Banks sanction ₹1.27 tn worth loans to MSME under credit guarantee scheme !!

The finance ministry on Tuesday said that, as of 20 July, banks have sanctioned loans worth about ₹1,27,582 crore under the ₹3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector impacted by the economic slowdown the triggered by coronavirus. However, disbursements from public sector banks and private banks against this stood at ₹77,613 crore under the 100% ECLGS for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the ₹20-lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in…

This is the world’s smallest 4G Android 10 phone, as big as your credit card !!

Large screen phones with display in sizes of above 6-inches have become pretty much standard nowadays. Some people, however, still look for a smaller form factor. There are not a lot of options unless you settle with the iPhone SE or older-gen Android phones. Now, a China-based firm has launched what is being touted as the world’s smallest 4G Android smartphone. Shanghai-based Unihertz has launched Jelly 2. The phone is the successor to Jelly, another small smartphone that launched in back in 2017. The company has a small lineup of…

Nandan Nilekani opens credit infra to help small businesses get loans !!

A major new technological innovation is in the works connecting lenders with the marketplace, Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani announced on Wednesday that, as he buttressed the need for India to “democratize credit” for millions of small businesses to revive its virus-battered economy. Speaking at the Global Fintech Festival, 2020 Nilekani, co-founder & non-executive chairman of Infosys Ltd, described that the initiative as a credit protocol infrastructure called the Open Credit Enablement Network, or OCEN, built by the Indian Software Product Industry Roundtable (iSpirt), a think-tank of the software industry. Under these…

Researchers Rediscover ‘Lost Planet’ Using New Method in Another Step Towards Finding Habitable Planets !!

Researchers from University of Warwick in the UK rediscovered the planet named NGTS-11b using the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) telescopes in Chile. The planet was its originally found in 2018 using data from NASA’s TESS telescope, which scans for a dip in light from the star to identify it as a planet. At the time, due to a 27-day scanning limitation of the TESS telescope, the star could not be identified. However, using the NGTS telescopes, researchers were successfully able to rediscover the NGTS-11b, which revolves around its star every…

Gmail is planning to add authentication logos to your email soon !!

Google joined Brand Indicators for Message Identification or BIMI in last year in a bid to develop technology to prevent email fraud. Now, the company is planning to introduce a new feature called authentication logos in GSuite that it would be  add brand logos to verified emails. As of now, when you get an email from a company, say Amazon about the delivery of a product or RedBus confirming about your bus journey, the email that you see in your mailbox generally contains the initials of the company’s name. When…

Electric scooter manufacturing start-up Okinawa plans to expand dealership network !!

New Delhi: Electric scooter manufacturing start-up, Okinawa, on Monday announced that its decision to increase dealership network to 500 across the country from the present strength of the 350. The company also plans to focus on increasing its sub dealer network as well in order to improve sales in post-pandemic days. While Covid-19 has forced a slowdown across the industries, Okinawa had shared the strategy to accelerate its marketing activities and strengthen its dealership network. Recently, the brand also announced a hike in dealership margins from 8% – 11%, to support…

Indian Army Gets ‘Bharat’ Drones for Accurate Surveillance Along China Border !!

Amid the ongoing boundary dispute between India and China, DRDO has provided its indigenously-developed drone named Bharat to the Indian Army for carrying out accurate surveillance in high altitude areas and mountainous terrain along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.”The Indian Army requires drones for accurate surveillance in the ongoing dispute in the Eastern Ladakh area. For this type of  requirement, the DRDO has provided the Bharat drones to it,” defence sources told ANI here. The Bharat drones have been developed by a Chandigarh-based laboratory of the Defence Research…

PM Modi Helped Lockdown Become A People’s Movement !!

In 1918, India was beset by an influenza pandemic which lasted till 1920. The disease affected all individuals between the age of 20 and 40 in particular – the Ganga, it was stated, it was swollen with dead bodies (Suryakant Tripathi, the famed poet). In its aftermath, the pandemic killed over 14-17 million (~5% of the population), the highest in the world. India’s population actually fell in the decade between 1911 and 1921. In March 2020, India was faced with grave predictions about the COVID-19 outbreak – It was even…

Uber Defends Business Model at UK’s Supreme Court !!

Uber will be defend its business model on Tuesday at Britain’s Supreme Court in a battle over rights in the workplace that it could have ramifications for millions of Britons earning a living in the gig economy. In a case brought by two then Uber drivers in London, an employment tribunal ruled in 2016 that they were entitled to workers’ with rights such as the minimum wage, paid holidays, and rest breaks. As things stand, Uber drivers are treated as self-employed, meaning they are legally entitled only to minimal protections. Uber…

MPowered raises $21 million as part of pre-Series A funding !!

Bengaluru:  Gurugram-based asset management firm, MPowered has raised $21 million, as a part of its pre-series A round, from a group of US-based ultra-rich individuals with real estate veterans Ashok Nichani and Shelly Nichani leading the round. The funding will be used by the firm to take on new verticals of real estate such as warehousing, residential and commercial spaces. A portion of the funding amount will also be used to develop tech-solutions that it will be enable ease-of-use in day-to-day real estate transactions and management. “This fundraise will be…