Only 47 per cent of the awarded routes have been operationalised under the government’s regional air connectivity scheme and the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic will impact the scheme further, rating agency ICRA said in its report on Tuesday.

The civil aviation ministry launched the UDAN ( Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme in 2016 to connect unserved and underserved airports. The first flight under the scheme took off in April 2017.

The number of new RCS routes which started operations increased at a healthy pace and stood at 102 and 120 routes in FY19 and FY20, respectively, but have declined to 77 in FY21 due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, ICRA said. Only 39 per cent of unserved and underserved airports have been operationalised, it said.

The scheme is funded through a Rs 50 levy on flight tickets on major routes. The levy contributes to 80 per cent of viability gap funding provided to the airlines and the balance 20 per cent is provided by state governments.

Shubham Jain, SVP & group head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA, said, “The slow progress of UDAN implementation is attributable to delayed upgradation of infrastructure and readiness of airports, due to lack of adequate right of way (including insufficient runway lengths) at some of the RCS airports and delays in securing necessary regulatory approvals. Low demand on few routes awarded, adverse and unpredictable weather conditions leads to inconsistent operations and have also resulted in closure of operations by some airlines in a few cases. The second wave of the pandemic, which started from mid of March 2021 would further impact the UDAN scheme going forward with aviation being one of the worst-hit infrastructure sectors.”

The civil aviation ministry has set a target of operationalising as many as 100 unserved and underserved airports and starting at least 1,000 RCS routes by 2024 (of this, 52 unserved and underserved airports and 357 routes are operationalised as on May 31, 2021). To improvise the RCS network and achieve its target of developing 100 RCS airports by 2024, the Airport Authority of India decided to bid out 392 routes under UDAN 4.1

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Apple’s next flagship smartphone might finally get a feature most Android phones have had for some time

As per The Verge, the 2021 iPhone lineup may have an always-on display similar to Apple’s Watch.

The next lineup is also expected to have an improved battery life, a smaller notch on the screen, better video recording, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a faster A15 chip.

It isn’t the first time a leak has suggested Apple is working on always-on screens for upcoming iPhones. Leaker Max Weinbach hinted earlier this year that Apple may use the same kind of low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) panels that its Watches have on future iPhones.

The technology dynamically adjusts Watches’ screen refresh rates to conserve battery life. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said earlier this year that the Pro iPhones coming this year would have LTPO displays and 120Hz refresh rates.

Beyond improved performance, more advanced displays, and better camera capabilities, dummy models of the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup reveal very few design changes for the new iPhones.

Apple last year reintroduced a flat-edged design for the iPhone, and the iPhone 13 will likely build on that design. However, the new iPhones are expected to be slightly thicker and heavier to accommodate the more advanced displays and larger batteries.

However, none of this is likely to be officially confirmed until the iPhone 13 series launches, which will probably happen in September.

In addition to the possibility of always-on iPhone screens, Apple will likely announce new MacBook Pros this fall, between September and November.

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Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Monday rolled out a new feature where the users can join a group video or voice call even after its started, and you see the participants in a video call screen the way you see on various communication apps.

WhatsApp said that the ‘Joinable calls’ reduce the burden of answering a group call as it starts, and brings the spontaneity and ease of in-person conversations to group calling on WhatsApp.

If someone in your group misses a call when the phone rings, they can still join whenever they like. You can also drop-off and re-join so long as the call is still ongoing.

Group calling on WhatsApp currently allows up to eight participants to video call with each other.

“We’ve also created a call info screen so you can see who is already on the call, and who has been invited but not yet joined. If you hit ‘ignore’ you can join later from the calls tab in WhatsApp,” the company said in a statement.

When you receive a group video call, the incoming WhatsApp group video call screen will show the participants currently on the call, and the first contact listed will be the participant that added you, the company informed.

Group video call history will appear in the ‘CALLS’ tab.

You can tap the call history to view the individual participants from the call, according to WhatsApp.

For over 400 million users in India, WhatsApp video calls are an easiest medium to connect to their loved ones especially in the social distancing times.

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In the second One-Day International (ODI) on Tuesday, India’s young guns will have another chance to show off their amazing talent and earn a series win against a woeful Sri Lankan side. At the other end, Shikhar Dhawan was left speechless as Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav made batting look stupidly simple in the first ODI on Sunday night.
 
In the long run, India wants to play more aggressively in shorter forms, and the trio’s performance served as a fantastic model in that regard. India is unlikely to make changes in their playing 11 as they would like to pocket the series before giving chances to other youngsters in the squad.
 
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, would look to make some changes in their playing 11.
 
India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI playing 11 prediction
 
India tentative playing 11: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Ishan Kishan (wk), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav.
 
Sri Lanka tentative playing 11: Avishka Fernando, Minod Bhanuka (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan.

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Zoom Video Communications Inc announced a $14.7 billion all-stock deal to buy cloud-based call center operator Five9 Inc in its largest-ever acquisition, as competition intensifies in its core videoconferencing sector.

The teleconferencing services provider has become a household name and investor favorite in the year since the coronavirus pandemic, as businesses and schools adopted its services to hold virtual classes, office meets and socialise.

The San Jose, California-based company is now shifting focus to its two-year-old cloud-calling product Zoom Phone and conference-hosting product Zoom Rooms as bigger players Facebook and Alphabet’s Google amp up their video products.

“The acquisition is expected to help enhance Zoom’s presence with enterprise customers and allow it to accelerate its long-term growth opportunity by adding the $24-billion contact center market,” Zoom said in a statement on Sunday.

The acquisition will complement Zoom Phone service, an alternative to legacy phone offerings, by adding Five9’s business customers and combining its contact centre software to optimize customer interactions across channels, it added.

Five9’s customers include Under Armour, Lululemon Athletica Inc and Olympus Corp, according to its website.

Five9 will become an operating unit of Zoom and its chief executive, Rowan Trollope, will become a president of the company, staying on as chief of the unit after the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2022, it said.

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The officialTwitter account of All India Majils-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) was ‘hacked’ on Sunday, party sources said here.

The same account was hacked nine days ago but was restored, they said adding it was again hackedat around 1 pm today.

The hackers changed the Twitter profilename from AIMIM to ‘Elon Musk’ and also theprofile picture of the handle was changed with the photo of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“Nine days ago also theTwitter accountof AIMIM was hacked but we communicated toTwitter and the account wasrestored.

Now again the account has been hacked,”a spokesperson of the Hyderabad headquartered party said.

A complaint to Hyderabad police will be lodged on Monday,he said.

No new tweets were posted on the account.

AIMIMs Twitter handle has about 6.78 lakhfollowers.

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Facebook Pay is arriving on other online shopping platforms, starting with e-commerce platform Shopify, that will help businesses ensure a seamless checkout experience for their customers on their own websites.

Currently, the Facebook Pay system is available for users on its main platform, as well as on WhatsApp and Instagram.

“Starting this August, businesses in the US who use participating platforms will have the ability to enable Facebook Pay as a payment option directly on their websites, giving their customers the ability to speed through checkout without having to re-enter their payment information,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

“We’re starting the rollout with Shopify merchants and expect to expand availability with more platforms and payment service providers over time,” the social network added.

People already use Facebook Pay to send money, shop, donate and more, across Facebook apps and services.

The company said that Facebook Pay is designed to help businesses drive conversion higher by giving customers a low-friction and mobile-friendly way to pay online.

“Payment details are encrypted and securely stored, eliminating the need for businesses to manage customers’ card or bank account numbers,” it added.

“The card and bank account numbers that people provide will not be used to personalise their experience or inform the ads they see”.

Shopify in February partnered with Facebook to bring its checkout and payment processing system — Shop Pay — to Facebook and Instagram.

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Xiaomi Corp. has become the world’s second biggest smartphone maker over the past quarter following an 83 per cent jump in shipments, according to preliminary estimates by Canalys.

This marks the first occasion that Xiaomi, the Chinese maker of everything from rice cookers to gaming monitors, has broken into the top two, historically dominated by Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. Samsung had a 19 per cent share in the second quarter, Xiaomi had 17 per cent and Apple was at 14 per cent, according to the research firm’s data. Shares of Xiaomi rallied as much as 4.1 per cent on Friday, the best performer on Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Huawei Technologies Co. had briefly disrupted the rankings, until sanctions cut it off from essential chip supplies last year. Its withdrawal from the highly competitive smartphone market pushed other Chinese vendors to spend aggressively on new hardware and upgrades. Xiaomi was particularly active, launching two flagship devices within the first four months of the year. Its Mi 11 Ultra device features one of the largest camera sensors in a smartphone to date, underscoring the firm’s ambition to push up into the premium pricing range.

“Compared with Samsung and Apple, its average selling price is around 40 per cent and 75 per cent cheaper respectively,” said Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton. “So a major priority for Xiaomi this year is to grow sales of its high-end devices, such as the Mi 11 Ultra. But it will be a tough battle, with Oppo and Vivo sharing the same objective, and both willing to spend big on above-the-line marketing to build their brands in a way that Xiaomi is not.”

Overseas expansion was the biggest driver of Xiaomi’s growth, with the company increasing shipments by more than 300 per cent in Latin America, 150 per cent across Africa and 50 per cent in Western Europe, Canalys said. The Mi device maker has spent the first half of the year contesting the title of biggest smartphone maker in China with rivals Oppo and Vivo, each with roughly equal share of the market.

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ZFW Hospitality, a hyperlocal expansion platform for F & B & D2C brands, is entering Mumbai with over 50 dark kitchens & fulfillment centers for brands to expand in the western region.

ZFW, which already partners with leading brands, has established a strong presence in Delhi-NCR with over 35 plus fulfillment centers. This expansion will help the platform scale up to the 100-store mark by August, before its Bangalore launch.

Commenting on the development, Madhav Kasturia, Founder of ZFW said, “Mumbai is a very strategic move for us, as it’s the third-largest market in India for Food Delivery & Hyperlocal E-commerce after Delhi & Bangalore. Most brands on their expansion trajectory prefer to cover the major metros as their first milestones before scaling to Tier-2s & Tier-3s as these are easy-to-access markets. We’ve been very selective in choosing the brands we support & currently have several on the waitlist for the Q3 cohort.”

As part of its first cohort in Mumbai, ZFW will support the growth of 15 plus brands such as Keventers, Vadilal among others. As brands scale D2C capabilities & enter newer markets, supply chain and fulfillment costs often skyrocket. This is where ZFW steps in & assists with rapid expansion through its dark kitchens & fulfillment centers- without operational hassles & upfront costs. A brand can launch a new location in 5 days & service orders in less than 25 minutes.

Shaurya Prabhat, Chief Strategy Officer, Keventers said, “We have successfully piloted Keventers Ice Creamery with ZFW in Delhi. Madhav and team are highly committed, responsive & familiar with running and tracking KPIs related to dark kitchens & D2C operations. Keventers Ice Creamery launched in Mumbai in April & we are pleased to continue our expansion efforts with ZFW here.”

ZFW evolved to a full-stack expansion platform in early 2020 before raising its pre-seed funding round from Mumbai Angels, Expert Dojo, & a clutch of super-angels. The platform is a welcome step towards taking the entire F & B space: one of the hardest-hit sectors since the beginning of the pandemic, back to pre-COVID numbers.

Prince Kuriakose, Launch Manager, ZFW said “Mumbai’s a large market & launching ZFW in the region came with its own set of challenges- culture shift, outsider syndrome, & local guidelines. However, our launch team was prepared to persevere & setup the entire city for our partners. All moves on the ZFW chessboard are played keeping the interests of our brand partners first.”

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BHyve, a future of work platform for diffusing employee tacit knowledge and enabling peer learning networks, said it has raised $300,000 from JITO Angel network along with Letsventure and other angel investors.

Backed by 100X.VC earlier in May this year, BHyve will use the freshly infused capital for marketing, boosting sales and brand building. They would also use the funds for enhancing the technology and build clientele.

Globally, this tacit knowledge represents a loss of $110 billion to global corporations every year. BHyve is a SaaS future of work platform that helps companies document tacit knowledge and enable peer learning networks, which leads to a 35% increase in productivity and a 30% reduction in time spent looking for information, and an engaged, future-ready workforce.

Omkar Pandharkame, an organisational psychologist, Ketaki Ogale, an MBA from Fordham University, and Vihang Mirkhelkar, who has scaled technology for high growth startups in Silicon Valley, are the co-founders of BHyve.

“Raising money through JITO Angel Network has been an insightful experience. We appreciate the hands-on nature and speediness of the deal. With a supportive team, Great smart capital, and very progressive investment thesis, has helped us to demonstrate our vision and get marquee investors on board,” said Omkar Pandharkame, co-founder at BHyve.

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