India overtook the US to become the world’s second largest market for 5G smartphones; Know the reason behind this
India has overtaken the US to become the world’s second-largest market for 5G smartphones, according to a new report by Counterpoint Research. China continues to maintain its position as the top market globally.
The report shows that global 5G handset shipments grew by 20% year-on-year in the first half of 2024, with 5G devices now accounting for more than 50% of all smartphone shipments for the first time. India experienced the fastest growth among major markets, where 5G shipments grew by 60% compared to the first half of 2023. Click here to read more
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Anil Kapoor and other Indians included in Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the AI sector
Time Magazine has released the list of the most influential people in the field of AI for 2024. This list includes the most influential people in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav is also among the eminent Indians included in this list.
Highlighting Vaishnav’s role in driving India’s AI strategy, Time wrote, “Under Vaishnav’s leadership, the country hopes to become one of the top five countries for semiconductor manufacturing in the next five years — a key component for modern AI systems. Construction has begun at several factories. Still, Vaishnav faces significant challenges in realizing these ambitions. India’s tech sector is struggling from low private R&D investment and a lack of an advanced manufacturing ecosystem. Its educational system is also struggling to produce the expert workforce needed for cutting-edge AI and semiconductor development.” Read the full story here
HDFC Bank takes ‘temporary break’ from Apple iPhone partnership, says ‘You can judge the quality of the relationship by this…’
HDFC Bank has temporarily suspended its partnership with iPhone maker Apple, citing cost-to-income concerns. The move comes after a five-year collaboration that offered HDFC Bank credit card holders exclusive cashback and EMI benefits on Apple products.
“We have temporarily taken a break from our partnership with Apple,” Parag Rao, group head, payments, consumer finance, marketing and liability products group at HDFC Bank, told Business Standard. He added that the bank regularly reviews its partnerships, and in this case, the cost-to-income measurement no longer fits its objectives.
The partnership, which began in 2019, made HDFC Bank the sole banking partner for Apple’s promotional offers in India. With the suspension, Apple has now partnered with American Express, Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank to offer similar benefits, according to the company’s website. Click here to read more
TCS expands decade-old partnership with Google Cloud, launches new AI security products
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced expanding its partnership with Google Cloud to launch two new AI-powered cybersecurity solutions aimed at strengthening enterprise cyber resilience.
The new solutions include TCS Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and TCS Secure Cloud Foundation. Both solutions leverage Google Cloud’s security capabilities and TCS’ industry expertise to help businesses tackle advanced threats and secure cloud environments.
The TCS MDR solution powered by Google Security Operations Platform enables security teams to detect and respond to threats more quickly. It provides continuous security monitoring and round-the-clock response capabilities. Read the full story here
Cognizant is selling the building that has been its headquarters for 20 years
IT major Cognizant is selling its long-standing Indian headquarters in Chennai. Located at Okkiyam Thoraipakkam on Chennai’s IT corridor, the property comprises a 15-acre plot and 400,000 sq ft of office space. According to real estate industry estimates, the property could fetch the company around Rs 750 crore to Rs 800 crore.
The Thoraipakkam office has been Cognizant’s India headquarters for over 20 years. It is from here that Cognizant’s co-founders – Lakshmi Narayanan and Chandrasekaran – worked. It is also the site of a historic event, where the company remotely rang the opening bell of the Nasdaq, a significant milestone in its growth. The campus also represents Cognizant’s first wholly-owned property in Chennai, a step up from its previous rented space in the CSI building near the US Consulate. Click here to read more
Employees union president tells Infosys: ‘Won’t hesitate to stage protests if joining date is violated’
According to the Economic Times report, Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of the Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), said that the Pune-based union will not hesitate to stage a protest outside Infosys’ office if there is any delay in the joining date. As per the offer letter, the company has asked 1,000 freshers to join on October 7, 2024, whose joining has been delayed by more than two years. Read the full story here
Delhi High Court warns Wikipedia: “If you don’t like India….”
The Delhi High Court has recently given a strict warning to Wikipedia in India. The court has warned that it will issue an order to block the online encyclopedia in India. Justice Naveen Chawla, who is hearing the case, issued a contempt notice to Wikipedia and gave a stern warning to the company.
Justice Chawla gave this warning while hearing a defamation case filed by news agency ANI against Wikipedia. The High Court has asked an authorized representative of Wikipedia to appear in person at the next hearing in October. Click here to read more
Adani Group partners with Israel’s Tower Semiconductor to build $10 billion chip plant in India: All the details
India’s richest man Gautam Adani is joining the global semiconductor race. According to a Bloomberg report, the Adani Group is planning to build a semiconductor fabrication plant with Israeli company Tower Semiconductor. The move is aimed at strengthening India’s chipmaking capabilities as semiconductors have become a major geopolitical battleground globally. The deal also gives the Israeli chipmaker a foothold in one of the world’s key emerging markets. In the past few years, semiconductors have become a critical resource amid growing technological rivalry between the US and China. This has prompted many countries to review their reliance on imports and invest heavily in developing domestic capacities.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced this in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Fadnavis said in the post that the unit is expected to have a production capacity of 40,000 wafers in the first phase and 80,000 wafers in the second phase. He further said that the plant will create 5000 jobs. While he did not share any timeline for the project, reports quoting sources said that the plant will be ready in three to five years. Read the full story here
Bluetooth version 6.0 is now available: What’s new in the next-generation specification
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has released the latest version of the Bluetooth Core Specification, version 6.0. The last major update to Bluetooth was in 2016 when version 5 was announced. Subsequent versions have also followed with incremental updates.
This latest Bluetooth version 6 brings several new features and improvements that aim to enhance the capabilities and performance of Bluetooth technology. The new features include a new centimeter-level tracking feature that can improve the Find My network of companies like Apple and Google. Click here to read more
Bengaluru-based Dunzo lays off 75% of its employees, reduces headcount to 50
Reliance Retail-backed Dunzo has laid off 75% of its employees, reports Financial Express. Citing unnamed sources aware of the matter, the report states that the online delivery app now has 50 employees across its core supply and marketplace teams.
According to the report, the job cuts are part of the company’s broader effort to curb costs and generate cash flow to deal with mounting liabilities, including outstanding salaries to current and former employees and pending payments to vendors.
Online tracker Layoffs.fyi shows the job cuts will be done on August 31, 2024. Read the full story here
SAP CTO Jurgen Mueller resigns due to ‘inappropriate’ behavior; read his statement
Juergen Mueller, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of SAP SE, will leave the company by the end of September. The reason: inappropriate conduct at a company event. SAP CEO Christian Klein will take over responsibility for much of the Technology and Innovation Board area, which Mueller currently leads. The company and Mueller did not say anything more about what exactly the ‘inappropriate’ behavior was. Click here to read more
Intel has abandoned one of its biggest plans announced several years ago, know why it means a big change
Intel is canceling development of its 20A process node, which was to be used to produce the upcoming Arrow Lake processors. Instead it plans to go with external manufacturers to produce the chips externally. Intel will now rely on an external foundry, possibly TSMC, to produce all of Arrow Lake’s components, while Intel will handle the final packaging.
The cancellation of 20A is particularly notable because Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger touted it as the start of the company’s “Engstrom era” when it was first announced in 2021. Now, the shift to external manufacturing for Arrow Lake is a significant departure from those plans, but it falls in line with the company’s recent cost-cutting measures announced after last quarter’s financial results. The company is undergoing major restructuring, including the layoff of 15,000 employees, amid financial challenges.
Intel first demonstrated Arrow Lake chips on 20A wafers at its Innovation 2023 event. At the time, Intel targeted a 2024 release for Arrow Lake.
Intel CFO Dave Zinsner said the company would “shift away from productionizing” the 20A node to reduce capital expenditures. Resources previously allocated to 20A development will now be directed toward the more advanced 18A node, which is scheduled to launch in 2025. The company estimates that this shift will save $500 million by avoiding the costs associated with scaling up 20A production. Read the full story here
Brazil continues to ban Elon Musk’s X: Supreme Court panel upholds order
A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court confirmed the decision by one of its judges to impose a nationwide ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, as reported on the court’s website.
Last week, Brazil’s Supreme Court banned X (formerly known as Twitter). The Supreme Court judge ordered the platform’s suspension after months of a standoff over misinformation in South America’s largest country.
The panel, which met virtually, included five of the 11 judges on the full bench, including de Moraes, who ordered the platform suspended for failing to appoint a local legal representative as required by law. The platform will remain blocked until it complies with their orders and pays the outstanding fines, which as of last week totaled more than $3 million, according to their ruling. Click here to read more
HP Victus special edition laptops launched in India, prices start at Rs 65,999
HP has expanded its product lineup with the launch of its new Victus Special Edition laptops. Designed for students, these PCs are equipped with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050A 4GB laptop GPU. The company has also revealed that these PCs are powered by 12th-generation Intel Core processors. Read the full story here
