Latest news with #FrancisMascarenhas
The Star
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Meta aims to fully automate advertising with AI by 2026, WSJ reports
People walk behind a logo of Meta Platforms company, during a conference in Mumbai, India, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo (Reuters) -Meta Platforms aims to allow brands to fully create and target advertisements with its artificial intelligence tools by the end of next year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The social media company's apps have 3.43 billion unique active users globally and its AI-driven tools help create personalized ad variations, image backgrounds and automated adjustments to video ads, making it lucrative for advertisers. A brand could provide a product image and a budget, and Meta's AI would generate the ad, including image, video and text, and then determine user targeting on Instagram and Facebook with budget suggestions, the report said. Meta also plans to let advertisers personalize ads using AI, so that users see different versions of the same ad in real time, based on factors such as geolocation, according to the report. The owner of Facebook and Instagram, whose majority of revenue comes from ad sales, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Social media firms such as Snap, Pinterest and Reddit are increasingly investing in AI and machine learning tools to attract advertisers in an intensely competitive and crowded digital ad market. Technology firms such as Google and OpenAI have also launched video and image-generation AI tools, but their widespread adoption in advertising remains in doubt as marketers weigh concerns over brand safety, creative control and quality. CEO Mark Zuckerberg stressed that advertisers needed AI products that delivered "measurable results at scale" in the not-so-distant future. He added that the company aimed to build an AI one-stop shop where businesses can set goals, allocate budgets and let the platform handle the logistics. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
The Star
6 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Samsung India executives seek to quash $81 million penalty over tax evasion
FILE PHOTO: People shop inside a store selling Samsung mobile phones and accessories in Mumbai, India, March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Seven Samsung India executives have asked a court to revoke penalties of $81 million included in New Delhi's $601-million tax demand from the company for allegedly misclassifying some imports, arguing "no grave offence" had been committed, according to legal papers and a source. The Indian tax authority in January found Samsung and its executives evaded tariffs by misclassifying imports of key mobile tower equipment from 2018 to 2021. Samsung has separately challenged the order before a tax appeals tribunal, where it has defended its declarations and denied any wrongdoing. While Samsung's India unit faced a $520 million demand, employees were asked to pay penalties totaling $81 million for "knowingly and intentionally" playing a role in the misclassification of imports. In a High Court filing in Mumbai which was not made public but was seen by Reuters, Samsung India logistics executive Ravi Chadha said the authorities issued the penalty within two to three days of receiving hundreds of pages of detailed responses from the company and its executives in January, and the process was "rushed". "This timeframe is utterly insufficient to conduct the requisite in-depth study," read the filing by Chadha, who faces a fine of 950 million rupees ($11.1 million). "The present case is limited to the interpretation of tariff entries, no grave offence has been committed." Samsung India and Chadha did not respond to Reuters queries. India's tax authority did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Online court records show the six other executives including the network division's vice president, Sung Beam Hong, a general manager for finance, Sheetal Jain, and Samsung's general manager for indirect taxes, Nikhil Aggarwal, have also challenged the tax authority's order. The lawyer for all seven executives, Sriram Sridharan of Indian law firm Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The law firm also represents Samsung in the tax appeals tribunal challenge. Their pleas and grounds for revoking the penalty are identical to Chadha's, said a source with direct knowledge of the ongoing lawsuits. In his court filing, Chadha argued that the "egregiously exorbitant" penalty is impossible for any salaried employee to bear, and it would take him more than 100 years to settle the amount given his earnings. (Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Straits Times
IndiGo flight facing severe weather was denied diversion requests, India says
FILE PHOTO: An IndiGo airlines passenger aircraft taxis on the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai, India, May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo An IndiGo passenger plane attempting to avoid severe weather en route to Indian Kashmir was denied permission to divert towards Pakistan by both the Indian Air Force and Pakistan, India's aviation regulator said on Friday. No passengers were injured when the flight from India's capital Delhi to the northern Indian city of Srinagar was forced to fly through a hailstorm. But a post-landing inspection revealed damage to the aircraft's nose, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement, adding that the incident was under investigation. An image shared by the Times of India newspaper on the social media platform X showed a large hole in the front of the aircraft, while a video also circulating on the site showed passengers screaming and praying during the turbulence. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video. The incident highlights the risks commercial airlines and passengers face after tensions between India and Pakistan led the two nuclear-armed neighbours to close their airspaces to each other's airlines last month. The Airbus A321neo, which typically has seating capacity for 180 to 220 passengers, was first denied a request to turn towards the India-Pakistan border by the Indian Air Force, the regulator said, without specifying the reason. The IAF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The flight crew then contacted the city of Lahore in Pakistan requesting entry into Pakistan's airspace, but that was also denied, the DGCA said. A spokesperson for the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority declined to comment. The crew of flight 6E 2142 then flew through the storm, choosing the shortest route to Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. "The flight and cabin crew followed established protocol and the aircraft landed safely in Srinagar," IndiGo said in a statement. It later said the aircraft was undergoing checks in Srinagar and would resume operations once clearances had been secured. Tensions flared between India and Pakistan following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir in April, eventually triggering the two neighbours' worst military conflict in nearly three decades. The two countries declared a truce earlier this month. Their airspaces, however, remain closed to each other's airlines. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Villagers evacuated from line of fire along India-Pakistan border fear going back
Dilawar Singh shows a part of the drone which crashed outside his house in Wadala Bhittewad, Amritsar district, India, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas Dilawar Singh speaks about the drone which crashed outside his house in Wadala Bhittewad, Amritsar district, India, May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas People who were evacuated from their homes near the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan following cross-border shelling, wait as authorities stopped them returning to their villages until the areas are cleared of unexploded ordnance, after the ceasefire between the two countries, in Gantamulla in Indian Kashmir's Baramulla district May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer Villagers evacuated from line of fire along India-Pakistan border fear going back JAMMU, India - After spending days in temporary homes and with relatives, people from both sides of the Indian and Pakistani border are sceptical about this weekend's ceasefire and in no hurry to return to their villages. Indian cites like Jammu and Amritsar, which were spooked by the sounds of explosions after the truce was agreed, remained quieter than normal on Sunday with many shops choosing to close and people preferring to stay indoors. Indian and Pakistani authorities advised people who had left border areas not to return to frontline villages just yet. After four days of fighting, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday under U.S. pressure, but within hours explosions rang out in border towns and India accused Pakistan of violating the pact. The arch rivals had been involved in the worst fighting in nearly three decades, firing missiles and drones at each other's military installations and killing almost 70 people. "URGENT APPEAL: Do not return to frontline villages. Lives are at risk. Unexploded munitions remain after Pakistani shelling," said a police notice in Indian Kashmir. Hundreds of people were shifted to temporary homes, while others left to stay with relatives far from the border as fighting intensified earlier in the week. "I want to go back to my village in Bihar. Do not want to go back there (to the border) and die," said Asha Devi, a 22-year- old farm labourer in the Akhnoor region, one of the areas worst affected by shelling in recent days. Kabal Singh, head of a village close to the border, said people were scared to return home after they heard the blasts following the ceasefire announcement. On the Pakistan side of the border, some residents displaced from villages were advised to wait until Monday midday before returning. "Many of them are waiting to see how the situation develops before making a decision about returning," said Akhtar Ayoub, a local administration official in Pakistan's Neelum Valley. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
India's Godrej Consumer misses profit estimates due to higher costs
A man walks past the new Godrej brand logo during an event in Mumbai, India, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab May 6 (Reuters) - India's Godrej Consumer Product ( , opens new tab reported a fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates on Tuesday, as a jump in costs overshadowed the gains from sustained demand for its home care products. The 'Goodknight' mosquito repellent maker posted a consolidated net profit of 4.12 billion rupees ($48.9 million), below analysts' average estimate of 4.82 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Advertisement · Scroll to continue In the year-ago period, the company reported a loss of 18.93 billion rupees due to a one-time charge related to restructuring costs. Revenue from its India business, its biggest market, rose 7.4% in the quarter, driving the company's total revenue 6.3% higher to 35.78 billion rupees. For further earnings highlights, click. KEY CONTEXT The company's quarterly results were also helped by steady performance in its international businesses, which include Indonesia and Africa. The results come at a time when the industry is struggling with slowing urban consumption amid high food prices and slow wage hikes. Advertisement · Scroll to continue PEER COMPARISON Estimates (next 12 months) Analysts' sentiment RIC PE EV/EBITDA Revenue growth (%) Profit growth (%) Mean rating* # of analysts Stock to price target** Div yield (%) Godrej Consumer Products Ltd ( 53.14 36.98 9.75 22.30 Buy 33 0.96 1.58 Britannia Industries Ltd ( 53.20 36.72 8.83 12.28 Buy 34 1.01 1.37 Marico Ltd ( 51.56 37.23 11.57 12.31 Buy 38 0.95 1.45 Hindustan Unilever Ltd ( 50.31 34.83 4.93 4.49 Buy 17 0.93 1.83 * The mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell and Strong Sell ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT JANUARY TO MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE -- All data from LSEG -- $1 = 84.2560 Indian rupees Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Share X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights
