Technology

New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) will continue to play a pivotal role in advancing India’s clean energy ambitions, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Power Shripad Yesso Naik said on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion of the organisation’s 15th Foundation Day as the chief guest, he said SECI’s journey reflects India’s growing leadership in the global renewable energy transition and its commitment to building a sustainable energy future.

Naik said SECI has consistently delivered on the country's clean energy vision over the past 15 years. “SECI's 15-year journey stands as a reflection of India's growing leadership in the global renewable energy transition,” he noted.

"SECI has consistently delivered on the nation’s clean energy vision and expressed confidence that the corporation will continue to play a central role towards its achievement," Naik noted.

The event was attended by Central Electricity Authority Chairperson Ghanshyam Prasad, MNRE Additional Secretary Mayank Tewari, INOXGFL Group Chairman Vivek Jain and several senior officials from the renewable energy sector.

Speaking at the event, SECI Managing Director Akash Tripathi said the organisation remains committed to creating new opportunities in the renewable energy sector through innovation and close collaboration with stakeholders.

He said the company's 15-year journey reflects both SECI's dedication and the country's collective commitment towards sustainable energy development. He also thanked industry participants and partners for their continued support and confidence in the organisation.

"These 15 years have been a testament to SECI's dedication and the nation's collective will towards sustainable energy. We are thankful to all our stakeholders for putting their faith in us," he noted.

As part of the celebrations, SECI organised a stakeholders' meeting featuring discussions on some of the key themes shaping India's energy transition.

Policymakers, industry leaders and financial institutions participated in sessions focused on emerging opportunities and challenges in renewable energy and related sectors.

One of the sessions examined the role of green hydrogen and other green molecules in decarbonising hard-to-abate industries. Participants discussed opportunities for domestic production, future industrial applications and the policy, financing, infrastructure and technological support required to scale up green hydrogen markets in India.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday said that railway allocation for Kerala has increased nearly ten-fold under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, rising from Rs 372 crore in 2014 to Rs 3,795 crore in FY 2026-27.

Sharing details after meeting Members of Parliament from Kerala, the minister said the higher investment is translating into major infrastructure projects, capacity expansion and improved passenger connectivity across the state.

"Met with MPs from Kerala. We discussed the development of the railway network in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the allocation for Kerala 10 times to Rs 3,795 crores in FY26-27. This amount was just Rs 372 crores in 2014," he said in a post on social media platform X.

The minister also addressed concerns regarding railway operations in Mangaluru, noting that the railway area had earlier been divided across three different zones, creating operational challenges.

"We discussed the operational issues in Mangaluru. The Mangaluru railway area was divided into three different zones, which was creating serious operational problems. The decision to keep Mangaluru in SWR will solve the operational problems," Vaishnaw noted.

Vaishnaw said Kerala has witnessed significant railway infrastructure development over the past 12 years. The state's railway network has achieved 100 per cent electrification, while several doubling and gauge-conversion projects have been completed.

He added that 131 road overbridges and underpasses have been constructed, and 16 stations have already been redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

The minister said the momentum is continuing, with railway projects worth more than Rs 20,000 crore currently under execution in Kerala. These include nine multitracking and new-line projects, 145 road overbridges and underpasses, and redevelopment works at 19 stations.

According to Vaishnaw, six major doubling and gauge-conversion projects covering 670 kilometres have been completed in the state since 2014 at a cost of Rs 4,316 crore. He said these projects have significantly enhanced railway capacity and connectivity across Kerala.

"The focus is on building greater capacity and enabling smoother, more efficient railway operations across Kerala," the minister noted.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS) Dutch chipmaker Nexperia announced a partnership with India’s Tata Electronics to manufacture and package power control chips at Tata’s planned semiconductor complex, after the Netherland-based company's fallout with its former Chinese parent Wingtech.

Under the agreement, Nexperia and Tata will produce a range of Nexperia’s power control chips at the $11 billion Dholera plant and cooperate on testing and assembling chips at Tata’s packaging facility in Jagiroad.

The firms will also cooperate on developing future technology even as the financial terms were not disclosed.

“This comprehensive partnership ... represents an important step in Tata Electronics’ efforts to build a globally competitive, integrated semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India,” Tata Electronics Chief Executive Randhir Thakur said in a statement.

The partnership is structured around areas such as front-end wafer fabrication; back-end assembly and test; technology and ecosystem development.

“As part of the front-end manufacturing collaboration, Nexperia and Tata Electronics are laying the groundwork for the production of Nexperia's MOSFET portfolio at Tata Electronics' upcoming 300mm semiconductor Fab in Dholera, Gujarat,” the company said in a statement.

The collaboration brings together complementary strengths across technology, manufacturing and innovation, while supporting the broader development of semiconductor capabilities in India, said Stefan Tilger, interim CEO, Nexperia.

“This framework creates new opportunities for collaboration and reinforces our commitment to serving customers through a resilient and globally balanced manufacturing network," Tilger added.

Nexperia, a major supplier of chips that are widely used in the automotive and consumer electronics industries entered into an ongoing dispute with Wingtech in September 2025 after Dutch state intervened to prevent the company from moving operations to China.

Beijing retaliated by temporarily banning exports of the Wingtech's chips, ⁠packaged in Dongguan, causing chip shortages for carmakers.

—IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) India is emerging as an increasingly important destination for the global semiconductor industry, with senior executives from leading technology and semiconductor companies highlighting the country’s growing capabilities, young talent pool and expanding investment opportunities at Semicon India 2026.

Industry representatives at the event said India’s semiconductor ambitions are being supported by strong policy direction and high-level government attention, while collaboration with global companies could further strengthen the country’s position across the semiconductor value chain.

Wayne Allen, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Officer at ASML, told IANS that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at an event such as Semicon India sends a significant message to the global industry.

He said leadership at the highest level demonstrating direct support for an industry helps draw international attention and signals that India is pursuing a clear strategy to develop its semiconductor capabilities.

Peter Chew of Yamaha Robotics said India’s young population represents one of the country’s key strengths as the semiconductor industry expands.

He stressed that academic education alone would not be sufficient to prepare the next generation of semiconductor professionals and called for greater access to modern equipment and hands-on training.

The growing importance of semiconductors is also opening new avenues for international partnerships. Eric Odar, Trade Commissioner and Country Manager at Business Sweden India, said the sector was emerging as an important area of cooperation between India and Sweden.

Odar said discussions between the two countries following Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Sweden this year had created an opportunity to deepen strategic cooperation.

Joakim Tolostoy of Swedish company Texic said India and Sweden had maintained strong business ties for several years.

Gerard F. Hamilton, Managing Director of Patina Lighting, also highlighted India’s innovation capabilities and growing technological expertise.

Hamilton said India had established a strong presence in areas such as knowledge, innovation and technology and had the potential to become a major player in the global technology industry in the coming years.

Meanwhile, Gilroy Mathew, Chief Operating Officer at UST, urged students to think ambitiously as India attracts significant investment into the semiconductor sector.

Mathew said the rapid expansion of the semiconductor industry, coupled with the growing influence of artificial intelligence, was creating an important opportunity for young people.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Tuesday said that it has revised Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for select UPI transactions, under which charges will apply to certain merchant payments above Rs 2,000, while small merchants and low-value transactions will continue to benefit from zero MDR.

The revised framework will come into effect from October 15, 2026, while UPI transactions will remain free of cost for consumers. More than 95 per cent of low-value UPI Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions, involving payments of up to Rs 2,000, will remain outside the scope of MDR.

Under the new framework, a 0.4 per cent MDR will apply to specified P2M UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. The MDR will be capped at Rs 300 per transaction. A flat MDR of Rs 5 per transaction will apply to UPI payments above Rs 2,000 in selected merchant categories, including railways, telecom services, insurance and fuel.

Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions will continue to remain free, while P2M transactions of up to Rs 2,000 will also remain outside the MDR framework. This means consumers will continue to use UPI without paying any transaction charges.

Small merchants operating under the Person-to-Person Merchant (P2PM) framework will continue to benefit from zero MDR. The category covers small vendors receiving up to Rs 1 lakh per month through UPI QR payments directly into their bank accounts, supporting wider digital payment acceptance across the unorganised retail sector.

The revised framework also proposes a dedicated fund to support the expansion of UPI acceptance among small merchants, particularly in existing merchant networks and Tier-3 and smaller markets. The initiative is aimed at strengthening digital payment infrastructure and encouraging more small businesses to adopt UPI.

According to the framework, the MDR collected on higher-value transactions will be distributed among players across the UPI ecosystem. The move is expected to support investments in areas such as payment infrastructure, resilience, cybersecurity and innovation while helping expand UPI adoption among new users and merchants.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Outgoing Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson on Tuesday described his tenure at the airline as a wonderful experience and said it had been a privilege to be part of the carrier's long history.

"Air India and India have been a wonderful experience. It's been a privilege to be part of Air India's long and proud history. I'm very happy to be handing over to Tewolde Gebremariam as my successor. I wish Air India and India all the very best in the continued rise to become a world-class airline," Wilson told reporters.

His remarks come ahead of a leadership transition at the Tata Group-owned airline with incoming CEO and Managing Director Tewolde Gebremariam set to take over after receiving the required government security clearances.

Earlier this month, Gebremariam told employees that he was determined to lead Air India into a stronger future, borrowing the acronym MAGA to say, "We will Make Air India Great Again."

Addressing employees at a town hall attended by Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Wilson, Gebremariam said the airline had a powerful heritage, a strong brand and significant growth potential.

At the town hall, Chandrasekaran said the airline's priorities would include safety, rebuilding customer trust, operational excellence and financial discipline.

Chandrasekaran also highlighted recent challenges faced by the airline, including geopolitical disruptions, airspace restrictions, fuel price volatility and the impact of the AI171 accident.

On September 13 (Sunday), two flight operations were disrupted due to weather and technical errors.

An Air India aircraft (AI431) was diverted to Lucknow due to unfavourable weather and visibility conditions.

Similarly, a flight of the airline from Bhopal to Delhi on September 13 was forced to divert at Jaipur due to a technical issue as per laid down procedures.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Meta will directly report child safety matters to India's Cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the US-based technology giant said on Tuesday.

The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta in India over the alleged circulation and promotion of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through advertisements on Instagram.

The government has said the online safety of children is a fundamental principle for every social media platform operating in India and remains non-negotiable, according to government sources. The commitment by Meta is being seen as a first step towards strengthening safeguards for children on social media platforms, they added.

Meta -- in a statement on the ongoing issue -- said protecting children on its platforms is a priority and that it is committed to working with the government to ensure perpetrators of such crimes are held responsible.

"To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the Cyber crime portal managed by I4C," a Meta spokesperson said.

Social media platforms can be used to circulate or facilitate access to CSAM and other forms of child exploitation.

Reporting such cases to law enforcement agencies would help ensure that such incidents are not dealt with solely through platforms' internal content-moderation systems.

The government has stressed that more needs to be done and that discussions are continuing with other social media platforms to proactively identify and remove harmful content.

It has also warned that action could be taken against platforms that fail to adopt adequate proactive measures to protect children online.

The development comes amid growing global scrutiny of social media platforms over risks to children, including exposure to sexual exploitation, harmful content and online abuse.

In India, social media platforms are governed by the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which prescribe due-diligence obligations for intermediaries.

Meta had faced scrutiny after an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found that Facebook and Instagram carried paid advertisements featuring child sexual abuse material this year, including AI-manipulated images of real children.

The investigation also found more than 300 advertisements featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse material on Meta's platforms.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Apple on Tuesday announced that it launched latest software updates with a new Siri AI, enhanced Apple Intelligence features and expanded parental controls, while separately announcing that iCloud+ subscribers in India will get access to Apple TV and Apple Arcade at no additional cost.

The new software releases include iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27 and tvOS 27, the US-based tech firm said. Siri AI -- the next generation of Apple's voice assistant -- is being rolled out as a beta in English.

Apple said support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish will be added in October.

Apart from that, the company has also introduced new tools to help parents manage children's digital experiences such as age-based safeguards for child accounts, approval for new websites and contacts, enhanced Communication Safety features and a redesigned Screen Time experience.

Separately, Apple said iCloud+ subscribers in India will receive access to Apple TV and Apple Arcade as part of their subscription from this month, at no additional cost.

The iCloud+ subscription will start at Rs 75 per month for 50GB of storage. Users will also get access to Apple Music Select, a collection of ad-free music stations.

Apple TV offers access to the company's original films and series, while Apple Arcade provides access to more than 200 games without advertisements or in-app purchases.

The company said iCloud+ with Apple TV and Apple Arcade will roll out in more than 100 countries and regions through the end of September.

However, Apple TV and Apple Arcade will no longer be available as individual subscriptions directly through Apple in India. But existing subscribers to the services will continue to have access through their iCloud+ subscription, with their individual subscriptions cancelled.

Similarly, Apple One will no longer be available to new subscribers in India, while existing Apple One subscribers will continue to have access to their plans, according to the company.

--IANS

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Palampur, Sep 14 (IANS) Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (CSKHPKV) and Savannah Seeds, a leader in rice seed technology, on Monday announced results from a multi-year study showing that direct-seeded SAVA-134 FullPage can help make rice production more climate-smart and resource efficient.

Compared with conventional transplanted rice systems, the approach reduced methane emissions by nearly 90 per cent, delivered the highest water productivity, improved soil health, and showed the greatest potential for carbon credit generation.

The study, “Popularisation of direct-seeded rice technology for climate change adaptation by reducing GHG emissions and acquiring carbon credit”, was conducted in two major rice-growing regions of Himachal Pradesh.

SAVA-134 FullPage is the commercial name of a rice variety that enables farmers to plant seeds directly into the ground like wheat, instead of growing them in watery mud nurseries and moving them by hand.

Led by Dr Dhanbir Singh, Assistant Soil Chemist, Department of Soil Science, CSKHPKV, and supported by Savannah Seeds, the research compared conventional transplanted rice with direct-seeded rice across multiple growing seasons. The assessment focused on yield, water use, GHG emissions, and soil health.

Among the direct-seeded treatments evaluated, SAVA-134 delivered the strongest overall balance of productivity, resource efficiency, and environmental sustainability. It maintained strong yields while using fewer resources and generating a significantly smaller carbon footprint.

Rice is the world’s most important food crop, grown on more than 164 million hectares (405 million acres) and serving as a primary source of energy for more than half of the global population.

Asia produces about 90 per cent of the world’s rice, much of it through transplanted systems that require flooded fields, intensive labour, and large volumes of water. These practices also contribute significantly to methane emissions.

As farmers face rising pressure from labour shortages, water scarcity, production costs, and climate change, more sustainable rice production methods are increasingly important.

“Our goal was to evaluate practical solutions that can help farmers improve productivity while reducing environmental impact,” said Dr Dhanbir Singh.

“The results demonstrate that direct-seeded rice can play an important role in advancing more climate-smart and resource-efficient rice production systems.” “This study is a strong example of a public-private partnership working to develop climate-resilient and sustainable farming practices,” said Dr Vinod Sharma, Director of Research, CSKHPKV.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday met Iranian counterpart Dr Seyed Ali Madanizadeh here and discussed issues related to economic cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

According to the Finance Ministry, FM Sitharaman thanked Iran for its active participation in the BRICS Summit and productive engagement in deliberations under the Finance Track.

The two sides exchanged views on ways to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, the ministry said in a post on X.

Earlier in September, the Finance Minister had met Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Zou Jiayi and discussed opportunities to deepen the India-AIIB partnership.

The discussions included supporting India's infrastructure and transport connectivity priorities, enhancing local-currency financing, increasing private-sector participation and expanding the global presence of AIIB, according to the Finance Ministry.

FM Sitharaman had also met Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, with the two sides discussing ways to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation.

It was agreed to advance negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) to establish a mutually beneficial framework for enhancing investment flows and economic engagement. The two sides also discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation in the financial services sector.

Apart from that, FM Sitharaman held discussions with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in the last week to advance negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and explore deeper cooperation in financial services as the two countries seek to strengthen economic engagement and achieve ambitious trade and investment targets.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Declaration 2026 at the 18th BRICS Summit in the national capital. In his closing remarks, Modi said the declaration gives clear direction to the shared resolve of BRICS members and called for translating the agreed resolutions into concrete results.

He described the discussions among BRICS leaders as meaningful and constructive, saying the changing world order cannot be managed by old institutions.

--IANS

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