‘Penny’ poster from ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ released, song out on March 20

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‘Penny’ poster from ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’ released, song out on March 20

The makers of the Telugu star Mahesh Babu’s highly anticipated film ‘Sarkaru Vaari Paata’, are set to release the second single ‘Penny’ from the film on March 20.

The announcement poster presenting Mahesh Babu in a dashing avatar was released on Thursday.

The soundtrack created by Thaman S.S. looks to charm the audience as the first single ‘Kalaavathi’ has set new benchmarks in terms of record views. The enchanting melody has already crossed 90 million views and it is set to cross the 100-million-mark soon.

The film, which is currently being shot in Hyderabad, has entered the final stage of production. It stars Keerthy Suresh as the female lead and is jointly produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar, Ram Achanta, and Gopichand Achanta under Mythri Movie Makers, GMB Entertainment, and 14 Reels Plus banners.

The cinematography for the film is being handled by R Madhi, while Marthand K Venkatesh serves as the editor and AS Prakash takes care of the art department.

The film which also stars Vennela Kishore and Subbaraju is scheduled for release on May 12.

Karolina Bielawska is Miss World 2021

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Karolina Bielawska is Miss World 2021

Karolina Bielawska of Poland has been crowned Miss World 2021, which was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 70th edition of the event was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the Coca-Cola Music Hall. While Karolina is the winner, Indian-American Shree Saini of the US is the first runner-up, and Olivia Yace of Côte d’Ivoire is the second.

Introducing the winners, Miss World organization tweeted: “Our newly crowned Miss World Karolina Bielawska from Poland with 1st Runner Up Shree Saini from US 2nd Runner up Olivia Yace from Côte d’Ivoire.”

Toni-Ann Singh, Miss World 2020, also graced the event by performing a special number ‘The Prayer’ to show her support for Ukraine in the midst of its conflict with Russia.

“Our current Miss World Toni-Ann Singh performs ‘The Prayer’ as we light candles around the world to stand with Ukraine. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house #mwcandlesforukraine.” tweeted from Miss World’s handle.

Karolina is currently pursuing her Master’s in Management and hopes to get a Ph.D. too, according to the Miss World organization.

Shree Saini, on the other hand, is from Punjab’s Ludhiana, but moved to Washington, DC with her family when she was five. Despite being involved in a fatal accident that resulted in facial burns, Shree did not give up and returned stronger.

Show valid govt ID to access mature content on YouTube, Google Play

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Show valid govt ID to access mature content on YouTube, Google Play

In a first such move, Google on Thursday said it will soon ask users in Australia to provide a valid driver’s license or passport to access age-restricted content on YouTube and Google Play.

If Google systems are unable to establish that a viewer is above the age of 18, it will request to provide a valid ID or credit card to verify their age, said the company.

“Over the coming month, we will be introducing a new age assurance step on YouTube and Google Play,” said Samantha Yorke, government affairs and public policy senior manager at Google.

This added step is “informed by the Australian Online Safety (Restricted Access Systems) Declaration, which requires platforms to take reasonable steps to confirm users are adults in order to access content that is potentially inappropriate for viewers under 18”, she added.

The move is to provide users with “age-appropriate experiences”.

“As part of this process, some Australian users may be asked to provide additional proof of age when attempting to watch mature content on YouTube or downloading content on Google Play.”

Google considers a valid ID as one issued by the government, such as a driver’s license or passport.

Currently, when content is age-restricted, users coming to YouTube must be signed-in with a Google account and their account age must be 18 or older in order to view the video.

To make sure the experience is consistent, viewers attempting to access age-restricted videos on most third-party websites are redirected to YouTube where they must sign-in and be over 18 to view it.

“We understand that many are turning to YouTube, Google Play, and our other services at this time to find content that is both educational and entertaining,” said the company.

Telangana BJP MLAs stage protest over suspension

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Telangana BJP MLAs stage protest over suspension

All three BJP MLAs in Telangana staged a protest here on Thursday against what they call refusal of Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy to honor the orders of the High Court on their suspension from the House.

Wearing black scarves Eatala Rajender, Raja Singh and Raghunandan Rao sat on the protest at Indira Park in the heart of the city.

A large number of party leaders and workers participated in the day-long ‘Save democracy protest’ amid tight security by the police.

The MLAs alleged that they were suspended at the instance of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and though the High Court had suggested the Speaker reconsider their suspension, he did not honour the suggestion of the court.

The police had initially denied permission for the protest but later granted the same after BJP leaders moved the High Court.

Raghunandan Rao said only BJP can restore democracy in the state.

He said with the permission of the party leadership they planned to organize similar protests in all districts.

He said they were suspended for questioning the government’s move to do away with the governor’s address on the first day of the budget session.

Rajender alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao spent hundreds of crores to defeat him in Huzurabad by-election. He said after failing in this attempt, KCR got him suspended from Assembly along with other BJP MLAs to muzzle the voice of the opposition.

He said they would take the issue to the people’s court which will ultimately take a decision to save democracy.

BJP MLAs had called on Speaker on March 15, a day after the High Court asked them to meet him.

They had informed him about the observations made by the court while hearing their petition challenging the suspension.

March 15 was the last day of the budget session of the State Assembly. The session had commenced on March 7 and on the very first day, all three MLAs of BJP were suspended for disrupting the proceedings.

Protesting over the government’s move to commence the budget session without the Governor’s address, the BJP legislators tried to disrupt the proceedings.

On a resolution moved by the government, the Speaker announced their suspension for the entire session.

The MLAs had approached the high court challenging their suspension. They argued that their suspension was against the rules of the Legislative Assembly and the Constitution of India.

After a single judge refused to stay the suspension, the legislators filed an appeal before a division bench.

A bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice A. Venkateswar Reddy on March 14 left the decision to the Speaker. The court hoped that the Speaker will take an appropriate decision to uphold democratic principles in line with the impartial role of his office in the House.

Punjab CM announces launch of phone number to expose corrupt

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Punjab CM announces launch of phone number to expose corrupt

A day after taking an oath of office, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday announced to launch a mobile phone number on March 23, the martyrdom day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, exclusively for the public to upload videos of officials demanding bribes for day-to-day work or indulging in malpractices.

Exhorting the top brass of civil and police administration to discharge duties as a public servant in the letter and spirit, thus respecting the massive mandate got by the AAP in the recently concluded assembly polls, the Chief Minister said the people who have given “us an opportunity to serve the state are the real rulers in the democracy having the power to make the leaders rule or show them the door”.

Taking a cue from the performance of the Indian cricket team, Mann said, “Matches are won or lost but it is the team spirit which matters”.

Therefore, he urged the officers to display team spirit immaculately to make Punjab the frontrunner state. He further said, “Our prime concern should be to make our state as real Punjab, not London, California or Paris”.

Furthermore, the Chief Minister said his government would not indulge in political vendetta and asked the entire administration to discharge their duties fearlessly without any political pressure, unlike earlier regimes, with utmost dedication, sincerity, and honesty to cherish the aspirations of the Punjabis who have voted to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to power with the unprecedented verdict.

“I don’t keep a red diary like the earlier political parties and have only a green one, so you need not worry about any vendetta,” he said.

Appreciating the capabilities and capacities of both civil and police officers, Mann said, “I expect you to respect the common man and in turn, we would too give you respect and due recognition in exhibiting the real spirit of being a public servant”.

Without mincing any word, he said, “Corrupt officers have no place in my government and if any such complaint comes to my notice, then don’t expect any sort of sympathy for such officers”.

Breaking the tradition, the Chief Minister also announced to reward both civil and police officers with a ‘Best Performance Award’ quarterly for making a difference in the lives of the common man, besides ensuring free and fair justice to one and all to boost their morale.

Reiterating his commitment to making Punjab a model state, Mann said the foremost concern of his government would be to create abundant job opportunities for our youth to check the unfortunate trend of brain drain from the state to foreign shores.

“This scenario has even forced the poor and hapless parents to sell their properties for sending their wards abroad for better prospects to earn a livelihood”.

Mann promised his government would soon come up with a comprehensive action plan to generate tremendous job opportunities for our unemployed youth on top priority.

Director Mohit Suri: ‘Ek Villain Returns’ is my dream project

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Director Mohit Suri: ‘Ek Villain Returns’ is my dream project

The shooting for the sequel of ‘Ek Villain’ has been wrapped up and its director Mohit Suri has called the film his dream project.

Mohit said, “‘Ek Villain Returns’ is my dream project. It has been an incredible journey since day one and all of us had a great time. As we wrap the shoot, I cannot wait to begin the next phase of the production and have the audience watch the final product. I had the best time working the entire cast, and the same has been reflected on screen.”

The film is set for an Eid release on July 8. Releasing 8 years after the first installment of the franchise, the multi-starrer film has some high octane action and features John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, Disha Patani, and Tara Sutaria,

Sharing her excitement, producer Ekta Kapoor said, “‘Ek Villain’ is Balaji’s most special flagship franchise, and now Ek Villain �Returns’ to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The idea is to make it bigger and wilder than its first installment. Given the nature of the genre, we’ve had to tide through the pandemic and ensure we present a visual and thrilling experience like never before!”

In a similar vein, producer Bhushan Kumar said, “‘Ek Villain’ franchise is one of the closest to our hearts. Unlike its prequel, the audience will witness a double thriller, double action, double drama in this one. Right from the cast to the director to the whole crew, everyone working on this project was full of zeal and the set was high on energy and creative synergy. I’m sure like it’s spiritual prequel Ek Villain Returns will break all records.”

The movie is directed by Mohit Suri and jointly produced by T-Series and Balaji Telefilms.

‘Indo-Bangla protocol route can help Assam become tea export hub’

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‘Indo-Bangla protocol route can help Assam become tea export hub’

Land-locked Assam can become an export hub for tea if the beverage is shipped out through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade route.

The recent arrival of cargo vessels from Patna to Guwahati, via the protocol route, has given tea growers hope that Guwahati can become a hub for the tea trade.

At present, most of the tea produced in the region is transported by road to Kolkata for export.

“To achieve this export feat, proper hand-holding by the Centre for at least five years will be required and a special scheme may be devised under the government’s Act East Policy initiative,” Bidyananda Barkakoty, Adviser to North Eastern Tea Association, said in a memorandum to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her recent visit to the region for post-Budget interactions with industrialists and stakeholders.

If India can achieve export volumes of 300 million kgs annually, a large part of the industry’s issues will automatically get resolved, the Memorandum said.

“Though 300 million kgs export of tea from India is easier said than done but it is not impossible.

“There is potential for tea producers of Assam to export directly from their factories instead of exporting through merchant exporters based outside Assam,” it said.

Livelihood of a sizable section of people is dependent upon the tea industry in the state.

Assam alone produces over 50 percent of the country’s annual tea output.

Besides, citing the installation of irrigation machinery as expensive, the association urged the Centre to chalk out an irrigation scheme for the sector comprising both sprinkler and drip technologies.

“Tea is a climate-dependent industry. In recent years, we have witnessed a huge impact of Climate Change in the tea industry. Due to this, it has become almost impossible to survive without irrigation,” the Association said.

Lastly, it sought support for the installation of solar plants in the tea estates, which understandably will reduce some burden on energy costs in the long run.

“There is huge potential for the installation of solar plants in tea estates. In every tea estate, there are barren lands that are not suitable for tea plantations and can be used for the installation of solar plants.

“Thus, a scheme on solar plants specific to the tea industry would be a win-win situation,” it said.

India awaits tech as global 5G smartphone sales surpass 4G for 1st time

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India awaits tech as global 5G smartphone sales surpass 4G for 1st time

While India still awaits to experience the 5G technology, the sales penetration of 5G-capable smartphones reached 51 percent globally in January this year, surpassing the penetration of 4G smartphones for the first time, a new report showed on Thursday.

China, North America, and Western Europe were the biggest drivers of this growth.

China had the highest 5G penetration in the world at 84 percent in January. The push for 5G from Chinese telecom operators, combined with the readiness of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to supply competitively priced 5G smartphones to consumers, enabled this growth, according to Counterpoint Research.

“After Apple shifted to 5G in October 2020 with the iPhone 12 Series, North America and Western Europe saw a natural increase in the sales penetration of 5G smartphones,” said research analyst Karn Chauhan.

This demand is also fuelled by iPhone users who are ready for new devices after years of holding on to their older iPhones.

For many, holding periods are nearing four years, the average replacement cycle for iPhones.

“Thanks to the affordable chips offered by MediaTek and Qualcomm, Android 5G smartphones entered the mid-to-high ($250-$400) price segment and are now trickling down to the $150-$250 price range, contributing one-fifth of the 5G sales in January,” Chauhan said.

Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Latin America are the next focus areas for OEMs to increase 5G penetration.

5G models in the sub-$150 price segment are the sweet spot for these regions, which are currently dominated by 4G.

“The low-end 5G SoC is priced more than $20 at present. Once it comes down to sub-$20, we will start seeing 5G smartphones in the budget segment,” said the report.

Parineeti Chopra in awe of Nora Fatehi’s dancing skills

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Parineeti Chopra in awe of Nora Fatehi’s dancing skills

Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra is all praise for actress, dancer, and model Nora Fatehi, who is appearing as a special guest on ‘Hunarbaaz Desh Ki Shaan’.

She says: “There are no actors or choreographers in the industry who can dance as well as Nora does.”

Nora has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil films. She gained popularity by doing item numbers in films like ‘Temper’, ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ and ‘Kick 2’.

Parineeti says that Nora’s dancing skills are unbeatable and her every move impresses the ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ actress.

Parineeti adds: “There are many dancers who are amazing, but I am hooked to Nora’s songs, her athleticism, her grace, her moves, in my opinion, no one can match her.”

Meanwhile, both Parineeti and Nora are impressed by the act of the all-girl crew, ‘Yo Highness’, who performed to the medleys of her songs.

‘Hunarbaaz – Desh Ki Shaan’ which is judged by Mithun Chakraborty, Karan Johar, and Parineeti Chopra air on Colors.

Amazon workers in US stage walkout for $3 raise

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Amazon workers in US stage walkout for $3 raise

Amazon warehouse employees working night shifts staged a walkout in two states in the US, quitting work and demanding a $3 raise.

The roughly 60 workers were employees at three different warehouses in New York and Maryland reports The Verge.

“This morning, in the first multi-state walkout in the US, over 60 workers in three delivery stations walked out. Amazonians United workers in ZYO1 and DBK1 in New York City and DMD9 in Maryland showed what solidarity looks like. We demand a $3 raise!” Amazonians United New York City posted on Wednesday.

They also demanded that Amazon bring back 20-minute breaks introduced during Covid that the company has since replaced with 15-minute breaks, according to Vice.

The actions are part of a wave of labor activism at Amazon as more employees come together to demand better working conditions and compensation.

In response to the latest walkout, an Amazon spokesperson said: “We’re proud to offer industry-leading pay, competitive benefits, and the opportunity for all to grow within the company. While there are many established ways of ensuring we hear the opinions of our employees inside our business, we also respect the right for some to make their opinions known externally.”

Amazonians United includes workers from at least nine warehouses nationwide.

In December 2021, the group led a multi-warehouse walkout in Chicago to demand better pay.

According to the Amazonians United Chicagoland Twitter account, workers there received a $2.20 raise the next month.

The workers make under $17 an hour and work in “megacycle” shifts — 10 hours of work done between 1 a.m. and noon (with two 15-minute breaks and one 30-minute lunch break, according to a site that compiles data about warehouse shifts.

Moody’s cuts India 2022 growth forecast on high oil prices

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Moody’s cuts India 2022 growth forecast on high oil prices

Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday revised India’s GDP forecast down to 9.1 percent from 9.5 percent for 2022.

As per Global Macro Outlook 2022-23 (March 2022 updated), India is particularly vulnerable to high oil prices given that it is a large importer of crude oil.

Lately, the geopolitical crisis involving Russia and Ukraine have pushed Brent crude oil price higher.

Currently, Russia is the third-largest producer of crude oil in the world.

For India, the trend of high crude prices is alarming since it imports nearly 85 percent of its needs.

Besides, the cascading effect of higher fuel cost will trigger a general inflationary trend.

On the other hand, the March update pointed out that India’s agricultural exports will benefit in the short term.

“Because India is a surplus producer of grain, agricultural exports will benefit in the short term from high prevailing prices.

“High fuel and potentially fertilizer costs would weigh on government finances down the road, potentially limiting planned capital spending.”

In addition, the update said: “We now expect the economy to grow by 9.1 percent this year, followed by 5.4 percent in 2023.

“Our forecast revisions also factor in the somewhat stronger underlying momentum than we had not accounted for previously.”

Australia’s unemployment rate falls to 4%

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Australia’s unemployment rate falls to 4%

Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen to the equal-lowest level in recorded history as the monthly working hours in all jobs rebounded after the Omicron-triggered Covid-19 wave of absences in January, according to official data published on Thursday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) published the labour force data for February, revealing that the unemployment rate fell from 4.2 percent in January to 4.0 percent, reports Xinhua news agency.

It equals August 2008 as the lowest figure since ABS data began in 1978.

According to the ABS, the number of employed Australians increased by about 77,000 between January and February.

The total number of hours worked by Australians increased by 8.9 percent in February after a large fall of 8.6 percent amid the Omicron wave in January.

The underemployment rate, which measures the portion of the labour force working fewer hours than they would like, fell to 6.6 percent.

However, the ABS noted that the number of people working reduced hours due to illness or sick leave remained higher than usual.

“The number of employed people working no hours over the entire week due to illness or sick leave was around 80 percent higher than what we would usually see in February, having been around triple the usual level in January,” head of labor statistics Bjorn Jarvis said in a statement.

Women’s World Cup: Want to forget win against Pakistan to move forward, says Nigar Sultana

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Women’s World Cup: Want to forget win against Pakistan to move forward, says Nigar Sultana

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana on Thursday has called upon her side to forget their historic win over Pakistan if they are to achieve their second win on the trot against the West Indies at Bay Oval on Friday.

Bangladesh registered a nine-run win over Pakistan at Seddon Park in Hamilton for their first-ever victory in the 50-over World Cup in their debut in the tournament. If one goes by Sultana’s words, the focus of Bangladesh has moved towards the match against the West Indies, the giant-killers who won against New Zealand and England but heavy defeats to India and Australia have left their qualification hopes in jeopardy.

“It was a fantastic match. It was a great pleasure to get our first World Cup win. Actually, we want to forget about them (win against Pakistan) because we want to move forward. But we want to take all the positives from the last match and we want to like to implement them in the next match,” said Sultana in the pre-match virtual press conference.

Talking about the response to Bangladesh’s first win in the history of the Women’s Cricket World Cup, Sultana revealed the messages of support coming from people back home. “I think it was an exciting match for all of us because it was our first win in the World Cup, and obviously back home there was a lot of support for us.”

“They were waiting for this victory and they all are super excited and they always keep faith in us every time. A lot of people messaged us, saying that we are doing well and just need a little momentum and if you get this momentum it will go through the tournament.”

This will also be the first time Bangladesh and West Indies will face off against each other for the first time in women’s ODIs. Sultana feels that not being familiar before with the West Indies can work in their favor.

“I think this is a good sign, I guess because they don’t know us and we don’t even know them. So, this is going to be advantageous because they don’t know how we play actually. We are going with our all strength actually and we are going to plan according to that, and we would like to execute that.”

Nadal beats big-serving Opelka, to meet Kyrgios in quarter-finals at Indian Wells

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Nadal beats big-serving Opelka, to meet Kyrgios in quarter-finals at Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal survived a bombardment of big serves by Reilly Opelka at the BNP Paribas Open as he extended his perfect start to the ATP Tour season to 18-0.

With his back against the wall, the Spaniard blunted 6 feet 11-inch Opelka’s big-hitting game with heavy topspin as he demonstrated an abundance of agility and patience, overcoming the American 7-6(3), 7-6(5) to book his place in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters event.

Nadal, who is enjoying a career-best start to a year, stood deep behind the baseline on Opelka’s serve, which enabled him to put returns back into court with ferocious depth and power, according to a report on the ATP Tour website.

The 35-year-old soaked up Opelka’s brand of big-serve tennis and rallied from a breakdown in the second set to eventually advance after two hours and 11 minutes.

The World No. 4 is the highest-ranked player left in the draw at the ATP Masters 1000 event and is aiming to capture his fourth tour-level title of a remarkable 2022 season this week.

Nadal has made history on multiple occasions this year, having clinched a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open, before he earned his 400th Masters 1000 win over Daniel Evans in the third round in Indian Wells.

Nadal is a three-time champion in the California desert (2007, 09, 13) and will continue his title pursuit when he plays Nick Kyrgios in the last eight. The Australian moved through after Italian Jannik Sinner was forced to withdraw from their match due to illness.

In a tight first set, Nadal had to wait for his opportunities, with Opelka saving the only break point of the set at 3-4, 30/40 as they moved to a tie-break. From 3/3, it was Nadal who found the greater consistency from the baseline, pulling Opelka from side to side as he moved ahead.

The second set saw Opelka continue to crush forehands and blast backhands and he capitalized on two double faults from Nadal to break in the fifth game. The American forced Nadal against the back wall on Stadium 1 at times and was presented with an opportunity to move 5-2 ahead. However, Nadal saved the breakpoint with a powerful serve, before he demonstrated his trademark fighting spirit, battling back to 4-4.

After Opelka hung onto his serve at 5-6, another tie-break was left to determine the set. Nadal once again made no mistake, ruthlessly raising his game to seal the victory.

Opelka played aggressively against Nadal but was unable to match the fourth seed’s intensity in the crucial moments. The World No. 17, who advanced to the final in Toronto last season, was aiming to reach his fourth Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Vice-President greets people on eve of Holi

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Vice-President greets people on eve of Holi

Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday greeted the people on the occasion of Holi.

“I extend my warm greetings and good wishes to the people of our country on the auspicious occasion of Holi – the festival of colors,” Naidu said.

Naidu noted that Holi is a time for family and friends to come together and rejoice in the spirit of the spontaneous, joyful celebration of life.

“Celebrated with traditional fervor and enthusiasm throughout the country, Holi is a time for family and friends to come together and rejoice in the spirit of the spontaneous, joyful celebration of life. The lighting of the bonfire on the eve of Holi symbolizes the triumph of virtue over evil,” he said.

The Vice-President stated that on the auspicious occasion of Holi, “let us strive to strengthen the bonds of friendship and amity that hold our society together”.

“May this festival bring peace, harmony, prosperity, and happiness in our lives,” he added.

Indian fintech payment firms have no data advantage over banks: Moody’s

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Indian fintech payment firms have no data advantage over banks: Moody’s

As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm from taking on new customers for its Payments Bank, a new report on Thursday said that fintech platforms’ dominance in digital payments may not result in significant data advantage over banks.

According to Moody’s Investors Service, the introduction of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in 2017, which allows funds to be transferred instantaneously, has been a key catalyst to the development of digital payments due to the ease of use of apps running on the system.

“However, their dominance may not lead to significant advantages over banks, because the UPI’s open architecture means that a large user base does not necessarily make a particular service provider more competitive than others on the system,” said Srikanth Vadlamani, Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Officer.

Also, banks that are playing a crucial role in facilitating UPI payments, have access to transactions on the network.

“Because of this, fintechs’ dominance in digital payments may not result in a significant data advantage over banks,” the report mentioned.

Large Banks, on the other hand, have significantly improved their digital capabilities for key retail services.

Private sector banks and industry leader State Bank of India have significantly improved their own digital products in other areas, with customers adopting them widely.

“This will help these banks fend off competition from fintechs outside the payment segment. On the other hand, public sector banks other than SBI have relatively weak digital offerings and will be negatively impacted from the heightened competitive intensity,” the report noted.

Fintechs will continue to try to expand into other financial services, particularly personal loans and loans to small merchants.

“However, at the same time, the overall market may also expand as technology creates more opportunities, allowing banks to counter pressure on margins with business growth,” the Moody’s report said.

Overall, fintech payment companies in India have led the rapid growth of digital payments in the country, but their dominance may not translate to competitive advantages to expand into other financial services.

In addition, India’s major banks have significantly beefed up their digital product offerings and can withstand the competition from fintechs, according to the report.

Women’s World Cup: South Africa restrict New Zealand to 228 despite Devin

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Women’s World Cup: South Africa restrict New Zealand to 228 despite Devin

An excellent inning of 93 from captain Sophie Devine was overshadowed by superb slog overs bowling from South Africa as the hosts were restricted to 228 in 47.5 overs in a crucial match of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup at Seddon Park on Thursday.

Devine’s 101-ball innings included 12 fours and one massive six, as her partnerships of 81 with Amelia Kerr (42) and 80 with Maddy Green (30) formed the backbone of the New Zealand innings. But Devine’s dismissal in the 41st over led to a late collapse, with the tournament hosts losing their final six wickets for just 30 runs to be all out inside 48 overs.

Seamers Ayabonga Khaka (3/31), Shabnim Ismail (3/27), and Marizanne Kapp (2/44) led the way with the ball for the Proteas, who are attempting to remain unbeaten at the tournament and a win here will edge them closer to cementing a spot in the semi-finals.

Devine lost fellow opener Suzie Bates (4) in the third over as the hosts were reduced to six for one. But Kerr joined her captain as the pair set about resurrecting the early damage. The duo looked solid and put on 81 for the second wicket until South Africa captain Sune Luus (1/48) intervened with the big wicket of Kerr.

Luus had the New Zealand number three trapped LBW for 42 and experienced batter Amy Satterthwaite (1) fell in the next over to Khaka as the Proteas quickly gained the upper hand. Devine then fell to a lovely Khaka yorker and the rot then fell in as South Africa cleaned up the New Zealand tail to ensure their victory target would not be too high.

Despite losing the services of another pacer Masabata Klass to a shoulder injury and Ismail’s foot causing her discomfort, South Africa ensured that New Zealand never got the finishing flourish they aimed for.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 228 all out in 47.5 overs (Sophie Devine 93, Amelia Kerr 42; Shabnim Ismail 3/27, Ayabonga Khaka 3/31) against South Africa.

Google unveils new tools to build high-quality Android games

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Google unveils new tools to build high-quality Android games

Google has showcased several new features for three billion global players across platforms, as it ramps up its Cloud gaming service Stadia, and helps developers build high-quality Android games.

At the virtual ‘Google for Games Developer Summit’, the tech giant announced Android Game Development Kit updates, a new Immersive Stream for Games, and shared the latest tools to help people take games to the next level.

“We’re committed to supporting developers of all sizes who are building high-quality Android games. Updates to the Android Game Development Kit simplify the development process, while new data insights in Play Console can help you make smarter business decisions,” Google said in a blog post late on Wednesday.

The company is also enabling games on new screens and devices, including the Google Play Games for PC Beta.

With Clean Chat, a new open-source AI framework for games, studios can now proactively detect negative dialogue in both text and voice chat.

Developers and publishers interested in building a direct-to-consumer business can now deliver their titles directly to players with Immersive Stream for Games, said Google.

Developed by the Stadia team in partnership with Google Cloud, Immersive Stream for Games combines advanced streaming technology with cheaper and easier game porting, powerful discovery features, and analytics.

Advertisers can also improve target return on ad spend (tROAS) performance with App campaigns by integrating AdMob and third-party ad revenue data into Google Analytics for bid optimization.

Indian lensmen give Holi a brand new colour with iPhone 13 series

TB Team
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Indian lensmen give Holi a brand new colour with iPhone 13 series

As India prepares to celebrate the festival of colors with a sort of vengeance after two years of the pandemic, top Indian street photographers on Thursday said that the computational photography tools on new iPhone 13 devices are helping them capture more natural-looking and vibrant images.

According to Rohit Vohra, a leading street and travel photographer, educator, and Co-founder of APF Magazine, using an iPhone 13 Pro Max to capture Holi was intuitive, durable, and versatile, with an amazing Pro triple camera system.

“It’s durable and the cameras capture light like no other device. And if you add Cinematic Mode, it makes all the difference when it comes to videos,” he told in an interview.

Now iPhone can shoot with a shallow depth of field and automatically add elegant focus transitions between subjects.

Cinematic mode can also anticipate when a prominent new subject is about to enter the frame and bring them into focus when they do, for far more creative storytelling.

You have the option to change focus or adjust the level of bokeh even after capture.

Vohra said that when he is shooting on the streets, especially in conditions like Holi, he needs to be confident about the camera is using and to make it survive in real-life situations.
“Having used iPhone 13 Pro extensively, I don’t need to worry about water and color being thrown at me. All I am thinking of is where to stand and when to press the shutter,” he noted.

With its redesigned lens and powerful autofocus system, the new Ultra Wide camera can focus at just 2 centimeters — making even the smallest details seem anazing.

The high color fidelity and low compression of ProRes let you record, edit and deliver broadcast-ready content on the go.

Smart HDR 4 optimizes each part of the scene.

Harnessing the machine learning power of the Neural Engine, Smart HDR 4 now makes unique adjustments for multiple people in a scene.

For mid-to-low-light shots, Deep Fusion uses the Neural Engine to perform a pixel-by-pixel analysis of various exposures and fuse the best parts into your final image.

“iPhone camera is very intuitive and works really well as a point and shoot when you want it to. When you want creative control, it lets you take over and capture the scene as per your taste,” said Vohra who is on the judging panel of some of the top international photography awards, including IPA, PX3, SIPA, MIFA, Tokyo International Foto awards, and Photography Grant.

India logs 2,539 fresh Covid cases, 60 deaths

TB Team
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India logs 2,539 fresh Covid cases, 60 deaths

India reported 2,539 fresh Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours, a marginal drop from the previous day’s 2,876, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

In the same period, 60 fatalities were also registered to take the toll to 5,16,132.

Meanwhile, following a continuous downward trend, the active caseload has further declined to 30,799, constituting 0.07 percent of the country’s total positive cases.

A total of 4,491 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,24,54,546. Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.73 percent.

Also in the same period, a total of 7,17, 330 tests were conducted across the country. India has so far conducted over 78.12 crore cumulative tests.

There has been a sustained fall in the weekly and daily positivity rates too. The weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 0.42 percent and the daily positivity rate is reported to be 0.35 percent.

On the vaccination front, India’s Covid vaccination coverage has exceeded 180.80 crores as per provisional reports till 7 a.m. this morning. This has been achieved through 2,12,61,666 sessions.

In the last 24 hours, more than 3 lakh adolescents have been administered the first dose of the Covid vaccine.

More than 17.32 crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs, as per the ministry.

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