New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) India is negotiating trade pacts with several countries, including the US, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, adding that today, the world recognises the strengths of the country.Speaking at an event here, Goyal said several countries are keen to engage with India on the trade front.”We are in dialogue with many countries — the US, Oman, the European Union, Chile, Peru and New Zealand. Many others want to start engaging with India,” he told the gathering at…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Aadhaar face authentication recorded an over 3-fold jump to scale an all-time high with 19.36 crore transactions in July this year, up from 5.77 crore such transactions in the same month of the previous financial year, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of IT & Electronics on Friday.Aadhaar face authentication solution is also showing consistent growth month on month as well. The July face authentication transactions represent a 22 per cent growth over Ju…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Afcons Infrastructure Ltd posted a 23 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline in standalone net profit for the first quarter of FY26 at Rs 135.73 crore, down from Rs 175.34 crore in Q4 FY25, according to an exchange filing on Friday. Despite the sequential drop, the company recorded a 31 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its standalone net profit from Rs 103.62 crore in Q1 FY25.Total income in Q1 FY26 remained largely stable at Rs 3,411.58 crore compared to Rs 3,379.6…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The government is conscious of the threats posed by deepfakes powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), including synthetic audio, video and text. Such content can seriously impact a person’s dignity, reputation, and right to privacy. It also raises concerns about platform accountability, the Parliament was informed on Friday. To ensure an open, safe, trusted and accountable cyberspace for users, Government of India has enacted laws such as the information of technology …

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) A team of researchers from IIT Delhi has developed a new method to recycle denim waste to knitted garments without compromising quality.The findings will also help reduce textile waste — the discarded textiles and clothing after their use — which end up in landfills.India accumulates around 3.9 million tonnes of domestic post-consumer textile waste annually, of which only 4 per cent is recycled.Those recycled lose fibre strength and face variability in colour and qualit…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) on Friday announced the launch of its inaugural edition of ‘Makers Honour’, India’s most prestigious recognition for engineers, developers and technologists who power the country’s $224 billion tech export industry in association with GitHub, a widely used web-based platform for developers. At a time when the nation celebrates founders, valuations, and IPOs, this initiative shines a spotlight on the unsung…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Minister of State for Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh, on Friday jointly convened a high-level meeting to discuss the 100 GW Nuclear Energy Mission here.This meeting follows up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious target of expanding India’s clean energy basket and reaffirms the country’s commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions.During the meeting, a thorough review was conducted on the roadmap to increase India’s nuc…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) are rapidly transforming the automotive industry by shifting intelligence from hardware to software, a report said on Friday. The study highlights how this evolution is enabling greater automation, personalisation, and innovation in vehicle design and performance, market intelligence firm 1Lattice said in its report.Unlike traditional vehicles built around fixed hardware systems, SDVs operate on modular, programmable platforms.This allows …

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) recorded transactions worth Rs 5.4 lakh crore in gross merchandise Value (GMV) in FY 2024–25, the Commerce Ministry said on Friday, on the occasion of GeM’s 9th Foundation Day.Over the past nine years, GeM has recorded notable achievements, onboarding 1.5 lakh women-led enterprises along with startups, self-help groups (SHGs), artisans and micro and small enterprises (MSEs).“Our focus remains on ensuring every enterprise, from tribal a…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the proposal for implementation of the Rs 4,200 crore ‘Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education’ (MERITE) Scheme in 275 technical institutions comprising 175 engineering institutions and 100 polytechnics across the country from 2025-26 to 2029-30.Out of the total Rs 4,200 crore outlay, there will be an external assistance of Rs 2,100 crore from a World Bank lo…