How to start your blockchain business.

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How to start your blockchain business.

Given how the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors are all the rage at the moment, it is perhaps the most opportune time for entrepreneurs looking to enter this sector. Blockchain-based businesses can provide innovative solutions to companies and private customers, with the industry improving and continuing to grow over the next few years. It is expected that there will be some level of integration of blockchain and cryptocurrencies in all aspects of society, including governments, business, finance, the economy, banking, healthcare, marketing and e-commerce. A striking example of sectors which have taken the lead in embracing blockchain and cryptocurrency comes from the gambling industry. One example is casino Winz, which has positioned itself primarily as a cryptocurrency casino. There are quite a few others similar to this as well, showing how the industry has already embraced this technology. Thus, this is the best time to look to start a blockchain business, and this article will provide some tips and tricks to get started.

First of all, any budding entrepreneurs need to have more than just an idea in place. There will need to be a detailed business plan, including the proposed product or service, how it will work, its purpose, the target client base, and the ultimate aim of the company. All of this will be necessary to provide a clear vision right from the start, as well as attract potential investors, who will need to see a proper plan to be convinced of putting in their money into a new venture. Entrepreneurs will need to work out the pricing for their offering, along with the revenue model as well as estimates for growth over the first few years. There will also be a need to come up with a name, a logo, the overall branding and the web address. Finally, you will need to evaluate the competition, both existing as well as the potential for new entrants, as this is vital to identify any gaps that are not served by the market at the moment to take up as the product.

Given how blockchain is still largely unregulated, picking a jurisdiction to locate the business is also important. Some areas have created legal and regulatory frameworks to deal with blockchain, while others have not, and so it will be down to the entrepreneur as to which jurisdiction is picked, based on its pros and cons. After this, costs will need to be estimated. There are significant costs which will have to be incurred right at the start, including licensing fees, registration, incorporating the company and market research. Capital costs such as buying/renting an office, hiring staff, and setting up utilities will also need to be incurred at the beginning of the business. This is true for any startup, and there will also need to be a recognition of the various ongoing costs that will come due as the business progresses. Examples of these include salaries, rent, hosting fees, supplies and so on.

Further tasks which need to be done include opening a bank account and payment processing options, as well as registering for taxes. Payment processors are important, as you will need to decide the types of payments you will accept, as well as the currencies. Keeping this as broad as possible will give you more access to clients, but it will also be more expensive. Tax registration is also important, as some jurisdictions have more lenient tax regimes than others, and therefore being tax-optimized is crucial to making the business successful.

These are just some of the opening steps needed to start a crypto or blockchain-based business. There is quite a lot of work which needs to be put in before any such venture can get off the ground, and any potential startups should look to hire a corporate service provider with a track record in this sector to guide them through the initial steps.

OPPO A15 with AI triple camera launched in India

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OPPO A15 with AI triple camera launched in India

Chinese smartphone maker OPPO on Thursday launched its new budget smartphone ‘OPPO 15’ with an AI triple camera system at the rear for Rs 10,990 in India.

OPPO A15 will be available in two color variants — dynamic black and mystery blue.

“Riding high on the success of the recently introduced A53, OPPO aims to further strengthen its highly acclaimed A series with the launch of A15 that offers promising features in this segment,” the company said in a statement.

The smartphone features a 6.52-inch water-drop screen with a large 89 percent screen-to-body ratio.

The device also features an HD+ screen that sports a resolution of 1600 x 720.

Further, the device comes with features that ensure the comfort of your eyes including Eye Comfort Filters, which can filter out harmful blue light and alleviate eye strain.

The device houses a 13MP Main Camera. It also boasts a 2MP Macro Lens for close-up shots as close as 4cm. To add more depth to portrait photos, it features a 2MP depth camera that adds a natural bokeh effect to the background.

There is also a 5MP front camera.

The device packs a MediaTek Helio P35 octa-core processor coupled with 3GB RAM and internal storage of 32GB that can be further extended to 256GB.

The device comes equipped with the latest ColorOS 7.2 that offers a suite of convenient features such as the Dark Mode that features an upgraded color contrast for a more intuitive interface.

The phone is powered by a 4230mAh battery.

Over 2,000 fashion stores join Flipkart to boost festive sales

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Over 2,000 fashion stores join Flipkart to boost festive sales

Flipkart on Thursday said it has partnered with more than 100 brands this festive season to help bring their wide range of products across 2,000 fashion stores onto the e-commerce marketplace.

Spread across more than 300 cities, this partnership will enable brands to showcase their available retail selection to near-by pin codes, helping customers get visibility to a wider selection and then delivered to them through Flipkart’s supply chain.

Flipkart said this partnership holds importance for hundreds of brands to get access to an omnichannel route that enables them to stay connected with their customers.

“The future of shopping is an integrated model where the lines will be blurred, ultimately creating a win-win situation for consumers, brands and sellers,” Nishit Garg, Vice President – Flipkart Fashion, said in a statement.

“With this approach, we are bridging the gap that currently exists for firstly, aspiring customers in tier 3 cities and beyond, who are seeking the best of current fashion trends, but have limited access; and secondly, for customers in metros who are seeking fresh fashion in a minimum timeframe.”

Flipkart said this initiative widens the choice of products for its over 250 million consumers and will meet the evolving needs of those who prefer shopping online from the safety of their homes, in metros, tier-2 regions, and beyond.

The e-commerce platform said that it will have the largest fashion selection available for consumers during its Big Billion Days and festive season this year which begins on October 16 with early access for Plus members from October 15.

Wearing out pitches due to overuse make IPL teams pick spinners

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Wearing out pitches due to overuse make IPL teams pick spinners

Chennai Super Kings fielded three spinners against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Tuesday, and two of them shared three very important wickets, including that of Jonny Bairstow and Kane Williamson, to help CSK secure a win and give the struggling team a much-needed lifeline in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

As many as three spinners in an XI – in CSK’s case Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, and Karn Sharma — is an indication that spinners, or slow bowlers, will play a key role going forward with the pitches starting to wear out.

“Spinners will come into play. Wickets are getting tired. There are three pitches [venues] to play on, so they will get tired,” said legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, the bowling coach of SRH, on the sidelines of Tuesday night’s game, while referring to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.

Tuesday’s CSK-SRH game was the first of the second half of the league phase of the tournament.

Till now, pace bowlers have led the bowling charts, with the only spinners in the top 10 wicket-takers being SRH’s Rashid Khan and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Yuzvendra Chahal.
But things may change, although Delhi Capitals’s fast bowler Anrich Nortje bowled three fastest deliveries in IPL history in a game against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday in Dubai.

With pitches beginning to wear out and tire with just three venues being used, rotation of playing surfaces becomes key.

A couple of Indian curators IANS spoke to feel the wickets will begin to take a turn not just because of limited venues and dry weather but also because the matches haven’t been spaced out properly.

It initially seemed that the BCCI had planned the tournament well. They had given just 10 matches to Sharjah, which has just three pitches, so there wouldn’t be much load on these. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are sharing the bulk of games and there are more pitches there for rotation.
“However, of what I have heard that is not happening. There are only a limited number of pitches — three at the most — that is being used,” says a curator who did not wish to be named. Dubai is hosting the maximum league games, 24, while Abu Dhabi is hosting 20.

“Ideally, they should not have kept back-to-back games at a venue,” adds the curator.
Whether or not pitches are being rotated, one venue hosting back-to-back matches is happening on quite a few occasions.

For example, Wednesday’s game between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals took place in Dubai, so did Tuesday’s match between CSK and SRH.

Games on October 6 and 7 took place at one venue, i.e. Abu Dhabi, even though it was not a weekend on which doubleheaders are played. Similarly, matches on September 24 and 25 too took place in one place i.e. Dubai.

These are instances on weekdays and alternate venues could have been used. If weekends are counted then back-to-back games are aplenty. Of course, this problem has arisen due to the limited number of venues in these extraordinary times as the tournament is being played in the United Arab Emirates due to Covid-19. In India, the matches are spread out across, at least, eight venues.

When asked about the problem of rotation, former head of BCCI’s pitches and grounds committee Daljit Singh said things do become difficult when there are limited venues.

“I think BCCI has done a tremendous job in ensuring that the IPL has been held this time. They have ensured that the livelihood of cricketers and others is not affected. However, in this case, I think it would have been better had they sent an Indian curator or two who has huge experience in conducting such a long tournament,” said Daljit.

“There are technicalities and science involved which they are aware of,” he pointed out.
In situations like these, five-six pitches are used alternately. Like pitches Nos.1, 3, and 5 would be used first, and then Nos. 2, 4, and 6.

It is a surprise as to why the Board of Control for Cricket in India failed to send even a single India curator to the UAE while it has sent officials from several other departments.

Those in charge of pitch preparation are the curators who are already employed there. Ideally, there should have been an India curator with experience in IPL.

The last time IPL happened in the UAE, in 2014, curator PR Viswanathan was sent even though only 20 matches were held there at the time.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s game in Dubai, Steve Smith looked at the pitch and immediately said, “It looks dry.” There could be more such reactions.

Whether or not the pitches tire out or spinners come into play remains to be seen.

MLA Aman Mani threatens government counsel

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MLA Aman Mani threatens government counsel

Controversial Independent MLA, Aman Mani Tripathi, is in news again for wrong reasons. This time, he has threatened additional district government counsel (ADGC) Ramesh Chandra Pandey.

Pandey has submitted a complaint at the Cantt. Police station, claiming that he was threatened by the MLA on phone.

The ADGC has said that Aman Mani Tripathi was pressurizing him to arrive at a compromise in a case registered in Lucknow. “He threatened to kill me and also get me removed from my post,” the ADGC told the police.

The Cantt police spokesperson said that they had received the complaint on Wednesday and had started investigations. “We are trying to track down the number from which the caller gave the threat and then will initiate further action,” said a police spokesperson.

Aman Mani Tripathi is the son of former minister Amar Mani Tripathi who is serving life sentence for the murder of poetess Madhumita Shukla in 2003. His mother, Madhu Mani, is also serving a life term in the same case.

Aman Mani has also been charged by the CBI for the murder of his wife Sara in 2015. He recently got married again.

He has been named in cases of kidnapping and extortion.

During the lockdown, he hit headlines when he traveled to Uttarakhand with his friends and claimed that he had been authorized by Yogi Adityanath to offer prayers at Badrinath for the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister’s father, who had passed away.

He was stopped by the Uttarakhand police and the Adityanath government issued a clarification saying that the Yogi government had not authorized anyone to visit Badrinath and offer prayers on his behalf.

Aman Mani Tripathi is an independent MLA from the Nautanwa assembly segment.

Team has great balance of youth & experience in defence line, says Ekka

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Team has great balance of youth & experience in defence line, says Ekka

It’s been a difficult time for the entire world in the last few months amid the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the Indian women’s hockey team has been working towards their goal of winning an Olympic medal in whichever way they can. Defender Deep Grace Ekka has expressed that it has been her responsibility to ensure that the youngsters in the team remained motivated during this tough period.

“As a senior player in the team, I had to make sure that the youngsters are not too impacted and remain positive during this period. It’s easy for negativity to set in during this time, but our group has done well to take each day as it comes,” said Ekka.

“It’s my duty to ensure that the youngsters remain motivated and they have done a great job. All of us focused on our fitness while we were away from the pitch and now, we are relishing our sports activities on the pitch,” she added.

Ekka expressed that the Indian defense line has a fantastic balance of youth and experienced players which will certainly help the national side in big tournaments.

“It’s great to have a great balance of youth and experienced players in our defence line. We are guiding the youngsters to get even better at their game and I am sure after a few months we will get even better as a defense unit. Having a great defense line always helps any team and if we are rock solid then it will be a huge benefit for the Indian team, especially in big tournaments like the Olympics,” said the defender.

Ekka said the national side has been able to cope with this period only because of the immense support received from Hockey India and SAI.

“Hockey India and SAI have always treated us like family and they have helped us tremendously in the last few months. We had enough facilities at our disposal for our fitness training during the lockdown and now, we are able to practice for the Olympics only because of the efforts put in by Hockey India and SAI,” said the 26-year-old.

Many colonies in rain battered Hyderabad remain underwater

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Many colonies in rain battered Hyderabad remain underwater

Many colonies in Hyderabad and suburbs remained underwater on Thursday while Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel continued rescue and relief work in the flood-hit areas.

Clear skies provided respite to the city battered by heavy rains in the intervening night of October 13-14 but the areas abutting overflowing lakes and nalas remained inundated while traffic on damaged highways is yet to be restored.

Personnel of Army, NDRF, and Disaster Response Force (DRF) of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation continued rescue and relief work in the worst-affected areas. People trapped in marooned houses were being shifted to safe places through boats.

One of the worst floods in the city’s history has so far claimed 19 lives while five others are missing.

Colonies in Chandrayangutta in the old city of Hyderabad, Chaderghat, and Moosarambagh on the banks of Musi river, Uppal, and Vanasthalipuram on the city outskirts are still under the floodwaters.

Following the release of surplus water from Himayat Sagar upstream, the Musi river was flowing dangerously at Moosarambagh, flooding adjacent areas.

Officials were working to save Palle Cheru lake from a breach at Mailardevpally. Sandbags were arranged to strengthen the embankment. Ranga Reddy district collector Amoy Kumar and Cyberabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar were supervising the efforts.

People living in areas surrounding the lake were alerted to move to safe places. A part of the bund had breached following heavy rains on Tuesday night, inundating the Ali Nagar area.

Eight members of a family have washed away while trying to wade through floodwater in Ali Nagar on Wednesday. Bodies of three people were found while the search was on for others.

Some colonies in the Manikonda area were also inundated due to an overflowing Firangi Nala. With cellars of the buildings completely submerged, residents of the apartments were waiting for help.

Several colonies in Uppal, Boduppal, Ramanthapur, Peerzadiguda, and Ghatkesar also remained inundated.

Road connectivity to many areas in the city remained disrupted due to inundation. Traffic is also yet to be restored on the highways. Authorities were trying to repair the Hyderabad-Bengaluru highway which was badly damaged at Gaganpahad.

The state government has already declared a two-day holiday on Wednesday and Thursday to all private institutions, offices, nonessential services within Outer Ring Road (ORR) with work from the home advisory.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will review the flood situation in Hyderabad and other parts of the state at a high-level meeting to be held later in the day.

The Chief Minister asked all the officials concerned to come prepared for the meeting, as the State government has to submit a report to the Centre on the loss caused due to heavy rains and flash floods in the State.

People with blood type O may have a lower risk of Covid-19: Study

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People with blood type O may have a lower risk of Covid-19: Study

New research adds to the growing body of evidence that people with blood type ‘O’ may have a lower risk of Covid-19 infection and reduced likelihood of severe outcomes, including organ complications if they do get sick.

Two studies published in the journal Blood Advances suggest that individuals with blood type ‘O’ may be less vulnerable to Covid-19 infection.

“It is very important to consider the proper control group because blood type prevalence may vary considerably in different ethnic groups and different countries,” said study author Torben Barrington from the University of Southern Denmark.

“We have the advantage of a strong control group – Denmark is a small, ethnically homogenous country with a public health system and a central registry for lab data – so our control is population-based, giving our findings a strong foundation,” Barington added.

For the findings, the research team compared Danish health registry data from more than 473,000 individuals tested for Covid-19 to data from a control group of more than 2.2 million people from the general population.

Among the Covid-19 positive, they found fewer people with blood type ‘O’ and more people with ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘AB’ types.

The study results suggest that people with blood types ‘A’, ‘B’, or ‘AB’ may be more likely to be infected with Covid-19 than people with type ‘O’.

The researchers did not find any significant difference in the rate of infection between ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘AB’ types.

The findings also showed that blood groups ‘A’ and ‘AB’ associated with an increased risk of severe clinical outcomes of Covid-19 infection.

People with blood groups ‘A’ or ‘AB’ appear to exhibit greater Covid-19 disease severity than people with blood groups ‘O’ or ‘B’, according to a separate retrospective study.

Researchers found that patients with blood groups ‘A’ or ‘AB’ were more likely to require mechanical ventilation, suggesting that they had greater rates of lung injury from Covid-19.

They also found more patients with blood group ‘A’ and ‘AB’ required dialysis for kidney failure.

“The unique part of our study is our focus on the severity effect of blood type on Covid-19. We observed this lung and kidney damage, and in future studies, we will want to tease out the effect of blood group and Covid-19 on other vital organs,” the authors wrote.

Earlier, another study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases that people with blood group ‘A’ may be more prone to Covid-19 infection while those with blood type ‘O’ have a lower risk of contracting the virus.

Batting in white shoes is Kohli’s superstition

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Batting in white shoes is Kohli’s superstition

Even Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has a superstition.

“I love playing in white shoes, batting especially. It’s more of a superstition for me,” Kohli told Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City boss, during an Instagram live session.

“When I bat, it’s my zone and time to be absolutely close to myself and perform,” said the 31-year-old, who made his international debut in 2008.

Kohli also asked Guardiola about him switching colors of his shoes during his playing days. To which the Manchester City boss replied: “When I was playing, all the shoes were black. Now to find a black boot is so difficult. One day when I wore red boots, my mentor and the best manager Johan Cruyff saw it and made me change back into black boots.”

Guardiola further revealed that football matches being held without fans during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic feel like “friendly games”.

“Without people, it’s not the same. It feels like a friendly game. We must do it, the show must go on! We need the people to come back to the stadiums when everything is safe,” said the 49-year-old.

“It feels very different without them. We miss the fans. Playing closed behind the scenes is weird,” he added.

Kohli, who has so far played 86 Tests, 248 ODIs, and 82 T20Is, is currently leading Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) being played across three venues sans fans in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Republic TV case: SC says concerned about police commissioners giving interviews

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Republic TV case: SC says concerned about police commissioners giving interviews

Supreme Court on Thursday, during the hearing of Republic TV plea against the summons issued by the Mumbai Police to the news channel in connection with the alleged Television Rating Point (TRP) scam, said the court is concerned about the Police Commissioners giving interviews.

A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee at the outset of the hearing said: “We are concerned about Police Commissioners giving interviews.” The Mumbai Police Commissioner held a press conference about the scam.

The bench asked senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Republic TV, to move the Bombay High Court in the matter. Justice Chandrachud in a lighter vein told Salve, “Your office is in Worli. And, the Flora Fountain is not too far from Worli.” The top court held a very short hearing on the Republic’s TV plea.

The top court observed that like any ordinary citizen facing investigation under CrPC, petitioners must also go to the High Court first. Salve agreed to withdraw the petition with the liberty to approach the High Court. The top court told Salve, “We must have faith in the High Court”.

The Mumbai Police has opposed the Republic TV demand for a CBI probe, saying the channel can’t decide which agency should probe the matter. The affidavit filed by the Mumbai Police said the investigation into a crime can’t be a matter of free speech and alleged that Arnab Goswami is threatening and intimidating witnesses.

The Republic TV plea in the apex court had challenged the October 9 summons, issued to the CFO of Republic Media Network, in connection with the investigation in an FIR. Earlier, the CFO citing the plea in the top court had urged the Mumbai Police to pause its probe in the role of the network and its employee, as a request has been made before the court for an early hearing into the matter.

The police have named Republic TV, India Today TV, Fakt Marathi, and Box Cinema among the accused after its discreet investigation in the past few days.

Gurugram cinemas reopen on Friday: Tickets to cost 75% less, 6 shows on Day 1

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Gurugram cinemas reopen on Friday: Tickets to cost 75% less, 6 shows on Day 1

The audience will have to wait for one more day to watch films in the cinema halls in Gurugram as the PVR and other managements have decided to start operations from Friday.

The ticket prices have been reduced by 75 percent to woo the audience back. According to the management, six shows will be run at PVR on the first day.

All cinema halls will comply with the SOPs mandated by the Union Government. These include maintaining distances of one seat in the halls, 50 percent capacity, masks at all times, proper ventilation, and air condition temperature settings above 23 degrees Celsius. Also, markings have been made to ensure social distancing in the cinema hall galleries.

On the other hand, the Kingdom of Dreams (KOD), one of the key attractions, will take another 10 days to start. The ongoing repair work could not be completed here.

PVR Cinema Manager of MGF Mall, Gaurav said that six Hindi, English, and Punjabi films will be played on the first day on Friday.

For this, PVR management has fixed the time and sent the information. Online booking of tickets has also been started. On the first day, six films will be played including “Tanhaji..”, “Thappad”, “Parasite”, and “My Spy”.

“Earlier, the minimum ticket price of the film was Rs 250 and the maximum price was Rs 350. This price has been reduced to Rs 99. All SOPs will be followed,” MGF Mall’s PVR manager Pooran Bohra said.

Uber hires Amazon veteran to lead mobility teams in Bengaluru

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Uber hires Amazon veteran to lead mobility teams in Bengaluru

Uber on Thursday announced it hired Amazon veteran Manikandan Thangarathnam as senior director to lead all rider and platform engineering teams in Bengaluru.

Uber said it is also hiring 85 more engineers in the country. This is in addition to hiring 140 engineers the ride-hailing service announced last month.

“As the world steps into a new normal, adaptability is going to be a key aspect to usher in growth. I look forward to leading the bright minds at Uber and innovating together for the world, one ride at a time,” said Mani.

At Amazon, Mani helped build several core platforms and products.

He led engineering efforts for the Amazon Appstore and was instrumental in bootstrapping the tech major’s Chennai office and building a vast team of engineers.

The Rider mobility team works on the challenge of enabling the next billion trips by building new services including high capacity vehicles (Uber bus), and car rentals, among others.

The company said the Marketplace team is building a highly-available and scalable self-serve gateway to configure, manage, and monitor Application Programming Interfaces (API) of every business domain at Uber.

Uber recently hired another Amazon veteran Jayaram Valliyur as senior director to lead its global finance technology team, spread across multiple geographies.

Delhi records ‘very poor’ air quality, Gr.Noida worse

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Delhi records ‘very poor’ air quality, Gr.Noida worse

A noxious haze hung over the national capital on Thursday as its air turned foul and the quality index mounted to the ‘very poor’ category, for the second time this week. The East Delhi district recorded the highest pollution.

Delhi’s air quality index stood at 320 at noon, which falls in the ‘very poor’ category. The particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrograms per cubic meter, which is too small to be filtered out of the body, is the main pollutant.

The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), which come under the aegis of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, categorizes air quality in the 0-50 range as good, 51-100 as satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor and above 400 as severe.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board, out of the 36 pollution monitoring stations in Delhi, the air quality index at as many as 25 stations is in the ‘very poor’ category, eight stations recorded the index in the ‘poor’ category, one recorded it to be ‘moderate’ category while two remained non-functional.

The pollution monitoring station in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area recorded the most polluted air at 373, followed by 361 at Shadipur and 357 at Patparganj and Mundka area. Lodhi Road logged the least air quality index.

Delhi’s neighboring areas — Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Noida, and Greater Noida — also recorded ‘very poor’ quality of air. Greater Noida’s air is currently the most polluted of all.

Nationwide, as many as 15 cities have very poor air quality. Uttar Pradesh’s Bhagpat tops the charts, followed by Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi, Greater Noida, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad, etc.

The air pollution reaches a crescendo every winter in Delhi and surrounding regions when pollution from stubble burning combines with the suspended water droplets in the lower atmosphere to form a thick blanket of noxious smog.

According to SAFAR, an increase in stubble burning fire counts was observed around Haryana, Punjab, and neighboring border regions with fire count estimated as 740, and transport wind direction is partly favorable and hence an increase in stubble contribution to PM2.5 is expected.

Pawan Gupta, a Universities Space Research Association scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre, however, emphasized that farm fires are not only limited to Punjab, Haryana but a significant burning is also seen in various districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the spike in pollutants in the capital city is a result of low wind speeds, along with an increase in stubble burning in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.

“In summer, there is rainfall and thunderstorm activities due to which the wind speed touches 50-60 kilometers per hour, leading to dispersal of pollutants. Whereas in October and November, the wind speed does not go beyond 15 kilometers per hour due to which the pollutants settle-in,” said Kuldeep Srivastava, Head of IMD’s Regional Weather Forecasting Centre.

After the return of the monsoon, the weather patterns change, and the temperature starts to decline. The effects of mist, fog are more, and they act as a trap for local pollution, stated an official of private weather forecasting agency – Skymet, adding that the pollution that arises does not go away and persists for a long time on the lower surface of the atmosphere.

OnePlus investing Rs 100 crore to boost retail footprint in India

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OnePlus investing Rs 100 crore to boost retail footprint in India

Smartphone maker OnePlus is committed to investing Rs 100 crore towards deeper market penetration by taking premium offline experience beyond metro cities and expanding its reach through new online and offline retail partnerships, a top company executive said on Thursday.

With over 5,000 offline stores including partnered stores across the country, the smartphone maker is planning to scale up to more than 8,000 stores in the coming quarters, Navnit Nakra, VP and Chief Strategy OnePlus India told IANS.

“At present, we have over 30 OnePlus experience stores across India and will be opening 14 new experience stores in the next six months.

“We’ll launch our biggest experience store globally, the OnePlus Nizam Palace in Hyderabad later this year. We are also working towards covering 100 cities through our service center network in the next year,” Nakra informed.

The smartphone maker launched its India R&D center in 2019 and is committed to achieving long-term growth in the country.

Currently, the company has 300 employees in the R&D team and hopes to double that number in the coming months.

Nakra said that India continues to be a key market for OnePlus since the brand’s entry in 2014.

“We began our commitment to Make in India initiative in February 2018 and since then, we have been manufacturing our devices in the country. We have also commenced the manufacturing of the OnePlus TVs and OnePlus Nord in India,” Nakra told IANS.

By 2021, all OnePlus TVs will be manufactured locally in India.

“On our smart TV portfolio, we commenced the manufacturing of the Y series in India and by 2021, all OnePlus TVs will also be manufactured locally including the Q and the U series,” Nakra informed.

He said that 100 percent of OnePlus smartphones are being manufactured in India including OnePlus 8 series, OnePlus Nord, and the recently launched OnePlus 8T.

OnePlus has launched its new flagship 5G smartphone the ‘OnePlus 8T’ with 120Hz Fluid AMOLED display and quad-camera set up, in India.

The OnePlus 8T will be available in two colours, aquamarine green and lunar silver at Rs 45,999 (12GB RAM+ 256GB internal storage) and Rs 42,999 (8GB RAM+128GB internal storage).

“OnePlus is consistently exploring opportunities to fuel its growth and meet the needs of more users, by starting to strategically diversify into new product categories and new price points but, at the same time, not compromising on our OnePlus promise,” Nakra told IANS.

OnePlus Nord series is also likely to get new entrants this month, according to multiple reports.

The rumored OnePlus Nord N10 5G and OnePlus Nord N100 are said to be launching as soon as the end of October, first in the US market.

News of Olympics postponement came as a shock: Mary Kom

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News of Olympics postponement came as a shock: Mary Kom

Ace Indian boxer MC Mary Kom has revealed she was shocked when she first heard about the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Originally scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9 this year, the Tokyo Olympics was in March postponed to 2021 due to the outbreak of coronavirus. It is now set to be held from July 23 to August 8 next year.

“I was so surprised. This news came as a shock to all of us. It’s challenged our life and routines and it’s no different for me. I have been fighting for almost 20 years,” said Mary Kom while speaking to Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli during an Instagram live session.

“I have been trying to do my training and all the activities at home. The only thing I was not able to do was sparring. Boxing requires sparring, so you can easily perform in competition. I do my running, skipping, and strength training at home. I am preparing. I am trying to get more strength to improve myself in this situation,” she added.

The six-time world champion was further asked by Kohli about the challenges she faces outside the ring and the stereotypes which are there in the society. To which Mary Kom replied that she does get distracted by naysayers but she remains focused on her goals.

“The stereotypes are here to stay and you will always have naysayers. There are so many people who talk negative. We have done so many positives for our country and society,” said Mary Kom.

“The naysayers do distract me but one’s resilience can prove them wrong. We need to drive the youth to do the unthinkable, the formula doesn’t see gender. It’s hard work and preparation. Always go for goals, motivate, never give up, and keep fighting. That’s what I always tell young boxers, kids, and parents,” she added.

The London Olympic-bronze medallist further stated that her husband has been a pillar of strength following her marriage.

“After marriage, my husband has been a pillar of my strength for me. The support he gives me and my children are second to none. He takes care of everything. He’s the ideal husband and father,” said the 37-year-old.

“I am so happy that I have an ideal father for my sons. I gave birth to twins and if he wouldn’t have supported me it would have been difficult. As I speak people might think it’s easy. But in reality, it’s really difficult,” she added.

Zoom launches new online events platform ‘OnZoom’

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Zoom launches new online events platform ‘OnZoom’

Video meeting app Zoom has launched an online event platform and marketplace called OnZoom for paid users of the platform to create, host, and monetize events like fitness classes, concerts, stand-up or music lessons on the Zoom Meetings platform.

With this platform, hosts can grow their businesses, expand their reach into new audiences, and give back through native donation integration, Zoom said on Wednesday, while making the announcement during its Zoomtopia 2020 event.

Zoom users can discover these events and sign up for new experiences with additional functionality like gifting tickets and an attendee dashboard to keep tabs on favorite events and brands.

“One thing we’ve learned in this challenging time is that remote work does work. The future will bring a hybrid of the best of in-person and virtual communications,” said Zoom Video Communications CEO Eric Yuan.

“The announcements we make today at Zoomtopia demonstrate that Zoom is built for this moment and beyond. We have the platform to support what the world needs — today, tomorrow, and well into the future.”

The OnZoom platform specifically helps businesses and entrepreneurs schedule and host one-time events, an event series, and drop-ins for up to 1,000 attendees (depending on your Zoom Meeting license), list and sell tickets, share and promote public events via email and social media and reach new audiences beyond a business geographical location.

Zoom made the service available starting Wednesday as a public beta for US users.

Have learnt more from defeats than victories, Chhetri tells Kohli

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Have learnt more from defeats than victories, Chhetri tells Kohli

Sunil Chhetri, captain of the Indian men’s football team, has stated that in life, he has learned more from defeats than victories.

“I think in life I have learned more from defeats. When I’ve won a lot, over a period of time I feel I become complacent,” Chhetri told Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli during an Instagram live session arranged by Puma.

Kohli agreed with Chhetri and said: “Yes, you understand that you learn more from losses, not victories. When you win, you hardly reflect on things. But, I have realized you should reflect even when you win. You always have something to improve on, learn, and get better at. If we can get that consistency in wins and losses, you can be more balanced going forward.”

Chhetri is India’s all-time goal-scorer and second in the world in the list of active goalscorers in international football. He has scored 72 international goals while star Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 101.

When asked by Kohli about his motivation, the talismanic striker said: “There is no comparison. I feel happy about it and forget about it. The joy of playing football and the love I get is unbelievable. It’s not something I have dreamt of.”

“I want to give it everything I have got. I don’t take the pressure, I just enjoy it because I’m living a life which I have not even dreamt of. I don’t let even a day go by where I don’t give my 100 percent,” he added.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, fans are currently not allowed to watch their favourites sporting stars in action from inside the stadiums. Currently, Kohli is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leading Royals Challengers Bangalore in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) being played sans fans.

“As a fan, when I got the news that I won’t be able to watch the game in the stadium, I felt bad. Sport is all about fans. I realized live sports gives you so much happiness. It’s equally exciting,” said Chhetri.

“When you get an opportunity to watch live sports, there aren’t many things in life better than that. I’m saying it with all my heart. As a fan, you have to be patient. Watch the live game on television and enjoy it,” he added.

Even Kohli agreed that fans boost the confidence of the players and motivate them to bring out their A-game. “Players benefit more from fans being there (inside the stadium). Fans even when watching from home, when they put full energy into watching and supporting the team, it reaches the team. That support really gives players a boost,” said the 31-year-old.

Chhetri also talked about his experience in the lockdown which was imposed first in March to stem the spread of novel coronavirus.

“In the first month, I had no clue as to what I’m going to – not allowed to go out, not allowed to train was difficult. Suddenly it hits you that life is much bigger than your sport,” he said.

“I remember talking to you when you had already started your training and that really hit me. I started at home – with being more disciplined. Now we are allowed to train under a bio-bubble and it feels good to be back,” the 36-year-old added.

Herd immunity is dangerous and flawed approach: Lancet

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Herd immunity is dangerous and flawed approach: Lancet

The idea of using herd immunity approach to manage Covid-19 — by allowing immunity to develop in low-risk populations while protecting the most vulnerable — is “a dangerous fallacy unsupported by the scientific evidence”, say a new letter signed by 80 international researchers.

According to the open letter published in the journal The Lancet, the experts stated that it is critical to act decisively and urgently.

The authors acknowledge that ongoing restrictions have understandably led to widespread demoralisation and diminishing trust among the public and that in the face of the second wave of infection there is renewed interest in so-called natural herd immunity approaches.

They stressed that any pandemic management strategy relying upon immunity from natural infections for Covid-19 is flawed.

They explained that uncontrolled transmission in younger people risks significant ill-health and death across the whole population – with real-world evidence from many countries showing that it is not possible to restrict uncontrolled outbreaks to certain sections of society, and it is practically impossible to isolate large swathes of the population.

Instead, they said that special efforts to protect the most vulnerable are essential, but must go hand-in-hand with multi-pronged population-level strategies.

They also stated that there is no evidence for lasting protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 after natural infection, and warned that this waning immunity as a result of natural infection would not end the Covid-19 but instead result in repeated waves of transmission over several years.

They said that this could place vulnerable populations at risk for the indefinite future, as natural infection-based herd immunity strategies would result in recurrent epidemics, as seen with many infectious diseases before mass vaccination.

Instead, the authors call for the suppression of the virus until the population can be vaccinated.

The authors also warn that natural infection-based herd immunity approaches risk impacting the workforce as a whole and overwhelming the ability of healthcare systems to provide acute and routine care.

They noted that “we still do not understand who might suffer from ‘long Covid’, and that herd immunity approaches place an unacceptable burden on healthcare workers, many of whom have died from Covid-19.

Kohli bats for captains’ call on wide ball review in T20s

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Kohli bats for captains’ call on wide ball review in T20s

India skipper Virat Kohli has suggested that captains in T20 cricket should be given the authority to review wide ball and waist-high full-toss from on-field umpires.

“As a captain, I would like to have the ability to review a wide which could be a wrong call or a waist-high full toss which could be a wrong call,” Kohli told KL Rahul during an Instagram chat session on Wednesday.

“Historically, we’ve seen how these small things can affect the game in a fast-paced T20 format and high-profile tournaments like IPL,” he added.

Kohli’s comments come in the aftermath of a controversy involving MS Dhoni during the Chennai Super Kings’ match against SunRisers Hyderabad in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

During the 19th overs of SRH’s chase of 168 on Tuesday evening, both Dhoni and bowler Shardul Thakur expressed their disappointment after umpire Paul Reiffel stretched his arms to signal a wide being faced by Rashid Khan. Following Dhoni’s miffed gesture, the umpire then seemed to change his mind and decided not to call the wide.

Reiffel put his arms down looking at CSK captain’s reaction and declared it as a fair delivery.

Honor Watch ES: Economical yet powerful wearable for Diwali gift

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Honor Watch ES: Economical yet powerful wearable for Diwali gift

The honor which has surprised the users with the stellar performance of its smartwatches has now launched two feature-loaded wearable Watch ES and GS Pro to further strengthen its presence in the festive season.

Honor Watch ES will be on sale during the Amazon ‘Great Indian Festival’ for Rs 7,499 that starts from October 17.

We used the Watch ES for a couple of days and here is what it has to offer in the super-hot affordable segment.

The Honor Watch ES features a 1.64-inch rectangular AMOLED touch display with a 2.5D protection and 280×456 pixels resolution at 326 ppi of pixel density.

The smartwatch also has a 70 percent screen-to-body ratio as well as an Always-on Display functionality.

The display is capable of adjusting brightness automatically depending on ambient light levels and we didn’t face any issue while using it indoors or outdoors.

To make the display cool, one can set his or her own photos from a phone album as a watch face, adding a personal touch.

It also comes with six pre-installed always-on watch faces. In addition, you can customize activity data and information on the watch face to your liking with heart rate, calories burned, battery level, and others.

The watch comes with a slew of smartphone-like features.

One will be able to receive notifications for incoming calls and messages to remain connected anytime and anywhere.

Moreover, you can use the watch to view weather information, manage music playback, and more.

The smartwatch comes pre-installed with 12 workout courses consisting of 44 animated exercise moves to keep the user active and engaged at any time.

The smartwatch supports 85 customized workout modes and 10 professional fitness modes that together cover a wide range – from traditional to more experimental, outdoor to indoor, and summer to winter.

Utilizing the optical heart rate sensor and accurate sports algorithm, the watch can automatically detect workout types including indoor running/walking, outdoor running/walking, elliptical, and rower.

The smartwatch also features Pulse Oxygen Saturation (SpO2) monitoring.

This function enables you to monitor oxygen saturation levels in the blood, which is a crucial indicator of whether oxygen is being delivered in the body.

The SpO2 monitoring can help the user to determine how the body is adapting to heavy workouts or at high altitudes.

It is also equipped with Huawei ‘TruRelax’ technology that can measure stress levels by analyzing heart rate and providing feedback on your stress index.

The watch also offers corresponding stress-relieving exercises, guiding the user to combat stress and maintain both healthy mental and physical wellbeing.

The product is also powered by ‘TruSleep 2.0′ technology, that can detect when a user fall asleep, wake up, and track different sleep stages including shallow, deep, REM sleep.

The watch also features TruSeen 4.0 that can monitor users’ heart rate in real-time throughout the entire day. With the continuous heart rate tracking, the watch will also vibrate to alert when the heart rate is too high or too low.

Further, the smartwatch comes with a fast charging technology that enables charging of up to 70 percent in just 30 minutes. It is also rated to deliver up to 10 days of battery life on a single charge.

Conclusion: Watch ES comes with most of the next-gen features that you need in an affordable smartwatch. If you are aiming to buy a new one this festive season, gifting the smartwatch to your loved ones will be just perfect.

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