Uber will offer free rides to the Delhi Government for non-COVID patients of worth 75 lakhs, part of global committment to offer 10 million free rides

Uber today offered free rides worth INR 75 lakhs to the Delhi Government for emergency services, which will transport frontline healthcare workers, government officials on COVID-19 related duties, and other essential services. 

 

As part of its offer, Uber has partnered with the government to deploy 200 UberMedic cars, free of charge to transport non-COVID patients in coordination with the Centralized Ambulance Trauma Services (CATS) Ambulance Helpline.  

 

Uber’s partnership with the Delhi government is part of its global commitment to provide 10 million rides and food deliveries free of charge, recently announced by CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

 

Sharing details about the association, Prabhjeet Singh, Director, Operations and Head of Cities, Uber India & South Asia, said, “The Delhi Government has been working tirelessly to contain the spread of COVID-19. We feel privileged to be supporting the Delhi government in these challenging times and stand ready to provide essential services to help move what matters by leveraging our global experience, technology and network of drivers.”

 

All the UberMedic cars being provided to Delhi government are being fitted with a roof-to-floor plastic sheeting enclosing the driver, thereby limiting contact with the rider. Additionally, to maintain safety and hygiene standards, while moving what matters, all drivers are being trained in safety procedures and being provided with personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, sanitizers and disinfectants to sanitize the cars between rides.

 

Uber’s recently launched UberMedic service is already facilitating the provision of transporting frontline medical workers in 28 hospitals across 14 Indian cities.  

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Apple iOS 13 has sever security flaws including zero click hack in its mail app - Researchers

A new potentially serious software vulnerability has been discovered in iOS 13 that works via the default Mail app on iPhone and iPad. Security researchers say the iPhone has a severe flaw in the native iOS Mail app that makes it vulnerable to hackers.

 

Representation image only

Commenting on this Satnam Narang, Principal Research Engineer at Tenable said, "The recent disclosure that multiple zero-days in the Apple iOS Mail application were exploited in the wild is significant and noteworthy. One of the flaws can be exploited without user interaction (also known as zero click) on iOS 13. The vulnerabilities also affect iOS 12, though interaction is required in most cases.

Exploitation of these flaws would allow an attacker to leak, modify or delete emails within the Mail application. However, the researchers note that combining these flaws with an unpatched kernel vulnerability would provide an attacker with full device access, though that information has not been identified as of yet.

While Apple has issued fixes for these flaws in the beta version of iOS 13.4.5, devices are still vulnerable until the final version of iOS 13.4.5 is readily available to all iOS device owners. In the interim, the only mitigation for these flaws is to disable any email accounts that are connected to the iOS Mail application, and use an alternative application, such as Microsoft Outlook or Google's GMail."

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Ministry of Health & Family Welfare onboards Twitter Seva, users can get answers to queries by tweets

The power of a uniquely open service during a public health emergency is clear. As the nation combats the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (@MoHFW_INDIA), Government of India today onboarded Twitter Seva to help Indians with speedy resolution to their health-related queries. This public service is aimed at enabling transparent e-governance delivery in real-time and will allow the Ministry to communicate effectively and at scale with the public, especially in crisis situations like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, announced the dedicated account @CovidIndiaSeva with a Tweet.

Launched @CovidIndiaSeva to respond to citizens' queries in real time ❗️

Experts will share authoritative public health information reg #COVIDー19 swiftly at scale, helping to build a direct channel for communication with citizens. 

Post your queries!#CovidIndiaSeva @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/9dPKh9Qklc

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) April 21, 2020

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan), Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, said, “Over time, Twitter has proved to be an essential service for both the government and citizens to interact and exchange information, especially in times of need. As #IndiaFightsCorona with social distancing, we are happy to make a concerted online effort by adopting the Twitter Seva solution. It is powered by a team of experts who are trained and equipped to treat and respond to each query uniquely, and at scale. This will enable us in establishing a direct channel with Indian citizens, connecting with them in real-time to provide the authoritative health and public information.”

 
Twitter Seva is a customised live query redressal service. It works on a dashboard that helps process large volumes of Tweets, converts them into resolvable tickets, and assigns them to the relevant authority for real-time resolution. These conversations are transparent and everyone on the service can benefit from the responses received from the authorities around common queries. It is important to note is only for broader queries and does not require for the public to share personal contact details or health record details.
 
 
The dedicated account will be accessible to people be it local or national in their scope. Whether it is for latest updates on measures taken by the Government, learning about access to healthcare services or seeking guidance for someone who perhaps has symptoms but is unsure about where to turn to for help, the service will empower the public to reach out to the authorities. People in India can get their queries answered by Tweeting to @CovidIndiaSeva.
 
Over the years, as more and more people from India get on Twitter, an increasing amount of content across languages is being created. The service has witnessed a considerable rise in conversations in Indic languages. In fact, after English, Hindi is the second most used language on Twitter in India and non-English Tweets account for 50% of all Tweets on the service here. The service’s compatibility and usage across Indian languages will enable the Ministry in communicating with people from all parts of India.
Twitter has open lines of communication with the relevant authorities in the central and state governments and public health officials, to ensure they can troubleshoot account issues, and seek strategic counsel as they use the power of Twitter to mitigate harm and connect with the public at large.
Sharing her thoughts on this partnership, Mahima Kaul (@misskaul), Director, Public Policy, India and South Asia, Twitter, said, “To navigate this global health crisis, we need a collaborative approach between the government and our industry. Our work has never been more critical and our service has never been in higher demand. People from all parts of the country are taking to Twitter to be equipped with the quality information from authoritative sources. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has a vital role in ensuring that people have timely access to the latest official information and we’re delighted to play our part to support their critical mission.

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CoFynd, the global aggregator of Coworking spaces flagged off its operations in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida

CoFynd, the emerging aggregation platform for the booking of coworking spaces, have commenced its operations in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida. With the launch of their platform, CoFynd aims to offer event spaces, training rooms, meeting rooms, conference rooms along with the co-working spaces.  They provide these spaces and work environment for start-ups, young/small-medium sized enterprises, and professionals. 

Launching a company all on your own can be thrilling, but also quite tough. One may feel isolated in the home office, but hesitant to look for permanent traditional office space because of the high rates. For those sailing in these uncharted waters, CoFynd, a global aggregator for workspaces, will act as an anchor. Whether you are a solopreneur, freelancer or a young team of enthusiastic entrepreneurs, a CoFynd is a perfect place to start and grow. 

Coworking is a global phenomenon and it has completely changed the way we work forever. Almost, 2 million people are reported to be working out of Co-working spaces in 2019.  This industry has been growing at 23% since 2010 and number of co-working spaces is expected to double till the year 2022.

However, there are still a lot of challenges in this sector. For instance, there is a lack of a user-friendly platform that can provide standardized information on all co-working spaces.

There is still inability to book spaces online with ease and there is an absence of neutral customer mechanism support. Also, there is absolutely no presence of reviews on spaces to aid correct decisions.

CoFynd recognised all those loopholes and has come up to address and solve those challenges. CoFynd created unbiased platform with standardises listings. It provides the facility to book spaces online with super-ease. The user has the complete support and also has the access to the detailed reviews on co-working spaces.

Putting his thoughts on the same, Atul Gupta, Founder & CEO, CoFynd, said, " CoFynd has been launched to give startups and enterprises a platform where they can find the spaces according to their needs. We provide customised solutions as per their needs. Coworking spaces have become the lifeline of millennials and startups today. The growing demand from freelancers, consultants, and corporates has led to a growth in the co-working sector like never before. The workspaces to be future-ready should be networked, flexible, integrated and innovative, and CoFynd helps you to find one.”

Recently, CoFynd has also raised 1.25 crores of seed funding from some reputed corporates. The funds raised round will be invested across territory expansion plans, technology and marketing strategies. 

Speaking about the funding, Atul said, “We are extremely excited to raise the seed funding round. The funds raised by the company will further accelerate the growth of our network and will allow us to broaden our reach and expand our services”.  

The strategically located spaces at CoFynd offer access to nearby business centres, provides competitive corporate culture and opportunities to its members for sustained growth. The space is designed to cater to businesses of any size and form to boast diverse working environments having both private offices, cubicles, spacious cabins, meeting rooms, training rooms, and event spaces enabling the clients to choose as per their needs. 

This unbiased and unified platform of listing coworking spaces strives to offer ease of discovery and bookings to the user along with 100% offline support for visits, negotiations and closure. It endeavours to give access to like-minded, close-knit, and success-focused professionals who are all driving towards the same goal. 

Currently, CoFynd has its presence in Gurugram, Delhi and Noida and are planning to expand in other metro cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai. 

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addresses students at the Young Innovators Summit in Delhi

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella today met a gathering of students and educators at the Young Innovators Summit organized by Microsoft India at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi. The Young Innovators Summit brought together over 250 students and educators in Delhi NCR.  In conversation with Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, Satya Nadella spoke about the role that technology will play in transforming the education ecosystem over the next decade, outlining the opportunity students have today to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems with technology.

Speaking at the summit, Satya, said, "We need to reformulate the relationship between technology and learning. It is very interesting to witness the way young innovators think today. What excited and inspired me from my meetings with students was the quality of their ideas, the scope of their ambition, deep passion and deep empathy turning into action. This is truly transformative, and is how societies and economies move forward."

Watch Satya Nadella in conversation with Anant Maheshwari at the Young Innovators Summit

The Young Innovators Summit also showcased examples of technology-powered innovation from the student community in India. Three young innovators talked about how they are using technology to connect the world and solve some of the biggest social, environmental and health challenges of our times.

• USING AI TO SAVE LIVES: PRATIK MOHAPATRA

OrganSecure, built by Pratik Mohapatra, uses a sophisticated set of machine learning algorithms to quickly match organ donors with recipients, providing real-time updates to people in need of a transplant. His idea of an AI-powered app that aims to match organ donors with people in need of an organ transplant in real-time, was one of the three winning ideas at the 2019 Microsoft AI for Good Idea Challenge.

A coding enthusiast, Mohapatra has been developing apps since he was 14 years old and has a keen interest in applying technology to life sciences. In his words, “While watching a web series that revolves around organ donation, I realized the pain and emotional trauma people go through when waiting for a transplant. I started digging deeper about the problem and spoke to doctors at leading hospitals in Bengaluru to comprehend the magnitude of the issue,” he shares.

Read more here.

• FIGHTING AIR POLLUTION WITH AI: ISHLOK VASHISTHA

Taking from their experience of living in the vicinity of New Delhi, which has one of the world’s worst air quality, Ishlok and four of his friends decided to use technology to tackle the problem. The team, comprising Ishlok Vashistha, Aakash Bhadana, Vasu Kaushik, Dipesh Narwat, and Bharat Sundal from Manav Rachna Institute of Research & Studies in Faridabad came up with Caeli, a smart anti-pollution face mask and portable nebulizer to help those with breathing ailments like asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases.

The mask and nebulizer are connected to a smartphone application via Bluetooth. The Caeli mask features an air filtration system and an Air Quality Index (AQI) sensor that constantly monitors the quality of air, while the Caeli app controls the schedule of the drug dispensed from the nebulizer depending on the user’s prescription and pollution levels. Their idea won the team the runners-up position at the Microsoft 2019 Imagine Cup World Championship.

Read more here.

• TRANSFORMING LEARNING THROUGH MINECRAFT: NAMYA JOSHI

Namya Joshi, a seventh-grade student at Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana, Punjab, has become an icon and inspiration for many. Namya, a 13-year-old, loves training teachers and has been a crusader for making learning fun through technology. She has been helping teachers at her school convert their class lessons into interactive Minecraft sessions. Namya has conducted multiple Skype sessions across countries like Vietnam, India, Hungary, Finland, for both teachers and students to initiate them into the use of Minecraft in classes.

“Minecraft is a great platform”, she says. “If a child does not like reading books, for example, you can make them in Minecraft and get the child interested.”

Namya has been conferred with the REX Karamveer Global Fellowship and Karamveer Chakra Award, and is a winner of the ‘UNESCO Clubs 2018-2019 Worldwide Youth Multimedia Competition’ for creating a virtual library of books on Minecraft. Read more here.

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