telugutechnology: August 2023

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Reformation main aim of justice system: Bilkis case convict to SC

One of the 11 convicts, all of whom have been granted remission in the case of gang rape of Bilkis Bano and killing of 14 of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that reformation is the main purpose of criminal justice system and that there was no error in the decision of the Gujarat government in granting them the same.

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Viacom18 Bags Indian Cricket Digital and TV Media Rights for Nearly Rs. 6,000 Crore

Viacom18 on Thursday created a near monopoly in Indian cricket broadcasting sphere by bagging both TV and digital rights of the national team's home series for the next five years with a cumulative bid of approximately Rs. 6000 crore, beating Star India and Sony in a three-way battle.

The BCCI had invited separate e-bids for both linear (TV) and digital for best price discovery.

"Viacom18 paid Rs. 3101 crore (approximately) for digital and Rs. 2862 crore for linear (TV). As has been the trend, digital has fetched more in Rs. 5963 crore (approximately) deal.

"With IPL digital rights being bought by Viacom for Rs. 26,000 crore plus, they now have almost all the high profile cricket properties save IPL linear (TV) and ICC events," a broadcasting industry source, tracking developments closely, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The rights will come into effect with India's three-match home series against Australia beginning September 22 and end on March 31, 2028.

India will be playing 88 international games across three formats including 25 Tests, 27 ODIs and 36 T20Is with per match value of the deal standing around Rs. 67.76 crore. This is nearly Rs. 7.76 crore more than last cycle's Rs. 60 crore per match value.

However, the BCCI is getting Rs. 175 crore less than Rs. 6138 crore it received during last cycle which had more games, specifically 102. If one looks at the prevailing market sentiments , it is not a bad price to fetch as the per match valuation has increased. One needs to factor in that only marquee Test matches and series versus England and Australia will fetch a decent advertisement revenue. For matches against other nations, it is only the T20 which is the cash cow.

India will play Australia in 21 games and will be pitted against England in 18 matches across three formats during the next five years.

The BCCI fell way short of the billion dollar mark (at least by Rs. 2300 crore) and one of the reasons forthat could be the declining popularity of the ODI format and there are 27 of them in the next cycle.

"One day bilateral series save World Cup year should be done away with as it doesn't bring requisite revenues. With so many T20 leagues also happening around the world, the viewers' fatigue should also be taken into account," a broadcasting industry veteran said.

He also provided an interesting take on how the potential bidders do their mathematics and arrive at a particular figure.

"In case of 25 Tests, you have 15 Tests against England and Australia at home. The kind of pitches that is being prepared for Test matches in India, the broadcaster has literally no chance on most of the occasions to commercially exploit the fifth day unless there is a flat deck.

"At times games finish during first session of fourth day. Just calculate how many potential seconds of ad revenue you can lose," he explained.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone you can buy in India right now? We discuss the company's new clamshell-style foldable handset on the latest episode of 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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Google Fitbit Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged Violation of EU's General Data Protection Regulation Privacy Regime

Advocacy group Noyb on Thursday filed complaints against Google-owned Fitbit in Austria, the Netherlands and Italy accusing the fitness tracking company of violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy regime.

Vienna-based Noyb (None Of Your Business), the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, has already filed hundreds of complaints against big tech companies ranging from Alphabet's Google to Meta over privacy violations, some leading to big fines.

Fitbit forces its users to consent to data transfers outside the EU and does not provide the possibility to withdraw their consent, violating GDPR's requirements, Noyb said.

Fitbit sells watches that track activity, heart rate and sleep. It also offers a subscription service starting at $9.99 (nearly Rs. 830) a month.

"Given that the company collects the most sensitive health data, it's astonishing that it doesn't even try to explain its use of such data, as required by law," said Bernardo Armentano, data protection lawyer at Noyb.

Fines for violating GDPR rules can reach up to 4 percent of a firm's global annual revenue. Google's annual revenue was $280 billion (nearly Rs. 23,15,350 crore) in 2022.

The advocacy group wants Fitbit to be forced to share all mandatory information about the data transfers with its users and allow them to use its app without having to consent to the transfers.

While GDPR allows every person to withdraw their consent, Fitbit's privacy policy states that the only way to withdraw consent is to delete an account, which means losing their previously tracked workouts and health data, Noyb said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices and more on the latest episode of 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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IAF erects air defence shield for Delhi-NCR for G20 summit

The IAF is going full steam ahead in making the airspace over the Delhi-National Capital Region as impregnable as possible, with fighter jets, surface-to-air missile systems, anti-drone systems, airborne early-warning and control systems (AEW&C) and other sensors being deployed for the G20 summit on September 9-10.

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Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Judgments written by lawyers, delivered by courts: Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot questioned the state of jurisprudence in the country on Wednesday, alleging that corruption had seeped so deep into the judicial system that “many lawyers write judgments and take them to courts, and the same judgments are delivered, be it the lower or upper judiciary”.

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Nat'l convener, PM face: What all may test INDIA's bonhomie at Mumbai meet

The first and the foremost challenge of the new opposition alliance would be to select a national convenor. This could be a tricky move as several leaders have played a key role in bringing the opposition parties on one platform. The meeting is also likely to discuss the seat-sharing formula as many allies at the national level are political adversaries in the states. However, the biggest issue that the opposition bloc faces is - who will be the prime ministerial candidate of the alliance.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2023

INDIA bloc set to get coordination panel during its Mumbai meet

A coordination committee of the opposition INDIA bloc is set to be announced at the alliance’s meeting that will be held in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1, said Shiv Sena (UBT) members. The committee is likely to have prominent members from across the parties which are part of the alliance, and it will plan details for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

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Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan Rover Confirms Presence of Sulphur on Moon, Search for Hydrogen Underway: ISRO

The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope instrument onboard 'Pragyan' rover of Chandrayaan-3 has unambiguously confirmed the presence of sulphur on the lunar surface near south pole, through first-ever in-situ measurements, ISRO said on Tuesday.

It also said the instrument also detected aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon and oxygen, as expected.

"The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole. These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters," the space agency said in a statement.

According to ISRO, LIBS is a scientific technique that analyses the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses.

"A high-energy laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a material, such as a rock or soil. The laser pulse generates an extremely hot and localised plasma. The collected plasma light is spectrally resolved and detected by detectors such as Charge Coupled Devices. Since each element emits a characteristic set of wavelengths of light when it's in a plasma state, the elemental composition of the material is determined," it said.

Preliminary analyses have unveiled the presence of Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface. Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O), it said.

"Thorough investigation regarding the presence of Hydrogen is underway," ISRO said.

LIBS instrument is developed at the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems at Peenya Industrial Estate, Bengaluru where the first India satellite was fabricated in 1975.

India on August 23 scripted history as ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat, and first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the decision to name the spot where Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander made soft landing as 'Shiv Shakti Point' and the site where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crash-landed on the Moon's surface in 2019 would be known as "Tiranga Point".

Also, August 23, the day the Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down on the lunar surface, would be celebrated as ‘National Space Day', Modi had said.

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Xiaomi Says EV Plans Running Ahead of Schedule Amid Revenue Drop Report

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi reported a 4 percent revenue drop in the second quarter, tracking a shrinkage in China's handset market, but said its move into making electric vehicles was running ahead of schedule.

Sales dropped to CNY 67.4 billion (nearly Rs. 76,450 crore) from CNY 70.17 billion (nearly Rs. 80,650 crore) in the same quarter a year earlier, but beating analysts' estimates of CNY 65.13 billion (nearly Rs. 74,860 crore).

Net income rose to CNY 5.14 billion (nearly Rs. 5,830 crore) over the period, an increase of 147 percent from CNY 2.08 billion (nearly Rs. 2,390 crore) a year earlier, also beating expectations. The company put the increase down to cost cutting and efficiency improvements, particularly in its physical stores.

"Despite the macroeconomic headwinds in the global market we continue to expand our footprint," Xiaomi President Lu Weibing said on an earnings call.

"Several of our peers already exited from certain areas in this challenging environment, but no matter how hard it will be we will reinforce our presence across regions and markets," Lu said.

Consumer demand in China's smartphone market continued to shrink in the second quarter, dropping 5 percent to 64.3 million units, according to Canalys, a consultancy that tracks the smartphone industry.

Xiaomi's shipments declined by 19 percent to 8.6 million, while in major overseas market India, shipments fell 22 percent to 5.4 million units, Canalys said.

In light of declining handset sales, Xiaomi is planning to move into the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs) and has received approval from China's state planner, Reuters reported this month.

The company has pledged a $10 billion (nearly Rs. 82,600 crore) investment over a decade in the automobile business.

Lu said the company's plans to start mass production of EVs in the first half of 2024 remains unchanged. "Our current progress is ahead of expectations and of the original production schedule," he said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of 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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iPhone 15 Series to Launch on September 12 at Apple 'Wonderlust' Event

iPhone 15 series has now got an official launch date as the California-based tech giant has announced its upcoming Apple 'Wonderlust' Event. The event is all set to be take place on September 12, and will be live streamed online. The company is expected to release a number of products at the fall launch event, including the iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, along with the announcement for iOS 17 and watchOS 10 launch date. However, the company has not revealed the products that will launch on the Apple Event.

Apple has officially sent out invites for the fall launch event, named 'Wonderlust'. The event will take place at Apple Park on September 12, starting at 10 AM PT (10.30 PM IST). The launch will be live streamed online on apple.com and the Apple TV app.

The upcoming launch event will witness the launch of the iPhone 15 series, which will include iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. There have already been several rumours regarding the specifications, design as well as colour options for these variants. The most awaited update for the this iPhone series lineup would be the inclusion of USB Type-C charging port instead of Lightning port.

The company is also expected to release two new smartphones at the event — the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The successor to Apple Watch Series 8, the Watch Series 9 is expected to five colour options for the aluminium body, and three colourways for the stainless steel model. The smartwatch is expected to be similar to its predictor in terms of design.

The second-generation Apple Watch Ultra model was previously reported to be manufactured using the 3D printing technology. The smartwatch is also said to bear a close resemblance to its predecessor.

The company is yet to confirm the products that will be launched or unveiled at the upcoming events. However, Apple analyst Mark Gurman has confirmed about the launch of iPhone 15 series at the Wonderlust event.

Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 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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Why Imran Khan could not leave jail despite bail

In spite of the suspension of three-year sentence in the Toshkhana case, former Prime Minister Imran Khan will stay in jail as he is yet to be granted bail in the Cypher case. The special court overseeing Khan's trial under the Official Secrets Act has ordered that he be kept in Attock Jail till he appears before the court on August 30.

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Monday, August 28, 2023

Worrying rainwater volume dip in 101 sub-basins: IMD

A recent India Meteorological Department evaluation shows a significant decrease in rainwater volume compared with the long-term average in various sub-basins across the country following a bad monsoon and impact of the El Nino phenomenon. The analysis of 101 sub-basins — situated within 27 major basins in India — points to a worrying decline in water volumes, ranging from -149 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) to -528 TMC compared to the established benchmarks.

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Oppo A38 Specifications, Renders, Pricing Details and Launch Timeline Leaked

Oppo is all set to launch new A series phones, which also includes Oppo A38. The smartphone has reportedly been spotted on various certification sites. While the company is yet to confirm the launch of the smartphone, a recent report has leaked the renders and specification of the purported Oppo A38. The handset is expected to be the successor of the Oppo A36, which was launched last year in January. It came equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC, paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB internal storage.

An Appuals report, in collaboration with tipster Sudhansu Ambhore, has leaked the renders, price and certain specifications of the upcoming Oppo A38. The smartphone is said to come in Black and Gold colour variants. The pricing of the smartphone is expected to be around EUR 159 (nearly Rs. 14,200) for the 4GB RAM + 128GB storage variant.

While the company has not revealed any details about the smartphone, it is reportedly slated to launch in Europe in September. The phone could also come to India and other Asian markets soon. In terms of specifications, the Oppo A38 is said to sport a 6.56-inch LCD HD+ display with 1612X720 pixel resolution, and a refresh rate of 90Hz.

The smartphone from Oppo is expected to be powered by a MediaTek Helio G80 SoC, paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The Oppo A38 could run Android 13 OS with Oppo's ColorOS 13 skin on top. For camera, the smartphone will reportedly pack a dual camera rear unit, led by a 50-megapixel camera with another 2-megapixel macro sensor. On the front, it is said to pack a 5-megapixel selfie lens.

The report also mentions that the OPPO A38 will be backed by a 5,000mAH battery, which could be charged using a USB Type-C cable. With a plastic body, the smartphone is expected to feature an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance.

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No yatra as police turn Nuh into fortress, detain key organisers

Heavy police presence, intense security checks and an undeclared curfew turned Nuh into a fortress and ensured peace was not disrupted on Monday, when right-wing outfits backed by VHP had pledged to resume the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra after a communal clash had disrupted the previous one on July 31. No yatra was allowed on the usual route from Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon to the Radha Krishna temple in Nuh.

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SC disposes of plea against Mathura demolition drive

The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of a plea filed against demolition drive near Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura to remove alleged encroachment on government land and refused to grant any protection to those removed from the land and asked them to raise their grievances before lower court where the suit is pending.

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Sunday, August 27, 2023

Global South now saddled with unviable debt: EAM dig at China

The core mandate of the G20 is to promote economic growth and development and that cannot be advanced if the crucial concerns of the Global South are not addressed, said foreign minister S Jaishankar who is likely to travel to Cuba next month for a summit of the G77+ China, the largest intergovernmental group of developing countries.

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Labour shortage at Karnataka plantations, poll freebies blamed

Karnataka could be staring at a farm labour crisis, with Congress’s poll freebies being blamed for a section of the skilled workforce opting for a life on the dole or raising new demands like an increase in minimum wages, additional benefits and reduced working hours.

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CBDT gives relief, but I-T dept may reopen big old cases

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), guided by a Supreme Court (SC) order issued in April, has sent out comprehensive instructions to tax officials regarding reopening of past cases under the Income-tax (I-T) Act. The instructions dated August 23 — aimed at ensuring a uniform practice — state that there will be no reopening and reassessment of completed cases only where the decision of the appellate authorities has become final.

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Soon-to-wed couple, businessman killed in Mumbai hotel fire

A couple, who were soon to get married, and a businessman from Gujarat died while three others suffered injuries in a fire that broke out in a second-floor room at Hotel Galaxy located in Prabhat Colony at Santacruz (E) on Sunday afternoon. The three victims, who had come from Ahmedabad and were flying to Nairobi, were accommodated in the ground-plus four-storey hotel by the airlines as their flight was rescheduled.

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Chandrayaan-3 rover surmounts first lunar obstacle

Chandrayaan-3 rover Pragyan has negotiated its first surface obstacle — a 100mm lunar crater — to the relief of the Isro control room back home that will have to continue guiding and monitoring it through several such challenges. In his first full-fledged interaction since lander Vikram's precision landing and the deployment of the rover, Chandrayaan-3 project director said that the progress of the scientific experiments infused confidence about the possibility of good outcomes.

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In investment pitch, PM invokes ‘mutual trust’, takes aim at China

PM Modi invoked “mutual trust” and “democratic values” to pitch for investments in India, as he cited disruptions in the supply chain during Covid to hit out at China. “A profitable market can be sustained when there is a balance in interests of producers and consumers. Treating other countries only as a market will never work. It will harm producing countries sooner or later. Making everyone equal partners in progress is the way forward,” he said at B20 meet.

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Impressive: Elon Musk reacts on list of Indian-Origin CEOs

On its social media account, X (formerly known as Twitter), the World of Statistics listed 21 companies that have Indian-origin CEOs. This list includes Alphabet: Sundar Pichai, World Bank Group: Ajay Banga, Micron Technology: Sanjay Mehrotra, Adobe: Shantanu Narayen and many more. Recating on the post, Musk on his micro-blogging account said, "Impressive".

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Saturday, August 26, 2023

Emergency medical department not mandatory, as per NMC

The National Medical Commission has dropped the requirement for medical colleges to have an emergency medicine department. This was done despite a country-wide study showing that a dedicated emergency department could save several thousand lives. Experts TOI spoke to said the decision rolls the clock back on India’s emergency care system.

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Banter Battle: Goyal puts tough questions to China minister

The frosty relationship between India and China was on display at an event on Friday evening, where commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, doubling up as moderator for a panel discussion with trade ministers from some of the G20 nations, posed some tough questions to a Chinese minister.

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20% export duty on parboiled rice; MEP on basmati coming

The government is initiating fresh measures to ensure that rice prices remain under control and overall inflation comes down. On Friday, the Centre imposed 20% export duty on parboiled rice (rice partially boiled with husk), barely a week after imposing 40% duty on exports of onion. Besides, it is expected to notify a minimum export price (MEP) for basmati rice, pegged at $1,200 (Rs 99,000) a tonne.

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Train fire in Madurai claims 9 lives: Smuggled gas stove used, coal & firewood found in coach

Tragedy struck as a private train coach caught fire in the early hours of Saturday, resulting in the deaths of nine pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh at a railway yard about 1km from Madurai junction in Tamil Nadu. Railway authorities said the fire is suspected to have originated from a gas cylinder, smuggled into the coach for cooking meals.

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Friday, August 25, 2023

Manipur clashes: Pre-trial work of cases moved to Guwahati

On CBI's request, SC on Friday entrusted pre-trial procedural work in the 27 cases being investigated by central agency, arising from the ethnic clashes in Manipur and including the parading of two women naked by a mob on May 4, to magisterial and sessions courts in Guwahati in Assam. Of these 27 cases, 20 pertain to molestation, rape and murder of women, three concern looting of weapons, two are cases of murder of male members, and a case each relating to rioting and conspiracy.

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Swiggy Said to Have Initiated Talks for IPO Plans, Eyes Stock Listing in 2024

Swiggy, the Softbank-backed food delivery company, is eyeing a 2024 stock market listing and has initiated talks with bankers to assess its valuation, after halting the process for months due to weak markets, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Swiggy, which delivers food from restaurants and also groceries, was valued at $10.7 billion (nearly Rs. 88,350 crore) in its last fundraising in 2022 but like many Indian startups put its IPO plans on hold amid a funding crunch and investor concerns about stretched valuations.

But as global and Indian markets have rebounded Swiggy has restarted its IPO planning by inviting eight investment banks to make pitches in early September to work on the IPO, including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Bank of America, two of the sources said.

Swiggy is using the last funding round valuation of $10.7 billion as a benchmark for IPO planning, said one of the sources, who is directly involved in the planning process. But this source said the company has yet to decide on a potential stake sale or final valuation.

Invesco, a minor shareholder in Swiggy, in May valued the Indian company at around $5.5 billion (nearly Rs. 45,400 crore), it said in a filing.

Swiggy had initially considered raising $800 million (nearly Rs. 6,600 crore) to $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,260 crore) via the IPO, banking sources who worked on it in early 2022 have said.

Swiggy, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley did not respond to requests for comment, while Bank of America declined to comment.

The three sources said Swiggy is aiming to list between July-September 2024 which would be after national elections in India due by May.

Swiggy rival Zomato's shares have risen 54.8 percent so far this year, in a sign that investor confidence is returning to India's financial markets.

On Friday, Indian grocery startup Zepto said it has raised $200 million (nearly Rs. 1,650 crore) in fresh funding at a valuation of $1.4 billion (nearly Rs. 11,560 crore), making it the first Indian startup to cross the billion-dollar valuation mark in nearly a year.

Swiggy in May said its core food delivery business had turned profitable, nine years after starting operations, even as its newer grocery delivery service, Instamart, continues to make losses.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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31% of India facing moderate to extreme dryness, next 2 weeks crucial: IMD data

About 31% of India’s land mass is grappling with varying degrees of arid conditions, ranging from moderate to extreme, the Met department’s Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) data for the July 27-August 23 period has revealed. This has significant implications on agriculture, crop yield and soil moisture.

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Zepto Becomes First Indian Unicorn in Nearly a Year, Raises $200 Million in Funding

Indian grocery startup Zepto said on Friday it has raised $200 million (nearly Rs. 1,650 crore) in fresh funding at a valuation of $1.4 billion (nearly Rs. 11,560 crore), making it the first startup in the country to cross the billion-dollar valuation mark in nearly a year.

Zepto said it raised the funds "in the midst of the deepest downturn in capital markets in over a decade" from US-based investment firms StepStone Group and Goodwater Capital. Existing backers including Nexus Venture Partners, Glade Brook Capital and Lachy Groom also participated in the deal.

Zepto, which promises delivery of groceries in 10 minutes, was started in 2021 by two 19-year-old Stanford dropouts, and competes with SoftBank-funded Swiggy and Blinkit, which are all betting on fast deliveries in the so-called quick commerce sector. Even among them, Zepto's CEO Aadit Palicha said the company has the quickest average delivery time of 13 minutes.

Zepto's rival Swiggy plans to list in India's stock market next year, Reuters reported.

Zepto plans to use the funds to go deeper into the seven Indian metros it is currently present in, including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, where it makes a monthly revenue of $50 million (nearly Rs. 410 crore) - $60 million (nearly Rs. 495 crore), Palicha told Reuters.

"Operating in a bear market has forced us to be more disciplined. There is no (question of) growth or profit, it has to be both." The company is also planning an initial public offering in 2025, he said, without giving further details.

While Zepto is still loss-making, a majority of its so-called dark stores — densely located warehouses — generate cash and the company aims to be profitable in 12-15 months, it said.

The company will consider expanding to new cities after a year, Palicha said.

Zepto was valued at $900 million (nearly Rs. 7,430 crore) when it last raised funds in May 2022. A company statement said it has tripled sales year-on-year and will achieve $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,260 crore) in annualised sales in the next few quarters.

Investment bank Avendus advised Zepto on its current fundraising round.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Madhumita murder case: Life convicts Amarmani, wife released

Former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani, serving life sentences in the poet Madhumita Shukla murder case, were released on Friday evening, ahead of the completion of their terms.

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Thursday, August 24, 2023

Modi, Xi meet on Brics sidelines, agree on LAC disengagement

Maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas and respect for the LAC are essential for the normalization of Sino-Indian ties that remain in deep-freeze because of the unresolved military standoff in eastern Ladakh, PM Narendra Modi told president Xi Jinping ahead of the G20 summit. PM highlighted India’s concerns over the ``unresolved issues’’ along the LAC and both leaders agreed to work towards early disengagement and de-escalation.

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Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan Rover Begins Walk on Moon, Confirms ISRO

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday said that Pragyan Rover began its moonwalk on the lunar surface. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), ISRO said, "Chandrayaan-3 Mission. Chandrayaan-3 Rover to MOX, ISTRAC, Moon walk begins!"

Chandrayaan-3 Rover to MOX, ISTRAC, Moon walk begins!#Chandrayaan3
— LVM3-M4/CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION (@chandrayaan_3) August 24, 2023

Earlier today ISRO also released the images of the Lander Imager Camera which captured the moon's image just before the touchdown on the lunar surface.

"Here is how the Lander Imager Camera captured the moon's image just prior to touchdown," ISRO posted on X.

Here is how the Lander Imager Camera captured the moon's image just prior to touchdown.#Chandrayaan3 #ISRO pic.twitter.com/K6922vjlQi
— LVM3-M4/CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION (@chandrayaan_3) August 24, 2023

After a 40-day journey into space, the Chandrayaan-3 lander, 'Vikram', touched down on the uncharted lunar South Pole on Wednesday evening, making India the first country to do so.

India also became only the fourth nation after the US, Russia and China to successfully conduct a lunar landing mission. The country has also become the first nation to make a soft landing on the south pole of the Moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft put down the Vikram lander on the lunar surface, tilting to a horizontal position ahead of landing.

The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on July 14.

A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then, it went through a series of orbital manoeuvres before zeroing in on the moon's surface.

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SpaceX Sued by US Justice Department Over Alleged Discrimination in Hiring

The US Justice Department sued Elon Musk-owned rocket and satellite company SpaceX on Thursday for allegedly discriminating against asylum seekers and refugees in hiring.

"The lawsuit alleges that, from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act," the Justice Department said in a statement.

In job postings and public statements over several years, SpaceX wrongly claimed that under federal regulations known as export control laws, SpaceX could hire only US citizens and lawful permanent residents, sometimes referred to as "green card holders," the Justice Department said.

The Justice Department also pointed to online posts from the company's billionaire owner Musk as example of "discriminatory public statements."

The lawsuit cited a June 2020 post on X, formerly called Twitter, by CEO Musk to his then 36 million followers that said: "US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are advanced weapons technology."

US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are considered advanced weapons technology
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 16, 2020

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

"Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their hire regardless of their qualification, in violation of federal law," said US Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's civil rights division.

Clarke also said SpaceX recruiters and high-level officials "actively discouraged" asylum seekers and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company.

The United States seeks fair consideration and back pay for asylum seekers and refugees who were deterred or denied employment at SpaceX due to the alleged discrimination, the Justice Department said.

The lawsuit also seeks civil penalties in an amount to be determined by court and policy changes to ensure SpaceX complies with the federal non-discrimination mandate going forward.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Wednesday, August 23, 2023

SC rejects bid to link impact of constriction of Article 370 to north-eastern states

Arunachal Pradesh Congress leader Padi Richo, through Senior Advocate Manish Tiwari, said the SC must take into account the possible fallout of the Union government's "arbitrary" and "unconstitutional" exercise to end the special status of J&K under Article 370, which was promised by the framers of the Constitution in 1950, for the N-E states.

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Chandrayaan-3 makes a perfect touchdown: Moon mission accomplished, Venus next?

Space agency, ISRO, achieved a historic soft-landing on the Moon's south polar region with its Chandrayaan-3 mission. The lander, Vikram, successfully descended and established communication links with the operations center in Bengaluru. The mission marks India's entry into an elite club of nations that have achieved lunar surface soft-landings.

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'Every person has right to undergo sex change'

While passing the directive, Justice Ajit Kumar observed that if a person suffers from gender dysphoria and except for physical structure, her feeling and traits are of opposite sex, so much so that that there is a complete misalignment of her personality with physical body, such a person does possess a constitutionally recognized right to get her gender changed though surgical intervention.

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Wagner boss listed in Russian plane crash with no survivors

The head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who attempted to overthrow Russia's military leadership in June, was reportedly on a plane that crashed in Russia. Russia's ministry for emergency situation said 'There were 10 people on board, including 3 crew members. According to preliminary information, all those on board died'.

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Elgar Parishad case: Supreme Court agrees to hear bail plea of activist Shoma Sen

The top court had last month granted bail to civil rights activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira who were arrested in August 2018 in Elgar Parishad case and had been in jail since then for their alleged link with a banned Maoist group.

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You always want responsibility: Bumrah on captaincy

Jasprit Bumrah, a comeback pacer, led the Indian team to a 2-0 series win against Ireland. The three-match series ended with an abandoned third T20I due to rain in Dublin. Bumrah took four wickets in the two matches, with an average of 9.75.

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Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Offering 'highest ever price' of Rs 2,410/quintal onion, says Piyush Goyal

The Indian government has announced that it will procure two lakh tonnes of onions from farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in order to address concerns over a potential shortage. The government will offer a "highest ever rate" for the onions and will purchase them through government cooperatives NAFED and NCCF.

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Vikram all set for soft landing as India reaches for the Moon today

India is set to make history by landing a probe in the polar region of the Moon. The Chandrayaan-3 lander, named Vikram, is scheduled to touchdown on Wednesday, followed by the release of the rover named Pragyan. If successful, India will be the first to land close to the lunar south pole. Vikram has been equipped with sturdier legs to withstand landing velocities.

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VMware, Nvidia Partner to Develop Software Tools for Companies That Want Their Own AI

VMware on Tuesday said it has developed a new set of software tools in partnership with Nvidia aimed at businesses which want to develop generative artificial intelligence in their own data centers rather than the cloud.

VMware, which is close to being acquired by chip firm Broadcom in a $69 billion (nearly Rs. 5,73,000 crore) deal, makes software that corporations use to run their privately owned data centers. For more than two decades, VMware's tools have been used by businesses to divvy up the computing power in central processor chips, which are the brains of traditional servers.

On Tuesday, the company released a new set of tools help designed to manage Nvidia chips, which dominate the market for AI systems that can read and write text in human-like ways. Companies like Microsoft, for example, are offering cloud-based systems that can read through a business team's emails and chats and help generate a short update on a the team's progress.

Raghu Raghuram, VMware's chief executive, told Reuters businesses are interested in the technology for everything from helping software developers write code faster to writing legal contracts more quickly. But some VMware customers want to do that work in their own data centers when the data is sensitive.

"Imagine a common use case: I want it to read all my legal contracts so I can generate new contracts faster. Obviously, that is going to be super, super secretive — you don't want that data escaping anywhere," Raghuram said.

VMware said the new tools will be available next year. The company declined to say how it will be priced, other than saying that the cost will be based on how many Nvidia chips the customer uses the software to manage.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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US prez Biden to visit India from Sept 7-10 for G-20 summit

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Monday, August 21, 2023

If factors unfavourable, we will postpone landing to August 27: Senior Isro scientist on Chandrayaan-3

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is considering an alternative landing date of August 27 for the Chandrayaan-3 mission if conditions are not favourable on August 23. ISRO has taken precautions and learned from the mistakes of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, strengthening the legs of the Vikram lander and conducting rigorous testing. ISRO is prioritizing a smooth landing and will delay if necessary, even though it may result in a loss of four Earth days for rover and lander operations.

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AI-Created Work of Art Cannot Be Copyrighted Under US Law, Rules American Court

A work of art created by artificial intelligence without any human input cannot be copyrighted under United States law, a US court in Washington, DC, has ruled.

Only works with human authors can receive copyrights, US District Judge Beryl Howell said on Friday, affirming the US Copyright Office's rejection of an application filed by computer scientist Stephen Thaler on behalf of his DABUS system.

The Friday decision follows losses for Thaler on bids for US patents covering inventions he said were created by DABUS, short for Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience.

Thaler has also applied for DABUS-generated patents in other countries including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Saudi Arabia with limited success.

Thaler's attorney Ryan Abbott said on Monday that he and his client strongly disagree with the decision and will appeal. The Copyright Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

The fast-growing field of generative AI has raised novel intellectual property issues. The Copyright Office has also rejected an artist's bid for copyrights on images generated through the AI system Midjourney, despite the artist's argument that the system was part of their creative process.

Several pending lawsuits have also been filed over the use of copyrighted works to train generative AI without permission.

"We are approaching new frontiers in copyright as artists put AI in their toolbox," which will raise "challenging questions" for copyright law, Howell wrote on Friday.

"This case, however, is not nearly so complex," Howell said.

Thaler applied in 2018 for a copyright covering "A Recent Entrance to Paradise," a piece of visual art that he said was created by his AI system without any human input. The office rejected the application last year and said creative works must have human authors to be copyrightable.

Thaler challenged the decision in federal court, arguing that human authorship is not a concrete legal requirement and allowing AI copyrights would be in line with copyright's purpose as outlined in the US constitution to "promote the progress of science and useful arts."

Howell agreed with the Copyright Office and said human authorship is a "bedrock requirement of copyright" based on "centuries of settled understanding."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Four arrests as police investigate large-scale violence at Derbyshire kabaddi event

Violence erupted during a circle kabaddi tournament in Derby, UK, where gunshots were fired and individuals fought with swords, rods, and machetes. Four arrested men are suspected of firearm possession and violent disorder. The tournament was organized by the England Kabaddi Federation (EKF), with yellow Khalistan flags present. The incident occurred despite crowd barriers protecting the pitch, and EKF stressed that those involved weren't linked to their affiliated clubs.

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Why this US state is attracting Indian medical students

The number of Indian students studying in Georgia is increasing, with around 8,000 estimated to be studying there in 2021. Most Indian students go to Georgia for medical studies, attracted by the affordability and safety of the country. Georgia has over 20 universities approved by India's National Medical Commission, offering exposure to patients and degrees recognized by the World Health Organization.

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Sunday, August 20, 2023

Narco-terror case: SIA Jammu arrests key accused from Delhi

“On May 30, an attempt was made by four associates of a narco-terror module to smuggle drugs and explosives into India from across the border fence in Poonch. The accused persons were intercepted by Army’s SIKHLI with arms, ammunition, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and heroin,” the spokesperson said.

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'Idol consecration in Ram Temple between Jan 16-24'

The construction of the sanctum sanctorum of Ayodhya's Ram Temple is ready and Ram Lalla will be consecrated between January 16 and 24 after Makar Sankranti, a top official of the temple trust said on Sunday. The consecration of Ram Lalla will be carried out after the construction of the first floor of the temple, Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai said.

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Saturday, August 19, 2023

From Rs 260 peak, tomato now down to under Rs 100/kg

The data of prices compiled by the consumer affairs ministry shows that tomatoes were selling at more than Rs 200 a kg across 31 centres on August 4 and the maximum price was Rs 257. But a fortnight later, on Friday, the retail price of the kitchen item was over Rs 200 only at two centres in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

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NCAER finds fake beneficiaries in minority institutions

Lack of protests from “beneficiaries” after the Centre’s decision to discontinue scholarship for minorities for Classes 1-8 last year citing the Right to Education Act, prompted the ministry to set off a review of the scholarship data base for all. The ministry gives scholarship up to PhD level.

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Srinagar’s tulip garden enters record books with 1.5mn flowers

At the garden on Saturday, J&K administration’s secretary (floriculture, gardens and parks) Fayaz Sheikh was honoured with the certification by World Book president and CEO Santosh Shukla. World Book editor Dilip N Pandit, the J&K director of floriculture, other officers and the garden staff were also present on the occasion.

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Friday, August 18, 2023

TRAI Reports Rise in Call Drops Complaint, Begins Service Quality Rules Review

Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday said that it has been receiving a number of call drop complaints from subscribers triggering the need to review existing quality of service rules to measure network performance at the district level and bring 4G-5G services also under its ambit.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said that even with the technological advancement in mobile telecommunications and advancement in performance management tools, the quality of experience (QoE) of consumers has not improved as expected though such quality of service (QoS) requirements are supported by technology standards.

"Even with widespread coverage of 4G networks in the country and rollout of 5G services, there are increasing number of complaints of call drops, call muting, low data throughput etc. which raises question marks on the network design and provisioning of required network resources," TRAI said.

The regulator has proposed to tighten call drop parameters, call success rate etc under the quality of service rules.

"The issues related to the quality of telecom services are not only reflected in consumer complaints but also find substantial mention in Parliament Questions," TRAI said.

The regulator said that the Standards of Quality of Service for Wireless Data Services were notified in the era of 2G and 3G services wherein data services were delivered over circuit-switched networks and their QoS performance benchmarks were set based on the capability of underlying technology.

At present, packet core networks with LTE (4G), LTE-Advanced and 5G technology constitute more than 75 percent of the telecom network in the country. It said that the present QoS benchmark envisages latency to be less than 250 milliseconds (ms) for wireless data services and less than 120ms for wireline broadband service which are not in sync with the requirement of present-day applications.

"The QoS parameters and benchmarks for voice and data services are technology agnostic in present regulations. The relevant terminology for 5G services has also been updated in draft regulations to monitor QoS performance of 5G," Trai said.

At present the quality of service is measured at telecom circle level which is generally equal to the size of a state level.

TRAI said the performance against some QoS benchmarks like network availability and drop call rates varies across districts.

"Due to averaging over LSA, even very poor performance against QoS benchmarks in a few districts may not get reflected in performance reports. Therefore, in such cases, performance against QoS benchmarks may need to be reviewed at even district level if required," the regulator said.

TRAI observed that though the service providers have launched mobile apps and web interfaces for customers, the consumer continues to face problems in registering their complaints due to complicated workflows.

It said that the number of calls at call centres has not reduced, and service providers are not able to meet current benchmarks in many cases even after the rollout of mobile apps.

"Further, there is a significant number of feature phones in the mobile network that cannot use mobile apps for the registration of complaints. Therefore, the Authority is not in favour of relaxing this benchmark for the sub-parameter accessibility of call centre numbers and percentage of calls answered by operators (voice to voice)," TRAI said.

The regulator has fixed September 20 as the last date for comments and October 5 for counter comments of draft rules.

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Apple Leads India Tablet Market as Country's Overall Share Declined by 22 Percent YoY: Report

Tablet market shipment in India declined by 22 percent year-over-year in the June 2023 quarter, while it grew 29 percent quarter-on-quarter, CyberMedia Research said in a report. Apple led the tablet market with a marginally higher share than Samsung.

"The overall tablet market witnessed a 22 percent YoY decline in the second quarter, 2023," CMR's Tablet PC market report said.

According to the report, 5G tablets show a 7 percent year-on-year growth.

"WiFi tablet shipments surged 12 percent YoY, claiming a 54 percent shipment share," the report noted.

Both Apple and Samsung tablet shipments during the quarter grew by six percent.

However, Apple led the market with 25.38 percent share, closely followed by Samsung at 25.31 percent.

"Apple retained leadership with a 25.38 percent market share, driven by its premium offerings. Samsung secured the second spot with a 25.31 percent market share," the report said.

Lenovo's shipment declined by 30 percent, but it still managed to be in third spot with a 23 percent market share.

Realme tablet shipment more than halved to register 8 percent market share. Xiaomi tablet shipments grew 155 percent to clock a market share of 6 percent.

"As the festive season approaches, we foresee a surge in tablet acquisitions. The remarkable speed and minimal latency of 5G herald fresh prospects for tablet gaming.

"The advent of foldables further bridges the chasm between conventional tablets and laptops, granting a blend of portability and elevated productivity," CyberMedia Research Analyst -Industry Intelligence Group - Menka Kumari said.

Is the Xiaomi Pad 6 the best Android tablet you can buy under Rs. 30,000 in India? We discuss the company's latest mid-range tablet on the latest episode of 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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OpenSea to Make Royalty Enforcement Tool That Benefited NFT Creators ‘Optional’: All Details

OpenSea NFT marketplace has decided to put a stop to its Operator Filter tool. This decision will not let NFT creators demand royalty fees on secondary sales of NFTs on other marketplaces. While OpenSea has its reasons behind this decision, it sure is bound to affect the creators of digital collectibles who wish to generate income from any sale of their digital artwork. The feature was first introduced in November 2022 by OpenSea to benefit the NFT creator community.

The Operator Filter tool, that will be made optional starting August 31, allowed NFT artists to blacklist those marketplaces that did not enforce royalty charges on secondary buyers.

The marketplace wishes to adhere to the principles of freedom of choice and ownership that the decentralised ecosystem boasts of, by giving buyers also an option to choose if they want to pay royalty charges to the NFT creators or not.

“The Operator Filter depended on support from everyone in the ecosystem to be successful and that just didn't happen. And perhaps most importantly, the potential applications and utility of NFT technology are too diverse for creators to depend solely on a single business model that only monetises resale,” OpenSea said in its official statement.

NFT collections that enable the Operator Filter tool on OpenSea before August 31 will be able to demand secondary buyers to pay the creators' preferred fees till February 29, 2024. Starting March 2024, the filter will be optional for these collections as well.

Concerned Web3 community members are pouring their reactions to the situation on X, with many calling OpenSea's decision a mistake.

Opensea is removing ALL creator royalties

This is a massive mistake. They still have a 2.5% fee for themselves which means traders will still continue to use blur but now artists who relied on opensea to sell their art are being even further screwed

Big L pic.twitter.com/DfDLTWDay4
— borovik.eth (@3orovik) August 17, 2023

In the most recent blog from @opensea, @dfinzer writes about their choice to completely remove the ability for creator's to enforce royalties, stating that 'redeemables' are one of the answers to the entirely halted revenue for many creators. I disagree entirely - discuss. pic.twitter.com/ouJ7AyZJ5g
— BETTY (@betty_nft) August 17, 2023

Damn. I'm not sure if Im reading this email correctly or not: seems enforceable creator fees are going away on Open seas. For secondary sales. Wow. So the creators will not get royalties? If anyone can e a plain this @opensea update to me better, please do. pic.twitter.com/8thVJufeiV
— LiFe (@brianlife) August 17, 2023

Explaining itself, OpenSea wrote in its post, “to be clear, creator fees aren't going away – simply the ineffective, unilateral enforcement of them.

When OpenSea did mandate royalty charges, it was reportedly instigated by loads of requests to do so from the creator community.

The marketplace, at the time was desperate to balance its finances after monthly sales volume on OpenSea reportedly plunged to $700 million (roughly Rs. 5,500 crore) in June, down from $2.6 billion (roughly Rs. 20,600 crore) in May and a far cry from January's peak of nearly $5 billion (roughly 40,000 crore).

The platform had launched this feature last year as a “simple code snippet”, which when enabled, allowed secondary NFT sales on marketplaces that mandated royalty charges.

While some creators were happy to be minting some money from their art, OpenSea said it heard from some creators who said, “the Operator Filter limits their sense of control over where their collections are sold, and at the same time may collide with a collector's expectation of full ownership.”

In addition, other NFT marketplaces like Blur, Dew, and LooksRare found technical ways to go around this filter and still managed to avoid levying creator fees on secondary NFT sales.

These factors combined made OpenSea reevaluate its filter.

“The Operator Filter was meant to empower creators with greater control over their Web3 business models, but it required the buy-in of everyone in the Web3 ecosystem, and unfortunately that has not happened,” its blog noted.

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Watch: Comedy of errors during India-Ireland first T20I

India began their three-match series against Ireland with a two-run victory at The Village in Dublin, but the match was called off due to rain interruptions and a humorous incident.

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Thursday, August 17, 2023

Yasin Malik's wife is special adviser to Pakistan caretaker PM

Mushaal Hussein Mullick is to advise Pakistan’s caretaker PM on human rights and women’s empowerment. Yasin Malik was convicted by an NIA court in a terror funding case and is serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail. He last appeared in the Delhi high court via a video link on August 9 in connection with the NIA seeking the death penalty for him.

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Gujarat & Centre: Bilkis Bano case not rarest of rare; Supreme Court: Why selective remission?

The Centre and Gujarat state have defended their decision to release 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, pleading that they did not commit a "rarest of rare crime," and should be allowed to reform and reintegrate at society. However, the Supreme Court asked why the remission policy was applied selectively and why convicts in a similar position continue to remain in jail.

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Ashok Gehlot's rare open support for Pilot, thanks to BJP

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Wrestler Priya becomes 2nd Indian U20 World Champion

Priya became the second Indian woman to win the U20 World Championships, and Antim Panghal secured India's unprecedented success at the Junior World Championships. Unaffected by a gash above her left eye, Priya defeated Laura Celive Kuehn 5-0 in the gold medal match, despite having to stop twice due to bleeding.

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Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Another professor quits Ashoka University

Days after the resignation of Sabyasachi Das, assistant professor at the department of economics in Ashoka University, his colleague in the department, economist Pulapre Balakrishnan, too, has put in his papers.

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Dalit woman stripped over brother's elopement

A nurse from a Dalit community was attacked, stripped and humiliated by a couple who also attempted to kill her in Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district. The woman, who works in a private hospital, was abducted while filling water from a municipal water tap. The accused, Gangireddy Brahma Reddy and Pullamma, were arrested and later admitted to the crime.

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After McD's, Burger King drops tomatoes from menu

Amid high inflation, items ranging from tomatoes to cheese slices are slowly disappearing from the menu of restaurants. Patrons of Burger King India will now be served burgers without tomatoes as the US chain has dropped the veggie from its menu across several Indian outlets.

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JEE aspirant hangs self in Kota, 20th suicide this year

An 18-year-old Bihar student was found dead in his Kota PG hostel room, the latest suicide and fourth since the last fortnight. Identified as Valmiki Prasad, the engineering entrant had been preparing for his IIT-JEE exam since last academic session. His last reported activity was a call to his parents on Monday evening to which they replied by arriving in Kota the following day.

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Mind your language: Supreme Court releases gender-just handbook for judges

The Indian Supreme Court has issued a handbook to be used by judges as a guide to gender-just language. The handbook encourages the use of neutral language that avoids patriarchal stereotypes used for decades. Furthermore, the handbook includes a sub-chapter on gender fluidity and discusses harmful stereotypes that can exist with respect to any gender identity. The guide aims to challenge and dispel negative stereotypes and perpetuate discrimination and exclusion.

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Tuesday, August 15, 2023

The Blind Side: Ex-NFL player says conned with adoption promise

Michael Oher, the former NFL player made famous in the 2009 movie "The Blind Side," has filed a lawsuit in which he claims that he was tricked into relinquishing his decision-making powers to the family that took him in, so that they could make millions of dollars off his life story. He alleges that he thought he had been legally adopted, but was only under a conservatorship.

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In his 10th I-Day speech, PM Modi says he'll be back next year

India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, focused on India's place in a changed global context post-pandemic in his Independence Day speech. He emphasized the successes achieved by his government and India's potential to regain glory under strong and stable governance.

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Maoists kills two policemen on eve of I-Day in Jharkhand

Suspected Maoists active in the forested regions of West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand attacked joint security forces and killed two policemen on the eve of Independence Day.

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Monsoon slips into 'below normal' zone

In just 15 days, the southwest monsoon has gone from "above normal", at 5% higher than the long period average (LPA) at the end of July, to "below normal". The season's total rain fell to 5% below LPA on Tuesday. Around 36% of India's districts - 263 out of 717 - have received deficient or large deficient rainfall with deficits of 20% or more.

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3 bodies found in Shimla, Himachal rain toll rises to 59

Heavy monsoon rains and landslides have killed at least 59 people in Himachal Pradesh over the last week. Many are still missing and presumed buried under debris. Among the most affected areas are Mandi and Shimla districts, with nearly 23 and 19 fatalities, respectively.

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Two Mumbai teens held for Pakistan Independence Day post

Two teenagers from Colaba who posted an image of Pakistan's independence day celebrations as their Instagram status were arrested by police. They were let off after a warning.

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SC judges must give voice to those facing arbitrary arrests: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, emphasized on the accessibility of the judiciary for the common man, ensuring safety of their lives and liberties. He announced further measures to make justice more affordable and inclusive, including the construction of 27 courtrooms in the Supreme Court.

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No concrete breakthrough in India-China military talks

There was yet again no concrete breakthrough in resolving the festering troop face-offs at Depsang Plains and Demchok in eastern Ladakh despite the latest round of top-level military talks being held with China after a gap of almost four months.

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Monday, August 14, 2023

Restore our patrol rights: India to China

During the 19th round of military talks, India asked China to withdraw forward deployed troops and restore Indian soldiers' patrolling rights in Depsang Plains and Demchok in eastern Ladakh. The talks ended much earlier than usual, but the official outcome has not been disclosed.

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Independence Day: More medals for cops in anti-Maoist operations than those in J&K

Police medals for bravery in fighting left-wing extremism in India are more numerous than for counter-terrorism operations in J&K, repeating the same trend witnessed earlier this year on Republic Day. Of the 954 police medals announced, 125 were for gallantry in combating left-wing extremism, and 71 for counter-terrorism in J&K.

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Xiaomi Pad 6 Max With Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC Launched Along Side Band 8 Pro: Details

Xiaomi Pad 6 series has got a new addition on Monday as the company launched the new Pad 6 Max at a launch event in China. Along with the tablet, the Chinese manufacturer also released its latest Xiaomi Band 8 Pro. The latest entrant to the Pad 6 series sports a 14-inch LCD display, and is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor. Meanwhile, the Band 8 Pro boasts a 1.74-inch AMOLED display. It is backed by a 289mAh battery that can be fully charged in just 80 minutes with the help of the wearable's fast charging technology.

Xiaomi Pad 6 Max, Band 8 Pro: Price, Availability

The Xiaomi Pad 6 Max has released in China at a starting price of CNY 3,799 (nearly Rs. 43,800) for the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage model. Meanwhile, the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant costs CNY 3,999 (nearly Rs. 46,000), the 12GB RAM + 512GB storage one is marked at CNY 4,399 (nearly Rs. 50,400) and the high-end variant with 16GB RAM + 1TB storage is available at CNY 4,799 (nearly Rs. 55,000). Users can buy the keyboard case and the stylus separately, costing CNY 799 (nearly Rs. 9,150) and CNY 499 (nearly Rs. 5,700), respectively. The tablet comes in Black and Silver colour options.

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Band 8 Pro costs CNY 399 (nearly Rs. 4,570) for the TPU wristband variant in Black and Coconut Ash colours, and CNY 499 for the leather wristband option in Harbor Blue shade.

Both the products will be available at Xiaomi online and offline stores, only in China, for now.

Xiaomi Pad 6 Max: Specifications

The high-end variant in the Xiaomi Pad 6 series — Xiaomi Pad 6 Max — sports a 14-inch 2.8k LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. It gets a 6.53mm sleek metal body. The tablet is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. It packs up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. It runs MIUI Pad 14 based on Android 13.

In the front, there is a 20-megapixel selfie camera for video calls. Meanwhile, the rear houses a 50-megapixel camera. The keyboard is detachable, while the stylus is optional.

For a better sound quality, there are 8 speakers on board with Dolby Atmos. It is backed by a 10,000mAh battery with 67W fast charging support. The company also provides the option to use the Pad 6 Max as a power bank as it supports 33W reverse charging.

Xiaomi Band 8 Pro: Specifications

The company also launched a wearable, Xiaomi Band 8 Pro at the event. The rectangular-shaped dial features a 1.74-inch AMOLED display with 336X480 pixels resolution. The smart band has over 100 watch faces and 10 straps options to choose from.

It is loaded with several health monitoring features like heart rate tracking, blood oxygen saturation monitoring, sleep tracking, and female health tracking. The smartwatch also gets acceleration sensor, optical heart rate and blood oxygen sensor, along with an ambient light sensor.

Xiaomi Band 8 Pro has connectivity support for GNSS, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.3. It packs a 289mAH battery, with lifespan of 14 days in a single charge. The wearavle also gets 5ATM rating for water resistance, It can be connected to a device using the Mi Fitness app

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Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, Slimmer Than Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Launched: Details

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, the company's latest foldable offering, was launched today in China along with a number of other devices. The smartphone will be available for sale starting August 16 in China. However, the global launch date for the foldable handset has not been revealed yet. Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 is even slimmer than its already thin predecessor, the Mix Fold 2. It gets dual E6 OLED displays measuring 8.03-inch and 6.56-inch for the inner and outer screen, respectively.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3: Price, Availability

A successor to Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, the latest foldable offers two colour variants — Moon Shadow Black and Xingyao Gold. The price for the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 starts at CNY 8,999 (nearly Rs. 1,03,000) for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage model. On the other hand, the 16GB RAM and 512GB model is priced at CNY 9,999 (nearly Rs. 1,14,500), while the high-end variant with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage is marked at CNY 10,999 (nearly Rs. 1,26,600).

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3: Specifications

The latest foldable from Xiaomi features a primary 8.03-inch foldable E6 AMOLED LTPO display, and it has a 6.56-inch AMOLED cover display with FHD+ resolution. Under the hood, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 is powered by an octa-core flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 internal storage. It runs MIUI 14 based on Android 13. The foldable's hinge supports from 45 degrees to 135 degrees hover opening.

On the rear, the smartphone packs a quad camera unit which includes a 50-megapixel Sony IMX 800 primary camera, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 10-megapixel telephoto lens and another 10-megapixel periscope lens. The sensors are housed in a rectangular cut-out with Leica branding and LED flash. On the front, it packs a 20-megapixel selfie camera.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 houses a 4,800mAh battery that gets support for 67W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging. It is claimed to provide a battery life of 8 hours and 20 minutes. It houses a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. For connectivity, the foldable gets USB Type-C port and NFC support.

The smartphone is claimed to be slimmer than its predecessor, and measures 4.93mm in thickness when unfolded, which increases to 9.8mm when folded.

Xiaomi launched its camera focussed flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone, while Apple opened it's first stores in India this week. We discuss these developments, as well as other reports on smartphone-related rumours 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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