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
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 Narayanaswam
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 invol
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 sal
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, gi
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
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 Firs
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
India’s first semi-high speed regional rail service has been named ‘RAPIDX’ by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC). The Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) will help connect urban nodes of the national capital region (NCR). As per the NCRTC, the 'X' signifies next-generation technology and new-age mobility solutions. “It also represents youth, optimism and energy,” NCRTC said. The brand name has been chosen as RAPIDX since it is easy to read and simple to pronounce in various languages. The green leaf symbol in the logo is the highlight of the brand’s aim
Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, is set to become the first Saudi Arabian woman to blast off on a mission to space this May. She is part of a private mission and will be joined by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni, a fighter pilot; Peggy Whitson, a former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut; and John Shoffner, a businessman from Tennessee who will serve as pilot on the trip, the NASA officials said on April 6. The four-member crew will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, marking the launch of private space company