Category: Tech

The Union Cabinet on April 27 approved the National Medical Devices Policy to boost domestic production and trim down imports of the equipment. The new policy will ease organised growth of the medical device sector and help address the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality, and innovation, the government said. It aims to help the medical devices sector grow from the present $11 billion to $50 billion in the next five years.

Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the sunrise sector is expected to realise its full potential, with strategies such as building an enabling ecosystem for manufacturing along with a focus on innovation, creating a robust and streamlined regulatory framework, providing support in training and capacity building programmes, and promoting higher education to foster talent and skilled resources in line with the industry requirements.

The government has already initiated the implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for medical devices and extended support for setting up of four medical device parks in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. Under the PLI scheme, 26 projects have so far been approved with a committed investment of Rs 1,206 crore. Out of this, an investment of Rs 714 crore has already been achieved.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted to congratulate the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its successful launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C55 mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

ISRO’s PSLV-C55 mission was launched on April 22 and marked the space agency’s third major launch of the year. The 228-ton vehicle lifted off and entered a low inclination orbit in the eastward direction. Saturday’s launch was the 57th flight for the PSLV, which has established itself as a reliable and cost-effective option for satellite launches.

The two satellites on board were developed for the Singaporean government and together weighed 757 kilograms. The primary payload was TeLEOS-2, which is a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) that can provide all-weather, day and night coverage with 1-meter full-polarimetric resolution imaging. The mission also included the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), a repurposed fourth stage of the rocket that ISRO has developed as an experimental platform for conducting tests with payloads that cannot be separated.

ISRO’s successful launch came just days after SpaceX’s test of its next-generation rocket, the Starship, which exploded. The rocket that was designed for missions to the moon and Mars ignited and blasted upwards for about four minutes, but the separation of the booster from the spacecraft above the rocket failed.

India has become a major smartphone market for US phone maker Apple. The Cupertino-based tech giant has created over one lakh direct jobs in manufacturing in the past two years in the country, said Minister of State, Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrashekhar.

About 70 per cent of the said jobs are taken up by women in the age bracket of 19-24 years, who are starting their careers, acquiring skills and improving the ease of living for their families.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently opened the company’s first two retail stores in India, Apple BKC in Mumbai on April 18 and Apple Saket in New Delhi on April 20. The company has tripled its production in India in the last couple of years. Apple now manufactures 7 per cent of its total iPhones in India. In 2021, the production was just 1 per cent.

India has become the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market. The iPhone export from India has risen to over $5 billion in FY23. In addition, the country’s overall smartphone exports crossed $10 billion for the first time in a financial year. Reports say that Apple will begin manufacturing around 25 per cent of iPhones in India by 2025. The tech giant is likely to launch its impending iPhones in India at the same time as China. This will be the first time that the assembly of iPhones will begin in the two countries simultaneously.

India has covered 600 districts with 5G services in less than 200 days – one of the fastest expansion accomplished by the technology in the world – said Union Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan on April 17 in Hyderabad.

“India has the second largest telecom network with the lowest data rate in the world, and development of indigenous 4G, 5G technologies in a short span of time has surprised the world,” the minister said at the second meeting of G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG).

In his address, Union MoS for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy emphasised on ‘Digital Antyodaya’ approach and Accessible India campaign for achieving universal accessibility for differently abled persons in the country.

In the inaugural session of the second meeting of DEWG, Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) welcomed the delegates from G20 members, invited countries, international organisations, senior officials from MeitY, DoT (Department of Telecommunications) and state governments, among others. K. Rajaraman, Secretary, Telecom stressed on the critical impact of connectivity on the GDP and Digital Economy.

With the global digital economy estimated to be worth $11 trillion and expected to reach $23 trillion by 2025, the DEWG plays a critical role in shaping global policy discourse in the digital space.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that digital public infrastructure (DPI) is inclusive by design and can help countries fast pace their development processes and deliver huge benefits.

India has opened a record 462.5 million low-cost bank accounts with 56 percent account holders being women by leveraging the potential of identity and payments through DPI, the finance minister underlined.

Speaking at a conference on April 14 in Washington, US, Sitharaman said that DPI has transferred tremendous transformational potential by facilitating innovations continuously by involving the government as well as private sector. “Development and leveraging of DPI indeed sets a virtuous cycle in motion, which incessantly deliver huge benefits for countries to fast pace development processes,” she said while addressing the “Digital Public Infrastructure: Stacking Up the Benefits” organised by the International Monetary Fund.

The benefits of DPI will go a long way in strengthening the endeavour to achieve strong, inclusive, resilient and sustainable economic growth, she said.

DPI comes with innate features such as interoperability, openness, low-cost access and transparency, and these make it inclusive by design, Sitharaman said. “This has and is helping India in addressing the various digital divide challenges. The scalability feature of our DPI makes investments economical and is therefore, beneficial to the end user as the cost can be minimised, or the access made all together free. This is pro-inclusion,” she added.

To establish itself as a carbon services and trading hub, Singapore sees a boost in green economy jobs to help businesses decarbonise and realise their net-zero strategies.

Companies looking to hire foreigners for certain roles in this sector will find it easier to do so with a new points-based Employment Pass framework that will be launched on September 1. Four roles – namely carbon verification and audit specialist, carbon trader, carbon programme manager and carbon standards and methodology analyst – will draw extra points on top of criteria such as educational qualification and salary. These jobs are among 27 occupations given bonus points where Singapore has a talent shortage, and range from sectors as diverse as alternative proteins to technology and healthcare. For example, a carbon trader can assist firms to make up for their carbon emissions with carbon credits, while a carbon verification and audit specialist can measure how well a firm is performing as per reducing its carbon emissions.

Under the Singapore Green Plan, the Republic aims at building an ecosystem of carbon services. Industry experts estimate that more than 50,000 related new jobs will be created in Singapore by 2030.

Scientists at the Italian Institute of Technology have developed a rechargeable battery that has been made completely from edible substances. The battery can break up safely in the stomach once it is done with its job.

The prototype device outlined in a new study published in Advanced Materials operates at 0.65 volts and provides a current of 48 microamperes for 12 minutes – enough to power tiny electronics. Its future potential uses range from edible circuits and sensors that can monitor health conditions to the powering of sensors for monitoring food storage conditions. “Moreover, given the level of safety of these batteries, they could be used in children’s toys, where there is a high risk of ingestion,” said Mario Caironi, senior author and molecular electronics researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology.

The rechargeable battery has vitamin riboflavin for the battery’s anode (the negative end), supplement quercetin as cathode (the positive end), electrolyte (which generates the electrical charge) made from a water-based solution, and separator (which prevents short circuits) made from nori, the seaweed used at sushi restaurants. Activated charcoal, often used to treat poisonings, is included to increase electrical conductivity. The external contacts that transfer the electricity to another device are made of beeswax, connected to food-grade decorative gold.

The prototype that maintains its charge well over dozens of cycles needs to be outside the body to be recharged. “While our edible batteries won’t power electric cars, they are proof that batteries can be made from safer materials than current Li-ion batteries,” says study coauthor, Ivan Ilic, a sustainable energy storage scientist from the Italian Institute of Technology.

The United Kingdom has become the first European nation to allow hands-free driving technology, as Ford’s BlueCruise technology has received approval. It means that drivers are allowed to take their hands off the wheel and allow the car to drive itself. However, they must still pay attention to what it is doing, and will receive alerts if the car detects they are looking elsewhere.

The new technology is currently available in Ford’s 2023 Mustang Mach-E, a pure electric vehicle. Five radars track the position and speed of other vehicles, while a forward-facing camera detects lane markings and speed signs. With a cost of £17.99 a month, BlueCruise can be activated to control functions such as steering, acceleration, braking and lane positioning on the vast majority of the UK’s motorways.

Although users can take their hands off the wheel, an infrared camera checks they are keeping their eyes on the road in case human intervention is required. If the system detects a driver is not paying attention, warning messages will be displayed on the dashboard, followed by audible alerts and then the automatic slowing of the vehicle. The same process is followed if a vehicle leaves a motorway.

The technology was introduced in the US and Canada last year. Fully self-driving cars remain banned on public roads in the UK apart from during Government-approved trials. Legislation to approve the technology could be introduced as early as 2025.

External Affairs Minister of India, S. Jaishankar took a ride in a Made in India train during his visit to Mozambique in the country’s capital Maputo.

The Union Minister shared a video of his journey on Twitter and wrote, “A great green transport conversation with Mozambican Minister of Transport & Communication and Chairman, Mozambican Port & Rail Authority Mateus Magala. Talked about expanding train networks, electric mobility & waterways connectivity.”

In the loco-hauled Made-in-India coaches, there are no longitudinal side berths; instead they have coupe-like IR First AC Coaches. The seats and berths in the coaches have PU Foam cushion covered with Fire barrier cloth with superior quality upholstery or artificial leather. The windows have sealed glass for AC coaches and vertically sliding windows for Non-AC Coaches; there are four emergency windows per coach.

Earlier, the Government of India (GoI) extended the line of credit (LoC) to the Government of Mozambique. The credit is planned to be used for the procurement of six 3000 HP diesel-electric locomotives and 90 (60 loco-hauled coaches and 30 DEMU coaches) coaches with maintenance support for five years. A PSU of the Ministry of Railways, RITES has been given the responsibility for the supply. For locomotives and coaches, RITES has roped in Banaras Locomotive Works (Varanasi, UP) and Modern Coach Factory (Raebareli, UP), respectively.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) to build a strong touchless biometric capture system for convenient use anytime and anywhere.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), UIDAI and IIT Bombay will first conduct joint research to develop a mobile capture system for fingerprints and a liveness model integrated with the capture system. Once built and operational, this system will allow easy fingerprint authentication such as face authentication. It is also expected to capture multiple fingerprints instantly and help the verification success rate further. The system is expected to be an addition to the available facilities in the Aadhaar ecosystem.

The new system will use an intelligent combination of signal or image processing and machine learning or deep learning with a common mobile phone and a good user experience. The partnership between UIDAI and IIT Bombay through its National Centre of Excellence in Technology for Internal Security (NCETIS) will bring about joint engagement in research and development for the development of a system for UIDAI.

The NCETIS is a joint initiative by IIT Bombay and the MeitY, under its flagship Digital India Programme.