New Delhi, Rau’s IAS Study Circle – Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao, the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), recently paid a heartfelt visit to his alma mater, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, where he once prepared for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) examination. This visit marked a significant moment in his life, reconnecting with the place that helped shape his illustrious career. Dr. Subbarao, who topped the Civil Services Examination in 1972, reminisced, “Visiting my alma mater took me 50 years back.” His nostalgic words resonated deeply with the current students, highlighting the profound impact Rau’s IAS Study Circle had on his journey. During his visit, Dr. Subbarao engaged with students, answering their questions and addressing their concerns. He shared personal experiences, emphasizing that failure is not a setback but a step toward success. His stories and advice provided valuable inspiration and guidance to the aspiring civil servants. Dr. Subbarao also mentioned his new book, Just a Mercenary?: Notes from My Life and Career. The book is a tribute to his roots, with the first chapter focusing on a pivotal moment in his life – when Dr. S. Rau, founder of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, personally called to congratulate him on passing the Civil Services Examination. Expressing his deep connection to Dr. S. Rau, Dr. Subbarao shared his gratitude and admiration. “I am glad to visit the coaching institute and happy to see the same philosophy of making small-sized batches for proper attention to all,” he said. His words underscored how Rau’s IAS Study Circle continues to prioritize individual attention and foster excellence. Dr. Subbarao’s visit evoked memories of his early days and reinforced the timeless values of dedication and perseverance that Rau’s IAS Study Circle still upholds. His journey from a dedicated student to a distinguished leader is a testament to the power of education and mentorship. “We are honored to have Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao share his incredible journey and wisdom with our students,” said the CEO of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, Mr. Abhishek Gupta. “His achievements exemplify the heights that can be reached with dedication and hard work.”

New Delhi: Chinese smartphone brand Oppo has launched the Oppo A3 in the Chinese market. The handset is available in three colour options: Mountain Stream Green, Aurora Purple, and Quiet Sea Black (translated from Chinese). The handset is offered in three storage models:  8GB + 256GB, 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB.  The dual-SIM (Nano) Oppo A3 runs on ColorOS 14.0. The smartphone’s battery features a durability of up to four years. It comes with a fast charging technology that can charge the battery from 0 to 50 per cent in just 30 minutes. Adding further, a 10-minute charge provides up to 1.53 hours of video playback time. Oppo A3 Price And Availability:  The Oppo A3 smartphone is priced at CNY 1,599 (roughly Rs. 18,000) for the 8GB + 256GB storage model. The  12GB + 256GB carries a price tag of CNY 1,799 (roughly Rs. 21,000) and the 12GB + 512GB model is priced at CNY 2,099 (roughly Rs. 25,000). It is available for pre-orders and consumers can pre-book the phone via Oppo online store in China. The phone will go on sale from July 5.  Oppo A3 Specifications:  The smartphone features a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,412 pixels) AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and up to 240Hz touch sampling rate. It offers up to 1,200nits of peak brightness in sunlight. The Oppo A3 handset is powered by an octa-core 6nm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset.  The handset is loaded with a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging support.   On the optics front, the smartphone packs a dual rear camera setup comprising a 50-megapixel primary sensor with support for autofocus alongside a 2-megapixel portrait camera. For selfies and video chats, there is a 8-megapixel shooter on the front.  It has an IP65-rated build. For connectivity, the Oppo A3 supports 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, and USB Type-C port.  

iQOO Z9 Lite 5G India Launch: Chinese smartphone brand iQOO is set to roll out a new Z-series smartphone in the Indian market. The company has confirmed the official launch date of the iQOO Z9 Lite 5G smartphone in the country on July 15 this year. The handset is offered in brown and blue colour options and could be a more affordable variant of the standard iQOO Z9. It could be a rebranded version of the Vivo T3 Lite 5G, originally launched in India starting at Rs. 10,499, as both share identical designs and SoC. The smartphone will expand the iQOO Z9 5G series lineup in the country, joining the iQOO Z9 5G and iQOO Z9x 5G models, which were released in March and May this year, respectively. Consumers can purchase the iQOO Z9 Lite 5G smartphone via Amazon.in, in addition to iQOO.com. (Also Read: iPhone 15 Plus Receives Massive Discount On Flipkart During Big Bachat Days Sale; Check Specs, Price) Get ready to dive into a world of adventure and experience the Flow of Aqua. Stay tuned for the #FullyLoaded5G Know More – https://t.co/9aJYuteA85#FullyLoaded5G #iQOO #AmazonSpecials #StayTuned pic.twitter.com/0xCb3mxapq — iQOO India (@IqooInd) July 2, 2024 iQOO Z9 Lite 5G Specifications (Expected): The iQOO Z9 Lite 5G smartphone could be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM. The smartphone may pack a dual rear camera setup which includes a 50MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The handset is expected to sport a 6.56-inch HD+ LCD display with up to a 90Hz refresh rate. The smartphone could be loaded with a 5000 mAh battery with 15W fast charging support. The company has said that the iQOO Z9 Lite 5G has scored over 4.14 lakhs on AnTuTu 10. Notably, the iQOO Z9 Lite 5G is likely to come with a starting price tag of Rs 10,000.

New Delhi: WhatsApp, an instant messaging platform, is working on a new feature to make the Meta AI chatbot even more amazing. The Meta-owned messaging platform is planning to bring an update which will allow users to create their personalised avatars using Meta AI, as reported by WABetaInfo.   Moreover, users can also use them as stickers and profile pictures. However, this feature is currently under development.  WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.14.13: what’s new? WhatsApp is working on an optional feature to allow users to generate images of themselves using Meta AI, and it will be available in a future update!https://t.co/3SE9pjOx6a pic.twitter.com/UtVhG0RROn — WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) July 1, 2024 How This WhatsApp Feature Could Work?  The much anticipated feature lets users create AI images from a single set of photos. Meta AI will check these photos to ensure the generated images accurately reflect the user’s appearance. Users will have full control over this feature and can delete their setup photos anytime in the Meta AI settings.  How to Create an Avatar With a Photo On WhatsApp? Step 1:  Open the App: Start by opening the app where you want to create your avatar. Tap on More Options (usually represented by three dots or lines). Step 2:  Go to Settings: Select Settings from the dropdown menu. Step 3:  Start Avatar Creation: Tap on Avatar, then select Create your Avatar. Step 4:  Begin the Process: Tap Get Started. Step 5:  Enable Camera: Allow the app to access your camera by tapping Allow Camera, then tap Take Photo. Step 6:  Capture and Confirm Photo: Take a photo by tapping the camera button. You can retake the photo or choose to create your avatar manually. Step 7:  Customize Your Avatar: Select a skin tone and tap Next. Make further edits if needed or tap Done to finalize your avatar.  Apart from this, WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow users to pin messages within chats and groups. The feature might be useful for users as it will allow users to pin important messages to the top of the chat, reports WABetaInfo.

New Delhi: Online dating often comes with its share of ups and downs, where each encounter can be a hit or miss. For some, a seemingly promising date can quickly turn into a nightmare. In a similar incident. When a civil service aspirant swiped right on a dating app he had no idea he was entering a scheme designed to scam men seeking love. What started as a hopeful match quickly turned into a cautionary tale about the unexpected risks of online dating. The victim, an IAS aspirant, whose name was withheld by the police on Sunday arrived at the Black Mirror Cafe in East Delhi’s Vikas Marg area to celebrate the birthday of Versha, a woman he had recently matched with on Tinder. At the cafe, they ordered snacks, two cakes, and four shots of a non-alcoholic drink. Everything seemed fine until Versha suddenly left and claimed that there’s a “family emergency”. When the man finished his meal and asked for the bill he was shocked to see a total of Rs 1,21,917.70, an outrageous amount for food that should have cost only a few thousand. (Also Read: Snowblind Malware Explained: Know How It Steals Bank Data From Android Devices) After this, the victim raised objections to the bill but he faced threats, confinement and was forced to pay the huge amount. He eventually transferred the amount online to Akshay Pahwa, one of the cafe’s owners. Pahwa, aged 32 resides in Shahdara, East Delhi has completed education up to class 10. (Also Read: TRAI Modifies Rules For New SIM Replacement Under Mobile Number Portability) Once he got out of the cafe he immediately reported the incident to the police. Inspector Sanjay Gupta led a four-member team to investigate the case which resulted in Akshay Pahwa’s arrest. During the investigation, he explained to the police that he along with Ansh Grover and Vansh Patwa own the Black Mirror Cafe. Akshay and Vansh are cousins while Ansh is their friend. The cafe employs several “table managers,” with one named Aryan. These managers are supervised by Digranshu. Aryan, who dropped out in Class 7 is currently unemployed. It was revealed by Akshay that the real identity of Varsha is Afsaan Parveen, a 25 year old woman who also uses the names Ayesha and Noor. When the police located her, she was at another cafe on a date with a man from Mumbai whom she had connected with on Shaadi.com. Ms. Praveen described their plan to the authorities. Aryan had pretended to be Versha and invited the victim to the cafe and claimed it was to celebrate her birthday. Ms. Parveen left the victim to deal with a fraudulent bill after staging the family emergency and departing. The scam was carefully planned and involved different individuals who received a share of the money. Ms. Parveen received 15% of the total amount, 45% was divided among the table and cafe managers, and the remaining 40% went to the owners. Police disclosed that similar schemes are operating in major cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. They exploit victims through sophisticated collaborations among cafe owners, managers, and accomplices who specifically target men using dating apps.

Xiaomi launched its latest flagship series, the Xiaomi 14 in India last week. The lineup includes two models — the vanilla Xiaomi 14 and the Xioami 14 Ultra smartphone. These new phones promise to offer a flagship smartphone experience, featuring next-generation Leica optics and are powered by the new Android 14-based Xiaomi HyperOS.Customers in India can now order both smartphones from the company’s official website.However, the less-expensive Xiaomi 14 is now available for purchase, while the Xiaomi 14 Ultra Reserve Edition is available only for pre-booking. Here are all the details: Xiaomi 14 series: Sale and pre-booking details Xiaomi 14 is available in the 12GB + 512 GB variant and will be available across multiple platforms – Mi.com, Xiaomi retail outlets, Amazon India and e-commerce platform Flipkart. Users can avail of a discount of Rs 5000 on ICICI Credit cards and Debit cards, and a further exchange bonus of Rs 5,000 on select devices and get their hands on the Xiaomi 14 for a net effective price of Rs 59,999. Additionally, users can also opt for a 24-month no-cost EMI option.Xiaomi has also opened pre-bookings for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra Reserve Edition model which claims to offer even better photography performance. Users can pre-book the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, which is available in limited units, for just Rs 9,999. The Reserve Edition will come with a limited-edition case, a 67mm filter adapter and other gifts. Early access sale starts on April 08 at 12 noon exclusively at Mi.com and across Mi Homes. Xiaomi Priority Club: All the details Xiaomi India has also rolled out exclusive benefits via Xiaomi Priority Club, a service for all Xiaomi premium smartphones including the Xiaomi 14 Series. These include a free Priority Pick-up and Drop; a guaranteed 2-hour repair turnaround time, or the customer will be given a standby device for uninterrupted use; half-yearly phone check-up and updates; and priority customer support.The other devices covered under Xiaomi Priority Club include – Mi 11 Ultra, Xiaomi 12 Pro, and Xiaomi 13 Pro; and Xiaomi TVs- Mi QLED TV 75, Xiaomi OLED Vision TV 55 as well as Xiaomi Smart TV X 65 2023.

New Delhi: SIM swap and replacement fraud is increasingly common in the telecommunications industry. It occurs when fraudsters manipulate telecom providers into transferring a mobile phone number to a new SIM card often without the victim’s knowledge. This fraudulent practice enables unauthorised access to personal information, financial accounts, and services associated with the compromised phone number. To combat SIM swap and replacement fraud, starting July 1, amendments to Mobile Number Portability (MNP) regulations will be implemented, The telecom regulatory body Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said on June 28. (Also Read: Vodafone Idea Joins Jio, Airtel In Major Tariff Hike On Postpaid And Prepaid Plans : Check New Prices) According to TRAI, SIM swap or replacement refers to acquiring a new SIM card to replace a lost or non-functional one by the existing subscriber. TRAI rules also allow users to opt for Mobile Number Portability (MNP), enabling them to keep their mobile number when switching from one telecom provider to another within the country. With a view to improving the MNP process from time to time, the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009 have been amended eight times in the past.  The TRAI has also decided to introduce an additional criterion for rejection of the request for allocation of the Unique Porting Code through these amendment regulations. It further mandates that the UPC should not be allocated if the request for UPC has been made before the expiry of seven days from the date of SIM swap or replacement of the mobile number which was earlier ten days. (Also Read: Realme C61 With 5,000mAh Battery, HD+ Display Launched: Check Price, Specs, Offers & More)  In an explanation note, the telecom regulator stated that while some stakeholders believed that a 10-day wait period following a SIM swap or replacement was appropriate, others argued that a shorter wait period, such as two to four days, would be more reasonable and that a 10-day wait period may cause subscribers inconvenience, particularly in cases of urgent porting.  “These amendment regulations are aimed at curbing the porting of mobile numbers by way of fraudulent SIM swap/replacement by unscrupulous elements, TRAI added. (With ANI Inputs)

Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju is reportedly upset with the French IT company Atos. Reason is said to be delay in the delivery of two supercomputers by the French company to Indian weather forecasting institutes. According to a report in news agency PTI, the Earth Sciences Ministry had ordered two supercomputers worth $100 million from French firm Eviden, of the Atos Group, last year to enhance the computing capabilities of its institutions — the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).“I am more upset because the target we set was December. The Union Cabinet had already approved purchasing the supercomputer. We have only four petaflop capacity. We want to install up to 18 petaflop capacity,” Rijiju told PTI in a video interview.He said that the French company ran into some financial trouble and wanted the government to make payment to its subsidiary.Minister says that the delay is causing him “worry”Rijiju said that the delay has caused him lots of worry as the company has overshot the timeline. “But I think we will sort it out soon,” he said, adding that the government wanted to be “very correct in our position legally”.“We are ready to release the money because we want the machine immediately. The only problem is the amount is not small. So if we pay now, if the company is bankrupt or something happens, who will bail out,” the minister said.Rijiju further added that the government was taking some steps to speed up the delivery of the supercomputer but did not elaborate. “But I hope the French government will also intervene because we have a good understanding and a very good relationship with the French government.“Since it is a high-cost equipment, we want to ensure that the transaction happens duly and properly,” he said.“From outside, everything’s ready. It is only the problem with the main company. They want us to pay their subsidiary. We will pay only to a company whom we have entered an MoU with,” Rijiju said.The supercomputing system, based on Eviden’s BullSequana XH2000, is said to have a combined power capacity of up to 21.3 petaflops.Supercomputer at IITMThe supercomputer at the Pune-based IITM will provide 13 petaflops of computing power for atmosphere and climate research. As per the PTI report, it will integrate 3,000 CPU nodes using AMD EPYC 7643 processors and 26 GPU nodes through NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUs. The system will benefit from the NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand networking platform with In-Network Computing, 3PB all flash and 29PB disk-based DDN EXAScaler ES400NVX2 storage and Micron high-technology memory.The existing computing facility at NCMRWF is 2.8 petaflops and at IITM is 4 petaflops, respectively.

New Delhi: Realme launched its budget-friendly ‘C’ series C61 smartphone in India on June 28. The smartphone is priced below Rs 10,000 and this affordable handset is available for purchase on Flipkart and Realme.com. Realme C61: Price & Offers – 4GB RAM / 64GB Storage: ₹7,699 – 4GB RAM / 128GB Storage: ₹8,499 – 6GB RAM / 128GB Storage: ₹8,999 (Initial sale price: ₹8,099) Meanwhile, during initial sale the 6GB RAM variant will be available for a special price of ₹8,099. Realme C61: Availability You can purchase the Realme C61 from Realme’s website, Flipkart, and authorised retail stores.The initial offer is available from today, June 28, until July. Realme C61: Colours The smartphone will be available in two colors: Safari Green and Marble Black. Realme C61: Specifications The Realme C61 is powered by a UNISOC T612 octa-core processor and comes with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It features a 5,000mAh battery and a 32MP primary sensor and ensures both long-lasting performance and high-quality photography. It also features an HD+ LCD display with a waterdrop-style notch at the top. It also offers “reinforced glass” for its display.

Bobby Kotick, the former head of Activision Blizzard, is reportedly considering buying TikTok, as the app could be banned in the United States. The Wall Street Journal reports that Kotick has talked to ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, about buying the app, which could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.This comes as US lawmakers introduce a new bill that would make ByteDance sell TikTok within six months or stop it from being available in US app stores.President Joe Biden has said he would approve the bill if it passes in Congress.The Wall Street Journal report adds that Kotick, the head of OpenAI, Sam Altman, discussed teaming up to buy TikTok at a dinner last week. Kotick’s interest in TikTok follows a rough end to his 30 years leading Activision Blizzard, which Microsoft acquired last year. The company faced a lawsuit saying it allowed sexual harassment and discrimination under Kotick’s leadership. The Wall Street Journal also said Kotick knew about bad behaviour and didn’t tell the board everything. Kotick was accused of harassment, but Activision Blizzard said the report was “misleading.”Lawmakers are worried about data privacy and TikTok’s ties to China. US President Biden, whose administration has banned the app already on state devices, has expressed his support for banning the app in the US. However, former President Donald Trump, who once wanted to ban TikTok, has changed his mind, saying a ban would help TikTok’s rivals, like Facebook and YouTube. As the bill against TikTok gains support, the app has asked its American users to speak up for it, sending messages telling users to call their representatives. The bill, which passed a committee last week, is expected to be approved when the House votes on Wednesday. If it passes, it will then go to the Senate, and then the bill will be signed by the President of the US.Former Activision boss reportedly wants to buy TikTok