Uniper-Care Technologies, Vital Vio, Porchlight, and others step up efforts to address isolation and loneliness. There wasn’t a lot of warning when Americans were advised—and then instructed—to isolate at home. But what about older adults? That demographic has been hardest hit by COVID-19. The CDC reported “Older adults, 65 years and older, are at higher […]
Archives for 2020
Ted Cruz, other senators, warn Saudis to stop using oil in ‘economic warfare’ against the US
Sen. Ted Cruz told CNBC on Monday he and eight other GOP senators recently ripped into the Saudi ambassador in a conference call over the oil price war with Russia that has threatened to put American producers out of business. In a “Squawk Box” interview, Cruz said the call with Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan […]
Exclusive: India may slash borrowing from market in April amid lockdown – sources
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India may slash or even cancel its planned borrowings from the market for April, looking at its options amid a nationwide lockdown prompted by the coronavirus outbreak, two finance ministry sources told Reuters. The travel curbs have disrupted routine bond market trading and volumes and prompted primary dealers, underwriters to bond […]
Online retailers ramp up capacity to move goods faster
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi E-commerce, logistics and ride-hailing firms are putting in place several measures to ramp up capacity to deliver essentials to customers. These include procuring permissions to stock food at their warehouses, use railway freight to move goods and cabs to enable last-mile deliveries. Around 125 fulfilment centres and hubs of Walmart-owned e-commerce company […]
India’s vertical ecommerce majors feel the squeeze post Covid-19 outbreak
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Vertical online goods and services companies, including Urban Company, BookMyShow, Pepperfry and Nykaa, which do not feature in the government’s list of notified essential services, have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with businesses plummeting to near zero in some cases. This comes at a time when India’s leading online marketplaces […]
IAMAI writes to Health Ministry against new rules allowing doorstep delivery of medicines
The new restrictions on online sale of drugs will make doorstep delivery of medicines difficult, according to an industry body which represents various e-pharmacy startups. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) expressed concerns over the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MoHFW) circular issued on March 26. The notification lays down these conditions: […]
Facebook commits $100 million to support news media hurt by virus crisis
Facebook on Monday pledged $100 million in financing and advertising spending to support news organizations, including local publishers in the United States, reeling from pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic. News publishers, especially print media, have taken the brunt as many advertisers pulled their marketing budgets to rein in costs because of virus-related uncertainty. Vatican’s […]
Kaggle Competition Aims AI at COVID-19
A challenge on the data science community site Kaggle is asking great minds to apply machine learning to battle the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. As COVID-19 continues to spread uncontrolled around the world, shops and restaurants have closed their doors, information workers have moved home, other businesses have shut down entirely, and people are social distancing […]
Extending the power of Azure AI to Microsoft 365 users
Today, Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Modern Life and Devices, announced the availability of new Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions. In his blog, he shared a few examples of how Microsoft 365 is innovating to deliver experiences powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to billions of users every day. Whether through familiar products like […]
Indian healthcare companies see big boost with govt move on telemedicine
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi The government’s recent notification regulating telemedicine amid the Covid-19 pandemic has given a boost to the business of healthtech startups operating in the segment, despite certain restrictions imposed on prescribing medicines to first-time patients. mfine, 1MG, and Practo expect more hospitals and doctors to line up to teleconsult on the platforms, as […]