OPEN SOURCE POLICY NETWORK
Amid demand slowdown, EVs plug into PE recharging infrastructure
Private equity firms are increasing investments in India's electric two- and three-wheeler industry amidst a slowdown in electric passenger vehicle sales. Total funding in the first half of 2024 reached $754 million. Electric two-wheeler sales are on the rise, but electric passenger vehicle sales have declined. Challenges such as range anxiety and inadequate charging infrastructure persist.
Moderate Pezeshkian expected to win Iran's presidential race, Iranian source says
Masoud Pezeshkian is anticipated to win the Iranian presidential run-off, leading by three million votes over hardline rival Saeed Jalili. The moderate candidate promises to open Iran to the world and expand freedoms. Pezeshkian's lead follows historically low turnout in the first round. His potential victory may ease tensions with the West and promote social liberalization, though skepticism remains about his ability to challenge Iran's power elite. This election coincides with heightened Middle East tensions and pressures over Iran's nuclear program.
Chorus grows for angel tax repeal; policy push for EVs
Startup Inc’s calls to do away with angel tax have found support from the government. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Government eases rules for global sourcing of medical gear
Pavan Choudary, chairman, Medical Technology Association of India (MTAI), termed the move a path-breaking effort by the government towards equitable policy making, spanning the crucial last mile which was uncovered so far.
Wary Paytm to avoid regulated biz; Foxconn to make AI servers in India
Happy Friday! Paytm is steering clear of regulated businesses and will instead focus on building a strong distribution network. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.
‘With Beckn-ONIX, users can build an open network in minutes’
A new open-source stack called Beckn-ONIX (Open Network in a Box) makes it possible to deploy and configure Beckn-enabled networks in just minutes. This virtual appliance simplifies deployment and configuration, accelerating the creation of open networks across various industries, from agriculture and energy to healthcare and ecommerce.
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A tip-off opened NEET Pandora's box: Mystery call on 4 criminals led Bihar police to crack paper leak case
An anonymous whistleblower's tip to Patna police exposed a nationwide NEET-UG fraud network. Four suspects were arrested, leading to the discovery of a large-scale operation where candidates paid Rs 30-50 lakh for leaked questions. The investigation revealed a vast network involving coaching institutes, teachers, and students, with significant evidence seized and multiple arrests made.
India can be the great link joining the largest population of developers to AI’s immense possibilities
India is projected to surpass the US as the largest software developer community by 2027, with the digital economy contributing significantly to its overall economy. AI tools are revolutionizing software development, leading to substantial gains in productivity. The country's focus on early education in programming and the promotion of open-source collaboration are key factors driving this growth.
Ferrari's first electric car to cost over $500,000, source says
The Italian brand, Ferrari, famed for its roaring petrol engines, has said it will launch an electric car late next year, and the planned price shows its confidence that ultra-wealthy drivers are ready for it, even as mass-market rivals are slashing electrical vehicle (EV) prices amid faltering demand.
No land to Adani group, Dharavi land transfer to Maharashtra govt depts: Sources
The Dharavi slum redevelopment project involves the Adani group building houses for residents, with land transferred to Maharashtra government departments, not Adani. Officials rejected claims of land grab, emphasising that the land remains with government entities. The project aims to provide housing and commercial spaces, ensuring no displacement of Dharavi residents. Additional benefits include stamp duty exemptions and business support.
Scorching heat drives India's gas-fired power use to multi-year highs in May
Sweltering heat and policy measures are driving a surge in gas-fired power use in India, with LNG imports set to sharply rise over the next two years. Gas-fired power generation doubled in April and May, impacting coal's share. India's LNG imports are forecasted to increase, driven by the power sector's growing demand for flexibility.
From phones to fries: Flipkart users may soon be able to order food via ONDC
Flipkart users may soon be able to order from various fast-food outlets and restaurants, such as Dominos and McDonalds, from Flipkart app. This development is noteworthy because the government started ONDC to counter the dominance of Amazon and Flipkart. Recently several top Flipkart executives met ONDC officials for the integration.
Build your superstructure
As generative AI continues to evolve, the debate over its development and release models becomes important. Across the foundation models driving the explosion of GenAI are two broad philosophies for the development and release of this tech: open- and closed-source models.
Reliance Retail starts ONDC pilot via retail platform Fynd
Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has begun testing the government's Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) through Fynd, an omnichannel retail platform in which Reliance holds an investment.
How AI made Mark Zuckerberg popular again in Silicon Valley
Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, introduced an open-source AI system, challenging closed models like OpenAI. Jeffrey Emanuel, a hacker and AI enthusiast, initially skeptical, was impressed by Meta's move to make the code freely accessible.
Meta identifies networks pushing deceptive content likely generated by AI
Meta found 'likely AI-generated' content on Facebook and Instagram, including comments praising Israel's handling of the Gaza war. The content was attributed to a Tel Aviv-based political marketing firm, STOIC.
ChatGPT meets Beckn in FIDE’s AI agent BecknGPT
The AI agent, Beckn Generative Pre-trained Transformer or BecknGPT, is an open-source demonstration app over Open AI’s ChatGPT.
Govt saying aye to laying strong AI foundation
The government may rope in higher education institutes, key researchers for the model that can be customised for wide range of applications. It will be trained on publicly available data, digitised records of books, journals and research papers from public libraries.
Get your portfolio ready for election results: Hedge the re-rated oil and gas sector stocks
Right from power, railways, PSU banks, sectoral lenders to oil and gas there are many sectors which have made a comeback in the last 10 years. Comeback both in the real business sense, where the operating matrix and fundamentals of the sector have improved which has led to better performance. Also a comeback on valuation front, where the stocks which were quoting at a price earning multiple of single have been now consistently quoting in high double multiples. A number of them have seen this transformation due to a stable policy environment, policy push and policy cleanup which the government has undertaken in the last ten years. The consensus estimate of the street is that policy continuity is the most critical thing for the re-rating to continue. In this new series, we take a different sector and how much they are dependent on government policy and how investors can protect their portfolio from any sudden decline.
Paytm app launches auto-rickshaw booking feature via ONDC
Paytm introduces auto-rickshaw booking on its app through ONDC and Namma Yatri for users in NCR, Bengaluru, and Chennai. ONDC tab includes food, groceries, and rides. Pai Platforms facilitates the service with significant mobility transactions.
BSNL to launch 4G services across India in August; to use indigenous technology
State-owned BSNL will start rolling out 4G services across the country from August, using completely indigenous technology in line with the government's "Atmanirbhar" policy, according to official sources. BSNL officials claimed to have recorded peak speed of 40-45 megabit per second on the 4G network which has been rolled out in the premium spectrum band of 700 megahertz (Mhz) as well as in 2,100 Mhz band during the pilot phase.
India can't, in the name of open economy, open up its national security to work with China: S Jaishankar
From the big shifts in foreign policy under the Modi government, the China challenge to CAA and the heat and dust of electoral politics, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar touched on a range of topics in a freewheeling discussion at the ET Roundtable.
Access to international orbital slots opens new doors for Indian satcom companies
Experts and industry executives said this will allow Indian players to tap surplus international satellite capacities to deliver satcom services at competitive rates in India.
Why a near-miss cyberattack put US officials and the tech industry on edge
German software developer Andres Freund, who works for Microsoft out of San Francisco, discovered that the latest version of the open source software program XZ Utils had been deliberately sabotaged by one of its developers, a move that could have carved out a secret door to millions of servers across the internet.
Top companies back move to set up open cloud compute network
People+ai, an initiative by EkStep Foundation co-founded by Nandan Nilekani, set out last year to address increasing compute demand in the country, which is increasing with AI.
Is ONDC’s gamble paying off?
The ambitious project has gained visible traction through the past year. But what are the challenges that must be addressed before it truly democratises web commerce?
The great AI debate: Open-source vs proprietary models in global showdown
The development and regulation of AI technologies, such as chatbots, GPTs, and search engines, are causing concern and debate. Geopolitical tensions arise as open-source AI models from China compete with proprietary models from the US and EU. Data privacy laws, consumer data protection, and standardized definitions and regulations for AI are seen as essential.
BigTech lobbying to derail open source GenAI: DeepLearning AI's Andrew Ng
“If the attempts to squash open-source software succeed, almost all nations will simply be losers…the United States as well,” Andrew Ng, founder of DeepLearning AI, told delegates Wednesday at the Nasscom Technology and Leadership Summit in Mumbai.
Experts urge govt to invest in open data, compute for AI leadership
India's success in the global AI race depends on open data, open compute, and open models. The government needs to invest in creating enabling conditions, including solving the compute crunch, supporting startups, and prioritizing critical sectors. Existing frameworks are sufficient to regulate AI.
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