Capgemini Begins The Search for 25 Inspiring Female Leaders in the World of Rugby

• The search for 25 inspiring female leaders for the 2024/2025 Capgemini Women in Rugby Leadership Programme is now on
• The programme is creating a growing global network of female leaders and role models across the sport
• Scholars will have access to personalised coaching and training sessions via Capgemini’s internal University to help their professional development
• Seventy-three scholars have completed the programme since 2018

World Rugby has announced the launch of an open application process for the Capgemini Women in Rugby Leadership Programme, with 25 scholarships to be awarded on the road to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

This week, World Rugby will begin the search to find 25 inspiring female leaders through the Capgemini Women in Rugby Leadership Programme which identifies and develops the next generation of female leaders. The programme enables them to fulfil their potential and drives gender equity across the game with the overall aim of increasing the number of women in key leadership positions within rugby.

Each year, 12 scholars are granted access to the best learning programmes from the Capgemini University with successful applicants matched with a mentor and eligible to apply for an additional discretionary grant of up to £5,000 to help aid their development. New for 2024, and to maximise the opportunities for trailblazers of the future in the countdown to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, World Rugby will be seeking 25 leaders for 2025 so these scholars will be supported over a longer time period.

The bid to unearth the next generation of leaders will get underway on Thursday, 29 February when the application process for the next intake of scholars opens until 31 March. Applicants must be actively involved with their rugby union or regional association as a board member, member of staff or volunteer, have leadership aspirations and be able to demonstrate their professional development plan in their application. Any interested applicants can complete this application form, including a CV and a letter of endorsement from their union or regional association. Failure to submit a letter of endorsement will disqualify them from the process.

World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby Sally Horrox said: “As we embark on the journey towards Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, we’re thrilled to launch the search for the next wave of female leaders to be part of the Capgemini Women in Rugby Leadership Programme. This important initiative, in partnership with Capgemini, is set to empower and elevate 25 remarkable female leaders who will shape the future of the sport. By promoting the programme and the application process more widely, we are fostering inclusivity and accessibility to fantastic resources, mentorship, and educational opportunities. We’re paving the way for these trailblazers to realise their full potential, driving gender equity, and growing opportunities for women in key positions in rugby.”

Since the Women in Rugby Leadership Programme was launched in 2018, a total of 73 scholarships have been awarded to female leaders from across the world. As part of the programme, scholars are given access to a range of opportunities through the Capgemini University, including leadership coaching and training sessions and Connected Manager, a Harvard Business certified programme.

As the programme continues to go from strength to strength, the first Capgemini Women in Rugby Leadership Summit was also held in 2023 at the Campus Serge Kampf Les Fontaines in Paris. The two-day event gave scholars an opportunity to come together, share best practice and build a support network.

Anne Lebel, Chief Human Resources Officer at Capgemini and Group Executive Board Member, said: “We look forward to this next phase in our collaboration with World Rugby to support the development of female leaders. Through the Capgemini University, we are giving them the opportunity to build on their strengths and to keep growing. As a global services company people are at the heart of Capgemini’s capabilities, so we know how critical it is to support and nurture women’s leadership. We are proud to help empower female role models that can inspire other women and break biases.”

Zakia Kulabako, 2023 Women in Rugby Leadership Programme alumni, said: “Capgemini’s leadership programme has been the cornerstone of my professional growth in project management, guiding me through the dynamic landscape of challenges and opportunities with invaluable mentorship, robust skill-building and a culture of innovation. It’s not just about mastering methodologies; it’s about fostering leadership excellence, empowering me to navigate complexities, inspire teams and drive impactful results that redefine success in the project management arena.”

About World Rugby

World Rugby is an international federation and a global movement comprising more than 500 million fans and eight million players within 133 national member federations affiliated through six regional associations.

World Rugby’s purpose is to grow rugby by making it more relevant and accessible, with a vision of a global sport for all, true to its values. The driving force behind the sport’s significant growth has been World Rugby’s portfolio of major events, from the flagship men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups to HSBC SVNS, showcasing the Olympic version of the sport.

The financial success of the men’s Rugby World Cup enables World Rugby to invest record sums in the development and growth of the sport from the playground to the podium, ensuring that the sport is as accessible and enjoyable for as many people as possible. Between 2020-23, the international federation will invest more than £565 million in the sport, representing a 22 per cent uplift on the previous four-year business cycle.

https://www.world.rugby/vision

HCLTech and Verizon Business Launch FlexSpace 5G, An Advanced Digital Workplace Experience-As-A-Service

HCLTech, a leading global technology company, today launched FlexSpace 5G, an advanced digital workplace experience-as-a-service that boosts efficiency and security for global businesses.

Powered by Verizon’s secure, reliable network and HCLTech’s best-in-class hardware partnerships, this offering is a significant upgrade to HCLTech FlexSpace, which supports the entire workplace experience value chain. It enables a smooth transition to a digital workplace for all categories of employees, whether at the desk, remote, on-the-go, or on the frontline.

HCLTech FlexSpace 5G carries unique benefits for businesses.

• It provides ‘Experience-as-a-service’ to support end-to-end device life cycle management.
• It extends mobility for enterprise users in the hybrid work model, going beyond Wi-Fi.
• It provides fast and more dependable connectivity, proving advantageous for various sectors, including financial services, technology, life sciences, healthcare, telecom, media and entertainment.
• It assuages data security worries for users working remotely.

Earlier in November of last year, Cisco partnered with HCLTech to launch Meeting-Rooms-as-a-Service (MRaaS).

“With HCLTech FlexSpace 5G, powered by our strategic partner Verizon Business, we aim to provide our clients with a fluid, hybrid and sustainable future of work that fosters collaboration, productivity and innovation,” said Rakshit Ghura, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Digital Workplace Services, HCLTech.

“We continue to make significant investments in our network in order to support solutions such as these, which enable employees to work virtually wherever they need to connect, be that in an airport, a client’s office or on the road,” said Jonathan Nikols, Head of Global Enterprise Americas, Verizon Business. “Connected devices on our network also provide our customers with additional peace of mind due to the enhanced, built-in security inherent to the Verizon network, a significant improvement over public Wi-Fi.”

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed in 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $134.0 billion in 2023. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, and security.

HCLTech is a global technology company, home to more than 224,000 people across 60 countries, delivering industry-leading capabilities centered around digital, engineering, cloud, AI and software, powered by a broad portfolio of technology services and products. We work with clients across all major verticals, providing industry solutions for Financial Services, Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Technology and Services, Telecom and Media, Retail and CPG, and Public Services. Consolidated revenues as of 12 months ending December 2023 totaled $13.1 billion. To learn how we can supercharge progress for you, visit hcltech.com.

Suzlon Secures New Order for 10 Wind Turbines for 30 MW Project of EDF Renewables in Gujarat

• To supply 10 wind turbines with a rated capacity of 3 MW each
• Project in Gujarat, with a total installed capacity of 30 MW
• Electricity generated from the project will be supplied to Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd.(GUVNL)
• A project of this size can provide electricity to over 24 thousand households and curb over 97 thousand tonnes of CO2 emissions every year

Suzlon Group, India's largest renewable energy solutions provider, today announced a new order win for the development of a 30 MW wind power project for EDF Renewables. Suzlon will install 10 wind turbine generators (WTGs) with a Hybrid Lattice Tubular (HLT) tower and a rated capacity of 3 MW each. The project is located in Gujarat.

This is a repeat order for the company's largest turbine series, S144-140m with a rating of 3 MW. Suzlon will execute the project with a scope of supply, supervision, erection and commissioning. Additionally, Suzlon will also undertake post-commissioning operations and maintenance services.

JP Chalasani, Chief Executive Officer, Suzlon Group, said, "EDF Renewables is a highly reputed Global power company with an established track record in renewable energy. Therefore, receiving an order from them is a matter of pride for us. This order is a testament to the quality and reliability of our technology and service solutions. The power generated from this project will serve the people of Gujarat with clean, green, renewable power. Suzlon is committed to serving our customers' green portfolios and the nation with our proven technology, extensive experience, and service excellence."

Every Suzlon turbine is manufactured in the country through a thriving domestic value chain ecosystem in line with our commitment to the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Arne Lorenzen, Chief Executive Officer, EDF Renewables India said, "At EDFR we are committed to contributing towards India's Net Zero target. Our focus is towards continuous sustainable development with safety as our topmost priority. Within our organisation we daily practice our motto of Everyone goes home safe everyday. We are delighted to partner with one of India's leading wind turbine providers, Suzlon Energy, for this project. We look forward to leveraging Suzlon's extensive experience in the Indian wind market to make this project successful. We want to operate and expand our clean energy portfolio in India in the years to come."

Suzlon turbines feature the time tested Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) technology that efficiently integrates wind turbines into the utility network to meet the grid requirements. Suzlon's R&D efforts are continuously geared towards increasing the turbine performance, harnessing more energy from low wind sites, and lowering the cost of energy.

About EDF Renewables

EDF Renewables is one of the Global players in the renewable energy sector. With a our installed capacity of over 11 GW, in more than 20 countries, the organization is one of the major players in leading the World energy transition by deploying the competitive, responsible and value creating projects. In India the company operates an installed wind capacity is currently over 600 MW with further capacities in the pipeline. EDF Renewables is committed to provide future generations the most economic, environmentally, and socially power towards a CO2 - neutral energy future.

About The Suzlon Group

The Suzlon Group is one of the leading renewable energy solutions providers in the world with ~20.5 GW* of wind energy capacity installed across 17 countries. Headquartered at Suzlon One Earth in Pune, India; the Group comprises of Suzlon Energy Limited (NSE: SUZLON & BSE: 532667) and its subsidiaries. A vertically integrated organisation, with in-house research and development (R&D) centres in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and India, Suzlon's world-class manufacturing facilities are spread across multiple locations in India. With over 28 years of operational track record, the Group has a diverse workforce of over 6,300 employees. Suzlon is also India's No. 1 wind energy service company with the largest service portfolio of over 14.5 GW in wind energy assets. The Group has ~6 GW of installed capacity outside India. Suzlon offers a comprehensive product portfolio led by the 2 MW and 3 MW series of wind turbines.

*Global installations of Suzlon manufactured wind turbine generators. Data as on 31st December 2023

Reliance and Disney Form $8.5 Bn JV to Merge Respective Digital Streaming and TV Assets in India

Reliance and Disney Announce Strategic Joint Venture to Bring Together the Most Compelling and Engaging Entertainment Brands in India

• Companies to merge respective digital streaming and television assets in India to create a world class leader across entertainment and sports
• Reliance to invest ₹11,500 crore in the Joint Venture Disney to provide Content License to the Joint Venture

Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), Viacom 18 Media Private Limited (“Viacom18”) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) (“Disney”), on Wednesday, announced the signing of binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture (“JV”) that will combine the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India. As part of the transaction, the media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited (“SIPL”) through a court- approved scheme of arrangement.

In addition, RIL has agreed to invest at closing ₹11,500 crore (~US$ 1.4 billion) into the JV for its growth strategy. The post-money basis transaction values the JV at Rs 70,352 crore ($8.5 billion), not including any synergies.

The transaction values the JV at ₹70,352 crore (~US$ 8.5 billion) on a post-money basis, excluding synergies. Post completion of the above steps, the JV will be controlled by RIL and owned 16.34% by RIL, 46.82% by Viacom18 and 36.84% by Disney.

Disney may also contribute certain additional media assets to the JV, subject to regulatory and third-party approvals.

Mrs. Nita M. Ambani will be the Chairperson of the JV, with Mr. Uday Shankar as Vice Chairperson providing strategic guidance to the JV.

The JV will be one of the leading TV and digital streaming platforms for entertainment and sports content in India, bringing together iconic media assets across entertainment (e.g. Colors, StarPlus, StarGOLD) and sports (e.g. Star Sports and Sports18) including access to highly anticipated events across television and digital platforms through JioCinema and Hotstar. The JV will have over 750 million viewers across India and will also cater to the Indian diaspora across the world. 

The JV will seek to lead the digital transformation of the media and entertainment industry in India and offer consumers high-quality and comprehensive content offerings anytime and anywhere. The combination of the media expertise, cutting-edge technology and diverse content libraries of Viacom18 and Star India will allow the JV to offer more appealing domestic and global entertainment content and sports livestreaming services, while delivering an innovative and convenient digital entertainment experience at affordable prices. With the addition of Disney’s acclaimed films and shows to Viacom18’s renowned productions and sports offerings, the JV will offer a compelling, accessible and novel digital-focused entertainment experience to people in India and the Indian diaspora globally.

The JV will also be granted exclusive rights to distribute Disney films and productions in India, with a license to more than 30,000 Disney content assets, providing a full suite of entertainment options for the Indian consumer.

Speaking about the JV, Mr. Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “This is a landmark agreement that heralds a new era in the Indian entertainment industry. We have always respected Disney as the best media group globally and are very excited at forming this strategic joint venture that will help us pool our extensive resources, creative prowess, and market insights to deliver unparalleled content at affordable prices to audiences across the nation. We welcome Disney as a key partner of Reliance group.”

Mr. Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said, “India is the world’s most populous market, and we are excited for the opportunities that this joint venture will provide to create long- term value for the company. Reliance has a deep understanding of the Indian market and consumer, and together we will create one of the country’s leading media companies, allowing us to better serve consumers with a broad portfolio of digital services and entertainment and sports content.”

Mr. Uday Shankar, Co-founder of Bodhi Tree Systems, said, “We are privileged to be enhancing our relationship with Reliance to now also include Disney, a global leader in media & entertainment. All of us are committed to delivering exceptional value to our audiences, advertisers, and partners. This joint venture is poised to shape the future of entertainment in India and accelerate the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of making Digital India a global exemplar.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory, shareholder and other customary approvals and is expected to be completed in the last quarter of Calendar Year 2024 or first quarter of Calendar Year 2025.

Goldman Sachs is acting as financial and valuation advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Khaitan & Co and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co are acting as legal counsels to RIL and Viacom18 on the transaction. Ernst & Young has provided an independent valuation to RIL and Viacom18, while HSBC India acting as financial advisor has provided a Fairness Opinion to Viacom18.

The Raine Group is acting as lead financial advisor to Disney on the transaction. Citi is acting as a financial advisor to Disney. Cleary Gottlieb served as lead outside counsel to Disney and Covington & Burling and AZB served as legal counsels to Disney on the transaction. BDO has provided an independent valuation to SIPL. 

About Reliance Industries Limited

Reliance is India’s largest private sector company, with a consolidated revenue of Rs 9,74,864 crore (US$118.6 billion), cash profit Rs 1,25,951 crore (US$ 15.3 billion) and net profit of Rs 73,670 crore (US$9.0 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2023. Reliance’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, advanced materials and composites, renewables (solar and hydrogen), retail and digital services.

Currently ranked 88th, Reliance is the largest private sector company from India to be featured in Fortune’s Global 500 list of ‘World’s Largest Companies’ for 2023. The company stands 45th in the Forbes Global 2000 rankings of 'World’s Largest Public Companies' for 2023, the highest among Indian companies. Reliance is the top-ranked Indian company and the only one in the top 100 on Forbes' 'World's Best Employers' 2023 list. Additionally, it is featured among LinkedIn’s 'Top Companies 2023: The 25 Best Workplaces To Grow Your Career In India."

About Viacom 18 Media Private Limited

Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offers multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences. Viacom18 defines entertainment in India by touching the lives of people through its properties on air, online, on ground, in cinemas and merchandise. Its portfolio of 40 channels across general entertainment, movies, sports, youth, music and kids genres delights the consumers across the country with its eclectic mix of programming. JioCinema, Viacom18’s OTT platform, is one of India’s leading streaming services and most popular destination for live sports. Viacom18 Studios has successfully produced and distributed iconic Hindi films and clutter-breaking regional films for over 13 years in India.

About The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise that includes three core business segments: Entertainment, Sports and Experiences. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $88.89 billion in its Fiscal Year 2023.

About Star India

With a television network that reaches more than 700 million viewers in nine different languages every month and a streaming platform (Disney+ Hotstar) that has transformed the way India consumes entertainment, Disney Star is a leading media & entertainment company in the country. The organization’s entertainment portfolio, which generates more than 20,000 hours of original content every year, cuts across general entertainment, sports, films, infotainment, kids and lifestyle content. With leadership positions in every segment it occupies, Disney Star has been redefining the media landscape for more than 30 years now, anchored on the three pillars of storytelling, innovation and an unwavering focus on delivering to the expectations of our audiences.

About Bodhi Tree Systems

Bodhi Tree Systems is a strategic investor in consumer technology opportunities in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on India. The entity is a platform of James Murdoch's Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar and was established in 2021 to explore and invest in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In addition to media, Bodhi Tree expects to invest in other consumer technology sectors that represent significant opportunities but suffer from a lack of capital and innovation – including healthcare and education. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems.

Tech Mahindra and Pegatron Inks MoU for Developing AI-Enabled Private 5G Networks for Global Enterprises

Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting, and business re-engineering services and solutions, and Pegatron, a global leader in technology and electronics manufacturing, on Wednesday, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024. The two organisations will develop private 5G solutions for global enterprises. The partnership between the organizations will explore mutually beneficial opportunities in the fast-growing private 5G space, positioning it as a catalyst for business growth.

The partnership will leverage purpose-built private 5G product portfolio marketed under Pegatron 5G business unit, coupled with Tech Mahindra's proven expertise in large-scale 5G transformations, to provide end-to-end 5G for Enterprise (5G4E) solutions for global enterprises and manufacturing customers. It will enable the two organisations to jointly identify opportunities globally, with Pegatron providing the 5G connectivity layer and Tech Mahindra offering end-to-end 5G services. The combined efforts will further accelerate the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications and edge computing technology through 5G and help various industries accelerate their network adoption.

Harshvendra Soin, President – Asia Pacific and Japan Business, Tech Mahindra, said, “Manufacturers and enterprises are constantly seeking new ways to enhance operational efficiency and build more resilient processes. 5G technology can unlock new levels of innovation and productivity, paving the way for a more connected and efficient future. Our robust market presence, close ties with telcos, communication partners, and extensive expertise in global 5G4E rollout will successfully provide IT and network services to Pegatron. Additionally, Tech Mahinda will be able to reach a wider segment of customers through Pegatron's 5G private networks and small cells portfolio.”

With Tech Mahindra's 5G4E transformation programs, Pegatron will gain insights to refine its portfolio based on specific geographic, industrial, user, technological, and regulatory considerations, especially in the APJI region. The partnership will also focus on enhancing digital resilience for disaster response and improving communication in disaster-prone or remote areas. It further aims to aid first-line disaster relief units with energy-efficient solutions using 5G Radio Access Network and satellite communication technology.

Dr. Shue, Chief Technology Officer, Pegatron, said,“We have always been committed to applying the most advanced technology to enhance customer value. We are honored to collaborate with Tech Mahindra which will unlock opportunities for enterprises across the globe to experience this strong 5G product portfolio to create resilient and efficient network solutions around AI-led use-cases that will help optimize their investments. The partnership puts us in a unique position to drive the next wave of industrial automation and bring significant value to our customers.”

Tech Mahindra will utilize Pegatron’s diversified 5G product portfolio to deliver comprehensive solutions that meet enterprise customer expectations in terms of cost efficiency, resilience, cloud and AI connectivity, high availability, resource optimization, and energy savings. Tech Mahindra is already a long-standing partner for Pegatron Corporation, providing device engineering services to its communications business unit.

Established in January 2008, Pegatron leverages extensive high-end consumer and commercial communications product development expertise with a vertically integrated manufacturing approach to provide end-to-end 5G network solutions. Our extensive manufacturing spans across 16 global operational sites with over 147,000 employees. This requires a prominent level of employee cohesion, rooted in the efficient delivery of professional, innovative, systematic, and comprehensive high-technology services that meet the diverse needs of our global clients, including global telecommunication service providers and system integrators.

Pegatron 5G is a dedicated division formed in 2018 that is based on the passion for innovation that drives our team to use in-depth insights into the needs of various aspects of industrial transformation. We continuously build upon the newest breakthroughs in 5G technologies, which open unlimited possibilities for the telecommunication industry.

Amazon's $1 Bn Corporate VC Fund To Invest in in Startups that Combine AI with Robotics

The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund is a $1 billion corporate venture capital fund launched in 2022. The venture investment program by Amazon aims to supports emerging technology companies through direct investments.

This year, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund wants to ramp up investments in companies that combine artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotics as the company is seeking to drive efficiencies across its logistics network.

In 2024, the Fund will expand to also invest in transportation, including autonomous vehicles and last-mile technologies.

"we are eager to support more promising startups as they scale to solve the most relevant industrial problems for Amazon and beyond.", said Franziska Bossart, Director, Industrial Innovation Fund at Amazon, who recently joined Amazon to lead the Industrial Innovation Fund and has over 20 years of experience working in corporate venture capital and digital transformation.

Franziska has recently told the Financial Times that "generative AI holds a lot of promise for robotics and automation" and is an area "we are going to focus on this year".

Last year, the Fund made its first investment in a generative AI company, the details of which have not been disclosed.

In an interaction with the Financial Times, Franziska said that innovation fund would expand its focus this year, including by seeking to invest in companies involved in the "last mile" of deliveries, when packages arrive with customers, as well as geographically and in later- stage companies.

Early this year, Franziska told TechCrunch that she sees potential in Europe and Asia and would like the portfolio, which is largely made up of early-stage companies, to shift “a little bit” more toward investments in later-stage startups.

The Amazon industrial innovation fund has made 12 investments in total, including in Mantis Robotics, which is developing a robotic arm that uses sensors to work alongside humans.

Adani Defence & Aerospace Inaugurates South Asia’s Largest Ammunition and Missiles Complex

• Spread over 500 acres, full spectrum of ammunition to be manufactured
• Investment plan of INR 3000+ Crores with 4000+ jobs and 5X multiplier
• Industry 4.0 – state of the art automation including use of AI for quality
• Production started in less than 18 months from land allocation

In a landmark achievement for India’s defence sector, two mega facilities to manufacture ammunition and missiles by Adani Defence & Aerospace, India’s leading private sector defence manufacturer, were inaugurated, on Tuesday. These cutting-edge facilities, which are first of their kind in the private sector in India, will provide a significant impetus to the nation’s self-reliance and technological advancement in defence.

The facilities – South Asia’s largest – were inaugurated by Honourable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, Chief of Army Staff, Gen Manoj Pande AVSM VSM SM ADC, GOC-in-C of Central Command, Lt Gen N. S. Raja Subramani PVSM AVSM SM VSM, Master General of Sustenance, Lt Gen Amardeep Singh Aujla UYSM YSM SM VSM in the presence of senior dignitaries from Ministry of Defence and Uttar Pradesh Government. They acknowledged and lauded Adani Defence’s efforts and contribution in creating differentiated capabilities towards strengthening the state and the country.

Big boost to Indian defence as CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurates first phase of South Asia's largest Arms & Ammunition Complex by Adani defence & areospace in Kanpur! pic.twitter.com/1fpZrHVfHP

— Frontalforce 🇮🇳 (@FrontalForce) February 26, 2024

The unveiling of the facilities coincided with the fifth anniversary of the Balakot airstrike ‘Operation Bandar’, a historic operation by the Indian Air Force that was a testimony to India’s strategic assertiveness over external threats.

Spread over 500 acres, the facility in Kanpur is set to become one of the largest integrated ammunition manufacturing complexes. It will produce high-quality small, medium and large calibre ammunition for the armed forces, paramilitary forces and police. The facility has started rolling out small calibre ammunition, starting with 150 million rounds estimated at 25% of India’s annual requirement.

Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath said, “This is a moment of great pride. The facility is a testimony to Uttar Pradesh’s transformation into an industrial powerhouse and our commitment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. Adani Defence & Aerospace has made the largest investment in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Corridor, which will play a crucial role in developing a vibrant defence ecosystem. It is encouraging to see the commencement of operations within 18 months of allocating land. It will be a proud moment when ammunition and missiles produced in these facilities will help in securing the nation.”

Emphasizing the need for self-reliance in missiles and ammunition, Chief of Army Staff, Gen Manoj Pande AVSM VSM SM ADC said, “Recent geopolitical events have reemphasized the need for a reliable supply from internal sources for ammunition in preparedness for a long-drawn conflict. Such large investments and willingness of Adani Defence & Aerospace to indigenize critical technologies have built confidence in the users to depend on Indian private industry for strategic military supplies. This complex is a major milestone in India’s journey towards self-reliance in the defence sector.”

Adani Defence & Aerospace is the flagship defence company of the Adani Group. It is also focused on developing and offering unique capabilities across the unmanned segment, counter drones, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technologies and cyber defence.

Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO of Adani Defence & Aerospace, said, “The establishment of these ammunition and missiles complexes represents a leap forward in our quest for self-reliance. With a planned investment of over Rs. 3,000 Crores, its impact extends far beyond the defence sector. It will create over 4,000 jobs, with five times the multiplier effect on MSMEs and the local ecosystem benefiting from it indirectly. We are committed to ensuring that our efforts are inclusive and sustainable, fostering growth while preserving the environment for generations to come.”

The ammunition complex started operations in less than two years of its announcement by the Adani Group during the Uttar Pradesh Investors’ Summit in 2022. An industry 4.0 facility, it has state of the art automation ensuring highest standards in quality, safety and reliability using artificial intelligence and data analytics. Further, being a PESO certified complex, it will also house explosive handling facilities for missiles and precision-guided munitions.

 

Mahindra Launches Thar Earth Edition: Inspired by the Mighty Thar Desert

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India’s leading SUV manufacturer, today announced the launch of the Thar Earth Edition. The special edition is inspired by the infinite expanse of the Thar Desert and the ability of the Thar to allow one to explore it with ease. With a palette inspired by the desert geography, promoting a sense of oneness with the environment, it doesn't just symbolise adventure—it epitomises it.

The Thar Earth Edition builds upon the Mahindra Thar's legacy of adventure and exploration, aiming to captivate and expand the community of Thar enthusiasts. This special edition, with its unique satin matte 'Desert Fury' finish, is designed to make this iconic SUV more distinctive, with a promise to inspire a new wave of adventurers to embrace the 'Thar Life.'

Available in both diesel and petrol versions, with manual and automatic, the Earth Edition promises an exclusive 4x4 experience in the LX Hard Top Variant.

Exquisite Exterior and Interior Enhancements

Desert Fury satin matte finish instantly brings to mind the desert sand and its texture, with the metallic treatment very effectively capturing the ‘sand sparkle’. The dune-inspired decals on the doors and rear fender, the silver alloys and the matte black badges add to its uniqueness. The Earth Edition badge, proudly displayed on the B-pillars, signifies the special edition's exclusivity.

The interiors are just as inspiring, with a black coloured-base and light beige accents hinting at the forever shifting, floating nature of sand. The Thar earth edition offers beige leatherette seats featuring dune designs on the headrests. The cabin is further enhanced with Desert Fury inserts on the AC vents, steering wheel, center console accent and the Thar branding on doors. The theme is elevated with embellishments of dark chrome accents. Each of the Thar Earth Edition SUVs will come with a unique numbered decorative VIN plate starting with serial number 1.

The Thar Earth Edition continues Mahindra’s tradition of excellence and is an ode to the brand's commitment to delivering exceptional experiences to customers. It is expected to build on the overwhelming success of the Thar, further solidifying its position as a preferred SUV choice for adventurers and enthusiasts alike.

Key Features of Thar Earth Edition

The ex-showroom prices for the ‘Thar Earth Edition’ variants are:

Salesforce Unveils Einstein Copilot, A Conversational and Gen AI Assistant for CRM

• Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot: The Conversational AI Assistant for CRM that Delivers Trusted AI Responses Grounded with Your Company Data
• Einstein Copilot delivers trusted responses because it’s grounded in your company’s unique data and metadata, enabling it to deeply understand your business and customer relationships
• Einstein Copilot is natively embedded across Salesforce applications to deliver a consistent user experience that can answer questions, generate content, and dynamically automate any action to deliver better productivity, deeper customer relationships, and higher margins
• Salesforce customers can access Einstein Copilot by upgrading to Einstein 1 Editions of Salesforce that include Data Cloud, AI, and CRM in a single offering

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the #1 AI CRM, has just announced the public beta availability of Einstein Copilot, a new customizable, conversational, and generative AI assistant for CRM.

Unlike other AI assistants or copilots that lack adequate company data to generate useful responses, Einstein Copilot enables Salesforce customers to generate responses using their own private and trusted data, while maintaining strict data governance and without requiring expensive AI model training. As a result, Einstein Copilot can answer questions, summarize content, create new content, interpret complex conversations, and dynamically automate tasks on behalf of a user, all from a single, consistent user experience embedded directly within Salesforce’s #1 AI CRM applications.

This is made possible by combining a conversational UI, a foundational large language model, and trusted company data that enables Salesforce users to tap into the power of generative AI and interact with their applications in entirely new ways.

“AI is the single most important moment in the history of our industry. It will deepen customer relationships, increase productivity and drive higher margins at every company,” said Marc Benioff, Chair & CEO, Salesforce. “Our new Einstein Copilot brings together an amazing intuitive interface for interacting with AI, world-class AI models and above all deep integration of the data and metadata needed to benefit from AI. Einstein Copilot is the only copilot with the ability to truly understand what is going on with your customer relationships.”

Einstein Copilot is the only copilot with the ability to truly understand what is going on with your customer relationships — MARC BENIOFF, CHAIR & CEO, SALESFORCE

86% of IT executives believe that generative AI will have a major impact on their companies, and according to new research from Slack, AI use in the workplace accelerated 24% in the past quarter alone. And, 80% of employees using AI say that it is already improving their productivity. This increased AI adoption indicates that AI is becoming a crucial tool for accomplishing practical business tasks throughout an organization.

How customers can purchase Einstein Copilot:

Customers can tap into the full power of Salesforce with Einstein 1 Editions, simplified technology packages for businesses looking to accelerate growth and speed productivity with the #1 AI CRM. Einstein 1 Editions provide organizations in every industry access to the best of Salesforce technology, including CRM, Einstein Copilot, Data Cloud, Slack, and Tableau in a single offering, helping them transform their business and deliver stronger customer experiences.

Einstein Copilot Capabilities

Grounding prompts in Data Cloud: Einstein Copilot grounds its responses with trusted business data from Data Cloud to provide the necessary context for the highest quality outputs. This allows Einstein Copilot to generate more precise and tailored responses based on trusted company data.

Out-of-the-box “actions”: Einstein Copilot comes with a library of out-of-the-box actions – pre-programmed capabilities, automated responses, or business tasks performed by Einstein Copilot – that the AI can perform for the user when prompted. Actions can be combined to execute dynamic multi-step plans. For example, a customer service agent can ask Einstein Copilot to close a case and open a sales opportunity or sell an add-on, and Einstein Copilot will understand the user’s intent and can execute the task — or tasks — in the flow of the service experience. With Einstein Copilot there are no silos between applications or data.

Customize Einstein Copilot for specific business needs: Einstein Copilot can be customized to accomplish specific sales, service, marketing, commerce, and IT tasks, ensuring company and industry policies are applied. Copilot Builder can create custom actions for Einstein Copilot, Prompt Builder activates custom prompts in the flow of work, and Model Builder uses proprietary AI models to power custom Einstein Copilot functionality.

Reasoning engine to interpret intent and choose the best action: Einstein Copilot’s reasoning engine – the process that interprets and processes information to make informed decisions, solve problems, or generate insights – interacts with an LLM by analyzing the full context of the user’s prompt, determining the actions or series of actions to take, and generating the output. For example, if a sales rep asks Einstein Copilot, “Help me recommend a new product tier to my customer,” Einstein Copilot can determine which products the customer currently has, understand the upgrade options, and transition the customer into a new high-value marketing segment. Finally, Einstein Copilot can update the information across multiple systems with MuleSoft and Salesforce Flow.

Generating trusted responses and actions: Einstein Copilot serves up trusted AI interactions with privacy and security measures provided by the Einstein Trust Layer. The Einstein Trust Layer is part of the Einstein 1 Platform and performs functions like masking personally identifiable information (PII), scoring outputs for toxicity, and helping to protect information from unauthorized access and data breaches through zero-data retention from Salesforce’s LLM partners.

Pricing

Customers can access Einstein Copilot by purchasing Einstein 1 Editions or by adding it on to Enterprise or Unlimited Editions. Detailed pricing information is available here.

Global availability

• Einstein Copilot is available in beta globally for Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, with Commerce Cloud and Marketing Cloud available later in 2024.
• Einstein Copilot currently supports data residency in the United States and the English language.
• Einstein Copilot for Tableau will be launching later this year in H2. Currently Tableau supports generative AI capabilities with Tableau Pulse and Tableau Copilot (now in Beta).

Sample Use Cases

Einstein Copilot revolutionizes how teams and industries use AI to enhance productivity and personalization, conveniently within their flow of work. Using natural language prompts, salespeople can accelerate deal closures by summarizing records or generating customized communications to provide more personalized client engagement. Customer service and field service agents can streamline case resolution and boost customer satisfaction by surfacing relevant answers, offers, and data from disparate systems. Financial service companies can simplify client onboarding and craft personalized financial plans by automating data collection and analysis, enabling advisors to dedicate more time to client relationships and strategic advice.

Infosys Topaz Launches Responsible AI Suite of Offerings

Infosys Topaz Unveils Responsible AI Suite of Offerings, to help Enterprises Navigate the Regulatory and Ethical Complexities of AI-powered Transformation.

Responsible AI (RAI) Office will serve as the custodian of ethical use of AI and ensure solutions align with emerging guardrails for AI across geographies.

Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced the launch of its Responsible AI Suite, a part of Infosys Topaz, an AI-first set of services, solutions, and platforms using generative AI.

The rise of powerful generative AI systems in the past year has raised several concerns and conversations around the ethical dimensions of AI. According to the Infosys Generative AI Radar, by Infosys Knowledge Institute, enterprises worldwide are identifying data privacy, security, ethics, and bias as the primary challenges in their pursuit of innovation with AI. The Responsible AI Suite is designed to help enterprises balance innovation with ethical considerations, such bias and privacy prevention, and maximize their return on investments.

Infosys Topaz Responsible AI Suite is a set of 10+ offerings built around the Scan, Shield, and Steer framework. The framework aims to monitor and protect AI models and systems from risks and threats, while enabling businesses to apply AI responsibly. The offerings, across the framework, include a combination of accelerators and solutions designed to drive responsible AI adoption across enterprises.

Scan: Includes solutions to help identify the overall AI risk posture, legal obligations, vulnerabilities, and generate a single source of truth for compliance status of all AI projects. For example, the Infosys Topaz RAI Watchtower is used to monitor upcoming threats, vulnerabilities, and legal obligations

Shield: These solutions focus on building technical guardrails, checks, and accelerators that are responsible by design across the AI lifecycle. It also consists of specialized solutions for AI security. For example, the Infosys Topaz Gen AI Guardrails help enforce the safe use of Gen AI by moderating input prompts and output for multiple risks.

Steer: These advisory and consulting services support strong and efficient AI governance for innovation. Offerings include AI strategy formulation, legal consultation, and contract reviews.

Infosys Topaz Responsible AI Suite will be amplified by an ecosystem of technology partners and think tanks via the Responsible AI Coalition. The Responsible AI Coalition will bring together startups, cloud service providers, and technology partners to further the common goal of advancing responsible AI. It will also lead a special working group of noted academicians, influencers, policymakers, and industry leaders to aid in shaping solutions that help set new industry standards in the responsible AI space.

Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst, HFS Research, said, “With the challenges of Responsible AI currently forcing many enterprises to slow their progress towards achieving scaled value with AI, smart offerings such as Infosys Topaz’s Responsible AI suite can clear the path to help them accelerate their critical AI initiatives.”

The suite of offerings is complemented by Infosys Topaz RAI office. This ensures that the offerings deliver solutions that ably navigate the shifting landscape of complex technical, policy, and governance challenges related to adopting AI responsibly across business functions. The office of RAI is also responsible for looking into different facets of ethical aspects of AI like transparency, fairness, privacy, security and compliance. The Office constitutes a centralized body for streamlining AI governance, formulating AI risk strategy, and maintaining standards, policies, and guidelines. It will also ensure adherence to responsible-by-design principles and standards throughout the AI development lifecycle, facilitating safe use of AI across organizations.

Commenting on the launch, Balakrishna D. R. (Bali), Executive Vice President, Global Services Head, AI and Industry Verticals, Infosys, said, "Responsible and ethical AI deployment is a business imperative as technology evolves. At Infosys, we recognize the critical need for fostering responsible AI and not merely as a set of principles but as actionable steps. Infosys Topaz Responsible AI Suite is a significant stride in helping our clients better manage their AI-first journey. Together with the Infosys RAI office, we affirm our commitment to advancing the ethos of responsible AI, providing enterprises with the necessary tools and expertise for ethical AI implementation."

Tata Elxsi and Telefónica Collaborate to Achieve True Cloud-Native Infrastructure Management, Revolutionizing Telecommunications Landscape

Tata Elxsi and Spanish multinational telecommunications company, Telefónica, have just announced a groundbreaking achievement in the realm of the automation of cloud infrastructure for telecommunications, with the successful implementation of true cloud-native infrastructure management powered by ETSI Open Source MANO (ETSI OSM). This milestone represents a significant evolution in network management, enabling operators to build intent-driven network systems with unprecedented efficiency and agility.

Through this collaboration, Tata Elxsi and Telefónica have enhanced the capabilities of OSM, introducing innovative features such as infrastructure automation, serverless operations execution environments, and the deployment of multi-cloud Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions. These advancements mark a new phase in the evolution of Telco Cloud technologies and signify a commitment to driving digital transformation across the telecommunications industry.

The integration of OSM with Tata Elxsi's award-winning NEURON platform represents a pivotal moment in multi-domain transformation towards autonomous network systems. NEURON's business intent-driven functionalities, coupled with OSM's platform, provide operators with unparalleled control and flexibility in managing complex infrastructures.

"In our collaboration with Tata Elxsi, our objective is to advance the boundaries of technology and standardization, propelling operators towards cloud-native agility," emphasized Francisco-Javier Ramón, Multicloud Tools Manager in gCTIO Unit at Telefónica.

"We are thrilled to partner with Telefónica to revolutionize the orchestration landscape," commented B. Ramesh Ramanathan, Principal Architect, CTO Office at Tata Elxsi. "This collaboration enhances our presence within the open-source community and propels NEURON towards the realm of 5G and beyond and autonomous networks."

The strategic collaboration between Tata Elxsi and Telefónica sets the stage for future advancements in Telco Cloud technology, paving the way for cutting-edge solutions that address the evolving needs of the telecommunications industry. Powered by OSM, NEURON now possesses the capability to seamlessly integrate infrastructure, services, security, networking, and configuration into a unified, intent-driven deployment.

Please visit MWC Hall 2 2A53MR to see the joint demonstration by Telefónica and Tata Elxsi

About Tata Elxsi:

Tata Elxsi is a global design and technology services company that blends technology, creativity, and engineering to help customers transform ideas into world-class products and solutions. With expertise in industries such as automotive, broadcast, communications, healthcare, and more, Tata Elxsi is committed to driving innovation and delivering value to its clients worldwide.

About Telefónica:

Telefonica is a leading telecommunications company operating in Europe and Latin America. With a presence in over 15 countries and a customer base exceeding 350 million, Telefonica is committed to providing cutting-edge solutions and services that enable individuals, businesses, and communities to connect and thrive in the digital world.

India Announces 4 Astronauts for Gaganyaan

India has unveiled four Air Force pilots who have been shortlisted to travel on the country's maiden space flight — Gaganyaan — scheduled for next year.

During the inaugural ceremony held today at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Indian Astronaut Logo and awarded the 'अंतरिक्ष यात्री पंख' to the four IAF Astronauts.

The four astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission to space are :

• Group Captain Prashanth Nair
• Group Captain Ajit Krishnan
• Group Captain Angad Pratap
• Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla

Indian Air Force (IAF) will be working in 'Mission Mode' along with the Indian Space agency ISRO to achieve the country’s ambitious goal of achieving its own manned Space Flight.

The Gaganyaan mission aims to send three astronauts to an orbit of 400km and bring them back after three days.

Officials said the men were selected from a pool of Air Force pilots and had undergone extensive physical and psychological tests before being shortlisted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Isro chief S Somanath pinned badges with golden wings onto their shirts and Mr Modi described them as "India's pride".

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews the progress of the Gaganyaan Mission and bestows astronaut wings to the astronaut designates.

The Gaganyaan Mission is India's first human space flight program for which extensive preparations are underway at various ISRO centres. pic.twitter.com/KQiodF3Jqy

— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2024

Cipla Gets Approval to Introduce Zemdri® (Plazomicin) Injection in India, for Treatment of cUTR

Cipla Limited (BSE: 500087; NSE: CIPLA EQ) received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) to market the novel antibiotic plazomicin in India.

Plazomicin is a new intravenous (IV) aminoglycoside indicated for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) including pyelonephritis. UTIs are a global health problem affecting approximately 150 million patients each year. The emergence of drug resistant uropathogens has posed a big challenge in management of UTIs. A pivotal clinical trial and in-vitro studies demonstrated efficacious and safe results in comparison to meropenem. It also highlighted plazomicin’s ability to retain in-vitro activity against strains resistant to older aminoglycosides. Plazomicin's introduction in India underscores Cipla's proactive response to the urgent global challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Cipla USA Inc., a subsidiary of Cipla, holds the patent for plazomicin sulfate, an intravenous aminoglycoside administered once daily. The company possesses global rights for this molecule, excluding Greater China, and is the innovator of the brand called ZEMDRI®. Cipla USA Inc. currently markets the product in the USA, where it received approval from the US FDA in 2018. ZEMDRI®, for an appropriate time, held the designation of a new technology add-on payment (NTAP) status granted by the US Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) - specifically for hospital administration.

Commenting on the approval, Mr. Umang Vohra, Managing Director, and Global CEO, Cipla, said, “The introduction of plazomicin in India is an important step forward in bringing solutions that address the evolving healthcare challenges of our time. Cipla remains steadfast in building capabilities and driving stewardship activities to counter the global threat of AMR. Our focus remains on developing a robust antimicrobial portfolio, forging partnerships with thought leaders and industry alliances to ensure global access to antimicrobial drugs for a healthier life.”

As a part of Cipla’s extensive efforts to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the company is also implementing EHS management programs, strengthening wastewater and solid waste management, adhering to local environmental regulations, and providing vital training towards its sustainability initiatives.

Softbank Corp with SKT, Deutsche Telekom and Others Forming JV Company To Develop LLMs Specifically for Telcos

SKT, Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel, and SoftBank Corp. Announce Plan to Establish a Joint Venture

• Joint Venture Company to develop Large Language Models (LLM) specifically for telecommunications companies
• Joint Venture Company to be established within this year
• Initial fine-tuning of models takes place

SK Telecom (“SKT”), Deutsche Telekom, e& Group, Singtel and SoftBank Corp., on Monday, held the inaugural meeting of the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA) at MWC Barcelona 2024 and announced their plans to establish a joint venture.

The meeting was attended by SK’s Chairman Chey Tae-won, SKT’s CEO Ryu Young-sang, Deutsche Telekom’s CEO Tim Höttges and DT’s Board Member for Technology & Innovation, Claudia Nemat, e& Group’s Group CEO Hatem Dowidar, Singtel Group’s CEO Yuen Kuan Moon, and SoftBank’s CISO Tadashi Iida.

Through the Joint Venture Company, the five companies plan to develop Large Language Models (LLMs) specifically tailored to the needs of telecommunications companies (telcos). The LLMs will be designed to help telcos improve their customer interactions via digital assistants and chatbots.

The goal is to develop multilingual LLMs optimized for languages including Korean, English, German, Arabic and Japanese, with plans for additional languages to be agreed among the founding members.

The joint venture plans to focus on deploying innovative AI applications tailored to the needs of the Global AI Telco Alliance members in their respective markets, enabling them to reach a global customer base of approximately 1.3 billion across 50 countries. Deutsche Telekom boasts about 250 million subscribers across 12 countries, including Germany and the U.S. The e& Group has 169 million subscribers in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, while the Singtel Group has 770 million subscribers in 21 countries, including Australia, India, and Indonesia.

The Joint Venture Company will be established within this year.

Earlier this month, the GSMA and IBM announced the collaboration to support the adoption and skills of generative AI in the telecom industry through the launch of GSMA Advance's AI Training program and the GSMA Foundry Generative AI program

Compared to general LLMs, telco-specific LLMs are more attuned to the telecommunications domain and better at understanding user intent. By making it easier for telcos to deploy high-quality generative AI models swiftly and efficiently, telco-specific LLMs are expected to help accelerate AI transformation of various telco business and services, including customer service.

The LLMs are currently being optimized. Telcos’ customer service data is used to fine-tune the model for telco-specific questions. This is because tariff and contract models, information on special hardware such as the router, for example (e.g. How do I do a reset?) are rarely found in the general training data of the large models. But it's exactly this content that a telco bot needs to know. So that it is able to understand, summarize and respond to these specific concerns.

This targeted training ensures the LLM understands the unique language and needs of telecom operators, paving the way for enhanced, personalized, and efficient customer experiences.

“We as telcos need to develop tailored LLM for the telco industry to make telco operations more efficient, which is a low-hanging fruit. Our ultimate goal is to discover new business models by redefining relationships with customers. The Global Telco AI Alliance brings synergy to its members by allowing them to achieve more by working as a team,” said Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SKT.

"We want our customers to experience the best possible service. AI helps us do that. Already today, more than 100,000 customer service dialogs a month in Germany are handled by Generative AI. By integrating telco-specific large language models, our 'Frag Magenta' chatbot becomes even more human-centric: AI personalizes conversations between customers and chatbots. And our joint venture brings Europe and Asia closer together,” said Claudia Nemat, Board Member Deutsche Telekom for Technology and Innovation.

“This is a monumental step for e& and for the Telco industry at large. From streamlining customer support interactions to enabling personalised recommendations, this multi-lingual LLM will revolutionise how businesses engage with customers”, said Dena Almansoori, Group Chief AI and Data Officer, e& group. “In collaboration with our Global AI Telco Alliance partners, we look forward to shaping both the present and future of customer engagement and setting new standards for efficiency and innovation across the telecommunications landscape to better serve our customers and create meaningful impact."

"This promises to be a game changer not just for us at Singtel but for any telecom company out there looking to lift their customer experience beyond limited automated responses and generic chatbot interactions. This multi-lingual LLM tailored for telcos will greatly expand chatbot capabilities with relevant responses to customers’ technical queries, freeing up service agents to deal with more complex customer issues and we intend to deploy this across the Singtel Group. With leading telcos from three different continents working on this innovative model, this unprecedented effort to scale AI development for the telecom industry would not have been possible had we all decided to go it alone,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, Group Chief Executive Officer, Singtel.

“Through a powerful alliance with industry leaders, we embark on a mission to revolutionize global communication, elevate service quality, and ignite a new era of technological innovation powered by AI. Together, we have the power to shape the future of telecommunications, empowering communities worldwide with seamless connectivity and boundless opportunities,” said Hideyuki Tsukuda, Executive Vice President & CTO of SoftBank Corp.

Nokia, NTT, SKT and DOCOMO Team Up To Develop 6G AI-native Air Interface (AI-AI)

• AI is a critical 6G building block, with the potential to boost performance and minimize energy consumption in future 6G networks.
• SKT joins the existing 6G collaboration between Nokia, NTT and DOCOMO, expanding the scope and scale of its work on the 6G native air interface (AI-AI).
• At MWC 2024, an AI air interface (AI-AI) proof of concept video demonstration will be available at SKT’s booth.

Nokia, SK Telecom (“SKT”), NTT and DOCOMO, on Thursday last week, announced that they have joined forces to develop the 6G AI-native air interface (AI-AI), a critical next-generation technology that could greatly boost network performance while increasing energy efficiency. The four companies will show a video demonstration of an AI-AI proof of
concept at SKT’s booth at Mobile World Congress.

An AI-native air interface (AI-AI) is a dynamic interface that uses machine learning (ML) and AI (Artifical Intelligence) to define the air interface. It can adapt to different radio environments, data, applications, and Hardware.

This new 6G collaboration builds on an existing relationship between Nokia, NTT and DOCOMO targeted at 6G innovation. With the addition of SKT, the four companies will be able to expand the scope and scale of 6G AI-AI testing and validation as well as explore a broader range of business use cases for the technology.

Academics, leading research institutes, and key industry experts across the globe anticipate that a future 6G standard will use AI/ML for signal processing tasks, such as channel estimation, channel equalization, and demapping. This concept is understood as a neural receiver.

This collaboration is developing future proof-of-concept 6G AI-AI systems, which will then be put to the test using selected use cases and real environmental scenarios. These over-the-air validation tests will be conducted both in the lab and outdoors to best simulate real network results. SKT, NTT, DOCOMO and Nokia will cooperate on improving AI model performance by utilizing data generated from real networks or through simulation. This will be instrumental in developing AI training models for a best-in-industry AI-AI solution.

By working together Nokia, SKT, NTT and DOCOMO will be able to combine their research efforts and bring their core areas of expertise to the table. Nokia’s industrial research arm, Nokia Bell Labs, is a leader in 6G innovation, while SKT, NTT and DOCOMO are recognized worldwide for their successful adoption of every generation of networking and their ability to create new business value from advanced technologies.

Peter Vetter, President of Bell Labs Core Research at Nokia, said: “For Nokia to create a world-class 6G system, it’s critical we get input from the service providers that will one day deploy 6G. SKT, NTT and DOCOMO are among the most innovative service providers in the world, which gives us the perfect partners to design the networks of the future.”

Yu Takki, Vice President and Head of Infra Tech at SKT, said: “This milestone represents a significant step forward in collaborative efforts towards the development of 6G core technology involving technology leaders from Korea, Japan, Europe and the United States. SKT will maintain its momentum in its R&D efforts of applying AI technology to network infrastructure as we move forward to become a global AI company.”

Takaaki Sato, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at DOCOMO, said: “DOCOMO and NTT are delighted to advance this project with Nokia, a global vendor leading the world, and SKT, a mobile operator co-leading Asia. Through this collaboration, we will take the lead in innovative technology development and standardization of 6G, and focus on building a global ecosystem that includes future industries and technologies.”

Wipro and Nokia Launch Joint 5G Private Wireless Solution for Enterprises

Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading technology services and consulting company, today announced a joint private wireless solution with Nokia (NYSE: NOK), to help enterprises scale their digital transformation.

This joint solution will provide enterprises with a more secure 5G private wireless network solution integrated with their operation infrastructure. The solution will bring greater reliability, mobility, connectivity speed, real-time access to business insights, and the ability to process high volumes of data with low latency. Through a dedicated wireless network, enterprises will be able to create an integrated private environment they can control to better manage their performance and mitigate security risks.

The greater speed, reliability, and security this technology brings will enable enterprises to improve operational efficiencies with advanced AI-driven automation. This joint solution will initially be made available to customers in the manufacturing, energy, utilities, transportation, and sports entertainment industries.

Nokia will provide the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) and Modular Private Wireless (MPW) solutions inclusive of hardware and software. Wipro, with its state-of-the-art 5G Def-i with Industry DOT and OTNxt platforms, will offer strategic guidance and industry insights for effective integration into the enterprise environment.

Wipro will develop the architecture and design to best address clients’ unique business challenges, as well as implement and manage the end-to-end network to ensure business goals are met.

Jo Debecker, Global Head of Wipro FullStride Cloud, said, “In today’s digital world, data processing, accessibility and security are imperative. Traditional infrastructures are being stretched and performance is impacting business value and, in some cases, human lives through emerging areas such as remote-controlled robotic surgery. We are proud to partner with Nokia to address this pressing business need and to create a way for enterprises to leverage wireless private networks to digitize at speed and access real-time insights to realize their ambitions. By combining Nokia’s network expertise with Wipro’s strategic business, technology, and connectivity capabilities, we are enabling the promise of technology to drive impactful change and value.”

Stephan Litjens, Vice President of Enterprise Campus Edge Solutions, Nokia said, “Digital transformation is at the top of the enterprise agenda and enabling this is the driving force behind everything we do at Nokia. We are pleased to work with Wipro, a company that shares that vision, to provide a private secure 5G network solution that integrates seamlessly into enterprises' operation infrastructure and further scales their digital transformation. This partnership with Wipro will unlock new capabilities to help businesses in various sectors experience enhanced connectivity and AI-driven operational efficiencies, ushering them to the forefront of innovation.”

“This is a big step in Wipro Engineering Edge’s private 5G offering journey, which shows how Wipro continues to be at the forefront of innovation and connectivity with next-gen technology. The combined Wipro 5G Def-i, OTNxt and Industry DOT platforms will bond IT, OT and Nokia private network connectivity offering an end-to-end secure business operation solution to our customers. Working in collaboration with Nokia, we are excited to further fuel innovation for our customers in the market,” said Lourdes Charles, Vice President, 5G Connectivity Services, Wipro Engineering Edge.

In a First, Airtel to Offer Connectivity 35 Meters Below River Hooghly

Airtel to offer seamless connectivity to commuters in India’s first underwater metro in Kolkata

Becomes the first operator to enable connectivity, 35 meters below river Hooghly

Bharti Airtel, one of India's leading telecommunications service providers, today, announced its pioneering initiative to deliver uninterrupted connectivity to metro commuters by deploying high-capacity nodes 35 meters below river Hooghly. Airtel has invested in the infrastructure ahead of the actual commercial launch of service, which is expected soon. This makes Airtel the first operator to deliver seamless connectivity through the 4.8km stretch in Kolkata’s East – West Metro corridor connecting Howrah Maidan with the Esplanade.

To facilitate this transformative service, Airtel has connected the 4.8- km stretch between Howrah Maidan, Howrah Station, Mahakaran and Esplanade stations through fiber. High-capacity nodes at each of these stations have been deployed for seamless connectivity allowing commuters to enjoy blazing 5G speeds, uninterrupted voice calls and data transmission that enhance the daily commute experience and allow customers to stay connected and productive through their travel.

Ayan Sarkar, CEO – Bharti Airtel West Bengal and Odisha, said, “Airtel is committed to pushing boundaries to better serve its customers. This initiative to provide under-river tunnel connectivity will certainly make a difference to commuters where they will get to access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos and more, along with enjoying the scenic stretch below river Ganga".

India's first underwater metro is an engineering marvel connecting Howrah to Kolkata and will be thrown open to the public soon.

Last year in April, the Kolkata Metro's first underwater metro network made history when trains ran, on a trial, through the Hooghly River. The 520-meter stretch of the tracks goes through a tunnel under the river at a depth of 32 meters below water level. The tunnel is part of the East-West Metro Corridor, which is 10.8 kilometers long and 5.5 meters wide.

Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 500 Mn customers in 17 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover over two billion people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the second-largest mobile operator in Africa. Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high-speed 4G/5G mobile broadband and Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services. For enterprise customers, Airtel offers a gamut of solutions that includes secure connectivity, cloud and data center services, cyber security, IoT, Ad Tech and CPaaS (Airtel IQ). For more details visit www.airtel.com

Sony India Launches Alpha 9 III, World's 1st Full-Frame Image Sensor Camera with a Global Shutter System

Next generation Alpha 9 III captures all decisive moments with up to 120 frames per second high-speed shooting, distortion-free and blackout-free images, flash sync at all shooting speeds and much more

• A new dimension of still image performance created by the world’s first¹ global shutter image sensor
• Advanced video performance without distortion
• Operability and reliability for professionals
• High-speed workflow and scalability to support immediate delivery

Sony India today introduced the groundbreaking new Alpha 9 III camera equipped with the world’s first¹ full-frame global shutter image sensor. The impressive new global shutter full-frame image sensor enables the camera to shoot at burst speeds at up to 120 fps with no distortion or camera blackout. By combining this innovative sensor with Sony’s most advanced AF system to date – boasting AI autofocus with up to 120 times AF/AE focus calculations per second – as well as the ability to sync flash at all shooting speeds, the Alpha 9 III opens up a new world of possibilities for professional photographers to capture that decisive moment.

“The Alpha 9 III full-frame camera represents a monumental leap forward in the industry, setting a new standard that surpasses all expectations. By meticulously crafting every aspect, from sensor to physical design, button layout to menu functions, we have embraced the insights and needs of professional photographers worldwide. With the introduction of revolutionary features like the global shutter and the ground-breaking 120 fps capability, we are reshaping the very essence of photography. This is not just a camera, it is a testament of innovation, a tool that empowers photographers to push the boundaries of creativity and capture imagery beyond imagination. The Alpha 9 III is not simply about capturing moments it is about redefining new avenues in photography.” said Mukesh Srivastava, Head of Digital Imaging Business, Sony India.

1. A new dimension of still image performance created by the world’s first1 global shutter image sensor

The new Alpha 9 III is equipped with a newly developed world’s first¹ global shutter full frame stacked CMOS image sensor with approximately 24.6 effective megapixels[i] and built-in memory, combined with the latest image processing engine BIONZ XR®. It achieves blackout-free Continuous Shooting Speed with AF/AE tracking[ii] of up to approximately 120 frames per second4. The new Alpha 9 III is equipped with high-density focal plane phase detection AF.

A Designated AI processing unit uses Real-time Recognition AF (autofocus) to recognise a wide variety of subjects with high precision. By combining high-speed performance of up to 120 frames per second with highly accurate subject recognition performance, it is possible to easily photograph decisive scenes and moments that cannot be captured with the naked eye4.

The AI processing unit in the Alpha 9 III supports movies as well as stills with accurate subject form and movement recognition, providing a significant improvement in human eye recognition performance with Real-time Recognition AF and Real-time Tracking automatically recognising, tracking, and focusing on the eyes of a specified subject[iii]. The Alpha 9 III is equipped with 8.0 stops[iv] of optical 5-axis in-body image stabilisation, allowing for high-quality image rendering.

Shutter speed is freed from the limitations of conventional mechanical shutter image sensors and achieves a maximum shutter speed of 1/80000 second (1/16000 second during continuous shooting)[v], making it possible to capture at high speed without any distortion. When a compatible Sony flash[vi] is attached, such as the HVL-F60RM2 and HVL-F46RM (sold separately), it is possible to synchronise the flash and take pictures at all shutter speeds up to 1/80000 second8. Previously, if the user released the shutter at a speed faster than the flash’s synchronisation speed, the amount of light would drop sharply, but with the full-speed flash synchronisation function, it’s now possible to photograph scenes that could not be easily captured with conventional technology. Also, when shooting stills or movies under LED lighting, the Hi Frequency Flicker function can significantly reduce high-frequency flicker problems by allowing the shutter speed to be finely adjusted to match the flicker frequency while viewing the monitor.

The Alpha 9 III features selectable release lag modes which allows the user to prioritise release lag or viewfinder/monitor display[vii]. The newly installed Pre-Capture function allows the user to go back up to 1 second and record the moment before pressing the shutter, a Continuous Shooting Speed Boost[viii] change during shooting, and enhanced burst stamina ensures that important moments are reliably captured due to a large buffer memory and increased overall system speed allow up to approximately 390 Fine JPEG images[ix] to be captured in one continuous 30 fps[x] burst.

Customisable focus areas have been expanded to include from XS to XL instead of the previous S, M, and L sizes. The Preset Focus/Zoom function allows preset focus and zoom settings to be memorised in the camera for quick recall when needed[xi]. In addition to the existing custom white balance frame size, the user can now select other sizes as needed which allows for fine white balance adjustment after an image has been composed. The Alpha 9 III has upgraded features such as the latest AF algorithms to achieve high AF precision down to light levels as low as EV-5 in AF-S mode (ISO 100 equivalent, F2.0 lens), AF tracking for continuous shooting at F22[xii] and a composite RAW shooting function that gives the ability to combine multiple consecutive images into a high-quality composite.

2. Advanced video performance without distortion

The global shutter image sensor provides distortion-free image expression for videos as well as still images. For example, the user can shoot images of nearby scenery from a fast-moving vehicle such as a car or fast-moving subjects with ease. This camera is the first in the Alpha™ series to be able to record 4K 120p high-frame-rate video without cropping, allowing the user to shoot at the angle of view intended. It is also possible to shoot high-resolution 4K 60p videos with 6K oversampling.

The Alpha 9 III has the image creation process S-Cinetone™, created through the development of the VENICE digital cinema camera for video production, making human skin and subjects stand out beautifully, creating natural highlights. The Alpha 9 III is equipped with the latest video performance including rich gradation performance and S-Log3, and when in Log shooting mode, it can reflect and display the user’s favorite imported LUT. Alpha 9 III is compatible with the mobile app “Monitor & Control” for video creators.

3. Operability and reliability for professionals

Sony has listened to the voices of professional photographers and created operability and reliability that supports professional image makers. The shape of the grip is improved and ergonomically designed so that it can be easily held in the palm of the user’s hand to avoid straining the user even when wearing a telephoto lens or using it for long periods of time.

The VG-C5 vertical grip (sold separately), provides the same operability and versatility as when shooting horizontally; the user can comfortably support long shooting sessions. The grip and shutter button area share the same design as the main body, allowing image capture without feeling uncomfortable, with the same operability as the camera. The Alpha 9 III is equipped with a 4-axis multi-angle LCD monitor that can be operated by touch, allowing for intuitive operation using the latest touch menu. The electronic viewfinder uses a 9.44 million-dot Quad XGA OLED and achieves high visibility with the same brightness as the α7R V and a magnification of approximately 0.90x. Also, a custom button is placed on the front of the camera, and the continuous shooting speed can be changed by operating the custom button assigned with Continuous Shooting Speed Boost with the finger holding the grip, allowing for highly immediate operations. It supports professional photographers when shooting in all environments.

4. High-speed workflow and scalability to support immediate delivery

New features for the Alpha 9 III include a playback image filter that allows the user to efficiently select a large number of images using high-speed continuous shooting, and a function menu that can be used even during image playback, strongly supporting professional workflows from shooting to delivery. A function menu can now be used during playback so the user can efficiently select a huge number of images using high-speed continuous shooting. The “Playback Function Menu” can be assigned in advance, so the user can perform protection, smartphone transfer, FTP transfer, etc. during image playback. The user can select images narrowed down with a playback filter and play them from the function menu, allowing for quick delivery of specific images. The camera is equipped with a dedicated microphone for voice memos on the back, and the built-in microphone located near the mouth allows clear recording of audio even in noisy environments. The recorded audio data can be transferred via FTP along with the images. The camera allows the user to set up to 20 presets from the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC), an international consultative body in which news organisations from various countries participate.

The Alpha 9 III can transfer data up to twice as fast as the Alpha 9 II. 5 GHz communication offers maximum speed and stability for news and sports shooters who need to deliver immediately via FTP, as well as for studio environments. The Alpha 9 III allows stills and movies to be recorded to memory media in numerous ways including the two media slots that support CFexpress Type A cards as well as UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards.

It is compatible with the professional mobile application “Transfer & Tagging” which speeds up the image delivery workflow, and the application “Remote Camera Tool” which allows remote shooting of PCs using wired LAN. In addition, the Alpha 9 III is scheduled to support functional enhancements such as FTP operability, relay playback, and C2PA format support[xiv] through a camera software update[xv]. Sony will continue to expand functions such as breathing correction, relay playback, and C2PA format support for the Alpha 1 and Alpha 7S III in the future17 to meet the needs of professionals along with the Alpha 9 III.

Pricing and Availability

Alpha 9 III will be available across Sony retail stores (Sony Center and Sony Exclusive), the www.ShopatSC.com portal, major electronic stores, and other e-commerce websites in India from 26th February 2024 onwards.

Model	Best Buy (in INR)	Availability Date
Alpha 9 III Camera	529,990/-	26th February 2024

[I] Compared to interchangeable-lens digital cameras. As of the November 2023 product announcement. Sony survey.

[II] Approximate, effective.

[III] Sony test conditions. Maximum continuous frame rate may be lower in some shooting conditions. Continuous shooting speed may vary depending on the lens used in AF-C focus modes. Visit Sony’s support web page for lens compatibility information. https://www.sony.net/dics/ilce9m3cnlns/ A software update for the lens itself is also required. The software is scheduled to be released after December 2023.

[IV] When subject recognition is ON during AF shooting. Face, eye, etc. recognition status can be monitored when subject recognition frame display is ON.

[V] CIPA standards. Pitch/yaw shake only. FE 50mm F1.2 GM lens. Long exposure NR off.

[VI] Maximum shutter speed is 1/16000 second when F1.8 or larger aperture is used. 1/80000 second speed not available when shooting movies, when using the Var. Shutter function, or when no lens is mounted.

[VII] A software update is required. The software update will be released simultaneously with the Alpha 9 III. Some variation in brightness and colour may occur between shots when using shutter speeds higher than 1/10000 second. Light level may not reach the manual light output level setting at some shutter speeds, resulting in insufficient light level. Refer to the support page at https://www.sony.net/dics/ilce9m3fl/ for details.

[VIII] With the default [Auto/Off] setting no blackout occurs when shooting is started, and release time is controlled for optimum display latency. The [Fast Release/On] setting provides the shortest possible release time lag with blackout occurring on only the first image in a continuous burst. The [Stable Release/On] setting minimises variations in release lag with blackout occurring on only the first image in a continuous burst, making it easier to release the shutter at the intended moment.

[IX] Continuous shooting may be interrupted when Continuous Shooting Speed Boost is used to switch from a low shooting speed to a shooting speed higher than 60 fps, or when switching from a high shooting speed to a shooting speed lower than 30 fps.

[X] With Sony CEA-G160T C Fexpress Type A memory cards (sold separately). Sony test conditions.

[XI] Sony test conditions. Maximum continuous frame rate may be lower in some shooting conditions. Continuous shooting speed may vary depending on the lens used in AF-C focus modes. Visit Sony’s support web page for lens compatibility information.

[XII] Preset focus works with compatible lenses such as the FE 300mm F2.8 GM OSS. Preset Focus/Zoom settings cannot be recalled while the shutter button is half-pressed. Only focus can be preset for prime lenses. If a zoom lens without power zoom is attached, the focus position/zoom positions can only be registered and recalled via remote operation using the computer software Remote Camera Tool. For details, refer to the following website. https://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/app/remotecameratool/l/index.php. Preset Focus/Zoom can only be recalled when the lens that was mounted when the settings were registered is used. Not all lenses are compatible.

[XIII] When [Aperture Drive in AF] is set to [Focus Priority], the aperture size can be smaller than F22. Results may vary depending on shooting conditions and the lens used.

[XIV] A standards organisation that develops open standards and technical specifications for the origin and authenticity of digital content.

[XV] Will be available in select countries and regions.

[XVI] Software update available by Q2 2024 (calendar year).