Heena Sharma Blog

  There has been a lot of buzz around 5G . Some say it will bring to life the sci-fi experience. Others speculate that it will enable the full potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, bringing to reality the concept of connected homes, office spaces, vehicles, and more. So, what is 5G really? And how does it work? Let’s understand: To understand 5G better, it is important that we know about data transfer speeds, latency rate and throughput. These are the basic parameters that define 5G. What is data transfer speed? The data transfer speed is the maximum volume of information transferred between two systems every second. For instance, if a broadband connection has 100Mbps speed, it can handle up to 100 Megabits of data every second. Therefore, the higher the data transfer speed, the more the volume transferred every second. Read More

  India reported less than 20,000 Covid-19 cases for the third straight day, recording 18,870 new cases in the last 24 hours and taking the total caseload to 3,37,16,451, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday. India had reported 18,795 new cases on Tuesday and 19,859 on Monday. With 378 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, India's cumulative Covid related fatalities has risen to 4,47,751, till Wednesday morning. The fatality rate remained at 1.33 per cent for the last few weeks. The decline in daily Covid cases was witnessed as Kerala, which has been reporting almost half of the total cases for the last few weeks, has improved marginally. According to the Union health Ministry's report, 11,196 new cases were registered in Kerala on Tuesday against 11,699 reported on Monday. Maharashtra, which has the second highest daily Covid cases after Kerala, had registered 2,844 cases on Tuesday. Read More

  Moving to a new city is not easy. From finding a house to figuring out the commute and language, among other things, can all be a bit too much. And, if you happen to own a vehicle and are moving to another state, the paperwork gets multiplied. You have to first get a no-objection certificate from your current state of residence, and then you have to get your vehicle re-registered in the state where you are relocating. You also would have to pay road tax in the new state all over again. This hassle does even prompt some vehicle owners to, well, leave their vehicles behind… just to skip or postpone the extra work. To address this pain point for vehicle owners, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has come up with the new Bharat Series or BH-Series of licence registration plates . Those in railways, defence or other such transferable jobs would benefit from the BH-Series licence plates, as it would do away with the lengthy paperwork needed to get a vehicle across state...

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to provide a digital health ID to people which will contain their health records. The pilot project of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission had been announced by the prime minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2020. Currently, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is being implemented in a pilot phase in six union territories. Its nationwide roll-out coincides with the National Health Authority celebrating the third anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY). Based on the foundations laid down in the form of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity and other digital initiatives of the government, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission will create a seamless online platform through the provision of a wide range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems while ensuring th...

  India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed the 84 crore mark, the Union Health Ministry informed on Friday. "With the administration of 72,20,642 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed the landmark of 84 crores (84,15,18,026) as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 82,33,242 sessions," the ministry said in a press release. As per the data from the ministry, Uttar Pradesh is leading in the vaccination coverage with 9,88,83,207 doses administered in the state. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have administered 7,69,21,190 and 5,98,81,731 vaccine doses respectively so far. Further, it has been informed that 32,542 patients have recovered from COVID-19 infection in the last 24 hours, increasing the cumulative tally of recovered patients to 3,28,48,273. Consequently, India's recovery rate stands at 97.78 per cent, the highest since March 2020. Read More

  The truth is that smartphones peaked a few years ago. After so many advances, the miniature computers have reached incredible speeds, their screens have become bigger and brighter, and their cameras produce images that make amateur photographers look like wizards. The problem with so much great innovation is that upgrades are now so iterative that it has become difficult to know what to write about them each year. That’s especially the case with Apple’s iPhone 13 , which may be the most incremental update ever to the iPhone. The newest iPhone is just 10 per cent faster than last year’s models. (For context, in 2015, the iPhone 6S was more than 70 per cent faster than its predecessor, the iPhone 6.) Its flashiest new feature, a higher screen “refresh rate” on the $1,000-plus models, makes motion look smoother when opening apps and scrolling through text — hardly a game changer. Innovations on smartphone cameras also appear to be slowing. Apple executives described the iPho...

  Tech giant Microsoft has launched its second folding smartphone -- the Surface Duo 2 along with the next-generation Surface devices. Available in glacier or a new obsidian, Surface Duo 2 starts at $1499.99 and is available for pre-order in select markets. "Surface Duo 2 brings new and improved design to the Surface Duo line. Still emphasizing the ability to multitask, Surface Duo 2 features larger screens, increased durability, a dynamic triple-lens camera, lightning-fast 5G, and a spine that displays notifications when the device is closed," the company said in a statement. The OLED display, each, measures 5.8-inches in size, screen resolution of 1344 x 1892 pixels, is connected by a hinge and is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass. Both screens have a smooth 90Hz refresh rate and measure 8.3 inches diagonally when unfolded The new device features a triple-lens camera setup at the back with a 16MP ultra-wide lens, a 12MP wide angle lens and a 12MP telephot...

  World Alzheimer's Day 2021 : Alzheimer’s disease, a type of neurodegenerative dementia that affects memory, is well known in Canada, where more than half a million people live with it. This number is expected to double in the next 10 years as the population ages. Alzheimer’s disease strikes fear in people. They may blame it, in jest, when they forget to buy an item at the grocery store. They worry about it when they can’t recall the name of the actor in a movie. Or they may think about it when they see an elderly person who is disoriented. But do we really know what behaviours help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease? As researchers at the Laboratory of Neuropsychology of Aging at the research centre of the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, we are studying this question. The answer isn’t simple. Alzheimer’s disease affects memory. But memory is not a single entity, like a basket in which all our memories are piled together. So it’s important to recognize that there ...

  The Pixel Buds A-series earbuds are of a different kind, in a good way. They do not have a long list of features, and they cut corners even on the most obvious ones like active noise cancellation. But the product shines through when it comes to user experience. Made by Google, these earbuds have built-in Google Assistant for hands-free operations. Besides, they boast identical touch controls on both earbuds. Both these features alone make the Google Pixel Buds A-series an easy-to-use pair of wireless earbuds. But do they justify their price tag? Let’s find out: Starting with design, I liked how Google has kept everything simple here. The earbuds look like baby mushrooms with circular heads and rather elongated tails with in-ear tips at the end. While the in-ear design helps them latch on to the ears, the added stabiliser arc helps them stay put securely and comfortably even in situations like exercising, when many others would come off easily. Like the earbuds, the charging-...

  Xiaomi needs to be credited for popularising low-cost wearables in the mass market. The first Xiaomi band priced under Rs 1,000 attracted a fair number of users in India. However, the market has changed. Fitness bands have given way to watches that are also replacing traditional timepieces. Apple’s revolution is becoming familiar at lower rungs, with players like Realme, boAt and Amazfit.   Realme earlier launched its Watch and Watch S versions and followed them up with second iterations. Now it has launched a pro version of the Realme Watch 2 . The screen size has increased, and battery life has got a bump. And Realme is also trying to improve its tracking features. All of these under Rs 5,000. Design There is not much to complain about design. Most other companies have either copied the Apple or Samsung model. The rectangle or the square can vary from one manufacturer to another. For the new Realme offering, an improvement is in screen size. The bezels are not as ...

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched several initiatives in the education sector, asserting that they will play an important role in shaping India of the future. Addressing the inaugural conclave of the ' Shikshak Parv ' through video-conferencing, he expressed confidence that these measures will not only make our education system globally competitive but also make the youth future-ready. Modi launched the Indian Sign Language Dictionary (audio and text embedded sign language video for the hearing impaired, in conformity with Universal Design of Learning), Talking Books (audio books for the visually impaired), School Quality Assurance and Assessment Framework of CBSE, NISHTHA teachers' training programme for NIPUN Bharat and Vidyanjali portal for facilitating education volunteers, donors or CSR contributors for school development. The theme of the Shikshak Parv-2021' is Quality and Sustainable Schools:Learnings from Schools in India. Read More

  As the supply issue of Covid vaccine is being sorted out, authorities push to inoculate have yielded good results in Karnataka. In Bengaluru, more than one crore doses and in the state 45 million doses have been administered till date. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta on Sunday said the BBMP has administered a total of 11,493,814 Covid vaccines doses in Bengaluru till date. "More than 1 crore doses only means that we will continue to vaccinate every eligible adult. We believe Covid-19 can be completely kept at bay when all of us are fully vaccinated," he explained. He put out a special post in this regard and wrote, "Towards a stronger Bengaluru." A total of 82.7 lakh people have been covered with the first dose while more than 32 lakh people have been fully vaccinated in Bengaluru Urban district. Read More

  India logged 38,948 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,30,27,621, while the death toll climbed to 4,40,752 with 219 fresh fatalities, the lowest in 167 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The case fatality rate has declined to 1.33 per cent, according to the data updated at 8 am. India had reported 199 deaths in a single day on March 23. The active cases have declined to 4,04,874 comprising 1.23 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 97.44 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 5,174 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. Read More

  Pakistan's coronavirus death toll crossed the grim figure of 26,000 on Friday, even as the country reported 3,787 new cases during the last 24 hours. So far the country has recorded 1,171,578 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 26,035 total deaths since the first patient was diagnosed on February 26, 2020, the Ministry of National Health Services reported. The data showed that the pandemic death rate has been 2.2 per cent in Pakistan, whereas an overwhelming number of 1,055,467 or over 90 per cent cases have fully recovered so far. Another 88,076 or 7.5 per cent are still active patients. The ministry reported that 59,745 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, confirming 3,787 new cases which showed a positivity rate of 6.34 per cent. In the same period, 6,595 people recovered, showing the number of people who recovered was more than those reported as infected. The vaccination programme was going on at a good pace and so far 5.8.1 crore doses have been adminis...

  The World Health Organisation has said that it is closely monitoring a new coronavirus "variant of interest" named Mu, warning that the new variant shows signs of possible resistance to vaccines. Mu - also known by its scientific name as B.1.621 - was first identified in Colombia in January 2021, and since then, there have been "sporadic reports" of cases and some larger outbreaks in South America and Europe, the UN health agency said in its weekly bulletin on the pandemic on Tuesday. The cases of the Mu variant have also been reported in the UK, Europe, the US and Hong Kong. The new 'variant of interest' is being closely monitored, the UN health agency said. Although the global prevalence of the Mu variant among sequenced COVID-19 cases is currently below 0.1%, its prevalence in Colombia (39%) and Ecuador (13%) has consistently increased, it said. The new variant was added to the WHO's watchlist on August 30 after it was detected in 39 cou...

  Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of the capital city and adjoining areas for the second day in a row on Thursday. The heavy rainfall led to waterlogging on several roads, including Pragati Maidan area, Minto Road, the roads near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and ITO. The rainfall led to heavy traffic jam on Vikas Marg to ITO and further to India Gate and Dhaula Kuwan. Delhi on Wednesday recorded 112.1 mm rainfall in a span of 24 hours, the highest single-day precipitation in September in 19 years, that inundated several areas, including the Chanakyapuri diplomatic enclave, ITO, and Cannaught Place area that disrupted the road traffic. The traffic movement has been closed at Azad market underpass (both carriageways) due to waterlogging, said Delhi Traffic Police in its advisory. Delhi Police warned traffic was affected from Jahangirpuri metro station to Mukarba Chowk (both carriageways) and from Nangloi to Mundka due to waterlogging. Read ...

  Thane has reported 205 new cases of coronavirus , raising the infection count in the Maharashtra district to 5,51,444, an official said on Wednesday. Besides these new cases recorded on Tuesday, the virus also claimed the lives of three more people, which pushed the death toll in the district to 11,289, he said. The COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane stood at 2.04 per cent, he added. In neighbouring Palghar district, the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 1,34,541, while the death toll has reached 3,293, another official said. Read More

  India is likely to receive above average rainfall in September, the state-run weather office said on Wednesday, helping millions of farmers who had to endure patchy rains in July and August. Monsoon rains were 10% above average in June. "According to critical weather parameters, rains are most likely to be above normal in September this year," Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told a news conference. The IMD defines average, or normal, rainfall as between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 88 cms (34 inches) for the four-month season beginning in June. After lashing the southernmost Kerala coast on June 3, the monsoon spread to two-thirds of India by the end of the first half of the month, nearly 15 days earlier than expected. And then it tapered off in the third week of June. Read More