Twitter Spaces reaches Android users globally; WazirX crossed $2 billion in trading volumes
+ Amazon accused of derailing the retail industry; PayPal to hire 1,000 engineers
Hey!
Welcome to a fresh edition of NextBigWhat’s newsletter, which brings you all the important headlines from the tech and business space.
If you like what you are seeing, press the *heart* button!
#ShortNewsOverChai
Reliance Jio ropes in Firework to offer short video stories; available to all the Jio KaiOS phones users in India
The short video stories will be available in multiple Indian languages.
SBI Cards and Payment Services is now available on the Jio Pay platform for transactions
Customers can transact using their SBI Card through the Jio Pay service in foreign locations as well.
India’s new OTT platform rules may lead to content-related disputes; Catering to varied sensibilities is a challenge
It is a huge challenge to curate content based on viewers’ demands.
Mozilla claims that India’s new rules and regulations for online platforms will have ‘disastrous consequences’
It also claims that the rules can’t be followed without breaking end-to-end encryption.
Centre says power to administer new digital media rules delegated to Ministry of IT and Broadcast, not to states & UTs
The provisions under the new rules relate to the code of ethics for digital news publishers.
Indian Government increasingly used internet shutdown in response to ongoing violence in 2020: Report
Also, India led the world in internet shutdowns, with 155 internet shutdowns disrupting 29 countries.
India ranks third for women working in senior management positions: Grant Thornton report
The percentage of women in senior management for India stood at 39%.
Actor Sonu Sood to launch a blood bank app to connect donors with those in urgent need of blood
The app promises to help patients with rare blood groups.
Tata Consultancy Services will cover COVID-19 vaccination costs for their employees
The cost for the employees’ dependents will be covered too.
Telangana averts a possible attempt by a Chinese group to hack the state’s power systems
Followed by an alert by the Computer Emergency Response Team of India.
AIMRA (Mobile Retailers’ body) accuses Amazon of derailing the retail industry, pens down a letter to PM Modi
Requests to suspend Amazon’s India operations until the probe.
Highlights:
“Cross-border payments for use of software not taxable as royalty,” - Supreme Court
The judgment was based on the question of whether the tax paid by Indian buyers to foreign.
“Premature and unrealistic to think that we’re going to finish this virus by year-end,” - WHO
Worldwide, over 11 crore coronavirus cases have been logged so far.
#Dhandha Corner
PayPal to hire 1,000 engineers for its India Development Centres across Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad
Aims to focus on AI, Machine learning, and customer experience.
Goa-based EV maker Kabira Mobility claims over 6000 bookings by the end of February 28
The company says that the bikes are ‘Made in India’ with Combi-brakes, fast charging and roadside assistance.
India’s top cryptocurrency exchange WazirX crossed $2 billion in trading volumes
The trading volumes have doubled, despite fears of a government-imposed ban on crypto assets.
TATA Power-DDL and Australian firm Power Ledger jointly to launch live solar energy trading project in Delhi
This peer-to-peer (P2P) solar energy trading project is first-of-its-kind.
TATA Motors to launch EV charging outlets before Tesla’s India entry.
22 retail outlets across 19 cities are now set for EV infrastructure, as well as sales and after-sales support.
Hungama, Hindustan Talkies invests $500,000 in the Indian Gaming League
This will be utilized to develop new features to increase engagement on the platform.
About The #TechGiants
“Twitter Spaces”, a Clubhouse-style audio chat rooms feature, reaches Android users globally for testing
Users will not be able to host spaces but can join and talk in spaces.
Intel to pay VLSI Technology LLC $2.18 billion after losing a patent trial related to chip-making
The damage award is about half of Intel’s Q4 profit.
Instagram accidentally hides likes from few users; Users saw “Number” of likes replaced with the phrase “and others”
Instagram is working to hide the total number of likes a post receives.
Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Gates invest in California-based electric motor startup
After their contribution, Turntide Technologies raised $80 million for its motors that reduce electricity use.
Facebook CFO David Wehner lowers expectations for its upcoming smart glasses building with Ray-Ban
“The product is not going to be anywhere near where we want to eventually go,” Wehner said.
Elon Musk is trying to float his own space city called ‘Starbase’ at SpaceX’s launch facilities in Texas
Musk said the city of Starbase would cover “an area much larger” than the village.
More #GlobalTechNews
Porsche is testing on synthetic fuels called eFuels made using renewable energy that emits low CO2
Synthetic fuels could provide a greener option, may reduce CO2 by 85%.
WhatsApp is reportedly working on self-destructing photos for both Android and iOS
The photos will disappear once you exit a particular chat window.
Chinese cyber-espionage group targets Microsoft via its mail server software
Microsoft said hackers made use of four undetected vulnerabilities in different versions of the software.
Google vows no new ways to follow individual users in Chrome through ad tracking technology
The digital giant has been working on proposals to remove third party cookies from Chrome.
#NationalNews
Tripura Government launches digital platform ‘Jagrut Tripura’ to help people get benefits from various schemes
The project was developed by EasyGov, a Jio Group company; this will be available to all the Tripura residents.
Infosys, Accenture to cover COVID-19 vaccination costs for their employees in India
Infosys is also looking at partnering with health care providers to vaccinate employees and their families.
Carbon mobiles launch the world’s first carbon fibre-phone: Carbon 1 Mark II
The carbon fibre consists of ultra-thin filaments, make it stronger than steel but lighter than aluminium.