VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta on Hackers trying to open communication channel with them:  IndiGo   reported on December 31st that some of its servers were subject to a hacking incident earlier that month. The airline said that it was able to restore the systems within a short span of time with minimal impact. Though it alerted the stakeholders on New Year's Eve that some segments of data servers were breached, and hence, there is a possibility that some internal documents may get uploaded by the hackers on public websites and platforms.   IndiGo's CEO Ronojoy Dutta  says that it's hard to know what kind of data may have been extracted by the hackers, and the airline is in the wait-and-watch mode. "I don't know what the hackers got exactly. We tried to find out but it's hard to exactly pinpoint what might have gone, and what might not have gone. Honestly, we don't know at this point. There has been almost zero impact. We got an early warning, and people jumped on...

ThoughtWorks gets $720 million investment:  ThoughtWorks   announced that   GIC, Siemens AG , Fidelity Management and Research LLC, and Mubadala Investment Company have invested $720 million in the company.   The proceeds will be used to repurchase equity from existing investors. The new commitment of capital comes as the company continues to invest in growth and international expansion.   "This placement is a very positive indicator of how strong our company and brand are perceived in the market. It's wonderful that GIC, Siemens, Fidelity and Mubadala see ThoughtWorks to be a strong investment and this is an endorsement of the strength and relevance of our business and people," said  Guo Xiao, President and Chief Executive Officer, ThoughtWorks .   "Siemens strongly believes in the growth potential of supporting the digitalization of businesses across all industries. We believe that ThoughtWorks is the right partner with outstanding capabilities. I am...

Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda sequel to commence soon:  2019 period drama   Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi , that created history will once again hit the screen soon.   Kangana Ranaut   has announced the sequel titled Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda. This film is like a tribute to real life heroic queens. The earlier film paid tribute to Rani Lakshmibai, the Queen of Jhansi. The sequel is a tribute to the heroic queen of Kashmir, Didda. Kangana will star in the film which is touted to be bigger and better than the earlier film.   The new film will be bigger and mounted on an international scale, adding that the team intends to make a world class franchise of real life women heroes, sources say. The idea is to bring forgotten women heroes who have constructed the true identity of Bharat, the source added.   Turns out, work on the film has already started. Kangana and producer Kamal Jain will join hands to bring back the franchise after ...

Indian Army signs a $20 million contract with ideaForge to procure SWITCH UAV:  The   Indian Army   has signed an approximately $20 million contract for undisclosed quantities of a high-altitude variant of   ideaForge's SWITCH UAV   which will be delivered over a period of 1 year. ideaForge has been awarded this contract after it emerged as the only vendor that qualified the operational requirements in an evaluation done in real-world conditions, for a fast-track procurement. The contract marks a strategic shift in the Indian defence procurement process as the Indian Army goes on an aggressive modernization drive. It has also cemented ideaForge’s position as India's largest manufacturer of drones for defence, homeland security and industrial applications.   SWITCH UAV is an indigenous system built to cater for the most demanding surveillance operations of the Indian Forces. This Fixed Wing VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) UAV can be deployed at high alt...

Through non-profit arm, Elon Musk contributes $5 million to Khan Academy:  Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX CEO   has donated $5 million to   e-learning platform Khan Academy .   Sal Khan, Founder, Khan Academy   in a video posted on Twitter said he wants to give a huge shout and thank you to Elon Musk and everyone at the Musk foundation.   Khan said, "For their credible generous support for Khan Academy, they just recently gave a $5 million donation to Khan academy. This is going to allow us to accelerate all sorts of content and engage millions of students around the world. We have about 200 million hours of learning. I view this type of investment in what we're doing is really foundational for us to be able to build a multi generational institution, so that future Elon Musks of the world are also able to tap into their potential.”   As millions of kids take online school classes from home globally including in India, the government along with the private...

Pega buys Qurious.io for AI-powered Speech Analytics:  Pegasystems Inc.   announced its acquisition of   Qurious.io, Inc ., a cloud-based real-time speech analytics solution powered by artificial intelligence (AI) for customer service teams. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.   Qurious.io’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering uses speech-to-text, natural language processing (NLP), and emotion detection capabilities to analyze the dialog within each customer service call as it happens. The software then provides agents with real-time insights and coaching so they can improve customer interactions, make better recommendations, and boost customer loyalty and sales. The company was founded in 2016 in San Francisco by recent Forbes 30-Under-30 winners  Sabrina Atienza, CEO , and  George Ramonov, CTO .   “With its deep customer service and AI pedigree, Pega will enable us to bring our intelligent speech analytics software to hundreds of the most im...

9 flights fly carrying 6.5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine:  Nine flights will transport 56.5 lakh doses of   COVID-19 vaccine   from Pune to 13 cities across the country on Tuesday. Four airlines will take charge of the operations, says   Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.   Vaccine movement has started, he said on Twitter, adding that the first two flights operated by "SpiceJet and GoAir from Pune to Delhi and Chennai have taken off".   "Today  @airindiain   @flyspicejet   @goairlinesindia  &  @IndiGo6E  will operate 9 flights from Pune with 56.5 lakh doses to Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Bengaluru, Lucknow & Chandigarh," he said on Twitter. The Central government on Monday placed firm orders in advanced commitments for over six crore doses of workers in the first phase of the nationwide vaccination drive beginning January 16.   The fir...

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk discloses funding FB rival app Signal:  After the attack on the United States Capitol by the supporters of outgoing   President Trump ,   Elon Musk   had taken to twitter and made a thinly veiled attack on social networks, specifically Facebook Inc and its   CEO Mark Zuckerberg , without directly naming any individual or entity.   Facebook  - the owner of the rival messaging app  WhatsApp  - is also mired in controversy after it unveiled a new privacy policy for the latter, which comes into effect in February, reported the Verge.   The privacy policy reportedly no longer provides users the option to opt-out of data sharing with Facebook but instead outlines how WhatsApp will share data with its social networking parent.   Data to be shared includes “battery level, signal strength, app version, browser information, mobile network and connection information (including phone number, mobile operator or ...

Savex Technologies signs a distribution agreement with Fortinet: S Savex Technologies, one of India’s largest Information and Communication Technology Distributor , today announced that   Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions , has appointed Savex Technologies as a value-added distributor to further expand its business and security market footprint in India. The appointment builds on the strong demand for new solution requirements to secure the edges that make up the new network including the data center, WAN, local-area network (LAN), remote workers and cloud access.   Savex Technologies Pvt Ltd, which was selected for its long history of ICT distribution in India and its representation of many major IT brands, will work with Fortinet to target all market segments, including large enterprise, telecom and SMB. The new distributor will appoint technical resources to support Fortinet's business, including a dedicated team to handle...

LG invests in TV Data and Measurement firm Alphonso, acquires controlling stake:  LG Electronics   has announced an investment of almost USD 80 million in the TV data and measurement firm   Alphonso . With this investment LG will become Alphonso’s largest investor with a controlling stake of more than 50 percent.   LG will utilize Alphonso software and services which includes data analytics, media planning and activation, and Video AI capabilities with its wide portfolio of home entertainment products. Alphonso’s combined offerings will enrich consumer services including content recommendations and LG’s own streaming service, LG Channels, to create a robust owned and operated first-screen, cross-device advertising platform with integrated analytics platform for LG TVs and the smart TV marketplace as a whole.   “Our investment in Alphonso is a key component of our digital transformation strategy focusing on AI, big data and cloud to fundamentally change how consu...

Fake GST invoice scam; 215 people arrested, ₹700 cr recovered:  The   Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI)   has recovered more than ₹700 crore from the arrested 215 people and in the last two months. The individuals who have been arrested for   GST fake invoice frauds   and are fly-by-night operators who fraudulently avail, pass on and utilize input tax credit (ITC) in multi-layered scams. The GST intelligence authorities have also registered over 2,200 cases and have unearthed more than 6,600 fake   GSTIN   entities. “Out of the 215 arrests so far there are 71 masterminds, 81 proprietors, 36 director/managing directors, 15 partners, 3 CEOs, 6 chartered accountants and one each of company secretary, broker, and GST practitioner,” the statement said.   The recent usage of data analytics, data-sharing and AI along with BAFTA tools has helped the agency to detect fraudsters with precise inputs. The DGGI in its statement also said that th...

Pure Storage appoints Ajay Singh as CPO:  Pure Storage   has assigned Ajay Singh in the position of Chief Product Officer (CPO) with immediate effect.   In this position, Singh will take ahead the company’s focus of creating an unrivalled product portfolio that delivers a great customer experience, contributes to Pure's growth, and extends industry leadership in data and storage management.   He will report to Charles Giancarlo, Chairman and CEO.   "Pure continues to lead the storage industry in innovation, reliability and flexibility, and now delivering our technology as-a-service – increasing our relevance to both those who build infrastructure and those who build applications," said  Charles Giancarlo, Chairman and CEO, Pure Storage . "In Ajay, we have exceptional talent to lead the continued expansion of Pure's portfolio and I look forward to seeing his expertise in action."   As CPO, Singh will have direct responsibility for all of Pure's business...

Aditya Puri, Ex-HDFC Bank MD joins Strides Group:  Former HDFC Bank managing director Aditya Puri   has joined   global pharma major Strides Group   as an Advisor and will also serve as a director of its associate company   Stelis Biopharma .   Strides Pharma Science Ltd said in a regulatory filing, "Eminent corporate doyen Aditya Puri joins the Strides Group as an advisor and also will be a director of its associate company, Stelis Biopharma".   Strides Pharma Science said Puri's appointment to the Stelis board comes at an exciting juncture for the company as it transitions from its incubation phase to a consolidation and growth phase to establish itself as a partner of choice globally with the aim of bringing world-class treatments at affordable costs to patients in both emerging and developed markets.   Puri said the Stride Group's established parentage, global success and head start in terms of basic infrastructure gives him the opportunity to...