Sebastian Coe, frontrunner for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency, has hailed the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, stating it will open up new markets, crucial for the Olympic movement's growth. He emphasized the sport's extensive support base beyond South Asia, particularly in major cities with large South Asian communities.
India is working with the US on an "early" visit to Washington by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to further deepen the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two countries, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday. Following a phone conversation with Modi this week, US President Donald Trump said the Indian prime minister "is going to be coming to the White House, over next month, probably February". It would be Modi's first bilateral visit to Washington after Trump became US president for a second term. While confirming discussions between India and the US on the proposed visit, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not mention any possible time-line for the trip. In their phone conversation on January 27, Modi and Trump vowed to work towards a "trusted" partnership with a focus on boosting India-US cooperation in areas of trade, energy and defence. "PM Modi and President Trump had a telephone conversation recently. The two sides are working on an early visit of the PM to the US to further deepen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing while replying to a question. "Specific dates for the visit would be announced at the appropriate time," he said. It is learnt that both sides were initially looking at the window between February 12-14 for Modi's visit but there has been no finality on it yet. The prime minister is set to travel to Paris to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action summit on February 10 and 11. Though the US president has also been invited to the summit, his participation is not yet confirmed.
The Budget 2025-26 meets the expectations of fiscal consolidation, maintaining capital expenditure, and boosting consumption through tax cuts.
'The message that we intend to leave with at the end of this trip is one of real gratitude for the friendship and the close partnership that President Biden and Prime Minister Modi have enjoyed over the last four years, but also one of tremendous optimism because we see a lot of opportunity in the future.'
'It may take some time for them to get down to the details, such as the location and capacity.'
'A lot of youngsters are hired because senior people do not want to work in such a culture and these people are made to work 14 hours a day atleast.'
While advancements in biotechnology hold immense promise for health and innovation, they also come with significant risks if misused.
For India to transform into a high-income country with a projected gross domestic product (GDP) of $23-35 trillion, will need a sustained annual growth of 8 per cent to 10 per cent. This will be powered by India's demographic dividend, technological innovation, and sectoral transformation, according to the "India@2047: Transforming India Into A Tech-Driven Economy" report by Bain & Company and Nasscom. By 2047, the services sector is expected to contribute 60 per cent of India's GDP, while manufacturing will account for 32 per cent, both playing a pivotal role in economic expansion.
India leads the pack: 4.1 per cent of job postings demand such skills.
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
In a major shift from his earlier stance, United States-President elect Donald Trump has expressed his support for the H-1B visa programme and acknowledged frequently using it for his own properties, calling it a 'great programme', according to a report by New York Post.
'Presumption of innocence must guide all formal actions, but transparency must not be mistaken for pre-judgment.' 'The cruel irony, however, is that Justice Varma is a fine judge who enjoys a reputation for writing well-reasoned judgments.'
Experts believe adoption of AI in developing countries will be much faster than in developed nations, as the magnitude of change it will bring will be far larger.
'There is need for India-specific pricing.' 'Google, Microsoft and others also have different pricing.' 'It is important for OpenAI to think on these lines as the global pricing may not work in the Indian context.'
Simplifying investment policies at the micro level and introducing a time-bound framework will be critical for India's growth targets, notes Krishna Ella.
Technology is rapidly reshaping industries that have long been rooted in tradition, driving a wave of innovation that is transforming everything from finance, banking, steel to manufacturing.
'We also realised that locking customers to our Cloud was not fair to them.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated for a global framework for artificial intelligence (AI) based on open source, emphasizing the need for trust, transparency, and the elimination of biases. Co-chairing the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, Modi highlighted the transformative potential of AI across various domains, including politics, economics, security, and society. He stressed the importance of democratizing technology, addressing concerns about cyber security and disinformation, and developing quality data sets free from biases. Modi also acknowledged the need for open-source AI ecosystems to foster trust and transparency, while emphasizing the importance of localized technology for effectiveness and usefulness. Recognizing the potential of AI to improve health, education, and agriculture, Modi proposed pooling resources and talent to leverage the technology for sustainable development goals. Addressing concerns about job displacement, he emphasized that while the nature of work may evolve, technology creates new opportunities. Modi highlighted India's leadership in AI adoption and data privacy solutions, emphasizing the nation's readiness to share its expertise and contribute to an AI future that benefits all.
India is among the three least-favoured Asian stock markets, according to BofA Securities whose survey found that 10 per cent of fund managers are underweight on Indian equities from a 12-month perspective.
Trump also said that he has also used the H-1B visa programme.
The purpose for which AI should be used cannot be left to AI developers, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
'Every Indian should move to an EV, and the government should not buy any fossil fuel cars. The government should become the first driver of EV adoption.'
The Economic Survey on Monday said the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) casts a "huge pall of uncertainty" with regard to impact on workers across all skill levels. The Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament predicted that the new-age technology, while turbocharging productivity, has the potential to disrupt employment in certain sectors. The Survey described AI as "phenomenal in its rapid pace of innovation and ease of diffusion" but also cautioned that the the future of work will be reshaped by it.
White-collar hiring activity in December witnessed a 9 per cent increase compared to the same period of the previous year, driven by high-skill and strategic roles, a report said on Thursday. According to Naukri JobSpeak, the index reached an impressive 2,651 points in December 2024, reflecting a robust 9 per cent year-on-year growth, a promising sign for the year ahead.
The US involvement in Ukraine and the Middle East is a distraction which has to end quickly so that the main business of China can be focussed on. China is America's only peer competitor, not Russia and not anybody else. Therefore it makes little sense to be diverted from the overall mission, explains Aakar Patel.
A shortlist using artificial intelligence would be prepared to identify eligible candidates and match them to the suitable internship opportunity. The shortlist would be shared with the companies on Tuesday, October 15.
Among urban users, 57 per cent mentioned a preference for accessing Internet content in vernacular languages.
'The size of the investments is important, but equally crucial is the number of jobs that these proposals create.'
'It showed me that this man had courage. He makes his own decisions, but he also trusted me enough in that moment to walk with me into the crowd,' Modi tells Lex Fridman on his podcast.
The Indian government's announcement of 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges next year, part of a plan to add 75,000 seats over five years, has been welcomed by education experts and stakeholders. The move aims to address the shortage of medical professionals and reduce the outflow of Indian medical students to other countries. The budget also includes infrastructure expansion at five new IITs to accommodate 6,500 more students and an allocation of Rs 500 crore to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday addressed the World Economic Forum where he offered business leaders low taxes if they manufacture their products in the US, while threatening them with tariffs if they don't. Addressing the forum's Annual Meeting in Davos through video conferencing, Trump also said he is going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down oil prices and asserted that if prices come down Russia-Ukraine war will end immediately.
'A major IT services firm that previously had a demand of 1,000 to 2,000 employees now requires 7,000 to 8,000 -- a sizeable jump from the previous quarter.'
India has secured the second position, contributing 36 per cent of the total brand value, a significant achievement fuelled by a 14 per cent increase in brand value, according to Brand Finance 2025 ranking. India follows the US, which maintains its dominant position in IT services brand value, holding 40 per cent of the total brand value.
'The use of AI, especially genAI is only going to get worse, especially in an enterprise ecosystem.'
Employers in India are planning to outpace global adoption in certain future technologies as companies operating in the country are heavily investing in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), energy technologies, robotics, and autonomous systems, said the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its latest "Future of Jobs" report released on Wednesday. The report, released days before the WEF annual meeting in Davos from January 20-25, notes that 35 per cent employers in India think that adopting semiconductors and computing technologies (compared to 20 per cent globally) will transform their operations while 21 per cent employers think that adopting quantum and encryption technologies (compared to 12 per cent globally) will also transform their operations.
In today's rapidly evolving digital payment landscape, security concerns remain a top priority for stakeholders across sectors.
With the demand for lower costs in process driven activities and a move away from the high rate, billable hours of legal services, AI platforms are being used internationally in many legal tasks.
'Our AI strategy -- AI in Everything, Everything for AI, and AI for Everyone -- is now in action.'
The mother of Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old former OpenAI researcher who was found dead after accusing the company of violating copyright laws, alleged that her son was 'murdered' and demanded an Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into the matter.
These are the highlights of the Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday.
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