WhatsApp to enter digital payment For All Indian Users As Early As Next Week

WhatsApp Payments

After multiple delays in getting regulatory clearance, Facebook-owned WhatsApp is finally set to roll out its payment feature to all Indian users in the first week of June 2018. A report suggests that the UPI-based in-app payment services will be taken off from its current beta phase and will be rolled out for all the Indian users.

WhatsApp has been got permission from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to start working on the feature. WhatsApp payment services to the whole of India as early as next week in an attempt to win market share, even though its partners aren’t all ready, said people familiar with the matter. The messaging app will partner with HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd and Axis Bank Ltd to process the transfers, and State Bank of India will join once it has the necessary systems in place, the people said. Facebook was aiming for a full rollout with four partners but decided to go ahead with just three as its rivals were racing ahead, the people said, asking not to be named as the information isn’t public.

WhatsApp will be serious competitor to the popular digital wallets and payment apps like Paytm, Google Tez, PhonePe and so on. When the existing solutions are compared, Paytm recorded a huge 200 million user base in February 2018 and the rest are still fairly new in the race. So, it’s a good time and opportunity for WhatsApp to foray into the league and make the most out of its user base. With over 200 million monthly active users, WhatsApp surely poses as a solid threat to its rivals.

Experts suggest though the WhatsApp Pay option would more or less work on the same principle of sending and receiving payments, its ability to allow users to do it while chatting makes it a natural winner.

WhatsApp does not add an extra layer of security like Google does with its Tez payments app, but you do need to verify each payment using your UPI pin. Once set up, all you need to do is enter an amount and verify it using the UPI ID and the amount will be credited to the recipient's account.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is yet to announce anything officially yet, but with pressure from competitors Paytm and Google Tez, Facebook may go ahead and announce a widespread roll-out by next week, despite SBI's systems not really ready yet.

Like This Youtube Channel For More Videos : http://bit.ly/2KLobPh

Buy wifi stand alone cctv camera No hdd required : http://imojo.in/7vw9vj

shopping from amazon : https://amzn.to/2Hpjcm8

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/firsttechupdate

Earn Money by Click and Promote : http://za.gl/ylj2

Unbelievable! Get Dell laptop for only one rupee

Computer maker Dell India has an unbelievable offer for laptop buyers. Dell's 'Back to School' programme, allows students (and parents) to buy a new laptop at just Re 1.

The rest of the amount can be paid in EMIs.

Here is what to do for registration.

Dell Inspiron All In One Tower/ Desktop products and select Inspiron Notebooks can be made in India through the authorized Dell Outlets having a valid SA Code or www.compuinida.com

Successful registered customers will be provided with a unique registration reference ID instantly and the same will be intimated through the registered mail and phone number.

The registration will be validated and approved within 3 working days, post which the customer will be intimated to pay the expediency fee of 999 (depending on availed offer) through the designated online payment gate way.

Here are important dates to remember:

Offer Period: 22nd March 2016 to 31th May 2016.

Registration to be completed within 7days from the date of purchase.

Post registration approval mail, eligible customers are requested to make payment of the expediency charges as per the Redemption Guidelines within 7 days from the date of receipt of the communication.

Purchases made on or after 31th May 2016 are required to register on or before 7th June 2016.

Gujarat Police Gets 'Smart' With New Devices, M-Governance

Police force in Gujarat is set to get "smart" with its personnel getting handheld devices and using mobile governance to reach out to citizens in distress with special focus on women.

These technology-based measures are part of a slew of initiatives announced by the Gujarat government today in the Assembly to modernise the police force, curb crime, improve detection rate and acquire people-friendly image. These steps are to be implemented from the next fiscal.

The announcement to turn Gujarat police into a "smart" force was made by Minister of State for Home Rajnibhai Patel during his speech on the budgetary demands of Home Department for the year 2016-17.

Patel said each police station will be given smart handheld devices, called "Pocket Cop", to help personnel in detecting crimes by accessing and feeding relevant information in them and ensuring foolproof investigation.

"For Pocket Cop project, we have made a provision of Rs. 5 crores in the Budget. To establish prompt police response system for women in trouble, we have alloted Rs. 50 lakh to develop a mobile App based on the 181 helpline."

The 181 helpline has been set up by the state government for women in distress.

Further, the government will set up a state-level high-tech command and control centre at a cost of Rs. 10 crores at the DGP office in Gandhinagar, said the Minister.

Patel said "for various other initiatives related to modernisation of police department, we have alloted Rs. 41 crores, while Rs. 6 crores has been earmarked for up-gradation of forensic science laboratory."

Other initiatives include procurement of anti-riot gears, intelligent traffic management systems for cities, development of m-governance system to help people in contacting police immediately, recruitment of 17,200 personnel in various posts and setting up public safety answering point (PSAP) in Surat Range, stated Patel.

Source : NDTV

Isro, Indian Railways to Sign MoU for Remote Sensing, GIS Technologies

Aiming at effective use of space technology in remote sensing and graphic information system (GIS) based applications, Railways is set to join hands with Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

An MoU will be signed between Railways and Isro, under Department of Space, tomorrow for developing applications in the field of remote sensing and GIS.

The MoU will enable use of space technology tools in providing passenger information for all trains, indicating next station/stoppage, real-time train-tracking, survey of new rail route alignments particularly in hilly and difficult terrains.

It will also aid in conducting track vulnerability studies, mapping of assets, audio-visual warning to road users at unmanned level crossing gates and introduction of web-enabled rail user-centric services.

Currently, Railways is using space technology for providing connectivity to Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and unreserved ticketing system at remote and non-rail head locations.

Besides this, the technology is used for emergency communication using satellite phones from disaster sites, Global Positioning System (GPS) for various applications like remote monitoring of locomotives, passenger information system in Mumbai suburban trains and synchronised clocks and Wi-Fi facility in select Rajdhani Express trains.

Source : NDTV

Isro to Launch Sixth Navigational Satellite on Thursday

India is slated to put into orbit its sixth navigation satellite on Thursday evening, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced in Chennai on Monday.

The 1,425-kg IRNSS-1F - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1F - would hurtle into space on board its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on March 10, the Isro said.

The rocket will blast off around 4pm from the spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 80km from Chennai.

This will be already the second rocket launch for India in 2016. The first one was on January 20 when a PSLV rocket put into orbit the IRNSS-1E satellite in text-book style.

Till date India has launched five regional navigational satellites (IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, ID and 1E) as part of a constellation of seven satellites to provide accurate position information service to users across the country and the region, extending up to an area of 1,500km.

Though the full system comprises nine satellites -- seven in orbit and two on the ground as stand-by - the navigation services could be made operational with four satellites, Isro officials had said earlier.

Each satellite costs about Rs. 150 crores and the PSLV-XL version rocket costs about Rs. 130 crores. The seven rockets would entail an outlay of about Rs. 910 crores.

The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to be completed in 2016 itself.

The first satellite IRNSS-1A was launched in July 2013, the second IRNSS-1B in April 2014, the third on October 2014, the fourth in March 2015, and the fifth in January this year.

The seventh satellite IRNSS-1G is expected to be launched in the second half of 2016.

Once the regional navigation system is in place, India need not be dependent on other platforms.

All CBSE Books to Be Made Available Online for Free, Says HRD Minister Smriti Irani

All CBSE books and learning material will be made available online for free as part of the Centre's good governance efforts, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said New Delhi on Saturday.

At a function organised at a Kendriya Vidyalaya in east Delhi, she also said that initiatives would be undertaken to ensure holistic nurturing and improve learning outcomes at these schools.

"We made NCERT books available online for free through e-books and mobile applications a month-and-a-half ago. We are similarly going to make CBSE books available online along with additional learning material and videos as part of our good governance efforts," Irani said at the inauguration of a new building of the school in Khichripur.

Responding to the call by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia at the function that endeavours be made to ensure that children not only excel professionally but also become good human beings, Irani asked her ministry's officials to organise 'Baal Sabha' (Child Conventions).

These conventions will feature interactions between children and professionals from fields including defence to help the former grow into "good human beings".

Irani also reiterated that the Centre will launch 'Shaala Darpan' and 'Saransh' services (for Class I to Class XII students) in Kendriya Vidyalayas in the next academic year.

The 'Shaala Darpan' service is aimed at using SMSes to keep parents informed about their wards' attendance, time table and marks in exams while 'Saransh' will help parents compare the subject-wise learning outcomes of their children, with others at the district, state and national levels.

Earlier, addressing the function, Sisodia stressed on the role of education in the lives of children.

"You need to check whether you are doing better than yesterday. Are we behaving better than yesterday. The focus should be that if a child gets out of educational institutes 20 years later, he/she should pass out as a sensible person," he said.

The AAP leader urged schools to take the responsibility of turning children into good human beings.

When we read in newspapers about communal violence, rapes somewhere, then we feel we fell short somewhere. Hence, we will have to take responsibility. A person is giving us 20 years of his/her life.

"So, we will have to ensure we impress on him/her that it is equally important to be a good human being as to be a good engineer or other professional," he said.

East Delhi MP Maheish Girri also addressed the event, which was attended by senior HRD officials and local public representatives.

Today first time Isro is Testing PSLV Multiple Burn Engine

The Indian space agency on Wednesday will be testing its ability to restart the fourth-stage engine of its rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on shutting it down after putting into orbit six Singaporean satellites.

Technically speaking, India will be testing its multiple burn fuel stage/rocket engine for the first time.

"The restart and shut off of the fourth stage engine is done as a first step towards launching multiple satellites but in different orbits," a senior official of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), speaking on the condition of anonymity, told IANS.

Launching of multiple satellites with a single rocket is nothing new for Isro and it has been doing that for several years. The challenge is however to launch several satellites at different orbits with one rocket and this is what Isro will be testing out after PSLV ejects out six Singaporean satellites on Wednesday.

The PSLV rocket is a four stage/engine rocket powered by solid and liquid fuel alternatively.

"Restarting a rocket engine soon after it is shut off is a critical technology that has to be mastered. Once a rocket engine is activated, then the heat generated is very high. The trick is to cool it down in the space and to restart it at a short gap," an industry expert told IANS.

"This is entirely different from switching on and off the communication satellite's engines in the space. The interval between two restarts of a communication satellite engine will be in days. But in the case of restarting a rocket engine, the time gap will be in hours," the expert added.

"By that time the rocket's engine has to be cooled down. This part of the experiment is very critical," he explained.

On Wednesday, Isro's PSLV rocket will blast off from the first launch pad at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 80km from here, with the six Singaporean satellites. All the satellites will be put into orbit around 21 minutes into the flight at an altitude of 550km.

After that the rocket's fourth stage will be shut down.

"It will be coasting after that," an Isro official told IANS.

Around 46 minutes after the launch of the sixth satellite, the fourth stage will be restarted when it is in a lower altitude of 523.9 km.

The engine will be in operational for four seconds and would go up to an altitude of 524 km before the stage is cut-off.

Meanwhile Isro officials told the countdown for the December 16 evening launch of PSLV rocket is progressing smoothly.

On December 16, Isro will be flying the 'core alone' variant of the PSLV rocket. The rocket will not have the strap on boosters, its standard feature

The successful launch of the six Singaporean satellites will take Isro's total flights of foreign satellites to 57.

Out of the six satellites, the 400 kg earth observation satellite called TeLEOS-1 is the main passenger for the PSLV rocket and hence the mission is called TeLEOS mission by Isro.

TeLEOS-1 is Singapore's first commercial earth observation satellite designed and developed by ST Electronics.

The other five co-passenger satellites are VELOX-C1 (123 kg), VELOX-II (13 kg), Kent Ridge-1 (78 kg), Galassia (3.4 kg) and Athenoxat-1.

The December 16 mission will be the last rocket launch mission for Isro in 2015.

So far in 2015, Isro has launched 14 satellites (three Indian and 11 foreign) from its rocket port in Sriharikota. Thirteen satellites were launched with PSLV rocket and one communication satellite - GSAT-6-with geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV).

Last month India also launched its communication satellite GSAT-15 using the Ariane rocket of the European space agency which takes the total number of satellite launches in 2015 to 21 (17 foreign, four Indian).

12 Indian Hardware Startups That Are Making an Impact

Twenty four years after liberalisation, India's prowess as an IT services and outsourcing player needs no endorsements, with aggregate industry revenues for the financial year 2015 estimated at $146 billion (approximately Rs. 9,73,242 crores). India's EDSM (Electronic System Design and Manufacturing) industry is projected to grow to $94 billion (approximately Rs. 626181 crore) in 2015, from $76 billion (approximately Rs. 506619 crore) in 2013. Indian trade bodies IESA and Nasscom plan to drive Vision 2025, where IT and ESDM bring 25 percent of India's GDP.

This year, we saw many smartphone manufacturers pledging to Make In India, mostly subcontracting the assembly work to Foxconn's plant in Sri City, with others setting up facilities of their own. There are also several hardware startups that have emerged in the last five years. Some of these have seen funding rounds come their way this year. Nasscom's latest startup landscape report counts over 30 hardware startups, over 35 players in the IoT space. In this roundup, we list some of the notable device startups to have emerged out of India.

1) Grey Orange Robotics

ounded by BITS Pilani alumni, Grey Orange is the creator of AcYut, India's first indigenously developed humanoid robot. GreyOrange has two product lines that it provides to India's e-commerce and logistics companies - Butler, a fleet of mobile robots that can move materials in the warehouse, and Sorter, a fully automated sorting system to consolidate and route packages. The four-year-old company raised $30 million (roughly Rs. 192 crores) in its Series B in August, and it has offices in Hong Kong, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

Founders: Akash Gupta, Wolfgang Höltgen, and Samay Kohli
Headquarters: Gurgaon
Website : www.greyorange.com 
Category: Robotics solutions for e-commerce warehouses

2) Ather Energy

This two-year-old startup is expected to launch its first product, the S340 electric scooter in early 2016. The S340 is powered by Lithium ion batteries, and will be priced under a lakh, with an estimated range of around 50-100 kilometres. Ather energy raised seed funding from FLIPKART founders and secured a $12 million (roughly Rs. 80 crores) funding round in its Series A from Tiger Global in May 2015.

Founders: Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Website: www.atherenergy.com
Category: Electric smart scooters

3) Goqii

Goqii retails its fitness band with a subscription plan, combining it with a platform that provides users access to fitness services and karma points. Goqii's subscription plans start at Rs. 3,999 for three months, and the company plans to expand its operations to global MARKETS with its recent Series A, where it raised Rs. 89.4 crores.

Founder: Vishal Gondal
Headquarters: Mumbai
Website: www.goqii.com
Category: Fitness tracking wearables

4) MangoMan Consumer Electronics

Founded in 2013, MangoMan Consumer Electronics is now shipping its second generation HDMI dongle, Teewe at Rs. 2399. The startup plans to add the new features like torrent streaming and a 'couch mode' for Web video through its app, and release an SDK for game developers to publish Android games for the Teewe 2.

Founders: Sai Srinivas and Shubh Malhotra
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Website: www.teewe.in
Category: HDMI dongle for wireless media streaming

5) Lechal

Started initially as a navigation for the visually impaired, Lechal ships its haptic footwear for men and women globally, along with pods, which can be clipped to any existing footwear one might have. The Lechal pods connect to smartphones via Bluetooth, keeping track of calories burnt, and provides navigation cues to the wearer based on haptic feedback.

Founders: Anirudh Sharma, Krispian Lawrence
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Website: www.lechal.com
Category: Bluetooth-enabled haptic footwear

6) Ezetap

Ezetap's card reader turns smartphones into mobile point of sale solutions, and works on basic 2G networks. Ezetap added four major mobile wallets players to its payments solution in October, when it quoted a coverage of 70,000 service points across the country. Ezetap has raised $25 million (roughly Rs. 161 crores) in its Series C round in August this year, and partnered with some of India's largest banks and companies, like SBI, HDFC, Citibank, American Express, AMAZON, Bajaj Allianz, and Airtel.

Founders: Abhijit Bose and Bhaktha Keshavachar
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Website: www.ezetap.com
Category: Mobile Point-of-Sale

7) Inoho

Inoho's affordable "home controller" lets users control and schedule on and off times for their home appliances from anywhere in the world, via the Internet, using an app or web browser. The startup retails its home controller and switchboard module on AMAZON INDIA, and has partnered with Housejoy for installation.

Founders: Deepankar Garg and Deep Singh
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Website: www.inoho.com
Category: Home automation

8) Absentia

Founded by BITS Goa dropouts, Absentia recently launched two versions of Tesseract, a virtual reality head mount device that's now up for pre-order. The startup recently secured $180,000 (Rs. 1.2 crores) in a seed funding round, led by Astarc Ventures. The full-HD version of the Tesseract headset is priced at Rs. 12,000, while the QHD version of the headset is priced at Rs. 20,000.

Founders: Shubham Mishra, Vrushali Prasade, and Harikrishna Valiyath
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Website: www.absentiavr.com
Category: VR Headset

9) Tesseract

Mumbai-based Tesseract is currently shipping its Methane 360 VR camera globally. Priced at around 1.5 lakhs, the camera is finding customers among startups like Housing.com, CommonFloor, NestAway, and Oyo rooms, who want to provide virtual walkthroughs on their platform.

Founders: Kshitij Marwah
Headquarters: Mumbai

Website: www.tesseract.in

Category: VR Cameras

10) Cooey

Cooey provides a healthcare monitoring platform that can be referenced by healthcare providers and loved ones. Cooey has announced three devices so far - wireless body fat analyser and blood pressure monitor were launched on FLIPKART in November, its Smart Glucometer is expected to launch in the second week of December.

Founders: Manu Madhusudanan and Prabhakaran T P
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Website: www.cooey.co.in
Category: Health monitoring devices

11) Sensegiz

Consumer wearables startup SenseGiz is currently retailing two products on its website - a smartwatch called Star, and Find, a device tracker that can be clipped to clothing or keys for alerts on an app, available on the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android. Sensegiz secured $500,000 (roughly Rs. 3.3 crores) funding from Karnataka Semiconductor Venture Capital Fund in November.

Founders: Abhishek Latthe
Headquarters: Belgaum
Website: www.sensegiz.com
Category: Wearable technology

12) CarIQ

This two-year-old startup provides car monitoring devices called SmartPlugs, which are available in GSM and Bluetooth versions. The GSM-enabled version provides realtime car health alerts, speeding/ geo-fence alerts, roadside assistance and connections to a network of service providers. The company is upgrading its inventory at the time of writing, and promises a few surprises to kick off 2016.

Founders: Sagar Apte, Deepak Thomas
Headquarters: Pune
Website: www.mycariq.com
Category: Car diagnostics

Others

Other notable Indian hardware startups include tablet maker Notion Ink, which pivoted to Windows + Intel hardware last year with the Cain. There's also Gecko, a device that works as a key finder, which was a notable crowdfunded success story, raising $135,000 (approximately Rs. 89 lakhs) on Indiegogo with support from Steve Wozniak in 2013.

Source : NDTV

Microsoft to Help 200,000 SMBs in Karnataka Use Cloud Computing

Global software major Microsoft said on Thursday it is partnering with Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) to help about 200,000 small and medium businesses (SMBs) across the state use cloud computing to spur their revenue growth.

"Cloud computing will open more avenues for SMBs and connect them with their present and prospective customers across the country, as they play a significant role in the economy," Microsoft's India subsidiary said in a statement in Bengaluru.

Cloud computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, instead of a local server or a personal computer.

According to a study by the IT industry representative body Nasscom and growth partnership firm Frost & Sullivan, the Indian SMB market employs about 40 percent of the country's workforce, contributes 17 percent to national GDP and accounts for 45 percent share in manufacturing and 40 percent of exports.

"Among SMBs, primary workloads are productivity, Internet connectivity, mail and messaging, business applications, collaboration, cloud storage and cloud platform. In association with FKCCI, we are able to reach thousands of SMBs and democratize IT for small businesses while providing enterprise-class solutions," Microsoft India general manager Meetul Patel said in the statement.

FKCCI president Tallam R. Dwarakanath said: "Technology lies at the heart of any business and the right mix of IT adoption helps businesses accelerate their growth at a minimum cost. We are excited to partner with Microsoft to drive the next wave of growth for our member organizations."

While findings from Greyhound Research highlighted Bengaluru based organisations to be ahead of the national average in terms of IT maturity and deployment, another study by consulting giant Boston Consulting Group (BCG) observed SMBs which embraced IT solutions grew faster than ones which didn't.

SMBs actively adopting IT tools will create an opportunity for the sector to grow revenues by $56 billion (roughly Rs. 3,74,618 crores) and create 1.1 million new jobs, said Microsoft.

5 technology initiatives that help ensure 26/11 never happens again

The 26/11 Mumbai attacks were one of the most grievous assaults on Indian soil, an incident that challenged the combined efforts of the US, British and Indian anti-terrorism agencies.

With the terrorists displaying unprecedented access and competence in electronic tradecraft, it opened a new need for government agencies to massively up the ante on strategies and practices that effectively monitor and utilise electronics and web technologies to counter this new capability. Post the attacks, the Indian government has launched numerous initiatives to help it better secure its own data, while introducing surveillance systems that can monitor potentially harmful activity:

1. National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)

National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), a post Mumbai 26/11 attack measure, aims to bring access to relevant, real-time information—a major obstacle in the path of detecting US terror suspect David Headley's movement across the country during his multiple visits between 2006 and 2009.

The grid has access to 21 sets of databases that are networked to achieve quick, seamless and secure access to key information for intelligence and enforcement agencies.

This ambitious counter terrorism programme uses Big Data and Analytics to study large amounts of information generated from various intelligence and enforcement agencies, simultaneously analysing events to get a better composite picture. This system enables law enforcement agencies to track suspects by monitoring their digital footprints.

2. Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS)

CCTNS has successfully tapped into the multiple crime-based networks to facilitate the collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data and information at the police stations and between the police stations and the State Headquarters, syncing it with the Central Police Organisations.

This initiative facilitates effective policing and sharing data of crimes and criminals among 14,000 police stations across all the 35 states and Union Territories of India using a comprehensive and integrated system.

3. Lawful Intercept & Monitoring (LIM) Systems

Although electronic eavesdropping or hacking can yield valuable data, there is every possibility of missing a ‘tantalizing’ clue if the technology is not closely monitored.  Here’s where LIM comes to the rescue: it was deployed by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to closely monitor Internet traffic, emails, web browsing, Skype and any other Internet activity across Indian public data networks.

LIM systems have broad surveillance capabilities with access to all Internet activity that expands beyond IP addresses, email addresses, URLs or emails. It does an in-depth analysis of all Internet traffic using keywords and keyphrases.

4. Network Traffic Analysis (NETRA) system 

As company intranets are mushrooming rapidly, they provide a fertile ground for cyber-terrorism to tap into. It is increasingly important to intercept and analyse internet traffic using pre-defined filters.

NETRA, a software network developed by India's Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory, helps to gai insight into what type of traffic/network packets or data is flowing through a network.  Apart from detecting suspect keywords and keyphrases in social media, blogs, tweets, instant messaging services, emails, and in other online content, this software can also analyse dubious voice traffic passing through software such as Skype and Google Talk.

5. Central Monitoring System (CMS)

Every conversation you have on your landlines and mobile phones can be heard; some can be recorded too. You make a search on the Internet and it can be tracked. Fiction?

No, it’s now real. 

The CMS which ran multiple successful pilot tests in 2013 gives law enforcement agencies  centralised access to India's telecommunications network. Investigating officers can now listen to or record mobile, landline and satellite calls and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) of anyone within the country. They can read private emails, SMS and MMS and geolocate people via their cell phones, all in real time.

Though this system had looped in several strong criticisms by media, this is a significant breakthrough that could potentially help stall terrorist intentions. 

Lenovo strengthens Make In India plans

Lenovo became the world's third largest mobile manufacturer when it acquired Motorola. Now, Lenovo plans to ramp up production of its devices in India. The company is hoping to almost double its local smartphone production to 10 million units a year, at their Chennai manufacturing unit. Currently, Lenovo produces around 6 million units annually, but now the company will increase the number of models produced at the Chennai facility. Besides smartphone production, the company is also aiming to export both Lenovo and Motorola branded smartphones from India. Lenovo is also bringing its customisation programme- Moto Maker, to India.

Moto Maker has already been up and running in the US. Moto Maker allows users to customise their Motorola smartphones and the Moto 360 Watch. Using Moto Maker, customers can build their own Motorola devices in the colours of their choice along with an option of engraving them with a personal message. One alos gets of selecting the material of the smartphone or watch and adding memory to the devices. In India though, the initial launch of Moto Maker will aloow users to start by customising the back panel of their Motorola devices.

This year, we have seen a lot of smartphone manufacturers pushing for the Make In India agenda. Andhra Pradesh's Sri City has become a hub for most mobile makers such as Xiaomi and Gionee while others like Lava and Vivo have set up base in Delhi-NCR.

Apply Online for New Pension System Withdrawals From Next Year: PFRDA

Pension fund regulator PFRDA has made it mandatory for the subscribers of New Pension System (NPS) to submit applications online for settlement of withdrawal claims from April 1 next year.

According to a PFRDA directive, no request in physical form would be entertained with effect from April 1, 2016. "It has...been decided that with effect from April 1, 2016 only such withdrawal requests raised on online platform will be accepted at CRA (Central Recordkeeping Agency) system for further processing.

"Physical withdrawal request forms received at CRA will not be accepted for further processing," the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority said.

NSDL is the CRA for the NPS. A subscriber can exit NPS due to superannuation, premature exit and death.

PFRDA said it is committed to support the 'Digital India' campaign of the government and efforts were being made to make various NPS related services available on online platform.

Making withdrawal process online wherein subscribers can raise withdrawal request using online platform is one of the such initiatives, it said.

"This will make withdrawal process paperless to a great extent and seamless and exit claims of the subscribers can be settled in least possible time," it said.

NPS has been implemented for all government employees (except armed forces) joining Central Government on or after January 1, 2004.

Most of the State/ UT Governments have also notified the NPS for their new employees. NPS has been made available to every Indian Citizen from May 2009 on a voluntary basis.

Further, from June 2015, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), has been launched which has given the much required impetus to the social security schemes.

NPS and APY together have more than one crore subscribers with total Asset Under Management of more than Rs. 1,00,000 crores.

Meanwhile the retirement fund body EPFO is also in the process of providing facility of filing PF withdrawal claims online with an ultimate aim to process such applications with 24 hours of receiving it.

Vodafone launches 'Superfast 3G' in Guwahati

Leading telecom service provider Vodafone India today launched 'Superfast 3G Services' on its network in Guwahati.

The new services will enable people to experience "faster, smarter and better than the existing 3G experience", a Vodafone senior official said here.

To provide high speed mobile Internet services to the customers in Guwahati, Vodafone has deployed 285 new 3G towers and continues to add more sites, the network's Business Head - Assam and Northeast Alok Verma told reporters.

The new Superfast Vodafone 3G will enhance the service experience such as multimedia, high speed mobile broadband, Internet access with the ability to view video footage on one's mobile handset, Verma said.

Also with a 3G phone and access to the superfast Vodafone 3G network, one can make a video call, watch live TV, access the high speed Internet, download large email attachments faster and download music tracks as well as the usual voice call and messaging services found in a mobile phone, he said.

Vodafone has so far been offering 3G services in Assam and the Northeast (ANE) circle via bilateral roaming agreements with other operators but with the March 2015 auctions, it acquired 2100 Mhz (3G) spectrum for the area to provide faster, smarter and better 3G services to the 40 per cent data users of its 4.7 million customers, the official said.

The service provider has invested over Rs 500 crore to modernise and upgrade existing voice and data network in ANE circle, besides an additional investment of Rs 13,000 crore for countrywide capacity augmentation and new business initiatives, reiterating its commitment to Digital India and Make in India, Verma said.

As a part of its strategy to democratise data, Vodafone India has been focusing on closer engagement with customers to use mobile Internet, and educating current and potential users about how Internet can add significant value to them, he added.

BSNL launches WhatsApp service for registering complaints in Indore

To register the complaints of consumers, Indore Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched WhatsApp service for the telecom users. On Thursday, officials of BSNL held a meeting for the issues relating telecom sector.

Apart from this, new mobile towers are in the process of installation across the city and by 2016 the towers would began its functioning. Addressing the meeting, General Manager, MR Rawat, said, " This would make it easier for the telecom users to use WhatsApp service. BSNL is making continuos efforts to work for the growth of the sector. We are trying our best to give the users best possible deals."

Earlier struggling to continue the multimedia messaging, BSNL had shut-down the multimedia messaging services (MMS) platform under BSNL Network from November 1. With the advent of WhatsApp and its increasing popularity, BSNL was finding it difficult to gain any grip on MMS services.

Aiming to increase the network and land-line connection lines, BSNL would be installing FTTH (fibre to the home). Discussions on installation of new mobile tower at rural places were held. Senior General Manager, Piyush Khare, said, "Upcoming Simhastha would be witnessing huge development works from BSNL. We would be carrying out test drive on continuos basis for the survey of telecom network."

Indore has a consumer base of around 3 lakh BSNL users in city, and 26 lakh across the state BSNL.

India to have the second largest number of Internet users worldwide 6

Internet users in India have seen a growth of 49% over the last year. The number of Internet users is expected to reach 402 million by December 2015. This data was reported by IAMAI. With this growth, India will have the second largest number of Internet users worldwide. Being second largest, India will have overtaken the US (the current number two). Breaking up the 402 million users, about 306 million of them will access Internet from their smartphones. In October this year, that figure stood at 276 million, according to the report by IMRB and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

The report said, "While Internet in India took more than a decade to move from 10 million to 100 million and 3 years from 100 to 200 million, it took only a year to move from 300 to 400 million users. Clearly, Internet is mainstream in India today." The report goes on to say, "Currently, India has the third largest Internet user base in the world but it is estimated that by December, India will overtake the US (as the second largest base). China currently leads with more than 600 million Internet users."

Looking into the future, the number of Internet users in India is expected to grow to 462 million by June 2016. Growth of Internet usage will be dominated by mobile devices. Retrospectively, there were 300 million Internet users in December 2014, which grew to 375 million by October this year. Looking closely at the Indian market it seems that urban India has grown 65% over the last year to 197 million Internet users, where as the rural user base has risen 99 percent to 80 million users as of October 2015. The survey also said that 11.4 million non-Internet users are willing to access the Internet in the next one year.

The growth of Internet consumption is great news and the fact that India will overtake the US is even better news, but what is still disappointing is the Internet speeds and 4G connectivity issues that still plagues India. There are still areas in metro cities in India where broadband connection isn’t easily available and the speeds are bare minimum when compared to international standards. As of Q1 2015, India has an average broadband speed of 2.3Mbps. South Korea leads the pack with an average broadband speed of 23.6Mbps. So what’s the point of having a large Internet base without great speeds? Recent research suggests that the minimum broadband spped should be 10Mbps.

Should we even begin to recap the debacle of call drops and 4G connectivity? Smartphones with Internet capabilities have found their ways into the average consumers pockets but the speed at which they access the Internet is appalling. So, yes, its great that we will be number two when it comes to the number of Internet users but we still have a long way to go as far as connectivity and speeds are concerned.

India's largest technology incubator 'T-Hub' launched

Ramping up efforts to make the Indian state of Telangana a preferred IT destination, the state's government announced the opening of India's largest technology startup hub "T-Hub" on the outskirts of Hyderabad earlier this month.

The project is being developed in public private partnership (PPP) mode by the Telangana government, in collaboration with the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Indian School of Business (ISB), and NALSAR University of Law. Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata, inaugurated the facility in the presence of several dignitaries.

T-Hub is the first complete ecosystem in India that offers total support to new startups and is already tied up with 20 venture capitalists. Renowned VC firms such as Ineda Venture Group, Kalaari Capital, Peepul, and Sequoia have expressed support to the project.

The first phase of the project, a six-storey building located on the sprawling International Institute of Information Technology campus, can accommodate up to 150 startups. Lack of such a facility forced many local entrepreneurs to shift their base to Bengaluru city in the neighbouring state of Karnataka in the past.

There has been tremendous response to the $6 million first phase, which is offering seed funding, working space, mentorship, and opportunities to network in one place. In fact, more than 300 startups have lined up to get registered so far, but only half were successful while the remainder were assured of assistance in future.

In order to avoid political interference, the government decided not to become involved in the functioning of the facility, which will be under the supervision of a board of directors comprising CEOs of IT companies such as Tech Mahindra and Cyient (formerly Infotech), technocrats, academics, experts, and legal luminaries, who will choose the startups based only on the merit of their ideas.

INNOVATION FUND

Telangana IT Minister, KT Rama Rao, said that the government would set up an innovation fund with 100 crore rupees ($16 million) to fund the startups. Of this, the government's share will be 10 percent and rest will be in the form of contributions from the private sector.

"The innovation fund will be to the tune of 100 crore rupees. We want to increase it to $100 million or over 600 crore rupees in the coming years. We will fuel Hyderabad's rise to become one of the top tech startup cities in the world," the minister said.

A software engineer who worked in the US between 2001 and 2006 said that venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, including those from Hyderabad, evinced interest to pitch in for the innovation fund. "We will render all assistance to the facility until it becomes self-sustaining. It will make revenues by leasing out office space to startups, VCs, angel investors, and others," he said.

The second phase of T-Hub is set to be completed in less than three years at a cost of about 150 crore rupees ($23 million), with a campus of its own spread over 300,000 square feet. By 2020, it plans to incubate 1,000 startups and generate 3,000 jobs.

Vodafone India to launch 4G in 5 circles beginning Dec

 Vodafone India, the country's second largest telecom operator, said that it will launch 4G services in five circles-- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Karnataka and Kerala--beginning December this year.

The company had successfully acquired 4G (LTE) spectrum in these circles in February 2014 auctions. It will offer 4G services using spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.

Sunil Sood, Managing Director and CEO, Vodafone India said the telco will launch our 4G services beginning December 2015 in 5 circles that are key to its data revenues and will continue to expand own 3G coverage to 16 circles across the country.

India's No. 2 carrier is currently in talks with Swedish gear maker Ericsson and Finnish Nokia Networks for equipment supply deals in the other three circles, where it has 4G bandwidth, ET reported recently.

Vodafone already selected Huawei for supply of base stations and other equipment for 4G networks in Karnataka and Kerala circles.
"Robust and resilient network architecture with strong backhaul is being built to support the increasing volumes and need for speed from both retail and enterprise customers," he added.

Vodafone India now has a base of 188.2 million customers in the country, up 8.2% on year-on-year basis. It said that the customer base is being serviced through a network of 132,446 total sites, of which 39,774 are 3G sites. It also has a substantial rural presence with a customer base of over 99 million in H1FY16, 53% of total customer base.

Why 3G Will Be The Backbone Of 4G In India

With the telcos planning to focus on 4G services in the coming year, the market for 3G in India faces an uncertain future just four years after its commercial introduction and only five years after the telcos spent nearly $15 billion for their 3G licenses.

While there is a little doubt that 3G services introduced India to mobile broadband and its vast potential, 3G has not led to mobile broadband revolution many had been hoping for. The initial response to 3G can at best be described as lukewarm. Patchy services coupled with high price for devices ensured limited adoption of 3G services in the country. The controversy surrounding 3G roaming didn’t really help.

The 4G ecosystem has started to develop now in India. Airtel has already launched 4G in around 300 cities and other incumbents like Vodafone India and Idea Cellular are likely to launch 4G in key selected cities by the end of this year or early next year. Besides, Reliance Jio recently spoke about Lyf, its brand for 4G devices. The company is likely to launch 4G services by the end of the year or by early next year.

Besides, the prices of 4G devices are steadily coming down making it more accessible for mass-market adoption. Significantly, Airtel is offering 4G at almost similar tariff to 3G means that the road ahead is not clear for 3G and there is no clarity on return of investment for 3G.

Paradoxically, even as service providers increase 4G deployment across the country, 3G is almost critical to the incumbents to deal with the data tsunami. The incumbents, like Airtel, use Circuit Switched Fall Back (CSFB) technology to offer voice on 4G network. This means that 3G and 2G network become very important for the company to be able to offer seamless voice experience to their subscribers. Also, 3G network pitches in wherever 4G network is unavailable. Besides, being a new technology 4G might face some technical issues initially which is not the case with 3G. All this means that ubiquitous 3G coverage is important for 4G to make a mark. The coming year might witness a number of 4G launches but 3G would be working in the background to make it work. So while 3G might not be promoted by telcos, but there is no denying that it will be the backbone of 4G.

The service providers are likely to use a combination of 3G and 4G to meet the data needs of their subscribers. This is apparent if one goes through the recent results of the telcos. For instance, Idea has expanded 3G coverage from 2897 census towns at the end of Q2 FY15 to 3584 at the end of Q2 FY16. This is even as the company is planning to launch 4G services by the end of the current calendar year.

On the other hand, Data ARPU for Airtel has increased from Rs 150 at the end of September 2014 to Rs 193 at the end of September 2015. Data consumption has risen from 563 MB at the end of Q2 FY15 to 765 at the end of Q2 FY16 for Airtel. All this is the result of 3G expansion by the major incumbents from 2014 onwards.

There has also been a significant increase in the number of 3G cell sites for all incumbents. For Airtel, 3G cell sites have increased from 38,055 at the end of September 2014 to 62,447 at the end of September 2015. On the other hand, for Idea the cell sites have increased from 25,164 at the end of Q2 FY15 to 39,867 at the end of Q2 FY16.

For marketing purposes the incumbents might promote the swankier and smarter 4G but 3G would be quite indispensable for mobile broadband network of the telcos.

Communications satellite GSAT-15 successfully launched into space

India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by Ariane-5 rocket in the early hours on Wednesday from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.

The European launcher blasted off at 03:04 am (IST) and hurled the GSAT-15, designed to deliver telecommunications services, as well as dedicated navigation-aid and emergency services, into space in a flawless flight.

The satellite was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) after its co-passenger Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) was injected into space. “Arianespace successfully launched two satellites this evening (local time): Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) for the operator Arabsat, and GSAT-15 for Isro (Indian Space Research Organisation),” Arianespace said.

GSAT-15, weighing 3,164 kg at lift-off, is a high power satellite being inducted into the INSAT/GSAT system. It carries a total of 24 communication transponders in

Ku-band as well as a GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands, Isro said adding that it is the third satellite to carry GAGAN payload after GSAT-8 and GSAT-10, which are already providing navigation services from orbit.

It also carries a Ku-band beacon as well to help in accurately pointing ground antennas towards the satellite. GSAT-15 is the 19th payload launched by Arianespace for Isro.

Speaking at Kourou, Isro Satellite Centre (ISAC) director M Annadurai said, “GSAT-15 satellite signal has been acquired by Master Control Facility at Hassan (in Karnataka). The initialisation commands are in process and the satellite health is hail and healthy.”

He said the launch of GSAT-15 will enable ISRO to provide continuity of service to Indian users in Ku-band and the navigation payload GAGAN of GSAT-15 will provide in orbit backup to ensure safety of life navigation services in civil aviation sector as well as other location based services to various services in the Indian region.

Annadurai also said other two communication satellites GSAT-17 and GSAT-18 are getting ready for launch by Ariane vehicle in the next year.

“The realisation of both the satellites are in very advanced stage.” The launch was telecast live by Doordarshan. GSAT-15 brings in Ku-band capacity to augment as well as provide replacement to indigenous operational satellite capacity, Isro said.

“The launch of GSAT-15 will be one more step towards further strengthening the satellite navigation infrastructure and sustaining the communication infrastructure in the country,” Isro chief AS Kiran Kumar said in a recorded video message.

Indian satellite’s co-passenger Arabsat-6B, lofted for Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space as part of a turnkey contract with Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat, was also launched by Ariane 5 VA-227.

According to Arianespace, Arabsat-6B, to be renamed BADR-7 once in orbit will provide broadcast, broadband and telecommunications services over the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Ariane 5 mission had a total payload lift performance of 9,810kg. This includes the two satellites’ mass at liftoff -5,798kg for Arabsat-6B and 3,164kg for GSAT-15 - along with launcher integration hardware and Ariane 5’s dual-passenger deployment system.

The GAGAN payload in GSAT-15 provides the Satellite Based Augmentation System, through which the accuracy of the positioning information obtained from the GPS satellites is improved by a network of ground based receivers and made available to the users in the country through geostationary satellites, Isro said.

In the next few days, the MCF at Hassan will perform the initial orbit raising manoeuvres using the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) of the satellite to take it to its intended space home.

With the designed in-orbit operational life of 12 years, GSAT-15 will be positioned at 93.5 degree east longitude and co-located with INSAT-3A and INSAT-4B satellites.

India launches Imprint-India project

In a fillip to scientific and technological research in the country, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, launched the 1000 crore rupee ($150 million) Imprint-India Project last week.

Imprint-India (IMPacting Research INnovation and Technology), a joint initiative of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has been tasked with developing a roadmap for research to solve major engineering challenges in 10 technology domains relevant to India.

The project will serve as a catalyst to undertake original research within India, especially in sectors where the institutions of higher learning such as IITs and IISc look to foreign collaborators to take up their projects.

An Inter-Ministerial Group comprising officials from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Ministry of Defence, Department of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology, and the Ministry of Rural Development, among others, will receive research proposals from various institutes to develop affordable technologies in India and fund those which are deemed worthy.

Being a single window mechanism, it will eliminate red tape and expedite the process of sanctioning funds for research work, thus relieving researchers from the control of bureaucrats.

The project will focus on 10 areas: Health care, information and communication technology, energy, sustainable habitat, nano-technology hardware, water resources and river systems, advanced materials, manufacturing, security and defence, and environmental science and climate change.

Though India ranks third in the world in terms of research publications and second in terms of patent filing in the field of nano-technology, it still has to import technology for research.

Likewise, most of the machinery for diagnostic imaging in healthcare is being imported, and it is here the Imprint-India Project will play a crucial role, by helping researchers in the institutes of higher learning to develop the technology indigenously.

Additionally, while conventional diagnostic practices are time consuming, labour-intensive, and require elaborate infrastructures and on-field pathologists, the development of portable, inexpensive point-of-care (POC) diagnostic devices will potentially lead to easier to spot diagnostics, without necessitating expensive infrastructures or expert personnel.

POC devices also offer rapid and affordable diagnostics for a greater number of patients, at their convenience, and includes rapid blood and urine testing, electrocardiogram, and oxygen saturation.

The prime minister, while exhorting enhanced industry-academia partnerships for innovative research and new technology development, said that it was important to look towards affordable technology. "Science is universal but technology has to be local," he said.

"Society is becoming technology-driven. It is important to understand the importance of this and look towards affordable technology. We have to think about how our institutions can set up their own incubation centres to help the industries," Modi added.