Latest news with #India-centric
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's historic space mission pushed to June 10
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads India's Shubhanshu Shukla is set for his maiden space flight as part of Axiom Space 's fourth commercial mission to the International Space Station , has now been pushed back for lift-off onboard SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June Shukla, the mission pilot for the Axiom-4 mission, the other crew include Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary, marking both European nation's first travel to the International Space Station in history and the second government-sponsored human spaceflight mission in over 40 US astronaut Peggy Whitson will be the commander of the Axiom-4 mission."I am really, really excited to go into microgravity and experience spaceflight on my own," Shukla, who goes by the nickname 'Shuks', said at a press conference in docked, the astronauts plan to spend up to 14 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting science, outreach, and commercial Ax-4 astronauts will perform around 60 scientific studies and activities representing 31 countries during their 14-day stay at the is set to conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments developed under a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from experiments aim to pioneer space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems vital for future long-duration space has lined up a set of seven experiments for Shukla, who will also participate in five joint studies planned by NASA for its human research has drawn up plans to focus on India-centric food for carrying out experiments on the ISS, including sprouting methi (Fenugreek) and moong (green gram) in microgravity will also expose the seeds to the macrobiotic conditions and bring them back to earth where they will be cultivated in plants not just once but over January, Shukla said he also planned to capture his experiences on board the ISS through pictures and videos which can be shared with all the "'Bharatvaasis' back home.""I want them to share this thrilling experience through my eyes, for I truly believe that, even as an individual travelling to space, this is the journey of 1.4 billion people," he said he planned to take certain items from different parts of the country with him to the ISS during the 14-day mission and even expressed hope to serve Indian food to astronauts in the orbital said the experience on the Axiom Mission 4 would be very well utilised on the Gaganyaan mission which is planned for 2027. ISRO is spending Rs 550 crore on the Axiom-4 mission.
Indian Express
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
IPL 2025 final: From 11 ‘RCB-flavour' shots to beer buckets, here's what's on offer at Bengaluru's restaurants and pubs tonight
It is the fourth outing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL final on Tuesday, and restaurants and pubs in Bengaluru are upbeat with exciting deals, offerings and experiences. From stadium-like experiences with in-house commentary to cocktails themed around RCB players, restaurant and pub owners are throwing out a red carpet welcome for fans on Tuesday night. BYG brewski, Hennur, we will have a 'larger than life' stadium-like experience with live streaming supported by surround speakers. Additionally, the brewery is also curating India-centric cocktails on the occasion of the IPL finals. 'We are going to live-stream the match to provide a larger than life experience to the fans, coupled with in house commentary by an emcee to complement it. In the wake of the patriotic sentiments across India over the last few weeks, we are offering curated cocktails to mark the diversity, vividness and pride of India for the IPL final night,' Ajay Gowda, co-founder and partner of BYG Ventures that owns brands including BYG brewski, Jollygunj, and Bob's Bar told The Indian Express. RCB and Punjab Kings will battle it out to end their 17-year-long title drought when they clash in the IPL 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad at 7.30 pm. At Jollygunj, J P Nagar, fans will get a chance to avail 11 different shots, a tribute to the 11 RCB players and their personalities. 'We will have spicy flavours that suit fiery players in the team, Indian mint and vanilla flavours for players who are cool-headed and flavours that are timeless, suiting the likes of Virat Kohli,' Gowda said. SOCIAL, owned by Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, will be live-streaming the match across its Bengaluru outlets with exciting IPL offers, including beer buckets (1+1 offer) on all brands. Additionally, they are also offering a 1+1 deal on select cocktails across all outlets. New pub 404 by ToF in Tavarekere is offering free shooters, and an extra free beer at the bar counter during an over when a player hits '4,0,4'. Additionally, they are also offering two flavours of Geist beer at discounted prices. The Yard at Doddanekundi has planned outdoor screenings with a massive screen. They are hitting it out of the park with their exciting Boundary Beer offers, where diners can buy three beers and get one free, or buy six beers and get two free. Visitors can also opt for unlimited beers from the first ball to the last for just Rs 1,999 per person. Adding to the excitement is their special IPL menu — a quirky take on regional favourites inspired by the teams. From Punjabi Butter Chicken Fries and Rajasthan Royal Rajma to RCB Battered Prawns, Delhi Wale Tom Uncle's Maggi, and the cheeky Overseas Players, there is a wide range of offerings for the final battle.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Key step in democratising AI: IIT-B releases 16 datasets on AIKOSH
In an important milestone for India's Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has released 16 diverse and culturally significant datasets on AIKOSH, India's official AI repository, making it among the biggest contributors to AIKOSH. This marks a crucial step in democratising AI by making high-quality, India-centric data openly accessible to researchers, startups and developers across the country. IIT Bombay made the announcement on X, saying that these datasets are designed to support innovation and research in AI and Machine Learning (ML), particularly in the Indian context. *IIT Bombay Releases 16 AI Datasets on AIKOSH: Enabling the Future of Responsible AI in India 🇮🇳* IIT Bombay is thrilled to announce the release of 16 diverse and culturally significant datasets on AIKOSH, the Government of India's official AI repository. These datasets are… — IIT Bombay (@iitbombay) May 30, 2025 AIKOSH, which was launched in March by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is a national platform aimed at providing support for inclusive AI development across the country. The 16 datasets by IIT Bombay are part of a larger pool of 21 AI models now available on AIKOSH, which were created by BharatGen, a Section 8 company funded by the Department of Science and Technology for indigenous AI development in India. The company is a consortium of seven partners. Led by IIT Bombay, the consortium includes IIT Kanpur, IIT Mandi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Madras, IIM Indore and IIIT Hyderabad. Prof Ganesh Ramakrishnan, Department of Computer Science Engineering, IIT Bombay, said, 'Our goal is not just to build AI models but to provide resources that startups and system integrators can leverage, creating a favourable and sovereign AI ecosystem for India.' The datasets released on AIKOSH include handwritten and printed Indian scripts, multilingual audio data and resources designed to interpret visual and spoken inputs from Indian environments. Among the notable contributions are a large-scale Sanskrit Optical Character Recognition (OCR) dataset consisting of over 218,000 sentences from historical texts to support the digitisation of ancient Indian knowledge. There is also a speech recognition dataset with more than 78 hours of Sanskrit audio. Additional resources include capabilities for detecting tables across documents in 14 Indian languages and a comprehensive Wiki on Indian Knowledge Systems, among others. Prof Ramakrishnan said, 'Equal emphasis on India data and its provenance allows these models to uniquely balance Indian data alongside English data, ensuring true relevance and understanding for our diverse nation, while also catering to its security. These models are built with Indian linguistic and cultural nuances at their core. By making these datasets available to all thorough AIKOSH, we are democratising AI in order to foster innovations across the country, eventually to build a self-reliant and inclusive AI ecosystem for India.'
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
India to roll out its first indigenous semiconductor chip in 2025, says IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
In a significant development for India's technology manufacturing ambitions, Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced on Thursday that the country's first homegrown semiconductor chip, ranging between 28 to 90 nanometres, will be launched this year,reported NDTV. Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Annual Business Summit, the minister said the government had adopted a focused approach by targeting a specific market segment that constitutes 60 per cent of global semiconductor demand, stated the publication. You may be interested in "Today, six fabrication units are under construction. The rollout of the first Made in India chip is expected this year. We initiated this journey in 2022, and the progress has been steady," Vaishnaw stated. As per the report, chips within the 28-90 nm range are commonly used in automotive systems, telecommunications, power equipment, and railway applications. In semiconductor terms, smaller nanometre values indicate more densely packed transistors, enhancing performance and efficiency. Underscoring the need for a balanced growth strategy, the minister highlighted the equal importance of manufacturing and services. "While there is a strong push towards services, we must not ignore manufacturing. India's future growth relies on both. It is time to focus on creating our own intellectual property, products, designs, and standards," he said. Reportedly, the minister also shed light on the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), likening its potential to the revolutionary role the internet played in recent decades. "AI is reshaping industries and societies alike. We must prepare ourselves for this change, regardless of our sector or profession," he added. Vaishnaw stressed the necessity of developing AI systems that are sensitive to India's linguistic, cultural, and social fabric. He noted that one such initiative is already underway with the creation of an India-centric AI model named Sarvam, added the report. In addition to his IT portfolio, Vaishnaw, who also oversees the Ministry of Railways, spoke of notable achievements in the railway sector. "India has now become the world's second-largest freight railway network, transporting 1,612 million tonnes of cargo—surpassing the United States and Russia," he revealed. Passenger capacity has also seen significant growth, he said, adding that the sector is experiencing a phase where long-held goals are being realised. The minister further highlighted the successful integration of startups into the railway ecosystem. "Our experiment of welcoming innovation through startups has yielded strong results. A new policy is being formulated to test new ideas at scale and expand them based on performance," he concluded.
India Gazette
7 days ago
- Politics
- India Gazette
State-sponsored terrorism started from Pakistan: All-party delegation member MJ Akbar rips apart Pakistan
Paris [France], May 28 (ANI): Launching a scathing attack on Pakistan for promoting terrorism, former Union Minister of State, External Affairs and member of the all-party delegation to European countries, MJ Akbar said that Pakistan has a 'big misconception' that terrorism will succeed in the present time. MJ Akbar, who is part of the Ravi Shankar Prasad-led all-party delegation to France and other nations, highlighted that for the first time after the Second World War, state-sponsored terrorism started in Pakistan. He said that Pakistan sent 5000 terrorists to Kashmir on October 22, 1947 and chose the path of terrorism when issues could have been sorted through talks. MJ Akbar also hailed PM Narendra Modi, who believed that the 'war' he had begun against terrorism would ensure the safety of India and the whole world. The former MoS External Affairs also highlighted that the world should understand the threat of terrorism and its consequences. 'Our mission is a very serious one. It has come at a time when the world should be aware of the threat of terrorism, its consequences and how far it reaches. Today, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, I believe that the war that our country has started against terrorism will keep our country safe and the world safe. In today's era, if terrorism started after the Second World War, state-sponsored terrorism started from Pakistan, and its date was 22 October 1947, when Pakistan sent 5000 terrorists to Kashmir. All these issues could have been resolved through talks, but Pakistan chose terrorism, and to date, they believe that terrorism will succeed; they are under a big misconception', MJ Akbar told ANI. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Head of the Indian all-party delegation to European countries, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, highlighted the complex relationship between Pakistan and terrorism. He emphasised that the distinction between the state of Pakistan and terrorism has effectively disappeared. While briefing French journalists in Paris, he said that there are 52 designated terrorists by the UN, and terrorism is an instrument of state policy in Pakistan, with the military establishment supporting terrorist groups. 'Today, there are 52 designated terrorists by the UN. The distinction between the state of Pakistan and terrorism has withered away. Terrorism as an instrument of state policy is a part of the military state of Pakistan. You know that there is no democracy there,' said the BJP MP. He emphasised that terrorism is not just an India-centric issue but a global phenomenon, with Pakistan-based terrorist groups and patrons involved in the majority of cases. 'Terrorism is not just India-centric; terrorism is now a global phenomenon. In the majority of the cases, terrorists, their patrons, and the groups, terror groups based in Pakistan, have direct or indirect involvement,' said Prasad. Narrating the background of the India-Pakistan conflict, Prasad highlighted that both countries have fought four wars and India has never been the aggressor in conflicts with Pakistan, but has responded conclusively to protect its sovereignty, including the recent Operation Sindoor. 'The most hilarious aspect was that the general whose forces were defeated at the hands of India was decisively promoted to Field Marshal. This is this state of denial,' Prasad also said. The Ravi Shankar Prasad-led delegation is visiting the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Italy, and Denmark to brief international partners on India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and its broader fight against cross-border terrorism. The delegation members also include Daggubati Purandeswari (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena (UBT), Ghulam Ali Khatana, Amar Singh (Congress), Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), M J Akbar, and Pankaj Saran. Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, was India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The operation targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in over 100 deaths of terrorists affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. The Modi government has deployed seven multi-party delegations globally to highlight Pakistan's role in supporting terrorism and reinforce India's stance of zero tolerance. (ANI)
