsizing effort that could affect thousands of workers, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Last year, the social media company let go 13 percent of its workforce — more than 11,000 employees — as it grappled with soaring costs and a weak advertising market.
Meta now plans to push some leaders into lower-level roles without direct reports, flattening the layers of management between top boss Mark Zuckerberg and the company's interns, the Washington Post reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Meta declined a Reuters request for comment, but spokesperson Andy Stone in a series of tweets cited several previous statements by Zuckerberg suggesting that more cuts were on the way.
Zuckerberg told investors earlier this month that last year's layoffs were "the beginning of our focus on efficiency and not the end." He said he would work on "flattening our org structure and removing some layers of middle management."
Last year's layoffs were the first in Meta's 18-year history. Other tech companies have cut thousands of jobs, including Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Snap.
Meta aggressively hired during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet a surge in social media usage by stuck-at-home consumers. But business suffered in 2022 as advertisers pulled the plug on spending in the face of rapidly rising interest rates.
Meta, once worth more than $1 trillion (nearly Rs. 82,840,100 crore), is now valued at $446 billion (nearly Rs. 36,94,700 crore). Meta shares were down about 0.5 percent on Wednesday.
The company has said it would also reduce office space, lower discretionary spending and extend a hiring freeze into 2023 to rein in expenses.
More than 1,00,000 layoffs were announced at US companies in January, led by technology companies, according to a report from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
The OnePlus 11 5G was launched at the company's Cloud 11 launch event which also saw the debut of several other devices. We discuss this new handset and all of OnePlus' new hardware on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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'Almost all' Fed officials backed quarter-percentage-point hike
A solid majority of Federal Reserve officials agreed at their last policy meeting to slow the pace of increases in the US central bank's benchmark overnight interest rate to a quarter of a percentage point, but also agreed the risks of high inflation remained a "key factor" shaping monetary policy and warranted continued rate hikes until it was controlled.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2023
BBC docu hatchet job to shape extremist image of India: EAM
Foreign minister S Jaishankar hit out at BBC for its documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots and PM Modi’s alleged role as he called it a hatchet job and “politics by another means”. He also slammed Rahul Gandhi for questioning India’s China policy saying it was Modi who had despatched troops to the LAC to counter Beijing.
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India, Singapore link digital payment systems
India and Singapore on Tuesday linked the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) network with Singapore’s PayNow, enabling instant fund transfers between users in both countries, at a much lower cost than going through banks. “The launch of UPI-Pay Now Link today is a much-awaited gift to the citizens of both countries. With this facility, a cheaper and real-time option for remittances between the two countries would be possible," said PM.
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Haryana vigilante’s supporters block highway to Jaipur
Hundreds of protesters blocked traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur highway on Tuesday afternoon after a team of Rajasthan Police landed up at the house of gau rakshak leader Monu Manesar to serve him a notice to join the probe into the deaths of two men from Rajasthan whose charred bodies were found in Bhiwani on February 16.
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India to Soon Start Semiconductor Manufacturing, Production: IT Secretary
Electronics and IT secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma on Tuesday said that the production of semiconductors in the country will start very soon.
He was responding to a query around plan of action of the Ministry of Electronics and IT after state-owned company Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) raised the issue of shortage of electronic chip and printed circuit board (PCB or motherboard) hindering domestic production of electric meters.
"India will be one of those top 6-7 partners which will have semiconductor manufacturing. It will happen very soon," Sharma said.
Speaking at a conference on technology transfer by C-DAC, Thiruvananthapuram for local manufacturing of smart meters and electric chargers, Sharma said Meity has taken lead in technology development, be it electronic or automotive sector, artificial intelligence.
"We have taken a lead when it comes to the climate change initiative. One big component is the shift towards green technology, and EV is an important mission in that. Demand is increasing. We need 5,000 chargers at present in the top 20 cities of India. ToT for EV will provide immense benefit to the country," he said.
The C-DAC, Thiruvananthapuram under the National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET) programme has developed a Smart Energy Meter based on Indian standards and is suitable for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
Sharma said that the development of local smart meters will enhance efficiency in metering, reduce power consumption, people will get correct bills and benefit power distribution companies.
A senior official from EESL said that it is a transient phase from conventional smart meters to digital smart meters.
"As on date we are facing challenges like hardware components, chips and PCBs (printed circuit board) are not available because of which we all have to depend on different countries. Thanks to C-DAC for developing indigenous technology, we will have our own manufacturing. Our own country PCB should be there," the officer said.
The iQoo Neo 7 packs a lot of power at an affordable price. But did the company cut the right corners to keep the price low? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Binance's Stablecoin Company Paxos in Discussions With US SEC Over Security Token
The firm behind Binance's stablecoin, Paxos Trust Company, is in discussions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the regulator told the company it should have registered the token as a security, according to an internal email from Paxos' chief executive officer.
"We are engaged in constructive discussions with the SEC, and we look forward to continuing that dialogue in private," said Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla in an email sent on Saturday to Paxos employees which was seen by Reuters.
He added that if necessary, Paxos would defend its position that Binance USD is not a security through litigation.
An SEC spokesperson declined to comment. Paxos declined to comment beyond the email.
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) said in a consumer alert on February 13 that it had ordered Paxos to stop minting Binance USD, the third biggest stablecoin with about $16 billion (nearly Rs. 1,32,570 crore) in circulation.
In turn, Paxos said it would stop issuing new Binance USD from February 21, but would continue to support and redeem the tokens until at least February 2024.
Cascarilla said the company's decision to end its relationship with Binance was separate from the NYDFS directive and the communication it has had with the SEC over Binance USD.
"The market has evolved and the Binance relationship no longer aligns with our current strategic priorities," he said.
Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but has said it would continue to support Binance USD for the foreseeable future.
Cascarilla said that Paxos was still working with the SEC towards the publication of its application to obtain a clearing agency license, and with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to get final approval for its national trust bank charter.
The OCC declined to comment.
Stablecoins, digital tokens typically backed by traditional assets designed to hold a steady value, have emerged as one of the key cogs in the crypto economy. They are used for trading between volatile tokens like bitcoin and, in some emerging economies, as a means to protect savings against inflation.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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India, Other G20 Finance Chiefs to Discuss Debt, Crypto, Inflation
G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will discuss debt troubles in developing economies, crypto currencies and global inflationary pressures at a meeting later this week, Indian officials said on Tuesday.
The February 22-25 meeting in the Nandi Hills summer retreat near Bengaluru is the first major event of India's G20 presidency. The meeting straddles the February 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war is likely to be high on the agenda.
Unblocking debt restructuring for distressed economies and boosting aid for Ukraine is expected to take prominence at the meeting, where US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is also expected to press China to "quickly deliver" on debt relief for low and middle income countries.
India's presidency of the bloc comes at a time when neighbouring South Asian countries Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan have sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the past year due to an economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.
Reuters reported last week that India is drafting a proposal for G20 countries to help debtor nations by asking lenders, including China, the world's largest sovereign creditor, to take a large haircut on loans.
"While thinking about debt concerns faced by countries, it is also important to think about what we can do to forestall them," India's Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran told reporters at a news conference ahead of the G20 meeting.
"So the discussions would be aimed both at handling them before they arise and after they arise as well."
Other items on the agenda include rules on cryptocurrencies, reform of multilateral development banks, international taxation and securing adequate finance to combat climate change, the officials said.
During the event, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to hold a virtual meeting with the World Bank, India, China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and other Group of Seven (G7) nations to try to reach understandings on common standards, principles and definitions on how to restructure distressed country debts.
India also supports a push by the IMF, the World Bank and the United States for the so-called Common Framework (CF) — a G20 initiative launched in 2020 to help poor countries delay debt repayments — to be expanded to include middle-income countries.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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Monday, February 20, 2023
Aided Turkey as it's 'one earth, one family': PM Modi
Post the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which hit Turkey's southeast and neighbouring Syria on February 6, killing more than 30,000 people and leaving more than a million homeless, India launched Operation Dost to extend assistance to the two countries by sending relief materials in collaboration with the Indian Army.
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In principle, Centre supports PILs for uniform personal laws
Appearing for Muslim organisations and individuals, Kapil Sibal told a bench of CJI Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala he had preliminary objections to the maintainability of these PILs led by one filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay. "The issues squarely fall within the domain of the government, Parliament or state legislature. How can the SC deal with it? It has no jurisdiction to legislate. The SC shouldn't be seen passing any order in these issues," Sibal said.
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Imran appears in court for first time after assassination bid on him
Foxconn-Vedanta to Open India's First Semiconductor Facility in Dholera
A joint venture of Indian conglomerate Vedanta and electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has finalised the Dholera Special Investment Region near Ahmedabad city of Gujarat for setting up their semiconductor and display manufacturing facility, a senior state government official said on Monday.
In the biggest ever corporate investment in the history of independent India, a joint venture of Vedanta and Foxconn in September last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to invest Rs. 1,54,000 crore to set up the plant in the state. This will be the first manufacturing facility for semiconductors in India.
At that time, the joint venture company had not disclosed the exact location of the facility.
"After a detailed site analysis in consultation with Gujarat government authorities, the joint venture entity of Vedanta and Foxconn has selected Dholera SIR for setting up their semiconductor and display manufacturing facility. The project is in the advanced stage of evaluation by the government of India," the official said.
The MoU was signed in September last year in Gandhinagar in the presence of Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Both the companies would invest Rs. 1,54,000 crore to set up the facility in Gujarat, which would create one lakh job opportunities, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had said on the occasion. Patel had also said his government will provide cooperation to set up the facility and to make it a success.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a poll rally in Bhavnagar in November ahead of the Assembly polls, had given clear indication that the mega semiconductor plant will come up at Dholera SIR, nearly 100 km from Ahmedabad.
This project is likely to get huge subsidies and incentives, like zero stamp duty on land purchase and subsidised water and electricity, under the 'Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27' announced by the state government in July last year.
Gujarat became the first state in the country to have such a dedicated policy for the semiconductor and display fabrication sector, a government official earlier said.
Under this policy, eligible projects will be given 75 percent subsidy on the purchase of the first 200 acres of land for setting up manufacturing units. The eligible projects will be provided good quality water at the rate of Rs. 12 per cubic metre for the first five years.
To encourage investors under the policy, the state government has also announced to reimburse 100 percent of stamp duty which investors would pay for the first time for taking land on lease, sale or on land transfer.
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Google Chrome Rolls Out Memory, Energy Saver Modes for Desktops: All Details
Google Chrome is rolling out the Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes, which were announced last year, on Chrome for desktops. The features are now available on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebooks and are turned on by default. Both Memory and Energy saver mode will boost the desktop's performance, as well provide better battery life while using Google's browser. Memory Saver mode will automatically free up memory from inactive tabs, while the Energy Saver feature will reduce battery consumption by limiting background activity. The modes, if not needed, can be turned off in Chrome Settings.
According to a report by 9To5Google, Google, which first introduced the Memory and Energy Saver modes in December 2022, is now rolling out the features widely to Chrome 110 for Mac, Windows, Linux, as well as Chromebooks. The features prioritise the active tabs and limit the background activities to free memory and reduce power consumption.
As per the details shared on Google's support page, the Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes are enabled by default. Users can disable them by going to Chrome's settings, in the Performances tab on the sidebar. Google explained that Memory saver will help users save space as well as run active tabs smoothly by deactivating inactive tabs.
When a user is not using a tab actively, Memory saver mode will change it into inactive mode. The activity status will change as and when the user will browse the tab again. It will display a 'Tab Active Again' message once the inactive tab is accessed.
On the other hand, the Energy saver mode will reduce the power consumption of device and offer improved battery life. It will do so by reduce the image capture rate and other background tasks. It automatically works when the device is running low on battery and is unplugged. If the device is plugged in to energy source and being charged, the Energy Save mode will be turned off. The mode will be displayed on title bar with a leaf and an electric signal.
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EU's Pending Banking Law Calls for Fast-Track Crypto Capital Rules for Banks
Tough capital rules for banks holding cryptoassets must be fast-tracked in the European Union's pending banking law if Europe wants to avoid missing a globally-agreed deadline, the bloc's executive has said.
The global Basel Committee of banking regulators from the world's main financial centres has set a January 2025 deadline for implementing capital requirements for banks' exposures to cryptoassets such as stablecoins and bitcoin.
"For the time being, banks have very low crypto-asset exposures and only a limited involvement in providing crypto-asset-related services," the European Commission said in an informal discussion paper seen by Reuters.
"Banks have expressed interest in trading crypto-assets on behalf of their clients and to provide crypto-assets-related services."
Basel's standards are applied in the EU with a law, and a delay could mean that banks have to wait longer to enter the cryptomarket as separate EU rules for trading cryptoassets come into force in 2024.
To enforce Basel's crypto rules, the EU could either propose a new law, or expand the banking law it is now finalising as called for by the European Parliament.
Parliament and EU states have equal say on the banking law and are due to start negotiating the final text, which could include the provisions on cryptoassets, the paper said.
This would give banks clarity on their requirements for crypto-asset exposures and would ensure that risks stemming from these are adequately addressed, the Commission paper said.
"From an international perspective, it would also allow the EU to fully align itself with the implementation deadline agreed on at Basel level."
A separate draft law would not be forthcoming until the end of 2023 at the earliest, the paper said. Parliament goes to the polls mid-2024, making it harder to approve a new law in time for 2025.
The Commission paper also suggests that the bloc's European Banking Authority (EBA) could coordinate with the EU's securities watchdog ESMA to ensure that cryptoassets are properly categorised.
Basel has set punitive capital charges on unbacked crypto currencies like bitcoin, and less conservative charges on stablecoins, which are backed by an asset or fiat currency.
It could also be useful to mandate EBA, in cooperation with ESMA, to maintain a list of how existing cryptoassets are categorised, the paper said.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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Sunday, February 19, 2023
Don’t need reminder to lead Opposition unity: Congress
Stressing its allegiance to the issue, Congress on Sunday announced that the Raipur plenary session next week will discuss the policy and its nitty gritties regarding the creation of a united bloc, as it appeared that Kumar’s public remark at a multi-party platform in Patna has granted a pan-political immediacy to what was an obvious agenda item of the once-in-five-years AICC brainstorming jamboree.
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PM Modi’s instruction on eco focus reflects in Karnataka budget
Actor parks car in filmy style, cops script 2 penalty receipts
The first challan of Rs500 was issued to the actor for parking his vehicle in the wrong direction. The second for Rs750 was issued under the Motor Vehicle Act for Disobedience of Police order /direction. “The actor has been fined Rs1,250 for violating two traffic rules when he visited the temple. He has paid the fine,” a police officer at the Dadar traffic police division told TOI.
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Indians spent $10 billion on foreign travel in April-December
After factoring in foreign exchange spent on education, maintenance of relatives, gifts and investments, Indians have sent out $19,354 million during the current fiscal, shows latest data released by RBI. This is close to the $19,610 sent abroad in FY22, which was a record year for remittances.
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Over 94% value erosion found in 165 IBC liquidation case
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Stuck in jam, Bihar girls run 2km on NH to reach exam centres
Witnesses said the girls, accompanied by their parents, had left their homes for examination centres, but much to their shock their transports got stuck in traffic, leaving them literally immobile. While some of the examinees were accompanying their parents on bikes, others were riding autorickshaws or cars.
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World-class trains, stations, tracks soon: Ashwini Vaishnaw
Speaking at the ET Global Business Summit, Vaishnaw outlined modernisation programmes across Indian Railways that are aimed at not only improving the consumer experience but also creating world-class trains, stations and tracks. “There is a big focus on public investments,” he said, adding that every rupee invested for infrastructure development creates economic activity worth Rs 3.6.
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Just mind games: Indian mentalists are busting the ‘chamatkar’ myth
Mentalists are trained to notice the slightest of changes in the cues. For instance, the eyes move in different directions when any form of mental activity is happening inside the human brain, explains Kumar. If one is remembering a picture from one’s past, the eyeballs move to the top right corner.
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Char Dham yatra to begin on April 22 amid Joshimath fears
This year’s yatra will be held against the backdrop of the land subsidence in Joshimath, about 45km away from Badrinath, and it may prove a challenge for the authorities. Known as the ‘gateway to Badrinath’, Joshimath is the last major halt for pilgrims travelling on the lone route to the holy city.
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Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan and others mourn Nandamuri Taraka Ratna's demise
Tollywood actor Nandamuri Taraka Ratna passed away after suffering from cardiac arrest. According to the reports, the 'Okato Number Kurraadu' actor has been in the hospital for the past 22 days, and his condition remained critical. The actor was 39 years old at the time of his death. He breathed his last on February 18. The actor's health deteriorated on Saturday, according to the hospital's official statement.
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Friday, February 17, 2023
Binance Pulls Back on Potential Investments in the US, Confirms CEO Zhao
Binance has pulled back on some potential investments in the United States, its CEO Changpeng Zhao said on Friday, following a Bloomberg report that the major crypto exchange was considering ending relationships with US business partners.
"We pulled back on some potential investments, or bids on bankrupt companies in the US for now. Seek permission first," Zhao wrote in a tweet, without elaborating.
The Bloomberg report, which cited an unnamed person familiar with the matter, said Binance is considering ending business relationships with banks and services firms in the United States, amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of the company.
Binance is also reassessing US venture capital investments and will consider de-listing tokens from any US-based projects, including the major stablecoin USD Coin, the report said.
Word that Binance may drop its US partners comes a day after Reuters reported that the global Binance exchange, which is not licensed to operate in the United States, had secretly moved more than $400 million (nearly Rs. 3,310 crore) from accounts held by its purportedly independent US partner. That money, according to company messages, was shifted to a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Zhao.
"Like every other blockchain company, we are conducting a careful cost-benefit analysis and will pivot our business as necessary to protect our global user base," a Binance spokesperson said. The company did not immediately respond to questions on which US investments Binance had pulled back from.
US regulators have stepped up scrutiny of crypto companies this year. The regulatory action comes after multiple meltdowns in the crypto sector last year that saw a string of major industry players in the United States and beyond collapse.
On Monday, New York's top financial regulator ordered the company behind Binance's stablecoin to stop issuing the token.
Earlier this month Binance said it had suspended all dollar bank transfers after a US banking partner, Signature Bank, dialled back exposure to crypto firms.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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‘India engaging with world from position of strength’: Vineet Jain
“At home, you have aggressively championed the cause of Atmanirbhar Bharat, which is not only creating many more domestic champions but is also nudging multinational giants to make in India. Also, in this year when India has assumed the G20 presidency, you are bringing the global community into your embrace with ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – The World is One Family,” he said.
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Elon Musk's SpaceX Faces $175,000 Fine for Failing to Submit Starlink Safety Data
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday proposed a $175,000 (nearly Rs. 1.45 crore) civil penalty against SpaceX for failing to submit some safety data to the agency prior to an August 2022 launch of Starlink satellites.
The FAA said SpaceX was required to submit the information, known as launch collision analysis trajectory data, directly to the agency at least seven days prior to an attempted launch. The data is used to assess the probability of the launch vehicle colliding with one of the thousands of tracked objects orbiting the Earth. SpaceX has 30 days to respond to the FAA after receiving the penalty notice.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The proposed penalty is SpaceX's latest bout of tension with the FAA as the Elon Musk-owned company's fast-pace launch business tests US launch and rocket reentry regulations.
In 2020, the FAA found SpaceX in violation of launch regulations for allowing a prototype of the company's giant Starship rocket to liftoff without securing approval of key data involving the vehicle's potential blast radius.
In 2021, the FAA revised SpaceX commercial launch requirements to mandate that an FAA safety inspector be present for every flight at its Boca Chica launch facility after the FAA said the company violated license requirements for a Starship launch.
Earlier this month, SpaceX announced its plans to fire up all 33 engines powering its massive Starship launch system ahead of its first orbital launch, a key milestone in the company's efforts to reach the moon and Mars. The announcement comes about two weeks after the company, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, filled the rocket and booster with propellant in a “wet dress rehearsal.”
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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BBC ‘survey’: I-T says tax not paid on certain remittances
It said such discrepancies relate to level of relevant Function, Asset and Risk (FAR) analysis, incorrect use of comparables that are applicable to determine the correct Arms Length Price (ALP) and inadequate revenue apportionment, among others. It made it clear that statements of only those employees were recorded whose role was crucial, including those connected to, primarily, finance, content development and other production related functions.
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In pics: SRK, other celebs attend Smriti Irani’s daughter’s reception
Thursday, February 16, 2023
Reliance Jio Leads Wireline Segment in December 2022 With Nearly 3 Lakh New Customers
Telecom subscriber base rose marginally to 1,170.38 million in December 2022 on account of an increase in fixed line connections, according to official data.
The total subscriber base in the country was at 1,170.17 million in November last year.
"The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,170.18 million at the end of November to 1,170.38 million at the end of December, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.02 percent," telecom regulator TRAI said in its monthly subscriber report for December 2022 released on Thursday.
Wireline subscribers increased to 27.45 million in December from 27.13 million in November, with a net increase of 0.32 million in the wireline subscriber base.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report showed that the growth in the wireline segment was driven by Reliance Jio with an addition of 2,92,411 new customers. Bharti Airtel added 1,46,643 new landline customers, BSNL (13,189) and Quadrant (6,355).
State-owned MTNL lost 1,10,168 fixed line customers in December while Vodafone Idea lost 15,920 fixed line customers, Reliance Communications (6,292) and Tata Teleservices (5,849).
The mobile subscriber base in the country declined marginally to 1,142.93 million in December from 1,143.04 million in November.
The growth in the wireless segment was adversely impacted with Vodafone Idea (VIL) losing 2.47 million subscribers.
While Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel added 1.7 million and 1.52 million new customers, respectively, the loss of subscribers of Vi, BSNL (8,76,429), MTNL (3,450) and Reliance Communications (214) hindered the growth in the wireless segment.
The broadband subscriber base grew marginally to 832.2 million in December from 825.38 million in November, with mobile devices accounting for 798.69 million customers in the segment.
"Top five service providers constituted 98.41 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of December-22. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm (432.16 million), Bharti Airtel (234.46 million), Vodafone Idea (123.87 million), BSNL (26.35 million) and Atria Convergence (2.14 million)," the report said.
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Massive fire breaks out at market in Assam, 150 shops gutted
A massive fire broke out at a market in Assam's Jorhat district late on Thursday, gutting at least 150 shops, police said. Twenty-five fire tenders were fighting the blaze at Chowk Bazaar in the heart of Jorhat town and it was yet to be brought under control, they said.
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YouTube to Be Headed by Indian-American Neal Mohan, CEO Susan Wojcicki to Step Down
YouTube Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki will be stepping down after nine years at the helm of the world's largest online video platform, she said in a blog post on Thursday.
YouTube's chief product officer, Neal Mohan, will be the new head of YouTube, she said.
Wojcicki, 54, said she will focus on "family, health, and personal projects I'm passionate about." Wojcicki, who was previously a senior vice president for ad products at Google, became CEO of YouTube in 2014.
She was among Google's earliest employees and has been with the parent company Alphabet for nearly 25 years.
Before Google, Wojcicki worked at Intel and Bain & Company.
Mohan, a Stanford graduate, joined Google in 2008 and is the chief product officer at YouTube where he been focusing on building YouTube Shorts and Music. Mohan has also worked with Microsoft and sits on the board of Stitch Fix and genomics and biotechnology company 23andMe.
Alphabet shares were barely changed for the day, down less than 1 percent after the news.
In December last year, YouTube faced issues in India after the government asked the social media company to take down three channels for making false and sensational claims about various public welfare initiatives and spreading fake news. The three channels were declared as peddlers of fake news by the Press Information Bureau Fact Check Unit.
The Fact Check unit of the Press Information Bureau said these YouTube channels spread false and sensational claims about the Supreme Court of India, chief justice of India, government schemes, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and farm loan waivers among others.
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YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki quits; Indian-American to replace her
Susan Wojcicki is stepping down as CEO at YouTube after spending nine years as the head of the social media platform. In a blog post, Wojcicki said that she was now going to spend time “ focused on my family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about.”
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Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Eye on China, government nod to strategic Ladakh tunnel
The government on Wednesday approved the construction of the strategically-crucial 4.1-km tunnel under the forbidding Shinkun La, on the border between Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, for 'alternate' all-weather connectivity to Ladakh amid the continuing 33-month-long military confrontation with China.
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Cong: PM can't tolerate slightest criticism from Western media
Lashing out against the IT raids on the BBC, Congress on Wednesday said PM Narendra Modi turns every honour from a western body into a PR campaign, but can't tolerate the slightest criticism from the Western media, alleging that foreign press is now being muzzled like the Indian media has been attacked over last eight years.
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JEE (Main) registration for session 2 to end on March 12
The second session of the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2023 will be conducted from April 6 to April 12, with April 13 and 15 kept as reserved days. The online application started on February 15 and would continue till March 12 (9pm). Candidates who had already appeared in January (first session) will log in with the same credentials and pay the examination fee for the April exams.
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Lost Review: A Missing Person Story, but Not Really
Lost, now streaming on Zee5, is a full-length feature film that delves into the topic of missing persons across India, and how many of these cases might not be as easy to solve as they seem. The film, directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (whose previous film Pink was a critical and commercial success in 2016), stars Yami Gautam as a crime reporter investigating the case of a missing 26-year-old Dalit theatre activist. Unfortunately, Lost doesn't quite hold itself together beyond the halfway mark; read on for my spoiler-free review of this new film.
Set in modern-day Kolkata, Lost uses its setting to tie into topics that strongly affect the youth of contemporary India: caste-based discrimination, politics, political influence over the police, and the dangers of activism. While the film features a strong cast who put in decent individual performances, a lack of cohesion lets the story down, and overshadows its attempts to raise reasonable points. The film is largely in Hindi for wider appeal, but does occasionally switch to easy-to-understand Bengali phrases for a bit of locational character.
The film starts off with journalist Vidhi Sahani (Yami Gautam), who sees a woman crying in a police station after filing a missing-person report for her 26-year-old brother Ishan (Tushar Pandey). This draws her into the investigation, which eventually leads to an accusation of the missing man being a Naxalite who got indoctrinated and disappeared to pursue a specific agenda.
Others involved in the case are a charismatic state minister Ranjan Varman (Rahul Khanna), Ishan's ambitious ex-girlfriend, Ankita Chauhan (Pia Bajpiee), and his sister (Honey Jain) who maintains that despite his beliefs and activism, he was firmly against violence and would never join a Naxalite or terror outfit. Vidhi also receives guidance from her grandfather (Pankaj Kapur) with whom she lives, and maintains a dicey long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Jeet (Neel Bhoopalam).
The film remains engaging for the first half, on the back of good casting choices and acting performances. Yami Gautam, Pankaj Kapur, and Rahul Khanna stand out, with Khanna portraying the role of a wily, charismatic, and power-hungry politician with particular skill. Pankaj Kapur, too, has a couple of important scenes in which he pulls off the impression of being unafraid and far too smart to be threatened, despite his obvious fears.
However, the motivations of the various characters seem sketchy, and the movie often feels like a fashion show for Yami Gautam to flaunt her collection of urban-chic outfits as she wanders around Kolkata looking to interview those involved. The movie also spends far too much time on unimportant matters such as Vidhi's relationship with her wealthy, image-conscious parents, and the largely unexplained motivations and ambitions of Ankita Chauhan.
Lost does manage to produce some good scenes with meaningful exchanges when Vidhi offers support to Ishan's sister Namita through her own marital struggles; in showing how her boyfriend Jeet, like her parents, thinks very little of the struggles of lower-caste people; and even in exploring her own motivations.
“Ek Dalit ladka ja ke Maoist ban gaya, it's not Earth-shattering, it happens all the time,” says Jeet, with Neel Bhoopalam putting on his best posh South-Bombay accent for added effect. It's this scene that best tells the real story of the film, strangely enough. People usually jump to the easiest-sounding conclusion, and are often unwilling to consider another point of view or dig deeper to find the truth.
Unfortunately for Lost, there is far too much going on, with far too much time spent on unnecessary matters and not enough done to explain the motivations of many of the characters. Ranjan Varman and Ankita Chauhan's roles in the matter are largely brushed over as simply being somewhat connected and having motives to bump Ishan off, and their actions remain largely unexplained and illogically out of proportion till the end.
The movie starts to unravel soon after the halfway point, when it becomes hard to keep track of what is going on. Meaningless interviews of Varman and police officials by Vidhi take up too much screen time, and the clock seems to run out on Lost before it can really solve any of the various mysteries it created. The final 20 minutes of the movie are rushed, disconnected, and completely out of touch, and the end only left me confused.
All of this finally culminates in a message, which while good and entirely relatable, feels weirdly out of place in this film because of the lack of explanation as to where it really came from. It's fair to say that Lost pretty much gives up on itself. Its acting performances, occasional positive messages, and technical quality are simply not able to hold up its awkwardly disjointed script. Let me know in the comments if you're as confused as I was after watching this movie.
From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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