Armed with AI & drones, online mandis shake up farming, aim to cut waste to boost farm income
E-mandis deploy tech such as AI and drones to inject efficiency all along the supply chain. Indian players in the field include INI Farms, Agribazaar, Monks Bouffe, and Crofarm.
Facebook data of 533 million users leaked online
Data leaks threaten to undermine Facebook’s business model of gathering a large amount of personal information and using that to sell targeted ads.
After Chinese, now North Korean hackers are eyeing CoWIN, cyber intel firm alerts
Cyber intelligence firm Cyfirma says purpose of fake CoWIN sites is to collect personal information from Indian users and use that for cyberattacks.
Facebook steps up efforts to curb hate speech, misinformation amid assembly elections
Facebook will also temporarily reduce the distribution of content from accounts that have recently and repeatedly violated the company's policies, a company blogpost said.
Govt asked Twitter to block 2,731 URLs in 2020, twice the 2019 tally
MoS Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre tells Parliament that govt asked Twitter to block 1,041 URLs in 2019. Facebook was asked to block 1,717 URLs in 2020, compared to 2,049 in 2019.
AI robots can now help harvest orchards. Here’s how
Even before the pandemic, growers were finding it hard to recruit people for picking. Covid restrictions have now prevented seasonal workers crossing borders.
Zuckerberg’s proposal for tech regulation isn’t as transparent as it looks
Facebook’s AI does not take the total amount of harmful content down, and the company doesn’t share how many people viewed it before it was removed.
Apple considers launching ‘rugged’ smartwatch for extreme sports, environments
While Apple Watch's current model is already popular with athletes and sports enthusiasts, it may bring out a new version with rubberised exterior designed to withstand possible damage.
Trade regulator terms WhatsApp’s conduct on privacy policy ‘exploitative & exclusionary’
Competition Commission of India directed its investigation arm, the director general, to complete a detailed investigation and submit a report within 60 days.
Over 9,000 URLs blocked by govt in 2020, thrice more than in 2019, minister tells Parliament
Sanjay Dhotre, MoS, IT ministry says 9,849 URLs were blocked in 2020 by the government under Section 69A of the IT Act. The government blocked 2,799 URLs in 2018 and 3,635 in 2019.
Ambedkar said tyranny of majority is no democracy. Indians must read him again
Don’t just celebrate Ambedkar’s birthday. Follow the democracy he envisioned for India.
Deserted roads bring back nightmare of demand slump for Indian fuel companies
It’s an ominous sign for India, where fuel consumption still hasn’t fully recovered from last year’s national lockdown that saw oil demand fall to the lowest since 2007.
Defence
China changes stance, wants de-escalation before disengagement in Ladakh. India disagrees
De-escalation before disengagement could give China an advantage as it can move troops back much faster than India due to its better infrastructure.
Why mosques in rear view mirror, like Kashi’s Gyanvapi, can crash India’s drive into future
Court’s order to ASI to survey Gyanvapi Mosque for remains of old Kashi Vishwanath Temple questions the optimism that Ayodhya wouldn’t be repeated.