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Tag: News šŸ“°

  • How Flipkart is delivering vaccines in Telangana – Drone delivery of Vaccine by Flipkart

    India had been severely hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the country saw a shortage in the availability of vaccines. Even though the country is slowly recovering from the second wave the vaccination in the country is still facing certain problems and the one of the most important problems is related to logistics and supply chain management.

    The e-commerce giant, Flipkart has announced that they would deliver the vaccines in Telangana through drones. Letā€™s look at the further details of the drone delivery by Flipkart.

    Flipkart Drone Delivery ā€“ Latest News
    Flipkart to join hands with Medicines from the sky project for Drone delivery of Vaccine
    Flipkartā€™s plan of Drone delivery of Vaccine
    Flipkartā€™s statement on Drone delivery of Vaccine
    Government of Telangana on Drone delivery of Vaccine
    FAQ

    Flipkart Drone Delivery ā€“ Latest News

    On 11 June 2021, the e-commerce giant of India, Flipkart had announced that it was going to test the drone delivery facility of the company by delivering vaccines in the state of Telangana. The company conveyed that it would use the learnings from its supply chain that is tech enabled in order to use drones for delivering vaccines and medical supplies in the state.

    The company announced that it had partnered with the Government of Telangana to form an association in order to run the task of delivering the medical supplies and vaccines to the remote areas of the state using the drone technology.

    Flipkart to join hands with Medicines from the sky project for Drone delivery of Vaccine

    Flipkart has conveyed that they will conduct the pilot drone delivery of medical supplies under the Medicines from the sky project. It is a project which outlines the requirement for drone delivery and to assess the proposals which are created under the Healthnet Global Limited and the World Economic Forum.

    The Government of Telangana has decided to work on this project and to implement it into the healthcare supply chain of the state in order to implement drones for reaching the most remote areas in Telangana.

    Flipkartā€™s plan of Drone delivery of Vaccine

    Flipkart had conveyed that it would use the knowledge that the company has gained from their tech enabled supply chain in order to deploy the drones and to provide health care supply chain support by delivering the medical supplies.

    These are going to be supported by the technologies which the company has developed over the years such as geo-mapping, track and trace of location and routing of shipments.

    Some of these technologies will also be used to deliver the vaccines and medical supplies to the most remote areas where the infrastructure of the road makes it impossible to deliver them. The company will use the technology to conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight deliveries using the drone. It will make the deliveries really faster and will play a major role in vaccinating the remote areas.

    Number of Daily Vaccine doses in India
    Number of Daily Vaccine doses in India

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    Flipkartā€™s statement on Drone delivery of Vaccine

    Pranav Saxena who is the distinguished product manager of Flipkart conveyed that the Coronavirus pandemic and the situation has pushed the countries worldwide to adapt to rapid technologies and shift towards robust technologies by developing scalable products. The medicine of the sky project is considered to be a sign towards it.

    He added that the step taken by Flipkart is a quick decision in order to make use of the cutting edge technology for the safety and the wellbeing of the people.

    He also conveyed that the company was proud to partner with the Government of Telangana in leading the association by utilizing the companies subtle understanding of the supply chain and the technologies that are helping and supporting in the automated movement of the medical supplies in completing the emergency requirements of the citizens across the state.

    The company conveyed that even during the disasters or any natural calamities they would deliver the medical supplies and the required products using the drone technology and this will set a place in the industry for providing the necessary products in the time of need.

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    Government of Telangana on Drone delivery of Vaccine

    The Government of Telangana has always been a step ahead in utilizing the technology for improving the lives of citizens. The Telangana Government stated that introducing the drone technology for delivery of vaccines and medical supplies for the citizens in the remote areas is going to be the first ever introduction in the entire country and added that the Government is happy to have partnered with Flipkart towards this initiative.

    Jayesh Ranjan who is the Principal Secretary from the Government of Telangana has conveyed that this initiative will go a long way in testing the best in class technologies and solutions in order to solve the future crisis that will be faced by the society.

    Conclusion

    The drone delivery is considered to be the most effective way to deliver vaccines and to solve the supply chain related problems faced by the country. India is one of the most populated country having a lot of population concentrated in the remote areas, this technology can be a solution for the major crisis faced by the country regarding vaccines if worked effectively.

    FAQ

    Yes, Drone delivery is legal in India but the operations must be limited to visual line of sight and the drone must not carry any dangerous goods.

    Where is Flipkart planning to deliver vaccines?

    Flipkart is planning to conduct drone delivery of vaccines in Telangana and deliver medical supplies under the Medicines from the sky project.

    How many vaccines are there for Covid-19 in India?

    India has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines: Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech, Covishield developed by Oxford/AstraZeneca, Sputnik V developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russia.

  • SportsApp raises $140K in seed round; sets eyes on 60% Market Share in 5 years

    Noida based startup SportsApp raised $140K in seed round led by noted names like Shubhrendu Khoche, Anirban Basu, Sanjay Ahuja, Ram Ganesan and Kuldeep Puri, among others.

    This unique startup which primarily addresses the aspiring sportspersons of India uses a proprietary tech platform to solve the asymmetric access to ā€œCommunity, Sponsorships, and Career.”

    In a statement, SportsApp shared it will be utilizing the funds to further enhance its go-to-market, technology and marketing capabilities. This round of funding should further catalyze the fast growth this startup has witnessed in key KPIs since its launch. Launched in Marā€™18, SportsApp has seen growth of 20X in downloads, 56X in MAUs and 80X in DAUs. Interestingly, the startup clocked an impressive 4X scale up in revenues during the pandemic year of 2020-21 FY.

    “Lack of access to the essential resources such as information, sponsorships and professional support for budding athletes early on in their careers is costing India immensely in world sporting events. For an emerging world power like India, we indeed need to become a force to reckon with at the Olympics and other world events. Towards this mission, we need to start with equipping our young sportspersons with better access to resourcesā€, said Shashank Mishra (founder- SportApp), who himself was once a budding cricketer but had to give up on his sporting dreams due to lack of resources. Today he is committed to removing the same barriers for young sportspersons and creating a much-needed disruption in the sports industry.

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    SportsApp is an aggregator platform combining Community, Content and Commerce together for India’s budding sportspersons. It uses tech to remove the sports industry’s asymmetry and carries the vision to ‘Empower Sports Stars Of Tomorrow’. Through SportsApp, budding sportspersons can access and leverage the entire sporting eco-system including physiotherapists, coaches, sponsors, nutritionists and other resources.

    SportsApp Founder and Team

    Interestingly, the Government of India has recently brought renewed focus on sports as an integral topic for the youth of the nation. The team sought the insights from Shashank on the future of this Digital Community for Sports Industry and what makes it so relevant in the current times –

    “Sporting ecosystem has 4 Ps that make it ripe for a tech-centric disruptionā€” Patronage, Providence, Potential, and the Platform. Presently, there is a huge asymmetry of patronage from brands where 90%+ endorsements and sponsorship go to only top 5-6 stars, usually from the cricket. Indian Govt’s recent decision to bring ‘Sports’ into the curriculum from extra-curricular activities besides other initiatives such as ‘Khelo India’ is already helping build a solid and favorable ground.

    The emergence of sports as a sustainable career due to fan-friendly leagues is also playing a decisive part in improving the overall potential of the industry. Above all, there is a lack of relevant content on a dedicated platform making the sportspersons dependent on personal coaching. In short, there is a wide window of opportunity valuing a Ā whopping $900Mn that remains untapped – SportsApp fits perfectly in this segment to fill the gaps, by becoming the perfect aggregator for India’s sports ecosystem.”

    ‘Content’ is the biggest driver of their business that moves both ‘Community’ and ‘Commerce’ and enable learning. The key USP of the SportsApp lies in its algorithm that rates an individual player and throws up their rating/value. This value is then pitched to brands to sell sponsorship. The market ranking helps athletes realize their potential pretty early at the onset of their career, thus removing the probability of exploitation in the name of endorsements and sponsorship, which is quite rampant, otherwise.

    Shashank further adds: “Having tested the algorithm, the business model, the product-market fit, our initial success in getting both users and sponsorships is giving us the confidence to scale further. Some of our user athletes are already playing at India Juniors, or are winners at ‘Khelo India School (KIYG), KIUG, Commonwealth Games, Olympics and Indian National Teams. “

    SportsApp has set its eyes on capturing 60% of the market share in the coming 5 Years.

    SportsApp 

    The Community platform also provides regular updates on sports events of your sports, besides sending alerts on sports jobs available within the industry. Several veterans and existing sports personalities and coaches also form an integral part of SportsApp. You may join the community and follow your fellow/senior athletes, coaches, academies, and federations to stay updated with their latest feeds or directly reach out to them via an inbuilt messaging feature on the App for any support required.

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    To know more about this innovative venture and be part of it, you may visit their portal download the app directly from the Android Playstore or connect with their social media handles on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

  • Kirti Kulhari is the face of The Tribe Concepts’ Collagen Boosting Kit

    On 11th June 2021, The Tribe Concepts unveiled Kirti Kulhari as the Face of Collagen Boosting Kit. It launches two new products as part of the kit – Collagen Boosting Mask and Shilajitadi Thailam.

    The Tribe Concepts, a homegrown brand that is centered around offering pure, bespoke and Ayurveda-inspired skin care and hair care products has introduced two more products – Collagen Boosting Mask and Shilajitadi Thailam. Renowned actress Kirti Kulhari has collaborated with The Tribe Concepts for this launch. Dedicated to offering safe, clean and natural products, the two newly launched products are specifically formulated for imparting incomparable anti-ageing and skin restorative benefits.

    Formulated with unique luxurious ingredients like Himlayan Shilajit, Indian Ginseng and Saffron, the Collagen Boosting Mask and Shilajitadi Thailam are the perfect power-packed duo which help in improving skin firmness, reducing fine lines and making the skin radiant like never before.

    • Himalayan Shilajit is renowned for its wrinkles reducing properties and it also promotes skin regeneration.
    • Saffron, the golden glow giver is a powerful antioxidant which has skin repairing and brightening capabilities.
    • Indian Ginseng, commonly known as Ashwagandha, this powerhouse has been used for decades as a skin vitalizer and a remedy to signs of ageing

    Both the products help fight signs of aging and boost the collagen of the skin, naturally! Kirti Kulhari shared her newly adopted 2 step routine using the Collagen Boosting kit and the amazing transformation her skin went through –

    Expressing gratitude for welcoming Kirti Kulhari to The Tribe Concepts family Amritha Gaddam, Founder & CEO of The Tribe Concepts said,

    ā€œWe are beyond thrilled to be collaborating with Kirti Kulhari for our all-new Collagen Boosting kit. She is dynamic, vibrant and inspiring. Kirtiā€™s passion for all things natural and love for The Tribe Concepts has been a source of inspiration for us!! We are truly humbled to have Kirti as a believer of our brand, ethos and products.ā€

    Sharing her excitement on this launch,

    Kirti Kulhari said, ā€œIā€™m a huge fan of The Tribe Concepts and have spoken about them many times in the past year. I discovered TTC last year during the lockdown and have been a loyal consumer of their products ever since. Now, with this new launch of the Collagen Boosting kit, I have really felt a huge difference in my skin. Love the way this brand celebrates the power of Indian Ingredients!!ā€

    The Tribe Conepts
    Face of The Tribe Concepts – Kirti Kulhari

    The Tribe Concepts strongly believes in the power of pure Indian ingredients and the ancient science of Ayurveda. Combining the two, the brand carefully curates skin and hair care products that solve specific problems and offer amazing results. Since its launch in 2019, The Tribe Concepts has introduced 14 unique products and will continue persistent efforts in innovating conscious and sustainable skin and hair care essentials.

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    About The Tribe Concepts:

    Founded in 2019, The Tribe Concepts is a thoroughly modern and all-natural range of skin and hair care products inspired by Ayurveda. It aims to provide natural alternatives for skin and hair care by bringing the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda to the modern world. Its unique formulations are 100% organic, chemical and preservative free and hence are in the form of powders and cold-pressed oil.

    Finding its roots in the Godavari Belt of India, every single ingredient that goes into The Tribe Concepts tins & bottles finds its source in a pollution-free environment. For the company, the purity of ingredients is paramount. Each of its ingredients is sustainably sourced from tribal valleys of India where the soil is untampered with, and the air is as pure as it gets. The Tribe Concepts goes the extra mile to care for the planet with plastic-free packaging, zero chemical usage & ethical practices as a token of gratitude for mother nature.

    The Tribe Concepts has always advocated the ā€˜women in business‘ notion whilst giving support to women at all levels – from handpicking the ingredients to shaping up the product, women have been a quintessential part of its journey.

    “We are extremely proud to have 80% of The Tribe Conceptsā€™ team and board as women” added Amritha Gaddam, Founder & CEO of The Tribe Concepts.

  • Why is Facebook launching its own Smartwatch? (Even after the Failure of its smartphone)

    Facebook has recently announced that it would launch its smartwatch during the year 2022. They have also planned to launch the further versions of the watch. However, this is not the first time the company is entering into the hardware technology sector. Letā€™s look at the latest news about the smartwatch, its features and also look at one of the reasons for the failure of their smartphone.

    Facebook Smartwatch ā€“ Latest News
    Features of the Facebook Smartwatch
    Why is Faceboook Launching its Smartwatch?
    Previous products by Facebook
    Reason Why Facebook’s Smartphone failed
    FAQ

    Facebook Smartwatch ā€“ Latest News

    Facebook has conveyed that they would release a smartwatch under their brand during the 2022 summer. They have also conveyed that they would release the second and third generations of the watch in the coming years. The first smartwatch of Facebook is expected to be priced at around USD 400 (around INR 29,000) which could have certain changes in the coming years.

    Features of the Facebook Smartwatch

    The watch is expected to be released in three different colour variants namely black, white and gold. The watch will not only have the messaging features but also has a heart rate monitor and two cameras. It is said that the cameras will be able to separate from the wrist in order to take videos and share them on the social media.

    The smartwatch is said to have two cameras, where the front camera can be extensively used for video calling services and the rear camera can be used for video recordings to share it on the social media. The rear camera will have a 1080p auto focus camera.

    One of the most exciting features of this watch is that it can be used without an internet connection and users also have a feature to connect to services of hardware of health and fitness companies in addition to the heart rate monitors of the smartwatch.

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    Why is Faceboook Launching its Smartwatch?

    The main reason for releasing the Smartwatch is to try and replace the smartphones. The smartwatch owners are considered to use the smartwatch for the activities that are done through the usage of Smartphones.

    Mark Zuckerberg also aims to create more consumer and hardware products in order to find a way and compete against the tech giants Apple and Google

    Previous Hardware products by Facebook

    Facebook has a set of hardware products already in the market which include a portal and also a video calling device with a voice assistant which is similar to Alexa or Googleā€™s device. The company had also launched 3 new portals in the year 2019 and currently has 4 hardware products in the market. These products are available in the United States.

    Facebook had also ventured into the smartphone segment in the past with the launch of the brand HTC back in 2013. But the venture had later failed and did not end being successful.

    Reason Why Facebook’s Smartphone failed

    Facebook's First Smartphone - HTC First
    Facebook’s First Smartphone – HTC First

    The smartphone brand of Facebook that is HTC was a global brand and was considered to be one of the coolest smartphones back in the times of its launch. The companyā€™s smartphone brand had lasted only for about half a year and due to the poor sales, they had to slash the price of the phone.

    Even after cutting down the price of the phone, the smartphone sales were really less and sold only about 15,000 phones. Some have estimated that the reason for the failure of the smartphone segment of Facebook was as users did not find a need for such a smartphone at that time and the features of the phone were already present on the mobile applications that were available on the iOS devices and the cheaper Android devices.

    It was found that consumers were not dying to buy Facebookā€™s phone and there is a difference between the having a phone in the market and having a phone which consumers would choose to buy. One of the major reasons Facebook says they failed was due to the high pricing and poor user interface.

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    Conclusion

    The hardware segment is not an area where Facebook has been successful so far. Majority of the Facebookā€™s revenue comes through advertising and with the introduction of the Smartphone, Facebook will be venturing into an entirely new segment. However, the company has not yet decided on the name for its Smartwatch segment.

    FAQ

    Did Facebook make a phone?

    Yes, Facebook launched a phone with collaboration with HTC but it was a flop back in 2013. The company created an Android skin for the phone and dubbed it Facebook Home.

    What will be the cost of the Facebook Smartwatch?

    The watch might retail for around $400 (Rs 29,000) and will have three colour options to choose from (white, black and gold).

    When will the Facebook Smartwatch launch?

    The watch is yet to enter mass production but should be available in the summer of 2022.

  • Why has ED issued a showcause notice to WazirX?

    The Enforcement Directorate has announced that it has sent a notice towards the largest cryptocurrency exchange of India, WazirX and its directors regarding a money laundering investigation. Letā€™s look at the information regarding the money laundering case and the amount involved.

    ED notice to WazirX ā€“ Latest News
    Names mentioned in the notice issued to WazirX by ED
    The Allegations on WazirX
    What did Enforcement Directorate found through Investigation upon WazirX
    FAQ

    ED notice to WazirX ā€“ Latest News

    On 11 June 2021, the Enforcement Directorate had issued a show cause notice to the largest cryptocurrency exchange in India, WazirX. The notice provided is for going against the law of FEMA 1999 (Foreign Exchange Management Act). The cryptocurrency exchange has been said to be involved in the transactions involving cryptocurrencies which are estimated to be a worth of INR 2,790.74 crores.

    The Enforcement Directorate had mentioned in a statement that it had initiated the statement regarding FEMA due to the ongoing investigation regarding the investigation of money laundering which involves various betting online applications that are owned by the Chinese.

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    Names mentioned in the notice issued to WazirX by ED

    WazirX is a cryptocurrency platform that is registered under the company name Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd. The company was registered in the year 2017 in the month of December as a domestic cryptocurrency startup.

    After the completion of the investigation, the central probe agency had issued a notice in which the name of the company and the name of the directors Hanuman Mhatre and Nischal Shetty have been mentioned. The global cryptocurrency exchange Binance had acquired WazirX in the year 2019.

    WazirX Trading volume Growth
    WazirX Trading volume Growth

    The Allegations on WazirX

    During the duration of the investigation, it was found that the Chinese nationals who were accused of the money laundering case had laundered the proceeds of the crime which is said to have a worth of INR 57 crores.

    The laundering of the amount is said to be converted into cryptocurrencies from the Indian National Rupee. The amount was exchanged to the Tether cryptocurrency and was then transferred to the wallets on the Binance Exchange that is registered in the Cayman Islands.

    The wallet transaction was expected to be based on the instructions that were received from abroad. The Enforcement Directorate also alleged that the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX also allows a wide range of transactions with cryptocurrencies which include the transactions to the exchanges or INR and vice-versa, peer to peer transactions, exchange of cryptocurrencies and even the transaction of cryptocurrencies that are held in its pool accounts to various other exchanges.

    The wallets can be held by anyone who can be foreigners in foreign locations.

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    What did ED found through Investigation upon WazirX

    The ED had alleged that WazirX does not collect any required documents which is a proper violation of the basic mandatory Anti-money laundering (AML). They also added that it was against the Combating finance of terrorism (CFT) norms and also FEMA guidelines.

    During the investigation, it was found that WazirX had received cryptocurrencies through its pool account from Binance exchange which had a value of around INR 880 crores and it was also found that there was a transfer of cryptocurrencies from WazirX to Binance exchange which had a value of around INR 1,400 crores. However, these transactions were not recorded on any blockchain and could not be audited or investigated.

    The investigation also found that the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX could also transfer cryptocurrencies to people from any location or any nationality even without proper documents which makes it a safe haven for people who are involved in illegal businesses and money laundering. It makes itself a crypto exchange supporting illegitimate activities.

    WazirX founder stated on Twitter they didn’t receive any show-cause notice till now from the Enforcement Directorate and they comply with all applicable laws.


    Conclusion

    WazirX one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange has been alleged for promoting illegal and illegitimate activities through their exchange and even the parent company of WazirX, Binance exchange has also the involvement in the case. The Indian Government has conveyed that they were open to exploring the new technologies like cryptocurrencies for improving their governance.

    FAQ

    Why did ED issue notice to WazirX?

    ED has issued a notice to WazirX, and its Directors Nischal Shetty and Sameer Hanuman Mhatre for alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management.

    Is WazirX owned by Binance?

    Yes, WazirX is owned by Binance and is often acknowledged as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.

    Who is the CEO of WazirX?

    Nischal Shetty is the CEO and Founder of WazirX who founded WazirX on march 2018.

  • What are the Revised ATM Cash Withdrawal charges and List of all the charges revised by RBI

    The Reserve Bank of India has announced a considerable number of changes in regards to the financial and non-financial transactions related to the ATMs in the country. The Central Bank has provided the permission for the banks to increases the charges from their customers. Letā€™s look at the latest Financial service Fees and charges revised by RBI.

    RBI Revised Financial Charges ā€“ Latest News
    Interchange Fee charged by the Banks revised by RBI
    Interchange Fees for Customers revised by RBI
    Reason for the increase in the charges by RBI
    The Committee that revised the ATM charges
    List of Financial Charges revised by the RBI
    FAQ

    RBI Revised Financial Charges ā€“ Latest News

    A banking charge will be applicable from 1 January 2022 where the bank customers will have to pay an amount of INR 21 if they exceed the monthly limits of the withdrawal from the ATM. The ATM charges which were in existence were around INR 20 per customer if they exceed the monthly limits of the free transactions provided by the bank.

    On 10 June 2021, the Reserve Bank of India has provided the permission for the banks to increase the charges regarding cash and non-cash Automated Teller Machine for exceeding the number of free financial transactions available on a monthly basis from next year i.e., 2022.

    Interchange Fee charged by the Banks Revised by RBI

    The circular contained the information regarding the interchange fee charged by the Banks for the ATM transactions. The interchange fee for the ATM transactions is increased from INR 15 to INR 17 for each financial transaction and the interchange fee for the non-financial transactions is increased from INR 5 to INR 6, which will be effective August 1, 2021.

    An interchange fee is paid by the banks to the operator of the ATM when a customer makes a transaction at an ATM that does not belong to the card-issuing bank.

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    Interchange Fees for Customers revised by RBI

    The Interchange fee has been revised by the RBI from INR 20 to INR 21 if the customers exceed the monthly limits of the withdrawal from the ATM.

    RBI added that the customers will continue to enjoy the benefits of free 5 transactions every month which will be inclusive of financial and non financial transactions. The free transactions will be available every month through the ATMs of the banks with which they have an account.

    The customers will also be eligible to do transactions in the ATMs of other banks with a limit of 3 free transactions in the metro cities and in the non-metro cities the customers will be eligible for 5 free transactions from the ATMs of another bank.

    RBI conveyed in a statement that in order to compensate the banks for the higher fee charges for interchange and due to the general increase in the costs, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed the Banks to increase the charges on ATM transactions to INR 21.

    Number of ATM's in India
    Number of ATM’s in India

    Reason for the increase in the charges by RBI

    The Reserve Bank of India has conveyed that the reasons for letting banks increase the fee and charges for the transactions were mainly due to the increase in the cost towards the maintenance of the ATMs and also the increase in the cost for the deployment of the ATMs.

    The maintenance cost incurred by the banks and the white label ATM providers is considered to have the necessity to balance the expectations of the stakeholders of the financial institutions as well as providing a convenience to the customers.

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    The Committee that revised the ATM charges

    The committee which decided on the ATM charges was established by the Reserve Bank of India back in the year 2019 in the month of June. The committee was set up under the chairmanship of VG Kannan who was the chairman of the Indian Banksā€™ association. The main aim for the setting up of the committee was to review the entire range of the ATM charges.

    The recommendations of the committee were announced to the public by the Reserve Bank of India in the year 202o in the month of July and the recommendation was to use the population as a metric in order to measure the calculations for the ATM charges.

    The Reserve Bank of India had also conveyed that the recommendations from the panel were examined in detail.

    List of Financial Charges revised by the RBI

    From January 1 2022, Customers will be charged INR 21 per ATM transaction after exhausting limit of free transactions which a customer is eligible to conduct from other banks’ ATMs. The interchange fee is hiked from the existing INR 20 to INR 21 per transaction.

    The interchange fee for the ATM transactions for the Banks is increased from INR 15 to INR 17 for each financial transaction and for the non-financial transactions is increased from INR 5 to INR 6, which will be effective August 1, 2021.

    Conclusion

    The last change in the interchange fee in regards to the transactions of the ATMs was in the year 2012 and the charges that were paid by the customers were revised in the year August 2014. There has been a lot of time since there was a change in the charges on the customers regarding the use of ATMs and the transaction fees.

    FAQ

    Why has RBI revised Cash withdrawal charges?

    The Reserve Bank of India has conveyed that the reasons for letting banks increase the fee and charges for the transactions were mainly due to the increase in the cost towards the maintenance of the ATMs and also the increase in the cost for the deployment of the ATMs.

    What are the revised charges by RBI?

    Customers will be charged INR 21 per ATM transaction after exhausting limit of free transactions and The interchange fee for the ATM transactions for the Banks is increased from INR 15 to INR 17 for each financial transaction and for the non-financial transactions is increased from INR 5 to INR 6.

    What is interchange fee ATM?

    An interchange fee is paid by the banks to the operator of the ATM when a customer makes a transaction at an ATM that does not belong to the card-issuing bank.

  • What is Apple’s WWDC and Everything an Apple fan should know about it

    Apple had kicked off its WWDC 2021 on 8 June 2021 announcing all the new projects and updated that are going to be released on the Apple devices. Some of the announcements included about iOS 15, Face Time updates, Focus mode, Live Text, Apple Wallet, Apple Maps, AirPods Updates, iPadOS, Security updates, Health updates, watchOS, macOS, and also updated about Siri going to be used on the third party devices.

    Almost all the new updates and features have been covered in the WWDC 2021. In this article letā€™s look at what exactly is WWDC that is hosted by Apple and how one can participate in it.

    What is WWDC?
    The WWDC Event contents
    Order of the WWDC Event
    How was WWDC 2021 held?
    FAQ

    What is WWDC?

    WWDC is nothing but a conference that is hosted by Apple and WWDC stands for Worldwide Developers Conference. This Information technology based conference is held by Apple on an annual basis. The first WWDC was held in 1983 where Apple basic was introduced.

    From 1987 to 2002 WWDC was held during the month of May, during 2003, 2005 and 2007 the WWDC was held during the month of June, in the year 2004 it was held during the late of June or the beginning of July and in the year 2006 it was held during the month of August.

    The WWDC Event contents

    The event is hosted in order to show the new features or updates on the macOS, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS and watchOS families as well as other software updates of Apple. In general, the conference concentrates on technology and software that is related to the Apple family or their Operating System.

    Until the year 2002, Apple never used to conference for launching its new software and technology later on they started the conference as a launchpad for new products.

    The conference will contain a keynote address, special get togethers, presentation sessions, events and one to one lab consultations.

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    Order of the WWDC Event

    The event begin with a keynote address from Tim Cook. Earlier it was started off with Steve Jobs and it was often called by the media as Steve Note. The first day will cover the announcements of the new products of Apple and it would be attended by the conference attendees and the media. The new products or the hardware announced by Apple will mostly be exhibited in the conference hall.

    The keynote address will be continued by announcing the software changes, updates and the new features that are launched by Apple. The company also announces the Apple Design Awards on the first day of the conference.

    The detailed sessions of the software updates and features will be carried on during the later days of the event. Most of the presentations and sessions will be conducted by the Apple employees which will be recorded and interested people will be able to view them on the Apple Developer Website that is available on the iOS and the tvOS platforms of the conference.

    There are lunchtime sessions which will be delivered by the guest speakers at the conference and it will be mostly the experts from the field of technology and science. These sessions however will not be recorded. Earlier there were question and answer sessions and also a session where the attendees could interact with the Apple employees.

    The labs will have Apple engineers where one can have a one-to-one consultation with the developers and also there will be the availability of consultation sessions with experts in the user interface design.

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    How was WWDC 2021 held?

    The most recent WWDC i.e., 2021 WWDC was held online due to the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic. Generally, the offline conference would be held in the San Jose convention center, California.

    The WWDC 2021 was a free session for all developers. All the developers from worldwide could attend the conference and also get access to the future versions of iPadOS, iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. The developers also could engage with Apple engineers through engineering sessions, one to one lab appointments and also the Apple Developer Forums which were revamped and improved ahead of WWDC 2021.

    The tickets were given through an online lottery and the students and the members of STEM organizations were able to avail scholarships. Only the attendees above the age of 13 were allowed and they were also a member of the Apple Developer Programme.

    Apple WWDC 2018
    Apple WWDC 2018 

    The WWDC had a strength of 2000 to 4200 members until the year 2007 and during the year 2007, Steve Jobs had announced that the WWDC had around 5000 attendees. The WWDC held during the year 2018 had around 6000 participants from around 70+ countries which included 350 scholarship participants.

    Conclusion

    WWDC 2021 hosted by Apple had provided the information and tools that were required to turn the ideas of the worldwide apple developer community and the next generation developer communityā€™s dreams into reality. Apple has around 28 million developers around the globe.

    FAQ

    What is Apple WWDC21?

    The all-online conference that used to take place every spring at Apple Park in California, offers insights into the future of Apple’s operating systems such as iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

    Where can I watch WWDC 2021?

    WWDC 2021 was streamed live online from June 7 to 11, entirely virtual for the second year in a row.

    Is the WWDC event free?

    The WWDC event was held online due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic and was free for all developers.

  • What is G7 Corporate Tax Deal and How will it Benefit India?

    There were a lot of articles and discussions about the tax evasions done by the big tech companies, which include Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, etc. The companies have said to be paid very little amount in tax as they use tax havens and shift their operational region to avoid huge tax which should be paid to certain countries. The G7 summit has introduced a new tax system. Letā€™s look at the new tax system and how it would benefit India

    Corporate Tax deal ā€“ Latest News
    Countries that have agreed to the Corporate Tax Deal
    G7 Corporate Tax Deal Proposal
    How will India benefit from the tax deal?
    FAQ

    Corporate Tax deal ā€“ Latest News

    The group of 7 countries that are commonly known as G7 countries has decided on implementing the historical tax system on the global tech and multinational companies which will be a global tax. This proposal and decision are made with the aim to reduce the tax evasions conducted by the companies where they generally shift their operation base to the regions with a lower tax rate.

    Countries that have agreed to the Corporate Tax Deal

    The deal is likely to be put forth in the G20 summit, which is going to be held in July 2021. As of now, a total of 7 countries agreed that includes Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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    G7 Corporate Tax Deal Proposal

    The proposal contained of 3 major decisions that were taken during the meeting.

    1. The companies or the multinational corporations will be forced to pay taxes on the profit they earn overseas.
    2. A minimum corporate tax of around 15% will be imposed on the multinational corporations on a global basis.
    3. The countries can share taxes on the profit earned by the companies or multinational corporations in a specific country through digital sales where the company has not got a physical presence.

    The G7 finance ministers and the Central bank governors conveyed that they will be committed to reaching an equitable solution on the allocation of taxing rights, the market countries will have to agree to share at least a taxation of 20% on the profits earned by the multinational corporations.

    They also conveyed that they would provide a proper coordination in applying the new tax rules and to remove the digital service taxes and other similar taxes that are levied on the corporations. They further added that they were looking forward to getting into an agreement with regards to the corporate tax in the G20 summit held in July 2021.

    How will India benefit from the tax deal?

    In the year 2019 the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman had cut down the corporate tax rates for the Indian based companies to 22 % and for the new Indian based manufacturing companies to 15 %. This would add an advantage as the bilateral tax agreements between the countries are also around a similar range.

    Since the tax rate in India is around 15 %, which is similar to the tax rate announced in the G7 summit, the country will not have to increase its tax rates. This would be a positive approach as India will be able to attract a lot of investments into the country. Furthermore, the existing tax havens may become unattractive and we can see a lot of investments coming into India.

    The decision of the countries in taxing the multinational corporations that have a significant sale in the country without a physical presence will let India tax a lot of corporations that earn a huge amount of money through digital sales alone.

    Amit Maheshwari who is a Tax Partner at the consulting firm AKM Global has conveyed that India would be able to benefit a lot from the newly proposed corporate tax as they are a big market for the huge tech companies.

    However, it is to be noted that as part of the agreement India will have to stop collecting the Digital service tax that it has levied on the companies such as Amazon and Google. India levies a Digital Service Tax of around 2 % on the revenues generated in India through the digital services offered by these companies. This includes digital platform services, data-related services and digital sales.

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    Conclusion

    India is expected to gain a lot from the new corporate tax discussed and approved in the G7 summit but tax havens such as Ireland, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Hong Kong and the Cayman Islands are going to face the consequences of the deal.

    FAQ

    What is G7 tax deal?

    The Group of Seven or G7 countries have agreed on a tax deal to impose a global tax on multinational corporations. The proposal is aimed at reducing tax evasion committed by large multinational corporations that often shift their base of operations to regions with lower tax rates.

    Which countries come under G7?

    The seven G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

    Why was G7 tax deal proposed?

    G7 corporate tax deal was proposed to reduce tax evasion committed by large multinational corporations that often shift their base of operations to regions with lower tax rates.

  • Everything You Need to Know about ITR E-filing 2.0 – New ITR Filing Website

    The Income Tax Department of India has launched a new website that would help in the e-filing of tax returns. The new website has been updated with a lot of exciting features. Letā€™s look at these features, and all the other details of the new website launched by the Income Tax Department.

    ITR E-filing website ā€“ Latest News
    New Features of the ITR Filing Website
    New Tax Payment System
    Announcement of the New ITR Filing Portal
    FAQ

    ITR E-filing website ā€“ Latest News

    The new e-filing website was launched by the Income tax Department on 7 June 2021. This website packs in several interesting features and details that are expected to make the Income Tax returns process more smoother and faster.

    The website can be accessed at www.incometax.gov.in

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    New Features of the ITR Filing Website

    The website that has been launched recently, has been updated with numerous brand new features. One of the major updates is that the website will let you pay the online tax payment through multiple payment options, which include UPI, net banking, credit card, RTGS, or NEFT. This can be paid through any account from any bank of the taxpayer and this feature will make the payment process much easier.

    On 5 June 2021, the Ministry of Finance had issued a press statement that contained the list of new features and the changes that were being adapted on the new website which was going to be launched.

    • The new taxpayer portal is integrated with an immediate processing of Income Tax Returns which will help in issuing quick refunds to the taxpayers.
    • In order to make the follow up action easier, all the pending payments and uploads will be available on a single dashboard for the tax payers.
    • A free of cost software for preparing the Income Tax Returns will be available for the taxpayers with interactive questions to help the taxpayers in the ITR filing. The facility for preparation of ITRs 1 and 4 is available online and offline, ITR 2 is available offline for the beginning stage and the preparation for 3,5,6,7 is expected to be available soon.
    • The taxpayers will have an option to proactively update their profile by providing certain details of income which include the house property, salary, business or profession, which will be used in the pre-filing of the Income Tax Returns.
    • The detailed pre-filling of salary income, interest, dividend and capital gains is expected to be enabled and will be available only after the TDS and SFT statements are uploaded and the due date for the upload is 30 June 2021.
    • A new call center will be set for the assistance of the taxpayers to respond to their queries immediately. There will also be a provision of FAQs, User Manuals, chatbots, live agents and also videos.
    • There will also be the availability of functionalities for filing Income Tax Forms, submit responses to Notices in Faceless Scrutiny or appeals and to add tax professionals.
    New ITR filing website
    New ITR filing website

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    StartupTalkyAlan Joseph

    New Tax Payment System

    The New Tax Payment system is announced to be launched on 18 June 2021, which is after the due date of the Advance Tax installment. This will avoid any inconvenience for the taxpayers. The ministry has also announced that they will be releasing a mobile application subsequent to the launch of the new portal in order to help the taxpayers get used to the new features.

    Announcement of the New ITR Filing Portal

    The Income Tax Department had announced about the new portal to all the existing tax payers by sending a text message to their registered numbers. The message conveyed the news of the launch of the new e-filing portal along with the the date of launch, 7 June, 2021, and the link of the new portal.

    Conclusion

    The existing portal that is the older version was not available for the taxpayers for 6 days from 1 June 2021 to 6 June 2021 ahead of the launch of the new portal. The Central Board of Direct Taxes had asked all the taxpayers to complete all their tasks before the 1st of June in order to avoid any difficulty during that period.

    FAQ

    Is Income tax new site launched?

    Yes, the new Ā ITR filing website is launched and you can visit it on www.incometax.gov.in.

    What is the new Income tax portal?

    The new income tax portal is integrated with immediate processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to issue quick refunds to taxpayers, and all interactions and uploads or pending actions will be displayed on a single dashboard

    What is e-filing portal?

    The e-filing portal is used by taxpayers to file their income tax returns (ITRs) and also to raise complaints seeking refunds.

  • How to Enroll for ISROs Free Machine Learning & Deep Learning Course?

    The Indian Space Research Organization has announced that they are offering a 5-day free online course on Machine Learning. The course is expected to cover Machine Learning to Deep Learning in a period of 5 days. Letā€™s look at the further details of the online certification course provided by ISRO.

    ISRO Course – Latest News
    Details of the ISRO Course
    Target Audience for the Course
    Syllabus of the ISRO Course
    Requirements for Receiving the Certificate
    Registration for ISRO Course
    FAQ

    ISRO Course – Latest News

    ISRO has invited applications for a 5-day free online course from interested candidates. The course would cover Machine Learning to Deep Learning: A journey for remote sensing data classification. This is a short course that can be completed within a period of 5 days and also provides a certificate for the participants.

    The course is going to be conducted through the IIRS (Indian Institute of Remote Sensing) which is considered to be part of their outreach programme and the coordinator of the programme is from the IIRS DLP team, Dr. Poonam S Tiwari.

    Details of the ISRO Course

    The IIRS Machine Learning programme will be conducted from 4 to 5.30 PM from the 5th-9th of July 2021. The participants will be able to attend the course through the e-class portal of IIRS Dehradun using any web browser.

    The course is being sponsored by the Department of Space, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), the Government of India and Dehradun. The course is offered free of cost and there are no enrollment fees or course charges. On the completion of the course, the participants will receive a certificate from the Indian Space Research organization.

    Target Audience for the Course

    The target audience for the course or the participants who could benefit from the course is the professionals who are engaged in different applications for remote sensing data processing and are developing a specific interest in the field and would want to further increase their knowledge and learn the Machine learning or the concept of Deep Learning.

    The course also can be attended by the participants who have a basic understanding of the Deep Learning and Machine Learning concepts and also the ones who have a basic understanding of concepts such as Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing.

    IIRS Website
    IIRS Website

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    Syllabus of the ISRO Course

    The course intends to providing knowledge and educating the participants on exploring the algorithms of Machine Learning Concepts and the Deep learning in order to develop a specific level of information on remote sensing data sets from multi-sensor.

    The syllabus and the course schedule are as follows

    • 5 July 2021 – Remote Sensing and its sensors of various resolutions. Radiometry and geometric corrections and basic understanding of the image.
    • 6 July 2021 – Basic Classifier to Machine Learning: A Journey.
    • 7 July 2021 – Methods in Machine Learning: Supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement.
    • 8 July 2021 – Fuzzy-Machine Learning with application in the temporal data processing.
    • 9 July 2021 – Network based Learning Algorithms: ANN to CNN or RNN.

    Requirements for Receiving the Certificate

    Even though it is a free course and open for all there are certain basic criteria for receiving the certificate. The participants will be receiving a certificate based on their attendance for their sessions, which is supposed to be more than 70% of the course through the e-class portal.

    The participants who attend the course sessions through the YouTube channel of IIRS will have to mark their attendance after 24 hours through an offline session.

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    Registration for ISRO Course

    The interested participants will be able to register for the free online course by visiting the official website of IIRS and Select Course Name, Individual Registration/Registration through IIRs Nodal Center after that Select Basic Qualification, Basic Knowledge on and write the description for how the course contents of this course will be useful for your professional career. The participants have to option to attend the sessions through the e-class of IIRS or through the YouTube channel of IIRS.

    Conclusion

    IIRS (Indian Institute of Remote Sensing) is an organization under the Indian Space Research Organization, Department of Space, and Government of India. They are a premier training and educational institute that is set up for developing trained professionals in the field of remote sensing.

    FAQ

    Who can apply for ISRO free online courses?

    Central and state government employees, researchers, professionals, and those attached with NGOs can attend the course. Also, interested candidates must have basic knowledge of remote sensing and GIS.

    What is ISRO free course?

    ISRO is providing free online course called ā€œMachine learning to Deep Learning: A journey for remote sensing data classificationā€. This short course can be completed in five days, and participants will also receive a certificate.

    How can I apply for free course in ISRO?

    Visit the Website of IIRs and Select Course Name, Individual Registration/Registration through IIRs Nodal Center after that Select Basic Qualification, Basic Knowledge on and write the description for how the course contents of this course will be useful for your professional career.