New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) After reported layoffs of around 250 employees in the latest job cuts, edtech firm Unacademy Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal on Wednesday denied the reports of a possible merger or an outright acquisition, saying “ignore the rumours”.

“There is a lot being said about Unacademy currently,” Munjal wrote in a post on X.

He further said that the edtech firm have its best year in terms of growth and profitability and many years to run the company.

“To set the record straight, Unacademy will have its best year in terms of growth and profitability. We also have many years of runway. We are building Unacademy for the long run,” the CEO said.

As per reports, Unacademy has approached coaching institute Allen, edtech firm Physics Wallah, education services company K12 Techno and other large education coaching companies.

According to TechCrunch, citing sources, the edtech firm will be letting go of 100 employees from marketing, business and product, and about 150 in sales.

The layoffs bring Unacademy’s total job cuts to around 2,000 since the second half of 2022.

Last month, Munjal, in a post, commented on edtech firm Byju’s fall.

He said that Byju Raveendran, Founder and Group CEO of Byju’s, faced setbacks as he put himself on a pedestal and stopped listening to anyone.

“Byju failed because he didn’t listen to anyone. He put himself on a pedestal and stopped listening. Don’t do that. Never do that. Don’t listen to everyone but have people who can give you blunt feedback,” Munjal said.

“You might not always like the feedback, but take the feedback and act on it,” he added.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Amid the rise in Zika virus cases in Pune, the Centre, on Wednesday, issued an advisory to all states asking them to step up vigil.

Zika virus disease (ZVD) is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. While it is usually mild to moderate disease in adults and requires no specific treatment, in pregnant women, it may cause microcephaly — a condition in which the head is significantly smaller due to abnormal brain development — in the foetus.

Maharashtra has reported eight cases of Zika virus till July 2. Of these, six are from Pune, one each from Kolhapur and Sangamner, and 2 are pregnant women.

“In view of some reported cases of Zika virus from Maharashtra, Dr Atul Goel, Director General of Health Services (DGHS), has issued an advisory to states highlighting the need for maintaining a state of constant vigil over the Zika virus situation in the country,” the Health Ministry said.

The ministry urged states “to instruct the health facilities in the affected areas or those catering cases from affected areas to screen the pregnant women for Zika virus infection.”

The health workers must also “monitor the growth of the foetus” of Zika-positive women and “act as per Central government guidelines,” the ministry said.

It also asked health facilities and hospitals to identify a nodal officer to monitor and act to keep the premises free of Aedes mosquitoes.

Besides, the advisory called on states to “strengthen entomological surveillance and intensify vector control activities in residential areas, workplaces, schools, construction sites, institutions, and health facilities.”

Currently, Zika testing facilities are available at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune; the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi; and a few selected virus research and diagnostic laboratories of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The ministry will continue to monitor the situation closely, the advisory noted.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) India has a unique approach to making AI more beneficial for people and OpenAI is committed to learning from it, Srinivas Narayanan, Vice President of Engineering at OpenAI, said here on Wednesday.

He said that India had made AI use more impactful while reducing user harm through initiatives like the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and OpenAI was committed to learning from the country in order to make this technology more impactful.

Speaking at the ‘Global IndiaAI Summit’ here, Narayanan said an ascendant India has a leading role to play in the development of digital institutions and leading the beneficial adoption of AI towards becoming ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

“We are really committed to learning more from India. We want AI to be aligned with human values and safety is deeply at the core of our mission. We want to maximise the benefits while reducing the harms,” he told the gathering.

He said that India is already harnessing the power of AI.

“First, AI has added speed and dynamism to the already dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. Entrepreneurs are building innovative products with tools like ChatGPT which are helping them accelerate in a completely new way. We’re reducing the cost of intelligence,” Narayanan told a packed house.

He said that OpenAI is enabling developers to write code and helping them create completely conversational and natural interfaces to computing.

“OpenAI is committed to supporting the IndiaAI mission which has set a great example not just in Global South but also around the world,” the company executive noted.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Samsung on Wednesday launched a new laptop – Galaxy Book4 Ultra, equipped with cutting-edge AI-powered technology for ultimate performance, in India.

The new laptop will be available in 32GB and 16GB memory variants at a starting price of Rs 233,990 on Samsung.com, and select offline stores.

It will be available with a 16-inch display in Moonstone Gray finish.

According to the company, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra comes equipped with the new Intel Core Ultra 9/7 processor and comes with enhanced security via a new Samsung Knox security chip.

The AI-powered Galaxy Book4 Ultra also comes with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics card. It has a touchscreen interface and features a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It is thin and light, and comes with a power-efficient and long-lasting battery, with all major ports available on board, Samsung said.

The display offers 3K super-resolution and an adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate for smooth videos and graphics without any stuttering. With touchscreen capabilities, this PC provides an interactive and intuitive touch-based user interface, the company said.

Moreover, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra will allow users to utilise their phone as a connected camera, enhancing video calls and content creation. The laptop comes with a wide range of ports, including HDMI 2.1, and a large touchpad to enhance usability and connectivity, while providing for 8 times faster file transfers than USB 3.2 through Thunderbolt 4.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) The food services market in India is poised to grow at 10-12 per cent annually over the next seven years, reaching Rs 9-10 lakh crore by 2030, a report showed on Wednesday.

The food services market in India, which encompasses dining out and ordering in, is currently valued at Rs 5.5 lakh crore.

The growth trajectory will be driven by robust fundamentals including an expanding customer base, growing consumption occasions, and a rise in supply, according to the report by Bain & Company and online food aggregator Swiggy.

Additionally, online food delivery is expected to grow faster at 18 per cent CAGR, contributing 20 per cent to the overall food services market by 2030.

“Higher incomes, digitisation, improved customer experience and an inclination to try new experiences have all contributed to this growth. We are very upbeat about the growth in the coming years,” said Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Food Marketplace, Swiggy.

The report suggests that the Indian food service market, catering to middle and higher-income segments, will expand from Rs 4-5 lakh crore at present, to about Rs 10 lakh crore by 2030, Kapoor added.

According to the report, approximately 70 per cent of food services consumption as of 2023 is concentrated in the top 50 cities and among upper-middle and high-income segments, which are expected to remain demand hotspots in the medium term.

However, incremental growth is expected to come from other Tier 2 and beyond cities as well.

“By 2030, the market is poised to serve an additional 110 million customers, gradually shifting eating out from a special event into a convenient lifestyle,” said Navneet Chahal, Partner and co-author of the report.

–IANS

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