(Reuters) –Toshiba Corp investor 3D Investment Partners is pushing the Japanese company’s board to take a trio of actions before its annual general meeting, including seeking interest from buyout firms.

In a letter to the company’s board on Wednesday, the Singapore-based fund also asked Toshiba to disclose a mid-range plan that reflects opportunity and consult with shareholders over the board’s composition.

3D owns a 7.6% stake in Toshiba, according to data from Refinitiv.

The letter comes after nearlay 60% of Toshiba shareholders voted in March against a plan to spin off its devices business.

3D’s separate call for a private-equity buyout was rejected last month by just short of 55% of shareholders who voted.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)Read Complete Article

Internet of things (IoT) broadly means “All objects, which are connected to the web, will be enabled to share and process data through their sensors and communication devices independently”. It is estimated that by 2023, globally there may be 7 billion connected people, more than 30 million applications and embedded systems, more than 60 trillion GBs of data and around 8 trillion revenue opportunity. The IoT market value is expected to reach $11 trillion with security spending reaching $3.5 billion shortly.

The history of IoT evolution started with archaic mode of interaction between human and thing (people and things), followed by interaction of machine and machine (things and things), leading to interaction of people kicking off through proverbial internet (people and people), resulting in multiple things getting connected on net (web of things) and then finally the internet of humanity.

IoT in agriculture basically involves the network wherein physical components in the sector is to be connected with internet which may be the farms comprising trees, plants, and animals, the tools and various objects in the sector. This enables information exchange, monitoring and tracking, helping humans manage complex agricultural sector more productively under certain protocols. For example, most of the developed countries such as Germany, Japan and US has already moved ahead in sensor technology and manufacturing processes. The net benefit of IoT application is the increased agricultural

output, improved quality of agricultural products, reduced labour costs coupled with increased agricultural income for farmers.

Intelligent agricultural machinery or IoT incorporates cluster IoT, remote IoT and internal IoT. While cluster IoT focus on communication and control between agricultural machinery operating in the same area, remote IoT is between operation site and remote terminals and servers. The communication between sensors, actuators and central processing unit in agricultural machinery is referred to as Internal IoT.

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Chinese electronics maker Realme on Thursday launched in India its premium flagship smartphone, the Realme GT 2 Pro. Designed in collaboration with Japanese designer Naoto Fukusawa, the smartphone boasts paper-like back cover made of bio-based polymer material. The Realme GT 2 Pro will be available in paper white, paper green, steel black colours on Flipkart, Realme online store, and select retail stores, starting April 14.

Realme GT 2 Pro: Specifications

Based on specifications and pricing, the Realme GT 2 Pro is a premium flagship smartphone. It has a 2K resolution AMOLED screen with LTPO 2.0 for adaptive refresh rate ranging from 1Hz to up to 120Hz. The screen has Gorilla Glass Victus cover on top for protection.

Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system-on-chip, this 5G smartphone has a stainless steel vapour cooling system with large heat dissipation area to keep thermals in control. The phone comes with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB on-board storage. It boots Android 12 operating system-based Realme UI 3.0 interface. The Realme GT 2 Pro packs a 5000 mAh battery, supported by 65W SuperDART fast-charge tech. It boasts dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos.

Imaging is covered by a triple-camera array on the back, featuring a 50-megapixel primary sensor (Sony IMX766) with optical image stabilization, a 50MP ultra-wide-angle sensor (Samsung JN1) of 150-degree field-of-view (FoV), and a micro-lens. On the front, the Realme GT 2 Pro has a 32MP camera sensor for selfies, videos, and face unlock mechanism.

The Realme GT 2 Pro will be available in 8GB RAM + 128GB on-board storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB on-board storage configurations, priced at Rs 49,999 and Rs 57,999, respectively.

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Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday said it is recalling 19,731 units of its Eeco van to rectify incorrect marking of wheel rim size.

In a routine inspection, the country’s largest carmaker found that in some units of Eeco, manufactured between July 19, 2021 and October 5, 2021, the wheel rim size was incorrectly marked, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The recall is being undertaken to inspect and rectify incorrect marking of wheel rim size, if any, on the wheel in some of these vehicles, it added.

“This issue has no implication on performance, safety or environment,” the automaker stated.

Affected vehicle owners will be receiving communication from Maruti Suzuki authorised workshops for vehicle inspection and necessary rectification, if wheel rim size marking is found incorrect, the company said.

Customers can also visit the company website and fill in their vehicle chassis number to check if their vehicle needs any attention in this regard, it added.

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The much-awaited super-app, Tata Neu is all set to be launched on April 7, bringing every digital service by the Tata group under one umbrella.

Heating up the competition in the segment where Amazon and Jio are already reigning, the company in its description says the super-app is one platform that connects several brands like never before.

Earlier, the app was exclusively used by the Tata group employees.

Here are the top five things to know about the Tata Neu app:

1) Designed to be a super-app, Tata Neu offers everything from your daily grocery to latest gadgets, flight bookings, and holidays. It also provides offers from various brands such as AirAsia India, BigBasket, Croma, IHCL, Westside, and more.

2) Every time you make a purchase, Tata Neu will reward you with Neu Coins which are redeemable on the services being provided through the app, guaranteeing unlimited freedom to earn anywhere and maximise your savings.

3) With a black default background and individual icons in the app, the design is striking and on a par with major apps. A user can read all about the latest trends in fashion, technology, travel, and food in the app’s premium-looking digital magazine.

4) With Tata Neu, consumers can make payments across multiple Tata brand apps, websites, and in-store using NeuCoins, cards, UPI, EMI, and more.

5) The app offers personal loans, short-term credit, and insurance, along with bill payments. A user can track and conveniently pay electricity, mobile, DTH, broadband bills, recharges, and more, all in one go.

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In a first, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has set up electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at its Mumbai campus to allow employees to charge their EVs free of cost.

The company’s HR on Wednesday sent mailers to employees informing about the Jio-bp pulse EV charging zone at its Navi Mumbai campus, Reliance Corporate Park (RCP).

“Charge your electric vehicle at RCP @ no cost!” the mailer said detailing the process of accessing the facility.

The charging station set up by Jio-bp – the company’s fuel retailing joint venture with British energy giant bp – is in line with the firm’s promise to achieve net carbon neutrality.

Reliance is likely to create such infrastructure at other campuses too.

According to the email by HR, the Jio bp pulse facility will be available to Reliance employees to charge their electric vehicles free of cost.

The Jio bp pulse zone at Reliance Corporate Park presently includes six chargers of different configurations to cater to both electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Reliance employees need to register through the Jio bp pulse Charge mobile app and scan the QR code on the charging unit to start the EV charging session, it said.

Reliance BP Mobility Limited, operating under the brand name Jio-bp, is working with multiple demand aggregators, OEMs and technology partners with a vision of being the leading EV charging infrastructure player in India.

During 2021, Jio-bp constructed and launched one of the country’s largest EV charging hubs in Dwarka, Delhi with BluSmart as its primary customer.

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Apart from a weakening world order, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also brought to fore the intimate link between banking and foreign trade.

Logged out of SWIFT — the messaging service to facilitate and confirm cross-border payments – most Russian banks are looking for alternative ways. India and several other countries too want a way out so that trade can continue.

India and Russia are now exploring to directly trade in rupee-ruble. And this is where Nostro and Vostro may come into play.

Nostro, along with Vostro, is a term used to describe a bank account. In fact, both terms are used to describe the same bank account. Confused? We will explain.

First the basics.

These terms come into play when one bank has another bank’s money on deposit. Typically, this is related to international trade and financial transactions.

Nostro and vostro are derived from Latin words that mean “ours” and “yours,” respectively.

Let us see how it works.

Now, let us clear up the earlier confusion.

We’ll borrow Investopedia’s explanation.

Bank A will use the term Nostro account to refer to “our” account held by Bank B. Basically, Nostro is shorthand for “our money that is on deposit at your bank”.

The Nostro account is the record maintained by the bank that has money deposited with another bank. And, what is their use? They enable simplified trade settlements and foreign exchange transactions. Nostro accounts are denominated in foreign currencies.

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The launch of Tata Group’s super app signals its continuing focus on the e-commerce segment, as it attempts to take on Amazon and Jio platforms.

At the same time, the Tatas are doubling down on their consumer-facing businesses, which is likely to complement its super app play.In particular, the group is looking at synergies.

For example, Air India’s acquisition is likely to help a host of group entities – from TCS to the Tata Neu super app – to cross-sell products to the captive airline customers.As of October 2021, the group was also exploring opportunities for cross-sell Indian Hotels and Tata Capital offerings to Air India’s customers and crew.The idea is to tap into Air India’s three million frequent flier customer base, which can be leveraged to offer discounted products.The group has also acquired companies like 1MG, Big Basket and made inroads into online fitness, which will add value to the new digital platform.

The 2021 acquisition of Big Basket cemented Tata’s foray into the online grocery market.In June 2021, Tata Digital had acquired a majority stake in e-pharmacy 1mg, putting it in direct competition with Reliance-owned Netmeds. The same month, Tata Digital signed a 75 million dollars deal with CureFit Healthcare.

As part of the deal, CureFit Founder and CEO Mukesh Bansal joined Tata Digital in an executive role as President.

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India’s cricket governing body BCCI, after toying with the idea of starting a women’s version of the Indian Premier League for years, has finally decided to implement it.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and IPL Governing Council Chairman Brijesh Patel have confirmed plans to launch a Women’s IPL next year although a final decision is pending. 

Apart from the need to make the IPL and cricket, in general, more inclusive, there has been growing chorus of star India players calling for a women’s IPL.

They believe it will act as a launchpad for young domestic women cricketers, who can gain the exposure they need as they play with overseas players.

Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and ​​Jemimah Rodrigues have argued for a Women’s IPL,  and so has England captain Heather Knight.

The BCCI has been waiting for the right moment, when it makes economic sense for them to take up the project.

It has been organising exhibition games of the Women’s T20 Challenge since 2018 alongside the men’s IPL. After being suspended in 2021, it is returning this year with  four matches involving three teams around the men’s playoffs.

The 2020 edition of the Women’s T20 Challenge recorded 5.34 billion minutes in viewership in India, which is a 140% increase over the previous editions, according to BARC data.

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South Korean tech conglomerate Samsung has announced that its Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ smartphones will no longer receive software updates.

According to GSM Arena, the early 2018 flagships are now off Samsung’s lists of devices eligible for security updates.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S10 series were moved from monthly to quarterly updates, now that they are over 3 years old.

The Galaxy S9 series is following the path of its predecessors as back in early 2021, Samsung demoted the S9 from monthly to quarterly security updates, when the Galaxy S8 was completely taken off the list. The same thing had happened to the Galaxy S7 phones a year earlier.

As per GSM Arena, the Galaxy S9 series’ last major update was to One UI 2.5 package, which it received in late 2020.

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