What's valid and what's not: Everything you need to know about today's Aadhaar verdict

The Supreme Court has upheld the Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid. However, the apex court's five-judge constitution bench also struck down several provisions in the Aadhaar Act.

Below are some of the highlights of the court verdict:

* The Supreme Court upheld the validity of Aadhaar saying sufficient security measures are taken to protect data and it is difficult to launch surveillance on citizens on the basis of Aadhaar. A five-judge bench led by CJI Dipak Misra asked the government to provide more security measures as well as reduce the period of storage of data.

* The SC asked the Centre to bring a robust law for data protection as soon as possible.

* The SC said Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for openings of a bank account and for getting mobile connections.

* The SC said that Aadhaar must not be made compulsory for school admission and the administration cannot make it mandatory.

* The SC directed the government to ensure that illegal migrants are not issued Aadhaar to get benefits of social welfare schemes.

* Private companies can't ask for Aadhaar.

* Justice Sikri while reading out the verdict on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar said that there is a fundamental difference between Aadhaar card and identity. Once the bio-metric information is stored, it remains in the system, he said.

* The apex court struck down the provision in Aadhaar law allowing sharing of data on the ground of national security.

* The SC said there is a fundamental difference between Aadhaar and other identity proof as Aadhaar cannot be duplicated and it is a unique identification. It added that Aadhaar is to empower the marginalised sections of the society, and it gives them an identity.

* Aadhaar satisfies the doctrine of proportionality, said justice Sikri, adding, "It is better to be unique than to be best."


-GoITWay

Every cyberattack is related to geopolitical conditions,' says CEO of cybersecurity company hired by Google

CNBC's Jim Cramer gets the latest on cybersecurity from FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia, whose company was hired by Google to defend against state-sponsored cyberattacks.
Mandia says that the "dead reality" is that every major cyberattack is somehow state-condoned.


In his more than 20 years responding to cyberbreaches, Kevin Mandia, the CEO of enterprise-facing cybersecurity company FireEye, has learned one key, overarching thing about cyberattacks.

"It took me too long, but here's the dead reality: every cyberattack's related to geopolitical conditions," he told CNBC on Tuesday in an interview with "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer.

"If you're in the United States and you hack a company, you're going to get caught, so you have to live in a safe harbor," Mandia said. "You almost have to be condoned, you have to be supported, and many of the attacks we respond to, there are, in fact, people in uniform conducting the attacks against our companies."


Mandia, whose company was hired by both Facebook and Google to help identify disinformation campaigns, said that while hackers still frequently target individuals, most hacks surveyed by FireEye in the last year had ties to foreign government entities.

"We responded to over 600 breaches last year," Mandia said. "I would say over 80 percent of them were state-sponsored or state-condoned, meaning the heads of the state or the heads of certain agencies of that state knew the attacks were ongoing, but there's no risk or repercussions to the attackers."

Mandia's statements come at a time when cyberattacks on both Wall Street and Main Street, with tech giants warning consumers about the billions of cyberattacks that happen every day and others fretting about how cyber-warfare could affect the 2018 midterm elections.


One of Mandia's top concerns was the lack of "segregation" between government, enterprise and individuals' networks, he said, cautioning that as the lines are blurred, hackers will likely go after more vulnerable targets and cause malware to "ripple" out through various systems.

"We're all blending together into this big mesh network and it could be the strategy of the adversaries to go after the softer targets," he warned. "If you hack every elementary school in a certain state, that means maybe employees aren't going to work that day, and then it ripples out from there."

And state-sponsored hacks from nations like Iran, with which U.S. representatives clashed at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, are nowhere near quieting down, the FireEye chief said.

"We first responded to Iran in 2007, 2008, and they just looked like they had just gotten out of the classroom. They weren't very good in offensive cyber, but they've had 10 years now," he told Cramer.

"You know for a fact they had an agenda to get good at asymmetric warfare. Cyberattacks are, in fact, asymmetric," Mandia continued. "They're not going to meet us on a battlefield with a bunch of tanks, ... they're going to meet us in cyberspace. And from the attacks we're observing, I kind of dub 2017 the year of Iran."

-GoITWay

Google is making search engine more visual, intuitive; wants it to answer questions before being asked

Google unveiled changes Monday aimed at making the leading search engine more visual and intuitive to the point that it can answer questions before being asked.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are core drivers of how Google will pursue its mission to organize the world's information and make it accessible to anyone, search vice president Ben Gomes said at an event in San Francisco.

The search engine focused strongly on mobile use and appeared to be growing more like Facebook, encouraging users to linger and explore topics, interests or stories with growing emphasis on photos and videos. Results will be increasingly personalised.

"Search is not perfect, and we are under no illusions it is," Gomes said.

"But, you have our commitment that we will make it better every day."

He described the latest changes as shifting from answers to journeys, providing ways to target queries without knowing what words to use and enhancing image-based searches.

Google Images was redesigned to weave in "Lens" technology that enables queries based on what is pointed out in pictures.

The Images overhaul includes carousels of online video clip highlights displayed with mobile search query results.

New Activity Cards will let users pick up searches where they left off, eliminating the need to retrace online steps.

The search engine will also let users create Collections of online content, and suggest related material that might be of interest.

A Google feed used by more than 800 million people monthly is getting a new name, Discover, and increased ability to offer people relevant information they are likely to want but haven't thought to ask for yet.

The feature was described as "Google search helping you discover new things without a query."


Google said it is also testing out an improvement to its job-related search results that will figure out what skills are needed for such posts and information about how to acquire them.

"Information and language are core to what we are as human beings," Gomes said.

"Our work here is never done."

Since being launched 20 years ago, Google has grown from simply a better way to explore the internet to an online tool so woven into daily life that its name has become a verb.

Early days of search were about software matching keywords or precise phrases to content on web pages, with typos or imprecise queries destined to fail.

Google has consistently refined its search algorithm, which it keeps secret, and uses AI to understand what people are looking for online and to tailor results based on what it knows about users individually and collectively.

Google's rise put it in the crosshairs of regulators, especially in Europe, due to concerns it may be abusing its domination of online search and advertising as well as Android smartphone operating software.


There have been concerns that parent company Alphabet is more interested in making money from people's data than in safeguarding their privacy.

Google was under fire anew from privacy advocates for a change that automatically signs users into Chrome browsers on desktop computers when they sign into any of the company's other services such as Gmail or search.

Chrome search data is not in sync with Google servers unless that function is enabled, the company said in an update to its policies.

Google is among the tech companies being called upon to better guard against the spread of misinformation - and has also been a target of US President Donald Trump, who added his voice to a chorus of Republicans who contend conservative viewpoints are downplayed in search results.

Google's anniversary also comes with the rising trend of people engaging with the internet through voice-commanded digital assistants, including one backed by the Silicon Valley giant.

Seattle-based Amazon last week sought to make its Alexa digital assistant and online services a bigger part of people's lives with an array of new products and partnerships.

WhatsApp says working with India's Reliance Jio to curb fake news menace

 WhatsApp is working closely with Reliance Jio to spread awareness of false messages, weeks after the Indian telecoms operator opened up the messaging service to tens of millions of customers using its cheap internet-enabled phone.

Jio this month gave its more than 25 million JioPhone customers, many of them first-time internet users, access to WhatsApp at a time when the messaging service is battling false and incendiary texts and videos circulating on its platform.

Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, launched the JioPhone last year at a refundable deposit of 1,500 rupees ($20.60). The device is internet enabled but didn't initially allow the use of WhatsApp or have several popular smartphone features.

All new users of the JioPhone get educational material that tells them about spotting a forwarded WhatsApp message and encourages them to share messages thoughtfully, WhatsApp spokesman Carl Woog told Reuters.

"We are working closely with Jio to continue our education campaign for WhatsApp users," Woog said.

In India's smaller towns and villages, deep-seated prejudices, often based on caste and religion, and cut-price mobile data can aggravate the so-called fake news problem. Such regions are a key market for cheap devices such as the JioPhone.

More than 30 people have died this year in mob violence triggered by vitriolic messages on social media and WhatsApp, according to unofficial estimates, and police have previously told Reuters that minorities have been targeted in some remote and rural regions.

That has prompted New Delhi to call on WhatsApp to take immediate action to "end this menace".

WhatsApp has already taken some steps to quell the rise of fake news. It has launched print and radio ad campaigns to educate users and introduced new features on the app including limiting message forwards as well as the labelling of forwarded messages.

It has also partnered with Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), a New Delhi-based non-profit organisation, to spread digital literacy in India's towns and cities.

DEF will host a workshop in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi this week, WhatsApp's Woog said.

WhatsApp also plans to expand its outreach programme to existing JioPhone users.

Reliance Jio did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

GOITWAY

Top practices for corporate users to optimize email security

Fortinet reminds corporate users in India that email remains one of the most vulnerable vectors targeted by cybercriminals. The cyber-attacks are likely to happen to organizations that have yet to implement strong email security controls and best practices.

According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations report, two-thirds of installed malware are actually delivered by email. To gain access into an organization’s network, cybercriminals often use phishing or social engineering techniques in emails, thus counting on human error or a lack of cybersecurity know-how to trick users into providing login credentials or initiating fraudulent transactions, as well as to unknowingly install malware, ransomware and other malicious payloads.

“Due to the ubiquity of email, it continues to be a common attack vector for cybercriminals seeking to steal login credentials, money, and sensitive data.” Said Rajesh Maurya, Regional Vice President, India & SAARC, Fortinet. “The top email-based cyberattacks carried out by cybercriminals today include phishing or spear-phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks and zero-day vulnerabilities. Companies must therefore ensure they have strong security controls in place to detect and prevent these e-mail attacks.”

To help ensure email security, Fortinet’s cybersecurity experts advised users to:
Filter Spam. Because most email scams begin with unsolicited commercial email, one should take measures to prevent spam from getting into the mailbox. Most email applications and web mail services include spam-filtering features, or ways in which email applications can be configured to filter spam.

Regard Unsolicited Email with Suspicion. Don’t automatically trust any email sent by an unknown individual or organization. Never open an attachment to unsolicited email. Most importantly, never click on an unknown link in an email. Cleverly crafted links can take users to forged web sites set up to trick them into divulging private information or downloading viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Treat Email Attachments with Caution. Email attachments are commonly used by online scammers to sneak a virus onto computers. These viruses can help the scammer steal important information from the computer, compromising the computer so that it is open to further attack and abuse, and convert a computer into a ‘bot’ for use in denial-of-service attacks and other online crimes. As noted above, a familiar “from” address is no guarantee of safety because some viruses spread by first searching for all email addresses on an infected computer and then sending itself to these addresses.

Install Antivirus Software. Users should install an antivirus program that has an automatic update feature. This will help ensure users to always have the most up-to-date protection possible against viruses.

Install a Personal Firewall and Keep it Up to Date. A firewall will not prevent scam email from making its way into users’ mailbox. However, it may help protect users should they inadvertently open a virus-bearing attachment or otherwise introduce malware to their computer. The firewall, among other things, will help prevent outbound traffic from a user’s computer to the attacker. When a personal firewall detects suspicious outbound communications from a user’s computer, it could be a sign that the user has inadvertently installed malicious programs on his computer.

Over 30Bn malicious login attempts detected under 1 year: Akamai report

Cloud delivery network provider Akamai Technologies has detected 30 billion malicious login attempts globally during a period of eight-months ending in June 2018, the company has said in a new report.

In the report titled "Akamai 2018 State of the Internet/Security Credential Stuffing Attacks", the company said it detected around 3.2 billion malicious logins per month from January through April 2018, and over 8.3 billion malicious login attempts from bots in May and June 2018.

The financial services industry bears the major burden of such attacks. The report combines attack data from across Akamai's global infrastr. cture and represents the research of a diverse set of teams throughout the company.

Malicious login attempts result from credential stuffing, where hackers systematically use botnets to try stolen login information across the web. They target login pages for banks and retailers on the premise that many customers use the same login credentials for multiple services and accounts.

Credential stuffing can cost organisations millions to tens of millions of dollars in fraud losses annually.

:GoITWay

Infosys to open tech hub in Arizona, to hire 1000 people by 2023

Infosys said it would open its technology and innovation hub in Arizona and would hire 1000 people in the stately 2023.

The Arizona hub will focus on autonomous technologies, Internet of Things (IOT), full-stack engineering, data science and cyber security.

In May 2017, Infosys had said it would hire 10,000 American workers and the company said that it has 5874 workers so far.

“This investment will strengthen our ability to deliver for our clients across Arizona and the Southwest and expand the local workforce to help our clients compete in the rapidly digitizing global economy,” said Ravi Kumar, President, Infosys

To date, Infosys has opened two US technology hubs, one in Indianapolis, Indiana and another in Raleigh, North Carolina. Infosys has also announced that it will build hubs in Hartford, Connecticut and Providence, Rhode Island.

:GoITWay

State governments fast embracing AWS Cloud in India: Teresa Carlson

When it comes to Cloud adoption, state governments in India are quickly shifting their workloads to the platform -- even faster than the US state governments, said a top executive from Amazon Web Services (AWS).

According to Teresa Carlson, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector at AWS, in just about two years, there has been a significant change on Cloud adoption in the public sector in India.

"When I first visited India in 2016, people, although tech savvy, were not much exposed to Cloud computing and capabilities it brings in. Startups were always enthusiastic but within the government circles, the buzz around Cloud was just shaping up," Carlson told IANS during a free-wheeling interview.

"On my second India visit, I am glad to see the transformation. They are now clearly aware about Cloud computing and immense benefits associated with it," she emphasised.

:GoITWay

A new AI solution released by Dell EMC for digital transformation

Dell EMC announces new solutions to help organisations realise the full potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI).




Dell EMC on Tuesday announced new solutions that are designed to simplify the AI environment and accelerate its adoption. This has been done in order to help organisations realise the full potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

With the new "Ready Solutions for AI", organisations no longer have to individually source and piece together their own solutions, Dell EMC said in a statement.

Instead, they can rely on a Dell EMC-designed and validated a set of best-of-breed technologies for software - including AI frameworks and libraries - with computer, networking and storage, the company added.

Dell EMC said its portfolio of services, including consultation, deployment and support, among others, helps customers drive the rapid adoption and optimisation of their AI environments.

"There's no doubt that AI is the future, and our customers are preparing for it now," said Tom Burns, Senior Vice President, Networking and Solutions, Dell EMC.

"Our goal is to lead the industry with the most powerful and fully-integrated AI solutions. What we're announcing today allows customers at any scale to start seeing better business outcomes and positions them for AI's increasingly important role in the future," Burns added.

According to an IDC estimate, 40 per cent of digital transformation initiatives will use AI services by 2019.

The new AI solutions from Dell EMC come with specialised designs for Machine Learning (ML) with Hadoop, an ecosystem of open source components, and Deep Learning with Nvidia, a US-based computer chip manufacturer.

Dell EMC, a part of Dell Technologies, enables organisations to modernise, automate and transform their data centre using industry-leading converged infrastructure, servers, storage and data protection technologies.

(With IANS inputs)

-GoITWay

Apple: New iOS 12 comes with new tools, now available globally

The Apple's iOS 12 is now available globally. This is the latest version of the advanced mobile operating system (OS) that is said to make daily tasks faster and more responsive.


The new OS will bring performance improvements across the system, including the previous version i.e supporting iPhone 5s, which was introduced in 2013.


"Available as a free software update, iOS 12 introduces new augmented reality (AR) experiences, fun new features like Memoji, Siri Shortcuts that open up a world of apps to work with Siri and new tools to help people reduce interruptions and manage screen time for themselves and their families," the iPhone maker said in a statement late on Monday.


The Cupertino-based giant said with iOS 12, camera launches up to 70 per cent faster, the keyboard appears up to 50 per cent faster and typing is more responsive.


"When there is a lot going on across the system, apps can launch up to twice as fast," the company added.




A few new tools like "Screen Time" built into the iOS 12 help users understand and take control of the time they spend interacting with their devices.


This feature provides users with detailed information and tools to help them manage the time they spend with apps and websites and better understand and control where their child spends time.


Another nifty addition is "Siri Shortcuts" that allows any app to now work with Apple's digital assistant Siri.


With powerful on-device intelligence, Siri learns user routines and provides suggestions at just the right time.


"Users can also use their voice to run any shortcut, making it even easier to use their favourite apps. The new shortcuts app goes even further, allowing users to create custom shortcuts to streamline frequent tasks," the company said.


(With IANS inputs)


-GoITWay

Cloud complexity management is the next big thing

Where have you heard that enterprises using cloud are moving to more complexity as well? That’s right, from this guy.

The growing cloud computing complexity was recently documented by the Wall Street Journal that cites a survey of 46 CIOs by KeyBanc Capital Markets. It found that 32 percent said they plan to use multiple vendors to create internal private cloud systems, while 27 percent planned hybrid cloud arrangements.[ IDG Research: The state of the cloud: How enterprise adoption is taking shape. | Keep up with the latest developments in cloud computing with InfoWorld’s Cloud Computing newsletter. ]

Companies “increasingly are going to employ multiple clouds, a hybrid of public and private, which is driving increased complexity in IT environments, full stop,” said Alex Kurtz, a senior analyst with KeyBanc.

No, I’m not writing this post to gloat (I’ll do that on social media). I’m trying to raise awareness that cloud complexity is something that’s inevitable. However, it’s also something that can be managed—that is, if you’re proactive enough and willing to put some resources on it.

Traditional thinking is that cloud computing will replace hardware and software systems, so things will be simpler. You’ll just have to spend a few days moving workloads and data using processes so easy that the applications and data almost migrate themselves.

But it turns out to be a complex migration process with many new choices to make and new technology to use. Where you once had five security systems, you now have 20. Where you had three directories, you now have seven.

Why? It turns out you cannot just shut down the old stuff, so the hardware, software, and supporting systems remain. At the same time, you are standing up cloud-based systems that used a whole new set of skills and technology. Thus the complexity.

There are a few choices that you can make to manage this process:
You can choose to not go to cloud, but that’s a death sentence for IT.
You can hire three times the people and toss money at the problem.
You can learn to effectively manage the complexity, and even make things less complex with the addition of cloud computing.

For those of you who want to see what’s behind door No. 3, it involves a bunch of upfront planning. The upfront plan must deal with security, governance, data, applications, ops, etc., and place them within manageable domains. You use abstractions to simplify the management, which includes combining traditional systems and cloud systems’ patterns in domains.

This discipline is called cloud complexity management, or CCM. You’ll be hearing more about it later this year and in 2019. Best get the religion now, before it’s too late.

-GoITWay

The Robot Takeover Is Coming: Machines Will Do Half Our Work by 2025

Machines and automated software will be handling fully half of all workplace tasks within seven years, a new report from the World Economic Forum forecasts. But the group said technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and precision medicine, could create more jobs than they threaten.

In a study of executives and specialists across 12 industries, published Monday, the WEF concluded that this so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” could create 133 million jobs globally, while 75 million workers may be displaced.

Saadia Zahidi, head of the WEF’s Center for the New Economy and Society, said companies had “a moral and economic imperative” to invest in retraining and continuing education for their employees. “Without proactive approaches, businesses and workers may lose out,” she said.

The report is the latest in a series of efforts by academics, consultancies and governments to assess the impact of new technologies on employment. Previous studies, including an earlier one by the WEF, have generally forecast automation will destroy more jobs than it creates.

The scale of projected displacement varies enormously between research groups, however. A Bank of England study in 2015 produced some of the bleakest figures, forecasting that as many as 80 million jobs in the U.S. and 15 million in the U.K. could be lost by 2035. A McKinsey report in December produced one of the rosier assessments, forecasting jobs lost and created by new technology might be about equal by 2030.

In its latest analysis, the WEF said the effects of automation may vary substantially across industries, and predicted job losses to be heaviest in mining, consumer, and information technology companies, and less within professional services firms.

Many new jobs may be less secure than in the past, as businesses are increasingly turning to contractors and freelancers, the Swiss foundation said. It warned there’s a significant gap between the skills workers currently have and those that may be required for future new roles.

It estimates more than half of employees at large companies would need significant retraining in order to take advantage of new opportunities created by digital technology. But it said half of all companies plan retraining only for “key roles,” and only one-third say they plan any retraining for at-risk workers.

Best known for throwing an annual summit of business and government leaders in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the WEF said it based its forecast on a survey of senior executives, strategy officers and human resource specialists at 300 global companies, spanning 20 different countries. It said these companies represented more than 15 million employees and their economies represented 70% of global GDP.

-GoITWay

Kochi-based company develops India's first underwater robotic drone

KOCHI: India’s first underwater robotic drone developed at Maker Village here, which can send real-time video of ships and other underwater structures to help with their repair and maintenance, was launched on Friday.

The first commercial remotedly operated vehicle (ROV)/ underwater drone, Eyerovtuna, was developed by EyeROV Technologies, a company incubating at Maker Village which is the largest hardware incubator in the country. NPOL, a laboratory of Delhi-headquartered defence research and development organisation (DRDO), made the first order of the product.

The robotic drone,can be navigated up to a depth of 50 meters to take real-time HD video images to examine ship hulls or undersea cables or bridge moorings, eliminating the need for costlier and riskier manual inspection by divers.

EyeROV, which was tested on India’s first solar ferry in Kerala’s Vaikom, offers high manoeuvring capability at low cost and can be put to uses ranging from inspections of ship hulls, ports, dams and nuclear power plants, to search and rescue, naval mine detection and ocean studies.

The development of the product of EyeROV was largely supported by Kerala Start up Mission (KSUM) through various schemes.

C Balagopal, Founder, Terumo Panpol launched the product. NPOL Director S Kedarnath Shenoy received the ROV from Dr Saji Gopinath, CEO Kerala Startup Mission. The drone will be used by NPOL for research and development activities which in turn would result in commercial product for defence purposes.

-GoITWay

Cognizant offers 'skills premium pay' to employees, here's what it means

In a first for the IT industry in recent times, Cognizant has rolled out a skills premium allowance. This year, it has been given to 40,000 digitally-savvy employees. The move, designed to encourage employees to build and improve their skills in newer digital areas like machine learning and artificial intelligence, is applicable to levels up to that of manager.

James Lennox, global chief people officer in Cognizant, told TOI the world's technology dependence is increasing exponentially and definition of digital is broadening to encompass new technologies and skill sets. "Global demand for the skills we specialise in is increasing even as the tech talent shortage is growing. Skills premium allowance is one of the means towards that end and has come to include a wide range of digital skills and growing number of employees. It has helped us make compensation more competitive for associates with niche skills," he said.

The Nasdaq-listed firm said its average hikes this year are among the best in the past five years. The average increment is around 7%-8% for offshore employees. The second cycle for senior managers and above will be announced in October.
One reason for the attractive rewards is Cognizant's relatively high attrition levels in recent quarters. In the first quarter of 2018, its annualized attrition rate of 20.3% was higher than what it has traditionally seen in that quarter. Most IT companies, however, are beginning to sharply differentiate salaries, with top talent being rewarded handsomely.

Unmesh Pawar, partner and head of people (performance and culture) at KPMG India, said companies are making strategic choices to reward hard-to-hire talent. "A few years ago, developers specialising in SAP were given a hot skill bonus. Today, companies are placing a premium on those trained on S/4 HANA implementation or Success-Factors and these digital skills are shaping reward strategies," he said. Pawar said with digital being the new normal, an organisation's agility is key to business success and companies are building a practice to grow its digital talent pool.

-GoITWay

Rupee fall may boost IT companies' margins: Analysts

Indian IT services companies could see improvement in margins by as much as 100 basis points in their second quarter results due to the depreciating rupee against the US dollar, based on factors such as level of offshoring and hedging policy, say analysts.

Companies such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Wipro and Tech Mahindra and Mindtree each have different hedging policies and that is one of the key factors to determine gain from a fall in the Indian currency.
A higher exposure to offshoring also results in immediate gains due to the depreciating India currency.

On Monday, the Indian currency closed at a record Rs 72.46 after touching an all time low in intra-day trading at Rs 72.67 against the dollar. “There are multiple aspects and not just the hedging policy; one for example is the level of offshoring you have, more offshoring means lower natural hedge and that means higher benefit to currency depreciation. Second is margin profile, let’s say TCS has rupee depreciation benefits of 25 basis points. Now their margin is also 25%. This means 1% benefit to absolute EBIT. Whereas if I look at Tech Mahindra, they have 35 basis point sensitivity on 13% margin, so the delta is 2.5 to 3 times, unlike TCS, where the delta is one time,” said Kuldeep Kaul, an analyst at ICICI Securities.

While a weaker rupee helps in short-term gains for companies, the business fundamentals is the key for determining a company’s value, he added.

Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies declined to comment for this story.

Analysts at the Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) said: “Infosys, TCS and Mindtree do not have meaningful cash flow hedges and will benefit immediately from INR depreciation.”

“LTI, Tech Mahindra and Mphasis are aggressively hedged and will not derive meaningful near-term upside,” they added.

-GoITWay

IT policy unveiled, Goa hopes to get five MNCs

With a vision to create a globally competitive information technology ecosystem in the state, the government on Sunday unveiled the Goa IT Policy 2018, replacing the IT policy which was released in 2015. Through the policy, the government plans to attract at least five large multinational IT companies and help create 8,000–10,000 jobs for locals.

 IT minister Rohan Khaunte said the IT policy would be hinged around  development, financial incentives, governance and human resource development.

Union minister for electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad released the state IT policy and schemes in the presence of chief minister Manohar Parrikar.

“This is a policy where we had lot of interactions with stakeholders. They shared their requirements and the problems they faced,” Khaunte said.

The policy, which was released along with nine financial schemes, is expected to benefit existing IT companies and new companies that want to set up in Goa. While most of the schemes in the policy are similar to the earlier Goa IT Investment Policy of 2015, the revised policy aims to remove bureaucratic hurdles by ushering in government reforms.

The policy exempts new and existing IT companies from labour laws and permits companies to function around-the-clock in three shifts. The firms would also be exempted from inspections and would be permitted to file selfcertifications to ensure compliance under labour laws.

Continuing with the ease of doing business reforms, the Goa IT Policy 2018 also promised time-bound approvals of investments and incentives, within a 90-day period. “Come to Goa to create and run your business. Goa cannot be a place only for tourism. This policy is a balanced approach to keep our ethos and traditions alive even while we create opportunities in the IT sector,” Khaunte said.

The Goa IT Policy found favour among industry leaders with co-founder of NASSCOM Ashank Desai saying that Goa had the right culture for the IT industry to grow. “Places like Bengaluru, Pune and NCR (national capital region) are getting saturated, and the next $60 billion of the IT industry has to come from new places like Goa,” he said.

-GoITWay

Your Plan, Your Planet: how to reduce your environmental footprint

If I told you that freezing your leftovers, using the dishwasher (instead of washing dishes by hand), and turning down your water heater just a few degrees could help protect the environment, you’d probably think it sounds too simple. But it turns out that our greatest impact on the planet comes from just three things: our food, water, and energy usage. And if we each made a few small changes, we could all make a big difference.

Sustainability is at the core of many of Google’s initiatives, from millions of square feet of LEED certified buildings for our employees, to mapping solar potential for homes and cities, to building public transit routes into Google Maps. These efforts can be achieved when you put the resources of a company behind them, but it’s equally important to empower individuals to take action. We’ve teamed up with the California Academy of Sciences to create Your Plan, Your Planet—an interactive way to understand your environmental impact and learn simple, science-based ways to improve it.

Toss out less. Save more.

Food production accounts for more than two-thirds of the world’s water use, and over a quarter of CO2 emissions. So when you toss out that bruised tomato or a package of eggs nearing their sell-by date, you’re throwing away all of the resources that went into them, too. Your Plan, Your Planet, shows you the the water and carbon impact of what you eat and gives you smart ways to store it so that less food ends up in the trash.

Make every drop count.

The average American family runs through three swimming pools’ worth of water each year. Your Plan, Your Planet suggests simple changes—like installing a low-flow showerhead and fixing common household leaks—that can help you be more water smart.

Power up without maxing out.

Much of the energy we use comes from burning natural resources, which in turn releases CO2 into the air. But easy tweaks, like washing your laundry on cold and adjusting your thermostat just a few degrees, can reduce your impact in a big way.

-GoITWay

Infosys faces lawsuit in US for ‘not paying overtime’

BENGALURU: Infosys faces a lawsuit by a former employee for failure to pay overtime, an issue that has dogged the company before and one that may result in a US Department of Labor investigation, documents accessed by ET show.

Anuj Kapoor, a former employee on a CVS project in Rhode Island, filed the suit against Infosys in June, alleging the company made him work more than 1,000 hours of overtime without pay. The company responded in August, stating that the employee was an ‘hourly’ worker on an H1-B visa even though Infosys had listed him as a salaried employee in an application with the Department of Labor, a potential reason for its Wage and Hour Division to look into the case.

Kapoor said in the court filings that he was required to work 11-hour days at times and was paid for eight hours or fewer as CVS ‘refused to be billed for overtime wages.’

Kapoor’s manager allegedly told him that overtime would not be paid and employees who refused to work more than 40 hours a week would be sent back to India. The suit claims the manager said that extra work would be provided without billing because Infosys was looking to replace a competing company as CVS’ primary software service vendor.

:GoITWay

Tata Comm launches cyber security response centre in Dubai

New Delhi: Tata Communications said Sunday it has launched an advanced cyber security response centre in Dubai. The centre will provide 24/7 cyber security, services to help customers stay one step ahead of evolving cyber threats in the Middle East region, Tata Communications said in a filing to BSE.

The Dubai launch marks Tata Communications' fourth dedicated security centre, after Chennai, Pune and Singapore.

"Through the new cyber security response centre in Dubai, Tata Communications aims to offer enterprises and government bodies in the UAE and other GCC countries across the region with cyber-attack protection that helps them meet in country regulation requirements...," it said.

Unveiling the facility, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar Sultan Al Olama, said, "As data and operations become increasingly digitized in the UAE and the wider region, cybersecurity has become even more paramount now, and collaboration with global leaders in this area is one step forward to ensure a safe environment for everyone."

:GoITWay

Bitcoin hack: Five months on, police to file charges

NEW DELHI: Five months after the biggest wallet hack in a cryptocurrency exchange firm, Cyber Cell of Delhi Police is set to file a chargesheet in the case on Monday.

In total, 438 bitcoins valued at approximately Rs 20 crore had been reported stolen by the exchange firm, Coinsecure, on April 9. The hack was reported when all the bitcoins stored offline had vanished. It was later found that the private keys — password kept by the company and stored offline — were leaked online leading to the hack.

Earlier, the investigating teams had sought the help of Interpol to trace the bitcoins. The cops managed to identify some cryptocurrency firms outside India where the hackers had used the bitcoins, but got no further information.

Confirming the developments, DCP (cyber cell) Anyesh Roy said, “We contacted some of the exchange firms from where the bitcoins were routed. Initially, they didn’t give a response, but now we are in the process of getting the information through mutual legal assistance treaty.”

:GoITWay

Fastest growing jobs in tech: Survey

The top five – as also eight of the top 10 – fastest growing jobs for professionals in India are in technology, according to an analysis by LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking site.

Machine learning engineer, application development analyst, back-end developer, full-stack engineer and data scientist constitute the top five jobs.

The report is based on an analysis of data between 2013 and 2017 of the millions of LinkedIn members in India who have included work experiences in their profile. LinkedIn has over 50 million profiles on its India platform.

The data shows that the top five job roles grew during this period by 43, 32, 23, 18 and 14 times respectively. It bolsters the idea that the country’s job market is making a seminal shift from the traditional engineering jobs to more niche ones requiring new skill sets. Just half a decade ago, the most prominent titles were software engineer and senior business analyst.

Machine learning, which has become a buzzword across the globe, is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce automated data modelling. Companies are treasuring and actively looking out for people who can make sense of the trove of data they possess to better serve customers.

“In India, more and more businesses are shifting focus and resources to big data and digital products. Leaders across BFSI (banking, financial services & insurance), manufacturing, media and entertainment, professional services, retail and consumer products, technology-software are looking at technology to drive scale, efficiency and growth. So machine learning engineers and data scientists find themselves in massive demand,” the report said.

Application development analyst, the second fastest growing role, develops, tests, supports and troubleshoots computer-based applications for clients. Back-end developer, as the title suggests, builds the back-end – or the server side – in web applications and important functions like the database. Full-stack engineers are able to run a project from start to finish – build the server-side functions of a website as also make it friendly for the end user.

The report by LinkedIn, which is part of Microsoft, also shows that when it comes to qualifications for machine learning and data scientist jobs, more than half the new workforce has just a basic bachelor’s degree, implying that companies train them on the job. Firms find it difficult to get highly qualified students who are industry-ready. In comparison, in the US, roughly 17 per cent of new graduates who take these jobs hold a doctorate degree, which would command a fatter pay cheque.

The report said the explosion of data has created demand for data scientists across cities, with Mumbai and Delhi/NCR witnessing maximum competition for this role. India is also the largest supplier of data scientists and cyber security specialists to Singapore. Since 2017, 22 per cent of data scientists that migrated to Singapore came from India, LinkedIn said.

“As the blurring and melding of specialist roles picks up pace, the key to attracting the best people will be to focus on a recruit’s skills rather than their previous job titles,” the report said.

Interestingly, while the top five jobs are all technology ones, the job of a customer success manager (CSM), which often would not require a hardcore STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) background, is ranked 6th. With clients shifting to SaaS (software as a service), the job of a CSM is to help clients use the software successfully and secure the annual renewal revenue. It was the top emerging job in Australia, and fourth in the US.

-GoITWay

AI will diversify human thinking, not replace it: Tata Communications study

A new study by Tata Communications on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace finds that AI will diversify human thinking, rather than replace it. Carried out in collaboration with UC Berkeley professor Ken Goldberg, the study is based on inputs from 120 global business leaders like Tony Blair, Executive Chair of the Institute of Global Change and former UK Prime Minister, who said that "AI will allow us to do what it is that we are uniquely meant to do: focus on high-level thinking, strategy, and paving the way for innovation."

According to the study, 90% leaders agreed that cognitive diversity is important for management and 93% believe AI will enhance decision making. Three out of four expect AI to create new roles for their employees.

Ken Goldberg, UC Berkeley professor and co-author of the report, said “The prevalent narrative around AI has focussed on a ‘Singularity’ – a hypothetical time when artificial intelligence will surpass humans. But there is a growing interest in ‘Multiplicity’, where AI helps groups of machines and humans collaborate to innovate and solve problems. This survey of leading executives reveals that Multiplicity, the positive and inclusive vision of AI, is gaining traction.”

The study further found that AI could enhance cognitive diversity within groups, which could yield better outputs, while helping employees become more nimble and agile.

Co-author Vinod Kumar, CEO and Managing Director at Tata Communications, said, “AI is now being viewed as a new category of intelligence that can complement existing categories of emotional, social, spatial, and creative intelligence. What is transformational about Multiplicity is that it can enhance cognitive diversity, combining categories of intelligence in new ways to benefit all workers and businesses.”

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Google Finally Added a Dark Mode to YouTube on Android

Android 9 Pie  has been out for a month, and while the addition of things like digital wellness controls and handy app actions have made Google’s mobile OS friendlier to use, I can’t help but think one of Android 9's most glaring omissions is the lack of an OS-wide dark mode.

Dark mode UIs help prevent you from being blinded when checking your phone at night, and if you have a phone with an AMOLED screen, they may even help extend the device’s battery life. That’s why a lot of big third-party apps like Twitter, Twitch, and Discord come with dark-themed UIs, with even a handful of Google-made apps like Google Weather offering a blacked-out interface.

But in a strange turn of events, when Google decided to add a dark theme to YouTube, desktop YouTube got it first, with YouTube for iOS following not far behind. And then for months, there was nothing.

Now, all of a sudden, it seems YouTube for Android has finally gotten the call in version 13.35.51 with a dark theme toggle that should help save your eyes at night.

Unfortunately, YouTube’s dark theme on Android uses a very dark grey background instead of pure black, which would be the best option for extending battery life, because when you display pure black on AMOLED screens, the device can literally turn those pixels off to save power.

On the bright side, the dark theme setting is super easy to turn on. All you have to do is tap your profile icon in the top right, select the “Settings” option, and then simply tap the toggle to enable YouTube’s dark theme. The only bit of trouble I had with the whole process was getting the dark theme toggle to actually show up, which was quickly fixed by force closing YouTube a few times after I updated the app.

But the real hope, now that YouTube finally has a dark mode across the board, is that Google starts to do this for other major apps or even Android itself. After all, Windows 10 has a dark mode, the beta version macOS Mojave has a dark mode. It’s time for Android to get with the program.

GOITWAY.

Windows users, Microsoft is bringing some good news in October

With too many surprises and launches occurring at IFA 2018 in Berlin, Germany, Microsoft too caught the audience by surprise by officially announcing that the previously codenamed Redstone 5 is now the “Windows 10 October Update”. Notably, it is the name of its next major update for Windows 10. It has been publicly testing the update through its Windows Insider program.

The update will be rolled out in October this year and will introduce a number of new features inter alia new cloud clipboard to sync across machines, an updated snipping tool. There will also be a new dark File Explorer, performance information in the Xbox Game bar and an improved version of Microsoft Edge, additionally.
Also, the Windows 10 users will be able to see previews on search. This means that the users will get quick answers to their questions by simply jumping between two or more search results.
With the update, one will be able to name tile folders on Windows 10 devices. The option to name the folder will appear once the folder with numerous tiles is expanded.

The company, however, has not revealed exact date for the roll out in October. But it is expected to release new features as the date comes near by. Presently, the tech firm Microsoft is working on next Windows 10 update which is codenamed as ‘19H1’ and is likely to arrive in April 2019.
To recall, Microsoft has added new features to its Notepad app for windows. During the update, the tech giant announced ‘Fast Sign-in’, a faster way to sign into shared PCs and the advanced biometric sign-in feature for Windows 10.

-GoITWay

This state will adopt Alibaba's cloud-computing frameworks

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Alibaba Cloud to adopt cloud computing frameworks within the government model.
The MoU envisages leveraging Alibaba's Cloud and Smart City technologies for sustainable farming, integrated traffic management, smart city management, small and medium enterprises and skill development programmes.

The MoU was signed by APEDB Chief Executive Officer J. Krishna Kishore and Vivek Gupta, Director - Business Development, Alibaba Cloud India, in the presence of Dr. Alex Li, General Manager, Alibaba Cloud India, and N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
The APEDB promotes sustainable economic growth through trade, investments, partnerships and collaborations.
Alibaba Cloud, the cloud-computing arm of Alibaba Group, provides cloud-computing services to businesses of all sizes globally.
According to a statement, this MoU is a result of ongoing discussion that took place at World Economic Forum 2018, Davos between Simon Hu, Senior Vice President of Alibaba Group and President of Alibaba Cloud, and the Chief Minister.

The APEDB and Alibaba Cloud also recently concluded a multi-stakeholder workshop between Alibaba Cloud and key government departments.
"The government is ensuring that SMEs in Andhra Pradesh are integrated with global value chains. This MoU with Alibaba Cloud helps to foster greater economic growth through tech-empowered SMEs," said Kishore.
The Alibaba Cloud team also visited the state's Real Time Governance Command Control Center at the Secretariat. Li noted that Andhra Pradesh is a pioneer in adopting and implementing latest technologies in its governance model.

"We are pleased to collaborate with a progressive state such as Andhra Pradesh and we are confident to leverage the Alibaba Cloud's ET City Brain Solution for furthering the state's digital transformation and deploying advanced ICT technologies," he said.
The group is likely to extend co-operation in real-time governance functions such as traffic management, cyber surveillance, disaster management and sustainable farming, among others.
Vivek Gupta, Director - Business Development, Alibaba Cloud India, said that they would leverage Alibaba Cloud's platform to help facilitate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state to establish online presence, provide global market access and enable the businesses to double their incomes.

-GoITWay

Google Maps’ new feature will simplify your ‘Commute’

Google Maps looking forward to introduce a new feature going forward and may replace the Driving and Transit tabs with a new tab called 'Commute'. On tapping the 'Commute' option, Google Maps will prompt users with two choices--'To work' and 'To home', according to a report by Android Police. The user interface of Google Maps would reportedly show a suggested route for the respective chosen option whether 'To home' or 'To work'. To opt for alternative routes, Google Maps will provide an option at the bottom of Maps interface from where users can choose.

The commute options can be found under the Google Maps menu along with satellite image, terrain and other options. However, note that this feature is limited and is available for select users only. Google is expected to roll out the 'Commute' feature to the public going forward.
Google had recently today announced new features for Google Maps app and Maps Go app in India as it marked the tenth anniversary for Google Maps in the country. Google Maps vice president Gayathri Rajan claimed that India is now the fastest growing country for Google Maps. Google has teamed up with Red Bus to offer inter-city bus schedules on the native Google Maps app. Users will now get information about the bus they have booked or about to book on RedBus on Google Maps itself.

Also, Google has also upgraded its Maps Go app with turn-by-turn navigation and a new home screen with shortcuts for public transport. Google Maps Go will also provide alerts about the progress of the journey and about the destination in both Hindi and English. With these features, the lighter Maps Go version will become more useful for low-end Android phone users and Google claims to offer a good experience on slower 2G internet speeds as well.

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Idea-Vodafone say merger complete, now India's largest telco with 408 million active users

Aditya Birla Group on Friday said that Vodafone India and Idea NSE 3.44 % Cellular have completed the merger to create the countey's largest telecom company with 408 million active subscribers and a revenue market share of 32.2%.

“We wish to inform you that pursuant to filing of the NCLT orders with the relevant Registrars of Companies on 31st August, 2018, the Scheme has become effective on even date and the merger of VMSL (Vodafone Mobile services Ltd)and VIL (Vodafone India Ltd) with the Company has been completed,” said Idea Cellular in a regulatory filing on Friday.

Idea shares were up 0.5% at Rs50.10 on the BSE Friday in late trade.

The new board of 12 directors (including six Independent directors ) of just merged Vodafone Idea met on Friday morning with Kumar Mangalam Birla as the chairman.

“Today, we have created India’s leading telecom operator. It is truly a historic moment. And this is much more than just about creating a large business. It is about our Vision of empowering and enabling a New India and meeting the aspirations of the youth of our country,” said Birla. “As Vodafone Idea, we are partnering in this initiative by building a formidable company of international repute, scale and standards,” he added.

The new company will be headed by Balesh Sharma who said that the “company has the scale and resources to ensure sustainable customer choice and introduce new technologies”. He added that the new team will cater to both retail and enterprise customers with “new products, services and solutions”.

Vodafone Idea will have a spread of 15,000 branded stores and 1.7 million retail touchpoints across the country.

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India finalising proposal to send defence teams to Silicon Valley

India and the US are finalising a proposal that will enable defence teams to visit and liaison with a cutting-edge defence innovation unit in Silicon Valley.

The unit identifies and funds emerging military technologies. Final touches are being given to the proposal ahead of the ‘2+2 dialogue’, which will involve the defence and foreign affairs ministries of the two nations.

The proposal, first made by the US side last year, will involve Indian teams coordinating with the US Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) in Mountain View, California.

The plan is to engage with the newly set up Indian Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) that is looking to foster emerging technologies domestically for the armed forces and is modelled closely on the US organisation that has been operational since 2015.

“A liaison has been offered with the Silicon Valley unit that is developing and identifying defence applications from the private sector. This can be a big opportunity to work together in future defence technologies,” an official aware of the developments told ET.

The DIUx has identified and is backing a number of companies in the Silicon Valley that offer solutions in a range of areas from artificial intelligence to space, robotics and information technology.

:GoITWay

How inaccurate location data can damage your brand

Imagine you have scheduled a quick meeting at a coffee shop near you, but you get there and find out that the place is closed. You ask around, and you get to know they've been shut down for two months now and that they have relocated to another location. Don't we all hate it when we are given inaccurate or inconsistent data while we are making a decision?

As a business owner, have you ever thought about how much inconvenience you're causing to your existing and potential customers by providing inaccurate business data online?

It really doesn't matter how successful your business is if you have inaccurate or obsolete data floating around on the internet. Data is the heart of any business, and bad data can have a lasting impact on everything about your business - from the customer experience that you provide to your revenue.

May it be a retail store or a huge, multi-location car wash enterprise, customers evaluate a business' trustworthiness by looking at online reviews and star ratings before they make a purchase decision. According to reports, 91% of people check online reviews regularly or occasionally, while 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they would trust a word-of-mouth recommendation.

Unfortunately, businesses focus on other, more mainstream digital  marketing activities to stay on top of the competition; so much so that maintaining the accuracy of their business listings, directories and citations sometimes take a backseat. And because of this, their online reputation (reviews and star ratings) also take a hit, because a) Customers are not able to find the business they want to review on the internet, and b) Inaccurate listings online lead to bad customer experiences like the one we mentioned earlier.

According to reports, most popular method for finding a local business, product or service, is through "Search engines."

:GoITWay

Google parent Alphabet records surge in profit, but costs also go up

Alphabet got a boost from how it values investments in Uber Technologies Inc and other startups. That accounting change and a one-time benefit cut its effective tax rate nearly in half.

Strong growth in ad sales on Google search and YouTube were not enough to offset a surge in costs at parent Alphabet Inc that shrank the first-quarter operating margin, leaving shares flat after hours on Monday.

Alphabet got a boost from how it values investments in Uber Technologies Inc and other startups. That accounting change and a one-time benefit cut its effective tax rate nearly in half.

Investors are uncertain about future profit at Alphabet as the company navigates the move to a phone-based computing world and invests in small, fast-growing initiatives from self-driving cars to selling hardware and cloud computing services. The quarterly results did not clarify the outlook.

Alphabet's operating margin of 22 per cent, down from 27 per cent a year ago, missed expectations because of the growth in expenses.

Alphabet is investing to keep pace with Amazon.com Inc and having to share more of its revenue with phone and browser makers, said James Cordwell, analyst at Atlantic Equities. "The jump in profits is purely due to one-time items," he said.

Longer-term capital expenditures nearly tripled to $7.3 billion in the first quarter from $2.5 billion a year ago.

Still, worldwide sales increased to $31.1 billion, above the average analysts' estimate of $30.3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Those ad sales showed investors that there were no immediate signs that rising global privacy concerns had affected profits, even as concerns over Facebook Inc's use of privacy cast some suspicion on Google.

Officials across the world seek to force changes in Google's business practices, such as giving customers more control over their data.

"The strong economy has companies spending more on advertising," said analyst Ivan Feinseth from Tigress Financial Partners. "Google continues to dominate both mobile and desktop search" and there will be "very little effect" from Facebook privacy data fallout, he said.

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told analysts Monday that, "It's important to understand that most of our ad business is search, where we rely on very limited information, essentially what is in the keywords to show a relevant ad."

STARTUP INVESTMENTS BOOST PROFITS
Alphabet's quarterly profit of $9.4 billion, or $13.33 per share, exceeded estimates of $6.56 billion, or $9.28 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

About $2.4 billion in earnings were attributable to a new accounting method for unrealized gains in Alphabet's investments in startups such as Uber and Airbnb Inc.

Alphabet now records estimates of the current value of its startup investments rather than waiting to report income once it has opportunity to sell those shares. That change and a one-time benefit drove the effective tax rate in the quarter to 11 per cent from 20 percent a year earlier.

Excluding the investment-related gains and other items, adjusted earnings were $9.93 per share.

Google had several one-time costs including acquiring 2,000 employees in Taiwan for $1.1 billion from HTC Corp and moving up when it awards equity to employees.

Continuing cost increases came from acquiring streaming rights for YouTube's new TV service and marketing new products.

Google executives say the spending to install powerful computers and internet cables is necessary to keep up with demand for YouTube, its Google Assistant virtual helper service and data analytics tools within its Google Cloud services.

Revenue from Google's non-advertising units was $4.4 billion in the first quarter.

Alphabet is paring back on "other bets," a set of ancillary projects in areas such as medical technology and drones. Operating loss from "other bets" fell to $571 million, from $703 million a year ago.

Investors are counting on one other bet, the Waymo self-driving vehicles effort, to generate noteworthy revenue this year as it begins offering ride-hailing services.

Google revealed smart thermostat maker Nest generated about $726 million in revenue in 2017, above some analysts' estimates. Financial results for Nest had not been released since its acquisition in 2014.

 -GoITWay

TCS says 24,000 jobs offered this year, automation has led to on-demand hiring

In 2015, TCS had made offers to 44,000 students, which fell to 35,000 offers and then 20,000 in the next two years. This year, too, it has made offers to 20,000 students during on-campus recruitments. Its off-campus hiring stood at 4,000.

Worried about robots taking over your job? One of the fields where this is a clear concern is information technology (IT), and one of the biggest employers in the space, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has just hinted that increased automation in the software delivery process has led to a dip in hiring currently.

The number of job offers made by the IT major backs that up. According to The Times of India, in 2015, TCS had made offers to 44,000 students, which fell to 35,000 offers and then 20,000 in the next two years. This year, too, it has made offers to 20,000 students during on-campus recruitments. Its off-campus hiring stood at 4,000. "Analytics, IoT [Internet of Things] and automation is changing the entire delivery process. We are going for hiring in an agile way, which is on-demand," Ajayendra Mukherjee, Global HR head and EVP of TCS, said at a news conference yesterday. The company boasts a total headcount of 3.94 lakh globally and has a presence in 50 countries.

The good news is that the company believes that in the long run, automation will create more job opportunities in the fields of data science, artificial intelligence, robotics and analytics.

Better still, Mukherjee ruled out any chances of lay-offs, going forward. He also talked about the massive re-skilling drive that the company has undertaken, pointing out that TCS found it more cost-effective to give training for re-skilling people in-house rather than hiring from outside. "So far, 2.10 lakh people have been trained and skills upgraded," he added.

Referring to hiring in the US and other developed markets, Mukherjee said that TCS had been facing challenges as fewer numbers of the younger generation were opting for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects there. To address the problem, TCS has rolled out two ambitious student reach-out programmes in these markets. "We have started two CSR programmes named 'goIT' and 'Ignite My Future' to encourage students in the ninth standard to opt for STEM subjects," he explained, adding, "We have developed Fresco Play - a learning platform - to enable employees to learn digital courses on the go."

The daily added that IgniteMyFuture is meant to reach out to at least one million students (Class V-VIII) and 20,000 educators in partnership with 'Discovery in Education' in the US. On the other hand, GoIT is getting mid-level school students (of Class IX to XII) hooked to simple robotics, analytics and reasoning via various problem-solving and challenge-based aptitude-building methods.

However, Mukherjee believes that the problem is a temporary one and that hiring in the US had not gone down. On media queries whether TCS can substitute its workforce in the US, the HR head reportedly said it was always preferable to employ the local populace.

In the last quarter of FY'18, TCS' dollar terms growth stood at 11.7 per cent and margins at 25.4 per cent, which he said were lower than expectations due to currency fluctuations.

(With PTI inputs)
      -GoITWay