Month: August 2022

Live security agents to help people during trouoblesome Uber

Ride-hailing major Uber has overhauled its safety toolkit, and riders can now get help, via phone or text, from a live safety agent from home security company ADT in the US in case they need to.

When a call or text exchange is requested, the agent can monitor an ongoing trip, stay in contact through the duration of the trip, and even reach out to 911 on the user’s behalf.

The company has also expanded the availability of a feature enabling customers to text 911.

“After tapping on the safety shield, riders will see large tiles with all the safety help options available in their area. In the Safety Toolkit, riders and drivers have access to the emergency button and can report safety incidents to us directly while on a trip,” said Rebecca Payne, Lead Safety Product Manager at Uber.

Uber has partnered with ADT to bring its users the support of a safety expert.

The agent can get key trip details, like the vehicle’s make and model, license plate number, and GPS location from the rider.

“We hope this new feature will give users additional peace of

Industry Management

by Norma August 31, 2022

global shipping: Bill Gates-led fund backs methanol as green

Green fuels and new engines to consume them could help limit climate-warming emissions from giant ships that keep the world economy moving.

The shipping industry emitted a record 936 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2021, according to data from BloombergNEF. That’s less than 3% of global CO2 emissions, but still more than what Germany — Europe’s biggest industrial economy — produces in a year.

Shipbuilders have tried to tackle the problem by making bigger and more efficient boats, but the sector’s carbon footprint has continued rising as global trade has grown.

While some companies are now considering imaginative fixes such as installing giant kites to capture wind and propel their cargo ships, another potential solution on the horizon is a cleaner-burning fuel called methanol, which can be produced from natural gas or biomass, or even by combining carbon dioxide with hydrogen. The Danish startup Blue World Technologies has just raised €37 million ($36.9 million) from investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which is backed by Bill Gates, to help it scale up production of a new system that could power large ships using methanol.

It’s possible to simply burn methanol in an engine like petroleum-based fuels — and some

Industry Sector

by Norma August 31, 2022

delhi: 4 microbreweries to start in Delhi from Sep 1st week;

Four microbreweries serving draught beer will start operations in Delhi from September first week while a mobile app has been developed to provide information on dry days, liquor brands and their availability, officials said Tuesday. The mAbkaridelhi mobile app will be available in Hindi and English and can be downloaded from Google Play Store from September. The iOS version will be made available shortly, officials said.

It will provide a host of information, retail vends in a locality, their timings and also enable searching vends in alphabetical order. The app also has the option to submit feedback, they said.

Delhi government agencies are slated to take over the retail liquor business in the city from September 1 following the withdrawal of the Excise Policy 2021-22 after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its implementation.

Earlier, two microbreweries operated in Delhi – one in Connaught Place and another at a five-star hotel on Janpath Road. Those closed over a year ago, liquor trade experts said.

In the Excise Policy 2021-22, microbreweries were allowed along with takeaway facility for beer lovers. However, no new microbreweries could open in the city due to various reasons, including

Industry

by Norma August 31, 2022

China’s big cities, from Dalian to Shenzhen, ramp up Covid

Several of China’s biggest cities imposed tougher COVID-19 curbs on Tuesday, further crimping the activities of tens of millions, and sparking fresh concerns for the health of a barely growing economy.

Metropolises from the southern tech hub of Shenzhen to southwestern Chengdu and the northeastern port of Dalian ordered measures such as lockdowns in big districts and business closures aimed at stamping out fresh outbreaks.

The latest curbs, which will delay the start of the school year for some, reflect China’s strict adherence to a “dynamic COVID zero” policy of quashing every flare-up.

That insistence makes it an outlier as the rest of the world tries to live with coronavirus despite the cost to the world’s second-largest economy.

While many of the measures are initially planned to run just a few days, any major escalation or extension in some of China’s biggest cities risks further hurting already tepid growth.

While the two most populous cities of Beijing and Shanghai have faced only sporadic cases recently, COVID worries still weighed on Chinese stocks.

“Markets could once again be hit in the next couple of weeks, likely triggering another round of cuts by economists on the street,” Nomura warned in a note,

Industry Accounting

by Norma August 31, 2022

Vivo V25 Pro 5G: Price Range, Camera Quality, Sale offers,

There isn’t much innovation happening in terms of design in smartphones. But that’s not true for Vivo. It recently added colour changing rear panel to V23 Pro, which has been carried forward to the V25 Pro as well. When exposed to sunlight (UV light) the colour of the rear panel changed to a darker shade of blue, fancying and awing many around. One can create a pattern using UV light.

While this sounded and looked cool, photography in bright sunlight left some finger impressions which took a little while to subside. Elegantly designed, both the rear and the display are curved towards the edges blending into an ultra-sleek side panel. This made the phone feel premium but resulted in a sharp bezel and even sleek buttons which were a little bothersome to start with, but I got used to it in a short time. The front is dominated by a stellar 6.5-inch 3D Curved AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and 1300 nits. Everything appeared sharp and the colour reproduction was great. And it’s super bright and visible under the scorching Delhi sun as well. The display is a treat for multimedia including streaming shows on Netflix, Hotstar

Industry Analysis

by Norma August 31, 2022

Shriram Group lowers growth guidance for merged finance biz

Turning cautious on the pace of expanding loan book, Shriram Group has scaled down growth estimates for the business of non-banking finance companies, under the merged entity, from 15 per cent to 12 per cent in FY23.

The growth rate (Year-on-Year basis) may come down when lending rates increase, and the credit demand may also come down to some extent. The growth for the combined entity (post the merger) may be about 12 per cent from earlier guidance of 15 per cent for FY23, said Umesh Revankar, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC).

“This is coming more out of caution. Presently demand in the system is good, but I do not know what it will be a few months later. Before Diwali, the demand goes up and post Diwali, it will be clear whether the demand is sustainable”, Revankar said.

BSE-listed Shriram City Union Finance Ltd and Shriram Capital Ltd are slated to merge with STFC. The merger is to be completed in October 2022.

STFC’s assets under management (AUM) grew by 9.55 per cent YoY to Rs 1.30 trillion at the end of June 2022 from Rs

Industry Management

by Norma August 30, 2022