Gaganyaan: Isro's first manned space mission on schedule, says Raghavan

Gaganyaan - The Indian Space Research Organisation will complete its first manned space mission on schedule as the programme was finalised a few years ago, K Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific advisor to the government of India, has stressed.

"This mission is not happening out of the blue, nor is it a coincidence. We were giving shape to this mission for a while," Raghavan told PTI-Bhasha in an interview.

One of the most distinguished biologists, Raghavan, 64, was appointed the principal scientific advisor in March.

The post of principal scientific advisor was created by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999. The PSA is the topmost advisor to the government on scientific policy matters.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Independence Day this year that India will put a man or woman in the space on board 'Gaganyaan' by 2022, Raghavan said, Isro has been moving ahead to complete the mission as per the schedule.

Want to know about your death? Google can now answer this as well

A woman with late-stage breast cancer came to a city hospital, fluids already flooding her lungs. She saw two doctors and got a radiology scan. The hospital’s computers read her vital signs and estimated a 9.3 per cent chance she would die during her stay.

Then came Google’s turn. An new type of algorithm created by the company read up on the woman — 175,639 data points — and rendered its assessment of her death risk: 19.9 percent. She passed away in a matter of days. The harrowing account of the unidentified woman’s death was published by Google in May in research highlighting the health-care potential of neural networks, a form of artificial intelligence software that’s particularly good at using data to automatically learn and improve. Google had created a tool that could forecast a host of patient outcomes, including how long people may stay in hospitals, their odds of re-admission and chances they will soon die.

What impressed medical experts most was Google’s ability to sift through data previously out of reach: notes buried in PDFs or scribbled on old charts. The neural net gobbled up all this unruly information then spat out predictions. And it did it far faster and more accurately than existing techniques. Google’s system even showed which records led it to conclusions. READ MORE

Google is betting big on cloud services to woo Indian companies

In the face of rising competition from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, global tech giant Google is betting big on its cloud services to woo 44 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs), more than 20,000 start-ups and hundreds of major companies.

Google’s cloud customers in India include Ashok Leyland, goibibo.com, Hero MotoCorp, Policybazaar.com, Quikr, Yaatra, SBI Cards, Hike Messenger, Vistara and ShareChat.

The company, which currently has three data centres in Mumbai, is on an expansion spree.

Knowing that the demand is set to increase from the fintech sector in over the next couple of months as banks and non-banking financial institutions hurry to meet Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) directive to bring financial data back to India, the company is hoping for a rise in demand.

The tech giant is pitching its artificial intelligence and machine learning laden cloud service as an easy to use and secure option, which it claims is better than competition.

Flipkart's PhonePe ties up with Ola, bets on micro-apps for growth

Flipkart-owned digital payments firm PhonePe has tied up with homegrown cab aggregator Ola, where users can book a cab or an auto using a micro-app built on its payments platform.

The company has gone live with three such micro-apps, including that of redBus and Metro services, and plans to go live with 5 to 10 more in the ongoing quarter.

“Ola’s scale and reach, topped with our AutoPay feature will enable greater convenience and control to our users while making payments seamless,” said Rahul Chari, co-founder and chief technology officer, PhonePe.

Think Nipah has spread to your city? Here's its state-wise status update

As concern over the Nipah virus outbreak increases with the infection claiming at least 16 lives in Kerala, state governments across the country are gearing up for any incidence of infection in their respective jurisdictions.

Over the past two weeks, in the wake of Nipah's spread, state governments in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Telangana, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan have issued health advisories to warn people of the dangers as well as the symptoms of the infection. In these advisories, the authorities have asked people to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of Nipah.

Further, any cases of low-grade fever among people are advised to be reported to hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has written to the Queensland government in Australia, asking it to provide an antibody developed there to test if it can "neutralise" the virus in humans.

"We have asked them to give their monoclonal antibody for conducting a test in India to find out if it can neutralise the Nipah virus in humans. The antibody has only been tried in vitro (happening outside the body in artificial conditions, often in a test tube) and has been found to be effective. But it has not been tested on humans," said ICMR Director General, Dr Balram Bhargava, while clarifying that it will not lead to the creation of a vaccine.

UIDAI extends the deadline to deploy Virtual ID system to July 1

UIDAI has extended by one month to July 1 the deadline for service providers and agencies like banks and telecom companies to fully deploy Virtual ID system and accept these IDs in lieu of Aadhaar number.

The Virtual ID (VID) feature is aimed at giving users the option of not sharing their Aadhaar number at the time of authentication.

UIDAI - which had earlier said it will be compulsory for all agencies that undertake authentication to accept VID from their users from June 1, 2018 - has decided to give one more month after the user agencies said they needed more time to switch to the new system.

"We are ready but the agencies wanted some more time to switch to the VID system. We have, therefore, given one more month till July 1," UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told PTI.

The extension was given considering the "difficulty and amount of internal work" involved for the agencies including telcos, banks, state governments, among others, he added.

Opposition calls for Tamil Nadu 'bandh' over police killings

Opposition parties on Thursday called for a 'Tamil Nadu bandh' on Friday and sought the resignation of the "BJP's puppet government" in the state over the death of 13 people in police firing in protests against the Sterlite company in Thoothukudi.

DMK leader Kanimozhi accused the Modi government of remote-controlling the Tamil Nadu government and alleged that the Sterlite factory was able to thrive because of the support it received from the central and state governments.

It is important to know who ordered the police firing that killed 13 protesters in Thoothukudi town, the MP said.

The police action followed mass protests against the factory that locals say was depleting the water table in the region and also causing health hazards.

Thoothukudi's new Collector Sandeep Nanduri said that since the government had ordered an inquiry committee to probe the various incidents, it would be improper for him to comment on the issue.

Demonetisation effect: Demand for cash rises 7%, says RBI

People’s demand for cash continues to head northwards compared to pre-demonetisation levels despite the frequency of digital transactions going up and a substantial increase in bank deposits since November 2016.

Currency with the public (CwP), or people’s demand for cash or currency, is 7 per cent higher at Rs 18.25 trillion at the end of April compared to Rs 17 trillion at the beginning of November 2016, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data reveals.

Over the past four years, through its twin policies of Jan Dhan Yojana and demonetisation, the government has taken necessary steps to expand banking services substantially.
Today, around 80 per cent of Indians have a bank account, thanks to improvements in access to formal finance channels.

While account ownership has increased by 79 per cent since 2014, around 38 per cent of all bank accounts were inactive over the course of last year, the survey found. Similarly, the Jan Dhan Yojana, which was launched in 2014, has added around 310 million banking accounts with deposits totalling Rs 812 billion as of May 9.

IPL 2018: Depleted RR face resurgent Bangalore as race for playoffs hots up

IPL 2018 - Weakened by the departure of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will have their task cut out when they lock horns with a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore, in the Indian Premier League here tomorrow.

The game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium is crucial for both RR and RCB, placed fifth and sixth in the table respectively.

As the race for playoffs heats up, five teams are in with a chance to make the cut.

Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad are already through to the playoffs, leaving RR, RCB, Kings XI Punjab, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders to fight for the remaining two places.

Both Rajasthan Royals, who saw their batting mainstays Buttler and Stokes leave for national duty, and Royal Challengers Bangalore will also have an eye on the net run rate, which could be decisive if more than one team finish with equal number of points.

The momentum for now is with the visitors, whose campaign witnessed a resurgence following a 14-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad last night.

Flipkart deal wrapped, Walmart now eyeing deals in Brazil and Japan

The sun never sets on Walmart Inc.’s empire, thanks to its network of stores across five continents. But in the span of 10 days, chief executive Doug McMillon has begun dramatically redrawing the retailer’s map, and there’s likely more to come as it places bets to remain on top.

“All of a sudden, everything is in play,” said Dave Marcotte, an analyst at Kantar Retail.

In less than two weeks, Walmart has agreed to cede control of its British business to a competitor and spend $16 billion to acquire India’s e-commerce leader in its biggest-ever deal, fending off Amazon.com Inc. The wheeling and dealing show how McMillon is focusing on high-potential markets like China and India, finding partners to help it battle online and cutting loose middling businesses. He’s got more work to do, though, and subpar markets like Brazil and Japan might be next on his list.

Walmart’s far-flung international units don’t get much attention, but they’re important as a source of cash, management talent and ideas that percolate into its core U.S. operations. Sales growth outside the U.S. once topped more than 10 percent annually, adjusted for currency moves, but it’s less than half that now as sluggish economies, store closures and fierce competition have taken their toll.

Mallya says he wants to vote in Karnataka polls but can't travel to India

Karnataka polls - Liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, who had represented Karnataka twice in the Rajya Sabha, today said it was his democratic right to vote in the state assembly polls, but lamanted that he cannot travel to India, where he is wanted to face charges of fraud and money laundering.

The 62-year-old former businessman parliamentarian had first represented Karnataka as the member of the Upper House of Parliament between April 10, 2002 and April 9, 2008.

"It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka, but as you know I am here and cannot travel," he told reporters outside the Westminister Magistrate's Court in connection with a hearing in his ongoing extradition trial, to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges for financial irregularities involving an amount of around Rs 9,000 crores, as well as money laundering cases.

He was re-elected for the Rajya Sabha from the southern state on July 1, 2010 and resigned on May 5, 2016 before his the expiry of his term on June 30, 2016. He is in the UK since March 2016.

Modi-Xi Wuhan summit: Why Chinese media thinks it's a good idea; 10 points

The Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping summit in China's Wuhan city on April 27-28 will see the Indian Prime Minister and Chinese President discussing US President Donald Trump's "protectionist" trade policy and the "unprecedented" changes in the world order in the past 100 years, along with the contentious bilateral issues like China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which includes the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and the India-China border dispute, which came to a head during last year's Doklam standoff. Meanwhile, ahead of the meeting, official Chinese media commented that the Modi-Xi summit could be as significant as the one between former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1988.

Ahead of the Modi-Xi summit, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday attended the meetings of the defence and foreign ministers of the SCO in China. Swaraj on Tuesday slammed Pakistan for sheltering terrorists and urged the SCO to act against countries that promote terrorism.

Child rapists: 76% people want death penalty for perpetrators, says Survey

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A day after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his nod to an ordinance on the death penalty for rapists who attack children, a citizen survey shows that 76 per cent of the people agree with it.

According to the survey conducted by LocalCircles, 18 per cent voted for life imprisonment without parole for convicted rapists while three per cent said it should be a seven-year jail term (which is the current law).

To catch the citizens' pulse on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, LocalCircles conducted six nation-wide polls which received more than 40,000 votes.

In the second poll, 89 per cent agreed that they want their states to pass a law that awards death penalty within six months. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh have also passed a law that awards death penalty for child rape.

In another poll, which was about engaging more women officers to register cases of sexual assault, it was found that 78 per cent citizens were in support of every district level police station to have at least one woman officer.

Bombay HC declines to stay implementation of govt's decision of plastic ban

The Bombay High Court on Friday declined to stay the implementation of the Maharashtra government's decision to ban plastic materials, but protected citizens from prosecution for their possession for a period of three months.

The court, while giving an interim ruling on a bunch of petitions opposing the ban, maintained it cannot overlook the adverse impact of plastic waste on the environment.


On March 23 this year, the government issued a notification, imposing a ban on manufacture, use, sale, distribution and storage of all plastic materials like one- time use bags, spoons, plates, PET and PETE bottles and also thermacol items.

The notification gave a period of three months to the manufacturers, distributors and retailers to dispose of the existing stock of the banned items.

Consumers/users were, however, given only a period of one month to dispose the same.

Hafiz Saeed to Dawood, 139 Pakistanis on UN terror list: Top 10 points

The UN Security Council's updated list of terrorists and militant groups has 139 entries from Pakistan alone, including outfits like Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafeez Saeed's Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to a media report. The list, topped by Osama bin Laden's heir apparent Ayman al-Zawahiri, identifies all those individuals who have lived in Pakistan, operated from there or have been associated with groups that used Pakistani territory for carrying out their operations, Dawn News reported.
LeT's Hafiz Saeed is listed as a person also wanted by Interpol for his involvement in terrorist activities.

The LeT is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans. The list also includes Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, an Indian national who, according to the UN Security Council, has held several Pakistani passports issued in Rawalpindi and Karachi, the report said.
The UN claims that he owns a palatial bungalow in the hilly area of Noorabad, Karachi, it added.
Here is all you need to know about United Nation's terror list explained in 10 points:
1. Hafiz Saeed: The United States on Tuesday designated Milli Muslim League, a political front of Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) as a global terrorist outfit. On Wednesday, the UNSC listed Hafiz Saeed as a person also wanted by Interpol for his involvement in terrorist activities.

Uber hails Virat Kohli's commitment to India, gets him as brand ambassador

Cab hailing platform Uber on Friday said it has it has roped in Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador in India.
"Uber India's association with Virat Kohli will lay the foundation for a host of brand-led interventions in 2018. Besides being the face of the brand, Virat will be actively involved in a series of innovative marketing and customer experience initiatives to be rolled out by Uber India," the company said in a statement.
It, however, did not disclose the financial terms of the partnership.

This is the first time the company has announced a brand ambassador in the Asia Pacific region.

Last month, it had named footballer Mohamed Salah as the brand ambassador for the Egypt market.
"In Virat, we've found a partner who reflects the drive we share with everyday India, while embodying our commitment to serving the country," Uber India and South Asia President Amit Jain said.
India is a key market for Uber, which is locked in an intense battle for market leadership with homegrown player, Ola. 

PMO was aware of the PNB scam almost two years ago: Congress

PNB Scam - The Congress on Thursday said that a whistleblower had alerted the government in 2016 about the Rs 115 billion banking fraud by fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi but Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ignored the tip.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said whistleblower Hari Prasad had written to the Prime Minister's Office as early as July 2016, alerting the government about the "biggest bank loot scam in 70 years" in independent India.

"What does the Prime Minister do? Nothing. What does the Finance Ministry do? Nothing.

What does the Corporate Affairs Ministry do? Nothing. What does the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Finance Ministry do? Nothing," Surjewala told reporters on Thursday.

"You are in power, a fraud is happening under your nose. What were you doing and how did they let the accused escape? Face the truth and answer questions."

He also asked Prime Minister Modi what the fugitive billionaire was doing with him at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Modi affect? The emerging India-US role reversal in world leadership

For the last half of the 20th century, the United States was the world's beacon for democracy and economic development and India was a laggard. These roles are reversing as the end of the second decade of the 21st century approaches.

India is becoming a beacon and the US is becoming a flashlight. In large part, this is a consequence of leadership.

India has a leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is pursuing the future. The US has a leader in Donald Trump who is pursuing the past. President Trump is emphasising individualism and isolationism. Prime Minister Modi is stressing engagement and expansionism.

Freedom House, in its annual report titled "Freedom in the World 2018" released in January, noted that "A long list of troubling developments contributed to the global decline of democracy, but perhaps most striking was the accelerating withdrawal of the United States from its historical commitment to promoting and supporting democracy."

Lamborghini launches its first super SUV 'Urus' in India for Rs 30 mn

Italian super sports car maker Lamborghini on Thursday launched its first super sports utility vehicle 'Urus' in the country, priced at Rs 30 million.

With the launch of a new model, Lamborghini expects its volumes to surge 2.5-3 times, it said.

"India as a market is playing a very interesting role step by step into the overall sales globally. Urus will change the game for Lamborghini in India in terms of volumes and we expect to grow our volumes 2.5-3 times," Lamborghini General Manager for Asia Pacific Andrea Baldi said.

Stating that India is a strategic market for the company's further growth, Lamborghini India head Sharad Agarwal said given the preference for SUV cars among Indians, "we believe that Urus is going to be an exciting and important product and will open up a completely new segment of customers for us in India.

UIDAI introduces 16-digit 'Virtual ID', limited KYC for Aadhaar holders

As it looks to address concerns regarding privacy of Aadhaar data, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has introduced a concept of ‘Virtual ID’, which is a temporary number that can be generated by users for the purpose of verification and authentication.

The UIDAI has taken a slew of measures to safeguard the privacy of citizens, primarily after reports emerged that Aadhaar data can be accessed by unauthorised means.
The 'Virtual ID', which will be mapped with the Aadhaar number, can be shared with authorities to authenticate identity for availing various services and it will provide users an option of not sharing their Aadhaar number.

The ID will be a temporary, revocable 16-digit number that can be shared with agencies like a telecom operator, for verification of identity. The 'Virtual ID' along with biometrics will furnish limited details like names, addresses, and photographs to the agency concerned for verification.
However, experts feel that though the intention of the government is good, it has to be seen what security parameters are put in place to safeguard the 'Virtual ID'.

According to senior cyber lawyer Pavan Duggal, cybersecurity was not introduced at the start by the UIDAI and that is why there have been so many cases regarding data breach. Also, he said people have become increasingly concerned about privacy and consequently, the UIDAI had come up with the concept of a 'Virtual ID'.