Latest News

  With the Union Budget 2021 set to be delivered in paperless form for the first time, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replaced the Swadeshi 'bahi khata' and switched to a tablet. The Finance Minister was seen carrying a tablet kept inside a red coloured cover with a golden coloured national emblem embossed on it. Dressed in a red and cream colour saree, accompanied by MoS Finance Anurag Thakur and other officials from her ministry, Sitharaman is scheduled to meet President Ram Nath Kovind before presenting the budget at 11 am today. Read Full Article Here

Faced with the challenge of resurrecting the economy from one of the worst contractions, people want the Centre to shift focus on job creation and agricultural, rural development in the Budget 2021 . The new findings were revealed in an online survey conducted by YouGov in which 1,015 people participated. "The economic upheaval caused by the pandemic has raised people’s expectations from the government, putting a greater focus on the economy. In comparison to last year’s findings, where women's safety was the top concern of people," the organisation said in a statement. Read More

  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended the upcoming WhatsApp privacy policy that has witnessed a massive backlash in India, saying that the update does not change the privacy of anyone's messages with friends and family. The WhatsApp policy has now been put on hold till May 15. It aims to share commercial user data with parent Facebook. The Indian government has also written a letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart to withdraw the policy. Click Here

  Airtel is now a 5G-ready network and the telecom operator is waiting for adequate spectrum allocation to rollout 5G services in the country, said Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel on Thursday. Recently, the company demonstrated live 5G over a commercial network in Hyderabad city and said that its network is 5G ready. Airtel 5G Airtel did this over its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the Non Stand Alone  network technology. Using the dynamic spectrum sharing, Airtel operated 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block. Read More

  OnePlus  Co-founder Carl Pei on Wednesday launched a new London-based consumer technology company called "Nothing" that will release its first smart devices in the first half of this year. The announcement came shortly after a $7 million round in seed financing in December that included tech leaders and investors such as Tony Fadell, Casey Neistat, Kevin Lin, Steve Huffman and Josh Buckley. Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED, has also invested in "Nothing" although the amount has not been disclosed yet. "It's been a while since anything interesting happened in tech. It is time for a fresh breeze of change," said Pei, CEO and founder of 'Nothing'. Read Full Article Here

  Sony  is reportedly planning to launch a member of the premium 'Compact' line of phones in 2021 with a 5.5-inch Xperia model to compete with the  iPhone  12 mini. The new device is expected to feature dimensions of 140 x 68.9 x 8.9 mm (5.5 x 2.71 x 0.35 inches), making it just a bit bigger than the iPhone 12 mini (which measures 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.4 mm or 5.18 x 2.53 x 0.29 inches), reports The Verge. The new Xperia Compact is also said to offer an 8MP selfie camera in a teardrop notch, a dual-camera setup with a 13MP main camera on the back. Read Full Article Here

On the occasion of Republic Day,  Akshay Kumar  launched the mobile action game 'Fearless and United Guards (FAU-G). Kumar took to Twitter and shared a short trailer of the game to announce its launch. "Face the enemy. Fight for your country. Protect Our Flag. India's most anticipated action game, Fearless and United Guards: FAU-G takes you to the frontlines and beyond! Start your mission today," he tweeted along with the trailer. The initial episode of the game is based in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh and the rest of the episodes will be set in other Indian battlegrounds. Read More

Apple Inc. is working on a thinner and lighter version of the MacBook Air , the company’s mass-market laptop, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The new computer is planned to be released during the second half of this year at the earliest or in 2022. It will include Apple ’s MagSafe charging technology and a next-generation version of the company’s in-house Mac processors. Apple has discussed making the laptop smaller by shrinking the border around the screen, which will remain 13-inches. The current model weighs 2.8 pounds and is just over half an inch at its thickest point. Read Full Article Here

  Yamaha Music India is looking at up to 20 per cent growth in the home audio segment for the next two years on the back of people's desire to upgrade their home entertainment systems with good speakers, a senior company official said. The company is witnessing a surge in demand not only from metros but also tier II and III cities. "We are looking at growth of around 18-20 per cent for the division for one year or two years," Yamaha Music India Business Head - Consumer Audio, M V Prasad said. Read More

The popular automated transcription service Otter.ai can now transcribe Google Meet calls in real time with a new Chrome extension. "The Otter.ai Chrome Extension lets you transcribe and caption Google Meet in real time, and save audio transcripts to your Otter account," the company described in a new update. Otter.ai said the Chrome extension works with all its plans, including the free version. Otter.ai also has integration with Zoom video calls. Read More

Veteran India batsman  Robin Uthappa  has been traded to  Chennai Super Kings  in an all-cash deal, IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals said on Thursday. The 35-year-old right-hander from Karnataka had scored just 196 runs in 12 matches in the last IPL in UAE after being picked up by Rajasthan Royals at the last IPL auctions. "I really enjoyed my year at the Royals and had a great time being part of this franchise. I am now excited for the next part of my cricketing journey joining CSK for IPL 2021 ," Uthappa said in a release. Read More

Vivo on Wednesday expanded its youthful Y series with the launch of Vivo Y31 in India at Rs 16,490 for 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM variant. The smartphone is available for purchase in two attractive colour options- racing black and ocean blue on Vivo India E-store, Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm, as well as across all partner retail stores. "Like all vivo devices, the Y31 follows Vivo's commitment to 'Make in India' and is manufactured at Vivo's Greater Noida facility," the company said in a statement. Click Here

Market regulator SEBI gave a go-ahead on Wednesday to Future Group's scheme of arrangement and sale of assets to Reliance, based on which the Bombay Stock Exchange also granted its "no adverse observation" report to the Rs 24,713-crore deal. Reliance Future deal The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed the deal with some riders, five months after it was announced last August.   ALSO READ: Delhi HC rules Amazon's attempt to control Future violative of FEMA FDI The SEBI has said the litigation pending before the Delhi High Court and arbitration proceedings by the global e-commerce major Amazon contesting the deal should be specifically mentioned by Future Group while seeking shareholders or the National Company Law Tribunal approval, the BSE stated in its observation letter. Read More

  Google has released Chrome 88 as the latest stable version of their cross-platform web browser without any support for Adobe Flash Player . Flash reached its official end of life on December 31, when Adobe officially stopped supporting the software. On January 12, Adobe also began blocking content from playing inside Flash. Apple and Mozilla have also stopped supporting Flash, and Microsoft is scheduled to end support later this month, reports ZDNet. Click Here

  Samsung Electronics on Wednesday launched a new consumer solid state drive (SSD) product, boasting upgraded performance and reliability. Samsung said its 870 EVO SSD series comes in five models -- 250 gigabyte (GB), 500GB, 1 terabyte (TB), 2TB, and 4TB -- and will go on sale in around 40 countries starting with South Korea and the US. The new SSD can be used with all devices that have 2.5-inch serial ATA (SATA) interface connection, it added. Read Full Article Here

  Samsung has said it will release its smart tracking tag on the market this week as the South Korean tech giant tries to expand its mobile ecosystem with advanced communications solutions. Samsung said the Galaxy SmartTag will go on sale in South Korea on Tuesday with a price tag of 29,700 won ($26). The latest mobile accessory leverages Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology, which allows users to easily locate non-connected items by simply attaching the tag to objects. Click Here

  American social media giant Facebook is publishing a research conducted by its artificial intelligence (AI) unit in an effort to help healthcare providers predict in advance if a COVID-19 patient may need more intensive care solutions and adjust resources accordingly. According to Mashable,  Facebook  in a recent detailed blog post said that it had developed two AI models, one based on a single chest X-ray, and another from a series of X-rays that could help forecast if a patient infected by COVID-19 is likely to get worse. A third model predicts the amount of extra oxygen a COVID-19 patient might need. Read More

 Brands like  Realme  and  Samsung  have topped the consumers preferences in the most competitive Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 price segment in India, a new report said on Monday. The top three drivers for consumer satisfaction in the above mentioned price segment include smartphone camera (86 per cent), performance (81 per cent) and battery life (77 per cent). According to a CMR 'Insights On the Go Survey', consumers in this price segment seek the best specs and highest quality. They seek to invest in the future by getting 5G capable phones (72 per cent), with enhanced capabilities for camera (66 per cent), and wireless charging (61 per cent). Realme scored the highest (79 out of 100) followed by Samsung (77 out of 100) among current smartphone users in the segment. Click Here

  The OPPO Reno 5 Pro 5G is set to launch in India on Monday. Chinese smartphone maker OPPO is hosting a virtual event at 12:30 pm that will livestream on its social media handles and YouTube channel. Successor to the Reno 4 Pro (review), the OPPO Reno 5 Pro 5G is touted to be a camera-centric smartphone with industry-first AI highlight video feature for enhanced video recording capability even in dim lit environments. Besides, the smartphone will India’s first powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ system-on-chip. OPPO Reno 5 Pro 5G: Livestream details Read Full Article Here

Samsung is taking pre-orders for its flagship Galaxy S21 series smartphones in India. Consumers can pre-book the smartphones in the Galaxy S21 series on offline stores, including the Samsung's exclusive stores, and online on Samsung India online store and e-commerce platforms. As part of the pre-booking offers, Samsung is bundling the Galaxy SmartTag free and Samsung E-Shop voucher of up to Rs 10,000 on all pre-orders. Additionally, as a special offer, Samsung is offering the Galaxy Watch Active 2 or a combo of Galaxy Buds+ and Travel Adapter on all pre-orders. Besides, the company is offering p to Rs 10,000 cashback offer in partnership with HDFC Bank, and an additional upgrade bonus of up to Rs 5,000 if you trade-in your existing Samsung smartphone for any model in the Galaxy S21 series. Pre-booked orders will start to delivery from January 25, and the Galaxy S21 Series will go on sale in India on January 29. Click Here

 The injury-plagued Indian team took another hit on Friday when pacer  Navdeep Saini  was forced off the field during the fourth and final Test against Australia here due to groin pain and taken for scans. The 28-year-old Saini had bowled five balls of his eighth, and the innings 36th, over during the second session when he had to walk off the field because of the pain. With this, his further participation in the match, which began this morning, has been thrown into serious doubt. "Navdeep Saini has complained of pain in his groin. He is currently being monitored by the BCCI medical team," read a short statement from the BCCI on the one-Test-old bowler's condition. Read More

  Bangladesh Armed Forces, which fought and bled together with their Indian counterparts 50 years ago, will participate in the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi on January 26, at Rajpath, a statement said.   A contingent of 122 proud personnel of the Bangladesh Armed Forces has departed for India in a specially-sent IAF C-17 aircraft, the Indian High Commission said in a press note. The Bangladesh contingent, which will proudly march down the Rajpath, will carry forward the legacy of the brave freedom fighters of 1971, who fought for freedom, justice and their people, it said. Click Here

  Key challenges The agri value chain is disrupted by Covid. Ensuring support for storage and distribution can help. Agri commodities see a huge fluctuation in prices during peak season. There are no provisions for effective monitoring and support for farmers to sell outside the APMC. Every year there is substantial crop loss due to erratic climatic events. Budget 2021 Industry ask The share of India in the global export of food co-mmodities is less than 1%. A package to boost exports from farmer organisations and small enterprises can be a good start Read More

  Chinese smartphone maker  OPPO  on Tuesday announced that it will launch Enco X true wireless noise-cancelling earphones along with Reno5 Pro 5G smartphone in India on January 18. Using a dual microphone design, the earphones will provide active noise cancelling with multiple modes allowing the users to customize and choose the strength of noise reduction to better fit their daily listening needs through the four different settings: max noise cancellation, noise cancellation, transparency mode and noise cancellation off. These settings would allow users to block out the world whether indoors or outdoors and focus on what they are listening to. Each mode gives users the freedom to adapt to different scenarios and still have a crystal-clear audio experience. Click Here

  Laggards Odisha FC will be eager to extend their two-match unbeaten run when they take on an out-of-sorts Chennaiyin FC in an Indian Super League clash here on Wednesday. Laggards Odisha FC will be eager to extend their two-match unbeaten run when they take on an out-of-sorts Chennaiyin FC in an  Indian Super League  clash here on Wednesday. After suffering six defeats, Odisha notched their maiden win of the season by defeating Kerala Blasters last week. The bottom-placed side followed that by holding Chennaiyin to a goalless draw over the weekend. On the other hand, Chennaiyin have slipped to eighth after the draw, having managed only one win in their last five outings. The two sides will be hoping for goals and a much-improved performance. The earlier fixture saw both teams missing a number of chances to take the lead and left them in the bottom four. Read More

  Sony has unveiled its Airpeak drone before the company launched a new business targeted for professional photography and video production in the spring of 2021. Sony has unveiled its Airpeak drone before the company launched a new business targeted for professional photography and video production in the spring of 2021. Sony Airpeak Drone The new drone, part of AI Robotics, is the world's smallest drone capable of carrying a state-of-the-art Alpha camera system. "In order to fully support the creativity of video creators, the payload of the drone can be equipped with an Alpha mirrorless camera to capture high quality, full frame aerial photography and video," Sony said in a statement during the CES 2021 on Tuesday. Read Full Article Here

  Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan said he wants to come back and shoot again in India, and work with Indian actors Hollywood filmmaker Christopher Nolan said he wants to come back and shoot again in India, and work with Indian actors. "I never make plans so far ahead. But I had an amazing experience in India, and I definitely want to come back and work more in India with Indian actors. I don't know what I'm doing next," Nolan told IANS while talking about his experience of working in Indian and his next project. The Oscar-winning Hollywood maverick filmed crucial scenes of his 2012 global blockbuster "The Dark Knight Rises" in Jodhpur. He also shot portions of his new film "Tenet" in Mumbai. For "Tenet", he panned his camera across Mumbai spots such as Breach Candy Hospital, Colaba Causeway, Colaba Market, Gateway of India, Grant Road, Royal Bombay Yacht Club, and the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Read More

  Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 6-series processor, it comes with the latest Funtouch OS 11 which is based on Android 11 Vivo on Monday launched the Vivo Y51A in India at Rs 17,990. The smartphone boasts 48-megapixel based triple camera set-up on the back, 5,000 mAh battery with 18W fast charge and reverse wired charging support, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor. The Vivo Y51A sports a 6.58-inch screen of fullHD+ (2408×1080) resolution. It comes with side fingerprint sensor for screen unlock. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 6-series processor, the Y51A is the first Vivo smartphone to boot Android 11 operating system based Funtouch OS 11 user interface. Click Here

  Bird flu has been confirmed as the cause of death of around 900 hens in the last few days at a poultry farm in Maharashtra's Parbhani district, a senior official said on Monday Bird flu  has been confirmed   as the cause of death of around 900 hens in the last few days at a poultry farm in Maharashtra's Parbhani district, a senior official said on Monday.   The district administration has now decided to cull nearly 8,000 birds in Murumba village where these hens died, Collector Deepak Muglikar told PTI. Earlier, Muglikar on Saturday said around 900 hens had died at a poultry farm, run by a Self-Help Group (SHG), in the village and their samples were sent for testing.   "The cause of the death has been confirmed as bird flu. Hence, we have decided to cull all the birds in one-km radius of the place where these deaths took place," the collector said.  Read More

  Lava unveiled the world's first customisable smartphone that will allow customers to choose the components -- camera, memory, storage capacity and colour -- on their own from the company's website Home-grown mobile device maker Lava International on Thursday unveiled the world's first customisable smartphone that will allow customers to choose the components -- camera, memory, storage capacity and colour -- on their own from the company's website. The customisable smartphone series, branded as MyZ, has been developed indigenously at Lava's facility and will be available for purchase from January 11, Lava International, president and business head, Sunil Raina said while announcing the launch. Lava Smartphones "The world's first customisable phone from Lava will enable customers to choose from up to 66 combinations of camera, RAM, ROM and colour. This will give them freedom of choice based on what they think suits their usage. They can customise and

  Apple is reportedly working on a relatively cheaper version of AirPods Max headphones with a few changes Apple is reportedly working on a relatively cheaper version of AirPods Max headphones with a few changes. The next AirPods Max would be lighter than its sibling that weighs roughly 384 grams, with a plastic build instead of machine-textured anodized aluminium ear cups and stainless steel headband, reports GizmoChina. The upcoming cheaper model of the Apple AirPods Max headphones could be priced around $350, the report said on Thursday. Read More

  What the pro-Trump rioters attacked was not only a building but also the Constitution, the electoral system, our democratic process Wednesday was a horrifying and shameful moment in American history. I’ve covered attempted coups in many countries around the world, and now I’m finally covering one in the United States. US Capitol Attack Trump and his enablers talk a good game about patriotism. They denounced President Barack Obama for sometimes not wearing a flag lapel pin. They criticized Colin Kaepernick for protesting police brutality by taking a knee rather than standing during the national anthem — and then Trump incited a mob on Wednesday to invade the United States Capitol. The rioters encountered a minimal police response, not the kind that Black Lives Matter protesters received. Click Here

  WhatsApp users received an in-app notification on Wednesday asking them to either accept the changes in its Terms of Service and privacy policy by February 8 or their accounts will be deleted Millions of Indian users received an in-app notification from  WhatsApp  as part of an upcoming global roll-out for over 2 billion users, asking them to either accept the changes in its Terms of Service and privacy policy by February 8 or their accounts will be deleted. The in-app notification did not elicit much details but clicking on the links clearly mentioned the key changes in how WhatsApp will collect and process users' information going forward, and the partnership with Facebook, its parent company, as part of a larger unification drive between the family of apps. Read Full Article Here

  Samsung said it will support 21 homegrown startups' participation in the world's largest tech expo CES 2021 next week as the company vows to bolster its startup incubator programmes Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that it will support 21 homegrown startups' participation in the world's largest tech expo CES 2021 next week as the company vows to bolster its startup incubator programmes. Samsung said four projects from its in-house idea incubation program C-Lab Inside and 17 companies from its startup acceleration program C-Lab Outside will showcase their products and services at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, which is set to take place online from Monday to Thursday next week. The number of Samsung-supported startups at CES is the largest ever. The tech giant began to support the CES participation of local startups in 2016, reports Yonhap news agency. Click Here

  KL Rahul sprained his left wrist while batting in the nets at the MCG during Team India's practice session on Saturday, says BCCI India batsman K L Rahul was on Tuesday ruled out of the remaining two Tests against Australia after sustaining a wrist injury during training in Melbourne, the BCCI said on Tuesday. Rahul had not played any match of the ongoing series in which the third Test starts on Thursday at SCG. Check India-Australia series latest news updates here " KL Rahul  sprained his left wrist while batting in the nets at the MCG during Team India's practice session on Saturday," the BCCI said in a statement. "The wicketkeeper-batsman will not be available for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as he will need about three weeks time to recover completely and regain full strength," it added. Read More

  Apple is reportedly planning to bring smaller and lighter versions of its USB-C wall chargers and Navitas Semiconductor is expected to obtain orders for gallium nitride or GaN chargers for the same Apple  is reportedly planning to bring smaller and lighter versions of its USB-C wall chargers and Navitas Semiconductor is expected to obtain orders for gallium nitride or GaN chargers for the same. GaN chargers use gallium nitride technology and are more heat efficient that allows for faster-charging speeds despite the charger itself being quite smaller. Ireland-based Navitas Semiconductor, US-based Power Integrations and China-based Innoscience are the global top three suppliers of fast charging solutions based on GaN-on-Si chips, reports DigiTimes. Read More

  Part of Xiaomi's premium Mi 10-series, the Mi 10i is expected to be a midrange smartphone inspired from its elder siblings, the Mi 10T Pro and the Mi 10 Chinese electronics maker  Xiaomi  is set to launch in India the Mi 10i smartphone on Tuesday at 12 noon through a virtual event, which will livestream its social media handles and YouTube. Part of Xiaomi’s premium Mi 10-series, the Mi 10i is expected to be a midrange smartphone inspired from its elder siblings, the  Mi 10T Pro (review)  and the Mi 10. The smartphone is expected to launch in at least two RAM and on-board storage variants, both priced under Rs 30,000. Mi 10i launch details -> Click Here

  Angioplasty is a procedure which treats blockages within the coronary arteries and improves blood flow to the heart BCCI president and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly Saturday suffered a "mild" heart attack and is undergoing "primary angioplasty" at a city hospital, doctors said. The 48-year-old cricket icon is stable. "He had an acute myocardial infarction (MI) but is stable now. He is stable haemodynamically and has received loading doses of dual anti platelets and statin. "Mr Ganguly is undergoing primary angioplasty now. We are yet to decide on how many stent insertion is required for Mr Ganguly," a doctor at Woodlands Hospital said. A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to a part of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. Read More