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Layoffs Hit Tech Titans

Amazon-owned live game streaming platform Twitch is reportedly laying off 35 per cent of its workforce, or about 500 employees, this week….reports Asian Lite News

Amazon is reportedly laying off several hundreds of employees in its Prime Video and MGM Studios.

Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of the division, announced the cuts in an email on Wednesday, saying that the reason for the reduction is to “reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact”, reports TechCrunch.

The company has also started to notify the affected workers in the US and will inform most other regions by the end of this week.

Affected employees are provided with packages that include separation payments, transitional benefits, and external career transition support, the report mentioned.

“Our prioritisation of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and product, positions our business for an even stronger future,” Hopkins said.

Meanwhile, Amazon-owned live game streaming platform Twitch is reportedly laying off 35 per cent of its workforce, or about 500 employees, this week. Twitch laid off dozens of employees last year, and has shut down its service in South Korea due to “prohibitively expensive” costs.

According to a Bloomberg report, the fresh job cuts, “which could be announced as soon as Wednesday”, come amid concerns over losses at Twitch.

Meta Joins Layoff Club

Meta has started the New Year with laying off some technical programme managers (TPMs) at Instagram and reports said that at least 60 such jobs are either being consolidated or eliminated.

According to a post on Blind, an anonymous forum and community for verified tech employees, the company has given these employees time until the end of March to re-interview for product management roles or other jobs.

A verified Meta professional noted in the thread that job cuts “will soon (be) expanded to other orgs for TPMs”.

It means other technical programme managers at Meta may also find their roles consolidated or reorganised away.

“Meta layoffs: all TPMs in Instagram laid off today. Confirmed by my spouse who works there. She is not in the Instagram org and not affected. Product managers are not affected,” read another Blind post.

According to Business Insider, at least 60 such employees have lost their jobs.

TPMs are somewhere positioned between technical workers like engineers and product managers (PMs).

A former Instagram employee posted to LinkedIn about “expected changes to TPM roles,” saying that people are expected to “re-interview for PM roles” or product manager roles.

Meta did not immediately comment on these layoffs.

After planned mass layoffs last year, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has not denied “that more jobs would be eliminated in the future”.

According to the report, he was still aiming to reduce the company’s overall headcount to that of 2020 before it went on the mass hiring spree.

In March last year, Zuckerberg announced the company would cut 10,000 jobs in the coming months, along with newly reorganised teams and management hierarchies.

The fresh cuts came just four months after Meta laid off 11,000 employees, or 13 per cent of the company’s workforce, in November 2022.

Google Axes AR Staff

Google is laying off hundreds of hardware employees, especially in the augmented reality (AR) division while Fitbit co-founders James Park, Eric Friedman and other Fitbit leaders are reportedly leaving the company.

Google had acquired wearable company Fitbit for $2.1 billion in 2019.

“A few hundred roles are being eliminated in DSPA (Devices and Services) with the majority of impacts on the 1P AR Hardware team,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

The Devices & Services teams are responsible for Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit devices. “While we are making changes to our 1P AR hardware team, Google continues to be deeply committed to other AR initiatives, such as AR experiences in our products, and product partnerships,” the spokesperson told 9to5Google.

The company said that it remains committed to “serving our Fitbit users well, innovating in the health space with personal AI, and building on the momentum with Pixel Watch, the redesigned Fitbit app, Fitbit Premium service, and the Fitbit tracker line”.

“This work will continue to be a key part of our new org model,” said the tech giant.

Google is switching to a functional organisation model where there will be one team responsible for hardware engineering across Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit hardware. There will be a single leader for such products across all Google hardware, according to reports.

Google has shifted its work on AR to the Android and hardware teams.

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‘India’s first bullet train to roll out in 2026’

Vaishnaw provided an update on the progress of the ambitious project, highlighting that 270 km of groundwork for the bullet train has already been completed…reports Asian Lite News

In a significant announcement at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed that India’s first bullet train is poised to commence operations by 2026. Vaishnaw announced that the inaugural bullet train service is scheduled to operate between Surat and Bilimora.

“We plan to run the first bullet train between Surat and Bilimora in 2026,” Vaishnaw said at the 2024 Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Vaishnaw provided an update on the progress of the ambitious project, highlighting that 270 km of groundwork for the bullet train has already been completed. He emphasised the successful installation of a 270 km long wire duct and assured that the project is proceeding according to the designated timeline.

“270-km-long wire duct has been put in place. Work is going on as per schedule. The work of the Mumbai-Thane under-sea tunnel has also begun. The construction of bridges on eight rivers that will lie on the route is going on rapidly. Two bridges have already been completed. The work on Sabarmati terminal station is also nearly completed,” Vaishnaw added.

On January 8, the Ministry of Railways announced the successful attainment of 100 percent land acquisition for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Rail Corridor, commonly referred to as the bullet train project, spanning Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor, undertaken by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), is estimated to cost Rs 1.08 lakh crore. The financial structure involves the Union government contributing Rs 10,000 crore, and Gujarat and Maharashtra each contributing Rs 5,000 crore, with the remaining funds secured through a 0.1 percent interest loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Initiated with the foundation stone laid in Ahmedabad in September 2017, the ambitious project aims to cover a distance exceeding 500 km in approximately two hours. Implementing Japan’s Shinkansen technology, the high-speed rail line aspires to establish an efficient and high-frequency mass transportation system.

Originally projected for completion in 2022, the timeline faced delays due to challenges in land acquisition. The government is now targeting the commencement of the first phase, connecting Surat and Bilimora in south Gujarat, by the year 2026.

In 2023, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a loan agreement with the Central government to provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 400 billion Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 22,627 crore) as tranche five for the construction of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) project.

JICA has been supporting the MAHSR bullet train project by providing ODA loans with the cumulative commitment amount of JPY 1 trillion and 50 billion (Rs 59,396 crore) since 2017.

This assistance goes beyond the financial aid to include a range of technical contributions, such as feasibility studies, fundamental and intricate design work, training programmes in Japan, collaboration on station area development, and the deployment of Japanese Shinkansen experts to work alongside the executing agency, the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), JICA said.

The objective of the project is to develop a high-frequency mass transportation system by constructing the High-Speed Rail between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, using Japan’s Shinkansen technology (also known as the Bullet Train), thereby enhancing mobility in India and contributing to regional economic development.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train corridor, managed by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), is Rs 1.08 lakh crore project. The financial plan includes Rs 10,000 crore from the Union government, and Rs 5,000 crore each from Gujarat and Maharashtra. The remaining funds are secured through a 0.1 percent interest loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Initiated with the laying of the foundation stone in Ahmedabad in September 2017, this ambitious project aims to cover a distance of over 500 km in just about two hours. Utilizing Japan’s Shinkansen technology, the high-speed rail line aims to revolutionize mass transportation with efficiency and high-frequency services.

Originally slated for completion in 2022, the timeline faced hurdles due to land acquisition challenges. However, fear not! The government is now eyeing the kick-off of the first phase, connecting Surat and Bilimora in south Gujarat, by the year 2026.

With approvals from the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra, land acquisition in the state is also almost complete, he said.

Construction of the undersea tunnel between Mumbai and Thane has also been initiated while construction of bridges on eight rivers has been completed.

Noting that the bullet train “dream is turning into reality now”, Vaishnaw further said that it is not just a transportation or infrastructure project but will lead to regional development of the region as well. The high speed railway will connect Mumbai, Thane, Vapi, Vadodara, Surat, Anand and Ahmedabad.

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Business Tech Lite Technology

Tata 1mg, Vitonnix UK Join Forces in India

Tata 1mg.(photo:Facebook)

The first phase of the launch includes four remarkable products: Vitamin D, Multivitamins, Biotin, and the star of the lineup, Melatonin….reports Asian Lite News

Tata 1mg, India’s trusted digital healthcare platform, has joined forces with Vitonnix UK, a leading name in health and wellness innovation, to bring forth a first-of-its-kind offering in India.

Jointly, they recently introduced a groundbreaking range of Vitamin Sublingual Sprays. This sublingual spray is applied directly under the tongue, thereby enabling the vitamins and supplements to be absorbed directly through the mucosal lining of the mouth which has a very rich blood supply.

The first phase of the launch includes four remarkable products: Vitamin D, Multivitamins, Biotin, and the star of the lineup, Melatonin.

These sublingual sprays are designed to offer a convenient and effective way for individuals to take their daily vitamin and health supplements.

Saurabh Goel, Vice President – Category Management at Tata 1mg, expressed his enthusiasm for this game-changing collaboration.

“At Tata 1mg, our primary focus has always been the well-being of our customers. We understand the importance of innovation in healthcare, and after meticulously evaluating Vitonnix UK’s extensive research and development efforts, we are confident that these Vitamin Sublingual Sprays will empower individuals to take charge of their health in a new and convenient way.”

Satish Subramani, Managing Partner for Vitonnix UK, added: “We are thrilled to bring our state-of- the-art Vitamin Sublingual Sprays to India in partnership with Tata 1mg. This collaboration reflects our commitment to providing the Indian market with innovative health solutions that are both effective and convenient.

“Our partnership with Tata 1mg, India’s trusted digital healthcare brand, speaks volumes about the quality and credibility of our products.”

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Apple Ships Rs 65,000 Cr ‘India-Made’ iPhones

Led by Apple, India is set to cross $15 billion (over Rs 1,24,000 crore) in mobile phone exports in the current fiscal year …reports Asian Lite News

As India doubles down on local manufacturing, Apple assembled iPhones worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore in India in 2023, according to industry data.

Industry sources told IANS on Tuesday that out of Rs 1 lakh crore, Apple exported iPhones worth approximately Rs 65,000 crore to other countries.

However, according to industry sources, the actual market value of the iPhones manufactured/assembled in India could be much higher, depending on taxes in other countries.

The Economic Times was first to report about Apple’s manufacturing data in the country. Apple’s manufacturing in India is part of the goals set under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

Riding on the local manufacturing growth, mobile phone exports from the country surpassed $9 billion (more than Rs 75,000 crore) from April to November in the current fiscal year, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

Led by Apple, India is set to cross $15 billion (over Rs 1,24,000 crore) in mobile phone exports in the current fiscal year (FY24), posting a growth of 35 per cent over the last fiscal year.

Apple’s revenue in India hit nearly Rs 50,000 crore in FY23, with sales increasing 48 per cent to Rs 49,321 crore and net profit rising 76 per cent to Rs 2,229 crore — fastest growth of net profit for Apple in India in the last five years.

Driven by domestic manufacturing, Apple iPhones were set to garner around 7 per cent market share in the Android-dominated smartphone market in India in 2023.

The country is now the second-biggest manufacturing hub for mobile phones due to heavy investment from original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers and companies dealing in components and parts.

The mobile phone exports are anticipated to account for about 58 per cent of the overall electronics exports in FY24, compared to around 47 per cent in the previous fiscal year.

Apple is aiming to manufacture more than 50 million iPhones in India per year, as it aims to shift some of the production out from China.

The tech giant aims to achieve the target within the next two to three years, with additional tens of millions of units planned after that, according to reports. If Apple achieves this target, India would account for a quarter of global iPhone production.

China will still remain the largest iPhone producer, a Wall Street Journal report mentioned in December.

From Apple to Foxconn, the companies are aiming to leverage domestic capabilities to achieve supply chain diversification and scale up production by manufacturing in the country.

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Blaupunkt Aims Big in India

The company also mentioned that it aims to double down and deliver through more such strategic partnerships and investments in the upcoming future….reports Asian Lite News

German electronics brand Blaupunkt on Tuesday announced that it partnered with Amazon India as its new e-commerce partner and aims to capture a four per cent market share in the country by FY2024-25.

“With this collaboration, the company envisions FY24-FY25 as a crucial year as they aim to capture a four per cent market share and set themselves as the leading television brand in India,” the company said.

The company also mentioned that it aims to double down and deliver through more such strategic partnerships and investments in the upcoming future.

“Our exclusive partnership with Flipkart marked a successful reentry, and now, as we envision FY24-FY25 as pivotal, we aim to elevate our market presence by four per cent. Looking ahead, we are committed to doubling down on strategic partnerships and investments,” Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO of SPPL exclusive brand licencee of Blaupunkt TVs in India, said in a statement.

“We are expanding our supply, increasing local production, and ensuring widespread distribution to meet the escalating demand for Blaupunkt’s products in India,” he added.

With this partnership with the e-commerce giant, the company said it will increase its visibility and ensure a positive and hassle-free shopping experience for its customers everywhere.

The Blaupunkt and Amazon collaboration is expected to provide its consumers seeking luxurious and reasonably priced technologies, with a smoother shopping experience, the company added.

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How Google Trends Reflects Concerns on Inflation

Based on Google Trends data, the study concludes that inflation anxiety has been easing over 2023, but remains higher than during 2018-2021….reports Asian Lite News

Google search interest regarding the prices of just three vegetables — tomatoes, onions, and potatoes (TOP) — has turned out to be a useful indicator of price anxiety in India, according to an ICRA study released on Tuesday.

The study, titled ‘Quickonomics’, uses Google Trends data on TOP price searches as a proxy for price anxiety and observes how they are increasingly useful in gauging inflationary expectations — a key factor in monetary policy making.

Especially, since these food prices have kept the headline inflation under pressure in India and are also instrumental in keeping inflation volatility high, the report states.

Based on Google Trends data, the study concludes that inflation anxiety has been easing over 2023, but remains higher than during 2018-2021.

Within TOP, onions and tomatoes show a super spike in Google search interest every few years. Search interest in potato prices is comparatively range-bound and devoid of super spikes, as per the trends data for the past five years

According to the study, fewer losses from potatoes, because of better storage, have kept prices and search anxiety on their prices range-bound. Tomatoes and onions lack adequate storage and face higher losses in comparison

“We find that the Google Trends index based on searches for ‘inflation’ is strongly correlated with inflation expectations of households based on the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) survey, and hence, a good proxy for inflation anxiety in the economy,” the study states.

Inflationary pressures in the Indian economy may be tracked in three ways.

First, is by looking at the actual data. CPI inflation is released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) and the daily retail price data is released by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Second, is the data on inflation expectations of households based on surveys, conducted by the RBI.

The study finds Google Trends as a third interesting source. “We take this as a proxy for inflation anxiety, based on Google web search requests by consumers for prices of commodities key to their consumption and those they believe are witnessing an upturn in prices,” the ICRA report states.

November CPI inflation made headlines again, as it rose to 5.6 per cent from 4.9 per cent in October. Food inflation jumped to 8.7 per cent from 6.6 per cent, with vegetables inflation soaring 17.7 per cent, followed by pulses. This is the second price shock in vegetables in the current fiscal.

Uncertainty on food prices is, thus, likely to haunt the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) again. While there is little that the MPC can do to control food inflation, persistent food inflation can become generalised and enter headline inflation, requiring a monetary policy response. Hence, there is a need to closely watch food prices, the ICRA report says.

“We find that the Google Trends index based on searches for ‘inflation’ is strongly correlated with inflation expectations of households based on the RBI’s survey, and hence, a good proxy for inflation anxiety in the economy,” the ICRA report concluded.

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21% Dip in Indian IT Hiring

IT sector.(photo:pixabay.com)

The major sectors that witnessed job growth in December were hospitality and pharma….reports Asian Lite News

Hiring in the Indian IT sector declined 21 per cent in December 2023 as against the same month in 2022, displaying similar trends as seen in most of the second half of last year, a report said on Tuesday.

Full stack data scientist, IT infrastructure engineer and automation engineer were some of the job roles that saw decent hiring despite a cautious job market for the IT industry, according to Naukri JobSpeak Index.

Sectors like BPO, education, retail and healthcare were some of the major sectors that displayed cautious hiring sentiments, declining by 17 per cent, 11 per cent, 11 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, in job offers in December as against the corresponding month of 2022.

The major sectors that witnessed job growth in December were hospitality and pharma.

New job offers for AI stood out with 5 per cent growth in the latest month as against the corresponding month of 2022.

“We observe marginal sequential growth of 2 per cent in December hiring activity compared to November, driven by non-IT sectors,” said Dr. Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer of Naukri.com.

However, the IT sector continued to be significantly impacted pulling the overall index down in comparison to last year, signalling a longer wait for a complete recovery in IT hiring,” he added.

The hospitality sector continued its growth momentum in new job offers with a 4 per cent increase in hiring as compared to December 2022.

The job growth for this sector is the highest in the cities of Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. Senior professionals with over 16 years of experience emerged as the most sought-after candidates for hiring in the sector.

The Pharma sector saw an increase in hiring of 2 per cent. There has been a renewed focus on R&D in the Pharma sector which has led to its growth and jump in placements, said the report.

The non-metros outshined the metros. Vadodara registered a growth of 3 per cent in new job offers in the latest month as against the same month of 2022, the report added.

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Defence India News Technology

DRDO Launches Indigenous Assault Rifle ‘Ugram’

The rifle, with a calibre of 7.62 x 51 mm, has been designed, developed, and manufactured in collaboration with a private industry partner…reports Asian Lite News

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has launched an indigenous assault rifle named ‘Ugram’, intended to meet the operational requirements of armed forces, paramilitary, and state police entities.

The rifle, with a calibre of 7.62 x 51 mm, has been designed, developed, and manufactured in collaboration with a private industry partner.

The first operational prototype of the rifle was unveiled at the DRDO’s Armament and Combat Engineering Systems in Pune. It has an effective range of 500 metres and weighs less than four kilograms.

In a press statement from the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), it was said “The Aarmament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) developed 7.62x51mm Assault rifle UGRAM through private industry was launched by Dr S V Gade, Director General (Armament & Combat Engineering Cluster) in the presence of A Raju, Director (ARDE), other senior scientists of the lab and industrial representatives.”

“This weapon is designed to meet the Army GSQR requirements of weight less than 4kg criteria. Special care is taken to ensure reliable functioning with the in-service ammunition. Steel construction of all critical components also ensures ruggedness and intuitive operations. Prototypes were demonstrated to various senior officers from the Army and MHA. The weapons received from the firm will be subjected to stringent trials by an independent expert committee before fielding to user trials,” it added.

The statement further stated that Barrel Manufacturing Facilities for Small Arms is established at Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), a premier laboratory of DRDO, was inaugurated and dedicated to the nation by Dr. S V Gade, Director General (Armament & Combat Engineering Cluster) in the presence of A Raju, Director (ARDE) and other senior scientists of the lab.

The facility is a state-of-the-art setup for manufacturing small arms barrels which are aligned with the project objective to become a nodal centre for barrel manufacturing in the country and to extend the facilities to the private firms.

The Director General stated that the facility will be a technology hub for the design, development and manufacturing of futuristic infantry weapon systems by DRDO. (ANI)

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SentinelOne Acquires PingSafe

A report in TechCrunch, citing sources, has now pegged the acquisition value at $100 million….reports Asian Lite News

AI-powered cybersecurity company SentinelOne has acquired Bengaluru-based security startup Pingsafe for more than $100 million, the media reported on Monday.

Peak XV-based PingSafe, a leader in Cloud Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP), was acquired by US-based SentinelOne last week but financials were not disclosed.

A report in TechCrunch, citing sources, has now pegged the acquisition value at $100 million.

Founded in 2021, PingSafe has around 100 employees and more than 50 customers, mostly in India.

Rajan Anandan, who leads Surge at Peak XV, had posted on X that PingSafe is “among the fastest ‘seed to significant exits’ Indian ecosystem has ever seen”.

Anand Prakash, founder and CEO of PingSafe and one of the world’s top five white hat hackers, had said that “the combination of our cutting-edge CNAPP capabilities with SentinelOne’s market-leading AI security platform will supercharge cloud security by providing world-class protection for multi-cloud infrastructure, from development to deployment.”

PingSafe is a robust CNAPP solution that delivers dynamic, real-time monitoring of multi-cloud workloads, simple setup and configuration and low false positive rates.

“With PingSafe, we can cut through the noise delivered by many CNAPP solutions to identify and prioritise the most critical threats and take an offensive approach to preventing them before they impact our business,” said Ashwath Kumar, Principal Security Engineer at Razorpay, one of the largest payment processors in India.

Prajal Kulkarni, CISO at Groww, said that they must be able to quickly identify, prioritise and respond to cloud misconfiguration seamlessly and correlate issues across our large cloud environment, and “PingSafe provides us with a centralised dashboard that makes this easy and cost-effective to do.”

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Tech Lite Technology

Google Unveils 2nd Cohort for GNI Startups Lab

Created in partnership with Anymind Group and T-Hub, the GNI Startups Lab India supports high-quality reporting for local communities…reports Asian Lite News

Google on Monday announced the second cohort of the GNI Startups Lab — a 12-week catalyst programme that aims to help the next generation, independent, early-stage Indian news startups achieve financial and operational sustainability.

Created in partnership with Anymind Group and T-Hub, the GNI Startups Lab India supports high-quality reporting for local communities, niche audiences and previously underserved communities across the country.

“Chosen out of over 110 applicants from across India, the ten news startups cover a diverse array of categories of journalism, including investigative, political, medical, youth, climate, and local news that provides a voice to underrepresented communities,” Durga Raghunath, Head of India News Partnerships, said in a blogpost.

“The diverse cohort features newsrooms from around the country, producing news in multiple Indian languages, including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu,” she added.

Moreover, the tech giant mentioned that to support the news industry in tackling the scourge of misinformation, it partnered with subject matter experts to empower journalists and newsrooms with digital tools and skills needed to find, verify, and tell engaging stories while tackling the ever-evolving risk of misinformation.

Through 2023, via efforts like the GNI India Training Network and Data Dialogue, Google supported the training of more than 15,000 journalists and journalism students in over 15 languages, impacting over 240 newsrooms and media colleges.

In July last year, the company launched the GNI Indian languages programme in partnership with Mediology to help 400 language news publishers modernise their online presence and enhance user experiences across web, app and video formats so that more users can better access more content.

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