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US raises concerns on India's decision to impose import curbs on technological devices

India's imports of PCs/laptops, tablets, Wifi Dongles, Smart Card Reader, and Android TV Boxes were worth USD 8.8 billion in 2022-2023.




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Shivamogga, Kalaburagi tech clusters to open by year-end

The Karnataka government is planning to open two new tech clusters in Shivamogga and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge's hometown Kalaburagi by the end of this year, the state’s industry ecosystem accelerator Karnataka Digital Economy Mission chairman Naidu BV told ET.




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S Krishnan, named MeitY secy, will oversee implementation of semiconductor mission, DPDP Act

Krishnan will be overseeing the rollout of the recently enacted Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, which is the outcome of almost five years of five years of drafts and consultations. From a digital economy perspective, there are some good features in the DPDP act but it also has some gaps which have been identified by several legal experts.




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Big Tech's core businesses face overhaul under EU tech rules

The companies will have six months to demonstrate their compliance with their obligations and can be fined up to 10% of their annual global turnover for DMA violations.




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G20 leaders bat for 'responsible Artificial Intelligence', eye ethics-based regulation

A government official said that during the deliberations one of the leaders wondered if AI "replaced or enhanced human skills" and suggested that it should be used in an ethical manner.




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TikTok hit with $368 million fine under Europe's strict data privacy rules

TikTok has been fined $368 million by European regulators for breaching data privacy rules and failing to protect children's privacy. The investigation found that the app's sign-up process for teen users made their accounts public by default, posing a risk to underage users. The "family pairing" feature also allowed adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their consent.




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No proposal for independent regulator in proposed e-commerce policy: Official

The proposed e-commerce policy in India will not include provisions for an independent regulator for online retail platforms or cover data-related issues. The policy is in its final stages and will be presented to the Prime Minister's office soon. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade recently held discussions with e-commerce firms and domestic traders, resulting in a broad consensus on the proposed policy.




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Govt may propose up to Rs 500 crore fine for violations under Digital India Bill

The Indian government is expected to propose a penalty of up to Rs 500 crore for violations of the Digital India Bill. The bill would authorize government agencies to monitor and collect traffic data to enhance cyber security. The proposed Digital India Authority would handle grievances and determine the penalty amount based on factors such as the gravity of the breach and the number of affected users.




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European telcos urge EU to make big tech pay

European telecoms firms, including Orange and Vodafone, are calling on the EU to make tech and streaming giants pay for the large amounts of bandwidth they consume. Telecoms companies argue that they need more money to maintain and update infrastructure to meet Europe's data needs, and believe it would be fairer for companies like Netflix to contribute.




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Should new tech rules apply to Microsoft's Bing, Apple's iMessage, EU asks

The European Commission in September opened investigations to assess whether Microsoft's Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising as well as Apple's iMessage should be subject to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).




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National deep tech startup policy ready: PSA Ajay Sood

The National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP) Consortium had released the draft policy on Jul 31 for public consultation, and sought feedback till September 15.




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Thierry Breton: The Frenchman taking on US big tech

He has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after the launch of the first investigations under a new EU law into X (formerly Twitter), Facebook owner Meta and TikTok over the spread of false information and hate speech following the Hamas-Israel conflict.




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EU lawmakers face struggle to reach agreement on AI rules

The draft AI rules have to be agreed by the European Parliament and European Union member states. They have so far been discussed three times in trilogues, which are meetings between parliament and EU states to thrash out the final versions of laws.




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DPDPA and client data: Banks now fret over liability

​Bank CEOs are tapping top legal minds, alerting their compliance teams, and discussing with each other to spot the pitfalls of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) - a statute under which hundreds of crores of fines can be imposed on organisations for breaches.




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IndiaAI 2023: MeitY’s 7 working groups for deploying AI to make governance smarter, data-led

“To ensure the sustainability of the CoE, robust collaboration with the Industry, and the creation of commercially viable outputs, the MeitY will not own any IP generated by the CoE. The IP generated can be retained by the idea generator or by the CoE.”




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Tech sector weighed down by geopolitical strife: SAP CTO Juergen Mueller

The Germany-based firm, which registered annual revenues of $32.5 billion in fiscal 2022, has been pivoting to cloud based services and for the first time is hosting its annual global event TechED in Bengaluru India.




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US consumer watchdog proposes rules for Big Tech payments, digital wallets

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal would subject companies like Alphabet, Apple, PayPal and Block's CashApp to bank-like supervision, with CFPB examiners inspecting their privacy protections, executives' conduct and compliance with laws barring unfair and deceptive practices.




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How Karza Technologies makes due diligence and onboarding simpler for banks & NBFCs

One of the key pillars of growth for the Indian economy are small and medium-sized businesses, which generate roughly 30 percent of the countrys GDP and provide jobs to over 110 million people.




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How the renewed data protection landscape impact BPO industry

With the increased focus on data security and privacy, BPO service providers will need to restructure their data compliance plan ahead of time. This is not only to ensure that the soon-to-be-updated rules are implemented in a timely manner but also to improve customer service efficiency and increase the firm's general reputation.




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How Blue Sapphire Healthcare is building parallel digital solutions at low cost

Over 80 percent of invoicing at Blue Sapphire Healthcare has already gone digital with patients also accepting digital invoices.




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Kolhapur civic body to use GIS, AI for property survey & assessment

The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to use Geo-Information System (GIS) to survey the number of properties in the city and also use artificial intelligence (AI) for assessing the size of the multi-storied buildings.




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How Sodexo leveraged the cloud ERP to manage their financial data more efficiently

French food services & facilities management company Sodexo is consolidating its multiple ERP installations across the group to a single cloud-based ERP platform.




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AI has made testing tools and systems more responsive and agile

Managers in Industry 4.0 will need risk management skills, says Rekha Sethi, director-general of AIMA




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Telugu youth adopts automation, takes farming to next level

A young US-returned robotic engineer is making waves with his experiments in agriculture.




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Kolkata audit firm develops proprietary solution to match services with MNC peers

Chartered accountancy firm LB Jha & Co claimed that 'LBJ Audit Ez' is a "breakthrough" for it as it can interpret a huge quantum of data necessary for scrutinising books of large corporations




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India: A global tech leader

India's technological skill, as evidenced by the Aarogya Setu and CoWin apps also allowed her to manage the Covid crisis much more efficiently than would have been otherwise.




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Eight in 10 women employed in tech roles work in non-tech companies: Survey

The survey was conducted with more than 20,000 engineering graduates from various streams across India. It revealed that the average score of women stood at 27% against 31% of men in 2020, which increased to 40% as against 39% of men in 2021, thereby showcasing how women were better prepared for employment than men. However, in 2020, the average score of women declined to 25% as against 28% of men, the first decline in three years mainly due to the adoption of the hybrid mode of learning.




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Anonymous GPS data could help check people's usage of green spaces: Study

A recent study shows how the public's use of parks and other green spaces in metropolitan areas can be tracked using anonymized GPS data from people's smartphones, which could help guide their management.




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AI teaching assistants need to be simple for students' utility: Study

Researchers at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida are investigating how students view teachers who use artificial intelligence, and to make it more utility-driven by simplifying it.




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IISc scientists use AI, Raman spectroscopy to detect bacterial pathogen

In a new study, Siva Umapathy and Deepak Kumar Saini’s teams have demonstrated another application for this combination: Quickly identifying bacterial pathogens in different types of clinical samples.




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Sir Ganga Ram hospital’s CIO catapults their cloud ROI to new heights

In this long format story of Sir Ganga Ram hospital’s IT modernization, ETCIO brings you an in-depth track of how CIO Arun Goyal unleashed the cloud potential for the hospital’s business and technological growth.




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P&G leverages data science to stay ahead of the curve

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is using advanced data science algorithms to help over 20 lakh kirana stores in the country through a special initiative called ‘Smart Basket’




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Haleon reboots digital post demerger from GlaxoSmithKline

With its demerger journey spiked the transformation need, the article decodes how Haleon reboots its strategy




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Centre invokes Data Protection to tighten noose around e-pharma companies

The Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill, 2023, will replace the existing Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940.




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Godrej & Boyce uses AI, ML, and analytics to improve product quality and reduce defects

G&B has deployed over 80 RPA bots to automate manual processes across the value chain. This has resulted in productivity improvement, reduction in errors and improvement of employee experience.




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Magicbricks ups its matchmaking game with an AI-powered reach maximizer engine

The new AI-powered Project Market Scanner (PMS) engine helped the developers increase their reach by 65% and the lead-to-impression ratio on its platform by 80%.




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Exploiting misconfigurations are the most common modus operandi for hacks, says study

Crucial for CIOs and CISOs to stay informed and proactive in the face of the evolving threats, reveals a study made exclusively available to ETCISO.




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iPhoneography with Yoni Mayeri, Feb. 7, 2025

Discover how to turn your ordinary snapshots into extraordinary photographs using the power of the device that is always with you. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to expertly capture images and edit and create photographs and artful images with your iPhone. In this course, you will learn how to take professional-quality photographs and perform basic and advanced photo editing with your iOS device. We will use the built-in photo app to edit and enhance iPhone photos, and we will discuss tips for optimizing the features and working around the limitations of the native (built-in) camera. We will see demonstrations of several third party editing and creative applications and a variety of helpful accessories for enhancing and embellishing iPhoneography images. Time permitting we will touch on best practices for saving, organizing, sharing, and printing your images. By the end of this workshop, you will have a greater grasp on the ins and outs of iPhoneography.An iPhone 10s or newer is suggested; all iPhones welcome. Update your software to the most recent (iOS 17 or newer, for phones older than 10s, iOS 16). A handout with more information will be emailed to participants ahead of class. A shooting session in the Garden and time for lunch will be in the middle of the day. Please pack a lunch, bring a hat, your iPhone fully charged, a charger and a backup battery if you have one.




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Garden Closed, Jan. 1, 2025

The Garden is closed today. 




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Garden Closed, Dec. 31

The Garden is closed today. 




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Garden Closed, Dec. 25

The Garden is closed today. 




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Garden Closed, Dec. 24

The Garden will be closed today. 




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Member Event: Horticulturist Walking Tour of Garden Conifers, Dec. 20

To celebrate the winter solstice, please join Andrew Doran, Director of Collections, for a behind-the scenes walking tour of conifer (cone-bearing) plants in the Garden. You will explore the diversity of conifers including pines, spruces, firs, hemlocks, redwoods and cypresses to name a few. We will have light refreshments and introductions before heading into the Garden.Learn more and register here




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FAMILY PROGRAM: Holiday Crafts from Nature Afternoon Session, Dec. 15

Join us for this fun Garden tradition! We’ll craft nature-filled globes, mini wreaths, botanical cards, and more. Garden Admission, refreshments and all materials included. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Drop-in any time during 2-hour program window.




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FAMILY PROGRAM: Holiday Crafts from Nature Morning Session, Dec. 15

Join us for this fun Garden tradition! We’ll craft nature-filled globes, mini wreaths, botanical cards, and more. Garden Admission, refreshments and all materials included. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Drop-in any time during 2-hour program window.




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At-Home Wreathmaking Kit (Pick-up), Dec. 13

Make a UCBG holiday wreath at home! Register for this Kit pick-up and make a one-of-a-kind wreath at home. Come to the Garden to pick up your prepared wreath-making kit, full of unique and special materials from the UC Botanical Garden collection. Then make it at your own pace at home. Registration includes all the materials you need to make a wreath (wreath form, wire, plant material and adornments), plus a how-to tutorial of the process.




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Evergreen Botanical Wreath-Making (Evening Workshop), Dec. 11

Create a one-of-a-kind beautiful and festive wreath to add to your holiday decorations. Greens from the Garden’s global plant collection and other natural adornments are included as well as a reusable wire wreath form.We recommend you bring your own hand pruners and gardening gloves.All other materials will be provided.




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Evergreen Botanical Wreath-Making (Afternoon Workshop), Dec. 11

Create a one-of-a-kind beautiful and festive wreath to add to your holiday decorations. Greens from the Garden’s global plant collection and other natural adornments are included as well as a reusable wire wreath form. We recommend you bring your own hand pruners and gardening gloves. All other materials will be provided.




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Member Event: Birds of the Garden, Dec. 11

Join Chris Carmichael and Garden volunteer Susan Greef in search of both resident and migrant birds in the Garden’s many bird-friendly micro habitats. Both beginning and experienced bird watchers are welcome. Bring binoculars if you have them. Learn more and register here




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Member Event: 2024 Holiday Pop-Up Shop Preview Party, Dec. 10

Come have a fabulous time enjoying light refreshments and finding beautiful and unusual gifts for the holidays at our special holiday shopping party in the Garden’s Julia Morgan Hall. Choose from a unique selection of gifts from local vendors as well as unique hand-crafted gifts from the Garden. We currently have 2 arrival time windows to choose from: 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm and 5:30 pm - 7:00pm. Please enter the number of people in your group for selected entry time and plan on arriving during that timeframe. Each member is allowed two additional non-member.Special Event Give-Away!If you register and attend, you will be entered into our $50 Garden Shop gift certificate give-away!Learn more and register here