Surajeet Das Gupta, Subhayan Chakraborty &Amp; Karan Chowdhury

Stories by Surajeet Das Gupta, Subhayan Chakraborty &Amp; Karan Chowdhury

Telecom service providers log in to AI filter to stop pesky calls: Trai

Telecom service providers log in to AI filter to stop pesky calls: Trai

Rediff.com   3 May 2023

Telecom service providers (TSPs) have begun to monitor and prevent spam calls since May 1, with the help of an artificial intelligence and machine language-based system acting on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) latest directive on the matter, its officials told Business Standard. Touted as the first big technological measure against the growing menace of unsolicited commercial communications, all TSPs have confirmed to Trai that they have rolled out the AI/ML tool. The filter system works on the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform used by TSPs, and is set to go for incremental updates, rules for which will soon be released, they added.

Govt set to approve Micron Technology's $1-billion semiconductor plant

Govt set to approve Micron Technology's $1-billion semiconductor plant

Rediff.com   2 May 2023

The government is close to approving a proposal by Micron Technology to set up an assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) facility in the country involving an investment of about $1 billion. The world's fifth largest semiconductor company, based in Idaho, USA, will use the facility to process some of its own wafers, manufactured across the globe.

Why Telcos Want Airlines To Replace Altimeters

Why Telcos Want Airlines To Replace Altimeters

Rediff.com   2 May 2023

'If the airlines are not given a clear deadline to change the altimeters by the DGCA, why should they do it voluntarily?' 'It means that the aircraft will be grounded for a while and lose money.'

Electric two-wheeler sales skid by a fourth

Electric two-wheeler sales skid by a fourth

Rediff.com   1 May 2023

Stung by the government's punitive action on electric two-wheelers, registrations in April fell by nearly a fourth to 62,581 from 82,292 in March, according to data from VAHAN. Electric two-wheeler companies, including Okinawa, Hero Electric, Ather Energy, and TVS, have all clocked their lowest registrations in the four months of this calendar year. Ola Electric has been the only exception to this bloodbath, and has crossed its March numbers, hitting 21,560 registrations in April, which is its highest in this calendar year. As a result, there have been some interesting changes in the electric two-wheeler pecking order.

Electric 2-wheeler players take on heavy industries dept on FAME 2

Electric 2-wheeler players take on heavy industries dept on FAME 2

Rediff.com   28 Apr 2023

Companies making electric two-wheelers, through their association Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), have taken on the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI), saying they did not get subsidies for even half the mandated 1 million units they manufactured. Subsidies are given under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles 2 (FAME II). In a petition to the parliamentary standing committee on industry energy and estimates, the SMEV said the department had done an "accounting error" by showing that it (the department) was close to achieving the mandated target by including sales of the EVs that were "not funded" under the scheme.

Like Uber, You Can Book A Drone Soon

Like Uber, You Can Book A Drone Soon

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2023

E-commerce players may soon rent out drones, so you can use them the way you book a cab on an app, and test viable use-cases for last-mile delivery.

Has Apple's Roller-Coaster Ride In India Ended?

Has Apple's Roller-Coaster Ride In India Ended?

Rediff.com   21 Apr 2023

The new mantra was to align Apple's ambition with the government's, focusing on Modi's favourite themes of Make in India, employment generation and India as a high-tech export hub.

Jio slams Airtel for 'maligning' its tariff policy

Jio slams Airtel for 'maligning' its tariff policy

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2023

Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) has written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) stating that a recent complaint against it by Bharti Airtel is a deliberate, malicious attempt at defaming RJIL's consumer-friendly tariff. RJIL has also asked the regulator to warn Airtel against 'making such frivolous complaints in the future'. The move is in response to Airtel recently requesting Trai to bring content aired through broadband under the regulatory fold and keep a check against discriminatory bundling tactics.

Govt may ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to make more iPhones in India

Govt may ask Apple CEO Tim Cook to make more iPhones in India

Rediff.com   14 Apr 2023

In the run-up to Apple CEO Tim Cook's visit to India, government officials are finalising the talk points with the Cupertino-headquartered tech major. Officials said that the government would like Apple to "deepen" the company's engagement in the manufacturing and assembly of iPhones in the country and not limit itself only to the minimum commitments made under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile devices. The conversations between the two sides are likely to focus on that.

Apple boost helps India double smartphone exports; shipments hit $11.1 bn

Apple boost helps India double smartphone exports; shipments hit $11.1 bn

Rediff.com   13 Apr 2023

India doubled its exports of smartphones to $11.1 billion (about Rs 91,000 crore) in 2022-23 (FY23) over the previous year's figure of $5.48 billion (Rs 45,000 crore), thanks largely to the Apple juggernaut, according to data from the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said: "With the doubling of exports of smartphones to over Rs 90,000 crore, India is well on its way to becoming a leader in the global mobile device market." On the flip side, despite the government prodding Chinese companies to export more, their smartphone shipments fell steeply by 26 per cent from $214 million in FY22 to $157 million in FY23.

Is India Prepared For AI Adoption?

Is India Prepared For AI Adoption?

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2023

The impact of AI automation in India is the lowest.

'India has far exceeded our expectations in EVs'

'India has far exceeded our expectations in EVs'

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2023

'The Indian govt's initiatives on EVs are very strong and customers want to buy EVs. This will make the country's conversion to EVs faster than other markets, and I hope even faster than the US'

Chinese Companies May Need Majority Indian Partners To Set Up Plants

Chinese Companies May Need Majority Indian Partners To Set Up Plants

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2023

The government has asked industry to provide a list of Chinese suppliers that would like to shift some capacity to India provided they are willing to set up JVs with Indian companies.

What SoftBank leadership team visits mean for Indian investors

What SoftBank leadership team visits mean for Indian investors

Rediff.com   22 Mar 2023

A top management leadership team from SoftBank has been coming to India in the last few days to meet the founders of start-ups and other investors, signalling the country's emergence as a pivotal market for the global investment giant. Based on current estimates, India accounts for nearly 10 per cent ($20 billion) of SoftBank's invested assets under management (AUM) globally. That makes the country its third largest market after the US and China.

'Foxconn is clearly bullish about India'

'Foxconn is clearly bullish about India'

Rediff.com   20 Mar 2023

Foxconn means serious business in India. Its delegation to India was led by its Chairman Young Liu who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In ChatGPT's shadow, India readies for aggressive AI play

In ChatGPT's shadow, India readies for aggressive AI play

Rediff.com   11 Mar 2023

The government has identified nine key focus areas in the AI national programme, including agriculture, education, Indian languages, smart cities, cybersecurity, transportation, and finance.

Non-metros snapping up electric scooters

Non-metros snapping up electric scooters

Rediff.com   8 Mar 2023

If you thought electric scooters have caught the fancy of only people in the metros, think again. According to data from electric two-wheeler maker, Ather Energy, 54 per cent of its sales of scooters, starting from Rs 1.2 lakh, come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Based on sales per lakh population, the top five cities for the company are Calicut, followed by Kochi, Kolaphur, Trivandrum and Pune.

IPL 2023: The Rs 5,000 Crore Battle!

IPL 2023: The Rs 5,000 Crore Battle!

Rediff.com   6 Mar 2023

This season, the nature of the advertising game has changed dramatically with TV and digital rights going to different entities.

The Challenges Before Ola, Uber...

The Challenges Before Ola, Uber...

Rediff.com   3 Mar 2023

In many states, aggregators operate without a licence; in others, with the risk of the licence being revoked by any regional transport office on the slightest pretext.

Philanthropy by India's super rich falls by a third in FY22, says report

Philanthropy by India's super rich falls by a third in FY22, says report

Rediff.com   2 Mar 2023

Philanthropic contributions made by India's ultra high networth individuals (net wealth of over Rs 1,000 crore), also known as UHNIs, have fallen sharply to Rs 4,230 crore in FY22, from Rs 11,821 crore the previous financial year, according to the India Philanthropy Report 2023 by Dasra and Bain & Co, which was released on Wednesday. The report says that the dramatic fall, almost by a third, was due to the fact that contributions by the Azim Premji Foundation dropped by Rs 9,000 crore due to a share buyback of Wipro, which helped the foundation to access liquidity directly. However, the report laments that even excluding the Premji Foundation's contribution, "Indian UHNI contribution has not kept pace with wealth creation" and is "below par, with a 5 per cent contraction in FY2022".