Page 2 - Digital Connectivity

Quite a fast charge: Indian smartphone users world's top data consumers

The research is based on Ericsson's Mobility Report for 2023, which was released globally on Thursday

Vulnerabilities in India's digital infra spur rise in cyberattacks: Experts

SaaS and conglomerate companies experienced ten times more attacks than the preceding quarter, according to the study

India-made MOSIP: An identity tool for the world's development needs

MOSIP is helping developing nations to build inclusive and targeted programmes for their citizens

Interoperability of DPIs likely to be 'long-term goal' for G20 summit

Developed nations believe DPIs may be a threat to private payment networks

Cabinet approves Rs 1.39 trn for connecting 640,000 villages with broadband

The Union Cabinet has approved a last-mile broadband connectivity plan for 6.4 lakh villages across the country under the BharatNet project with an outlay of Rs 1.39 lakh crore, according to sources. Around 1.94 lakh villages have been connected under the BharatNet project at present, and the balance is likely to be connected in two and a half years, they added. "The Cabinet in its meeting, held on Friday evening, has approved Rs 1,39,579 crore for providing last mile optical fibre-based connectivity to homes in all villages of the country," one of the sources said. The last-mile connectivity will be provided by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), an arm of state-owned BSNL, in partnership with village level entrepreneur (VLE). "The model to take fibre-to-the-home, with the help of a local entrepreneur, was finalised after the successful completion of a pilot project. The pilot project was initially carried out to connect villages in four districts and then expanded to 60,000

70% of startups say tech adoption propels hypergrowth: SAP-Zinnov Study

About 37% of the startups plan to increase their spending on enterprise applications by more than 15% in 2023

Embracing a digital mindset

There are three key reasons why incumbents find it immensely challenging to sustain digital transformation agendas

All 1,284 registered Kerala tribal hamlets to be digitally connected soon

At a meeting with the top BSNL officials on Wednesday, the state Minister for SC/ST, K.Radhakrishnan assured to provide appropriate land for the purpose

India can play key role in connectivity, economic cooperation: CICA

India can play a major role in taking forward the agenda of the 28-nation grouping, CICA, in boosting "Asian spirit" and expand cooperation in areas such as connectivity and economic cooperation, a top official of the bloc said on Tuesday. Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Ambassador Kairat Sarybay also said the grouping is focusing on enhancing Asia's role in addressing various global challenges. India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and South Korea are among the key members of the grouping. The CICA secretary general is currently on a visit to India. "The CICA is focusing on boosting cooperation in Asia in the areas of connectivity, food security and regional financial cooperation," he said during a media interaction. Replying to a question on the lingering border row between India and China, Sarybay said bilateral issues are not allow

SCO members unanimously adopt proposal on Digital Public Infra: Vaishnaw

Inter-governmental body Shanghai Cooperation Organization members, which includes China and Pakistan, have unanimously adopted India's proposal for developing Digital Public Infrastructure, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. India has developed Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) like unified payment interface, Aadhaar etc to make services available to people in a convenient manner. "The Digital Ministers of SCO member states met today and unanimously adopted India's proposal for developing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as the right way for deploying digital technology among member states," Vaishnaw said. The SCO comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six 'Dialogue Partners' (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey). Vaishnaw said DPI is very important from th

Developing nations need to provide digital solutions for citizens: FM

Addressing G7 meet in Japan, Sitharaman highlighted that access to digital connectivity has empowered people and there is a need to discuss ways to measure empowerment going beyond GDP indicators

Pakistan among world's worst performers in internet access: Report

Pakistan in 2022 remained among the world's worst performers in terms of internet access and digital governance, according to a report released on Monday. Titled "Pakistan's Internet Landscape 2022", the report was released by Bytes For All -- a human rights and advocacy organisation -- which explores in detail the relationship between human rights and information and communication technologies in Pakistan last year. In terms of internet access and overall governance, Pakistan made some gains, but in the context of the world, the country remains among the worst performers, even within just Asia, according to the report. It highlights that despite an increase in internet penetration, approximately 15 per cent of the population still lacked access to the internet and mobile or telecom services. Add to this a lack of inclusivity and digital literacy, one of the biggest global gender gaps in access and a struggle to stay online due to load-shedding and blackouts brought on by an energy

Heading in right direction by maximising use of digital platforms: Khattar

The Haryana government is heading in the right direction of public service through maximising the use of digital platforms, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Saturday. Khattar was in Faridabad where he distributed tablets to kanungos and patwaris working in the Revenue department. Speaking at the event, he lauded the growth of digital services as a commendable move towards public service. These tablets will enable the kanungos and patwaris in Faridabad to provide better services, including e-Girdawari (survey), caste verification under the Parivar Pehchan Patra (Family ID scheme) and income verification, among others, Khattar added. Distributing the tablets to 41 kanungos and patwaris in the district, the chief minister motivated them to carry out their duties effectively in the implementation of government services. Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar, Haryana Transport Minister Mool Chand Sharma and Faridabad MLA Narender Gupta were

RIL's initiatives in digital connectivity driving efficiencies: Ambani

Ambani said O2C segment posted its highest-ever operating profit despite global uncertainties and disruptions in commodity trade flows

US keen on alliance in connectivity, solid waste management with Mizoram

The Minister also asserted the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Malaria, TB in the state and called for better cooperation to eradicate such diseases from the state

BIF advocates new framework to improve submarine cables; upgrade stations

Broadband India Forum (BIF) on Tuesday underlined the need to promote competition, innovation, and investment in the domain of submarine cable landing stations, as the industry body advocated for non-discriminatory and open access to all potential seekers of international connectivity. The think tank has emphasised the need for creation of robust submarine cable systems connected to India as well as geo-diversity and augmentation of submarine cable landing infrastructure, according to a statement by BIF. "Through its consultation paper on 'Licensing Framework and Regulatory Mechanism for Submarine Cable Landing in India' to the TRAI, BIF...has underscored the need to promote competition, innovation, and investment in the domain of submarine cable landing stations and provide equal, fair, non-discriminatory and open access to all potential seekers of international connectivity," it said. This will help satiate the demand for data, consumption of which is rising by the day. The new .

Bill Gates praises India's digital public networks, payment systems

India's sprawling digital public infrastructure received a glowing endorsement from billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Wednesday as he praised the country's "great" digital network, reliable and low-cost connectivity, and said this will be the cheapest 5G market. Under the G20 presidency of India, a session on 'Building resilient and inclusive economies- the Promise of Digital Public Infrastructure' was held on Wednesday in New Delhi, where the Microsoft co-founder spoke of India's digital identity Aadhaar, its payment infrastructure, and rapid strides that the country has taken in bringing more people into formal banking system. "India in particular, by laying the groundwork for digital public infrastucture starting with identity system, allows people to build on top of that. And to make financial access and financial payment an element of that in a trusted way allows for an incredible variety of applications. We are just at the beginning of this. We are seeing incredible ...

Ensure digital connectivity in rural, remote areas: Himachal chief secy

Himachal Pradesh chief secretary Prabodh Saxena on Thursday asked the officers to take necessary steps to provide assured high speed and reliable digital connectivity in remote and rural areas of the state. Presiding over a meeting of the State Broadband Committee, under the National Broadband Mission (NBM) here, he asked for time bound efforts to strengthen fiber connectivity in rural areas and provide quality digital connectivity to ensure universal access of broadband facilities to the people. Directions were issued to expedite the cases of grant of clearances under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) to achieve the targets under the 4G saturation project in a time bound manner. He also asked the officers to take necessary steps for the integration of additional data layers in PM Gatishakti State Master Plan Portal. He said that the role of digital connectivity is important for the inclusive development of all the sectors and facilitation of quality broadband connectivity in rural and .

Over 160,000 air travellers have taken benefit of Digi Yatra: Official

The implementation of Digi Yatra under phase I is also planned at Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada, and Hyderabad airports by March 2023

Workers with digital skills contribute Rs 10.9 trn to India's GDP: Study

Workers in India equipped with advanced digital skills, including cloud architecture or software development, contributed an estimated Rs 10.9 lakh crore, or USD 507.9 billion, to India's annual gross domestic product, an AWS-commissioned study said on Wednesday. According to the study conducted by Gallup on behalf of AWS, workers with advanced digital skills earn 92 per cent higher salaries in India compared to those with a similar education who do not use digital skills at work. "Digital skills yield big economic benefits. We have seen dividends for the GDP for India's GDP to the tune of about USD 508 billion. People who have advanced digital skills, command higher salaries," Gallup, Managing Consultant, Rohit Kar said while sharing findings of the report. The study was conducted in two phases covering 2,005 working adults and 769 employers in India across a variety of public and private sector organizations and industries. The study classifies basic digital skills as the ability