Audio
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Inside our artificial intelligence special issue
The world is watching the revolution of artificial intelligence (AI) that has been in the works for decades. OpenAI and its chatGPT are part of every other conversation. Now is the time to build on that revolution, and a few Indian startups—in healthcare to consumer research—have already started to harness the tech to their advantage. In this issue, we look at their stories, and in this podcast, Naini Thaker takes us through the ones you cannot miss
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India's National Research Foundation gets green light and Rs 50,000 crore — big step?
The union cabinet yesterday approved the introduction of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023 in parliament, the ministry of science and technology said in a statement. The NRF is to provide high-level strategic direction to scientific research in the country as recommended in the national education policy. The first outlay for it is Rs. 50,000 crore over the next five years. We asked Kamlesh Vyas, a partner at Deloitte and a specialist in education and skill development, to join us on ToThePoint today to explain the significance of this historic move
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What Milind Manoj, AR expert, loves about Apple's Vision Pro and some things he doesn't
Milind Manoj, co-founder and CEO of Pupilmesh, an augmented reality and deep tech startup in Bengaluru, talks about what he loved about Apple's new headset, the Vision Pro. Milind talks about how Vision Pro differs from Apple's other products in that it will probably be very different from what we might find in, say, 2030. In contrast, if you look back at even the first iPhone, it's not all that different from today's handsets. Milind also explains some of the hardware challenges to be overcome before an AR headset will look no different from a pair of Ray-Bans
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TCS and IT recruitment transgressions — not the first in the industry, won't be the last
Tata Consultancy Services is investigating a jobs-for-payments allegation within the company, even hiring an external auditor, Mint newspaper has reported. We asked Kamal Karanth, co-founder of the staffing company Xpheno in Bengaluru, to join us on ToThePoint today to give us a sense of how bad the problem might be in an industry where thousands of recruits are placed in vacancies every single day. Kamal says what's come to light at TCS isn't the first time something like this has happened in the industry, and explains why it won't be the last
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Ultraviolette's founders on the F77 — Part 2: Hard challenges, investors, products and plans
In this episode, Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan, co-founders of Ultraviolette, talk about their early choices with the F77, a performance electric motorcycle that's caught the attention of enthusiasts, young and old. This is part 2 of our conversation, in which the entrepreneurs talk about how sticking to their conviction that building their motorcycle as a premium performance bike was the way to go, avoiding the mass-market segment, is now beginning to pay off
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India should build its own internet — cool idea or catastrophic distraction?
Should India build its own internet in a bid to make ourselves more secure against cyber-attacks? This was one view attributed to a top technocrat in an interview in the Mint newspaper today. We asked Prateek Waghre, policy director at the Internet Freedom Foundation, to join us on ToThePoint today to help us make sense of the implications of such an exercise. The short answer to the question is "no" Prateek says. The more involved aspects around this topic range from security and geopolitical strategy to more subtle forms of restrictions even without isolating ourselves, he says
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Google to set up a centre in GIFT City — will this boost the fintech ecosystem in India?
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said recently that Google will set up a global fintech operations centre in India's GIFT City in Gujarat. On ToThePoint today, we asked Varsha Meghani, who's been reporting on the fintech ecosystem in India, to give us a sense of what the big picture is here. And we also speculate a bit on where this all leaves WhatsApp, which also offers a payments option in India via the country's unified payments interface infrastructure
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India joins Artemis Accords: What's the geopolitical message, and will ISRO get more money?
India finally joins the Artemis Accords, the multilateral space initiative led by the US. This was one of the many historic announcements that have come out of Prime Minister Modi's state visit. We asked Narayan Prasad, co-founder and COO of Satsearch and co-founder of Spaceport SARABHAI, India's first space think tank, to explain the significance. India has a lead over many countries with its space programme, and we should continue to invest as much as we can to maintain that strength and build on self reliance, Narayan argues, irrespective of being part of any international effort
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$10 bln Sony-Zee merger: What happens after Sebi's ban against Zee promoters?
Sony Pictures Entertainment is taking "seriously" the ban on Zee Entertainment's founder and CEO from holding board positions by the markets regulator Securities Exchange Board of India, Reuters reported yesterday. This is Sony's first comment since SEBI imposed a one-year ban, earlier this month, on Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra and CEO Punit Goenka, saying they had been actively involved in diverting company funds to the group's related entities. Forbes India's Nasrin Sultana joins us today on ToThePoint to help us make sense of the backstory
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Tesla cars and Starlink internet — can Modi fan Elon Musk deliver in India?
Tesla cars, solar Energy, Satellite Link broadband internet, and an Aspirational brand (TESLA) that's captured India's imagination rivalling Apple. Can Twitter's mercurial owner soon bring his hi-tech electric cars and Starlink satellite connections to India? Forbes India's Manu Balachandran joins us on ToThePoint today to talk about why India and Tesla might need each other—from a boost to India's EV plans and internet in the remotest corners of the country to a new, stable base for the American company in the global south, ready to ship to the world
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Ultraviolette's founders on the evolution of the F77 — Part 1: the hangar and the tech
Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan, co-founders of Ultraviolette, talk about the evolution of their first product, the F77, a performance electric motorcycle that's drawn interest from around the world. This is part 1 of our two-part conversation, a simple walkthrough of the Bengaluru company's first showroom, which the entrepreneurs call their first hangar because they say everything about their bike is inspired by aviation. They also spoke about the innovations that went into the bike's battery and overall design to make it a genuine motorcycle first and an EV next