Google has announced the Launchpad Accelerator India with a focus on machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to build solutions for India’s local needs.
In a release, the company stated that the new comprehensive mentorship programme is tailored exclusively for startups based in India. The three-month accelerator will provide a cohort of eight to ten Indian startups with mentorship, and access to the best of Google, including its people, network and technologies.
The company also offers the startup upto $100,000 of Google Cloud Credits. Applications for the first class is now open until July 31 and the first class will start in September 2018.
Andhra Pradesh has topped the ‘ease of doing business’, an annual ranking of States and Union Territories prepared by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in collaboration with the World Bank.
Telangana and Haryana came in a close second and third, respectively, with less than half a percentage point separating them from Andhra Pradesh.
The rankings are part of the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2017, which has been expanded to 372 action points and includes areas such as labour, environmental clearances, registering property, single-window system, construction permits and inspections.
AP and Telangana were joint toppers of the 2016 rankings.
This year, unlike the previous two occasions, a feedback component has been introduced. “This was to ensure that the reforms have actually reached the ground level, and are not limited to the paper they are written on. As many as 78 reforms of 372 [action points] were identified for the feedback survey and have been marked also on the basis of the feedback received,” said Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, DIPP. For the 78 points on which feedback was sought, a score of 0.5 score was assigned for evidence of reform implementation, while the other 0.5 score was based on the feedback given by respondents on whether reforms claimed by the States were palpable when the service was availed.
“We plan to further increase the weight given to feedback in the next ranking exercise,” Abhishek said.
The top ten States in the latest ranking include Jharkhand, Gujarat, Chattisgarh and MP while the North-Eastern States, Lakshadweep and Chandigarh are in the bottom ten. Delhi is ranked 23 out of 36.
A large number of States have made significant progress in reforms suggested in BRAP 2017, as per the report. “Seventeen States have achieved a reform evidence score of more than 90 per cent and 15 States have achieved a combined score of 90 per cent and more. The States that have achieved 80 per cent or more reforms evidence score represent 84 per cent of the country’s area, 90 per cent of the country’s population and 79 per cent of India’s GDP,” it said.
The DIPP, which launched the ranking exercise for States in 2015, wants it to help improve the delivery of various government regulatory functions and services in an effective and transparent manner. It was hoped that pitting States against each other would not only give investors an indication of the relative investment environment in different parts of the country, but also an indication of where reforms need to be carried out.
Jio Phone 2, the successors of Jio Phone was launched by the Reliance Industries Limited chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani on July 5, 2018. The Jio Phone 2 is expected to hit the market by August 16, 2018. The company has set the starting price of the phone at Rs 2,999.
The Jio Phone 2 comes with a 2.40-inch display and a screen resolution of 240 pixels by 320 pixels. The phone has a 512 MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128 GB via an SD card. It has a 2-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 0.3-megapixel front shooter for selfies. It runs on KAI operating system and is powered by a 2000mAh battery. The connectivity options available on Jio Phone 2 includes - Wi-Fi, Global Positioning System (GPS), Bluetooth, Near-field communication (NFC) and frequency modulation (FM).
Specifications
Design and display
The new JioPhone 2 is strikingly different from its predecessor in terms of design. JioPhone 2 has a QWERTY keypad now along with a 4-way navigation pad. While the form factor is different now, JioPhone 2 and JioPhone have the same 2.4-inch display.
Camera
JioPhone 2 comes with the same camera configurations as the JioPhone. This includes a 2-megapixel camera at the rear and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) camera up front. Both phones are capable of video recording.
Connectivity, battery and OS
In terms of connectivity, JioPhone 2 offers new options like dual SIM support and VoWi-Fi. Rest of the features remain same like 4G VoLTE support, FM radio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS and NFC. On the software front, both phones run KaiOS, and are fuelled by a 2,000mAh battery.
RAM and storage
In terms of memory, JioPhone 2 comes with the same capacity of 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. There’s a microSD card slot for further expansion up to 128GB.
Apps
JioPhone and JioPhone 2 both come with access to JioApps like MyJio, JioMusic, JioTV and more. JioPhone 2 has amped things up with support for popular social apps like Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp. The company has announced support for these apps to JioPhone as well.
Price
JioPhone is priced at Rs 1,500 (refundable after three years), while the JioPhone 2 will be available at a higher price of Rs 2,999. Reliance Jio is likely to announce a similar refundable scheme with the newer model as well.
India has a long way to go before it can actually undertake a human space flight mission, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said.
Earlier in the day, ISRO said that it carried out a major technology demonstration, the first in a series of tests to qualify a crew escape system, a critical technology relevant for human spaceflight.
Officials of the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said development of different technologies needed for making the ambitious venture a reality, including environmental control and life support systems and flight suite, was under progress.
“This is one of the many things that needs to be done. Not the only one. It’s a step-by-step approach,” Kiran Kumar told this media on today’s test. “These are all some preliminary activities”.
The crew escape system was an emergency measure designed to quickly pull the crew module along with the astronauts to a safe distance from the launch vehicle in the event of a launch abort, according to ISRO.
Kiran Kumar said, “We still have a long way to go actually (to undertake the mission). Currently, we are doing certain key developmental activities within the confined... whatever resources that are there.”
ISRO officials said the government is yet to give its formal approval for the human space flight mission which was on the drawing board of the space agency for quite a long time now.
More than a decade ago, at a meeting convened by ISRO, scientists were highly appreciative of the study undertaken by it on such a mission and were unanimous in suggesting that the time was appropriate for the country to undertake the venture.
Kiran Kumar said earlier this year that a human space flight was “not very high on priority” and indicated that “resource constraints” were holding back the high-cost venture.
GreenFuel was recently felicitated at the recently held Make in India Emerging Entrepreneurs Summit and Awards 2018 with an award in the Automobiles category. Akshay Kashyap, Founder and MD, was there to receive the award as handed out by the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Mr Dharmendra Pradhan.
These awards are an effort to recognize rising ‘Make in India’ stars in the field of manufacturing. The winners were identified after a three month long intensive survey and were then shortlisted by an expert jury namely Uday Kotak, Aroon Purie, Manish Sabharwal, Hamitab Kant and Sanjay Nair. Greenfuel specializes in product solutions for sustainable mobility. These solutions are based on their expertise in handling high pressure gaseous fuels, as well as ventures into exciting new areas of energy storage (batteries) and electromobility (battery-operated vehicles), all of which helped to bring the company out on top.
Speaking on the occasion, Director and MD of Greenfuel said, “It is an honor to have our hardwork and passion recognized as a Make In India Emerging Entrepreneur. We want to use this opportunity to continue to grow and build upon our efforts. We believe that the future is green and sustainable technologies are a necessity to continue to better our country”
Tata Motors Finance Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited, today picked up a 26% stake in TruckEasy, a tech based freight aggregator owned by Loginomics Technologies Solutions Limited, a Bangalore based logistics company. This is part of Tata Motors’ continued endeavor of bringing smart solutions to enable the Trucking Community to have better lives and improve their livelihood.
TruckEasy was formed in 2015 in Bengaluru by 3 passionate young entrepreneurs’ – Nikhil Thomas, Vikram Kodgi and Avinash Achar. The company provides timely and reliable service for the transporting needs of businesses within Bangalore. TruckEasy will use this investment to expand it footprint to additional cities.
This strategic investment in TruckEasy will provide Tata Motors an insight into the rapidly growing technology-driven transformation in the freight logistics space and also get an understanding of the market dynamics in the intra-city freight movement. This will also enable Tata Motors to stay closer to the final customer, the load consigner thus enabling to provide better products and solutions. The data analytics provided by TruckEasy will be further used for research and development thereby allowing for better customization of product specifications in line with market requirements.
Speaking on the investment, Girish Wagh, President –Commercial Vehicles Business Unit (CVBU), Tata Motors said “Tata Motors has always been at the forefront of providing a differentiated service experience to the trucking community by not only providing them with the means of income but also creating business opportunities. TruckEasy is promoting entrepreneurship amongst transporters and providing them with a stable income. The young start-up has grown manifolds due to its partner-based module and its outstanding service to its customers. Through this investment from Tata Motors, TruckEasy will be able to access our wide network to grow the supply side and also to expand to multiple locations country wide.”
Commenting on this strategic investment by Tata Motors, Nikhil Thomas, CEO –TruckEasy said, “TruckEasy has been on a disciplined growth since its inception, having coverage all over Bangalore serving both the planned and unplanned business segments. Our plan is to expand to other cities and replicate the success we have in Bangalore. With the entry of Tata Motors as an investor, a box of limitless opportunities has opened up. Tata Motors having a majority market share in the SCV segment, the alliance will certainly give us access to lot of vehicles & businesses through their network. This would help us scale at a much faster pace. We in turn can give deeper insights into the SCV usage pattern with our vehicle data analytics. The driver community will be more confident on the aggregation business with Tata's entry. Truly exciting times ahead!”
For Prime Day this year, Amazon India will offer a one-of-a-kind virtual reality (VR) experience to customers in India’s top metros. Until July 17, customers in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata can visit top malls to experience hundreds of new products launching exclusively on Prime Day.
Aimed at bringing the touch-and-try charm to online shopping, Amazon Prime Day Experience Zones will allow customers to enjoy an immersive experience before buying a product. They can view products in life-size, inspect products up close, enjoy 360 degree views and evaluate products in the environment that they are likely to use it in. Apart from product launches, customers will get a virtual theatre experience and enjoy trailers of the 7 Prime Video titles premiering for Prime Day, including the latest Bollywood blockbuster Raazi and the all-new Amazon Prime Original series Comicstaan, in a virtual theatre experience.
Prime Day is an exclusive 36-hour celebration from 12 noon on July 16 to midnight on July 17 where Prime members enjoy over 200 exclusive launches, blockbuster deals and entertainment premiers. Amazon has partnered with top brands such as OnePlus, Nestlé NesPlus, Marks & Spencer, Bosch, HP, Acer, GAP, Asics and more to launch over 200 new products on Prime Day, available first to Prime members in India.
Explaining the concept, Akshay Sahi, Director & Head of Prime, Amazon India, said “Prime is designed to make life easier, more convenient and more fun for customers. With this virtual reality experience, we are helping customers discover and experience great products that are yet to launch. Customers can check the fit & fall of the latest Marks & Spencer dress on a 360 degree hologram, pick up an Amrapali necklace and inspect the intricate details up close, open a Bosch microwave placed in a kitchen countertop to visualize how it would look in their home, play with an Iron Man figurine from Hasbro in virtual reality and more. All this, while having fun in the Prime Day world.”
Customers can visit Amazon Prime Day Experience Zones in top malls in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata until July 17th. These Experience Zones are located in the atriums of malls and are open to all visitors, free of charge. Prime members will get priority access to this unique experience. At the Experience Zones, customers can also take selfies against the Prime Day wall, share their experiences on social media by tagging #PrimeDayVR & #AmazonPrimeDay and participate in quizzes to win special Prime Day merchandise.
Amazon Prime Day Experience Zones will be operational until 17 July from 12 noon to 8 p.m.
Not a Prime member yet? Customers can join Prime now for ₹129/month at www.amazon.in/prime to enjoy Prime benefits including free fast delivery, unlimited video, ad-free music streaming, exclusive deals and more.
Every Day Made Better with Prime
Prime is designed to make your life better every single day. Over 100 million Prime members around the world enjoy the many benefits of Prime. In India, this includes unlimited free & fast shipping, unlimited access to award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Video, unlimited access to millions of songs ad-free with Prime Music, early access to Lightning Deals and more. Members in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai can enjoy ultra-fast 2-hour delivery on Amazon devices, consumer electronics and everyday essentials on the Prime Now app.
