Dhruvaksh Saha &Amp; Sourabh Lele

Stories by Dhruvaksh Saha &Amp; Sourabh Lele

LNG Tankers Shortage Affects India's Fuel Supply

LNG Tankers Shortage Affects India's Fuel Supply

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2022

Tightening Russian gas supplies to Europe has led to scramble for tankers before winter sets in.

Cattle hits, snags raise doubts over Vande Bharat as 'train of future'

Cattle hits, snags raise doubts over Vande Bharat as 'train of future'

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2022

Experts suggest that a revamp in the surrounding infrastructure should take care of the issues plaguing the VB-2, stressing that the lightweight nature of the trains is what allows for higher speeds, and that needless design additions may hamper the train's efficiency.

TCS set to win $2-billion deal from BSNL for 4G and 5G roll-out

TCS set to win $2-billion deal from BSNL for 4G and 5G roll-out

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2022

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is set to secure a $2 billion deal from Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) to roll out its 4G and 5G services across the country. However, the final approvals from the publicly-owned telco may take a couple of months, sources in the know said. As part of the deal, TCS will develop 4G core and Radio Access Network (RAN) technology for BSNL's telecom services.

Admins, beware of WhatsApp's new feature!

Admins, beware of WhatsApp's new feature!

Rediff.com   20 Sep 2022

Group admins may now face legal consequences for failing to delete any "objectionable" content posted on the group.

Meta partners with Reliance Jiomart to offer grocery shopping on WhatsApp

Meta partners with Reliance Jiomart to offer grocery shopping on WhatsApp

Rediff.com   30 Aug 2022

Meta Platforms Inc, the parent company of WhatsApp, will partner with Reliance JioMart for a service where WhatsApp users can buy groceries on the messaging platform from the Indian retail firm. Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer (CEO) of Meta Platforms, said in a Facebook post, "[I am] Excited to launch our partnership with JioMart in India. "This is our first-ever end-to-end shopping experience on WhatsApp--people can now buy groceries from JioMart right in a chat." "Business messaging is an area with real momentum and chat-based experiences like this will be the go-to way people and businesses communicate in the years to come," he said in an announcement coinciding with the annual general Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries the parent company of JioMart.

IRCTC moves to monetise passenger data

IRCTC moves to monetise passenger data

Rediff.com   26 Aug 2022

In a first of its kind move, the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the ticket booking arm of the Indian Railways, is looking to monetise its bank of passenger data while conducting business with private and government companies. IRCTC has a large bank of data related to every online railway ticket ever generated as it is the country's only railway ticketing platform, an IRCTC official told Business Standard. The public sector undertaking, which has sought the services of a consultant to assist with the monetisation process, plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore through this exercise.

Infosys cuts average variable payout to 70% for Q1 on margin pressure

Infosys cuts average variable payout to 70% for Q1 on margin pressure

Rediff.com   23 Aug 2022

India's second-largest information technology (IT) firm Infosys has decided to reduce the average variable payout of employees to 70 per cent due to falling operating margins in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022-23 (FY23), said people in the know. "The margin impact in the current quarter has reflected on the performance bonus for this cycle," the company told its employees over email. "While 70 per cent is the correct figure, an important point is we have been told that the company will not defer any variable payment. "It is being paid according to schedule," said a person.

Everything you wanted to know about Google Street View

Everything you wanted to know about Google Street View

Rediff.com   23 Aug 2022

In other countries, Street View's content comes from two sources -- Google and individual contributors. However, in India, these will be collected by the tech giant's new local partners.

Govt to amend 114-year-old the Indian Ports Act, bring in reforms

Govt to amend 114-year-old the Indian Ports Act, bring in reforms

Rediff.com   19 Aug 2022

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has released a draft to amend the Indian Ports Act, 1908, which aims to bring in sweeping reforms in the sector by bringing non-major ports into the national fold, creating a new mechanism for resolution of disputes, and empowering maritime state development council (MSDC). The draft bill will see comments from stakeholders before being tabled in Parliament. "The Indian Ports Act, 1908 is more than 110 years old. It has become imperative that the Act is revamped to reflect the present-day frameworks, incorporate India's international obligations, address emerging environmental concerns, and aid the consultative development of the ports sector in the national interest," the shipping ministry said.

BGMI Ban Stuns Gaming Community

BGMI Ban Stuns Gaming Community

Rediff.com   17 Aug 2022

'Banning a game is not the solution, rather, there should be laws that restrict the number of hours spent a week playing a game.'

'Data protection bill veered away from core issues'

'Data protection bill veered away from core issues'

Rediff.com   16 Aug 2022

'There were two options before the government -- create a complex, cumbersome law, which will cause a tremendous amount of compliance challenges for startups or say let's go back and do a clean slate, where we do a framework of laws and policies'

India sees sharp rise in cyber attacks as internet base continues to widen

India sees sharp rise in cyber attacks as internet base continues to widen

Rediff.com   15 Aug 2022

Even as India's internet base continues to widen, with the country set to have over 900 internet users by 2025, a parallel rise in cyber threats has become a matter of huge concern. Experts say that the sudden surge in digital adoption left little time to develop a cybersecurity backbone for the country. This has put large amounts of data at risk.

India's smartphone market sees 1% decline in the first half of 2022

India's smartphone market sees 1% decline in the first half of 2022

Rediff.com   9 Aug 2022

India's smartphone market has fallen by one per cent in the first half of 2022, as shipments of Xiaomi - the top-selling brand - declined 28 per cent due to weak consumer demand in the quarter ended June. According to the International Data Corporation's (IDC's) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, 71 million smartphones were shipped from January to June this year. The highest decline was in the below-$100 segment, which lost its market share by 5 per cent.

Internet usage grows faster in rural India; knowhow still a deterrent

Internet usage grows faster in rural India; knowhow still a deterrent

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2022

The number of internet users in rural India increased 18 percent last year, faster than growth in urban areas and continuing a trend that started two years ago. Internet users in urban India increased 5 percent in 2021. Rural India has 351 million users, or 37 percent of people there, according to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and data analytics company KANTAR.

Traffic surge at ports a sign of India's economic revival: Report

Traffic surge at ports a sign of India's economic revival: Report

Rediff.com   27 Jul 2022

Buoyed by higher demand for crude oil and imported coal, Indian ports recorded a growth of 11 per cent in traffic during the April-June quarter of 2022-23. This shows that the economy is opening up, a report by DAM Capital said. The volume increase assumes significance since both prices of crude oil and imported coal have been soaring this year. Indian coal companies were pressed for supply amid a thermal coal crisis earlier in the year.

Tech startups raise $6 bn in April-June, fintech leads the pack

Tech startups raise $6 bn in April-June, fintech leads the pack

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2022

Two sectors, fintech and media & entertainment, attracted 45 per cent of total funding by value, led by large ticket deals such as CRED and Dailyhunt.

Google executive warns against sharing of citizen data

Google executive warns against sharing of citizen data

Rediff.com   23 Jun 2022

Google's chief privacy officer, Keith Enright, has warned policymakers that frequent and large-scale sharing of citizen data, even if anonymized, can damage users' privacy. Pointing to research that shows data sets lose their anonymity if shared consistently over time, he said: "I would encourage policymakers and companies to be extremely circumspect while proceeding in that direction." Anonymization is a technique that removes or modifies personally identifiable information, resulting in data that cannot be associated with any one individual.

Game Streaming the Next Hot Career?

Game Streaming the Next Hot Career?

Rediff.com   23 Jun 2022

Game streaming is becoming a serious professional choice for youth, as it allows them to make good money.

12,000 Aadhaar enrolment personnel suspended for tech glitch

12,000 Aadhaar enrolment personnel suspended for tech glitch

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2022

Protesting staff demand that UIDAI upgrade its software with an option to verify the documents submitted by residents.

Railways may scrap new dedicated freight corridors, enhance existing ones

Railways may scrap new dedicated freight corridors, enhance existing ones

Rediff.com   25 May 2022

This alternative is being planned as the existing projects continue to be delayed due to land acquisition troubles. The ministry is thinking of adding new track lines to its existing eastern and western DFCs passing major areas in the proposed stretches, senior officials said.