Scientists have described the SKAO’s two arrays of telescopes — one in Australia and the other in South Africa — as “game-changers” for radio astronomy that will open new opportunities to explore the universe and the fundamental laws of physics.

India has joined as a full member of an international research consortium building the world’s largest radio telescope split across two continents and designed to probe the skies in unprecedented detail 10,000 times faster than possible now.

India’s department of atomic energy and department of science and technology are set to contribute ₹1,250 crore (140 million euros), about 10 per cent of the estimated 1.3 billion euros, for the construction of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO).

Scientists have described the SKAO’s two arrays of telescopes — one in Australia and the other in South Africa — as “game-changers” for radio astronomy that will open new opportunities to explore the universe and the fundamental laws of physics.

Indian scientists have participated in discussions on the design, construction and science goals for the SKAO since 2012 but India joined the SKAO Council this July. “India’s contributions to the SKAO have been substantial, spanning science, engineering and governance,” SKAO director-general PhilDiamond said.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

Women personnel constitute over seven per cent of the force whose present strength is about 1.80 lakh.

A first-ever all-women CISF battalion comprising more than 1,000 personnel has been sanctioned by the Union government keeping in mind the burgeoning duties of the force in VIP security, airports and other vital installations.

Officials told PTI that the unit will be raised from within the sanctioned manpower of the force of about two lakh personnel.

The Union home ministry issued a sanction order on Monday approving an exclusive women unit called “reserve battalion” in the force with a total strength of 1,025 personnel led by a senior commandant-rank officer, they said.

Women personnel constitute over seven per cent of the force whose present strength is about 1.80 lakh.

A force spokesperson said preparations for the early recruitment, training and selection of location for stationing the new reserve battalion has been initiated.

“The training is being specially designed to create an elite battalion capable of performing a multifarious role as commandos in VIP security and also security of airports, Delhi Metro, etc.,” he said.

Once raised, it will be the first all-women reserve battalion of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The CISF has 12 reserve battalions under its establishment at present and they have a mix of both men and women personnel.

As the name suggests, reserve units are kept in readiness and this pool is used as reinforcement when the force gets a new job like temporary duties of conducting elections and permanent tasks of guarding an installation like the Parliament House complex that came under CISF cover this year, an official said.

The force has a huge interface with women commuters and visitors at facilities like the 68 civil airports it guards, the Delhi Metro and historical monuments like the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. It already has female personnel deployed at these duty locations.

Apart from these installations, the 1969-raised CISF provides a counter-terrorist security cover to a number of facilities in the nuclear and aerospace domain apart from those in the private sector like the Infosys offices in Bengaluru and Pune, Reliance refinery in Jamnagar (Gujarat), among others.

The CISF projected a requirement of having an all-women reserve battalion early this year following the directions of Union home minister Amit Shah during the 53rd Raising Day of the force that was held in March 2023, a home ministry official said.

“The addition of a ‘mahila’ (women) battalion would encourage more aspiring young women across the country to join CISF and serve the nation. It will give a new identity to women in CISF,” the spokesperson said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

During the test, all sub-systems performed as per expectation and met the primary mission objectives.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday conducted the maiden flight test of Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha, from a mobile articulated launcher.

The missile performance was monitored by several range sensors like Radar, Electro-Optical Tracking System and telemetry deployed by ITR at different locations to ensure complete coverage of the flight path.

During the test, all sub-systems performed as per expectation and met the primary mission objectives.

The Ministry of Defence said, “The missile followed the desired path using waypoint navigation and demonstrated its capability to perform various manoeuvres while flying at various altitudes and speeds.”

The missile is also equipped with advanced avionics and software to ensure better and more reliable performance, MoD added.

LRLACM is a Defence Acquisition Council-approved, Acceptance of Necessity-sanctioned, Mission Mode Project. It is configured to launch from the ground using mobile articulated launchers and also from frontline ships using a universal vertical launch module system, MoD said.

LRLACM has been developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru along with contributions from other DRDO laboratories and Indian industries. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru are the two Development-Cum-Production-Partners for LRLACM and they are engaged in missile development and integration.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented DRDO, the Armed Forces, and the Industry on the successful Maiden Flight Test. It paves the way for future indigenous cruise missile development programmes, he said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

The other countries who participated were Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, the Maldives and Nepal.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India hosted South Asian nations for a multilateral event in New Delhi. Notably, the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators’ Council, the three-day event organised by the Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT), includes a delegation from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a significant inclusion. 

The Afghan officials present at the annual council declined to answer questions, but provided their names: Saed Baraat Shah Agha Nadeem, the chairman of the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA), Sebghatullah Andar, the Telecommunication Monitoring and Control Director, and Rohullah Raihan, a protocol director. There was also a Pakistani delegation; the country’s delegation was led by Khawar Siddique Khokhar, Member (Compliance & Enforcement) at the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). 

At the plenary session, TRAI chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti was voted the chair of SATRC for the coming year, a customary appointment as India hosted this year’s session. “It is important that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) policies are increasingly related to development objectives,” Mr. Lahoti said in remarks after being voted chair. He brought up spam as an issue on which countries would have to collaborate to address. “This is not a political forum, this is a sectoral gathering,” he told The Hindu when asked about the significance of the countries in attendance. “We are fortunate that all the eight member countries of the SATRC are present here.“

“We need to work harder and more patiently than ever to build our region,” Mr. Nadeem of ATRA said at his remarks in the plenary session, in which he also highlighted the importance of regional and sub-regional cooperation in telecommunications, and thanked India for its hospitality. Iran also participated with a representative present; however, the gathering was addressed by the country virtually by Alireza Darvishi, an official at the country’s Communications Regulatory Authority.

Last week, J.P. Singh, joint secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs’ Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division met with Afghan officials and discussed issues like Afghan businesses accessing the Chabahar Port, and humanitarian assistance. Afghan state-associated media reported this week that the country’s consulate would begin issuing passports to citizens in India.

“South Asia faces unique challenges regarding access and inclusion, cybersecurity, spectrum management, smart cities and societies, e-waste and the regulation of social media and OTT platforms, etc,” Mr. Khokhar of Pakistan said in his remarks. 

The other countries who participated were Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives and Nepal. “Post-pandemic, online platforms have taken the forefront of teaching and learning,” Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority Director Jigme Wangdi said. “Therefore, demand for fixed broadband, ADSL, leased line, has increased, and our telecom companies are struggling to meet the demand. The universal service funds are depleting, and we still have villages to cover with usable internet connectivity. With 5G we’re in a better position to deal with the increased demand of leased lines and home broadband…” 

Ilyas Ahmed, chief executive of the Communication Authority of Maldives, said that the archipelago nation had made progress in its broadband rollout, adding that it had become “the first country in the region” to roll out SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet services. Mr. Ahmed also brought up the issue of spam, saying it was important to “educate our citizens on spam techniques” and “make sure scammers cannot easily operate across borders.” 

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The other sectors where the share of India’s exports has increased during 2018 and 2023 are electrical goods, pneumatic tyres, taps and valves, and semiconductor devices.

India’s export competitiveness has witnessed healthy gains in multiple sectors — particularly petroleum, gemstones, agrochemicals and sugar — during the last five years, as these segments have increased their share in global trade, according to the commerce ministry data.

The other sectors where the share of India’s exports has increased during 2018 and 2023 are electrical goods, pneumatic tyres, taps and valves, and semiconductor devices.

The ministry data analysis showed that petroleum exports rose to USD 84.96 billion in 2023, with India’s market share surging to 12.59 per cent last year from 6.45 per cent in 2018, positioning it as the second-largest global exporter. It was ranked fifth in 2018.

In the precious and semi-precious stones segment, the country’s share in global shipments has soared to 36.53 per cent last year from 16.27 per cent in 2018. It has propelled the country to the top position in the category, with exports reaching USD 1.52 billion in 2023 from USD 0.26 billion in 2018. It was at the second spot in 2018.

Similarly, in cane or beet sugar, the country’s outbound shipments have more than quadrupled to USD 3.72 billion from USD 0.93 billion in 2018.

India has achieved tremendous growth in the export of cane or beet sugar, with its global market share increasing from 4.17 per cent in 2018 to 12.21 per cent in 2023.

“As the world’s second-largest exporter of sugar, India’s success can be attributed to both favourable agricultural policies and its strong production base. The country has capitalised on the growing global demand for sugar, especially in regions like Southeast Asia and Africa,” an official said.

India’s share of the global market for insecticides and fungicides has also shown healthy improvement.

The country increased its global share from 8.52 per cent in 2018 to 10.85 per cent in 2023, with exports reaching USD 4.32 billion.

India’s ability to meet international agricultural and environmental standards and its emphasis on innovation in agrochemicals have led to this improvement, the official said.

India is now the third-largest exporter globally against the 5th position in 2018, the data showed.

Further, the country’s position in the global market for rubber pneumatic tyres has also strengthened, with exports growing to USD 2.66 billion in 2023 from USD 1.82 billion in 2018.

India now holds a 3.31 per cent share of the global market, up from 2.34 per cent in 2018, and the country has moved up to the eighth position globally from 13th in 2018, indicating the rising demand for Indian-manufactured tyres, particularly in emerging markets.

The data also showed that exports of semiconductors and photosensitive devices have increased from a mere USD 0.16 billion in 2018 to USD 1.91 billion in 2023, with the country’s share in the world market rising to 1.4 per cent, and the country now ranks ninth globally compared to 25th in 2018.

This underscores India’s potential to become a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

They propose a model to teach responsibility to autonomous AI agents, such as systems or entities like drones, robots, vehicles etc. which can perform tasks and operate independently without any human intervention.

Imagine if adaptive traffic lights on the road start communicating with each other and regulate the traffic better, or if an autonomous agent (advanced form of Artificial Intelligence) tells a supply chain manager when is the best time to ship an order. In a new study by the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore’s (IIITB), researchers have come up with a model called Computational Transcendence which can help autonomous agents do these tasks responsibly. 

Autonomous agents are systems or entities like drones, robots, vehicles etc. which can perform tasks and operate independently without any human intervention. Their application lies in diverse domains like healthcare, agriculture, and mobility among others. Considering the vast applicability where the actions of such agents directly impact humans and other agents in the system, the researchers say that the agents must act responsibly understanding the implications of their actions on others.

‘Computational Transcendence: A Model for Emergent Responsible Agency in Multi-Agent Systems’ was conducted and authored by Srinath Srinivasa, professor and dean (R&D), IIITB, and Jayati Deshmukh, who was a research scholar at IIITB between 2020 and 2022, and was recently published in AI and Ethics this August.

“While the decision making of autonomous agents has matured, they still face problems when they have to interact with each other. There was an incident in San Fransisco in the U.S. where many autonomous cars were trying to park at the same time and that led to collision and traffic jams. It is difficult to hardcode responsible behaviour into agents as they are typically modelled as external reinforcements,” said Prof. Srinivasa.

He further explained: “The innate responsibility in human beings is a result of our elastic identity where we identify ourselves with things bigger than us. We experimented with many approaches with the agents and our unique transcendental approach worked the best. This model endows agents with an elastic sense of self enabling them to identify with other external entities of the system which could be other agents and abstract notions. The agent will then consider them as a part of their transcended sense of self and act responsibly.”

So, what happens when these agents act responsibly? “Consider the adaptive traffic lights which we see in many cities including Bengaluru,” says Prof. Srinivasa. “They have some sense of synchronisation and work effectively in the intersection where they are located. But they are not that effective on a larger scale, which would be the synchronisation of all such lights in the city. With a little sense of transcendence, the traffic lights will be able to communicate with their immediate neighbours and coordinate better,” he said. 

He narrated another example of a supply chain. “When orders are received, suppliers usually do it in bulk to reduce costs. They face the dilemma of either making the customer wait for their products until more orders pile up or ship immediately and compromise on profits. An autonomous agent with transcendence can help the supplier decide how to come up with a win-win situation for both the supplier and the customer.” 

The authors believe that this model offers a promising direction of research that can help design and build intrinsically responsible autonomous agents which act responsibly because of their larger-than-self-identity and not for constraint or obligation satisfaction. 

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Total vehicle retail sales in India in Oct sees 32% on-year rise to 28,32,944 units: Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association.

The total vehicle retail sales in India witnessed a 32 per cent on-year rise in October to 28,32,944 units with all segments including two-wheelers and passenger vehicles registering strong growth, Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA) said on Wednesday.

The total vehicle retail sales in October 2023 stood at 21,43,929 units, as per FADA.

The strong growth in October this year was largely driven by the rural market, especially boosting two-wheeler and passenger vehicles sales, supported by increased Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Rabi crops, FADA said.

The total vehicle retail sales in India witnessed a 32 per cent on-year rise in October to 28,32,944 units with all segments including two-wheelers and passenger vehicles registering strong growth, Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA) said on Wednesday.

The total vehicle retail sales in October 2023 stood at 21,43,929 units, as per FADA.

The strong growth in October this year was largely driven by the rural market, especially boosting two-wheeler and passenger vehicles sales, supported by increased Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Rabi crops, FADA said.

Passenger vehicle sales grew 32.38 per cent to 4,83,159 units, from 3,64,991 units retailed in October 2023, it stated.

Two-wheeler sales for the previous month were recorded at 20,65,095 units, as compared to 15,14,634 units in October 2023, registering a growth of 36.35 per cent, while three-wheeler sales were up 11.45 per cent year-on-year to 1,22,846 in in October 2024, it said.

Tractor sales, according to FADA, increased 3.08 per cent during October to 64,433 units, from 62,542 units a year ago.

The convergence of major festivals (Navratri and Diwali) in October significantly boosted consumer demand; attractive festive offers, new model launches, and improved stock availability led to a 36 per cent year-on-year and 71 per cent month-on-month growth in two-wheelers, according to FADA.

Besides, rural sentiments, favourable monsoon and good crop expectations, further contributed to the growth, it stated.

Moreover, the 32 per cent year-on-year and 75 per cent month-on-month rise in passenger vehicle sales was driven by festive demand, aggressive offers, and new model introductions, it said.

FADA remains optimistic about near-term growth of the overall automobile industry particularly with the wedding season ahead.

However, potential challenges such as inventory overstock and economic headwinds may affect sales momentum towards the end of the year, it said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

Academic highflyer and successful lawyer Usha Vance, the child of Indian immigrants, is the wife of Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance.

Villagers had offered prayers for Donald Trump’s win (File)

Vadluru: 

Far from Republican festivities as Donald Trump claimed US election victory, residents of a sleepy Indian village celebrated that their descendant would be the next “Second Lady”, hoping to benefit from her success.

Academic highflyer and successful lawyer Usha Vance, the child of Indian immigrants, is the wife of Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance.

While 38-year-old Usha Vance was born and brought up in suburban San Diego, those in the village of her paternal ancestors in India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state prayed that historic ties would bring improvements to their land.

“We feel happy,” said Srinivasa Raju, 53, a resident of Vadluru, a village of white-washed homes scattered amongst palm trees, more than 13,450 (8,360 miles) from the White House in Washington. “We support Trump.”

Villagers had offered prayers for a Trump win, and Hindu priest Appaji said he hoped Usha Vance would do something in return.

“We expect her to help our village,” the 43-year-old priest said, dressed in flowing saffron robes, after lighting a candle at the idol of Hindu elephant-headed deity Ganesh for Trump.

“If she can recognise her roots and do something good for this village, then that would be great.”

‘Very fine’

Usha Vance’s great-grandfather moved out of Vadluru and her father Chilukuri Radhakrishnan — a PhD holder — was brought up in the Indian city of Chennai, before going on to study in the United States.

“Every Indian — not just myself, every Indian — we feel proud of Usha, because she is of Indian origin,” said 70-year-old Venkata Ramanayy. “We hope she will develop our village.”

She has never visited the village, but the priest said her father came around three years ago and checked on the temple’s condition.

“We have already seen the governance of Trump — very good,” Ramanayy said. “Indian and American relations were very fine during the presidency of Trump.”

Little is known about Radhakrishnan’s initial years in the United States, but the film of J.D. Vance’s memoirs, Hillbilly Elegy, refers to him coming to the country with “nothing”.

Millions of Indians have made similar journeys as the Chilukuris, and according to the most recent US census, Indians have become the country’s second-largest Asian ethnicity, growing 50 percent to 4.8 million in the decade to 2020.

Usha, a practising Hindu who studied at Yale and Cambridge Universities, married J.D. Vance in Kentucky in 2014. They have three children.

‘Inspiring’

But the story was different around 730 kilometres (454 miles) to the southwest, in Thulasendrapuram, once home to Kamala Harris’s grandfather.

T.S. Anbarasu, 63, said the Democrat’s “struggle” had encouraged girls to stay in school.

“She is inspiring this village,” he said. “Any school in the surrounding area, students know about Kamala Harris.”

Harris, 60, was born in California, but was often taken to India by her mother.

“If she comes here, we’ll treat her like the president of the United States,” Anbarasu said.

“We are still proud of her. She is like family to us. If our family members fail, we don’t discriminate against them, or treat them as a loser, right?”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

source/content: ndtv.com (headline edited)

Apple Inc’s iPhone exports from India jumped by a third in the six months through September, underscoring its push to expand manufacturing in the country and reduce dependence on China.

The US company exported nearly $6bn of India-made iPhones, an increase of a third in value terms from a year earlier, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named as the information is private. That puts annual exports on track to surpass the about $10bn of fiscal 2024.

Apple is expanding its manufacturing network in India at a rapid clip, taking advantage of local subsidies, a skilled workforce and advances in the country’s technological capabilities. India is a crucial part of the company’s effort to lessen its reliance on China, where risks have grown along with Beijing’s tensions with the US.

Three of Apple’s suppliers — Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp, and homegrown Tata Electronics — assemble iPhones in southern India. Foxconn’s local unit, based on the outskirts of Chennai, is the top supplier in India and accounts for half of the country’s iPhone exports.

Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group’s electronics manufacturing arm exported about $1.7bn in iPhones from its factory in Karnataka state from April to September, the people said. Tata acquired this unit from Wistron Corp last year, becoming the first Indian assembler of Apple’s bestselling product.

The dollar figure refers to the devices’ estimated factory gate value, not the retail price. Representatives for Apple declined to comment. Pegatron also declined to comment, while Foxconn and Tata spokespersons didn’t respond to requests for comment.

IPhones account for the bulk of India’s smartphone exports and helped the product category become the top export to the US at $2.88bn in the first five months of this fiscal year, according to federal trade ministry data. Five years ago, before Apple expanded manufacturing in India, the country’s annual smartphone exports to the US were a meagre $5.2mn.

Still, Apple accounts for just under 7% of India’s smartphone market, which is dominated by Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. And while still a small market for iPhones globally, Apple is making big bets.

The subsidies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration helped Apple assemble its pricey iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models, with better cameras and titanium bodies, in India this year. It’s also seeking to open new retail stores, including in the southern tech hub of Bangalore and western city of Pune.

Last year, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook launched Apple’s first shops in the financial hub of Mumbai and capital New Delhi.

The grand openings, the marketing blitz around the new stores, an aggressive online sales push as well as a rapidly growing middle class that aspires to own Apple products boosted its annual India revenue to a record of $8bn in the year through March.

India sales could reach $33bn by 2030, we calculate, fuelled primarily by rising middle-class purchasing power and a greater use of payment plans, say Anurag Rana and Andrew Girard, analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Apple’s rising star in India contrasts with its flagging fortunes in China, whose economy has stuttered following harsh Covid-19 lockdowns and a property crisis. To be sure, Apple relies on China for a bulk of its manufacturing and sales, and India’s unlikely to become its top market anytime soon.

Apple assembled $14bn of iPhones in India in the fiscal year through March 2024, doubling production and accelerating its drive to diversify beyond China. Of that, it exported roughly $10bn worth of iPhones.

source/content: gulf-times.com (headline edited)