Digpu News

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Oct 23:  Larsen & Toubro  Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) said on Wednesday it has been awarded a mega project by  Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited  (HPCL). L&T describes a mega project with a value of over Rs 7,000 crore. The engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract is for setting up a residue upgradation facility at HPCL’s Vizag refinery. The RUF facility is licensed by Chevron Lummus Global with a capacity of 3.55 million tonnes per annum. The plant will enable HPCL to convert the heaviest oils into high-quality euro 6 diesel while simultaneously eliminating fuel oil production as well as increasing feedstock and product flexibility. The unit is being implemented for the first time in India. “L&T has a proven track record of over 25 years in the refinery and petrochemical sector. Bagging this contract from HPCL reinforces our integrated capabilities in executing critical plants for the sector,” said LTH

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Oct 23: Equity benchmark indices remained flat on the bourses during early hours of Wednesday amid weak global cues as investors awaited a slew of corporate earnings of the second fiscal quarter. At 10:15 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 110 points at 39,073 while the Nifty 50 edged higher by 48 points to 11,637. All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with thin margins except for Nifty IT and pharma. Among stocks, private lenders  Yes Bank,   IndusInd Bank  and  Kotak Mahindra  Bank were down between 1.3 and 1.7 per cent. Adani Ports lost by 4.8 per cent, Tata Motors by 2.4 per cent and JSW Steel by 1.1 per cent. Infosys which had shed 16.65 per cent on Tuesday after a whistleblower complaint against unethical practices by certain senior management members of the firm, was trading at Rs 644.35 per share, up by 0.16 per cent. However, those which showed gains were  Bajaj Finserv , Bajaj Finance,  HCL Technologies ,

New Delhi [India], October 23: Video creating and sharing app, TikTok, has surpassed top social networking apps including Instagram, Snapchat, Helo, and Twitter, in terms of downloads on the Google Play Store. The Sensor Tower Report 2019 ranked TikTok as the most downloaded social media app worldwide for September 2019 with close to 60 million installs, with downloads from India constituting 44 per cent of its total downloads, the official blog notes. Facebook was the second most installed app, with the highest installs from India at 23 per cent. Instagram, Likee, Snapchat were among the top five apps in terms of overall downloads. Source: ANI

New Delhi [India], October 23: Software and robotics platform GreyOrange announced the deployment of 12,000 picks per hour Sorter that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. The automated sorting solution, deployed for QuadX, a Philippines-based cross-border digital logistics and e-commerce payment processing service, is capable of sorting up to 1,50,000 packages in 12 hours, the official press release notes. The 12,000 per hour Sorter, combines two 6,000 per hour sorters, each with 11 arms and capable of sorting up to 480 and 240 unique destinations with and without pre-sorting, respectively. It is the QuadX’s first-ever installation of an automated sorting facility system. Source: ANI

Washington D.C [USA], October 23: Microsoft has revealed its latest VR project which takes the immersive experience to a park, literally. The DreamWalker VR system allows users to experience immersive experiences in open locations while traveling along a familiar route such as a walk to work, or other real-time environments, Engadget reports. It can also adapt to changes to the route made by the walker, making it possible to transform a simple walk to a grocery store into a walk through Times Square. Microsoft also announced other VR technologies including an eye-tracking system called Mise-Unseen and a new haptic controller called CapstanCrunch. Source: ANI

Wellington [New Zealand], October 23 : Google Duplex, the search giant’s AI-powered digital assistant that makes reservations on a user’s behalf is making its international debut in New Zealand. Starting this week, Google will start a pilot to confirm holiday hours for a small number of local businesses in New Zealand using its Duplex technology, the official blog notes. As part of the pilot program, businesses will receive an automated call from Google asking to confirm their hours for the upcoming Labour Day public holiday on October 28. The company will allow businesses to opt-out of the service. Source: ANI

California [USA], October 23: Researchers have built a new type of smartphone cover that looks and feels like a chunk of human flesh. You can stroke it, tickle it, pinch it, and it will know. Skin-On Interfaces is a research project that is modeled after the layers of human skin. It is made out of a peachy patch of silicone, molded with intricate wrinkles, and under the epidermis, is a grid of electrode wires that sense touch, Fast Company reports. The electrodes are the same electrodes found inside a smartphone touchscreen. However, because they are embedded with silicone, they can also measure squeezes and twists to really simulate the human skin feel. Source: ANI

California [USA], October 23 : If you are a Spotify Premium user, you are eligible for a free Google Home Mini smart speaker, even if you signed up last year. The music streaming service announced that it is bringing back its offer and both new and existing Premium Individual and Premium Family master account users can get the smart speaker for free till stocks last, starting today, the official blog notes. However, the offer is only applicable for users in the US who can claim a Google Home Mini by signing up through the official Spotify website. Source: ANI

New Delhi [India], Oct 23 : International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) on Oct 22, Tuesday announced new innovations to further advance its Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven intelligent cognitive approach — ‘Watson Anywhere’ — that will help several Indian enterprises scale their AI across any Cloud and wherever the data reside. Rob Thomas, General Manager, IBM Data and AI, said: “We collaborate with clients every day and around the world on their data and AI challenges, and this year we tackled one of the big drawbacks to scaling AI throughout the enterprise – vendor lock-in.” “When we introduced the ability to run Watson on any cloud, we opened up AI for clients in ways never imagined. Today, we pushed that even further adding even more capabilities to our Watson products running on Cloud Pak for Data,” added Rob. The American multinational information technology company also unveiled updates to key Watson tools and applications that are designed to give cli

California [USA], Oct 18, 2019 Apple is long-rumoured to be working on a new-generation wireless AirPods and if the latest reports are anything to go by, the AirPods Pro may launch at the end of this month. China Economic Daily reports that the new-generation device, dubbed Apple AirPods Pro, will boast a design upgrade with a new in-ear form factor. It will also come with a noise reduction feature. Price of the high-end AirPods Pro is likely to exceed USD 260. Source: ANI

Vatican City, Oct 19, 2019 Vatican’s latest attempt at directing the millennials to the almighty, the eRosary wearable device, has been marred with a very Earthly problem- cybersecurity issues. As Cnet reports, security researcher Baptiste Robert found that the ‘Click to Pray’ eRosary app contains a bug that would have allowed a hacker to take over user’s account just by knowing the registered email address. Robert reached out to the Vatican and the issue has since been fixed. Source: ANI

California [USA], Oct 19, 2019 Motorola’s upcoming budget smartphone, Moto E6 Play, has shown up in latest leaks with an updated design. The renders showcase the Moto E6 Play featuring a slick new design with glossy backs, 18:9 display, micro USB charging port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, The Verge notes. In terms of camera, the Moto E6 Play could come with the same dual-camera setup as the E6 Plus variant launched last month.

California [USA], Oct 19, 2019 Kik Interactive may be shifting its focus to the cryptocurrency project but its messaging service will continue to operate under a new owner. Kik Messenger’s new owner, MediaLab, revealed that it will continue developing the app and focus on making it faster, less buggy, and devoid of spambots, Engadget reports. Kit Interactive announced its plans to ditch its messaging service last month in order to downsize and afford its court battle for its 2017 digital token sale. Source: ANI

California [USA], Oct 19, 2019 Apple is reportedly working on a wearable device that would fit on a finger and work as a smartwatch or health monitor. Based on the patent application filed by the iPhone maker with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the electronic ring computing device will feature a touchscreen, wireless transceiver, processor, sensors, and a rechargeable power source. The purported smart ring will be controlled by touch and gestures such as flicking between apps or menu. The patent was originally filed in 2015 and it is unclear if this will become a commercial Apple product. Source: ANI

California [USA], Oct 21, 2019 Last week, a severe security loophole was uncovered on the latest Google Pixel 4 flagship smartphone that allowed users to unlock the device even with eyes closed. Now, the company has said that it is working on an option for users to require their eyes to be open to unlock the phone. According to Engadget, Google will roll out the software update in the coming months. Until the fix is issued, concerned users can choose to activate PIN, pattern, or password-based unlocking system for their Pixel 4. Source: ANI

California [USA], October 21, 2019 Apps approved by Amazon and Google for their voice-controlled smart devices could allow spying on users, according to a security report. The smart speaker voice apps called Skills for Alexa and Actions on Google Home contain vulnerabilities that can be abused to listen in on users or voice-phish their passwords, Security Research Labs (SRLabs) notes in its official blog. The researchers found two possible hacking scenarios that allow a hacker to phish for sensitive information and eavesdrop on users, turning the assistants into ‘Smart Spies’. The security loopholes have been disclosed to Amazon and Google. Source: ANI

Seoul [South Korea], October 21, 2019 Samsung has announced that with Android 10 update, its smartphones will not support Linux on DeX beta program. DeX which turns Samsung phone into a PC, will not be supported using the open-source OS as a desktop environment for Linux, Engadget reports. It isn’t clear why Samsung is shutting down Linux support as it was the only way for fans to run the full-fledged Ubuntu Linux desktop OS on their phone. Meanwhile, Samsung recently enabled desktop-style Macs and Windows PCs spaces for DeX. Source: ANI

Shenzhen [China], October 21, 2019 Huawei may have introduced its own HarmonyOS, but the loss of Google’s apps is hurting the Chinese tech giant, a company executive told Financial Times. Joy Tan, Huawei US vice president of public affairs, told the publication that operating without core Google services such as Play Store or apps like Chrome and Maps, is the ‘most challenging part’, Cnet reported. Following the trade ban imposed by the US government, Huawei has been forced to use an open-source version of Google’s Android OS on its latest phones. Tan also said that it will be years before HarmonyOS will be able to match Google’s suite of Android services. Source: ANI

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Oct 23: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday reported revenue for the quarter ended September 30 at Rs 873 crore with a year-on-year growth of 8 per cent. Profit after tax (PAT) including exceptional items came at Rs 503 crore, clocking a growth of 399 per cent. Exceptional items recognised in the quarter include divestment of the company’s land at Thane for a net consideration of Rs 552 crore. Managing Director A Vaidheesh said the company’s global innovation, performance and trust strategy guided investment of resources in focus therapies which is showing encouraging results with promoted brands recording over 20 per cent growth this quarter. “We continue to see the annualising effect of discontinued tail-end brands. Adjusting for this our underlying sales growth is 16 per cent supported by strong volume growth of 11 per cent,” he said in a statement. GSK Pharmaceuticals continues to drive improved operational efficiencies reflect

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Oct 23 : Private lender Axis Bank on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 112 crore on a for the second quarter of current fiscal due to a one-time tax impact compared to a net profit of Rs 790 crore in the corresponding July to September quarter of previous fiscal. “The net loss was driven by a one-time tax impact of Rs 2,138 crore due to changes in the corporate tax rate. Ex of this extraordinary item, profit after tax would have been Rs 2,026 crore, up 157 per cent year-on-year,” it said in a statement. Profit before tax for Q2 FY20 stood at Rs 2,433 crore, up 109 per cent year-on-year. The bank’s total income rose to Rs 19,334 crore in Q2 of FY20 from Rs 15,959 crore in Q2 FY19. Net interest income grew by 17 per cent to Rs 6,102 crore from Rs 5,232 crore in Q2 FY19 while net interest margin for Q2 FY20 stood at 3.5 per cent. The bank showed improvement in asset quality with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) falling to 5.03 per cent of gross ad