The US on Wednesday mourned the death of veteran industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Naval Tata, remembering him as someone who drove India to greater prosperity and development. Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who transformed a staid group into India's largest and most influential conglomerate, breathed his last at south Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital at 11.30 pm on Wednesday. He was 86. "My last meeting with Ratan Tata at Google, we talked about the progress of Waymo and his vision was inspiring to hear. He leaves an extraordinary business and philanthropic legacy and was instrumental in mentoring and developing modern business leadership in India.
'There is a huge risk of misinformation and disinformation, and targeted campaigns that could potentially happen against candidates or to push certain narratives.'
Dilip, who replaced R Sridhar as India fielding coach during Rahul Dravid's stint as head coach, continued in his role when Gautam Gambhir took over as well.
The Indian government has said that social media platform X will be held responsible for content generated by its artificial intelligence tool Grok. This comes after users on X asked Grok questions about Indian politicians and the AI platform responded with "unpalatable" answers. The government is currently in discussion with X to understand and assess how Grok works. The government has previously taken action against social media platforms for AI-generated content that has been deemed offensive. In this case, the government is considering holding X accountable for Grok's content, even though it is generated by an AI tool. The government's stance is likely to have implications for other social media platforms that use AI tools.
Google on Friday announced that third-party 'in app' billing system pilot will be extended to India and some other markets, allowing non-gaming developers to offer users the choice of an alternative billing mechanism alongside that of Google Play. A reasonable service fees will continue to apply in order to support investments in Android and Play, according to Google. However, specifics of what the reasonable service fees will be, have not been disclosed.
Across the board, brands use influencers like a Bhuvan Bam or Kusha Kapila as the second or third rung of their strategy. The first rung is always a celebrity that has been created outside the Internet, through mainstream media.
Google has said that it is pausing enforcement of Google Play billing system (GPBS) for developers in India. This comes after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of Rs 2,275 crore in two cases and an immediate cease-and-desist order of its policies of running the Android Mobile device and Play Store ecosystem. In a statement, the company said, "Following the CCI's recent ruling, we are pausing enforcement of the requirement for developers to use Google Play's billing system for the purchase of digital goods and services for transactions by users in India.
Whether it's navigating the labyrinthine Cu Chi Tunnels, boating on the Mekong, marveling at ancient Champa temples, or the Mekong Bay, Vietnam promises a journey like no other.
It was an aha! moment to spot India's leading industrialist at the service at St John's church ahead of Trump's inauguration, and then to see him heading to US Capitol Hill Rotunda for the inauguration in the company of the Big 4 - Tim Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sundar Pichai of Google and Mark Zuckerburg of Meta/Facebook.
Google unveiled on Wednesday a slate of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies for Indian developers at its first I/O Connect event for India, being held in Bengaluru. The company made accessible for Indian developers its faster, more accurate large language AI model accessible through PaLM API, Makersuite, as well as features on Google Cloud's Vertex AI. Google Cloud officially launched a new initiative in collaboration with Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, to help sellers build and scale commerce platforms across the country.
Fintech major PhonePe on Wednesday announced the launch of its homegrown Indus Appstore specifically for the Indian market, in a bid to compete with global incumbents like Google Play Store and Apple's App Store. The Indus Appstore is PhonePe's attempt at creating a more competitive and localised mobile app store economy for India, which is already the world's largest market for mobile apps.
Google is followed by Sony India who won the runner-up position.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has concluded his visit to France, which included co-chairing an AI summit and bilateral talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. He is now headed to the US for a bilateral meeting with President Trump. Modi's visit to France included discussions on trade, defense, energy, and cultural linkages. He also inaugurated India's new consulate in Marseille. During his visit to the US, Modi will also interact with business leaders and members of the Indian community.
Google has termed as "tainted" the investigations done against it by CCI, contending that the two informants on whose complaint the fair trade regulator has initiated the enquiry were working at the same office that was investigating the tech major. This was "against the principles of natural justice", Google said in the petition filed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), adding the Competition Commission of India (CCI) should have refrained from initiating an investigation based on a complaint filed by their own employees. "At the very least, the Commission could have debarred the Informants from working in the DG office while the investigation was ongoing, to ensure that the investigating officer was able to impartially assess the case without any influence, such that no concerns could arise on the independence of the investigation," said Google.
From premium electric motorcycles to mass-market scooters, manufacturers are rapidly expanding their portfolios to capture a larger share of the booming market.
Major recruiters, with double-digit offers at IIT campuses this year so far, include American Express, Barclays, BCG, Cars24, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Google, Intel India, Meesho, Micron Technology, Microsoft, OLA, Oracle, Reliance, and Qualcomm.
Cheaper ripoffs was how China powered its way as an economic superpower but hitherto the tech realm had remained out of bounds. With DeepSeek's AI model the West, it seemed, was about to lose its competitive edge in cutting edge generative AI technology. And this is what is causing deep furrows in the forehead of tech titans in Silicon Valley.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday ordered a detailed probe against internet giant Google for alleged unfair business practices with respect to Google Pay as well as Google Play's payment system. Google Pay is a popular digital payments platform while Google Play is the app store on its Android ecosystem.
Gurgaon based Divyanshi Singhal's doodle of Walking Trees was selected from over 1.1 lakh entries across India.
'If you are not prudent, you may exceed your budget, and if it happens too often, you may end up in debt.'
Sukanya Verma captures everything Reema Kagti has created so far and where you can watch it.
The 18 year old from an impoverished family in Chennai won the Carrom World Cup, but the title has not changed either her or her father, an autorickshaw driver.
In today's rapidly evolving digital payment landscape, security concerns remain a top priority for stakeholders across sectors.
Everyday, millions of shoppers use Google search to research and discover products to purchase online and offline, and this new format connects users to rich product-information like looks, price and brands, Google India said in a statement.
The multi-hued doodle, with a dominant blue tone, depicts iconic monuments interspersed with images of famous music instruments and dance forms. The six letters of the word Google have been portrayed colourfully and using images of India's national bird and an iconic south Indian dance form.
'Unsurprisingly, Trump shared Modi's podcast with Fridman on his Truth account.' 'The intentions of Trump, a transactional president, are never easy to tell.' 'We will know in the next fortnight if and when he unfolds reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods, whether Modi's flattering words made any significant difference to Trump's compass,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The tech community, which was getting ready to use the ChatGPT fever and raise unlimited capital for their businesses, is going to face tougher obstacles now, predicts Ajit Balakrishnan.
Google was using Tata Trust's rural network for the same
After almost a year, Google's smart speakers Home and Home Mini with Google Assistant have finally arrived in India.
After failing to get a court order to block an antitrust ruling, Google on Wednesday said it will allow users in India to choose default search engine on Android-based smartphones. As part of the key changes the tech giant will make to its platforms and business in India in the aftermath of the landmark CCI ruling, OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) will be able to license individual Google apps for pre-installation on their devices. Google is also updating the Android compatibility requirements to introduce changes for partners to build non-compatible or forked variants, the company said in its blog.
Fair trade regulator CCI on Friday ordered a probe against Google for its alleged abuse of dominant position. "In a well-functioning democracy, the critical role played by news media cannot be undermined, and it needs to be ensured that digital gatekeeper firms do not abuse their dominant position to harm the competitive process of determining a fair distribution of revenue amongst all stakeholders," CCI said. It added that the Commission is of prima facie view that Google has violated provisions of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002 which pertains to abuse of dominant position.
Google received 31,497 complaints from users and removed 94,173 pieces of content based on those complaints in December, the tech giant said in its monthly transparency report.
A Judicial member of the appellate tribunal NCLAT has recused himself from hearing a petition filed by tech giant Google, appealing against Rs 936.44 crore penalty imposed by competition watchdog CCI for abusing its dominant position with respect to Play Store policies. On Monday, NCLAT bench Justice Rakesh Kumar and Alok Srivastava ordered Google's appeal to be listed before another bench of which Justice Rakesh Kumar is not a party. It has asked the registry of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to place it before the chairman of the appellate tribunal for this.
Google India is talking to police organisations in cities across India to forge partnerships for jointly educating students, teachers and parents. According to Subho Ray, president, IAMAI, "Be NetSmart is a campaign to promote the concept of safe surfing among young school students. IAMAI will take up the programme on a sustainable basis on behalf of the industry and as well as make it a regular outreach campaign in the metros. IAMAI will also take it to the smaller towns."
Google has approached the appellate tribunal NCLAT challenging the CCI's order on unfair business practices in Android mobile device ecosystem, the company spokesperson said on Friday. The Competition Commission in October slapped a steep penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on internet giant Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in relation to Android mobile devices and ordered the internet major to cease and desist from various unfair business practices. A Google spokesperson told PTI: "We have decided to appeal the CCI's decision on Android as we believe it presents a major setback for our Indian users and businesses who trust Android's security features, and potentially raising the cost of mobile devices."
'There is simply too much to watch, read and absorb.' 'Just online consumption (news, entertainment, social media) in India was 2.5 hours a day in November 2024.' 'Add TV (just under 4 hours), other media, and the figure is closer to 7 to 8 hours a day for over one-third of Indians,' points out Vanita Kohli Khandekar.
Here's what you must know about the new rule, its implications, and whether it affects taxpayers' rights and privacy.
The Delhi high court has ordered removal of social media posts by Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera and Ragini Nayak alleging that veteran journalist Rajat Sharma used 'abusive language' during his show on the Lok Sabha election result day.
Google is testing its SMS channel in India and intends to launch it to global audiences later. It supports English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages. It was fully conceptualised by Google India Labs. Prasad Ram, head (R&D), Google India, says, "The SMS channel is in line with our endeavour to connect the 250 million mobile subscribers who have no access to information."
As Google evaluates its response to two recent penalties slapped by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), here is a look at the app economy. Apps are bread and butter for mobile operating systems. India ranks second in the number of mobile downloads, with nearly 27 billion downloads in 2021, according to Deloitte. Accounting for 11.6 per cent of global app downloads, the Indian smartphone user spends over 4 hours a day on apps.