Indian customers could soon get their hands on French automaker Renault’s latest SUV on offer, Renault Kiger. The company will start deliveries of the SUV, for which booking has already started, from today. Booking for Kiger, Renault’s third global car after Kwid and Triber in India, can be done through the automaker’s extensive dealership network of over 500 sales outlets as well as the company’s website.

A collaboration between Indian and French teams, the SUV is a sub-4 meter offering which has been developed and produced in India for Indian customers. Currently, it is the most affordable sub-4 meter SUV available in India.

At present, the sub-4 meter SUV segment is one of the hottest selling segments in India. This segment has seen tremendous growth in the last few years in India and almost all major automakers in India have at least one product on offer in it. The sub-4 meter segment accounts for more than 50 per cent of total industry sales, according some media reports.

Renault Kiger design

Renault Kiger is a modern SUV that is a perfect fit for the Indian market. Kiger has a distinctive SUV look and its long wheelbase enables great space and volume on board. It is loaded with several smart attributes and is powered by a sporty, world-class engine.

Kiger comes with two engine options — 1-litre Energy and 1-litre Turbo with 2-pedal offerings on each of the engine — and will be available in four trims – RXE, RXL, RXT and RXZ, according to the company. It comes with a fuel efficiency of 20 kmpl, according to the carmaker. Kiger is based on CMF-A platform which is the same platform present in Renault Kwid and Renault Triber. The front looks muscular with all-LED three pod headlamps placed on the bumper.

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Budget carrier SpiceJet on Wednesday said it has tied-up with WheelTug Plc for reserving 400 production slots for the electric taxi system.

The application of such a system helps move an aircraft forward or backward without powering its engines or using external tugs.

The electric taxi system will enable SpiceJet in saving fuel, reducing carbon emissions as well as noise levels and improving fleet utilisation, thereby directly improving the bottom line, the airline said in a release.

The WheelTug system places high-torque motors in the nose wheels of the aircraft. Pilots control the aircraft themselves, performing ground operations without requiring tugs for maneuvers. SpiceJet said.

Also, SpiceJet gate and stand operations will be faster and more dependable, helping the airline eliminate unexpected long delays affecting the schedule on any given day, it said.

“By inducting WheelTug into its B737 operations, SpiceJet aims to reduce fuel burn during taxi out and in, the airline spokesperson said.

The Gurugram-headquartered no frills carrier is the largest Boeing 737 operator in the country.

“Signing SpiceJet at this time shows both companies are looking forward to a strong recovery for the industry as the world responds to the COVID-19 crisis,” said Isaiah Cox, Chief Executive Officer, WheelTug.

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Zoom Video Communications projected annual revenue that would top analysts’ estimates, signalling the video meeting service expects to remain a ubiquitous presence in daily life even as the pandemic recedes. Shares jumped about 10 per cent extended trading.

Sales will be as much as $3.78 billion in fiscal year 2022, the San Jose, California-based company said on Monday in a statement. While the projected annual revenue growth of 43 per cent is far short of Zoom’s 326 per cent increase in the fiscal year ended January 31, it topped the 37 per cent average estimate of analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit, excluding some items, will be as much as $3.65 a share. Analysts projected $2.97.

Investors have feared the software maker couldn’t continue the dramatic growth in 2020 that came as people for­ced home in coronavirus lockdowns connected remotely on the service to work, school, friends and family. While Zoom’s stock jumped almost fivefold last year as it became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic, it had gained just 11 per cent during the first two months of 2021 before surging almost 10 per cent Monday to close at $409.66 in New York. Chief Executive Officer Eric Yuan has tried to diversify Zoom’s capabilities and add products such as a cloud phone system to appeal to more large enterprises and small- and mid-sized businesses.

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Smartphone brand realme on Tuesday unveiled industry-leading 108MP camera with trendsetting features that will arrive in the upcoming realme 8 series.

The 8 series smartphones will have sharper photo quality, world’s first tilt-shift time-lapse video, starry time-lapse video, and new portrait filters.

“The 108MP photo taken by realme 8 Pro has a well-balanced overall exposure with vivid colours and sharp details in both bright and dark areas. The details stay sharp even after zooming in,” the company informed during a virtual briefing at its ‘Camera Innovation Event’.

In realme 8 Pro’s camera, 3x mode activates a new ‘In-sensor Zoom’ which will only use the 12MP sensor mapped with the zoomed part to generate an image.

The imaging process is faster because of the smaller size on the 12MP photo, enabling realme 8 Pro to take eight 12MP photos in a row and then input them into the clarity enhancement algorithm to further increase the image clarity, the company informed.

After processing, a 3x photo from realme 8 Pro can be even better than some of the optical telephoto lenses in terms of sharpness.

The company has also launched the world’s first Starry Time-lapse Video on its smartphone.

“Developing starry time-lapse video is challenging as it requires much-needed performance to handle the synthesis of the photos,” said the company.

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South Korean auto major Hyundai is expected to introduce the latest addition to its SUV segment, mini SUV Bayon, on Tuesday. Bayon will be Hyundai’s smallest and most affordable SUV till date. The mini SUV is expected to be initially launched for the European market, according to a report in Carwale.com.

Indian customers awaiting Bayon’s India launch will have to face disappointment for now. In India, Hyundai already has SUV Venue, which is one of South Korean firm’s best selling cars. Hyundai’s SUV line-up will see Bayon feature below the Kona, Nexo, Tucson, and Santa Fe.

Design

Not musch is known about the SUV, but leaked images present online have fuelled speculation of an all-black themed interior. The SUV is likely to have a floating touchscreen infotainment system and 4-spoke multi-functional steering wheel.

Bayon’s front fascia is likely to have a single-piece grille with split LED lights. The rear is likely to have arrow-shaped LED lights and dual-tone rear bumpers which will have reflectors and number plate.

India launch date

The company has not announced the launch date for India and it is unlikely to be announced anytime soon. It will be launched on March 2, 2021 for the European market.

Price in India

The price of the SUV is not known yet.

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After almost a year, Apple has reopened all of its 270 retail stores in the US. It was on March 13, 2020 when Apple closed all of its retail stores outside of Greater China.

According to 9to5Mac, every Apple Store location in the US has reopened.

The tech giant also confirmed that all 270 US Apple Store locations are now open in some capacity for either in-store shopping or online order pickup.

Outside of the US, just over a dozen Apple Stores remain closed in France and Brazil.

Apple Stores in Mexico were set to reopen on Tuesday, the report said on Monday.

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced nearly a year ago that the company would close all of its retail locations outside of mainland China until the end of the month.

Cook said at all of the offices, “we are moving to flexible work arrangements worldwide outside of Greater China”.

On March 17, the company said it would keep all retail stores outside China closed indefinitely as the pandemic surged.

Apple temporarily shut down all retail stores in the UK in January as Covid-19 pandemic peaked in the country.

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Drug major Cipla on Tuesday said it has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Sumatriptan Nasal Spray, indicated for the treatment of migraine attacks.

The newly approved product is a generic therapeutic equivalent version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Imitrex Nasal Spray.

The company has received final approval for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Sumatriptan Nasal Spray, 20 mg from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Cipla said in a regulatory filing.

Quoting IQVIA (IMS Health) data, Cipla said Imitrex Nasal Spray 20mg and its generic equivalents had US sales of approximately USD 53.3 million for the 12-month period ending December 2020.

Shares of Cipla were trading 0.88 per cent higher at Rs 796.45 apiece on BSE.

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Alarmed at the growing popularity of invite-only, audio-chat app Clubhouse, several tech giants have begun to develop its rival and now, Twitter has finally started testing ‘Spaces’ on Android.

The Twitter Spaces tool is currently available on iOS Beta with a host of iOS-exclusive features such as voice tweets, which is yet to arrive on Android devices.

According to a report in XDA Developers, some Android users have started to reveal that the Spaces feature is working for them after installing a specific beta version of the Twitter app.

Since a rollout for Android is yet to be announced, the feature is “pretty rough around the edges” at the moment.

Currently, the feature is available as an early preview for a select few Android users who are part of the app’s beta programme.

In the feature, users can create a ‘Space’ that their followers can join to participate in a conversation.

Anyone on Twitter can listen in on the conversation, though only the host can control who gets to speak.

“The human voice can bring a layer of connectivity to Twitter through emotion, nuance and empathy often lost in text,” the official account of Twitter Spaces said recently.

“We see this with voice Tweets and voice DMs. Sometimes 280 characters are not enough, and the voice gives people another way to join the conversation”.

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Bollywood megastar Hrithik Roshan has been summoned to appear before the Mumbai crime branch at 11 am on Saturday to record his statement in a case he registered against actor Kangana Ranaut in 2016 involving an exchange of emails between the two.

In 2016, Roshan had filed a complaint alleging that someone impersonating him was emailing Ranaut from a bogus email id. Kangana had then claimed that the email id was provided to her by Roshan and they had been communicating through the same email id till 2014. The emails were allegedly sent in 2013 and 2014.

In 2016, Roshan had sent a legal notice to Ranaut after she had referred to him as a silly ex. Roshan had denied having any kind of relationship with Ranaut. The two actors had worked together in the films ‘Kites’ (2010) and ‘Krrish 3’ (2013). Roshan had then claimed that Ranaut had been sending him hundreds of absurd emails. In 2016, the Cyber Cell had also taken Roshan’s laptop and phone for investigation.

Roshan had accused Ranaut of harassing him by sending him hundreds of emails. Following an initial probe, police recorded Ranaut’s statement after concluding that the emails were allegedly sent from her id. However, Ranaut has denied sending emails to Roshan.

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Leading consumer electronics firm Xiaomi has enlisted three original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to boost its supply of smartphones and smart televisions (TVs) in India. The Chinese major will now have three additional plants to feed local demand that has grown rapidly after the lockdown in mid-2020.

Xiaomi, that leads in both the smartphone and smart TV markets in India, has partnered two Chinese OEMs — BYD Electronic Company and DBG Technology — for smartphone manufacturing here.

Shenzhen-headquartered BYD has been a supplier to Nokia and Motorola for years, and is currently setting up a plant for Xiaomi in Chennai.

DBG, that originated from Huizhou (in China’s central Guangdong province), has already set up a facility in Bawal in Haryana. Additional capacity offered by DBG has increased Xiaomi’s monthly smartphone supply by 20 per cent in India. While the smartphone company did not specify numbers, the data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows Xiaomi having shipped 41 million smartphones, or 3.4 million devices every month, in 2020.

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