Is India ready for the AI revolution? The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, from generative AI tools to sophisticated machine learning algorithms, are transforming industries across the nation. From fintech's burgeoning use of AI-powered fraud detection to the agricultural sector's embrace of precision farming technologies, the impact is undeniable. This week saw a major breakthrough in indigenous 5G technology development, signaling India's growing prowess in the global tech landscape. But alongside this progress comes the crucial discussion surrounding data privacy, cybersecurity, and the ethical implications of AI deployment. How will India navigate these challenges and harness the transformative power of technology for inclusive growth? Explore the latest developments in Indian tech, from the rise of digital payments to the burgeoning startup ecosystem, and discover how innovation is shaping the nation's future. Stay informed with Abtak.com – your gateway to understanding the tech revolution reshaping India.
New Delhi: After spending more than two decades at Microsoft, 62-year-old Joe Friend found himself facing an unexpected twist in his career -- a layoff in May that upended his retirement plans. Nearly six months later, Joe is still figuring out his next move. One thing he's certain about, though, is that his journey in Big Tech has come to an end, according to a Business Insider report. Earlier this year, Joe Friend -- who worked as a director of product management leading a team of nine -- started hearing whispers about a possible restructuring that might affect mid-level managers. Still, he never imagined that his own role would be among those on the chopping block. When the layoffs hit in May, Joe Friend and 14 others from his team -- including four managers -- lost their jobs. "I wasn't entirely surprised by the layoffs. I was surprised to get caught up in them," said Friend, who lives in Washington. Joe Friend is among thousands of Microsoft employees affected by job cuts over the past year. After slashing around 6,000 positions in May, Microsoft went on to eliminate another 9,000 jobs in July. A company spokesperson told Business Insider that the goal was to reduce management layers and improve efficiency. It's not just Microsoft -- Google, Intel, and Amazon have also begun trimming managerial roles. While overall layoffs remain lower than previous years, the impact on tech workers has been noticeable. Many are struggling to find new roles amid a slowdown in white-collar hiring, the report added. After the layoff, Joe Friend continued to receive paychecks until mid-July, along with what he described as a "very comfortable" severance package, nearly equal to his annual salary. "It feels like a betrayal, and it impacts me financially, but it's not going to hurt," he said. Rather than rushing to find a new job, Friend met with a financial advisor to explore early retirement options. Although he looked into several job opportunities, none worked out. Today, he considers himself "semi-retired" and spends his time mentoring a young entrepreneur. "It's not about making money," he said. "It's about supporting somebody who wants to transform their life." While he and his wife are financially stable, Friend admits he's not entirely ready to leave the workforce. Reflecting on his career, he shared that he once believed hard work guaranteed reward and job security at Microsoft -- a belief he no longer holds true.
New Delhi: Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's Chief Financial Officer, has emerged as a key figure in Elon Musk's newly announced political venture, the America Party (AMEP). Tesla owner Elon Musk on Sunday announced a new political party called the 'America Party'. In the official filing of this party, Musk named Vaibhav Taneja as the Custodian of Records and Treasurer. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), has earned a staggering USD 139 million in total compensation in 2024 -- making it the highest in the world for any CF ...Read More >
New Delhi: As India and the US prepare to seal a deal aimed at boosting bilateral trade, New Delhi is aiming for a balanced outcome while Washington is focused on securing deeper market access for its goods. Though India has drawn red lines around its sensitive sectors -- agriculture, dairy, and genetically modified (GM) food -- the US continues to push for significant concessions. It has signalled a potential 6% duty relief from the 16% reciprocal tariff hike announced on 2 April, which remains on hold until 9 July. However, three people familiar with the matter said that even if partial re ...Read More >
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 15: The Bihar Idea Festival, an initiative aimed at discovering and supporting emerging startups across the state, driven by ideas, identity, and innovation, has taken a significant step forward with the launch of its new portal, opening a "significant opportunity for Bihar's startup sector." Also Read | Dabba Trading-Online Betting Racket: ED Conducts Searches in Mumbai in Money Laundering Case; INR 3.3 Crore Cash, Luxury Watches and Jewellery Seized. Launched a few weeks ago, it is a flagship initiative of the Department of Industries, Government of Bihar, and Y ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) The world's third-richest man, tech billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is all set to marry former journalist Lauren Sanchez on Friday in what is being described as a star-studded wedding. The extravagant celebration, hosted in Venice, Italy, is expected to cost approximately Rs 430 crore, according to Luca Zaia, President of the Veneto region, which includes the iconic city of canals. The three-day affair, which began on June 26 and will end on June 28 with a celebrity-studded reception after the wedding on Friday, has turned Venice into a temporary ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) REA India, which owns Housing.com and PropTiger, has appointed Praveen Sharma as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Sharma had earlier worked in Paytm and Google. On April 3, Dhruv Agarwala resigned as CEO of REA India to pursue his own entrepreneurial journey. In a statement on Tuesday, Australia's REA Group said "Praveen Sharma has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of REA India and will join REA Group's Executive Leadership Team." Sharma has an experience of 25 years in senior management roles across technology, digital, media and advertising in India and A ...Read More >
NewsVoir Pune (Maharashtra) [India], July 7: For today's go-getters and ambitious entrepreneurs and businesses, accessing quick business finance just got a lot more rewarding. Bajaj Finance Limited has launched 'Loan Utsav', a limited-time festive campaign designed to empower business owners with loans up to Rs. 80 lakh -- and exciting rewards like cashback up to Rs. 3,000 and brand vouchers to go with it. The Loan Utsav offer is valid from June 20, 2025, to July 31, 2025, and is available exclusively through the Bajaj Finserv App. The rewards are limited to the first 200 successful business ...Read More >
Patna: The state govt on Monday launched the 'Bihar Idea Festival', a dedicated portal aimed at encouraging grassroots innovation and entrepreneurship across the state. State industries minister Nitish Mishra inaugurated the portal at an event held at Soochna Bhawan, describing it as a "milestone" initiative that will allow students, youth, entrepreneurs and startup teams, even from rural areas, to submit their ideas directly to the govt."The aim is to collect innovative ideas and solutions from ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 17: In a major move that could bring relief to over 7 crore Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) members, the Centre is reportedly considering a proposal to allow full or partial withdrawal of EPF savings after 10 years of service. According to a Moneycontrol report, the retirement fund body has floated this idea to address the needs of those who wish to exit the formal workforce earlier than the official retirement age of 58. Currently, EPF members can withdraw their full balance only upon retirement or after remaining unemployed for over two months. However, many in ...Read More >
Mumbai, July 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that Mumbai, which is the entertainment capital of the country, will become the global hub of creative economy. He was speaking at the inauguration of Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) and NFDC campus in the presence of Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Information Technology and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and state Minister for Cultural Affairs and Information Technology Ashish Shelar. CM Fadnavis praised the Central government's initiative for the grand international conf ...Read More >
Ajmer (Rajasthan) [India], July 20 (ANI): Following incessant heavy rainfall for two consecutive days, the Anasagar Chaupati area in Ajmer was waterlogged on Sunday morning. As the lake overflowed, the residential areas bore the brunt. Traffic movement on the route has been halted; only large vehicles are permitted to move here, while small vehicles and two-wheelers are not being allowed. Earlier, the Ana Sagar lake in Rajasthan Ajmer overflowed on Saturday morning, following incessant rain, which caused waterlogging. Due to this, the road connecting Bajrang Garh to the market has been clos ...Read More >
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, is facing legal trouble after a Mumbai court issued a notice due to YouTube's failure to comply with a previous order. The issue revolves around an offensive video about Dhyan Foundation’s founder, Yogi Ashwini, which was supposed to be removed globally but remains accessible outside India. The court is questioning Pichai on why he shouldn't face consequences for not following the order. Meanwhile, satellite internet services are set to launch in India, with Jio, Airtel, Starlink, and Amazon Kuiper competing for market dominance. The government is preparing to all ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], December 4 (ANI): The GSEC in Hyderabad will be the first of its kind in the APAC region after Tokyo and only the fifth globally, with similar facilities in Dublin, Munich, and Malaga, according to a statement. This GSEC is a specialised international cybersecurity hub designed to play a crucial role in developing advanced security and online safety products tailored for the Indian context. The centre will focus on cutting-edge research, AI-driven security solutions, and creating a collaborative platform for leading experts and researchers in cybersecurity. It also aims to ...Read More >
The books for class 9-12 will be available from 2026-27. New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reduced the prices of books for classes 9 to 12 by 20 per cent. The decision was announced by NCERT Director Dinesh Prasad Saklani during an event held in the national capital on Monday. The reduction in the prices of books will be effective from the upcoming academic year. News agency PTI quoted the minister as saying that while the textbooks for classes 9- ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 4: Amazon is reportedly making changes to how it evaluates its employees, as CEO Andy Jassy said to be focusing more on discipline and performance. The company is now linking its leadership principles with performance reviews. The shift is reportedly part of CEO Jassy's effort to strengthen the company's work culture. It is said to be the first time Amazon has integrated these values into employee evaluations. The updated system will use a three-tiered method to assess how well employees follow Amazon's leadership principles. Amazon managers are said to assess employees based ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 19 (ANI): Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that around 76,000 start-ups in India today are women-led and a large number of them are from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. The Minister said that India path to becoming a developed nation by 2047 will be led by empowered women and youth, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the paradigm of Women-Led Development. Jitendra Singh was addressing the one-day conference titled Viksit Bihar: Envisioning a Developed Bihar through Women Participation, jointly organized by the Department of Rural Development, Government of ...Read More >
The Chinese yuan was also facing its own challenges from the growing threat of more U.S. tariffs on China, pushing it down to a 13-month trough. Japan's tech-heavy Nikkei jumped 1.6% as of 0200 GMT, and South Korea's KOSPI advanced 1.7%. Taiwanese shares gained 1.1%. Australia's stocks benchmark rose 0.7% and reached a fresh all-time high. However, Chinese stocks were under pressure, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng edging slightly lower and mainland blue chips falling 0.3%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares added 0.7%. Both S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were flat after the cash indexes ...Read More >
The Andhra Pradesh government inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Google. The tech giant will launch its operations from Visakhapatnam in the State. Making the announcement at the district collectors' conference on Wednesday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said HRD Minister Nara Lokesh's efforts have paved the way for this. The MoU was a significant development and would be a game changer. Visakhapatnam is poised for transformative growth, Mr. Naidu said. The chief minister, in ...Read More >
Bhopal - In a transformative move set to redefine the future of education in India, Scope Global Skills University (SGSU), Bhopal, has announced the launch of its "AI First Campus" and a comprehensive "AI Action Plan." As Central India's first NEP and NSQF-aligned skills university, SGSU is committed to embedding artificial intelligence (AI) deeply into every aspect of higher education, from academic programs and faculty development to student engagement and industry collaboration. These new initiatives are part of the university's mission to lead the charge in AI-powered learning and to esta ...Read More >
Hyderabad: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of Microsoft's business, and the company is putting pressure on its workforce to adopt AI, whether they like it or not. A leaked internal document revealed that Microsoft will pay close attention to its employees' contributions in the company's AI efforts during performance evaluations, revealed at the beginning of the year. Moreover, a report published by Business Insider mentions that Microsoft is asking its managers to evaluate employees based on how frequently and effectively they use the company's own AI tools. Julia Li ...Read More >
Mumbai, July 2: TikTok is reportedly planning to announce another round of layoffs, affecting e-commerce team staff from the global workforce. The TikTok layoffs will reportedly be announced due to 'organisational and personnel changes'. The company shared a memo with its employees, citing the same reason and hinting at possible layoffs. TikTok has announced several rounds of layoffs this year for various reasons. TikTok is banned in India, but it has been struggling in the US. Recently, US President Donald Trump extended the deadline for the third time for 90 days, allowing the platform to o ...Read More >
By BD Narayankar Bengaluru, July 8 (UNI) India must scale up private sector funding and treat quantum as a serious business opportunity if it wants to compete globally in the next wave of technology, said Professor Arindam Ghosh of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) today. "Government can only fund the early stage; the private sector must carry it forward," he said, pointing to the fact that global government investments in quantum research range from $1 billion to $3.5 billion, with the US and China alone committing over $2 billion each. "When industry participation is added, those num ...Read More >
Blue Origin is set to launch its NS-34 suborbital space tourism flight on August 3, 2025, featuring Arvinder Singh Bagal, an Agra-born US citizen and real estate investor. Bagal, an avid adventurer, will be joined by other notable figures, including a Turkish businessman, a Puerto Rican meteorologist, and H.E. Justin Sun. Jeff Bezos owned Blue Origin prepares to launch its latest suborbital space tourism flight NS-34 on Sunday, August 3, 2025. Among the passengers is Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal, ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) Indian IT majors are aggressively repositioning themselves as AI-native firms, focusing on high-margin applications and integration over high-risk, capital-intensive foundational research. A deep dive into the FY25 annual reports from the industry behemoths --- TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra -- indicates that in the global AI race, India's tech titans are not competing to invent foundational AI, they are positioning themselves to become premier integrators of it. The shift from general digital transformation to a specific AI focus is captured in the very title ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 15 (ANI): Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) will open admissions for its first batch of students starting this August, giving a major boost to India digital and creative economy sector. The institute will offer a robust portfolio of industry-driven courses in the AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality) sector. The institute, which was announced by Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, at World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in May 2025, is backed by prestigious global par ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 19 (ANI): A contingent of 23 athletes supported by Reliance Foundation look to compete at the World University Games across six cities in Germany, with events running until July 27. Representing athletics, archery, and judo, these young talents aim to improve international rankings, achieve personal bests, and bring home laurels. The athletics team forms the backbone of the foundation campaign, with 18 athletes competing in sprints, jumps, throws, hurdles, relay, long jump, decathlon, among other events, beginning July 21, a release said. James Hillier, Di ...Read More >
Hyderabad: Samsung has officially launched the Samsung Galaxy M36 5G smartphone in India, expanding the M-series lineup. The new handset features a 120Hz Super AMOLED display, an Exynos 1380 chipset, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, and a 50MP triple rear camera setup. It packs a 5,000mAh battery with 25W wired fast charging. The device runs on OneUI 7 based on Android 15. Notably, it is the successor of the Samsung Galaxy M35 5G, launched in India last July. Samsung Galaxy M36 5G: Price, availability The Samsung Galaxy M36 5G is priced at Rs 22,999 for its sole 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. It is ...Read More >
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump abruptly froze trade talks with Canada this week because Ottawa plans to begin collecting a digital tax from big technology companies, including American giants like Google, Amazon, Meta and Uber. Trump did not hold back. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he called the tax a "direct and blatant attack on our country". He said the United States would respond within days with fresh tariffs on Canadian goods. The move did not come out of nowhere. Quietly passed in June 2024, the Canadian law charges a 3% levy on digital services revenue earned from Can ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 12: Google is said to be offering some of the highest salaries in the tech world for roles tied to artificial intelligence (AI). As competition in the AI space continues to grow, the tech giant is reportedly adjusting its pay structure to attract and retain top talent. The Google salary structure approach has received considerable attention, particularly of what federal filings have revealed. The company is reportedly paying massive salaries to certain roles, as seen in new data based on federal work-visa filings. The company is also said to have updated its internal compensat ...Read More >
Chandigarh [India], July 15: Chandigarh University, India's leading private university, in collaboration with job platform Apna and investment firm Venture Catalysts (VCats) have launched 'Campus Tank', India's first university-led Startup launch-pad for young innovators below the age of 30 to pitch their ideas and get funding of $1 Million to launch their startups along with expert venture guidance, strategic ecosystem alliances and immersive startup incubation. 'APNA' which is India's largest early talent platform, trusted by over 6 Crore users and AICTE while Venture Catalyst is India's lea ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Coursera, Inc., one of the world's largest online learning platforms, unveiled its annual learner trends for India, based on insights from over 27 million registered learners. This year, India surpassed Europe in the total number of learners on Coursera, highlighting the ambition and commitment of Indian learners to upskill and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving global workforce. Two key trends emerged in 2024: an unprecedented demand for GenAI learning and a growing preference for role-specific content to prepare for specific jobs. According to Microsoft's Work Trend Index 202 ...Read More >