Policy
India is well-positioned to benefit from Industry 4.0: CII
NEW DELHI: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has organised a conference on Hi-tech Manufacturing and Robotics in New Delhi, today.
Addressing the Summit, Ramesh C Jain, Past Chairman CII Regional Committee on Manufacturing Technology and Competitiveness & Director Hi-Tech Group stressed that global manufacturing landscape is being transformed by digital technologies such as the “Internet of Things” and robotics collectively called “Fourth Industrial Revolution” or “Industry 4.0”. Huge efficiency and productivity gains are being realized through cost reductions, quality improvements, customization and a quantum leap in performance. Increasing investment in these technologies is propelling traditional manufacturing powerhouses of the 20th century back to the top of competition.
Pankaj Dubey, CEO & Director, Eicher Polaris Pvt Ltd shared that Industry 4.0 is the digitisation of the manufacturing industry and a realisation of the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science. Done right, Industry 4.0 will enable manufacturers to improve efficiencies whilst reducing costs.
P V Sivaram, Managing Director B&R Industrial Automation, India, said, “Speed, quality, service, flexibility and global focus are identified as the essential elements for successful manufacturing for the next decade. The manufacturers are measured by their ability to respond quickly to sudden, often unpredictable changes in customer needs and wants.”
Anuj Kapuria, Co – Chairman, CII NR Committee on Hi-Tech Manufacturing & Robotics and Founder & CEO The Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd, spoke about the role of IoT and AI in manufacturing. He said that by 2020, there will be 30 billion connected devices on earth. This is leading to the Big Data Mountain growing beyond recognition. He further expressed that it is now up to manufacturers to unlock this data. The information generated by the increase of connected devices and machines represents a significant opportunity. By determining how to best identify, capture and interpret this increased volume of data, it can help organisations understand their market and customers better, as well as gaining market share.
Speaking about the role of IoT in strengthening the MSME sector, Sivakumar Natarajan, Global Practice Head – Digital for Manufacturing Industries Wipro Ltd said that there are three broad areas which MSMEs need to look at as part of their IoT & broader digital transformation initiatives. Connected Plant – Improve the operational efficiency of physical plant assets, workers and associated processes resulting in improved asset utilization, reduced operating and maintenance costs, while improving uptime and production. Connected Enterprise – Improve the operational efficiency of an enterprise resulting in higher productivity of employees, lower cost of IT infrastructure and optimized supply chain performance. Connected Customer – Improving the effectiveness of marketing, sales, and support of products and creation of new business models to increase revenue.
The summit witnessed speakers from various organizations, including Fanuc India Pvt Ltd, Thermax Ltd, ABB Robotics India, Wipro, Hi-Tech Group, Tech Mahindra, Encon Systems, Ascent Intellimation Pvt Ltd, B&R Industrial Automation, Pepperl + Fuchs India Pvt Ltd, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd, UNO Minda and Eicher Polaris Pvt Ltd, etc.
HYDERABAD: A team from Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) on Friday met Telangana Minister for IT and Industries K T Rama Rao and discussed a wide range of topics ranging from trade and economic cooperation to cultural exchange programmes.
An official release said the minister spoke about Telangana’s unique investment policy, TS-iPASS and also highlighted about creating a dedicated industrial park in the State for Taiwanese companies and jointly work with industry and trade organisations of Taiwan to take it forward.
The Telangana government has enacted the “Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self-Certification System (TS-iPASS) Act, 2014” for speedy processing of applications for issue of various clearances required for setting up of industries at a single point based on the self-certificate provided by the entrepreneur and also to create investor friendly environment in the State of Telangana.
Minister spoke about the vibrant industrial ecosystem in Telangana including that of Lifesciences, and ICT. Explained to the delegation about TS-iPASS, Hyderabad as the ideal destination for investments, and stressed on handholding SMEs. pic.twitter.com/BpxQEmTIMr
— Minister for IT, Industries, MA & UD, Telangana (@MinisterKTR) November 11, 2022
The minister also mentioned about the widespread use of IT and Electronics in all spheres of life right from Healthcare, Lifesciences, Automobiles, Defense & Aerospace, and the new age of startups working on Tech Innovation, and how the State succeeds in having their sectoral advantage.
Rama Rao explained the various measures adopted by the state government to improve the ‘ease of doing business’ in state and the prevailing conducive investor friendly ecosystem.
Source: Press Trust of India
News
Twitter adds ‘Official’ label for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, some other big verified accounts
NEW DELHI: An ‘Official’ label has been added to the Twitter handle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some other ministers as the US-based social media platform started rolling out a feature to distinguish between the Twitter Blue account and verified accounts.
Modi’s verified blue tick Twitter handle @narendramodi was marked ‘Official’ with a tick mark enclosed in a circle.
The same was label was also seen on the Twitter handles of Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and some other ministers.
Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, some other opposition party leaders as well as sportspersons like Sachin Tendulkar too were given that label.
This is in line with Twitter’s just-announced changes for verified accounts, as part of its new USD 8 premium subscription product.
The ‘Official’ label is given for select verified accounts including major media outlets and governments.
A lot of folks have asked about how you'll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the “Official" label to select accounts when we launch. pic.twitter.com/0p2Ae5nWpO
— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 8, 2022
Twitter official Esther Crawford in a tweet said: “A lot of folks have asked about how you’ll be able to distinguish between @TwitterBlue subscribers with blue checkmarks and accounts that are verified as official, which is why we’re introducing the ‘Official’ label to select accounts when we launch.”
“Not all previously verified accounts will get the ‘Official’ label and the label is not available for purchase. Accounts that will receive it include government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures,” she said.
The new Twitter Blue, she said, does not include ID verification. “It’s an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a blue checkmark and access to select features. We’ll continue to experiment with ways to differentiate between account types.”
The changes come days after the world’s richest man Elon Musk took over Twitter Inc for USD 44 billion and brought in a slew of changes, including a subscription programme and a new verification system.
Update: https://t.co/fSYkpVJ1BD
— Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 9, 2022
He has announced a USD 8 per month price tag for the Blue Tick verification of handles.
Twitter’s chargeable blue tick verification service is expected to roll out in India in “less than a month”, Musk had said on Sunday.
“Hopefully, less than a month,” Musk tweeted in response to a Twitter user’s query on when the service is expected to be launched in India.
Earlier this month, Musk had announced that verification blue tick in front of a user’s name that authenticates an account will be charged USD 8 per month.
Twitter’s strategy to introduce a monthly charge for the verified badge has polarised users globally.
Musk, the CEO of electric car maker Tesla Inc, completed his USD 44-billion takeover of Twitter in October-end, placing the world’s richest man at the helm of one of the most influential social media apps in the world. He also fired the social media company’s four top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and legal executive Vijaya Gadde.
Twitter then proceeded to fire the majority of its over 200 employees in India as part of mass layoffs across the globe ordered by Musk who is looking to make the blockbuster acquisition work.
Source: Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI: Members of the parliamentary panel on IT on Friday expressed apprehensions about some provisions of the new draft telecom bill and sought details from the Telecom Ministry about how the law will ensure data safety and privacy, sources said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information and Technology chaired by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav met here for the first time after it was reconstituted and deliberated upon the draft telecom bill — circulated for stakeholder comments last month.
Top officials of the Telecom Ministry were present in the meeting and MPs across party lines raised questions about data safety and the privacy provisions in the proposed legislation and sought written reply from the ministry, sources said.
Some MPs also asked about the future role of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as the proposed bill’s provisions might reduce the regulator’s powers, sources said.
A few members suggested that the bill gives the administration overarching powers under the garb of national security but without adequate oversight mechanism.
Some members flagged that the definition of Over The Top (OTT) communication apps was not very clear, they said.
Some members wanted to know about possible health hazards when a large number of telecom towers for 5G and other services are coming up. They emphasised that there is a need to have adequate safeguards to tackle possible health and environmental hazards, sources added.
Senior officials of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) who were present in the meeting took note of the issues and said they would come back with comprehensive responses, according to sources.
In the draft bill, the telecom department has also mooted a provision for the refund of fees in case a telecom or internet provider surrenders his licence.
Meanwhile, telecom service providers are pushing for OTT apps to be brought under regulation. They argue that apps offering services similar to them — say Whatsapp, Signal and other similar apps used for calling and messaging — should be subject to the same licence conditions as telcos, thus ensuring a level-playing-field for all technologies.
Source: Press Trust of India
