IPL: Rabada continues to wear Purple Cap, Orange stays with KL

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IPL: Rabada continues to wear Purple Cap, Orange stays with KL

Kagiso Rabada of Delhi Capitals and Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul continues to lead the respective lists of leading wicket-takers and run-scorers following the conclusion of 27 matches in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) edition.

On Sunday evening, Rabada returned with figures of 2/28 in his four overs and in the process took his tournament tally to 17 to hold onto the Purple Cap. However, his efforts couldn’t avoid defeat for the Capitals as Mumbai Indians won the match by five wickets at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

He is followed by Mumbai Indians’ Jasprit Bumrah, who has 11 wickets in seven games. Bumrah’s teammate Trent Boult is third on the list with 11 wickets from seven matches.

In the batsmen’s list, Rahul continues to hold onto the Orange Cap, having scored 387 runs in seven games. He is followed by his teammate Mayank Agarwal who has collected 337 runs in seven games. Chennai Super Kings’ Faf du Plessis comes third on the list with 307 runs.

These running caps are presented to the leading wicket-taker and run-scorer and keep changing hands throughout the duration of the tournament.

In the points table, Mumbai Indians are at the top of the chart, having secured 10 points from seven games. Delhi Capitals with 10 points are second on the list due to lower net run-rate. Kolkata Knight Riders complete the podium with eight points from six games.

Facebook quietly removes 20% text limit on ad images

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Facebook quietly removes 20% text limit on ad images

Facebook has discreetly removed the rule that limited text space on ad images to only 20 percent. It means that the social networking giant will not penalize ads with more image text on them.

Facebook had a ‘text overlay’ tool for advertisers to ensure that text did not take up more than 20 percent of their ads.

As shared by social media expert Matt Navarra, Facebook is contacting advertisers to inform them of the update.

“BIG news for Facebook advertisers. Facebook is killing its ‘<20% text in image’ rule for ads,” he tweeted recently.

Facebook said that it “will no longer penalize ads with higher amounts of image text in auctions and delivery”.

“We will begin gradually removing external material and sources that indicate that we enforce high levels of text in images,” the social network added.

Earlier, the ‘text overlay’ tool by Facebook checked if the ad aligned with the 20 percent restriction or not.

“To create a better experience for viewers and advertisers, ads that appear on Facebook, Instagram, and the Audience Network are screened based on the amount of image text used in your ad,” read the earlier Facebook rule.

“Based on this review, advertisements with a higher percentage of image text may not be shown. Please note that exceptions may apply to certain ad images. For example, exemptions apply to book covers, album covers, and product images”.

Facebook, however, said that advertisers are still encouraged to reduce the amount of text with images.

“We have found that images with less than 20 percent text generally perform better,” it said.

Shuttler Ajay Jayaram ‘not allowed to board’ flight to Denmark

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Shuttler Ajay Jayaram ‘not allowed to board’ flight to Denmark

Shuttler Ajay Jayaram has said he was not allowed to board a flight on Friday morning from Bangalore to Denmark, where he is scheduled to play in the Denmark Open Super Series.

The rest of the Indian squad, including Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and Shubhankar Dey, flew with Air France from Delhi the previous night, while Jayaram was flying with the British Airways on Friday morning.

In a series of tweets, the 33-year old said he was not allowed to board the flight, despite carrying the same Type C Schengen Visa, as well as Covid-19 negative certificate like the rest of the players.

“I need to travel from Bangalore to Denmark tonight for the Denmark Open. I have a valid type C visa with COVID negative certificate and invitation letter from organizers stating my cause is worthy. I want to know if I can travel by Air France. Please let me know,” he tweeted while appealing to Air France to let him fly with them while tagging the airline along with BWF and BAI.

“I wasn’t allowed to board British Airways flight this morning. The rest of the Indian team has flown out with Air France last night from Delhi having the same type C Schengen Visa as me. Kindly help,” he wrote in another tweet, tagging Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and the Prime Minister’s Office Twitter handle.

The Super 750 tournament, which is expected to signal the restart of the sport’s international calendar post the Covid-19 hiatus, is set to be played from October 13 to 18 in Odense.

Pence postpones Indiana trip to vote early

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Pence postpones Indiana trip to vote early

US Vice President Mike Pence has postponed a planned trip to the state of Indiana on Friday to vote early for the presidential election.

While the reason for the cancellation was not immediately clear, press secretary Devin O’Malley said on Thursday: “Nobody’s sick. There are no positive tests. The Vice President is planning on traveling on Saturday and Monday.

“We’ll have more information on the Vice President’s schedule next week soon.”

A White House official also said that Pence will vote in Indiana at a later date.

According to a report in The Hill news website, Pence was slated to travel to Indianapolis, where he is still registered to vote, to cast his ballot in person along with his wife, Karen.

But the trip was called off on Thursday afternoon while Pence was in Arizona campaigning, the report added.

On Saturday, Pence will campaign in Florida and in Ohio on Monday on October 12.

The Vice President has taken a critical role in the campaigning after President Donald Trump announced on October 2 that he and the First Lady had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Pence and his wife had tested negative following Trump’s announcement and also on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Trump insisted he was feeling well, but acknowledged on Thursday morning that he is still taking dexamethasone, a steroid, for treatment.

2020 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to UN World Food Programme

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2020 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to UN World Food Programme

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize was on Friday awarded to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for its “efforts to combat hunger”.

In a statement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that it decided to award the honor to the WFP “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”.

The WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.

In 2019, it provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.

In 2015, eradicating hunger was adopted as one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to emphasize that providing assistance to increase food security not only prevents hunger but can also help to improve prospects for stability and peace.

“The WFP has taken the lead in combining humanitarian work with peace efforts through pioneering projects in South America, Africa, and Asia,” according to the statement.

“With this year’s award, the (Committee) wishes to turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger,” the BBC quoted Norwegian Nobel committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen as saying.

“The WFP plays a key role in multilateral cooperation in making food security an instrument of peace.”

Some 211 individuals, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, and 107 organizations were nominated for the prize this year.

Last year, the award was conferred to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose peace deal with Eritrea ended a 20-year military stalemate following their 1998-2000 border war.

Azure Red Hat OpenShift now generally available in India

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Azure Red Hat OpenShift now generally available in India

Microsoft and Open source solutions provider Red Hat has announced the general availability of Azure Red Hat OpenShift in India to fuel Hybrid Cloud development and transform businesses.

Azure Red Hat OpenShift brings an enterprise-grade Kubernetes solution built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux — the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform — to Microsoft Azure.

“Through our collaboration with Red Hat, we provide a production-ready public cloud foundation. It will empower enterprises in India to create a hybrid environment that meets their current as well future business needs – providing them the much-required agility, scalability, and efficiency as they rebuild their businesses,” said Venkatesh Krishnan, Executive Director, Commercial Partners, Microsoft India.

Customers will receive an integrated experience, including unified sign-up, on-boarding, service management, and technical support.

“Azure Red Hat OpenShift will lean on the strengths of both the parties, enabling customers to expand container innovation, deploy mission-critical apps with greater confidence and more easily manage and orchestrate cloud-native workloads across a hybrid cloud environment,” said Neeraj Bhatia, Senior Director, Sales, Red Hat India and SAARC.

Software giant IBM acquired Red Hat for $34 billion last year.

Post Covid-19 hiatus, Indian archers aim to find momentum

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Post Covid-19 hiatus, Indian archers aim to find momentum

India’s men’s and women’s recurve archers have been training at Pune’s Army Sports Institute ever since sporting facilities resumed in the country after the Covid-19 induced lockdown. The camp for the Archery team commenced on August 25 and the archers are happy to be back training again.

“It was difficult for the first couple of days after returning to training as we were training very intensely in March prior to the lockdown being imposed. This was the longest gap between training that I have ever had,” said Atanu Das who was honored with the Arjuna Award earlier this year.

Training is still in the initial phase with some athletes coming out of their quarantine recently.

Coach Majhi Sawaiyan feels general fitness is more of a priority at the moment. “Players are gradually coming out of quarantine. We are working on general fitness with an emphasis on strength and endurance. To work on the mental aspect, the athletes are doing yoga and meditation.”

The archers are happy with the safety protocols and other preventive measures that have been taken at ASI to prevent coronavirus. Former world number one recurve archer Deepika Kumari said, “The arrangements here are very good. It’s very clean and the food arrangements are good. We are being looked after very well here.”

In a mentally challenging sport like archery, adjusting to new safety protocols has brought their challenges but the archers are confident that it will not make much of a difference and a few months of training will help them find their old rhythm.

The men’s recurve team and Deepika have earned quota spots for the Olympics which will be held in July-August next year in Tokyo. The women’s recurve team will get a final opportunity to qualify for the Olympics at the World Qualification Tournament scheduled to be held next year.

J&J invites Indian female researchers for ‘STEM2D’ scholars award

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J&J invites Indian female researchers for ‘STEM2D’ scholars award

US-based global healthcare company Johnson & Johnson on Friday announced that it has invited nominations for its 2021 Women in STEM 2 D (WiSTEM 2D) Scholars Award from India.

STEM 2D grants are given to assistant or associate academic professors worldwide, in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing, and Design.

According to the company., each recipient will receive US $150,000 – the US $50,000 each year for three years – and three years of mentorship from leaders at Johnson & Johnson.

The deadline for applications is October 15, 2020, at 9 a.m. (Honolulu Standard Time).

“Covid-19 has impacted global communities in so many different ways and without strong action, it can impede progress on girls and women of all backgrounds entering STEM fields,” Cat Oyler, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Janssen Global Services, LLC and WiSTEM 2 D University Sponsor, said in a statement.

Launched in June 2017, the WiSTEM 2 D Scholars Award aspires to fuel the development of female STEM 2 D leaders, and inspire career paths in STEM 2 D, by supporting the research of the awarded women in their respective STEM 2 D fields.

An independent external advisory board will select the 2021 winners, each of whom will represent one of the STEM 2 D disciplines.

In order to apply for the 2021 WiSTEM2D Scholars Award, the applicant must submit a university or school department head letter of recommendation (Each University / Institution can support one applicant per STEM2D discipline; 6 applicants in total).

They need to write 1,000 words detailing the proposed area of research. One additional page can be added for images or references.

The resume (three pages, font size 11), should include a list of publications, presentations, abstracts, current financial support already obtained, other folio work, and two references

According to the company, women need to submit a brief outline of the budget for the proposed research.

China joins WHO-led COVAX for fair access to Covid-19 vaccines

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China joins WHO-led COVAX for fair access to Covid-19 vaccines

China said on Friday that it has joined the World Health Organization (WHO)-led COVAX international initiative which aims to ensure equitable global access to vaccines against the novel coronavirus.

China said it joined the global initiative to make its vaccines a global good and make them available to developing countries on a priority.

“Even when China is leading the world with several vaccines in advanced stages of R&D and with ample production capacity, it still decided to join COVAX,” said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

“To that end, we have solemnly pledged to make #vaccines developed and deployed by China a global public good, which will be provided to developing countries as a priority, she said.

COVAX has been created to maximize the chances of successfully developing COVID-19 vaccines and manufacture them in the quantities needed to end this crisis.

Coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the WHO, COVAX aims to have two billion doses of Covid-19 available by the end of 2021, which should be enough to protect high risk and vulnerable people, as well as frontline healthcare workers.

“China will also strengthen vaccine cooperation with relevant countries through the COVAX network,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

China joining the network will be a huge boost to the initiative as the US had earlier said it would not participate in the scheme.

Along with the US and Russia, China was absent from list of 156 countries that signed up by the September 18 deadline to join the COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan, South China Morning Post reported.

US govt appeals against injunction halting TikTok ban

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US govt appeals against injunction halting TikTok ban

The US Department of Justice is appealing against a recent federal court ruling that barred the Donald Trump administration’s attempt to block TikTok downloads.

Judge Carl Nichols of the US District Court for the District of Columbia late last month halted the ban after TikTok’s attorneys argued that the US administration’s ban infringes on rights to free speech and due process.

The government began the appeals process against the ruling on Thursday with a notice of appeal, The New York Times reported.

The administration urged the US Court of Appeals in Washington to review the September 27 ruling that halted the ban.

Following the initial ruling, the US Commerce Department said that it would comply with the injunction, but added that its order was “fully consistent with the law and promotes legitimate national security interests”.

Before the ruling, the Commerce Department had said that TikTok downloads would be banned from September 20, and further restrictions aimed at making the app unusable would go into effect from November 12 unless a deal that satisfactorily addresses the administration’s security concerns is reached.

Owned by Chinese unicorn ByteDance, TikTok has submitted a proposal detailing its deal with Walmart and Oracle.

Instagram most preferred platform among Indian youth: Survey

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Instagram most preferred platform among Indian youth: Survey

Instagram has emerged as the most preferred social media platform among the Indian youth while YouTube garnered the most attention amid pandemic, with 98 percent of those surveyed installed it in their phones followed by Netflix and Amazon Prime, a new report said on Friday.

Although the survey size was small (1154 respondents), the report by Youth Online Learning Organization (YOLO) said that nearly 80 percent of the respondents were consuming social media when online.

While 70 percent opted for Instagram, 20 percent reported Facebook as their first choice.

It further brought forward the concerns and challenges of using the Internet which included a lack of awareness about the healthy and responsible consumption of the internet.

Nearly 30 percent of those surveyed accepted to have shared sensitive information on the Internet.

“The majority of the respondents were non-adult users and had their own smartphones to surf through the net. This shows the power of the internet and it’s medium and how it can initiate ripples of change if used wisely while targeting the right audience,” said Prem Prakash, Co-founder, YOLO.

“It is high time for OTT platforms to start using their platform for a good cause and work towards creating a social change via their content”.

The survey conducted by YOLO along with IGPP (Institute for Governance, Policies & Politics) and Social Media Matters (SMM) found that 75 percent of the respondents use the Internet for their academic activity, followed by entertainment through video streaming and OTTs.

“We request the social media and OTT platforms to pay heed to what floats on their portal because it could lead to an impact, positive or negative, that solely depends on their content,” said Vikram Singh, Co-Founder, Social Media Matters.

The study found that there is a need to promote awareness and capacity development programs among youth to promote awareness about safe and healthy Internet usage.

“Almost 85 percent of non-adult users have their own phones. More than 49 percent of users spent around 5 hours a day and around 30 percent used it for more than 6 hours a day. This is alarming and very high usage for the young population,” said Dr. Manish Tiwari, Senior Fellow, IGPP.

Covid effect: SC seeks NCPCR response on children in protection homes

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Covid effect: SC seeks NCPCR response on children in protection homes

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on the condition of children in protection, juvenile, and kinship homes in the country in the backdrop of Covid-19.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta, and Ajay Rastogi sought a response from the NCPCR while taking suo moto cognizance of the letter, issued by the child rights body, which directed eight states, having 70 percent of children in care homes, to facilitate the restoration of children to their families. The bench has slated the matter for further hearing on October 24.

During the hearing, the bench noted that a general direction would not be sufficient in the matter, in the backdrop of multiple aspects: permission of parents, health, checking on education, etc.

The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, to take instructions in the matter.

On September 24, NCPCR had issued a letter to Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram, and Karnataka.

The child rights body had emphasized that children have the right to grow up in a family environment, and this decision was taken in the concerns originating regarding their safety in these homes.

Senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal, appointed amicus curiae in the matter, brought on record the letter citing the pandemic still exists in these eight states and the NCPCR should not have issued it.

Earlier, the top court had issued directions to the state governments and other authorities concerned to ensure steps are taken to protect children amid the pandemic. The bench also asked Agarwal to list out good practices adopted in various states for the welfare of children.

The NCPCR had directed the district magistrates and collectors of these states to ensure that within a 100-day period children return to their families, and insisted it will monitor this entire exercise.

RBI extends ‘co-origination’ model of loans to all NBFCs

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RBI extends ‘co-origination’ model of loans to all NBFCs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the ‘co-origination’ model of lending to all non-banking financial companies (NBFC), including housing finance companies (HFC), to make all priority sector loans eligible for the scheme and give greater operational flexibility to the lending institutions.

RBI had, in 2018, put in place a framework for the co-origination of loans by banks and a category of NBFCs for lending to the priority sector subject to certain conditions. The arrangement entailed joint contribution of credit at the facility level, by both the lenders as also sharing of risks and rewards between them for ensuring appropriate alignment of respective business objectives.

“Based on the feedback received from stakeholders, it has been decided to extend the scheme to all NBFCs, including HFCs, in respect of all eligible priority sector loans, and allow greater operational flexibility to the lending institutions,” said the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday.

The decision has been taken to better leverage the respective comparative advantages of the banks and NBFCs in a collaborative effort, and to improve the flow of credit to the unserved and underserved sector of the economy.

The borrowers under the scheme would require conforming to the regulatory guidelines on outsourcing, KYC, among others.

The proposed framework will be called the “Co-Lending Model”. The revised guidelines will be issued by the end of October.

Zoom supports rupee as localised pricing for India market

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Zoom supports rupee as localised pricing for India market

In a move to expand its footprint and reach a bigger audience, US-based video meet platform Zoom on Friday announced that it will now support the rupee as the localized pricing for the Indian market.

Users will be required to choose India as the “billing and sold” to country and can pay using the credit card option for purchase in Indian rupee.

Zoom said the support for Indian currency represents the company’s growing strategic investment and plans to grow in the country.

“We are excited to bring the INR buying option to our potential user base in India. Over the last few months, we have seen tremendous growth and support in the market,” Sameer Raje, India Head, Zoom, said in a statement.

“Our decision to support Indian currency is reinforced by the trust of our customers and we look forward to providing better and more connected services through our platform.”

This enhancement will allow users in India to buy their preferred plans and add-ons available on purchase flow.

Zoom already has one office in Mumbai, two data centers in Mumbai and Hyderabad, and an upcoming technology center in Bengaluru.

Google Pixel 4a in India for Rs 29,999 on Flipkart BBD sale

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Google Pixel 4a in India for Rs 29,999 on Flipkart BBD sale

Google India on Friday announced that ‘Pixel 4a’ will be available in the country via Flipkart Big Billion Days sale from October 16 at a special discounted price of Rs 29,999.

The company also launches an audio smart speaker ‘Nest Audio’ for Rs 6,999.

Google Pixel 4a price in India has been set at Rs 31,999. However, for a limited period, the company is offering the smartphone for Rs 29,999.

Similarly, the audio smart speaker ‘Nest Audio’ is available at a discounted price of Rs 6,999 for a limited period, which has an actual price of Rs 7,999, the company said in a statement.

The Pixel 4a features a 5.8-inch OLED display. The phone has a matte finish and includes a Pixel’s signature color pop power button in mint.

The rear camera supports HDR+ with dual exposure controls, Portrait Mode, Top Shot, Night Sight with astrophotography capabilities, and fused video stabilization.

There is also an optical image stabilization (OIS). For selfies, the phone has an 8MP camera sensor at the front, with an f/2.0 lens.

The Pixel 4a is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Mobile Platform, Titan M security module for on-device security, 6GB RAM, and 128GB internal storage.

The smartphone houses a 3140mAh battery that supports an 18W fast charging.

Pixel 4a also has Live Caption, which provides real-time captioning (English only) for the video and audio content.

The smart speaker ‘Nest Audio’ is 75 percent louder and has 50 percent stronger bass than the original Google Home.

The smart speaker uses a 19mm tweeter for consistent high-frequency coverage and clear vocals, and a 75mm mid-woofer that really brings the bass.

Google said it completed more than 500 hours of tuning to ensure balanced lows, mids, and highs so nothing is lacking or overbearing.

Nest Audio will be available in India in two colors: Chalk and Charcoal.

Twitter suspends 1,594 state-sponsored malicious accounts

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Twitter suspends 1,594 state-sponsored malicious accounts

Micro-blogging platform Twitter has suspended 1,594 accounts associated with five state-sponsored networks, including ties to the Saudi government, for various violations of its platform manipulation policies.

The malicious accounts include independent information operations attributed to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Thailand, and Russia.

Along with the enforcement, Twitter said on Thursday it has shared early access to the data with the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) for independent investigation and analysis.

“We identified a network of primarily compromised accounts on Twitter operating from Iran, which artificially amplified conversations on politically sensitive topics, including Black Lives Matter (BLM), the murder of George Floyd, and other issues of racial and social justice in the US,” the company elaborated.

In all, Twitter suspended a total of 104 accounts connected with this campaign.

It also investigated and removed 33 accounts originating in Saudi Arabia, with ties to the Saudi government.

“These accounts were created to impersonate key Qatari political figures and to advance narratives about Qatari politics which are geostrategically favorable to the Saudi authorities,” the platform informed.

In Russia, Twitter communicated proactively about the set of five state-backed accounts at the beginning of September.

“Today, we’re adding them to the archive. Working collaboratively with industry peers and the FBI, we were made aware of a number of accounts that had potential links to a fake news agency called PeaceData,” it informed.

“We believe we have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the public conversation and hold state power to account,” Twitter said.

The company permanently suspended 526 fake accounts run by youth organizations with ties to the Cuban government.

In Thailand, the Twitter investigation uncovered a network of accounts partaking in information operations linked to the Royal Thai Army (RTA).

“These accounts were engaging in amplifying pro-RTA and pro-government content, as well as engaging in behavior targeting prominent political opposition figures”.

Twitter disclosed 926 such accounts based in Thailand.

Young Covid patients too can face significant adverse outcomes: Study

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Young Covid patients too can face significant adverse outcomes: Study

While old people are widely believed to be at greater risk due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a new study shows younger patients too are vulnerable to adverse clinical outcomes.

For the study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, the research team analyzed records from 419 hospitals to study the clinical trajectories of 3,222 hospitalized Covid-19 patients aged 18-34.

Researchers found that over one-fifth of the patients (21 percent) required intensive care, 10 percent required mechanical ventilation and 2.7 percent died.

“There was a significant rate of adverse outcomes,” said study author Jonathan Cunningham from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US.

“Even though a 2.7 percent death rate is lower than for older patients, it’s high for young people who typically do well even when hospitalized for other conditions,” Cunningham added.

Individuals with cardiovascular risk factors were also over-represented among the young people hospitalized — 36.8 percent and 24.5 percent of patients had obesity and morbid obesity, respectively; 18.2 percent of patients had diabetes and 16.1 percent had hypertension.

The researchers found that patients who presented these comorbidities were also more likely to experience adverse outcomes.

Patients with morbid obesity, for example, comprised 41 percent of the hospitalized young adults who died or required mechanical ventilation.

For individuals with more than one of these conditions, risks for adverse outcomes were comparable to the risks faced by middle-aged adults, aged 35-64, who had none of these conditions, as observed in a study of 8,862 members of this population.

The researchers stressed that the dataset, which relies on hospital administrative claims, only lends insight into the adverse outcomes of hospitalized young people.

“We think the vast majority of people in this age range have a self-limited disease and don’t require hospitalization. But if you do, the risks are really substantial,” the study authors noted.

84% students qualify in Andhra Polycet exam

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84% students qualify in Andhra Polycet exam

At least 84 percent of students have qualified in the Andhra Pradesh Polycet examination.

Technical Education Commissioner M. M. Naik and senior official Anantha Ramu released the results on Friday.

Of the 88,372 applicants, 71,631 have appeared for the exam.

Of 50,706 boys who appeared, 42,313 qualified for the exam while 18,467 girl students from 20,925 applicants have also achieved the same.

Matta Durga Saikeerthi Teja from West Godavari district has ranked first in the state with 120 marks while Sri Datta Syamsundar from East Godavari came second with 118 marks.

Ramu said the students are eligible for admissions in 271 colleges where 66,742 seats are up for grabs.

Pre-book your product on Flipkart for just Rs 1 before BBD sale

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Pre-book your product on Flipkart for just Rs 1 before BBD sale

In a unique move, Flipkart on Friday announced that potential consumers can get access to select products between October 11-October 14 and pre-book these products at a minimal price of Rs 1 before the Big Billion Days sale event that begins from October 16.

The e-commerce marketplace tied neck-to-neck with Amazon ‘Great India Festival’ and Snapdeal’s ‘Kum Mein Dum’ sales, said that once the pre-booking is confirmed, consumers can come back to the platform during the first day of The ‘Big Billion Days’ to pay the balance amount, either online or via cash-on-delivery.

Consumers will get access to a million products across categories such as home, lifestyle, beauty, baby care, and electronic accessories, among others, as part of the pre-book collection.

“Consumers will not just get a sneak peek into the ‘Big Billion Days’ offers but will also be able to plan their purchases in advance by paying just Re 1,” said Nandita Sinha, Vice President–Events, Engagement and Merchandising at Flipkart.

The Flipkart BBD sale starts from October 16 till October 21 and is going to bring lakhs of sellers, artisans, and brands to come together and provide a wide array of products to more than 250 million consumers.

According to industry reports, the festive season shopping is going to witness huge demand from consumers with over 45-50 million shoppers coming online.

“With the pre-book store, sellers, artisans, and weavers will be able to anticipate and fulfill what India wants to shop during the sale-event and give their consumers festive joy within the Big Billion Days event,” said Jagjeet Harode, Senior Director and Head – Marketplace, Flipkart.

The e-commerce platform has added over 3.4 million square feet of space across its supply chain assets including fulfillment centers, mother hubs, and delivery centers throughout the country in preparation for the upcoming festive season and the Big Billion Days sale event.

Flipkart earlier said it will unveil over 200 special edition products in partnership with more than 100 leading brands during its ‘Big Billion Days’ sale.

The e-commerce marketplace has also onboarded over 50,000 kiranas to bring festive cheer to consumers across 850 cities.

The State Bank of India (SBI) will offer a 10 percent instant discount for its debit and credit card users during the six-day sale.

Furthermore, no-cost EMIs will be made available to consumers through offers from Bajaj Finserv EMI cars and other leading bank credit and debit cards.

Flipkart has also partnered with Paytm to offer assured cashback to consumers paying through Paytm Wallet and Paytm UPI.

S Korea launches probe into Google over Play Store violations

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S Korea launches probe into Google over Play Store violations

South Korea has launched an antitrust investigation into Google over its plans to enforce commission fees for in-app purchases made through its mobile application store.

The US tech giant has come under intense scrutiny from South Korean regulators along with Indian app developers and entrepreneurs after it updated its global policy late last month to make all apps on its Play store use its proprietary billing system.

Under the new policy set to take effect in October next year, Google will take a 30 percent commission on all digital purchases by consumers.

South Korean app developers have voiced strong opposition against the move, arguing that it could be in violation of local fair trade and telecommunications laws, reports Yonhap news agency.

Joh Sung-Wook, the chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit that Google’s plan is currently being reviewed.

“I believe that competition isn’t working properly in this industry,” she said. “In order to restore competition, we are currently investigating anti-competitive actions.”

Google holds a tight grip over local app store sales, with a 63.4 percent share of the total last year at $5 billion, according to the Korea Mobile Internet Business Association.

Han Sang-hyuk, head of the Korea Communications Commission, echoed Joh’s concerns and called for inter-agency cooperation over the issue.

“We need to monitor the response from other countries and also create a structure for cooperation between local agencies,” Han told lawmakers in a separate audit.

The country’s telecommunications regulator is conducting a separate investigation into Google over its in-app payment policy.

Google has argued that it is committed to an open system by offering other app stores on its Android platform and that it will comply with local laws.

In response to growing frustration, Google has established a support fund worth $100 million for local app developers and users.

Amid growing scrutiny over Google’s app store fees, local rival One Store, under the country’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., said it would exempt in-app payment fees by 50 percent for app developers with monthly transactions of less than 5 million won until the end of next year.

In India, Google faced criticism from developers after it announced its policy asking them to integrate with the Play Store billing system.

However, Google said it has extended the time for developers in India who use an alternative payment system, to integrate with the Play Store billing system till March 31, 2022.

Targeting Google’s dominance in the app distribution space in India, leading digital payments platform Paytm on Thursday said it is setting up a Rs 10 crore fund as equity investments for mini-app developers in the country.

The move announced at a mini-apps developer conference comes after Paytm launched an Android Mini App Store earlier this week to support local developers.

Paytm claimed that over 5,000 developers from across the country expressed their interest in being a part of the Paytm Mini App program.

Several Indian entrepreneurs came out in support of Paytm’s initiative.

“Google’s tax is like a distributor asking for 30 percent of the sales revenue as a cut. Today, we are all at the mercy of Google. We don’t know when they will remove the apps, based on some policy that they decide,” Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder & CEO, Matrimony.com, said in a statement.

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