Tag: mobiles

Odisha to Get Rs. 30,000 Crore Semiconductor Unit Set Up by UK-Based Firm

A UK-based company is planning to set up a semiconductor fabrication unit in Odisha’s Ganjam district with an investment of Rs. 30,000 crore in the first phase, officials said.

The SRAM & MRAM Technologies and Projects India Pvt Limited, the Indian unit of UK-based SRAM & MRAM Group, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government on March 26 to set up the semiconductor unit in the state.

After visiting some sites near Chhatrapur in the district, its Indian company officials headed by its chairman Guruji Kumaran Swami held a meeting with the district administration at Chhatrapur on Thursday.

Ganjam Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida has assured the investors all facilities for setting up the unit.

“We have visited some sites, including the industrial park of Tata and some private lands for the establishment of the proposed semiconductor unit. A technical team of the company will visit the district to finalise the site,” said Debadutt Singhdeo, project director of the firm.

The company requires around 500 to 800 acres of land to establish the unit.

Though the company officials visited some other districts as well, they preferred the site near Chhatrapur due to its proximity to Gopalpur port, a dedicated industrial corridor, an airstrip and a national highway, besides availability of clean water and energy – the basic requirement of the fabrication unit, sources said.

The company has aimed to establish the unit within two years and to provide direct employment to 5,000 people. It has also planned to expand the unit in subsequent phases by investing around Rs 2 lakh crore by 2027, said Singhdeo.

The semiconductor unit will produce memory chips, used in mobile phones, television sets, laptops, air conditioners and ATMs. Since the country is not self-reliant on the manufacture of semiconductors, it imports around Rs. 3 lakh crore semiconductors annually from different countries.

“The project will boost industrialisation in the district,” said Berhampur MP Chandra Sekhar Sahu.

He said that due to an attractive industrial policy, several companies are interested in investing in the state.

The proposed unit will help generate employment as well as address the semiconductors requirement in the country, Sahu said. 

Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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India Acquired 100 Patents for 6G Technology After Fast Rollout of 5G Network: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Indian scientists, engineers and academicians have acquired 100 patents for 6G technology, IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

While speaking at the Bharat Startup Summit organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce, the minister said India is taking a leap in 5G technology with the fastest rollout of networks in the world.

“Electronics is very complex, but despite the complexity, our scientists, engineers and academicians have together acquired 100 patents in 6G,” Vaishnaw said.

The minister shared that the 5G network rollout has far exceeded the government of 200 cities by March 31, 2023, with coverage in 397 cities at present.

He said India has become $3.5 trillion (nearly Rs. 2,89,20,500 crore), and it can become the world’s largest economy with transformation across governance, infrastructure and businesses.

“When a country or economy has to reach this level then thousands of systems are required to be changed. Governance systems, logistics systems, banking systems and change in the own business method. This is the time when everyone should get on to this transformation journey. If we are able to do this transformation then there is no power that can stop India from becoming a $30 trillion (nearly Rs. 24,78,89,850 crore) economy,” Vaishnaw said.

The minister said 10 years ago 99 percent of mobile phones were imported and now, 99 percent of units used in India are made locally.

He slammed the Congress party, alleging a lax attitude toward mobile phone manufacturing in the country.

“I remember when we used to sit in on any discussion 10 years ago. It was said mobile penetration is good. People are using it, but it cannot be made. Congress thought the process was like this. Now, a big change has come that we can make it,” Vaishnaw said.

He also informed that India has started the export of telecom products to the US.

“Export of radio equipment has started from India in the last 7-8 months and that too to America,” Vaishnaw said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh asked companies to encourage the leadership of women and look at opportunities in exploring businesses around the ocean economy.

“In the next 3-4 years, we will have ocean startups. We have 7,500 long coastal belts, longer than any other country has,” he said.

Singh said that the ocean has more minerals than those available over the ground in the Indian peninsula.

“A whole lot of wealth is lying there-minerals, metals, living, non-living resources. You will become a world exporter of fisheries and fish food,” he said.

The minister said that India has no dearth of talent, and there is a need to channelise them.

From smartphones with rollable displays or liquid cooling, to compact AR glasses and handsets that can be repaired easily by their owners, we discuss the best devices we’ve seen at MWC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Xiaomi Leads Indian Smartphone Shipments Despite 25 Percent YoY Dip: IDC

Smartphones shipments in India plunged by over 27 percent to 29.6 million in the October-December quarter of 2022, from 40.6 million in the year-ago period, mainly due to inflationary pressures, market research firm IDC said on Friday.

According to the report, dwindling consumer demand due to high inflation remained a challenge throughout the year despite the improved supply situation.

Smartphone shipments in the sub-$ 300 (about Rs. 25,000) price segment declined by 15 percent while mid-premium and premium price segments of $ 300-500 and over USD 500 (Rs. 41,000) grew by 20 and 55 percent, respectively during 2022.

The entry-level smartphones, below Rs. 12,500 apiece, shrunk to 46 percent from 54 percent a year ago.

IDC India, Research Manager, Client Devices, Upasana Joshi said dearth of new launches in sub-$ 150 (about Rs. 12,000) smartphone segment limited its growth.

According to IDC Associate Vice President, Devices Research, Navkendar Singh rising prices and excess inventories are expected to be a concern at least during the first half of the current year.

“We should expect a rather difficult and elongated recovery for the smartphone market, as worries around rising prices and excess inventories will remain a concern at least in the first half of 2023.

“Vendors and channel partners need to rethink their plans for their entry-level portfolios, driving 5G device affordability with attractive trade-in programs and financing schemes,” Singh said.

Xiaomi led the market during the quarter as well as on an annual basis with 18.6 and 21 percent market share despite huge dip in its shipment volume on a year-over-year (YoY) basis.

Xiaomi shipments declined by 38.3 percent during the December 2022 quarter and 25 percent on an annual basis in 2022.

Apple maintained its lead in the premium segment with a 60 percent share followed by Samsung with a 21 percent share.

Samsung smartphones shipment declined by 22.6 percent in the December 2022 quarter and 6.6 percent during the year.

Samsung was second largest player during the quarter as well during the year with 18.4 percent and 18.1 percent share respectively in terms of smartphone shipments.

Overall, 201 million mobile phones were shipped in 2022, clocking a 12 percent annual decline.

“Feature phone shipments stood at 57 million, a drop of 18 percent YoY. Samsung, Xiaomi and Transsion were the leading companies in the total mobile phone market,” the report said.

 

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Vedanta’s Semiconductor Unit in Gujarat to Be Headed by David Reed; to Manufacture Chips for Phones, Laptops

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta on Monday named industry veteran David Reed to head its semiconductor unit where it is looking to invest $20 billion (nearly Rs. 1,65,600 crore) to manufacture chips essential for mobile phones to laptops and TV sets.

In an interview with PTI, Agarwal said the group is looking to start manufacturing semiconductors at Dholera in Gujarat in 2-3 years.

“We will start with $5 billion (nearly Rs. 41,400 crore) investment and scale it up as years go by,” he said.

The semiconductors will be manufactured in joint venture with Taiwanese electronics company Foxconn. Vedanta holds a 63 percent interest and the remaining is with Foxconn in the joint venture.

The company plans to initially produce 40,000 wafers a month.

Before joining Vedanta, Reed was with NXP Semiconductors, where he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of global operations.

He moved to NXP as part of the merger with Freescale Semiconductor, where he had served as Senior Vice President for manufacturing operations. Previously, David was Vice President and General Manager at GlobalFoundries.

He began his career at Texas Instruments in 1984, where he served for 26 years in a variety of leadership roles across the world.

In September 2022, Vedanta signed an MoU with Gujarat government to set up India’s first semiconductor fab unit, a display fab unit, and a semiconductor assembling and testing unit in the state.

Vedanta Group has earlier announced that the group has earmarked investments of up to $20 billion for semiconductor business, and it plans to invest $15 billion (nearly Rs. 1,24,200 crore) in the first 10 years.

Vedanta will look at making a 28 nanometer (nm) chipset.

It has also applied for setting up a display fabrication plant to make screens that are used for display in electronic devices. 

 

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series of smartphones was launched earlier this week and the South Korean firm’s high-end handsets have seen a few upgrades across all three models. What about the increase in pricing? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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BIS Comes Out With Standards for USB Type-C Charging Port for Mobiles, Tablets

As the government plans to introduce two common types of charging ports for mobiles and wearable electronic devices, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has come out with quality standards for USB Type-C charging port, according to a senior consumer affairs ministry official.

In the interest of consumers and to reduce e-waste, the Department of Consumer Affairs in consultations with the industry stakeholders is mulling mandating two types of common charging ports — a USB Type-C charger for mobiles, smartphones, and tablets, and the other common charger for wearable electronic devices.

“In the last meeting, a broad consensus had emerged among stakeholders on the adoption of USB Type – C as a charging port for, smartphones, tablets, laptops etc. The BIS has notified standards for Type C charger,” Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told PTI.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur is studying single charging port for wearable electronic devices like watches, etc. Once the report is submitted, the same will be discussed with the industry, he said.

Asked about the rollout of two types of common charging ports mandatorily in India, the Secretary said, “We have to align with the European Union (EU) timeline i.e. 2024 because the mobile and electronics makers have a global supply chain and they don’t supply to India alone.” The November 16 meeting had also decided to form a sub-group to examine the feasibility of a uniform charging port for wearables. The sub-group will include representatives from industry bodies, educational institutions.

It was also felt that an impact study may be conducted by the Union Environment Ministry to assess and examine the possible impact of uniform charging port in electronic devices with regard to e-waste.

Stakeholders had agreed that a phased roll-out of the common charging port may be conducted so that the same can be applied by the industry and adopted by consumers harmoniously.

The uniformity in charging port is a step towards LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP-26 which calls for ‘mindful and deliberate utilization’ by people worldwide instead of ‘mindful and wasteful consumption’.

The LiFE mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. 

 

 

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Samsung India Sells Smartphones Worth Rs. 14,400 Crore During Festive Season

Samsung India sold mobile phones worth Rs. 14,400 crore between September and October and recorded 99 percent growth in the premium category smartphones in the first three quarters of 2022, a senior company official said on Friday.

Samsung India senior director and head of product marketing Aditya Babbar told PTI that the company recorded a 178 percent jump in sales in value terms of 5G smartphones between January and September 2022 on a year-over-year basis.

“Samsung had a record festive season this year. This was an outstanding performance on account of great revenue which we posted of Rs. 14,400 crore in a 60-day period starting September 1,” he said.

Without disclosing the exact percentage, Babbar said that the growth was in the healthy double-digit compared to sales during the festive period last year.

He said that Samsung Finance Plus was one of the key contributors to the growth and the transaction on the platform tripled to over 10 lakh during the festive season.

“The growth has been much better in tier 2 and 3 towns but it has done phenomenally well in urban centres as well,” Babbar said.

The company recorded 99 percent growth in value terms in the premium segment smartphones priced above Rs. 30,000 apiece in January-September 2022 compared to the same period last year.

“Samsung is the fastest growing premium segment brand in India on the back of S22 and Foldables phones. Our growth has been 99 percent in Rs. 30,000 plus category versus January-September last year,” Babbar said.

According to Counterpoint Research’s latest report, Samsung was the second largest smartphone seller in India with an 18 percent market share in terms of volume in the July-September quarter and remained the top-selling smartphone in the country.

The company claims that its overall mobile phone business grew by 20 percent and has a 22 percent revenue market share in the first nine months of 2022.

“We have also been the number 1 brand in terms of value since 2013. Consumers are adopting more 5G and premium phones. We are at the forefront of the democratisation of 5G with a Rs. 10,900 device. We have 20 devices which are enabled with 5G. We are number 1 in the 5G brand for the last four quarters,” Babbar said.

He also said that the company will be rolling out software updates across all 5G devices by November 15 and most of the devices have already started supporting 5G services. 

 

Buying an affordable 5G smartphone today usually means you will end up paying a “5G tax”. What does that mean for those looking to get access to 5G networks as soon as they launch? Find out on this week’s episode. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Mobile Phones Should Replace Printed Tickets, India Should Embrace New EV Technology: Union Minister Gadkari

Emphasising on the need to adapt to new technology and innovations, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari suggested on Wednesday that a time was coming when tickets issued to passengers should be phased out and mobile phones used in their place.

“We need to accept the new technology of electric vehicles and that we should try to end the use of tickets and instead use mobiles for tickets,” Gadkari said. He was speaking at Catalyst 2022, StratNewsGlobal’s first annual event.

In his speech, Gadkari also emphasised that lithium battery production in the country should be encouraged. He said the cost of production of these batteries was not an issue as it would come down once manufacturers scaled up the production level.

“The cost of production of lithium batteries can be reduced if the manufacturer increases the volume of outputs,” said the minister.

On luxury buses, he said that the buses that link big cities like Delhi and Mumbai can be electric and double-deckers. He said that the government through Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) had put out a Rs. 5,550-crore tender to procure 5,580 electric buses and this includes 130 double-deckers.

“The automobile industry is one of the important sectors in our country.” The minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a dream to make India a $5-trillion (nearly Rs. 4,00,04,000 crore) economy and make the country self-dependent or Atmanirbhar Bharat.

“It is our responsibility to how we reduce the imports and increase our exports,” he added.

For that reason, we need to plan new appropriate policies for the future and this is how the automobile sector is a very important sector for the economy, the minister said.

Gadkari said the automobile is giving new economic growth to the country. “That is why we need to have a long-term visionary policy. Our mission in the ministry is to make the automobile segment a Rs. 15-trillion (nearly Rs. 12,00,11,900 crore) sector in five years. The ancillary industry is also well-developed.”

He also praised the start-ups in the country, saying, “It is really a game-changer that there are 400 start-ups which are manufacturing electric two-wheelers and making good products. Hero, Bajaj and TVS are exporting 50 percent of their production.”

Gadkari said he has full confidence that 8 lakh to 10 lakh electric buses can be produced in the country and added that the government had issued tender for 5,550 electric buses and the rate came at Rs. 39 per km for non-AC buses and Rs. 41 per km for AC buses. “The running cost for diesel buses of BEST was at Rs. 115 per km.”

 

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Democrats Widen Scrutiny of US Tech Companies Over Abortion Data Privacy

Democratic representatives are widening their scrutiny into the role of tech companies in collecting the personal data of people who may be seeking an abortion, as lawmakers, regulators and the Biden administration grapple with the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling last month ending the constitutional protections for abortion.

In a new volley of congressional letters, six House Democrats have asked the top executives of Amazon‘s cloud-service network and major cloud provider Oracle about the companies’ handling of consumers’ location data from mobile phones, and what steps they have taken or planned to protect the privacy rights of individuals seeking information on abortion.

The decision by the court’s conservative majority to overturn Roe vs Wade has resulted in strict limits or total bans on abortion in more than a dozen states. About a dozen more states are set to impose additional restrictions. Privacy experts say that could make women vulnerable because their personal data could be used to surveil pregnancies and shared with police or sold to vigilantes. Online searches, location data, text messages and emails, and even apps that track periods could be used to prosecute people who seek an abortion — or medical care for a miscarriage — as well as those who assist them, experts say.

Privacy advocates are watching for possible new moves by law enforcement agencies in affected states — serving subpoenas, for example, on tech companies such as Google, Apple, Bing, Facebook‘s Messenger and WhatsApp, services like Uber and Lyft, and internet service providers including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Comcast.

“Data collected and sold by your company could be used by law enforcement and prosecutors in states with aggressive abortion restrictions,” the House Democrats, led by Representative Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, said in the letters. “Additionally, in states that empower vigilantes and private actors to sue abortion providers, this information can be used as part of judicial proceedings.”

“When consumers use apps on their phone and quickly tap ‘yes’ on ‘use geolocation data’ pop-ups, they should not be worried about the endless sale of their data to advertisers, individuals or law enforcement. And it most certainly should not be used to hunt down, prosecute and jail an individual seeking reproductive care. Companies can take action today to protect individual rights.”

The letters also went to executives of Near Intelligence Holdings and Mobilewalla. Along with Oracle and Amazon Web Services’ Data Exchange, the companies were described as leading data brokers — businesses that gather, sell or trade location data from mobile phones, which could be used to track people who have visited abortion clinics or have gone out of state seeking abortion services.

Five other Democrats active in tech issues signed the letters with Trahan: Representatives David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Yvette Clarke of New York, Debbie Dingell of Michigan, Adam Schiff of California and Sean Casten of Illinois.

Spokespeople for Amazon and Oracle didn’t respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Also this week, Massachusetts’ two US senators, Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, sent letters to four companies raising concerns that the software they use to monitor students’ online communications could be used to punish students who seek information about abortion services and reproductive health care. They asked the companies — Bark Technologies, Gaggle.net, GoGuardian and Securly — whether their software flags students’ online searches for abortion and other related terms.

“It would be deeply disturbing if your software flags words or activity that suggest students are searching for contraception, abortion or other related services, and if school administrators, parents and even law enforcement were potentially informed of this activity,” Warren and Markey wrote.

Generally, the so-called “ed tech” companies say the monitoring is intended to stop the next school shooter or student suicide, and that the scans are mostly limited to school e-mails or activity on school computers or internet networks, not private accounts.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden, under mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to be more forceful in response to the Supreme Court ruling, signed an executive order to try to protect access to abortion. The actions Biden outlined are intended to head off some potential penalties that women seeking abortion may face after the ruling, but his order cannot restore access to abortion in the more than a dozen states where strict limits or total bans have gone into effect.

Biden also asked the Federal Trade Commission to take steps to protect the privacy of those seeking information about reproductive care online. On June 24, the day the high court announced its decision, four Democratic lawmakers asked the FTC to investigate Apple and Google for allegedly deceiving millions of mobile phone users by enabling the collection and sale of their personal data of all kinds to third parties.

In May, several Senate Democrats urged the CEOs of Google and Apple to prohibit apps on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store from using data-mining practices that could facilitate the targeting of individuals seeking abortion services.

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