India News

The pace of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital transformation has moved beyond imagination and offers India its next Y2K moment, Telangana IT & industries principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan said on Friday.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana’s first IT conclave on the theme ‘Innovation Unleashed: Shaping the Future of Digital Transformation’, Ranjan said that while initially it was only large companies that were focused on digitisation but today every company is concerned about hopping onto the digitisation bandwagon.

Pointing out that nothing had helped the Indian IT sector’s reputation grow by leaps and bounds than the Y2K opportunity, Ranjan said: “This is the next Y2K moment for India’s tech sector and Telangana is poised to take leadership as its tech ecosystem has matured very well and industry here works very harmoniously. The IT sector in Telangana has lower turnover and better employee discipline with higher back to office numbers than other cities.”

Lauding the role played by southern states in tech adoption and improving the quality of life, CII Telangana chairman C Shekar Reddy said Telangana stands second in India on the innovation index.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/31548

Nepal and India have agreed to hold a meeting of experts to "iron out the differences" and finalise the detailed project report of the much-awaited 6,480 megawatt Pancheshwar Multipurpose bi-national power plant to be developed on the bordering Mahakali river, according to a media report on Saturday. The understanding was reached during a meeting of the governing council of the Pancheshwar Development Authority held in Pokhara in Nepal on Thursday and Friday, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

"The meeting decided to extend the term of the team of experts which expired in March," the report quoted Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation ministry spokesperson Madhu Bhetuwal as saying.

"The two sides also agreed to hold the next meeting of the team of experts within 10 days to iron out the differences over the DPR (detailed project report) and make a move towards concluding the DPR," he said.

Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project (PMP) is a bi-national hydropower project to be developed on the Mahakali River bordering Nepal and India. The development of the project is covered under the integrated Mahakali Treaty signed between Nepal and India in 1996 under which equal sizes of underground powerhouses of 3,240 MV will be constructed on each side of the Mahakali river in India and Nepal.

Apart from generating electricity, the project will provide irrigation to 130,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 240,000 hectares in India in addition to other incidental benefits including flood protection.

However, a mutually acceptable DPR of the Pancheshwar Project could not be finalised due to differences on certain contentious issues.

"There were more than 500 unresolved issues which have now come down to 127," said Bhetuwal, who is also a joint secretary at the energy ministry of Nepal.

The upcoming meeting of the experts, the date of which is yet to be finalised, is the first move towards concluding the DPR after the prime ministers of both countries last month agreed to conclude the DPR within three months during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's India visit from May 31 to June 3, the report said.

During Prachanda's visit to India, it was agreed that officials of both governments would expedite bilateral discussions towards early finalisation of the Pancheshwar DPR within three months.

India may set mandates for industries such as fertilisers and refineries to use green hydrogen, after consultations, the country's renewable energy secretary said on Friday.

"We cannot impose anything on the industry. We have made an enabling system (and) we will have consultations for green hydrogen mandates," Bhupinder Singh Bhalla said at an event in New Delhi.

India has set a goal of producing 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, with about 70% of that marked for export markets, he said.

The drone sector in India is witnessing a surge of interest from investors, thanks to its promising growth potential and unique dynamics. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Nicholas Brathwaite of Celesta Capital expressed a strong belief in the investment potential of the drone sector in India. He highlighted the early bet his firm made on ideaForge, a drone manufacturer, citing their strong offerings even before they gained experience in the field.

“We continue to be very excited about India and it's good to see we are not the only ones that are excited. When we made the investment in ideaForge six years ago, we had looked at several drone companies in North America and other geographies, and we did not make any of those investments. We felt at that time the market had become somewhat crowded, it was hard to differentiate, but when we looked at ideaForge, we felt that the opportunity here was the fact that the Indian requirements were very different from everywhere else.” Brathwaite emphasised the uniqueness of the Indian opportunity in the drone sector, which attracted Celesta Capital's attention. Despite acknowledging challenges in artificial intelligence (AI), he stressed that addressing them should not lead to a slowdown in innovation. Sriram Viswanathan, also from Celesta Capital, emphasised the significance of the semiconductor market, noting its increasing importance for consumers. Viswanathan further highlighted Celesta Capital's goal of helping create the right ecosystems in countries like India to foster the development of the semiconductor industry. “The timing of the Indian government's focus on semiconductor, not just in factories of the fabs for manufacturing, but also the fabless area is profoundly significant. Especially if you take into account sort of the global sort of geopolitical issues that we're all faced with in terms of supply chain, in terms of new sort of applications in the genitive AI space, all of these areas bode very well for the Indian opportunity in the Indian ecosystem,” Viswanathan added. He emphasised that core technology in chips could be applied to various domains, including drones, image sensing, and even unconventional applications like pizza delivery. Mike Nohaile, representing Prellis Biologics, shed light on the exciting developments in the biologics field. He highlighted that around 70% of medicines today are derived from biologics, a process that traditionally took a significant amount of time. Nohaile also mentioned the use of 3D printing in the creation of lymph nodes and the application of generative AI to enhance their quality. Marc Bolitho from Recogni focused on the company's work in autonomous and electrified vehicles. He highlighted the lower power consumption of these vehicles, made possible through Recogni's advanced technologies. Bolitho emphasized that the integration of multiple sensors in autonomous vehicles requires substantial computing power. However, he expressed his belief that there is no need to slow down AI progress, as it plays a crucial role in enhancing the capabilities of autonomous mobility.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/31536

French President Emmanuel Macron will show PM Modi the Louvre Museum and the two may get photographed with its most famous resident—Mona Lisa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be feted by French President Emmanuel Macron when he lands in Paris on July 13 afternoon to take the India-France ties to a new height. File Photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at Elysee Palace. File Photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at Elysee Palace.

According to inputs from Paris and New Delhi, PM Modi will address a diaspora event at La Seine Musicale, a performing arts centre located on IIe Seguin island in scenic Seine River, in the western suburbs of Paris on the first day. Inaugurated in 2017, La Seine Musicale had hosted American folk-rock singer Bob Dylan in the 6000-seat Grand Seine theatre, where PM Modi will address the Indian diaspora on July 13. The La Siene Musicale is currently hosting the Festival of India called "Namaste France, organized by the Indian Embassy in France and the Ministry of Culture.

This will be followed by PM Modi being hosted by President Macron for a private dinner at his official residence at Elysee Palace. It is during this private dinner that both the leaders will discuss crucial global and bilateral issues and formal delegation level talks will follow after the Bastille Day parade on Champs Elysees in front of the French President on July 14.

A 269 men strong contingent of Indian Army from the Punjab Regiment and Rajputana Rifles will participate in the parade on the ground while one single Indian Air Force Rafale fighter will be the show with three others following in a formation. INS Chennai, an indigenous guided missile destroyer of the Indian Navy, will be stationed at the strategic port of Brest, where the nuclear ballistic missile firing submarines (SSBNs) of the French Navy are stationed. But the grand show will follow after the delegation-level talks in Paris.

President Macron will host PM Modi at Cour Marly courtyard at the world-famous Louvre Museum for a ceremonial dinner expected to be attended by over 250 dignitaries. Filled with natural light and a ficus trees forest, the Cour Marly has an army of statues made by the finest sculptors of the world since the 19th century. It is after the French lay a sumptuous vegetarian spread for PM Modi at the Cour Marly that President Macron will take the Indian leader for a guided tour of the Louvre. Perhaps the two of them may get photographed with Louvre’s most famous and most expensive painting, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance.

The two leaders after the tour of the Louvre will attend the dazzling fireworks display over Eiffel Tower from the terrace at Louvre. While the bilateral ties between the two middle-level powers will reach the next stage after PM Modi’s visit, the red-carpet treatment given to the Indian leader will surpass any bilateral visit by an Indian PM in the past by miles.

From the article:

Large-scale irregularities and violence was reported during the polling for the panchayat polls in West Bengal on Saturday, July 8, 2023.. Voting started for about 7 am and reports of snatching of ballot papers and clashes started coming since the morning. 

Despite the orders of the Calcutta High Court that central forces be deployed outside every polling booth, at several places in the State no deployment of central forces outside the polling booths was seen.

Violence was reported from Rejinagar in Murshidbad where a Trinamool Congress supporter was killed. At Khargram in the district another body was found. Two Trinamool Congress supporters sustained bomb injuries at Domkal in the district.

Governor visits violence-hit areas

Governor C.V. Ananda Bose visited parts of violence-affected North 24 Parganas where large scale violence have been reported. The district has accounted to highest number of deaths in political violence since the process of panchayat polls started.

One person was found dead at Sujapur in adjoining Malda district. Violence was reported at various places in Cooch Behar district where one person was allegedly killed in poll-related violence. A supporter of CPI(M) was killed at Ausgram in Purba Bardhaman district.

CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim shared a video of open ballot boxes lying in the field, tweeting, “Vote is over! Condition of the ballots, ballot boxes in one of the booths. Btw this pic is from Diamond Harbour.” At least 600 companies of central forces have been deployed for the elections along with around 70,000 state police.

Ballot boxes set on fire

Incidents of rigging, snatching of ballot papers and pouring waters in the ballot boxes were also reported at various places in the State. Ballot boxes were set on fire at a polling booth at Dinhata in Cooch Behar district. Chaos and pandemonium outside polling booths was seen in different parts of the State and polling agents were also not spared.

Sharing a video on Twitter, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that ballot boxes were set ablaze at a booth in Coochbehar district with poll officials having fled the scene.

Incidents of isolating and confining supporters of Opposition came from Bhangar in South 24 Parganas where Indian Secular Front candidates were confined in their houses. Voters who had queued up to cast their votes sustained bullet injuries at Islampur in Uttar Dinajpur. Miscreants with batons and fire arms were seen on the streets in different rural habitations that went to polls. Incidents of crude bombs attacks was also reported from parts of the State.

Earlier in the morning, long queues outside polling booths were seen as early as 6 am with people turning out early amid the intermittent rains.

About 5.67 crore electors are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections for 63,239 seats at the gram panchayats, 9,730 panchayat samiti seats and 928 zilla parishad seats. 

About 2.06 lakh candidates are in election fray across the State. Trinamool Congress has put up candidates on 71, 938 seats, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) put up candidates 46,404 seats and the Communist Party of India ( Marxist) has fielded candidates on 42, 910 seats. The notification for panchayat polls was issued on June 8 and 18 persons have lost their lives in the campaign before the start of polling process on Saturday, July 8, morning.

New Delhi: In the India-UK Strategic Dialogue that took place in Delhi on Friday, India urged the UK to tackle extremists threatening Indian diplomats.

Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his UK counterpart Tim Barrow led the talks, where India aired its grievances about extremist factions attacking Indian diplomats. The Indian government demanded legal prosecution or deportation of these groups.

These requests come in the wake of attacks on Indian embassies overseas by pro-Khalistan extremists in March this year. The Indian High Commission in London was also a target, leading to a diplomatic dispute between India and the UK regarding the security provided to Indian diplomats. In a move to address the Khalistan extremism, India hosted Matthew Rycroft, the UK Home Department's senior official, this year.

The two sides also discussed counter-terrorism, counter-terror financing, use of the internet for terrorism purposes, illicit drug trafficking and counter-radicalisation.

The two nations are also considering a collaborative agreement similar to India's partnership with the US on critical and emerging technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. This agreement aims to connect Indian businesses with UK-based leading-edge research facilities focusing on 5G and other pivotal technologies, and facilitating easier movement of research talent between the countries.

The technology partnership was given further impetus after the Indian Science Minister, Jitendra Singh, visited London in April. Both nations inked an agreement to strengthen the ties between their scientific communities, and to allocate funds for research in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and bio-imaging.

The NSAs also deliberated on wider regional and international issues during their encounter.