Technical Information

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Tuesday said high frequency data indicate buoyant economic growth momentum and the 7 per cent GDP growth estimate for the current fiscal is very realistic. He also said that there are enough signs that manufacturing is in good health. "Inflation is softening and the pass through from wholesale prices has run its course… we do have some uncertainty related to monsoon because of El Nino activity… we need to be ready with both supply side and monetary policy measures in the course of the next financial year," Mr Nageswaran told reporters. According to him, the GDP growth forecast of 6.5 per cent for the next fiscal is well within the range of forecast by other agencies like OECD and ADB but there are downside risks. "We need to be prepared for tighter financial conditions globally, weather-related uncertainties and geopolitical factors. 2023-24 may not see a big ticker shock as we saw in early months of 2022-23 as the war b...

Ted Lasso season 3 trailer is here. Ahead of its premiere next month, Apple TV+ has dropped a new look at the Jason Sudeikis-led sports comedy series, highlighting the highs and lows our leading club AFC Richmond toil through, now that they're back in the Premier League after relegation at the end of season 1 and promotion in season 2. The titular character will now be seen facing Nathan 'Nate' Shelly (Nick Mohammed), the former assistant coach of Richmond who switched to West Ham United for the position of head coach at the end of season 2, but now appears to be regretting his decision. Ted Lasso season 3 premieres March 15 on Apple TV+. The trailer for Ted Lasso season 3 carries a feel-good vibe, playing to the tune of The Rolling Stones' ‘You Can't Always Get What You Want.' However, underneath the laughter and smiles, you can see the AFC Richmond players struggling to hold up in one of the biggest footballing leagues in the world, where they are expected...

Elon Musk has approached AI researchers in recent weeks about forming a new research lab to develop an alternative to OpenAI's ChatGPT, the Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the effort. Tesla and Twitter chief Musk has been recruiting Igor Babuschkin, a researcher who recently left Alphabet's DeepMind AI unit, the report said. The report comes after ChatGPT , a text-based chatbot developed by OpenAI that can draft prose, poetry or even computer code on command, gained widespread attention in Silicon Valley. Musk, who had co-founded OpenAI along with Silicon Valley investor Sam Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit startup, had left its board in 2018, but chimed in with his take on the chatbot, calling it "scary good". Musk and Babuschkin have discussed assembling a team to pursue AI research but the project is still in the early stages, with no concrete plan to develop specific products, the report said quoting an interview with th...

Honor Magic 5 series was unveiled by the company on the first day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. The flagship lineup from the Shenzen-based company includes Honor Magic 5, and Honor Magic 5 Pro. The smartphone company also unveiled the Honor Magic Vs, which is its first foldable flagship to debut outside China. The Honor Magic 5 series smartphones come equipped with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. Moreover, the Honor Magic 5 Pro packs a bundle of significant upgrades. Honor Magic 5, Honor Magic 5 Pro, Honor Magic Vs price, availablity The MWC 2023 witnessed the launch of latest flagship smartphones from Honor, which included non-foldable Magic 5 series and company's first global foldable smartphone — the Honor Magic Vs. The Honor Magic 5 Pro comes five colour variants — Black, Glacier Blue, Meadow Green, Orange and Coral Purple, while the vanilla Magic 5 variant comes in Blue and Black colour options. Similarly, the Honor Magic Vs also ...

Twitter has laid off at least 200 employees, or about 10 percent of its workforce, the New York Times reported late on Sunday, in its latest round of job cuts since Elon Musk took over the micro-blogging site last October. The layoffs on Saturday night impacted product managers, data scientists, and engineers who worked on machine learning and site reliability, which helps keep Twitter's various features online, the NYT report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Twitter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company has a headcount of about 2,300 active employees, according to Elon Musk last month. The latest job cuts follow a mass layoff in early November, when Twitter laid off about 3,700 employees in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, who had acquired the company for $44 billion (roughly Rs. 3,64,720 crore). Musk said in November that the service was experiencing a "massive drop in revenue" as advertisers pulled spending amid co...

The Indian smartphone market has already witnessed the launch of many premium devices in 2023, such as the iQoo 11 5G ( Review ), OnePlus 11 5G ( Review ) and the Samsung Galaxy S23 series. Joining the league is Xiaomi's most premium smartphone offering to date, the Xiaomi 13 Pro . The new flagship features top-of-the-line hardware and was announced here at MWC 2023 . The highlight feature is its new 1-inch camera sensor, which was first seen in the Xiaomi 12S Ultra . There is more to the Xiaomi 13 Pro than just the main camera sensor, and here's our first look at the phone. The Xiaomi 13 Pro comes in two premium colours — Ceramic Black and Ceramic White. We have the black colour option which has a glossy back panel. While it is a fingerprint magnet, I do like the overall look of the phone. Xiaomi has bundled a case inside the box for people like me, who like to keep their phone's back looking neat and clean. Using the case does add some weight to the al...

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, a part of the diversified Adani Group, crossed 300 million tonne of cargo handling, thereby beating its own milestone. It took 329 days to reach the milestone, as compared to last year's 354 days. The ports business of Adani Goup has registered growth since it started operations over two decades ago and continues to outperform all India cargo volume growth, with its market share rising rapidly. "The improvement in cargo volumes is testimony to the faith that our customers have in us," said Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of Adani Ports. "It shows our commitment to using improved efficiencies and technological integrations to drive and achieve customer satisfaction. The APSEZ's flagship port, Mundra, is outpacing all its closest rivals by comfortable margins and continues to be the largest port in the nation in terms of volumes handled." Karan Adani added its infrastructure at Mundra port meets world standa...

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) feels generative artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT will create an "AI co-worker" and not replace jobs. Milind Lakkad, the chief human resources officer (CHRO) of the country's largest IT services firm that employs over 6 lakh people said such tools will help improve productivity, but not change the business models for companies. "..it (generative AI) will be a co-worker. It will be a co-worker and that co-worker will take time for them to understand the context of the customer," Mr Lakkad said in an interview with PTI recently. The context for a job to be executed will be industry and customer-centric, which will continue to come from the human who is being assisted in tasks by such a co-worker, Lakkad explained. "It is not that jobs will get replaced, but the job definitions will change," he added in the comments which will assuage concerns about future of jobs in the sector which is one of the biggest ...

India's economic growth appears to be 'very fragile' and it may fall short of what the country needs to meet the aspirations of its growing workforce, RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Jayanth R Varma said on Sunday. In India, Varma said he expects inflation to remain high in 2022-23 but come down significantly in 2023-24. "However, growth appears to be very fragile, and monetary tightening is compressing demand," he told PTI. Explaining further, he said rising EMI payments increases the pressure on household budgets and dampens spending, and exports are struggling in the face of global factors. While noting that high interest rates make private capital investment more difficult, Varma said the government is in fiscal consolidation mode, thus reducing the support to the economy from this source. "Because of all these factors, I fear that growth may fall short of what we need to meet the aspirations of our growing workforce given our demographic ...

Indian-American executive Ajay Banga has been nominated by US President Joe Biden to become the new President of the World Bank. His election to the position will be a mere formality since the presidency has traditionally been held by the United States.  All 13 Presidents of the World Bank so far have been US citizens; the only exception being Bulgarian national Kristalina Georgieva, who served as the acting president in 2019.  This connection between the United States and the World Bank presidency is no co-incidence.  The US is the single-largest shareholder in the Bank, with 16.35 per cent of total capital subscription and over 15 per cent of the votes. The United States is also the only country with veto power over certain changes in the Bank's structure.    "The US has picked its president, using the appointment as a vehicle to advance American economic interests, power and development priorities around the globe," a report in The Wall Street Journal e...

India and the UK have agreed to make further progress on the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and also to swiftly organise the next bilateral Economic and Financial Dialogue soon, the British government said on Saturday. At the conclusion of UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's India visit for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held under India's 2023 Presidency, the UK's Treasury department said the finance minister held talks with Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman with a focus on deepening bilateral economic and financial ties. "At a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, both sides agreed to make further progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and deepen bilateral economic and financial ties," the Treasury department said in a statement. "They agreed to make swift progress on setting up the next UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue," it said. Hunt, on his first international vi...

Xiaomi 13 series will be launched in Barcelona on February 26, a day before the Mobile World Congress 2023 begins. The company will unveil three models in this series — the Xiaomi 13, the Xiaomi 13 Pro, and the Xiaomi 13 Lite. While the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro were already launched in China, the global series will reportedly have one more addition i.e, the Xiaomi 13 Lite. The details about all three devices have been doing rounds on the internet. Now, the Xiaomi 13 Lite has appeared on a Geekbench listing, suggesting the processor and its performance. According to a report by Gizmochina, the upcoming Xiaomi 13 Lite has been spotted on the Geekbench certification site with model number 2210129SG. The listing suggests that the handset will be powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC coupled with 8GB RAM. The phone is hinted to come pre-installed with Android 12, paired with MIUI 13 skin. Additionally, the listing reveals that the phone has scored 793 in single-core tests and 2,938 in mu...

Vivo V27 Pro is all set to be the next flagship smartphone in the V-series portfolio of the company. The company has confirmed the launch date for the upcoming smartphone via its official website. The smartphone will debut in the Indian market on March 1. While the design and key specs of the upcoming V27 Pro have been teased via the official website as well as Flipkart, a recent report has tipped the price of the phone in India. The Vivo V27 Pro is said to succeed the Vivo V25 Pro. According to a report by 91arena, the Vivo V27 Pro will come in three variants in India – 8GB RAM +128GB storage, 8GB RAM +256GB storage, and 12GB RAM +256GB storage. The base model of the phone with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage will reportedly be priced at Rs. 37,999, while the 8GB RAM model with 256GB storage could cost Rs. 39,999, and the top-end model with 12GB RAM +256GB storage is expected to be priced at Rs. 42,999. According to the Vivo V27 Pro's landing page on Flipkart, Vivo V27 Pro will come...

Acer One 10 tablet is soon going to be announced with an updated version. The upcoming tablet will reportedly come with a number of upgrades from its previous models including a faster and more efficient chip. The tablet was recently spotted on US FCC certification listing with the model number T9-1212L, suggesting an octa-core 2.0GHz MediaTek MT8768 SoC that uses an ARM Cortex-A53 core. The listing also suggests that the Acer One 10 updated version will bundle up 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which is expandable to up to 1TB of storage. According to a report  by IT Home, the Acer One 10 (2023) has passed the US FCC certifications revealing its processor and other details. The upcoming tablet is an upgraded version of Acer One 10 that debuted in October 2022. The listing suggests that the upcoming Acer One 10 will come with some significant upgrades over its previous version. It is said to come with an octa-core 2.0GHz MediaTek MT8768 chip which uses an ARM Cortex-A53 core. The...

The Federal Trade Commission voted to withdraw an antitrust complaint challenging Meta Platforms's purchase of virtual-reality startup Within Unlimited, officially closing the agency's case. The FTC sued to block the deal last year, filing twin complaints in federal court and its in-house court. Following a December trial in a San Jose federal court, US District Judge Edward Davila found in favor of Meta , ruling the FTC didn't offer enough evidence to prove that the acquisition would harm competition in the nascent virtual-reality industry. The FTC opted this month against appealing Davila's decision and paused the administrative case while it considered next steps. Although the judge's ruling allowed Meta to close the deal on February 10, the FTC could have continued its case in administrative court and sought to unwind the transaction. But on Friday, the FTC voted to withdraw the complaint and end the case. “We're excited that the Within team has joined...

Infinix recently launched a new model in its Zero series, the Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo . This smartphone features a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G SoC and is priced at Rs. 19,999 in India. The Marvel-themed Zero 5G 2023 Turbo, was launched to help promote the new Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania film. From what I have observed, this partnership does not extend to anything beyond additional packaging over the retail box. The cover has Infinix's logo as well as Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantamania artwork with a picture of Kang The Conquerer that does look cool. Infinix partnered with Marvel's Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantamania film to launch Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo   The Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Turbo comes in a sole 8GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration. Inside the retail package, we have the smartphone, a 33W power adaptor, a USB Type-A to Type-C cable, a user manual, a transparent hard case, and a SIM eject tool. All of these are placed inside the box without any holder ...

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) on Thursday said Google is blatantly disobeying CCI orders and charging app developers an exorbitant 11-26 per cent commission even if they opt for alternative billing system. ADIF, the policy think tank focusing on Indian digital startups, has urged the authorities, including the Competition Commission of India (CCI), to look into the matter and ensure that Google complies with the specific directives of the competition commission "in letter and in spirit". " Google has recently changed its billing requirement for app developers wherein it has mentioned that if a user pays through an alternate billing system, the Google plays service fee will be reduced by 4 per cent... Therefore, despite not using any service from Google, app developers will be forced to pay commissions to Google," ADIF said in a statement. ADIF said that in doing so Google is blatantly disobeying CCI orders. "This is nothing but another bl...

Taxi-hailing service Uber on Thursday announced a comprehensive global revamp of its app, adding a slew of new features to help riders go anywhere effortlessly. Uber said its redesigned app has been made customised to the individual preferences of each rider, offering easy access to all services, consistent experiences, and smooth flows through the booking process. With the redesigned homescreen, the company said the new Uber app makes it way easier to book rides, taking into account the most preferred destinations and products for each rider. The redesigned homescreen, more personalisation and a new way of tracking rides are some of the features added to the redesigned app. The company in a statement said the homescreen has been simplified to help riders book trips more easily, with fewer taps, right from the get-go. The new app also features a 'Services' tab as a one-stop shop to find all product offerings available to riders in their city - from a nearby Moto to Auto, In...

YouTube Music is reportedly introducing a new feature that allows users to create a custom radio list. The feature, rolling out to Android as well as iOS, will let users choose artists, songs, and their frequency. For now, users can choose up to 30 of their favourite artists for customised radio playlist. While Apple Music and Spotify already provide the choice to choose artists for radio playlist, they do not offer additional customisation options. The Alphabet-owned music streaming platform earlier allowed users to customise their music queue in the Now Playing section. According to a report by Tech Crunch, YouTube Music is rolling out a new feature that will let users create their own radios playlists by choosing artists as well as the content. Users can opt to add as many as 30 artists to create their playlist. They can also choose how frequently an artist's songs appear on a list. Additionally, users will also have an option to apply filters like “new discoveries” or “chill...

Around 76 percent of respondents have claimed that they have noticed a rise in pesky calls or SMS based on their conversations with WhatsApp business accounts and their activity on Facebook or Instagram, online survey firm LocalCircles said on Wednesday. According to the survey conducted between February 1 and 20, 95 percent of WhatsApp users surveyed by LocalCircles in India indicate that they get one or more pesky messages each day out of which 41 percent claim to get four or more such messages daily. When contacted, a Meta spokesperson said that Whatsapp has built systems that make it faster for WhatsApp to suspend a business from sending messages when people provide feedback they have had a low-quality experience. "If a business receives excessive negative feedback we may limit or remove a business' access to WhatsApp," Meta spokesperson said. LocalCircles said that to understand if users were having such an experience based on the privacy policy changes and to ...

Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday that it has partnered with Google to develop branded navigation for its new MB.OS operating system, as carmakers seek more control over technology in their vehicles. The system will equip Mercedes-Benz cars with Google traffic information and automatic rerouting, and enable drivers to watch YouTube on the cars' entertainment system when the car is parked, or in Level 3 autonomous driving mode. Level 3 driving, for which Mercedes-Benz has received certification in Germany and Nevada, allows a driver to take their eyes off the wheel on certain roads as long as they can resume control if needed. Google and Mercedes-Benz also agreed to explore further collaboration with Google Cloud data and artificial intelligence capabilities. Mercedes-Benz is moving from a patchwork approach of integrating software from a range of suppliers to controlling the core of its software, Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius said on a media call on Wednesday, "That...

Amazon.com said on Wednesday it had completed its $3.5 billion (nearly Rs. 29,000 crore) takeover of primary care provider One Medical, a day after a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) official announced that the agency would not challenge the deal. The acquisition, announced last July, gives the online retailer a virtual health offering as well as offices for in-person medical services for the first time. It reflects Amazon 's long-held ambition to greatly simplify how consumers navigate healthcare in the United States, a lofty goal it has yet to realize even as the company has rolled out a virtual pharmacy and other programs. In a statement, Amazon's Chief Executive Andy Jassy said the deal would help the company improve, speed up and personalize care for patients. "If you fast forward 10 years from now, people are not going to believe how primary care was administered," he said. Amazon shares rose 2 percent in morning trade. The company also announced it would ...

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms is planning a fresh round of job cuts in a reorganisation and downsizing effort that could affect thousands of workers, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Last year, the social media company let go 13 percent of its workforce — more than 11,000 employees — as it grappled with soaring costs and a weak advertising market. Meta now plans to push some leaders into lower-level roles without direct reports, flattening the layers of management between top boss Mark Zuckerberg and the company's interns, the Washington Post reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Meta declined a Reuters request for comment, but spokesperson Andy Stone in a series of tweets cited several previous statements by Zuckerberg suggesting that more cuts were on the way. Zuckerberg told investors earlier this month that last year's layoffs were "the beginning of our focus on efficiency and not the end." He said he would work on "flattening ...