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The body of Cafe Coffee Day founder  V G Siddhartha  has been found from the Nethravathi river, according to TV reports on Wednesday. Siddhartha's body was found on the banks of the river near the Hoige Bazaar in Mangaluru, according to news agency ANI. Siddhartha, the founder of India’s largest coffee chain, went missing on Monday night en route to the coastal Karnataka city of Mangaluru, with a letter purportedly written by him showing he was under "tremendous pressure" from lenders and one of the private equity partners (PEs). The letter also alleged "a lot of harassment" from tax authorities. ALSO READ:  VG Siddhartha's wife to IAS officer: Who are the CCD board members?

OPPO has announced the rollout of the  ColorOS 6 Open Trial Version  for its F9 smartphone. The new ColorOS 6 Open Trial Version offers users the latest Android Pie mobile operating system experience, and comes replete with all-new customized features. Android Pie - a major upgrade All models upgraded to ColorOS 6 integrate the practical new features introduced by Android Pie, including improved interactions, enhanced AI capabilities and optimization of the underlying interface. An all-new navigation gesture in Android Pie offers a cutting-edge experience in user interactions. Android Pie is powered by Google's AI capabilities with Google Assistant, ARcore, Google Lens and other intelligent scenario-based services. OPPO's integration of the latest software update provides a smoother, smarter and more user-friendly experience for customers. Read Complete Article

Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company  MediaTek  on Tuesday launched Helio G90 and G90T -- its first dedicated gaming chipsets. Both system-on-chips (SoCs) are paired with MediaTek's HyperEngine game technology that is touted to deliver an enhanced gaming experience on smartphones. The new platforms utilize an octa-core combination of two Arm Cortex-A76 cores and six Cortex-A55s alongside the Mali-G76 GPU. Both the G90 and G90T are built on TSMC’s 12 nm FinFET process and can be clocked up to 2.05GHz. In addition, the new SoCs support up to 10GB LPDDR4X RAM. The chipsets are designed through involvement of the MediaTek India team, though both will be available for smartphones globally. The Helio G90 series also have octa-core CPU, paired with ARM Mali-G76 3EEMC4 GPU. The Taiwanese company claimed that the combination delivers up to 1TMACs (TeraMAC) performance. Read Complete Article

The sudden disappearance of  Café Coffee Day  (CCD) founder V G Siddhartha has left everyone — business peers to employees to family — in a state of shock. It is now being speculated that he might have committed suicide because of financial stress. The businessman, who lived in Bengaluru, went to Kotekar in Mangaluru, a distance of about 350 km on Monday evening. Around 7 pm, he stopped his car at a bridge over the Netravati river on the outskirts of the town, and asked his driver to come back after a while. When the driver returned, he could not find Siddhartha. He alerted Siddhartha’s family and the police, who launched the massive search operation. As the news broke in the early hours of Tuesday, high-profile dignitaries made rounds of the Sadashiva Nagar residence of S M Krishna, former Karnataka chief minister and a former Union minister. Krishna is Siddhartha’s father-in-law. Politicians cutting across party lines, including Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Cong...

“ I want my hair to be long and shiny .” That’s a dream a majority of women share across the world. Besides hair growth, the number one concern women face is hair fall. It is a demon that often gives them sleepless nights. Women try a variety of hair care products, such as oils, shampoos, serums, hairmasks and conditioners to combat hairfall and make their dream of healthy hair come true. Yao women from the hinterlands of a south-western Chinese village of Huangluo have a small secret to share for long, healthy hair. And the secret lies in these three magical words — Fermented rice water. Women in this ancient Chinese village flaunt soft, silky and shiny hair. Some of them have hair as long as 1.4 meters. They have been using fermented rice water to wash and nourish their hair for centuries. It is so effective that sometimes this village is referred to as “Long Hair Village”. What is fermented rice water? Rice water is the translucent liquid left after boiling rice. Instead ...

Considering that most of us use at least one  Google service  in our daily routine, we end up creating some data that get saved on Google’s servers. This data could be related to your Android device configuration, search history, videos watched on YouTube, bookmarks, calendar entries, files and folders saved on GDrive, etc. Thankfully, Google has a provision that allows you to review your settings for Google products and also gives you the option to download all the data related to a Google account as one single file. Here are the steps to do so: Step 1: Connect your notebook or desktop to internet Step 2: Go to any modern browser, preferably Google Chrome Step 3: Go to https://myaccount.google.com/ and sign in using your Google account Step 4: Look for ‘Data & Personalisation’ in left side menu and click on it.  Readmore

Chinese technology company Xiaomi has so far had an eventful journey in India. In the five years since it launched its first product (smartphone) in the country, it has built for itself the reputation of being a brand for the price-conscious consumer. However,  Xiaomi  has now shown an intent to expand in other price categories while remaining strong in the budget and affordable smartphone segments. The company launched in India its premium offering, the Redmi K20 Pro, soon after the product was unveiled in China. Business Standard takes a look at the ambitious product and assesses how it fares on key metrics: Design The Redmi K20 Pro does look quite different from other Redmi-branded phones. It has a premium glass-metal sandwich design with a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on front and back. The phone has a glacier-inspired (blue-colour edition that we reviewed) arc-shaped gradient reflective design on the back which looks mesmerising and distinctly different fro...

On the occasion of Sanjay Dutt's 60th birthday, the actor's fans were treated with his first look from the upcoming film 'KGF The upcoming sequel will feature Sanjay as Adheera. ' KGF: Chapter 2 ' will mark Dutt's foray into South Indian cinema. The first look of the 'Sadak' actor from the upcoming flick was revealed on Twitter on Monday. Indian trade analyst and film critic Taran Adarsh shared the character poster on his Twitter handle, writing, "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT... Sanjay Dutt as Adheera in KGF: Chapter2." As expected, the first look poster of Sanjay's character from the upcoming film is as deadly as it can get. Going by the poster, it looks like the 'Munna Bhai' actor is going to be the scene-stealer of 'KGF: Chapter 2'. He will be reportedly seen playing the antagonist in the movie. A few months back, the sequel went on floors and while it was speculated that the makers have approached Sanjay and Raveena Tan...

Aiming to come close to its rivals like Amazon Prime and Hotstar in India, American video streaming giant  Netflix  on Wednesday unveiled a mobile subscription plan for India at Rs 199 per month. The plan will enable users to view content in standard definition (SD) on one smartphone or tablet at a time. This is Netflix's fourth Indian plan, in addition to the existing basic, standard and premium plans which are priced between Rs 499 and Rs 799. "Our members in India watch more on their mobiles than members any other country in the world -- and they love to download our shows and films. We believe this new plan will make Netflix even more accessible and better suit people who like to watch on their smartphones and tablets -- both on the go and at home," Ajay Arora, Director, Product Innovation, Netflix, told reporters here.  Read Complete Article

Samsung's first foldable smartphone , the Galaxy Fold, will go on sale from September in selected markets after the launch was delayed by screen problems earlier this year, the company said on Thursday. Samsung is hoping its highly anticipated foldable phone will revive flagging smartphone sales but its rollout has been hampered by defects in samples reported in April, when it was originally due to hit the US market. The delays cost the South Korean tech giant sales that could have provided a decent bump in revenue during the slow summer season. Samsung said in a statement it had made improvements to the nearly $2,000 phone and was conducting final tests. Changes included strengthening hinges which early reviewers had found to be problematic. Analysts said headlines about glitches with sample Folds would dampen consumer excitement around the launch."Consumer confidence in Galaxy Fold has significantly deteriorated. If Samsung manages to sell 300,000 devices thi...

Chinese technology company Xiaomi makes money from its smartphones in various ways. One of them is monetization of its  MIUI 10 , the default user interface that comes loaded on most Xiaomi smartphones. The MIUI 10 is a customised skin layered on top of Android operating system. It comes pre-installed with several company apps, including Mi Video, Mi Music and Mi File Manager, and some bloatware that randomly shows irrelevant advertisements and pushes irksome notifications. While the company justifies making money from advertisements and bloatware, its smartphone users and technology enthusiasts have repeatedly criticised these for ruining user experience. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to remove advertisements and stop notifications from built-in apps in MIUI 10: How to remove ads from MIUI 10 on Xiaomi smartphones Step 1: Connect the phone to internet using WiFi or network service Step 2: Go to the phone’s settings and click on additional settings Ste...

American technology giant Apple Inc is working on the next iteration of its  iPhone smartphones , which are expected to be unveiled sometime in September this year. Speculated to be named iPhone 11, the upcoming series of smartphones could have at least three different models – according to technology news portal 9to5mac. Codenamed the N104, D42 and D43, the upcoming iPhones are reported to be successor to the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, respectively. The N104, which is expected to be the most affordable iPhone in the upcoming series, is said to feature an LCD screen of the same screen resolution as predecessor iPhone XR. The D42 and D43 would be successors to the premium iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, respectively, and they are reported to boast OLED screens of the same resolution as their predecessors. Though the design of smartphones in the iPhone 11 series is reported to be identical to their predecessors, they are touted to come with improved camera modu...

Marvel’s gambit to propel “ Avengers: Endgame ” to become the top-grossing movie of all time finally paid off. The studio re-released the final film in its “Avengers” series earlier this month with extra footage and a post-credit tribute in an effort to pass James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar” as the world box office record holder. As of July 21, “Avengers: Endgame” had collected US$2.79 billion in worldwide ticket sales, edging out “Avatar” by around $500,000. Marketing and bombast aside, however, the reality is “Endgame” isn’t even close to the real record-holder – nor is, for that matter, “Avatar.” The reason why gives me an excuse to offer a short lesson on inflation. Why adjust for inflation Prices from year to year cannot be directly compared with one another because the cost to buy things changes dramatically over time. For example, in nominal terms, it costs more today to buy movie tickets, popcorn and soda and get to the theater than it did in the past, while it cos...

After tasting success with its localisation strategy for The Jungle Book in the summer of 2016, Disney India has gone all out to market the latest live-action flick  The Lion King . With a sharp focus on localisation beyond Hindi, and ramped-up investments for the India release, the film expects to attract more footfalls and set the cash registers ringing in the post-World Cup weekend. The efforts are paying off, given the movie has collected Rs 11 crore (net after tax) on the first day, setting it up for a good run at the box office. “The Lion King is high on nostalgia for most of us, and that has translated to robust advance sales. The film has started strong and is set for a very healthy weekend. Simba won’t have to wait to be king of the Box Office this weekend,” says Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, and chief of Business Planning and Strategy. Read Complete Article

Chinese technology company  Xiaomi  is hosting a sale to celebrate the fifth year of doing business in India. Dubbed the Mi fifth anniversary sale, the three-day discount festival started on July 23 at 12 am and will continue until 11:59 PM on July 25. The sale is currently active on the Mi online store, partner e-commerce platforms and offline stores, including Mi Homes and Mi Stores. As part of the sale, the company is providing  discounts   and other offers on several products, including smartphones, televisions and ecosystem products. Here is a look at the best offers: Smartphones Redmi 7: The company’s budget offering is available with a discount of Rs 2,500 on 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage variant. This brings down the phone’s effective cost to Rs 7,499.Redmi Note 7S: The most affordable smartphone with a 48-megapixel camera is getting a discount of Rs 2,000. It is now available at Rs 9,999 and Rs 11,999 for 3GB RAM/32GB storage and 4GB RAM/64GB stora...

Chinese electronics maker BKK Electronics’ smartphone brand Oppo recently launched the Oppo K3 in India. The smartphone goes on sale today (July 23), exclusively on e-commerce platform  Amazon India . The phone boasts an elevating selfie camera, AMOLED screen, in-display fingerprint sensor, VOOC 3.0 fast-charging technology and Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 system-on-chip. It comes in two RAM and storage configurations — 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB — priced at Rs 16,990 and Rs 19,990, respectively. As part of an introductory scheme, Amazon is offering a Rs 1,000 instant cashback in the form of Amazon Pay balance on both RAM and storage variants. The cashback brings down the phone’s effective cost to Rs 15,990 and Rs 18,990 for 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB variants, respectively. The phone also gets an instant discount of up to Rs 1,000 on Axis Bank debit and credit card transactions. Additionally, both the variants come bundled with additional benefits worth Rs 7,050 from Jio, discounts worth...

ISRO to launch Chandrayaan 2 today Chandrayaan-2, India's indigenous moon mission is set to launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh at 2.43 pm today. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan said that the Chandrayaan-2 will perform 15 crucial manoeuvres in the days to come. Sivan said that all the preparatory works regarding the launch have been completed and technical snags that developed in the first attempt have been rectified. Karnataka trust vote The ongoing high-voltage political drama in Karnataka is likely to culminate on Monday with Congress-JD(S) coalition government schedule to face the crucial floor test in the Assembly. Tension in both the camps, JD(S)-Congress and the BJP, is apparently at its peak with leaders pulling up their socks and making all-out efforts to fetch numbers. In pursuit, both BJP and Congress leaders simultaneously held legislative party meetings in Bengaluru on Sunday. ...

Instagram   is running a social media experiment in Australia and elsewhere to see what happens when it hides the number of likes on photos and other posts. If you have an Instagram account, you’ll get to see the numbers but your followers won’t – at least, not automatically. They will be able to click and see who liked your post, but will have to count the list of names themselves. The trial is taking place right now in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. Canada has just finished its trial. It’s a bold move by Instagram, but arguably a necessary one. There is growing concern about the effect of social media on young people’s mental health and self–esteem. Read more:  Women can build positive body image by controlling what they view on social media

Avengers : Endgame, the concluding chapter in a Marvel superhero saga from Walt Disney, toppled James Cameron’s Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time. Disney rereleased the film with new footage in late June for a final push as Endgame closed in on the record. It has now taken in an estimated $2.790.2 billion in theaters worldwide as of Sunday, the company said, ahead of the $2,789.7 billion accumulated by Avatar a decade ago. Grabbing the No. 1 spot caps an extraordinary run for Marvel and Avengers in particular. The four pictures in the superhero mash-up averaged $652.5 million in domestic ticket sales, and the 23 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, dating back to Iron Man in 2008, rank as the top-grossing movie franchise. The Marvel characters have continued their run of successes this summer with Sony’s Spider-Man: Far From Home dominating theaters now. As of July 14, the film had taken in $847 million in worldwide ticket sales. Read Complete Article ...

China-based ByteDance, the parent company of popular short video application  TikTok , will set up a data centre in India, becoming one of the first social media companies to do so in the country, the company said in a statement shared exclusively with Business Standard. "India is one of our strongest markets and we are happy to be part of the mainframe of Digital India in 15 languages. Since the launch of our platforms in India, we have stored the data of our Indian users at industry-leading third party data centres in the US and Singapore...We now believe the time has come to take the next big leap," the statement read. The company has set an internal target of 6-18 months to set up the data centre, Business Standard has learnt. The plan is part of the $1 billion ByteDance has recently committed to the Indian market over the next three years. The move is also significant because of the Indian government's ongoing focus on data localisation, as well as the incre...

Indian batting icon  Sachin Tendulkar   has been inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame alongside South African pace legend Allan Donald. Joining Tendulkar and Donald in the Hall of Fame was two-time World Cup-winning Australian woman cricketer Cathryn Fitzpatrick. "It's a huge honour for me," Tendulkar said at the induction ceremony held here on Sunday night. The 46-year-old former right-hand batsman is regarded the greatest to have played the game along with Sir Donald Bradman and remains the top run-accumulator in both Tests and ODIs. He has 34,357 runs across formats and is the only batsman to have 100 internationals hundreds under his belt. The 52-year-old Donald is one of the finest bowlers to have played the game and had 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets to his credit before calling it quits in 2003. Fitzpatrick is the second highest wicket-taker of all time in women's cricket with 180 ODI scalps and 60 in Tests. As a coach, she ...

FPIs get no relief from FM Nirmala Sitharaman on ' super-rich ' tax The controversial super-rich tax on foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that are organised as trusts will stay undiluted as Parliament passed the Finance Bill, 2019, on Thursday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dismissed the argument of the Opposition that the tax would lead to a flight of FPIs. Sebi tightens disclosure framework for listed banks; to address issue of abrupt auditor exits Sebi said that all listed banks will have to disclose if their additional provisioning for NPAs assessed by RBI exceeds 10 per cent of the reported profit before provisions and contingencies. Meanwhile, the market regulator has also proposed stricter norms to strengthen audit processes and curb abrupt resignations of auditors in publicly traded companies. On the other hand, it said that recent budget proposals could undermine its role as regulator, particularly with respect to the recommendation that the minimum publi...

Even fifty years after astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon, there are people who still insist that it never happened and that it was a hoax perpetrated by the US government. On July 20, 1969, the  Apollo 11 Mission  landed two men on the Moon. Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin piloted the lunar module, which detached from the spacecraft and landed on the Moon's surface. Their commander, Neil Armstrong, became the first man on the Moon. He passed away in 2012 at the age of 82. However, conspiracy theories that claimed that the moon landing was faked and that it was all a Hollywood-like cinematic production shot on Earth have been doing the rounds for decades. Read Complete Article

Automobile manufacturer  Volkswagen  is targeting to double its market share in India to three per cent in the next five years as part of the company's India 2.0 plan. The auto major is developing a new platform for India named MQB and is also planning to launch its leasing business in the country soon. Steffen Knapp, Managing Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars said the company has chalked out six strategies to double its market share. The company needs to clock around 1.20 lakh units per annum as against around 36,000 per annum. “It's an ambitious target but we have laid the foundation and fundamentals are in place to achieve this,” said Knapp. Volkswagen is planning to launch new vehicles based on a platform that is being built for India. The first car will be rolled out on this platform by 2020-21, he added. The new platform will be part of the company's Rs 8,000 crore investment plan, which was announced last year. The company is also looking at launching a n...

Mumbai terror attack mastermind   and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed was arrested Wednesday by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Pakistan's Punjab Province, officials said. Saeed, who has several cases pending against him was travelling to Gujranwala from Lahore to appear before an anti-terrorism court when the arrest took place, officials said. He has been moved to an unknown location, they said. Saeed-led JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice. Under pressure from the international community, Pakistani authorities have launched investigations into matters of the JuD and LeT regarding their holding and use of trusts to raise funds for terrorism financing.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to pronounce its judgment on Wednesday in Kulbhushan Jadhav's case. Jadhav, a 49-year-old former Naval officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on April 11, 2017, on charges of espionage and terrorism. Following this, India had approached the ICJ against Pakistan "for egregious violations of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963" in the matter. ALSO READ:  ICJ to announce verdict in Kulbhushan Jadhav's case today India has contended that it had not been informed of Jadhav's detention until long after his arrest and that Pakistan had failed to inform the accused of his rights. India further alleged that in violation of the Vienna Convention the authorities of Pakistan had denied India its right of consular access to Jadhav, despite repeated requests. Subsequently, on May 18, 2017, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till the adjudicatio...

Chinese technology company Xiaomi will launch its premium Redmi K20-series in India on July 17. The series includes the Redmi K20 Pro and Redmi K20, both of which were launched in China in May. The Redmi K20 Pro is a premium smartphone with flagship features and specifications. The Redmi K20, on the other hand, is a vanilla version of the Pro edition. The Redmi K20-series will be Flipkart-exclusive and the home-grown e-commerce platform has already listed a dedicated page with a livestream embed. Redmi K20 Pro The Redmi Pro is a premium offering inspired from Xiaomi’s premium Mi-series smartphones. It has 3D curved body, motorised pop-up selfie camera and triple camera module on the back. The triple camera setup on the back has a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 primary sensor of f/1.8 aperture, 13MP wide-angle lens, and an 8MP telephoto lens capable of up to 2x zoom. The pop-up selfie camera module boasts a 20MP front camera. Read Complete Article

The divisive final season of " Game of Thrones " smashed the record for most Primetime Emmy nominations by a drama series in a single year, earning a whopping 32 nods Tuesday. HBO's fantasy epic enraged fans with its bumpy conclusion but still trounced the competition to strengthen its iron grip on the small-screen equivalent of the Oscars. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" -- Amazon's story of a 1950s housewife-turned-stand up comic -- was a distant second on 20 nominations. "Thrones" is the most decorated fictional show in the awards' seven-decade history, and now has 161 nominations overall -- including 47 wins. ALSO READ:  The science of Game of Thrones "For those who will be adding 2019 to their long list of nominations and or wins from other years -- it never gets old!" said Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma. Readmore

Chinese electronics maker BKK Electronics’ smartphone brand  Realme  on July 15 launched in India the Realme X. The Flipkart-exclusive smartphone comes in 4GB and 8GB RAM variants, priced at Rs 16,999 and Rs 19,999, respecively. Both the RAM variants come with 128 GB of internal storage, with no provision for a microSD card to expand storage. The phone comes in two colours – blue and white – and two limited editions, Spiderman and Master (inspired by Onion and Garlic). The Spiderman edition comes bundled with a Spiderman-inspired protective case and theme. The Master edition has a disctinctive design inspired from Onion and Garlic. Both these limited-edition devices come only in 8GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration, priced at Rs 19,999 and Rs 20,999, respectively. In terms of specifications, the Realme X has a 16-megapixel motorised pop-up selfie camera, 48MP + 5MP dual camera set-up on the rear, AMOLED screen, in-display fingerprint sensor and Qualcomm Snapdragon 71...

At least 12 people were killed and many feared trapped under debris after a four-storey  building that collapsed in Mumbai’s Dongri . The building collapsed at around 11.40 am on Tuesday. Fire tenders and three teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) are carrying out rescue operations -- looking for survivors. Five people, including three children, have been rescued so far. Follow Live Updates HERE As per Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) disaster management cell, the four-storey Kesarbai building collapsed at Tandel street in Dongri, Mumbai. Two teams of the NDRF are currently at the site of the building collapse and are carrying out rescue operations. An aerial shot of the spot showed that the collapsed four-storey building was situated in a congested, crowded neighbourhood with structures on all four sides. Readmore

Following the footsteps of its competitor Samsung, South Korean electronics major LG recently announced its India-centric  W-series smartphones . The first batch of smartphones in the series include an entry-level LG W10 and an affordable feature-rich proposition the LGW30. The latter brings V-shaped notch screen, triple rear cameras, big capacity battery and a redesigned operating system that looks almost stock Android to the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. The phone seems to be a balanced proposition in its segment, but how does it fare in real life scenarios? Let’s find out: Design The LG W30 looks premium and has a lightweight build. It has a V-shaped waterdrop notch display with limited bezels on the sides and top, and a thick chin at the bottom. The phone’s back is made up of polycarbonate with a glossy profile which gives the impression that it is made of glass. Like other phones with similar build, the phone’s glossy body is a fingerprint magnet and gets easily smudged. Howeve...

HSSC Clerk Recruitment 2019 : The Haryana Staff Selection Commission has extended the last date for filing application form for as many as 4,858 clerk jobs. The application form can only be filled online at HSSC's official website  Haryana Staff Selection Commission, Government of Haryana  till July 30. The candidates can go through the details of HSSC Recruitment 2019 here: HSSC Clerk Recruitment 2019: Selection process The selection of candidates will be done on the basis of their performance in the Computer-Based Examination being organised by the selection body. HSSC Recruitment 2019: Eligibility Educational Qualification The candidate should be a 10+2/10+2 First Division/Graduation or its equivalent from a recognised board/university. He/she must have studied Hindi/Sanskrit up to 10th or higher education. Read Complete Article

The car industry is reinventing the wheel to prepare for  autonomous vehicles . Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., whose roots stretch back to when Henry Ford was building his Model T, is developing a “smart tire” that can monitor its own air pressure and temperature, and eventually respond by itself to changes in road conditions. Yet it’s more than just tires that are being changed. Koito Manufacturing Co., AGC Inc. and Lear Corp. are putting semiconductors and sensors inside headlights, glass and seats to make them as intelligent as the cars driving themselves. Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo LLC, Intel Corp.’s Mobileye NV and Baidu Inc. dominate the core technology for autonomous driving, yet suppliers still count on finding their own space in the business. Parts for advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving are expected to become a $57 billion market within a decade, according to BIS Research, and old-school companies born during the early days of the automo...

E-commerce giant  Amazon has launched Prime Day sale   for its Prime customers. The sale on the website will last for 2 days, beginning July 15. According to the website, over 1,000 products across the categories have been launched. For early access to the special deals, Amazon is allowing Echo device owners to shop with Alexa starting today. Simply ask, "Alexa, what are my deals?" to know the best deals across categories, the official release notes. Amazon has provided various coupons. These discount coupons are available across categories. Buyers can collect the coupons and avail of the discount at checkout. More than 33,000 coupons are available for customers. Amazon has listed a range of products and offered discounts on them as well. Home appliances, electronics, home decor, and several other categories have various launches and discounted products. In the mobile segment, several new launches are lined up. OnePlus 7 is available on the website priced at Rs 32,999....

Researchers recently learned that the US  Immigration   and Customs Enforcement used facial recognition on millions of driver’s licence photographs without the licence-holders’ knowledge, the latest revelation about governments employing the technology in ways that threaten civil liberties. But the surveillance potential of facial recognition — its ability to create a “perpetual lineup” — isn’t the only cause for concern. The technological frontiers being explored by questionable researchers and unscrupulous start-ups recall the discredited pseudosciences of physiognomy and phrenology, which purport to use facial structure and head shape to assess character and mental capacity. Artificial intelligence and modern computing are giving new life and a veneer of objectivity to these debunked theories, which were once used to legitimise slavery and perpetuate Nazi race “science”. Those who wish to spread essentialist theories of racial hierarchy are paying attention. In one b...

Google Maps  has launched three new, more personalised features for Indian users that will enable them to get better recommendations for dining experiences, and other attractions in and near the location they are in. The Google Maps app will have an “Explore” tab, “For You” feature, and “Offers”. While the Explore tab has existed for some time, the idea is to provide more personalised suggestions based on search history. “We’ve heard that Indian Maps users prefer a more assertive and visual browsing experience that is easy to access. To reflect this, we have a redesigned, India-focused Explore tab, the For You feature, and dining Offers. This will help Google Maps users discover a new side to their city, whether looking for things to do around town, getting offers on dining out, or getting recommendations that are personalised to their unique tastes,” said Krish Vitaldevara, director, Google Maps. As part of this update, seven new tabs have been added to the “Explore” tab — ...

Chinese smartphone brand Realme is hosting a three-day open sale where it is offering its recently launched flagship smartphone the Realme 3 Pro at a discount. It's most affordable offering, the Realme C2, ia also available with an extended warranty. Named Realme Million Days, the sale is valid on its online partner platform Flipkart, Realme online portal and over 8,000 partner offline stores. Realme Million Days sale details In the three-day sale, the company is offering a flat Rs 1,000 discount on its flagship Realme 3 Pro’s 6GB RAM variant. The discount is valid on both 64GB and 128GB storage models. In retrospective, the Realme 3 Pro was launched at Rs 15,999 and Rs 16,999 for the 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB variants, respectively. In the sale, the Realme 3 Pro with 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB RAM and storage configurations are available at Rs 14,999 and Rs 15,999, respectively. The company is also offering a Rs 500 instant discount on the Realme 3 Pro’s 4GB RAM and 64GB storage va...

South Korean electronics major LG’s recently launched affordable smartphones, the LG W10 and the LG W30, go on sale on July 10, exclusively on  Amazon India . Part of the company’s India-centric W-series smartphones, the LG W10 and LG W30 are priced at Rs 8,999 and Rs 9,999, respectively. The LG W10 comes in tulip purple and smoky grey colours. The LG W30 comes in thunder blue, platinum grey and aurora green colours. As a part of the launch offers, both devices have a 10 per cent instant cashback on equated monthly instalment (EMI) transaction made through Yes Bank credit cards. Reliance Jio customers can also avail Rs 4,950 cashback offer, which is valid on recharge of Rs 299. In this offer, Jio customers get Rs 1,700 cashback in the form of recharge vouchers and Rs 3,250 discount coupon redeemable at ClearTrip portal to book flights, hotels, etc. LG W10 specifications and features

More than 298,000 positions were vacant at Railways as on June 1 this year and recruitment process is going on for over 294,000 employees, according to the government. Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that more than 461,000 lakh people were recruited in Railways over the last decade. Noting that filling up of  vacancies  is an ongoing process, Goyal said cadre strength is decided after taking into consideration various factors, including leave reserves and trainee reserves. "The number of employees were 16,54,985 in 1991 and 12,48,101 in 2019. However, this has not affected the service of Railways," Goyal said in a written reply. Vacancies are filled through Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and Railway Recruitment Cells (RRCs). As per data provided in the written reply, there were 2,98,574 vacancies across A, B, C and erstwhile D categories at the Railways as on June 1, 2019. Read Complete Article

South Korean auto major  Hyundai   Tuesday launched its full-electric SUV Kona in India priced at Rs 25.3 lakh, and sought government support for electric vehicles (EVs) for personal usage, not just for fleets. The company, which is present in the country through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), is also planning to develop a mass market EV for India to add to its newly launched full-electric SUV Kona. "We have seen some positive development in the form of tax incentives on purchase of EVs as provided in the Budget, but we think more can be done by the government to accelerate adoption of EVs in India," HMIL MD and CEO S S Kim told PTI in an interview. He said currently EVs are extremely expensive which require economies of scale to make them affordable for mass adoption. Read Complete Article

Instagram  on Monday announced new features aimed at curbing online bullying on its platform, including a warning to people as they are preparing to post abusive remarks. "It's our responsibility to create a safe environment on Instagram," said a statement from Adam Mosseri, head of the visually focused social platform owned by Facebook. "This has been an important priority for us for some time, and we are continuing to invest in better understanding and tackling this problem. One new tool being rolled out is a warning generated by artificial intelligence to notify users their comment may be considered offensive before it is posted. "This intervention gives people a chance to reflect and undo their comment and prevents the recipient from receiving the harmful comment notification," Mosseri said.  Readmore

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday said that the coastal state's government was mulling making HIV tests mandatory before the registration of marriages. "We are considering making an  HIV test compulsory  for the prospective couples before registration of marriage in Goa. It is not mandatory right now," Rane told IANS. Rane, who is also a Minister for Law, added that the proposal to make HIV testing compulsory before marriage was being vetted by the Law Department. "If it is cleared by the Department soon, then we will table the law in the monsoon session of the state Legislative Assembly," Rane said. The monsoon session will begin on July 15. In 2006, a similar proposal was mooted by then Health Minister Dayanand Narvekar, with the Goa cabinet approving the legislation making HIV testing mandatory before marriage. But the initiative did not reach fruition.

The first semi-final of the World Cup ICC 2019 gets underway tomorrow with India taking on New Zealand at Old Trafford. Virat Kohli–led Indian team finished at the top of the league table with 15 points to their credit, followed by Australia (14), England (12) and New Zealand (11). If the bet rates are anything to go by, India is likely to continue with its winning streak and eventually win the ICC World Cup 2019 . Leading online betting websites such as Ladbrokes and Betway place the Indian team on top at the end of the tournament. The Indian cricket team has won the tournament twice – first in 1983 under Kapil Dev's captaincy and then in 2011, beating Sri Lanka on home soil. They came last in the Super Six stage in the 1999 Cricket World Cup and have been knocked out four times in the Group stage (1975, 1979, 1992 and 2007). Read Complete Article

Union Budget 2019 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday announced a slew of measures in her maiden Budget 2019-20 speech in the Parliament today. Among key announcement, Sitharaman said the government will launch an inter-opearable ATM-like One Nation One Card for pan-India travel, new rental laws for affordable housing, interest subvention scheme for MSMEs and women. Here's what Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2019 speech: The recent election which brought us to this august House today, was charged with brimming hope and desire for a bright and stable New India. Like never before, India celebrated its democracy by coming out to vote in large numbers, like never before. Voter turnout was the highest at 67.9%. Every section – young, old, first time voters, voters since the first General Election, women – all turned up to stamp their approval of a performing Government. Through their unambiguous and firm mandate they have reaffirmed “putting the n...

Union Budget 2019 : The Union Budget for financial year 2019–20 (FY20) has used the revised numbers for FY19 as the benchmark as against the accounts, which showed a smaller size of almost Rs 1.5 trillion to almost retain the budgetary numbers for the coming year with a marginal improvement in the fiscal deficit number to 3.3 per cent. While the speech has focused on the main thrust areas, benefits have been provided to specific sectors like affordable housing and electric vehicles. It has kept most of the tax structures unchanged. Customs rates have been selectively increased and petrol and diesel are to cost more as this is an assured revenue stream for the government. A major takeaway is the bank recapitalisation (bank recap) amount of Rs 70,000 crore that has been announced. However, this would be through the issuance of securities, which means that once again it will not be a part of the budget but an offering through the recap bonds route. The cost of such an exercise woul...

Union Budget 2019 : All eyes are set on the first Union Budget under Modi 2.0 that is slated to be unveiled on Friday (July 5). With a clear evidence of economic slowdown and weak corporate earnings, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has her task cut out. Deep agrarian distress, high unemployment rates, the slowdown in automobiles and consumer demand, crisis in NBFC (non-banking financial company) sector and rising pressures in real estate and housing and muted capex cycle in the economy are some of the pressing issues that need addressal. Market experts expect the government to lay out a growth-oriented budget to pump-prime the economy. The priority, they say, should be to arrest the declining growth momentum and the crisis of confidence by being a little expansionary this time. Since inflation is expected to be benign in the short-to-medium term, many experts feel the government should let go of the fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent set in the Interim Budget in February 2...

Union Budget 2019 : Setting a new precedent Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday was seen hugging the budget documents wrapped in a red cloth, the traditional 'bahi khaata' way, instead of the leather briefcase that until now her predecessors walked around with. Chief Economic Advisor K. Subramanian said that it was a departure from "slavery of western tradition". The red cloth symbolises the 'bahi khaata' traditionally used in every Indian business set up to maintain accounts. Sitharaman was seen carrying the red cloth wrapped budget papers that was neatly bound with the auspicious yellow and red ribbon. The Lion Capital shone brightly on top of the bahi khaata, as the first-time Finance Minister walked out of the North Block. Traditionally until now all former Finance Ministers have carried their Budget Document in a hardbound leather briefcase that takes after the parallel British custom -- much like many of India's laws and Parl...

Union Budget 2019 :With the Narendra Modi-led NDA government going into its second term, albeit with a stronger majority, the start-up community expects it follow through on entrepreneurial policies introduced over the last five years and remove a dozen or so bottlenecks to position the country as a start-up powerhouse. The interim budget presented on February 1 this year, which is only meant to support activities for two-three months in an election year, was understandably missing on big-bang announcements for start-ups. All eyes are on the Union Budget that will be presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday. According to half a dozen experts Business Standard spoke to, the industry is looking ahead for more tax sops for start-ups, a simpler and toned-down compliance regime and a uniform policy framework that courts foreign business and investors in India as well as supports local entrepreneurship. Read Complete Article

Union Budget 2019 : The government is likely to stick to a modest rise in defence spending in the 2019/2020 budget due on Friday because of government finances, officials said, further delaying a long-planned military modernisation programme. India's air force desperately needs hundreds of combat planes and helicopters to replace its Soviet-era aircraft while the navy has long planned for a dozen submarines to counter the expanding presence of the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. The army, a large part of which is deployed on the border with traditional foe Pakistan, has been seeking everything from assault rifles to surveillance drones and body armour. But these plans have been on hold for years because governments have not been able to set aside large sums and most of the defence expenditure goes on salaries and pensions for a 1.4 million standing military, the world's second largest after China. Read Complete Article