Peerzada Abrar &Amp;Amp; Subhayan Chakraborty

Stories by Peerzada Abrar &Amp;Amp; Subhayan Chakraborty

How Government Is Making Use Of AI

How Government Is Making Use Of AI

Rediff.com   9 Oct 2024

The National Informatics Centre uses AI to automate document analysis and detect fraud in government departments.

Amazon sees gold rush in festival season

Amazon sees gold rush in festival season

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2024

Amazon India has witnessed an 84 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in sales of hallmarked gold jewellery and posted a 5-fold spike in demand during the first two days of its ongoing Amazon Great Indian Festival (AGIF) sale event, which started on September 27. This demand is for brands such as Malabar Gold and Diamonds, PN Gadgil Jewellers, Joyalukkas, PC Chandra and KISNA, among others. According to current trends, customers buy fine jewellery starting at Rs 2,000 in the silver category and shell out up to Rs 40,000 for gold and diamond jewellery. In the last year, Amazon has seen more customers opt for 14 Karat purity.

'A Big Sound Like That Of A Bomb'

'A Big Sound Like That Of A Bomb'

Rediff.com   30 Sep 2024

'The facility works on Apple's iPhone and everything is damaged -- CNC machines, computers and CCTVs worth crores.'

How's The Josh At Amazon, Flipkart?

How's The Josh At Amazon, Flipkart?

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2024

While war rooms are set up closer to the sales, warlike preparations go into it almost 12 months in advance to ensure that on D-day the firm gives its best to its customers.

Just 3,000 nods: Trai's whitelisting deadline may be pushed by 30 days

Just 3,000 nods: Trai's whitelisting deadline may be pushed by 30 days

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2024

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) may extend the deadline to whitelist URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), APKs (Android Package Kit), or OTT (Over The Top) links - through which it intends to curb their misuse -is likely to be extended by 30 days as only over 3,000 registered senders (businesses) have complied, officials indicated. According to Trai officials, over 3,000 registered senders have whitelisted more than 70,000 links, but many more (thousands of others) are yet to comply with the directive as the mandatory norms are set to come into effect from October 1.

BSNL walks out as surprise winner of July tariff battle

BSNL walks out as surprise winner of July tariff battle

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2024

After continuously bleeding subscribers for nearly two years, state-owned telecom services provider BSNL added 2.9 million users in July when its private-sector rivals raised tariffs by nearly 20 per cent. With BSNL keeping tariffs unchanged, many subscribers using entry-level plans shifted from Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), said analysts.

Amazon India creates 110K seasonal jobs ahead of festivals

Amazon India creates 110K seasonal jobs ahead of festivals

Rediff.com   14 Sep 2024

E-commerce firm Amazon India has announced the creation of over 110,000 seasonal job opportunities across its operations network as it prepares to serve millions of customers throughout India during the upcoming festival season. These positions include both direct and indirect roles in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Chennai, among others. Notably, Amazon has hired thousands of women and nearly 1,900 individuals with disabilities into its existing network.

Jio's network cost per tower less than Airtel's but gap shrinking: Analysts

Jio's network cost per tower less than Airtel's but gap shrinking: Analysts

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2024

The network cost per tower of Reliance Jio is lower than its rival Bharti Airtel even as the gap between them is narrowing due to the latter cutting costs at a faster pace, analysts said. While the energy cost per tower for both telcos is reducing, Airtel has managed to reduce costs at a faster pace, brokerage firm IIFL Securities said in a research note. "Jio used to enjoy 35 per cent lower network cost per tower, including the right of use (RoU) depreciation and lease finance cost, versus Bharti four years back. This gap has now (FY24) narrowed to 7 per cent," it said.

Rogue robocallers behind Trai's bid to dial up rules against spam

Rogue robocallers behind Trai's bid to dial up rules against spam

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2024

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) latest push to review its existing spam regulations and expand the definition of "commercial communications" is driven by an urgent need to tighten controls on autodialers or robocallers, and bulk messaging, according to official sources. This move, they said, comes in response to a surge in complaints against unregistered telemarketers (UTMs), which soared to 750,000 in just the first half of 2024, underscoring the necessity for a comprehensive overhaul of the government's anti-spam measures. Last week, Trai released a consultation paper aimed at revisiting the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018), the government's legal framework against spam.

'No Intention Of A Takeover in British Telecom'

'No Intention Of A Takeover in British Telecom'

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2024

'We operate in 16 countries already, and therefore adding the UK to it, and beginning a chapter in the European continent is the next step.'

Will Modi Achieve A Cease Fire In Ukraine?

Will Modi Achieve A Cease Fire In Ukraine?

Rediff.com   21 Aug 2024

Ukraine is currently in the middle of a strategic offensive into Russia's Kursk region.

Tech, startup groups push back against OTT licensing

Tech, startup groups push back against OTT licensing

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2024

Tech and startup industry bodies have again pushed back against calls by telecom operators to bring over-the-top (OTT) services under a licensing regime similar to telcos, and open them up to taxation. Ahead of public consultations on the issue later this week, the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Nasscom and the US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), among others, have written to the government arguing against such efforts.

Festive Hires: 1 Million Gig Workers, 250,000 Contractual Workers

Festive Hires: 1 Million Gig Workers, 250,000 Contractual Workers

Rediff.com   17 Aug 2024

Companies like Flipkart, Amazon and Meesho as well as quick commerce ones like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart may create hundreds of thousands of seasonal jobs for the coming festival season.

Bharti dials up UK telecom play with $4 bn stake in BT

Bharti dials up UK telecom play with $4 bn stake in BT

Rediff.com   13 Aug 2024

Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, has decided to buy 24.5 per cent equity in BT Group - a move that will make the Indian conglomerate the biggest shareholder in the UK's second-largest telecom company both in terms of market value and subscriber count. The shares are being purchased from billionaire Patrick Drahi's Altice UK through a combination of cash and debt .

Flipkart's Shopsy intensifies efforts to tap into Bharat

Flipkart's Shopsy intensifies efforts to tap into Bharat

Rediff.com   8 Aug 2024

Flipkart's hyper-value e-commerce platform Shopsy is intensifying efforts to tap over half of the 821 million internet users (about 442 million) in rural India. These efforts are being led by Prathyusha Agarwal, who recently joined as business head at Shopsy. The aim is to become the go-to destination for consumers seeking entry-level products across various categories.

Competitors unfazed by Flipkart's 10-min delivery foray

Competitors unfazed by Flipkart's 10-min delivery foray

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2024

At a time when Flipkart has entered the quick-commerce race with a service called "Minutes", executives at rival players said they are in a wait-and-watch mode. They said they would be concerned only once the e-commerce firm is able to succeed in this space. The Walmart-owned firm's quick-commerce service has gone live in some parts of Bengaluru, putting it in competition with firms such as Zepto, Swiggy's Instamart, and Zomato's Blinkit.

Amazon India Head Quits

Amazon India Head Quits

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2024

Manish Tiwary plans to take up a new role at another firm.

Byju's may move NCLAT against insolvency order

Byju's may move NCLAT against insolvency order

Rediff.com   18 Jul 2024

Edtech company Byju's parent Think & Learn will challenge the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT's) order on insolvency proceedings and may approach the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in the next few days, a source claimed. With the NCLT appointing Pankaj Srivastava as the interim resolution professional (IRP), time is running out for Byju's as the committee of creditors (CoC) begins to be formed.

Google Unveils AI For India's Developers

Google Unveils AI For India's Developers

Rediff.com   18 Jul 2024

Developers in India now have expanded access to Google's powerful AI models with the 2 million token context window in Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemma 2, the next generation of open models.

Ola Electric likely to drive in IPO at a lower valuation of $4.5 billion

Ola Electric likely to drive in IPO at a lower valuation of $4.5 billion

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2024

Ola Electric, the SoftBank-backed electric vehicle (EV) maker, is likely to pursue a valuation of approximately $4.5 billion in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), marking about 18 per cent decrease from its last funding round valuation of around $5.5 billion, according to industry sources. The Bhavish Aggarwal-founded firm aims to file for the IPO by next month, according to people familiar with the matter. "The strategy is to price the IPO attractively for investors, fostering long-term growth and wealth creation," said a source.