<![CDATA[India Journal - Business

<![CDATA[India Journal - Business_1]]>Thu, 06 Apr 2023 05:17:50 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Indian-American activist who yelled at Jeff Bezos arrested]]>Sat, 08 Jun 2019 21:05:20 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/indian-american-activist-who-yelled-at-jeff-bezos-arrestedLAS VEGAS - Indian-American activist Priya Sawhney, who interrupted Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos' on-stage talk, was arrested on trespassing and burglary charges. Sawhney, 30, rushed on stage during Amazon's "re:MARS" event here on Thursday and asked Bezos to do something about "chicken farms". "You are the world's richest man. You're the President of Amazon and you can help the animals," shouted Sawhney,

asking Bezos to stop the abuses of animals in California farms.
According to an AP report, Sawhney's next court hearing is on July 15. Sawhney is co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere (DXE), an international grassroots network of animal rights activists founded in 2013 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sawhney and Wayne Hsiung, another co-founder and lead organizer at Direct Action Everywhere, are already facing felony charges. In an interview with Democracy News, Sahwney said she is facing up to a decade in prison and seven felony charges.
"I was one of the 58 activists who was arrested in September for documenting criminal animal cruelty at the largest organic poultry producer in the nation (in California)," Sawhney was quoted as saying. "Growing up as a child in India, I saw a lot of stray dogs, a lot of stray animals. And I always knew that these animals are helpless, and we need to help them and do whatever we can. So I've carried that into my work as an investigator for DXE," she added.
Amazon doesn't directly own or operate chicken farms but it buys chicken meat from suppliers that have been previously targeted by the DXE activists. Saying that she has been inside "Amazon's chicken farms", Sawhney, holding a single white rose and wearing a sort of conference badge, yelled at Bezos to stop the abuse of animals.
The security guards quickly surrounded her and took her away.
Once she was taken away, Bezos turned to the moderator and said: "Do you have a response to that?"

]]><![CDATA[LS polls: Facebook removing 1 mn accounts a day]]>Mon, 08 Apr 2019 16:56:11 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/ls-polls-facebook-removing-1-mn-accounts-a-dayNEW DELHI - With the first phase of Lok Sabha polls just days away, Facebook on Monday said it is removing or blocking about one million abusive accounts a day with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools. "We are absolutely committed to maintaining the integrity of the elections in India and will continue to work with local organisations, government groups and experts to make that happen,"

Ajit Mohan, Facebook's Managing Director and Vice President, India, wrote in a blog post. Facebook said it was working for more than 18 months now to make sure that Indian elections were fair and free from interference, both foreign and domestic.
"This work is done across dozens of teams, both in India and around the globe, and began more than 18 months ago with a detailed planning and risk assessment across our platforms," Mohan added.
Facebook had earlier launched the political ad transparency tools, giving people a clearer picture of who is placing the ads they see.
The social networking giant recently launched two new products in India to help people learn about issues they care about and engage with candidates and elected officials in meaningful ways. "Candidate Connect" is designed to give voters accurate information and help people learn more about different candidates. And "Share You Voted" lets people share with friends that they've cast their ballot in the Lok Sabha elections. "Building on lessons we've learned over the past two years, this week we will activate new regional operations centres, focused on election integrity, in Singapore and Dublin," Mohan said.
These teams include engineers, operations specialists and data scientists, and will work closely with staff in Facebook's Menlo Park, California headquarters, as well as with experts in Delhi.
Facebook said it was also using AI and ML to identify abusive or violating content, quickly locate it across the platform and remove it in bulk. "We continue to expand on this initiative, adding 24 new languages -- including 16 for India -- to our automatic translation system," Mohan said.
Facebook last week removed nearly 700 Pages, Groups and accounts in India for violating its policies on what it calls "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" and spam.

]]><![CDATA[Tesla unveils Model 3 sedan for $35K to sell online only]]>Sat, 02 Mar 2019 01:46:48 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/tesla-unveils-model-3-sedan-for-35k-to-sell-online-onlySAN FRANCISCO - Elon Musk-founded electric car maker Tesla has announced an entry-level Model 3 sedan for $35,000 that will have a top speed of 130 miles per hour with 220 miles of range. The announcement came a day after Elon Musk changed his Twitter handle to Elon Tusk to the surprise of his 24 million followers on the platform. The standard Model 3 with 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.6 seconds "is built to achieve the same...

perfect 5-star safety rating as the longer-ranged version, which has the lowest probability of injury of any car ever tested by the US government", Tesla said in a statement late Thursday.
"In addition, we are introducing the Model 3 Standard Range Plus, which offers 240 miles of range, a top speed of 140 mph, 0-60 mph acceleration of just 5.3 seconds and most premium interior features at $37,000 before incentives," the company added. The Model 3 is "excruciatingly difficult" to make at the reduced price, Musk later told reporters on a conference call.
Tesla also said it is shifting sales worldwide to online only.
"Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6 per cent on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected," the company announced. Over the next few months, Tesla would be winding down many of its stores, with a small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centres.
The announcement came after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked a US federal judge to hold Musk in contempt for violating a settlement deal reached in 2018.
The development came in response to Musk's tweet on February 19 that "Tesla made 0 cars in 2011, but will make around 500k in 2019". Hours later, the billionaire sent a follow-up tweet indicating that the company will actually deliver just 400,000 cars in 2019.
Although Musk corrected his mistake, the US regulators slammed the Tesla CEO because he "once again published inaccurate and material information about Tesla to his over 24 million Twitter followers".

]]><![CDATA[New H-1B visa regulations to give more preference to US-educated]]>Thu, 31 Jan 2019 23:26:35 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/new-h-1b-visa-regulations-to-give-more-preference-to-us-educatedNEW YORK - The US government has announced new regulations to give greater preference to workers with advanced degrees from US institutions for H-1B non-immigrant professional visas. The new rules that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday will go into effect on April 1 and could potentially reduce the visas available to candidates educated elsewhere.

The DHS said in a statement that it was estimated that the new regulations will lead to 5,340 - or 16 per cent - more H-1B visas for workers with a Master's or Ph.D degrees from US institutions.
Explaining the new rules, Doug Rand, an independent immigration expert, said now all applicants will first be put into the same pool and 65,000 will be selected for the visas open to all, then all the unselected US advanced degree-holders would be moved into the pool reserved for them and 20,000 of them will be randomly picked.
This would give US-educated professionals who did not get selected in the first round another chance at getting the highly-coveted visas. Congress set the limit of 65,000 H-1B visas every year and the additional quota of 20,000 for professionals with higher education qualifications from the US.
Since there are far more applicants than there are H1-B visa slots, the government holds a lottery to pick the candidates for the visas. Francis Cissna, the Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) said the new procedure would further President Donald Trump's "goal of improving our immigration system".
"As a result, US employers seeking to employ foreign workers with a US Master's or higher degree will have a greater chance of selection in the H-1B lottery," he added.
The DHS linked the changes to Trump's "Buy American and Hire American" executive order. It said the order specifically mentioned the H-1B programme and directed agencies to "suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries".
The new regulations were being implemented rapidly in less than two months of the initial proposal in December. "Trust me, that's warp speed for a government agency," said Rand, who had worked in former President Barack Obama's White House on immigration policy.
"This is the first regulation affecting the legal immigration system that the Trump administration has moved all the way through the regulatory process, from start to finish - and there are many more in the pipeline, such as eliminating work permits for spouses of H-1B workers," said Rand, who is the co-founder of Boundless Immigration, a technology company that helps families navigate the immigration process.
Earlier this month, Trump said he will change the H-1B visa system for professionals to ensure "certainty" and a path to citizenship for them. He tweeted: "H-1B holders in the US can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity and certainty to your stay, including a potential path to citizenship. We want to encourage talented and highly skilled people to pursue career options in the US." However, there had been no concrete proposals from him or the government for implementing those assurances. Indians are the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visas and 76 per cent of them in 2017, according to government statistics. According to a recent report by the State Department and the Institute of International Education, 95,651 Indians are now studying for advanced degrees in the US and 75,390 are in practical training programmes after graduation.

]]><![CDATA[Ex-Starbucks chief confirms interest in independent 2020 US Presidential bid]]>Mon, 28 Jan 2019 22:43:03 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/ex-starbucks-chief-confirms-interest-in-independent-2020-us-presidential-bidNEW YORK - Former Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz has said he was preparing to launch an independent campaign for the 2020 US Presidential race, the media reported. "I am seriously thinking of running for President... I will run as a centrist independent outside the two-party system," The Washington Post quoted Schultz, a self-described Democrat, as saying in a TV interview on Sunday.

"We're living at a most fragile time," the 65-year-old said.
"Not only the fact that this president is not qualified to be the president, but the fact that both parties are consistently not doing what's necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged, every single day, in revenge politics."
In the interview, Schultz said he favoured a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and rejoining the Paris climate accords, and he criticized the Democratic promise of "free health care" for all as unrealistic. Democrats fear a credible third-party candidacy could allow Trump to win states he otherwise would have lost or push a decision on the election to the US House, where Republicans currently have an advantage in the number of state delegations they control.
"If this is about principles and not ego, Schultz would help Democrats defeat Trump or run as a Democrat and broaden the debate within the party," said Centre for American Progress President Neera Tanden, the Indian American former adviser to both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in their 2008 campaigns.
"Every value he claims to hold dear is undermined by a Trump re-election," she told The Washington Post.
Under to the US Constitution, if no single candidate receives a majority of the electoral college votes, which are awarded on a state-by-state basis, the election is decided by the House, with each state delegation receiving a single vote. In the current Congress, Republicans have more representatives in 26 of the 50 state delegations.

]]><![CDATA[Musk in China to lay foundation of first Tesla plant outside US]]>Mon, 07 Jan 2019 05:15:38 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/musk-in-china-to-lay-foundation-of-first-tesla-plant-outside-usBEIJING - Electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday said he was set to lay the foundation of a Tesla Gigafactory in China that is expected to produce 500,000 electric vehicles per year -- doubling the production capacity of Tesla. "Looking forward to breaking ground on the @Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory today!" tweeted Musk. "Aiming to finish initial construction this summer, start Model 3 production end of year & reach high volume production next year," he said,

adding that "Shanghai Giga production of Model 3/Y will serve greater China region". Bullish on his Chinese dream, Musk last July said he had excellent meetings with senior country leaders and will aim to invest long-term in the country. He signed a preliminary agreement with the Shanghai government to build a Tesla Gigafactory in China. Musk had earlier said that China's progress in advanced infrastructure is "more than 100 times faster than the US". According to Teslarati, a multi-platform company with a focus on everything that Musk has, vehicle production at "Gigafactory 3" would start two years after its construction begins. "Such an aggressive timeline is classic Elon Musk, especially considering that components of Gigafactory 3, such as the advanced manufacturing robots and machinery that would be used to build the vehicles, would likely be coming from abroad," the report said.

]]><![CDATA[SC revives Centre's Rs. 640 crore class action against Nestle in Maggi noodles case]]>Fri, 04 Jan 2019 00:54:17 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/sc-revives-centres-rs-640-crore-class-action-against-nestle-in-maggi-noodles-caseNEW DELHI - The Supreme Court on Thursday vacated its stay on the Centre's 2015 action seeking damages of Rs 640 crore from Nestle India limited - the manufacturer of Maggi noodles - for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements. The class action is rooted in the case of alleged high lead content and presence of MSG (monosodium glutamate) in Nestle's popular Maggi instant noodles. The bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud today vacated the stay of the...

proceedings before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that were stayed way back in 2015 as the top court then was seized of the matter. While vacating the stay on the proceedings on the class action by the Centre seeking damages of Rs. 640 crores, the court said the report of the Mysuru-based Central Food Technological Research Institute where the samples of Maggi noodles were tested would form the basis of the proceedings.
The court asked the Centre, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Nestle and others to argue before the NCDRC whether the consumers were misled by the company as contended by the Centre in its class action.
The Supreme Court had in 2015 put on hold proceedings before the NCDRC after Nestle moved the top court challenging the commission's order directing the testing of 16 samples of Meggi noodles to ascertain their safety for consumption.
The NCDRC had ordered the testing of the Maggie noodles in the course of the hearing of the Central government's class action against Nestle India, the manufacturer of Maggi noodles, seeking Rs 640 crore in damages for alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.
The Commission had directed that out of withdrawn stocks of Maggi noodles in the custody of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (of which 100 batch numbers were randomly noted by the local commissioner) 16 samples be sent for testing for presence of lead in any form and of MSG, including their quantity in the samples at the Export Inspection Council of India, Chennai.
Appearing for Nestle, senior counsel Abhishek Manu SinghviA said, "The lead
content was found to be within permissible limit and there is some amount of lead in lot of products." Senior counsel told the court that the Mysuru-based Central Food Technological Research Institute has given the finding that the noodles contained lead "within permissible limits". However, the Centre contended that the main issue in the class action was not whether noodles were harmful or not, but the company misled the consumers by alleged unfair trade practices, false labelling and misleading advertisements.

]]><![CDATA[WhatsApp rolls out Picture-in-Picture mode for Android users]]>Mon, 17 Dec 2018 18:14:43 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/whatsapp-rolls-out-picture-in-picture-mode-for-android-usersSAN FRANCISCO - Facebook-owned WhatsApp has rolled out "Picture in Picture (PiP) mode" for Android users that will allow them to view videos within a chat window, without opening third party pages or apps. The update is available now at Google Play with the latest WhatsApp's version 2.18.380. The feature was earlier available for Android beta users running Android operating system (OS version 4.4 and above) only. Earlier in October, WABetaInfo, a fan website that tracks WhatsApp,

reported that the PiP feature is being introduced for all Android beta users that would allow users to play videos hosted on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Streamable right within WhatsApp. The PiP feature was rolled out in January for the iOS users. The Facebook-owned company has over 200 million monthly active users in India and is one of the most popular mobile apps worldwide.

]]><![CDATA[6.8 million users possibly affected by latest photo bug: Facebook]]>Sat, 15 Dec 2018 18:52:00 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/68-million-users-possibly-affected-by-latest-photo-bug-facebookSAN FRANCISCO - US top social media network Facebook admitted that about 6.8 million users may risk their private photos being exposed to third-party apps. The company on Friday said more than 1,500 apps built by 876 developers may have also been affected by the bug that exposed users' unshared photos during a 12-day-period from Sept. 13 to Sept 25, Xinhua news agency reported. Facebook said it has fixed the breach and will roll out next week "tools for app developers that will allow them...

to determine which people using their app might be impacted by this bug."
Those affected by the bug were apps "that Facebook approved to access the photos API and that individuals had authorized to access their photos," Facebook added. The bug allowed those apps to see pictures of Facebook users that they were not granted access to.
Facebook said it will give its users notification about the possible exposure of their private photos, and that it will be working with developers to delete those copies of photos from impacted users.
The disclosure is another example of Facebook's failure to properly protect users' privacy that may drew more criticism of its privacy policy.
The world's largest social media network has been grilled over the past year for its mishandling of user data, including its involvement in a privacy scandal in March when Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy firm, was accused of illegally accessing the data of more than 87 million Facebook users without their consent. The private information of Facebook users was alleged to be used to influence the U.S. 2016 general elections in favor of President Donald Trump's campaign. Last month, Facebook announced that up to 50 million users could have their accounts controlled by hackers due to a security bug that its CEO Mark Zuckerberg called "very serious."

]]><![CDATA[Nissan opens global digital hub in Kerala]]>Mon, 10 Dec 2018 18:03:48 GMThttp://www.indiajournal.com/business_1/nissan-opens-global-digital-hub-in-keralaTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Nissan on Monday opened country's first global digital hub at the Technopark campus here. Nissan currently has employability of 300 professionals, which will be ramped up to 500 by the end of this financial year, and has plans to scale up the employee strength to 1,500 in the next two years, according to the company. Inaugurating the facility, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: "Nissan coming to Thiruvananthapuram marks the beginning of a new era for Kerala IT.

We will do our best to ensure Kerala proves to be Nissan's second home after Japan." This centre at Technopark will be the first of kind in a number of software and information technology development centres in Asia, Europe North America and Latin America. The hub will allow Nissan to provide application portfolio management, best-in-class user experiences, product development capabilities, data science, cyber security and connectivity as the automotive industry evolves, with growing use of autonomous, connected and electric vehicle technology, a company official said.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State K.J. Alphons said the government of India is keen and proactive in supporting investments in technology sector and that has contributed to Nissan's decision to set up their first Global Digital Hub in India.
Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India, said, "Japan-India relations have never been as strong as they are today based on the trust between our two prime ministers.
ace During Prime Minister Modi's visit to Japan in October, both governments agreed on digital partnership and the cooperation in the field of IT. I hope that this partnership helps to drive forward the future of innovation, technology collaboration and talent sharing between our two great nations." said Hiramatsu.
Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor said he is happy that he could play an early and useful role in convincing the Nissan management about the advantages of opening the hub in Thiruvananthapuram, which is his constituency. "This hub will serve as an important engine to drive Nissan's global digital transformation and we already have some of the finest technology talent driving outcomes to serve our customers around the world better," said Tony Thomas, Chief Information Officer at Nissan.

]]>