Current Final

Tag: India

  • EU parliament urges Indian PM Modi to protect minorities

    EU parliament urges Indian PM Modi to protect minorities

    On Thursday, the European Parliament urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to end ethnic violence in Manipur, and to do more to protect ethnic and religious minorities in India. Modi is currently on an official visit to France, having been invited to attend the country’s annual Bastille Day national festival as a guest of honour. 

    However, between the ceremony and the diplomatic courting, EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country’s northeastern Manipur state, and to protect the minorities there. 

    The motion also criticised the ‘national rhetoric’ of the local state government, run by Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). EU parliamentarian Pierre Larrouturou released a statement on his Twitter, with an accompanying video.

    In his tweet, Larrouturou stated that Modi and Macron can “pretend that everything is going well in India”,however, the EU parliament is recalling facts, and strongly condemns the human rights violations that take place in India.

    “Every day in India, thousands of Muslims, Christians, and members of ethnic minorities see their rights repressed,” the statement read. “To remain silent on the situation would have been a humiliation for all those who fight for their fights and suffer every day from the Hindu nationalism imposed by the Modi government.”

    In May, CNN reported how residents of Manipur say there has been a breakdown of law and order. This was after a spell of violence that left at least 58 dead and tens of thousands more homeless.

    In a speech to the public, Larrouturou went on to point out, “In Manipur, for the past two months, we have seen monstrous violence. Over 120 people have died and 1700 homes have been devastated, 250 churches have been destroyed, 40,000 people have fled for their lives.”

    Despite differences over the war in Ukraine, namely India’s continued support to Russia, as well as tensions over human rights violations in the country, Western democracies are courting Modi and what is currently the world’s most populous country, as a counterweight to China’s influence in Asia.

    India is also one of the largest global buyers of French arms. On Thursday, India approved in principle the purchase of 26 French marine Rafale jets and three Scorpene-class submarines, news agency ANI reported. 

    During Modi’s last visit to Paris in 2015, he announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets worth around €4 billion ($4.48 billion).

  • Dukaan CEO lays off 90% of his support staff in favour of AI chatbot

    Dukaan CEO lays off 90% of his support staff in favour of AI chatbot

    Suumit Shah, founder and CEO of Bangalore-based e-commerce startup Dukaan, announced via his Twitter account that he has laid off 90% of his customer support staff in favour of using an AI chatbot. 

    The bot was built by one of the firm’s data scientists, and according to Shah was able to respond to initial queries instantly, compared to the average staff time of one minute and 44 seconds.

    In his tweet, Shah admitted that the layoffs were “tough, but necessary”, explaining that given the state of the economy, startups are prioritising “profitability”.  

    Customer Support has apparently been a long-time struggle for Dukaan. In a conversation with CNN, Shah said that the company had cut the cost of its customer support function by 85% after introducing AI technology. He reasoned that this part of the business had been problematic for some time, with delayed responses and limited availability of staff at critical times, among other issues.

    That’s what prompted Shah to come up with the idea to create a personal AI-assistant for Dukaan, which would answer customer queries instantly, precisely, and from anywhere. Dukaan’s AI-lead Ojasvi Yadav stepped up to the plate.

    According to Shah’s Twitter thread, just a day after the bot was launched, Dukaan’s AI chatbot ‘Lina’ had resolved 200 lives chats and 1400 support tickets. The success of Lina propelled the team to create Dukaan’s new product ‘BOT9.ai’. It is an AI assistant, that can learn the ins-and-outs of a business, and answer customer queries instantly, 24/7. 

    As Shah tweeted, “it’s less magical, sure, but at least it pays the bills!”

    Considering the era of AI we are in now, and the general widespread layoffs by tech giants, Shah’s decision had been met with much criticism. However, Shah continued to justify the layoffs by emphasizing how AI technology can optimise their operations. 

    Moreover, Shah believes that allocating employees’ expertise to areas requiring critical thinking, while relegating routine tasks to AI-powered chatbots, improves efficiency while also allowing for a better allocation of human resources.

    Many Twitter users were enraged at the apparent pride in Shah’s tweets. One user tweeted, “You disrupted the lives of 90% of your support team & you’re celebrating it in public. You also likely destroyed your customer support (disprove with good CSAT for the bot) – all for a basic ChatGPT wrapper. This is a new low even for you.” 

    https://twitter.com/_glnarayanan/status/1678644685726728192?s=20

    While the announcement may read as apathetic, it is not surprising that major companies are turning to AI to improve general performance and efficiency in what are considerably quite routine tasks. 

    According to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which looks at layoffs across every industry, around 5% of May’s job cuts in 2023 were directly related to artificial intelligence. 

    Are you worried AI is going to replace you at work?

  • Another Indian official arrested for getting tricked by alleged Pakistani spy 

    Another Indian official arrested for getting tricked by alleged Pakistani spy 

    The Ghaziabad Police in India have arrested Naveen Pal, an official working for the Minister of Finance, for passing on classified information related to the ministry and the G20 meeting to a hacker allegedly disguised as a woman in Karachi, Pakistan.

    According to India Today, Pal met the woman online on social media and both began talking on Whatsapp.

    The police reported that Pal had several confidential financial documents in his phone, with the files saved under the name ‘secret’.

    The woman’s phone number was traced to Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, but the IP address was found to be from Karachi.

    This is the second recent incident of an Indian official being duped by a Pakistani hacker into sending confidential information. An Indian defence scientist Pradeep Kurulkar, had been exchanging texts and voice messages with a woman named Zara, sending her confidential defence information on phone.

  • ‘Pyaar kiya toh daarna kia’, Pakistani woman marries Indian PUBG love

    ‘Pyaar kiya toh daarna kia’, Pakistani woman marries Indian PUBG love

    They say love is crazy and limitless. According to Seema Haider, a 27-year-old Pakistani woman and mother of four, love was the reason behind her decision to move to India and start a new life with an Indian man.

    The news of the across-the-border love story has been making rounds on social media. “You only live once then you get old and die, so I chose love over everything,” says Seema.

    Seema is now married to Sachin Meena and lives in a two-room house 70 kilometers from India’s capital New Delhi. She has refused to come to back to Pakistan. “I’ll die here but never return,” Seema stated.

    In an interview shared by BBC, Seema and Sachin opened up about how the romance began for them and what they mean to each other. They started talking on PUBG in 2020, becoming close friends in a span of seven months. According to the lovers, they met in March in Nepal for the first time and it was Seema who got Sachin a ticket.

    Seema told the interviewer that it’s a wondrous feeling when you are talking to someone from across the border. She said, “I used to show him Pakistan and he used to show me India.”

    On being asked that Pakistan is demanding for counselor access to Seema, she was pretty clear that she is never coming back to Pakistan. “I don’t hate Pakistan. It’s not like I don’t miss the country. I have spent my childhood there. My family is there and my parents are buried in Pakistan, but I won’t go back,” she said. Sachin was also very local about not letting Seema go back, he said, “I won’t let her leave till I’m alive.”

    Seema’s first Pakistani husband Ghulam Haider, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, has appealed to the Saudi government to help him in getting his wife and four children back, to which Sachain responded that Seema is also his wife now, and he has accepted her with the children. Seema further added that Haider has claimed that she is still his wife, but she is not. Haider had divorced her verbally. It’s not on papers yet. She said verbal divorce is considered divorced in Pakistan.

    “A woman can also file for divorce. I’ll send him a notice to make it official,” she added.

    When asked about changing her religion, Seema expressed that she willingly converted to Hinduism and there was no pressure on her as claimed by her ‘ex-husband’.

    She was questioned that Sachin works at a shop, do you think you along with your four kids will be offered a good life with him. “Yes, he respects me, loves my kids and that’s enough. It means nothings when one gives you money, but no respect,” she replied.

  • ‘I was not targeting anyone particularly’: Kajol provides clarification on ‘educated political leaders’ comment

    ‘I was not targeting anyone particularly’: Kajol provides clarification on ‘educated political leaders’ comment

    Bollywood actress Kajol recently said in an interview to The Quint that people are steeped in traditions, and politicians are uneducated which is why there isn’t a clear viewpoint on how to move forward in India:

    “You have political leaders who do not have an educational system background. I’m sorry but I’m going to go out and say that. I’m being ruled by leaders, so many of them, who do not have that viewpoint, which I think education does give you, at least the chance to look out for a different viewpoint.” 

    While some applauded the DDLJ actress for making a strong case for why its important to have educated leaders, some Twitter users were enraged by her comments and pointed out that Kajol herself was a school dropout.

    https://twitter.com/Kesariya_Meenu/status/1678107374186373120?s=20

    Kajol took to Twitter to post a clarification, saying that she was emphasising the importance of education, and was not targeting any politician.

    “I was merely making a point about education and its importance. My intention was not to demean any political leaders, we have some great leaders who are guiding the country on the right path.”

  • Indian defence scientist arrested after ‘falling in love’ with Pakistani, sharing classified info: NDTV

    Indian defence scientist arrested after ‘falling in love’ with Pakistani, sharing classified info: NDTV

    Pradeep Kurulkar, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist from India, was arrested on May 3 after it was revealed he was chatting with a Pakistani using the alias ‘Zara Dasgupta’, NDTV has reported.

    Kurulkar, who was the Head of one of the labs in Pune, met Zara through WhatsApp where they had exchanged voice and video notes.

    Zara claimed to be a software engineer based in the UK, and befriended the scientist by sending him obscene texts and videos, while Kurulkar revealed classified information about top secret projects like the Brahmos Launcher, UCV, Agni Missile Launcher and other things.

    “Kurulkar, who was attracted to her, stored the classified and sensitive information of DRDO on his personal phone and then allegedly shared it with Zara,” the charge sheet said.

    The two remained in touch from June 2022 to December 2022.

    Chat records also show that Kurulkar shared his personal and office schedules and location with the spy, despite being strictly forbidden from doing so.

  • Modi accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism at SCO Summit

    Modi accuses Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism at SCO Summit

    This year, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) summit was hosted by India, where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched thinly veiled accusations against Pakistan, saying “some countries” are “terror havens“.

    Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in attendance, along with other SCO member countries leaders, such as Xi Jingping and Vladimir Putin.

    The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organisation, which unites China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and, as of yesterday, Iran. It’s currently the world’s largest regional bloc in terms of geographic scope and population.

    Addressing the online summit, Dawn reports Modi to have said, “Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies, provide shelter to terrorists. SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations. There should be no place for double standards on such serious matters.”

    India claims that a part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor passage passes through a ‘disputed’ region. Modi told leaders that “terrorism has become a major threat to regional and global peace. Dealing with this challenge requires decisive action. Regardless of its form or manifestation, we must unite in our fight against terrorism.”

    Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif responded in turn, saying that the SCO stands for observance of the UN principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and people’s right to self-determination, considered a reference to the Kashmir dispute.

    “UNSC resolutions offer us a workable framework for the resolution of longstanding disputes in the region,” Dawn reported Shehbaz to have said. “These must be addressed immediately and settled amicably before it is too late.”

    Kashmir has been a contentious point between the two countries since partition, but especially since India abolished Articles 370 and 35A in 2019. These articles were decades-old and provided a measure of autonomy to the disputed Muslim-majority region.

    In the earlier SCO summit in May, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto criticised India’s decision to scrap the special status of the disputed region of Kashmir, saying New Delhi’s unilateral move in 2019 had undermined the possibility of holding talks between the neighbours.

    India has also accused Pakistan’s military of backing Kashmiri rebels, a claim Islamabad has denied.

  • Terror activities remain a huge hurdle for peace in the region: Shehbaz at SCO Summit

    Terror activities remain a huge hurdle for peace in the region: Shehbaz at SCO Summit

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif advised India at the 23rd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday to not use terrorism for diplomatic point scoring. The Premier emphasized that terror activities remain a huge hurdle for peace in the region.

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the current chair of the SCO, invited Shehbaz Sharif to attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

    The PM noted that all the members of the SCO have shared interests in maintaining peace and economic stability in the region.

    “The hydra-headed monster of terrorism and extremism, whether committed by individuals, societies, or states, must be fought with full vigour and conviction,” the premier said.

    Earlier, Narendra Modi said that the SCO should stand together to fight terrorism and condemn the countries that support it. He also added that Afghan soil should not be used to destabilise the peace and stability of the neighbourhood.

  • Online harassment of any journalist unacceptable: White House

    Online harassment of any journalist unacceptable: White House

    The White House strongly condemned the online harassment of a Muslim female reporter who asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the rights of religious minorities during his joint press conference with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.

    National Security Officer of the White House, John F. Kirby, said this kind of behaviour against any journalist is unacceptable.

    Sabrina Siddique, associated with Wall Street Journal, asked the Indian Premier, “What steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and uphold free speech?”
    Modi answered, “In India’s democratic values, there is absolutely no discrimination, neither based on caste, creed, age, nor any kind of geographic location”.

    Sabrina Siddique later said that she is facing online harassment after asking the question. She also mentioned that she is a Muslim, which is why she has been targeted.

  • ‘Salman Khan is next’: threat from gangster who claimed to kill Sidhu Moose Wala

    ‘Salman Khan is next’: threat from gangster who claimed to kill Sidhu Moose Wala

    Candian based gangster Goldy Brar, a member of the Indian gang Lawrence Bishnoi, has spoken to India Today, revealing that he was responsible for the death of rapper Sidhu Moose Wala, while threatening to target Salman Khan.

    Moose Wala had been shot dead a year ago in his car near his village Moosa in Punjab’s Mansa district. A day later Brar wrote a Facebook post where he took responsibility for the murder, claiming that it was done to avenge the death of another gangster.

    Goldy Brar, whose real name is Satinderjeet Singh, revealed the reason for murdering Moose Wala, claiming the rapper was an egoistic person who misused money and political power, and needed to be taught a lesson.

    “Sidhu Moose Wala was an egoistic person. He misused his political and money power. It was necessary to teach him a lesson, and he was taught one,” Goldy Brar said.

    “He had personally harmed us, made some mistakes that were unforgivable, so we had to punish him. When a rich man has close ties with top police officers and when the government doesn’t do justice, how can we expect justice from the courts? So, we sought justice ourselves,” he added.

    Singh then threatened to kill Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, for his innvolvement in the killing of a black buck, a sacred animal in the Bishnoi community. In 1998, during a break from shooting, Khan and his co-stars allegedly went hunting for black bucks in Rajasthan, enraging the Bishnoi community, who are known for their strong environmental and wildlife protection principles, and considering the Black Buck to be a sacred animal.

    “Bhai Sahab (referring to the gang Lawrence Bishnoi) had stated that he wouldn’t apologise. Baba will show mercy only when he feels merciful.”

    Salman Khan recently responded to threatening calls and letters he was receiving in an interview in April, stating that he has a lot of faith in God:

    “I know whatever is going to happen will happen no matter what you do. I believe that He is there. It is not that I will start roaming freely, it is not like that. Now there are so many Sheras around me. So many guns are going around with me that I am scared these days.”