Latest news with #IIMK-AI
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Birla Opus becomes third-largest player by revenue in six months of pan-India operations
Birla Opus , the paints business of the Aditya Birla Group , is the third-largest player by revenue in the decorative paints segment within six months of its pan-India operations, Himanshu Kapania, the managing director of Grasim Industries said. This is as per the FY 2024-25 exit run rate and internal estimates of the company. 'This is a feat unprecedented globally in the paints industry ,' Kapania said in the company's annual report for 2024 – 25 (Apr – Mar). Birla Opus is housed within Grasim Industries and commenced operations last fiscal. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Management Artificial Intelligence Product Management MBA Design Thinking Healthcare Public Policy Technology others Others CXO Leadership Operations Management healthcare Data Analytics Project Management Finance Data Science MCA PGDM Degree Digital Marketing Cybersecurity Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details The decorative paints business represents a galactic opportunity for the company. 'With rising per capita income, young population, booming real estate sector and shorter repainting cycles, the potential for growth in paint consumption is immense,' he said. The company plans to have a total production capacity of 1,332 million litres per annum – which is 24% of the industry's capacity – and has already commissioned five out of its six greenfield plants, which have a total production capacity of 1,096 million litres per annum. It started commercial production in April last year. It has spent Rs 2,288 as capital expenditure on the paints business in fiscal 2025, and a total of Rs 9,352 crore on the business so far, which is nearly 94% of its planned capital expenditure of Rs 10,000 crore for the business. 'FY 2025-26 will be a defining year for Birla Opus, with the Kharagpur plant becoming fully operational in H1. This will unlock major efficiencies in logistics and operations, enhancing our ability to meet market demand swiftly,' the company said in its annual report. It also reiterated its target of achieving Rs 10,000 crore in revenue within three years of full-scale operations. INDUSTRY DYNAMICS The previous fiscal was one of the worst for the industry in more than two decades, with demand seeing a year-on-year decline. Industry incumbents pointed out that a combination of weak demand and the entry of a new player weighed on their earnings. Nearly 1,500 million litres of annual production capacity was added in the domestic paint industry last fiscal, which at around 40% of the industry's existing capacity, is the highest capacity addition in a single year in nearly 100 years. Apart from the capacity addition, the paint industry is also seeing some consolidation. JSW Paints recently announced the acquisition of Akzo Nobel 's business in India, valuing the company at Rs 12,000 crore. This is set to make the company the fourth-largest in the industry, and the second-largest in the industrial paints segment. 'Even as JSW Paints is a rational competitor, we expect a rise in competitive intensity—especially in the premium segment where APNT holds a dominant 65-70% share—driven by Dulux's strong brand equity, under-penetration (latent potential) and JSW Group's execution prowess,' Kotak Institutional Equities said in a recent report.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
GST enforcement should be balanced with sensitivity: SBI Research amid K'taka UPI-GST row
GST enforcement should be balanced with sensitivity as aggressive scrutiny based on UPI transactions may drive small businesses back into the informal cash-based economy, SBI Research said on Tuesday amid reports that small merchants in Karnataka were preferring cash transactions due to GST notices. Cautioning on the emerging challenges in GST, the SBI Research report said that while the indirect tax regime has laid the foundation for greater accountability and revenue generation, its long-term success will depend on ensuring empowerment of small traders, instead of penalising them. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Operations Management healthcare Management Finance Leadership CXO others Data Science Degree Public Policy Healthcare Digital Marketing Project Management Product Management Technology MCA Design Thinking Others MBA Cybersecurity Data Analytics PGDM Artificial Intelligence Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Currently, there are over 1.52 crore active Goods and Services Tax (GST) registrations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Rates Undo The report highlights several key takeaways, including rising women participation (1 in 5 is a woman taxpayer); top 5 states accounting for about 50 per cent of total GST taxpayers, and GST implementation helping in soothing inflation. The SBI Research report cited a recent case from Karnataka, where numerous small traders and shopkeepers in Bengaluru received disproportionately high tax notices primarily based on digital footprints, such as UPI transactions. Live Events It is pertinent to mention that amid the Karnataka UPI-GST row , small traders in the state are reportedly planning a three-day protest beginning July 23. "While the intent to capture a more accurate picture of economic activity and reduce tax evasion is commendable, such enforcement must be balanced with sensitivity. "The risk is that overly aggressive scrutiny could drive small businesses back into the informal cash-based economy, undermining the very purpose of formalisation," the SBI Research report said. Inclusivity, transparency, and fair implementation will be key to celebrating GST in both letter and spirit, said the report, which coincides with the octennial anniversary of GST. On July 1, 2025, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) completed eight years since its rollout. The report said the input tax credit (ITC) mechanism in GST has removed market distortions and hence, has a soothing impact on inflation. On women's participation, it said one-fifth of registered taxpayers had at least one female member and 14 per cent of registered taxpayers had all female members. "This data, along with 15 per cent share of women in overall income taxpayers and 40 per cent in overall deposits, mirrors women encouraging trends further get a thumping seal from substantial high numbers in Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) and Private Limited Companies, the vectors of increased formalisation and momentum in corporate playbook," it said. SBI Research report said there is a vast untapped potential in GST in certain states. Some of the larger and richer states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have a low share in active GST taxpayers compared to the state's share in overall GSDP. Interestingly, states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat share in the total GST taxpayers is larger than the state's share in overall GSDP.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns of AI superintelligence outpacing Earth's energy limits: 'Chips will outrun power needs'
As the world marvels at the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence—writing code, diagnosing illnesses, even composing symphonies—an unexpected crisis is taking shape behind the scenes. The real limit to AI's growth, it turns out, may not be algorithms or microchips but something far more elemental: electricity. In a striking episode of the Moonshots podcast, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt offered a sobering assessment of the future of AI. 'AI's natural limit is electricity, not chips,' he declared. Schmidt, who now chairs the Special Competitive Studies Project, a pro-AI think tank, explained that the U.S. alone may need an additional 92 gigawatts of power to sustain its AI ambitions—a demand equivalent to building 92 nuclear power plants . For perspective, only two such plants have been constructed in the U.S. over the past three decades. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Data Science others Project Management MBA Operations Management Digital Marketing MCA Others Data Science Degree Public Policy Artificial Intelligence healthcare PGDM Data Analytics Technology Leadership Design Thinking Healthcare Management Finance Cybersecurity Product Management CXO Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details The Silent Race for Power As companies like OpenAI , Microsoft , Meta, and Google sprint toward artificial general intelligence (AGI)—machines with reasoning capabilities that rival or surpass human intelligence—their growing appetite for energy is becoming impossible to ignore. 'We need energy in all forms… and we need it quickly,' Schmidt emphasized during a recent testimony before Congress. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Senior Living Homes in Trishal May Surprise You Senior Living | Search Ads Undo This is not just a theoretical concern. Microsoft has already signed a 20-year nuclear power deal to revive the shuttered Three Mile Island facility, while Sam Altman of OpenAI has invested heavily in Helion, a fusion energy startup. Meanwhile, tech companies are snapping up water rights and power contracts in a desperate bid to keep their servers cool and their models humming. In fact according to a report from Quartz, Microsoft's 2023 environmental report revealed a 34% spike in water use, totaling 1.7 billion gallons—just to cool its AI-driven data centers. By 2027, AI workloads could require enough water to serve all of Canada for a year, according to researchers. You Might Also Like: What is Artificial Super-intelligence? Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns AI will soon outsmart humanity and we are not ready A Global Brain with a Local Cost This surge in energy and resource consumption is igniting broader fears. Environmental groups like Greenpeace warn that AI's unchecked growth could derail national and international climate goals. And yet, the lure of 'superintelligence'—AI so advanced it could transform medicine, law, defense, and scientific research—is too great for companies and investors to resist. 'We don't know what AGI or superintelligence will ultimately deliver,' Schmidt admitted, 'but we know it's coming. And we must plan now to make sure we have the energy infrastructure to support it.' The tension is real. On one hand, AI promises to solve global challenges. On the other, its development could strain—and possibly break—the very systems it aims to improve. The irony is poignant: machines designed to think like humans may one day need more power than humanity can afford to give. AI has long been portrayed as the brain of the future. But Eric Schmidt's warning makes it clear: without electricity, there's no intelligence—artificial or otherwise. As society edges closer to superintelligence, perhaps the more pressing question isn't how smart our machines will become, but whether we'll have enough power to keep them running. You Might Also Like: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt sounds alarm on AI data centers' soaring power demand: 'We need energy in all forms'
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Chimpanzees caught copying human habits in bizarre new 'fashion trend', scientists stunned by viral primate culture
Chimpanzees at a wildlife sanctuary in Zambia have been observed engaging in what scientists are calling a 'fashion trend' of dangling blades of grass or sticks from their ears and even inserting them into their rectums. The unusual behaviour, first spotted at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust, appears to have originated in 2010 when a female chimpanzee was seen placing a blade of grass in her ear. Researchers observed that other chimps soon began mimicking the act, with no clear functional purpose behind it. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Data Science PGDM Data Science Product Management Public Policy Degree healthcare Finance Leadership others Design Thinking Artificial Intelligence MCA Technology Cybersecurity Digital Marketing Operations Management Others Data Analytics Healthcare MBA CXO Management Project Management Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Dr Ed van Leeuwen, a behavioural biologist at Utrecht University and lead author of the study, said that the chimps seemed 'very relaxed' while engaging in the behaviour, suggesting it was not related to hygiene or discomfort. 'It's more like a fashion statement, a social tradition passed from one individual to another,' he explained. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Over a decade later, a separate group of chimpanzees living roughly 15 kilometres away began showing the same ear-dangling behaviour, as well as inserting twigs into their rectums. The groups have no direct contact, which raises the question of how the trend spread. The human influence Live Events Van Leeuwen and his team believe the chimpanzees were influenced by human caregivers. Staff at one part of the sanctuary reportedly had a habit of cleaning their own ears with matchsticks or twigs, a routine the chimps may have observed and copied. Years later, some of the same caregivers began working with the second group of chimps, potentially introducing the same behaviour again through indirect social transmission. 'This is a trend that went viral, not through the internet, but via social learning,' said Van Leeuwen. The evolution of abilities The phenomenon offers evidence of chimpanzees' ability to adopt behaviours through observation and imitation, a trait often associated with human culture. One striking example from a separate zoo in the Netherlands involved a female chimp who began walking as if she were carrying a baby, even though she wasn't. Her behaviour was quickly copied by the rest of the group, and newcomers who adopted the same posture were integrated more smoothly into the group's social structure. 'This isn't just mimicry, it's culture,' Van Leeuwen noted. 'These chimps are using social cues to fit in, bond, and communicate.' While the sanctuary environment, free from predators and competition, gives these chimpanzees more leisure time to explore such behaviours, Van Leeuwen believes wild populations are just as capable of developing similar traditions. It may simply be a matter of time and observation. Next, Van Leeuwen's research will focus on whether chimpanzees are capable of developing cumulative culture, the process of building on previous innovations, a hallmark of human civilisation. Commenting on the study, Dr Elodie Freymann from the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the research, described the findings as 'mind-blowing.' 'The idea that chimpanzees may be copying human behaviours opens up new frontiers,' she said. 'Could they also be learning from other animal species? This could fundamentally shift our understanding of cultural transmission in the animal kingdom.'
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
PM Modi inaugurates over Rs 7,200 crore worth development projects in Bihar's Motihari; rail, road schemes in focus
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone and inaugurated multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,217 crore at Motihari in Bihar. The inaugurated projects include rail, road, rural development, fisheries, electronics and Information Technology developmental projects and schemes. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Data Science Operations Management Healthcare Product Management Leadership Technology CXO Finance healthcare Degree Project Management MBA PGDM Others Design Thinking Cybersecurity others Public Policy Digital Marketing Data Analytics Data Science Management Artificial Intelligence MCA Skills you'll gain: Duration: 30 Weeks IIM Kozhikode SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 11 Months IIT Madras CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India Starts on undefined Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months IIM Kozhikode CERT-IIMK DABS India Starts on undefined Get Details Railway projects launched in Bihar Modi flagged off four new Amrit Bharat trains between Rajendra Nagar Terminal (Patna) to New Delhi, Bapudham Motihari to Delhi, Darbhanga to Lucknow, and Malda Town to Lucknow via Bhagalpur to improve connectivity in the region. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Europe's 30 Most Beautiful Hidden Coastal Towns – Ranked by Travel Lovers Learn More Undo PM Modi dedicated multiple rail projects to the nation, including doubling of the Darbhanga-Thalwara and Samastipur-Rambhadrapur rail line, part of the Darbhanga-Samastipur doubling project worth over Rs 580 crore. This project aims to enhance the railway operation capacity. Another railway upgradation involved Darbhanga-Narkatiaganj rail line doubling project worth Rs 4,080 crore. He also inaugurated automatic signalling between the Samastipur-Bachhwara rail line and Bhatni-Chhapra Gramin rail line to enable efficient train operations in this section. Live Events Road projects inaugurated in Bihar PM Modi laid the foundation stone for 4-laning of Ara bypass of NH-319 connecting Ara-Mohania NH-319 and Patna-Buxar NH-922. He also inaugurated 4-lane Parariya to Mohania section of NH-319, worth over Rs 820 crore. Modi launched a 2-lane highway from Sarwan to Chakai to facilitate the movement of goods and people and act as a key link between Bihar and Jharkhand. IT projects launched in Bihar As a move to boost industry and startups, PM Modi inaugurated a New Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) facility at Darbhanga along with Incubation Facility of STPI at Patna. This project will nurture the tech startup ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs in the state. Other projects launched by PM Modi The prime minister, during his visit to Bihar, inaugurated a series of fisheries development projects sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). With this, the government will launch modern fisheries infrastructure including new fish hatcheries, biofloc units, fish feed mills, ornamental fish farming, and integrated aquaculture units across various districts in Bihar. Modi also announced that the government will release Rs 400 crore to around 61,500 Self-Help Groups in Bihar under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). During prime minister's visit to Bihar, he released over Rs 160 crore to 40,000 beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin. PM Modi is set to visit West Bengal later on Friday to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple development projects worth over Rs 5000 crore at Durgapur. He will also address the public gathering during his visit. "We welcome the Honorable Prime Minister Ji to the land of Bihar. The significant gift you are giving to Bihar today will prove crucial in accelerating the state's development," Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said ahead of PM's visit to Bihar. — NitishKumar (@NitishKumar)
