VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

Nitin Gadkari feels that EVs will overtake ICEs by 2050:  Speaking at the HT Auto EV Conclave, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways,   Nitin Gadkari   backed the country's advancement in the   electric vehicle (EV) mission . He noted that support; encouragement and awareness for EVs provided via central and state governments' EV policies, subsidies, incentives and exemptions have played an important role in India's adoption and progress towards electric mobility.   The minister also urged various industry stakeholders to come together to make India the world's largest EV manufacturing and supplying hub. Confident that EVs will overtake fossil-fuel-run vehicles by 2050, Gadkari said, "Both battery electric vehicle and fuel-cell vehicle technologies are complementary to each other and are all set to overtake fossil-run automotive by 2050."   Gadkari also elaborated how affordability of electric vehicles is linked to localisation of EV parts as well ...

Yes Bank appoints Mahesh Ramamoorthy as CIO:  Yes Bank   announced the appointment of   Mahesh Ramamoorthy   as the Chief Information Officer. He will lead Technology and Digital transformation for the Bank. Mahesh will also lead the new age technologies such as API, AI/ML, BI and Business Solutions which is going to be the driving factor for all the new products at Yes Bank. Mahesh comes with over three decades of experience in the BFSI technology space in payments & banking technology, product design, business solution and project management across Indian and MNC Banks and technology firms. In his previous role, he was leading the Payments vertical for Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa at FIS Inc. He has also been associated with Barclays Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Aviva Plc, DCB Bank, IDBI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.   He holds a bachelor degree in engineering with a specialization in electronics from the University of Mumbai and is a cer...

The Digital Adoption Solutions ("DAS") company,  Whatfix  announced the acquisition of  Nittio Learn , a learning management system, amid a groundbreaking quarter.   The acquisition will advance the company’s application training capability by making learning more personalized, adaptive and rich. Nittio Learn's toolset including additional content options, assessment capabilities, and training course allocation is a natural fit with Whatfix, making it a comprehensive digital adoption platform for organizations. New learners will now experience a drastically reduced ramp-up time for learning, which is the core value Whatfix provides.   “The business shift to remote work over the last year has solidified the importance of employee adoption of the enterprise technology stack, as larger and more permanent segments of workers connect to the workplace through software exclusively,” said   Khadim Batti, CEO and cofounder of Whatfix . “We’re delighted to get Nittio...

Vivo rolls out Y53s smartphone with 64MP rear camera:  Vivo   announced the launch of its   Y53s   that comes with an elegant design and robust features, making latest technology accessible to its customers in India. Priced at INR 19,490 for 8GB+128GB storage (expandable upto 1TB), Y53s offers 3GB extended RAM where users can download their favorite apps and run them all seamlessly. The all new Y53s will be available in two dazzling colour options - Deep Sea Blue and Fantastic Rainbow. The device will be available across vivo India E-store and across all partner retail stores starting August 9th, 2021.   With exceptional design and sleek body, Y53s sports stunning 16.71cm (6.58”) FHD+ display, versatile 64MP triple camera along with powerful 5000mAh battery. It also offers 18W Fast Charging capabilities for people who are always on the go. The smartphone is powered by MediaTek Helio G80 processor and comes with the latest FunTouch OS 11.1 along withother in...

Narayana Murthy & Jeff Bezos decide to end their controversial e-commerce joint venture Cloudtail:  The seven-year-old joint venture, called   Prione Business Services Pvt ., will end operating from mid-2022, the companies announced on Monday. The JV called Prione set up a fully-owned unit   Cloudtail   that sold goods online alongside independent shops & grew to be one of the largest sellers on   Amazon . The Joint Venture has enabled over 300,000 sellers and entrepreneurs to go online and enabled 4 million merchants to use digital payments. There was continuous allegation from the local retailers that the giants had abused their dominance through deep discounts, exclusive ties and cheap support from certain vendors. This puts pressure on Amazon and Murthy, and decides to end their collaboration, which has been criticized for breaking the spirit of India’s e-commerce laws. It is a potential setback for the e-commerce giant as the country’s online market...

HCL Technologies brings DRYiCE AEX, an AI-driven and automation-powered Digital Workplace solution:  HCL Technologies   has launched   DRYiCE Software ’s ‘AI-Driven and Automation-Powered Employee Experience’ (AEX), an end-to-end digital workplace solution that transforms employee experience and fosters productivity while optimizing costs through artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and self-help capabilities.   Enterprises have faced unprecedented workplace productivity and employee experience degradation due to remote working during the  COVID-19 pandemic . In the early stages, these enterprises reacted to workplace transformation by deploying a myriad of solutions to rapidly get work-from-home initiatives off the ground. However, these solutions addressed only parts of workplace issues and required significant integration and customization efforts.... Read More

Shilpa Shetty and her mother’s name emerged in fraud case:  After   Raj Kundra ’s case,   Shilpa Shetty   falls into another trouble as she and her mother   Sunanda Shetty ’s names emerged in an alleged case of fraud in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow cops are expected to arrive in Mumbai tomorrow to question Shilpa and her mother Sunanda in the alleged fraud case in the name of a wellness centre.   Two FIRs have been registered at Hazratganj and Vibhuti Khand police stations in Lucknow on the mother-daughter duo. It is reported that Shilpa Shetty runs a fitness chain named  Iosis Wellness Centre . The chairman of this company is Shilpa Shetty, while her mother Sunanda is the director.... Read More

CRED Founder Kunal Shah joins the board of Pine Labs:  Pine Labs , one of Asia’s leading merchant commerce platforms, today announced the appointment of   Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED , to the company’s board.   Kunal is an entrepreneur, investor, and a pioneer of India’s fintech ecosystem. CRED, which he founded in 2018, is a high-trust community of some of India’s most creditworthy individuals, financial institutions, and brands.   Commenting on the appointment,  B. Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs , said, “We are excited to welcome Kunal to our board. He joins a marquee set of investors, advisors, and other visionary board members who are all committed to take Pine Labs to newer heights. Kunal’s deep understanding of the consumer business will be invaluable to us as we explore new opportunities and step into our next phase of growth.”   Kunal is an advocate of entrepreneurship in India, with nearly 100 investments across financial services, consumer, and technolo...

Google is working on the way users enter OTPs:  Google   is working on   WebOTP API . This will allow websites the ability to programmatically obtain the one-time password from a SMS message and automatically fill the form for users with just one tap without switching apps.   Google is working on a feature to enable transferring SMS One Time Passwords (OTPs) from phones to PC with Chrome 93 update. Chrome 93 will support WebOTP (Web One Time Password) interface, this means that the web browser will automatically detect and read the code received on to users’ phone and enter it. The condition being that users need an Android phone, and both the handset and desktop browser must be signed into the same Google account. Another critical requirement is that the website they are using should support WebOTP technology. The reason that the feature is for now dependent on the Chromium web engine is why it does not support Apple devices.... Read More

Better protection with Covishield-Covaxin combination, says ICMR:  A combination of   Covishield   and   Covaxin   vaccines elicits better immunogenicity than two doses of the same vaccine, the   Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)   said on Sunday. The Council released its findings, which suggest that immunization with a combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine followed by an inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also elicited better immunogenicity.   The study was only conducted on 18 people of Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Nagar, who by mistake received two doses of two separate vaccines. According to the finding of the study which is yet to be peer-reviewed immunisation with a combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine, followed by inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also elicited better immunogenicity. Covishield, manufactured by Pune's Serum Institute of India, is the aden...

Threat to human rights is highest in police stations, says CJI Ramana:  Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana   said on Sunday that police stations pose the “highest threat” to human rights and dignity, which are ‘sacrosanct’. The threat to human rights and bodily integrity is the highest in police stations and going by recent reports, even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment,” the Chief Justice said.   Custodial torture   and police atrocities still prevail despite constitutional guarantees, he said.   The CJI is also the Patron-in-Chief of  NALSA . He said that to keep police excesses in check, dissemination of information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services is necessary. The installation of display boards and outdoor hoardings in every police station/prison is a step in this direction, he said, adding that NALSA must also actively carry out nationwide sensitisation of police officers. ...

Apple store India launch delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic:  Apple   has delayed its plans to launch its first offline store in India due to the   COVID-19 pandemic .   CEO Tim Cook   last year announced that the first physical Apple stores would open in the country starting 2021.   Apple has been working to establish its native retail presence in the Indian market for some time. Last September, the company started its online store to begin its retail business in the country. For Apple India is the most promising market that’s becoming one of the key focus countries for the iPhone market.   It was considered as a strategic move by Apple to stand against traditional e-commerce players including  Amazon  and  Flipkart  that also sell devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.   Apple has also ramped up manufacturing in the country with the most recent iPhone 12 also now being assembled here. It currently manufactures the iPhon...

Sonu Sood launches Travel Union to support small business owners:  Travel Union , India’s first rural B2B travel tech platform, was launched today. Travel Union,   a Sonu Sood initiative , will democratize travel services by providing a platform to Travel Union members (travel agents) towards serving the travel needs of rural customers at every district, block and gram panchayat level. With a mission to support, digitally empower and build a leading travel agent business community in rural India at zero investment, Travel Union aims to be the largest rural digital travel services platform serving the 1 billion Bharat population.   At the rural level, the travel sector has been largely unorganised with no player focusing on the needs of Indians in tier 2 towns and villages. Travel Union addresses multiple unfulfilled needs of rural travel agents, small business owners and enterprises, called Travel Union Members, the primary one being the absence of travel-tech platforms d...

Amazon extends work-from-home period until January 2022:  Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases across the nation because of the more contagious delta variant,   Amazon   has delayed its return-to-office date for technology and corporate workers until January.   Before returning to office Amazon will not mandate employees receive the  COVID-19 vaccine . The company said that the employees who are not vaccinated will be required to wear masks in the office.   The surge of the delta variant of the coronavirus has upended many companies’ plans to bring office workers back this fall, a drive already complicated by efforts to accommodate widespread employee preference for flexible remote work policies, and debates over how to handle vaccine and masking policies.   Companies like  Microsoft ,  Google ,  Twitter , Lyft etc. have postponed the plans of reopening offices.   As per news source, Amazon earlier set September 7 as return date and t...