Heena Sharma Blog

  The government on Monday announced a Rs 18,000 crore scheme to augment public transport in urban areas. In the first paperless Union Budget , Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said there will be 100 per cent electrification of broad gauge rail tracks by December 2023. She also said a record Rs 1,10,055 crore will be provided for railways, of which Rs 1,07,100 crore will be for capital expenditure in 2021-22. Read More

  Budget 2021 LIVE updates : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting her third Union Budget in Parliament. Sitharaman said the Budget for 2021-22 rests on six pillars – from healthcare to infrastructure. The finance minister has also announced a total spend of around Rs 2 trillion on healthcare and mega national highway projects in election-bound states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala. The Budget speech is being keenly watched by both domestic and foreign investors, various interest groups like farmers, anxious middle class and corporate entities, besides parliamentarians. As the Covid-19 pandemic hit India last year, the government witnessed a rising expenditure and tumbling revenue, even as economic activity came to a standstill due to the pandemic-induced lockdown. However, the economy is now in a recovery mode. On Friday, the government tabled the Economic Survey 2020, which pegged India's real GDP growth at 11 per cent in FY22. Meanwhile, the finan...

  In a significant change amid digitalisation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this year unveiled a ' Made in India ' tablet replacing the traditional briefcase before presenting Budget 2021 . With the move aimed at a paperless Budget, now 'bahi khata' (a ledger wrapped in a red cloth) has been completely removed from this year -- a move to reinforce Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Digital India' mission. In 1947, India's first Finance Minister R. K. Shanmukham Chetty carried a leather portfolio to present the first Budget. In January, the Central government also launched 'Union Budget Mobile App' on the occasion of the Halwa ceremony to enable MPs and people to access Budget documents digitally. It was launched as no budget papers will be printed this year in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sitharaman, who will present the Budget for the third time, is expected to lift and give an impetus to the Indian economy that has been...

  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting her third Budget in a short while from now. Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Budget for 2021-22 , which is widely expected to be a " economic vaccine " for the pandemic-battered economy. Sitharaman, who had in her first budget in 2019 replaced leather briefcase -- which had been in use for decades for carrying budget documents -- with a traditional red cloth 'bahi-khata', had last month stated that the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 will be "like never before". Check Budget live updates here Covid-19 spending: India has started the world's largest Covid inoculation programme from January 16 and is using two vaccines Covishield and Covaxin. The expenditure on vaccination this fiscal as well as in the next would be the most watched figures in the Budget. Fiscal Deficit: The budgeted fiscal deficit, which is the difference between government expenditure and income, was 3.5 pe...

  A World Health Organisation team has emerged from quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan to start field work in a fact-finding mission on the origins of the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers, who were required to complete 14 days in quarantine after arriving in China, could be seen leaving their hotel and boarding a bus on Thursday afternoon. It wasn't immediately clear where they were headed. The mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak. A major question is where the Chinese side will allow the researchers to go and whom they will be able to talk to. Read More

  CAG Recruitment 2021: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on Wednesday released a notification inviting online applications for as many as 10,811 vacancies of auditor and accountant on its official website at cag.gov.in . Interested and eligible candidates can apply for vacancies starting today till February 19. The notification includes state-wise break-up of vacancies available for applications. Candidates are advised to go through the notification, and share their comments before the last date. There are a total of 10,811 posts including 6,409 for auditors, and 4,402 vacancies for accountants. The selection process for the CAG recruitment 2021 drive will be conducted on the basis of the examination. The probation period for all appointed CAG candidates will be for two years for direct recruits. The CAG application form 2021is available for immediate download on CAG official website. CAG Recruitment 2021: Educational qualification Candidates need to ha...

  Airtel is now a 5G-ready network and the telecom operator is waiting for adequate spectrum allocation to rollout 5G services in the country, said Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, Bharti Airtel on Thursday. Recently, the company demonstrated live 5G over a commercial network in Hyderabad city and said that its network is 5G ready. Airtel did this over its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the Non Stand Alone network technology. Using the dynamic spectrum sharing, Airtel operated 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block. “I am very proud of our engineers who have worked tirelessly to showcase this incredible capability in Tech City, Hyderabad today. Every one of our investments is future proofed as this game changing test in Hyderabad proves. With Airtel being the first operator to demonstrate this capability, we have shown again that we have always been the first in India to pioneer new technologies in our quest for empowering Indians everywhe...

OnePlus Co-founder Carl Pei on Wednesday launched a new London-based consumer technology company called " Nothing " that will release its first smart devices in the first half of this year. The announcement came shortly after a $7 million round in seed financing in December that included tech leaders and investors such as Tony Fadell, Casey Neistat, Kevin Lin, Steve Huffman and Josh Buckley.   Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED, has also invested in "Nothing" although the amount has not been disclosed yet. "It's been a while since anything interesting happened in tech. It is time for a fresh breeze of change," said Pei, CEO and founder of 'Nothing'. "Nothing's mission is to remove barriers between people and technology to create a seamless digital future. We believe that the best technology is beautiful, yet natural and intuitive to use. When sufficiently advanced, it should fade into the background and feel like nothing," he said in a st...

  India's COVID-19 tally of cases crossed 1.07 crore with11,666 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day,while the national recovery rate climbed to 96.94 per cent,accordingto the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The total infections have mounted to 1,07,01,193. The death toll increased to 1,53,847 with 123 daily new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. Thenumber of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,03,73,606 pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.94 percent. TheCOVID-19casefatality rate stands at 1.44per cent. The COVID-19 active cases remained below 2 lakh for the ninth consecutive day. There are1,73,740 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises1.62 per cent of the total caseload,the data stated. Read More

  After providing coronavirus vaccines to several countries including Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives, India on Thursday established its position as a reliable partner in COVID-19 assistance by dispatching Covishield vaccines to Bahrain and Sri Lanka. A consignment of 50,400 doses of coronavirus vaccines will be provided by India to Sri Lanka under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, while Bahrain will receive get 10,800 doses. The Covishield vaccine developed by Serum Institute of India (SII) was loaded to the cargo aircraft at Mumbai and left as per schedule at 7:55 am for Manama. The vaccine consignment for Colombo was delayed for 15 minutes and is scheduled to leave at 9:00 am. Read More

  Western Railway and Central Railway have decided to start all suburban services by increasing the existing 2,781 services to 2,985 services on Mumbai Suburban network with effect from January 29. Central Railway has decided to increase the suburban services from the existing 1,580 to 1,685 services and Western Railway has decided to increase the existing 1,201 suburban services to 1,300 services with effect from January 29, the CPRO of both zones informed the press. Passengers permitted by the Ministry of Railways and Government of Maharashtra are only allowed to travel by the suburban trains. Others have been requested not to rush to the railway stations. Passengers have been advised to adhere to all norms, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to COVID-19 during the boarding, travel and at the destination. Read More

  Expanding its entry-level smartphone segment in India, Samsung is set to launch another affordable smartphone billed as Galaxy M02 and priced under Rs 7,000 next week. Galaxy M02 is likely to have a large 6.5-inch infinity-V display and a dual camera setup at the back, industry sources told IANS on Wednesday. After Galaxy M02s, this would be Samsung's second smartphone launched below Rs 10,000 this year. Earlier this month, Samsung launched its new budget smartphone 'Galaxy M02s' in the India market. Galaxy M02s is priced at Rs 8,999 for the 3GB+32GB variant and Rs 9,999 for the 4GB+64GB variant. Galaxy M02s also comes with a 6.5-inch Infinity-V display for immersive viewing, content streaming, video calls and attending online courses. The device comes with 5000mAh battery along with 15W fast charging support. Samsung's Galaxy M portfolio did extremely well in India, helping the company rise to top ranking in the third quarter last year. Read More

  Twitter has allowed third-party academic researchers free access to the full history of public conversation via the full-archive search endpoint, which was previously limited to paid premium or enterprise customers. Twitter API was first introduced in 2006 and since then, academic researchers have used data from the public conversation to study topics as diverse as the conversation on Twitter itself. These include state-backed efforts to disrupt the public conversation to floods and climate change, from attitudes and perceptions about COVID-19 to efforts to promote healthy conversation online. "Today, academic researchers are one of the largest groups of people using the Twitter API," the company said in a blog post late on Tuesday. With the new Academic Research product track on the Twitter API, qualified researchers will have access to all data released to date. They will have higher levels of access to the Twitter developer platform for free, including a sign...

  Apple has released iOS 14.4 , the fourth major update to the iOS 14 operating system , that fixes three bugs affecting iPhones and iPads that "may have been actively exploited," by the hackers. According to a new support document released by Apple, the update patches three security vulnerabilities that may have been exploited. Two of the bugs were found in WebKit, the browser engine that powers the Safari browser, and the Kernel, the core of the operating system. Apple said additional details would be available soon on the three bugs so the iPhone and iPad users should update to iOS 14.4 as soon as possible. iOS 14.4 adds a new ability to scan smaller QR codes from the device's camera, adds Bluetooth device categorisation for headphones and other audio devices. It will also notify iPhone 12 series users if the device camera is not genuine and fails to be verified after a repair. Read More

  Apple has launched a limited-edition Watch for the 'Black History Month , with a unique band and a new face. Available from February 1, the new hardware is part of what the company is calling the Black Unity Collection , a group of products designed to "celebrate and acknowledge Black history and Black culture." Apple says the limited-edition Watch will be available in "over 38 countries and regions." It hasn't yet confirmed international prices, but the $399 Watch starts at 379 pounds or AU$599. The band will also be available separately for $49. Apple Watch users can participate in a new 'Unity Activity Challenge' and earn the limited-edition award by closing their Move ring seven days in a row during February. As part of this effort, Apple is supporting six global organisations to help advance their missions in promoting and achieving equality and civil rights in the US and around the world: Black Lives Matter Support Fund via the T...

  China's ByteDance has decided to reduce the size of its India team and is unsure when the company will make a comeback in India, it said in an internal memo to employees on Wednesday. India has decided to retain its ban on video app TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps after reviewing responses from the companies on issues such as compliance and privacy, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.   The apps were banned amid rising tensions between India and China following a border clash between the two nations last year. "We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived ... we find that has not been the case," ByteDance wrote in an internal memo to staff, seen by Reuters. Read More

  The ED on Monday conducted raids on at least ten premises of a Mumbai-based realty group in connection with its money laundering probe in the Yes Bank alleged bank fraud case, official sources said. They said premises of Omkar Realtors and Developers, that includes 7 residential and 3 official in Mumbai, were searched by the central probe agency.   Emails sent by PTI to the realty group did not elicit a response. The action is being carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the raids are aimed to gather more evidence, they said. The Omkar Group is promoted by its chairman Kamal Kishore Gupta and Managing Director Babulal Varma, they said. The group is alleged to have misused various permissions given under the SRA (slum rehabilitation authority) schemes and is alleged to have "diverted" around Rs 450 crore taken by way of loan from Yes bank, ED sources said. Read More

  OnePlus on Monday launched a limited edition of its Buds Z in collaboration with Los Angeles-based artist and designer Steven Harrington, for Rs 3,699 in India. "For our users who are looking for the right combination of great sound quality and aesthetic design, the OnePlus Buds Z Steven Harrington Edition will prove to be a valuable addition,'' said Pete Lau, Founder, and CEO, OnePlus in a statement. According to the company, the new OnePlus Buds Z Steven Harrington Edition features the artist's signature stylized graffiti along with artistic caricatures and designs. The limited-edition earphones have a two-tone purple and mint colour combo with a matching charging case. Equipped with a dynamic 3D stereo powered by Dolby Atmos, these earphones construct a thoroughly immersive soundstage. On a full charge, these limited-edition earphones provide an impressive 20 hours of playback time, while a quick 10-minute top-up provides three hours of vibrant audio. ...

  The Centre on Monday told the Delhi High Court that WhatsApp was treating Indian users differently from its European ones with regard to opting out of its new privacy policy, and this was a matter of concern for the government which is looking into it. The central government told the high court that it was also a matter of concern that Indian users were being "unilaterally" subjected to the change in privacy policy by social networking platform WhatsApp. The submissions were made before Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva by Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma during hearing of a petition by a lawyer against the new privacypolicy of the social networking platform owned by Facebook. Duringthe hearing, Sharma told the court that by not giving Indian users the optionto opt out of sharing their data with other companies of Facebook, WhatsApp prima facie appears to be treating users with an "all or nothing approach". Read More

  A so-called configuration change at the back-end forced some Facebook users to log out of their accounts unexpectedly, according to the social network. The problem started on Friday and went on till Saturday for Facebook users, before it got resolved. "On January 22, a configuration change caused some people to be logged out of their Facebook accounts. We investigated the issue and fixed it. We're sorry for the inconvenience," Facebook said in a statement on Saturday. The affected Facebook users on Reddit reported they were receiving "sign in" prompts from their Facebook apps, but they had not signed out. "We're looking into reports of people being logged out and having to login again to access their Facebook accounts. We're working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience," Facebook tweeted. Read More

  Apple is planning to release the iOS 15 operating system in June and now a new report has revealed that it may kill support for older devices like the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s Plus as well as 2016 iPhone SE. According to the report from the French news website iPhoneSoft, Apple's iOS 15 update will seemingly drop support for devices with an A9 chip when it launches later in 2021. iOS 15 will run on the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and all newer iPhones that have been released, making it compatible with devices that have an A10 chip or newer. The seventh-generation iPod touch has an A10 chip, so it should be able to run iOS 15. In addition to the iPhones, iPhoneSoft also says a number of iPads will no longer be supported by iPadOS 15. iPadOS 15 may drop support for the iPad mini 4 (2015), iPad Air 2 (2014), and iPad 5 (2017), equipped with A8, A8X, and A9 chips, respectively. Read More

  Apple is adding a new 'Time to Walk' feature for its Fitness+ subscribers, which is an audio experience in the Workout app where guests will share inspiring stories while walking. According to MacRumors, Apple Fitness+ subscribers will be able to open the Workout app on an Apple Watch, select 'Time to Walk' and choose from one of the audio stories to listen to during their walk. The feature is likely to be extended to wheelchair users too. According to the report, the settings for 'Time to Walk' started showing up weeks ago in earlier betas of watchOS 7.3 and iOS 14.4, the stories are not yet accessible. Fitness+ is designed to work with the Apple Watch, providing workouts that can be done on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, with the Apple Watch tracking fitness progress. Read More

  Pfizer and BioNTech have agreed to supply their Covid-19 vaccine to the World Health Organization co-led COVAX vaccine access scheme, two sources familiar with the deal said, the latest in a series of shots to be included in the project aimed at lower-income countries. The deal is expected to be announced on Friday, according to the sources, who declined to be named due to the confidentiality of the agreement. Details on the size of the deal or the price per dose COVAX would pay were not immediately clear, but the sources said the allotment would likely be relatively small. One source said the reason for the limited volume was that the doses were primarily meant for healthcare workers in the countries that COVAX serves. BioNTech declined to comment while Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment. Spokespeople for the WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance, which co-leads the COVAX scheme, also declined to comment. Read More

  Audio equipment maker JBL by HARMAN, owned by tech major Samsung, on Thursday launched its new JBL C115 true wireless earbuds in India for Rs 4,999. According to the company, the earbuds come with access to voice assistance, autonomous connectivity and jumbo battery life making it the ultimate go-to headphones. "Over its 75-year history, JBL has delivered the best sound experiences to different generations of audio enthusiasts cutting across demography and pocket size. Celebrating our milestone 75 year anniversary, we are excited to bring the new JBL C115 TWS to our aspiring youth who are discerning in their sound choices, without losing sight of the price tag," said Vikram Kher, Vice-President, Lifestyle Audio, HARMAN India said in a statement. It comes with ergonomic fit earbuds for comfort, autonomous connectivity and access to the phone's voice assistants like Google Echo or Alexa directly from the earbuds. Read More