Flipkart said that the introduction of the voice search feature will enable faster onboarding of customers from smaller towns and simplify their e-commerce journey…reports Asian Lite News
E-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Thursday introduced voice search in Hindi, English as well as Hinglish on its platform to enable customers to search from a pool of over 150 million products across over 80 categories through speech.
Flipkart said that the introduction of the voice search feature will enable faster onboarding of customers from smaller towns and simplify their e-commerce journey.
More than 75 per cent of Internet users in India come from non-English speaking backgrounds.
According to a joint study conducted by Bain & Company and Flipkart in 2020, online shoppers in tier-2 cities makeup nearly half of all shoppers and contribute to three out of every five orders for leading e-retail platforms.
Ab sabki sunega Flipkart! Bas tap kijiye aur hukum kijiye – aapki bhasha, aapke andaaz mein. Order kijiye Voice Search ke saath, aapke Flipkart App par! pic.twitter.com/EsxcDAwT1N
“Voice search, along with some of the other initiatives by Flipkart, will make the digital commerce experience more convenient, accessible and seamless for the new wave of online shoppers,” Jeyandran Venugopal, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Flipkart, said in a statement.
The voice search is capable of helping users search through the product catalogue using colloquial commands.
To enable voice search in Hindi and English, Flipkart deployed a host of technical capabilities such as Automatic Speech Recognition, Natural Language Understanding, and Text-to-Speech for Indian languages, built by Flipkart’s in-house engineering and data sciences team.
Once a user gives a command, the automatic speech recognition recognises the voice and converts it into text.
Sunak unveils a £65 billion package of coronavirus support to save jobs, but warns that there would be billions of pounds of tax rises to pay for it, reports Asian Lite News
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak extended emergency programmes to guide Britain’s economy through the pandemic-induced crisis in his Budget. However, his plan to plug the hole in public finances was routed through a tax squeeze on businesses and individuals.
Exuding confidence in his announcements on Wednesday, Sunak said the economy will regain its pre-pandemic size in mid-2022, six months earlier than previously forecast, helped by Europe’s fastest vaccination programme.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak during the Budget speech (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
“The OBR now expect the economy to return to its pre-Covid level by the middle of next year — six months earlier than previously thought. That means growth is faster, unemployment lower, wages higher, investment higher, household incomes higher,” Sunak said delivering the annual budget speech.
But it will remain 3% smaller in five years’ time than it would have been without the health shock and extra support is needed now as the country remains under Coronavirus restrictions, he said.
“First, we will continue doing whatever it takes to support the British people and businesses through this moment of crisis,” Sunak told the Parliament.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the House of Commons during the Budget presentation. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
“Second, once we are on the way to recovery, we will need to begin fixing the public finances – and I want to be honest today about our plans to do that. And, third, in today’s Budget we begin the work of building our future economy.”
To help those who are struggling due to the pandemic, Sunak extended the furlough scheme for another five months to September at a cost of £10 billion. The package of support also included grants for the self-employed, a six-month extension of the £20-a-week rise in universal credit, an extension of business rates relief and VAT cuts.
In one of his biggest revenue raisers, Sunak announced that corporation tax on profits would rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent by 2023. Small businesses will be exempt.
He also announced a series of stealth taxes, including freezing the threshold at which people start paying the basic and higher rates of income tax at £12,570 and £50,270 respectively, a move that will raise up to £6 billion.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks after Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget speech. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
He said that since March last year more than 700,000 people had lost their jobs while the economy had shrunk by 10 per cent — the largest fall in more than 300 years. He added that government borrowing was now at the highest it has been outside wartime.
To offset the long-term tax hit on businesses Sunak also unveiled what he described as the “biggest business tax cut in modern British history” to encourage renewed investment to kick-start the economy.
The chancellor said that the total cost of the government’s coronavirus support package since the start of the pandemic was more than £350 billion.
Sunak also announced the location of eight new freeports, which he said would benefit from simpler planning rules, tax breaks and significant infrastructure spending.
These will be around the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Plymouth as well as Humber, the Liverpool City Region, Solent, Thames and Teesside. East Midlands Airport will also have freeport status.
According to the airline, the inaugural flight was operated by Vistara’s Airbus A320neo aircraft….reports Asian Lite News
Full-service carrier Vistara on Wednesday commenced its non-stop flights between Mumbai and Male.
According to the airline, the inaugural flight was operated by Vistara’s Airbus A320neo aircraft.
The airline will fly three times a week on the route under India’s transport bubble agreement with the Republic of Maldives.
“Vistara will accept all eligible customers meeting visa or entry requirements in both countries, as specified by the respective government bodies,”
At present, the airline has a fleet of 44 aircraft, including 34 Airbus A320, two Airbus A321neo, six Boeing B737-800NG, and two Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
On its part, CSMIA (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport), Mumbai in a statement said: “Since the commencement of the air bubble arrangement with Maldives on August 13, 2020, CSMIA has seen a rise in passenger traffic catering to over 56,000 passengers across an approximate total of 410 flights to and from CSMIA till date.”
“During this period, the airport had catered to the region through Indigo and GoAir, wherein IndiGo catered to the highest passenger traffic, over 32,000 passengers from the airport. The increase in frequency to the destination through the addition of the new Vistara flight with effect from March 3, 2021 comes as a boon to travellers from and around Mumbai.”
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has dismissed Fortnite creator Epic Games’s bid to take Apple to court in the UK over competition law.
Fortnite was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores worldwide after it broke rules about in-app purchases.
Claiming that the rules were unfair, Epic Games had sought permission to take both the US-based tech giants to court in the UK, the BBC reported on Monday.
But the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal gave Epic Games, which is also US-based, permission to pursue only Google.
While saying that the UK was not the right place for the Epic-Apple row, the judge, Justice Roth, did not have the same ruling when it came to Google for complex legal reasons.
Epic Games last week said it has filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in the European Union, expanding the company’s fight to advance what it calls “fairer digital platform practices” for developers and consumers.
The complaint complements legal processes already underway in both the US and Australia, as well as Epic’s filing before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal.
The complaint, filed with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, alleges that through a series of carefully designed anti-competitive restrictions, Apple has not just harmed but completely eliminated competition in app distribution and payment processes.
Apple had earlier denied that its 30 per cent commission was anti-competitive, saying it was Epic Games that violated its contract.
The iPhone maker said that Epic benefited from Apple’s promotion and developer tools.
Something rotten at Inda’s financial sector. The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has kept the SEBI order in abeyance. This, in effect, means that till the passing of a final decision by the SAT, the SEBI order will remain ineffective, 63 moons said in a statement….reports Asian Lite News
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Monday reserved its verdict in 63 moons Technologies Limited’s challenge to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) order disallowing the company from providing Straight Through Processing (STP) Gate Services.
The tribunal has kept the SEBI order in abeyance. This, in effect, means that till the passing of a final decision by the SAT, the SEBI order will remain ineffective, 63 moons said in a statement.
63 moons said, “We are hopeful of justice being delivered.”
On December 3, 2020, the SEBI passed an order rejecting the approval to 63 moons for providing STP Gate Services on the basis of ‘Fit and Proper’ order that was passed by the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), seven years ago.
Generally, financial firms use STP to pass information electronically in order to optimise the speed at which they process transactions. This eliminates the need for a hands-on re-entry of data that has already been completed at the source.
According to the SEBI, STP guidelines stipulate that no person shall act as an STP service provider unless it obtains approval from the regulator.
Expressing “disbelief” at the SEBI order in December last, 63 moons technologies had stated that it would challenge the market regulator ruling. The ‘fit and proper’ order passed against the company in 2014 specifically deals with barring persons or entities from holding an equity stake in any exchange platform and has no bearing on providing technology services.
According to the company, the acquisition will enhance its doubt-solving and reinforce presence in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets….reports Asian Lite News
E-learning platform Vedantu on Monday announced it has acquired Instasolv, a doubt-solving app for students from Class 6 to 12 for science, mathematics, IITJEE and NEET, for an undisclosed sum.
According to the company, the acquisition will enhance its doubt-solving and reinforce presence in tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.
“We have seen tremendous potential in Instasolv and share the same mission to democratise education in the country. Through this partnership we endeavor to change India’s learning curve through definitive outcomes,” said Vamsi Krishna, CEO, and Co-Founder, Vedantu.
This is Vedantu’s first acquisition in an EdTech company to strengthen its focus in the instant doubt-solving space.
Last year, Vedantu invested $2 million as part of a pre-series A funding in Instasolv.
“Instasolv has been at the forefront in offering doubt-solving solutions and its partnership with Vedantu will only strengthen Vedantu’s Live Class platform and help achieving quality learning outcomes to millions of students,” said Aditya Singhal, CEO Co-Founder, Instasolv.
With this acquisition Instasolv brings in close to 1 million of its potential active learners to Vedantu’s platform.
In addition, Instasolv will leverage Vedantu’s already existing strong credentials in LIVE Classes, tech, product and content.
Vedantu is a Live interactive online learning platform for students and 150,000 students study Live every month on the platform and more than 25 million users every month from more than 1,000 cities and over 40 countries.
India’s capital city is garnering mettle to become a global and regional hub. Under the Centre’s flagship regional connectivity scheme (RCS), flights are scheduled to be operated by Alliance Air between Bareilly and Delhi from March 8, every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday….reports Asian Lite News
The civil aviation sector of Uttar Pradesh is set to get more wings with the commencement of flight operations from the newly constructed Bareilly airport.
Under the Centre’s flagship regional connectivity scheme (RCS), flights are scheduled to be operated by Alliance Air between Bareilly and Delhi from March 8, every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The airline will also begin two flights from Prayagraj connecting Delhi and Bilaspur, from March 1 under RCS.
The flights would operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. In both cases, the airline would be using ATR 72 aircraft.
Bareilly would be the eighth airport in the state to get functional after the ones in Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Hindon, Agra and Prayagraj.
Civil Aviation Secretary Surendra Singh said the state government has spent around Rs 83 crore on construction of a civil enclave in Bareilly. This is apart from the around 35 acres of land which has been made available to Airports Authority of India (AAI) free of cost and Rs 9.8 crore for ensuring dedicated power supply, he said.
Sources in the civil aviation department said that IndiGo Airlines has also sent a team to Bareilly to conduct an assessment to operate flights.
“The area is largely unserved despite having many tourist places nearby,” a senior official in the department said.
The area also has several industrialists who seek flights to reach business centres like Delhi and Mumbai.
Sources said that the demand for these facilities had been pending for long but neither the district administration nor the previous state governments had paid heed.
Since air connectivity is being provided under RCS, the state government would give a number of sops to the airline including viability gap funding, free electricity up to 4,000 units, waiver on VAT on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for 10 years and security and fire services.
The state government would also provide road connectivity, bus services and ambulance services.
The development comes just a month after the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of DHFL voted in favour of Piramal’s bid with 94 per cent votes and approved its resolution plan….reports Asian Lite News
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given nod for the takeover of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) by Piramal Group.
The development comes just a month after the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of DHFL has approved Piramal’s bid with 94 per cent votes and its resolution plan.
“We understand that the RBI has approved the DHFL resolution plan from Piramal Capital and Housing Finance, submitted by the CoC,” said a statement by Piramal Group.
Now, the proposed takeover requires the approval of the National Company Law Tribunal.
The other major contender for the debt-ridden NBFC was US-based Oaktree Capital which secured around 45 per cent of the votes from the lenders in the voting process last month.
The total offer of Piramal was Rs 37,250 crore, compared to Rs 38,400 crore offered by Oaktree. However, Piramal had offered higher upfront cash payment.
The total dues of DHFL stand at around Rs 90,000 crore.
Piramal, in its bid, has offered an additional amount in the resolution process to fixed deposit holders, over and above what the CoC offers them through the IBC resolution.
“.@KremlinRussia_E would you like join me for a conversation on Clubhouse?” Musk said in a tweet while tagging the Kremlin’s Twitter account….reports Asian Lite News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJO1dyvF8_w
Russia has expressed its interest in SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposal to have a talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on voice-based social network Clubhouse.
Talking to reporters on Monday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said that details of the proposal should be considered first.
“We want to make sense of it first. Putin himself does not use social networks, he doesn’t have any personal accounts,” Peskov told reporters.
His comments came after Musk on Sunday said he was interested in talking to the Russian President.
Russian President Vladmir Putin
“.@KremlinRussia_E would you like join me for a conversation on Clubhouse?” Musk said in a tweet while tagging the Kremlin’s Twitter account.
“It would be a great honour to speak with you,” he said in a separate tweet.
Peskov noted that Musk’s proposal is “without a doubt, very interesting,” according to the Tass news agency.
.@KremlinRussia_E would you like join me for a conversation on Clubhouse?
“But we need to understand somehow what he means, what the offer is about, we need to verify this first, and then we will respond,” the spokesman said.
Clubhouse is an audio-based chat app that allows members to join or start “rooms” of up to 5,000 people.
“Despite the surprising speed of recovery early on, we are still very far from a strong labor market whose benefits are broadly shared,” Powell said on Wednesday while addressing a webcast….reports Asian Lite News
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that it’s important for the central bank to maintain a “patiently accommodative monetary policy stance” to boost the labour market recovery amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“Despite the surprising speed of recovery early on, we are still very far from a strong labor market whose benefits are broadly shared,” Powell said on Wednesday while addressing a webcast.
“Employment in January of this year was nearly 10 million below its February 2020 level, a greater shortfall than the worst of the Great Recession’s aftermath,” he said, adding both long-term unemployment and permanent job loss have also increased in recent months.
If counting those who have left the labour force since last February as unemployed, the real unemployment rate was close to 10 per cent in January, higher than 6.3 per cent reported by the Labour Department, Powell was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.
The Fed chief stressed that in the near term, policies that bring the pandemic to an end as soon as possible are “paramount” for the country to get back to a strong labour market.
“Also important is a patiently accommodative monetary policy stance that embraces the lessons of the past — about the labour market in particular and the economy more generally,” Powell said, downplaying potential inflation risks from a strong labour market.
“Inflation has been much lower and more stable over the past three decades than in earlier times,” he said, reiterating that the Fed will not tighten monetary policy solely in response to a strong labour market.
Powell also called for “a society-wide commitment” to return the labour market to full employment.
“Given the number of people who have lost their jobs and the likelihood that some will struggle to find work in the post-pandemic economy, achieving and sustaining maximum employment will require more than supportive monetary policy. It will require a society-wide commitment, with contributions from across government and the private sector,” he said. Also read:Biden imposes sanctions on Myanmar Generals
