Mobile Services
Narendra Modi interacts with beneficiaries of various Digital India initiatives
NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, today interacted with the beneficiaries of various Digital India Mission schemes from across the country, through video bridge.
The video bridge connected over 50 lakh beneficiaries, including those from Common Service Centres, NIC centres, National Knowledge Network, BPOs, Mobile Manufacturing Units and MyGov volunteers.
This is the sixth interaction in the series by the Prime Minister through video bridge with various beneficiaries of Government schemes.
Interacting with the beneficiaries, Prime Minister said that Digital India was launched to ensure that people from all walks of life, especially those from rural areas, are digitally empowered. He added that to make this possible, Government has worked on a holistic policy consisting of connecting villages through fibre optic, digitally educating citizens, providing service delivery through mobiles and promoting electronic manufacturing.
Talking about technology, Prime Minister said that technology has brought about ease of living and Government’s efforts are to ensure that the advantages of technology was available to all sections of the society.
Various provisions like online payment of bills including BHIM APP, online booking of railway tickets, and electronic delivery of scholarships and pensions to bank accounts have greatly reduced the burden on common people, Modi added.
Describing the importance of Common Service Centers (CSC), Prime Minister said that CSC’s across India are providing digital services to rural India. CSCs have successfully developed Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLE) in rural areas and created job opportunities for more than 10 Lakh people. There are 2.92 Lakh CSCs in rural India providing opportunities to access various government and other services across 2.15 Lakh Gram Panchayats
During the interaction, Modi said that the movement towards more digital payments is resulting in the elimination of intermediaries. Digital payments in India has grown significantly in last four years, making Indian economy digital and transparent.
Talking about Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA), PM said that the scheme has already provided digital skill and training to 1.25 crore people, out of which 70% of candidates are from SC, ST and OBC communities. The scheme aims to provide digital skills and basic computer training to six crore people through 20 hours of basic computer training.
Digital India has also transformed the BPO sector immensely. Earlier BPOs were only restricted to big cities, now it is spread to small towns and villages, creating employment opportunities.
The India BPO promotion scheme and the separate BPO promotion scheme for the Northeast, started under Digital India will create new employment opportunities to over two lakh people in North East and in rural areas. Now the youth of nation is getting jobs near their homes due to BPOs units opening all through out India, Prime Minister said.
Interacting with the employees of various Electronic Manufacturing Units, Prime Minister said that India has gone a long way in Electronics Hardware Manufacturing in the last 4 years. To promote electronic manufacturing in India, Government has started the Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) scheme, through which 23 EMCs are being opened in 15 states.
The scheme is expected to provide employment to close to six lakh people. Prime minister also noted that India has 120 mobile phone manufacturing factories now compared to just two such units in 2014.These units have created directed and indirect employment to more than 4.5 lakh citizens.
Prime Minister also talked about the importance of National Knowledge Network (NKN) in building a strong Digital India. NKN inter connects about 1700 major Research and Educational Institutes in India, thereby providing a powerful platform to close to five crore students, researchers, academicians and government officers.
Prime Minister also interacted with the volunteers of MyGov platform, the citizen engagement platform created within two months of the formation of the government. There are more than 60 lakh volunteers associated with the platform, giving ideas, suggestions and doing various volunteer activities, playing a huge role in building of a New India, Modi said. Prime Minister also added that through Digital India, ‘4E’s- Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Empowerment are being achieved.
Interacting with the Prime Minister, beneficiaries of various Digital India schemes explained how the schemes have played an important role in transforming their lives. Various beneficiaries also described how Common Service Centre (CSC) has brought employment opportunities and the various services it provides has resulted in ease of living.
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.
Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.
Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”
Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.
In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.
NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.
This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.
Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.
Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.
While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.
Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.
If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.
Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.
The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.
Source: Press Trust of India
5g
Nokia wins multi-year deal with Reliance Jio India to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world
NEW DELHI: Nokia has announced that it has been selected as a major supplier by Reliance Jio to supply 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio countrywide in a multi-year deal. Reliance Jio is India’s number one mobile operator and has one of the largest RAN footprints in the world.
Under the contract, Nokia will supply equipment from its AirScale portfolio, including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. Reliance Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.
Akash Ambani, Chairman Reliance Jio, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Nokia for our 5G SA deployment in India. Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.”
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia stated: “This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world. This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio. We are proud that Reliance Jio has placed its trust in our technology and we look forward to a long and productive partnership with them.”
Nokia has a long-standing presence in India. This new deal will mean that Nokia is now supplying India’s three largest mobile operators.
