This Indian City Offers Highest Package For IT Employees; These Skills Command Highest Salary!
The annual report by a multinational human resource consulting firm has now established that Bengaluru is the highest paying city in the entire country and IT employees are being paid the highest of all.
Let’s find out more interesting insights about the trends in salaries that this report has to offer!
Bengaluru Jobs Offered Most Salary In India; Hyderabad And Mumbai Stand Next
A Dutch-based multinational human resource consulting firm, Randstad Holding, has released its yearly report, the Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2019. This report sheds light on the trends in the salaries of professionals and the regions that give out the most jobs and salaries as well.
As per the report, Bengaluru is the top-most city that offers the highest salaries. The average cost to company (CTC) in Bengaluru for junior-level officers with talent stands at Rs. 5.27 lakh, whereas, for mid-level employees is Rs. 16.45 lakhs and Rs. 35.45 lakhs for senior-level employees. This is consecutively the third time that Bengaluru has been at the top of the list.
Hyderabad stands second with Rs. 5 lakhs, and Mumbai stands third at Rs. 4.59 lakhs for junior-level roles. Mumbai stands second in the mid-level salary with Rs. 15.07 lakhs, and the National Capital Region stands third with Rs. 14.5 lakhs.
In the senior-level roles, Mumbai stands second third with Rs. 33.95 lakhs salary and Pune is third with Rs. 32.68 lakhs salary.
Employees With These Skills Paid The Highest Salaries
The report also tells us that IT employees are the ones with the highest average annual CTCs at the junior level, with a salary of Rs. 4.96 lakhs, and senior-level at Rs. 35.84 lakhs. Also, digital marketing is the highest paid role for senior professional employees with an average annual CTC of Rs. 35.65 lakhs.
The report reveals that there is a huge demand for people having digital skills, such as cloud, product management, analytics, AI and automation.
Randstad India MD & CEO Paul Dupuis said, “Talent with the “right-fit” skills commands a significant premium over their peers and companies are not constrained by bell curves and averages when it comes to the salary structure for professionals with in-demand skills, evidenced by the findings of this report.”
Moreover, Compliance Specialists are at the top of the list with an average annual CTC at Rs. 31.09 lakhs followed by Python Specialists with a CTC of Rs. 20.24 lakhs, Hadoop Specialists with a salary of Rs. 19.01 lakhs and Specialist Doctors with a CTC of Rs. 18.01 lakhs.
This Indian City Offers Highest Package For IT Employees; These Skills Command Highest Salary!
The annual report by a multinational human resource consulting firm has now established that Bengaluru is the highest paying city in the entire country and IT employees are being paid the highest of all.
Let’s find out more interesting insights about the trends in salaries that this report has to offer!
Bengaluru Jobs Offered Most Salary In India; Hyderabad And Mumbai Stand Next
A Dutch-based multinational human resource consulting firm, Randstad Holding, has released its yearly report, the Randstad Insights Salary Trends Report 2019. This report sheds light on the trends in the salaries of professionals and the regions that give out the most jobs and salaries as well.
As per the report, Bengaluru is the top-most city that offers the highest salaries. The average cost to company (CTC) in Bengaluru for junior-level officers with talent stands at Rs. 5.27 lakh, whereas, for mid-level employees is Rs. 16.45 lakhs and Rs. 35.45 lakhs for senior-level employees. This is consecutively the third time that Bengaluru has been at the top of the list.
Hyderabad stands second with Rs. 5 lakhs, and Mumbai stands third at Rs. 4.59 lakhs for junior-level roles. Mumbai stands second in the mid-level salary with Rs. 15.07 lakhs, and the National Capital Region stands third with Rs. 14.5 lakhs.
In the senior-level roles, Mumbai stands second third with Rs. 33.95 lakhs salary and Pune is third with Rs. 32.68 lakhs salary.
Employees With These Skills Paid The Highest Salaries
The report also tells us that IT employees are the ones with the highest average annual CTCs at the junior level, with a salary of Rs. 4.96 lakhs, and senior-level at Rs. 35.84 lakhs. Also, digital marketing is the highest paid role for senior professional employees with an average annual CTC of Rs. 35.65 lakhs.
The report reveals that there is a huge demand for people having digital skills, such as cloud, product management, analytics, AI and automation.
Randstad India MD & CEO Paul Dupuis said, “Talent with the “right-fit” skills commands a significant premium over their peers and companies are not constrained by bell curves and averages when it comes to the salary structure for professionals with in-demand skills, evidenced by the findings of this report.”
Moreover, Compliance Specialists are at the top of the list with an average annual CTC at Rs. 31.09 lakhs followed by Python Specialists with a CTC of Rs. 20.24 lakhs, Hadoop Specialists with a salary of Rs. 19.01 lakhs and Specialist Doctors with a CTC of Rs. 18.01 lakhs.
Bank KYC Can Now Ask Your Religion For Verification: Here Is The Reason Why?
Very soon, bank KYC or Know Your Customer forms will have a new column for all clients: Religion.
If this happens, this would be for the first time that religion will be asked to bank customers’ KYC.
But what is the reason?
Bank KYC Will Have Religion: What Is The Reason?
As per a report by Times of India, banks can be forced to include a religion column in their KYC documents, because of changes made in the FEMA Act Rules.
FEMA or The Foreign Exchange Management Act is a 1999 act to “to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India”.
As per a recent change in the FEMA Act, benefits of opening NRO accounts and holding property will now extend to few religious minorities, which excludes Muslims.
As per an amendment made last year, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from Afganistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh can now hold LTVs or Long Term Visas, which will help them to open bank accounts and buy property in India.
Just like Citizen Amendment Bill 2019 which was passed this week, Muslims from these three countries are excluded in the benefits of FEMA changes, so are the immigrants (from all religions) from other nations such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Tibet.
What Do The New FEMA Rules Say?
The amendment to Schedule 3 of the Fema (Deposit) regulations states: “A person being a citizen of Bangladesh or Pakistan belonging to minority communities in those countries, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who is residing in India and has been granted a Long Term Visa (LTV) by the central government is permitted to open with an authorized dealer only one NRO Account. The said NRO account shall be converted to a resident account once the person becomes a citizen of India within the meaning of the Citizenship Act, 1955.”
Is This Unconstitutional?
As per some lawyers and activists, such religious discrimination for foreign nationals in banking sector is unprecedented and unconstitutional.
As per them, it violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
The newly launched Realme X2 will be going against the upcoming Redmi K30. Both being midrange killers, they have a lot in common backed by flagship-level specs and features. Redmi K30 will launch in the same price bracket in India as Realme X2.
Realme X2 vs Redmi K30: Who’s Going To Be The Next Midrange King?
In India, the 4G variant of Redmi K30 will launch running on the same Snapdragon 730G SoC as Realme X2.
The all new Redmi K30 comes with the latest 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 rear sensor, and is also the first smartphone in the world to run on Snapdragon 765 5G chip with other top features being the first device under the Redmi K30 series.
The Redmi K30 India launch is expected in a few weeks, probably in early 2020.
Design & Display: Redmi K30 vs Realme X2
Realme X2 comes with a high-quality glass body, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It does feel premium. The glass sandwich built is backed by some of the striking gradient colour schemes. There’s no rear mounted fingerprint sensor.
The colour mixes are stylish, and the smartphone feels very premium.
With an all new design on the out, the Redmi K30 features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display offering 120Hz refresh rate in an 20:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone comes with dual hole-punch cameras upfront with curved edges on the sides.
It’s not an AMOLED panel, and operates at 1080 × 2400 pixels.
Realme X2 features a 6.4-inch full-screen AMOLED display with a small notch. The display is quite vibrant with minimal bezels on the sides with a little chin down under and an in-display optical fingerprint scanner.
The design at the back is quite similar to the OnePlus 7T featuring a frosted AG glass design and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Both the sides, front and back are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
Hardware, Storage: Realme X2 vs Redmi K30
Redmi K30 is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 765 SoC with support for 5G. In India, the 4G variant of Redmi K30 will launch which will run on Snapdragon 730G. The company has already confirmed the 4G variant of the Redmi K30.
Redmi K30 will be available in three different storage models: the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, a mid-end model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and finally the top model will come with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Similarly, Realme X2 also runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset. It’s an upgrade over the Snapdragon 712 SoC on Realme XT. A special variant of Snapdragon 730, the Snapdragon 730G focuses on gaming-centric features with additional emphasis on visual graphics.
Snapdragon 730G share similar features and specs as it’s original SD 730 with the same CPU configuration, GPU and connectivity options.
Snapdragon 730G is built on an 8nm process sporting a Kryo 470 octa-core CPU paired with Adreno 618 GPU.
It will offer 15 percent faster GPU rendering for faster refresh rate and HQ gaming experience. There’s also a Wi-Fi latency monitor and jank reducer to smoothen up the overall gaming experience.
There are three different Realme X2 models to choose from with upto 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Realme X2 will be offered with 4GB, 6GB and 8GB of RAM along with 64GB and 128GB of internal storage.
Software, UI: Realme X2 vs Redmi K30
Redmi K30 will run on the latest Android 10 with MIUI 11 out-of-the-box. On the other hand, Realme X2 has been launched in India running on Android Pie based ColorOS 6.1. The smartphone runs on Android 9 Pie with Color OS 6.1 UI on top.
The UI comes loaded with features and bloatware, and delivers a clean performance as any other non-stock device.
Cameras:Realme X2 vs Redmi K30
Coming to optics, Redmi K30 features a rear quad camera setup. The four cameras at the back include the brand new 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 sensor, the successor to the popular 48MP Sony IMX586.
The primary Sony 64MP IMX686 sensor is further supported by a 2-megapixel camera, a 5-megapixel sensor, and an 8-megapixel wide angle camera.
Realme X2 comes with a rear quad camera system, powered by the much-appreciated 64MP camera sensor. Realme X2 dons the 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 sensor, an 8-megapixel 119-degree ultra wide-angle camera, 2-megapixel macro lens and 2-megapixel depth sensor.
Upfront, Redmi K30 flaunts a dual selfie camera setup inside the capsule shaped punch-hole sporting a 20-megapixel front-facing primary sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel depth sensor while Realme X2 has an upgraded 32-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture.
Battery, Fast Charging: Redmi K30 vs Realme X2
The 5G model will remain exclusive to China offering a 12-antenna design and including dual-frequency GPS support. The Redmi K30 4G variant is expected to offer a higher battery output. K30 houses a sizeable 4,500mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging tech.
It ships with the 30W fast charger in the box.
Realme X2 houses the same 4,000mAh battery as the predecessor. Compared to Realme XT, it’s the same capacity, but the smartphone supports newly improved 30W VOOC 3.0 fast charging technology compared to the 20W fast charging tech on XT.
Redmi K30 India Launch, Redmi K30 Launch In India
The 4G variant of Redmi K30 will come to India, and not the one with the 5G processor. Both the 5G models of Redmi K30 smartphones will remain exclusive to China. Redmi K30 and Redmi K30 Pro are also the first Redmi smartphones to come with 5G support.
Xiaomi India haven’t yet revealed the Redmi K30 India launch date, but it’s expected in early 2020.
The company will be upgrading the current Redmi K20 series really quick to take on the growing competition. Realme will also soon be launching Realme X2, a direct Redmi K20 competitor. Redmi K30 hence will have some leverage with better features and specs.
Redmi K30 India Price: To Be Priced As Realme X2?
After the recent price cut, Redmi K20 is currently the best smartphone you can buy in India under 20000. Xiaomi has unveiled Redmi K30 in China, and the the Redmi K30 Indian variant is expected to be priced in India in the same price range as the current K20.
Xiaomi India hasn’t yet revealed anything from their side by far, and we need to wait to have the official Redmi K30 India launch date.
Realme X2 in India starts at Rs 16,999 for the base model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The mid-end model with 6GB RAM with 128GB will be sold at Rs 18,999. Finally, the last model comes with the highest RAM and storage, the top-end Realme X2 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is priced Rs 19,999.
All the three Realme X2 smartphones are priced aptly under 20,000 with hardly anyone at present to compete against. Redmi K30 will go directly against Realme X2 in India at the same price.
In China, Redmi K30 has been launched starting at 1,999 Yuan (around 20,150 INR) for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage model. The mid-end 8GB/128GB variant has been priced at 2,299 Yuan (around 23,150 INR) and finally the 12GB/ 256GB model is priced at 2,599 Yuan (around 26,190 INR).
The 4G version of the Redmi K30 in China will sell starting at 1,599 Yuan (around 16,100 INR). The smartphone will be available in four color options.
Redmi K30 India price is expected in the sub-20,000 category. Currently Redmi K20 is selling at a discounted price of Rs 19,999. Redmi K30 India price is expected to start at the same Rs 16,999 for the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage to take the fight to another level.
Internet Shutdown? 5 Messaging Apps Which Can Work Even Without Internet
Here is something to ponder over: India accounted for 67% of all Internet shutdowns which happened last year across the world. No wonder that India is right now the Internet Shutdown Capital Of The World.
As per India Today Data Intelligence Unit, India witnessed massive 350 Intenet Shutdowns since 2014, and even as we write this, Internet is off in several parts of India due to protests against CAB and NRC.
In case you are stuck somewhere with Internet shutdown, and unable to reach your friends and family, then here are 5 messaging apps, which can work even without Internet:
FireChat
This is a messaging app which does not require any internet or data. It also provides an open wireless service that functions on Bluetooth and Wi-fi hotspot.
In addition to that, FireChat also supports texts and images.
Signal
Signal is another messaging app which you can use to communicate with people even in the absence of the internet. Moreover, this app is available at no cost at all. It has multiple features such as voice calls, video calls, sending text messages and multimedia messages with internet and SMSes offline for free.
What’s even more interesting is that the app also comes with a feature that enables users to send disappearing messages also. This is a feature that Whatsapp is still working on, which allows you to send messages that can be deleted after a pre-specified period.
Manyverse
Manyverse is another social networking app that is not dependent on the cloud and is available free of cost. This is a different app than the rest, by which we mean that the app is not connected to the company’s online cloud system or any other cloud system as well. The data of the users will be stored in the phones of the users and it can be accessed anywhere and at any time.
This app comes with features that are found in many apps of today, such as posts, threads, likes, profiles, etc.
Briar
Briar is another app that is popular for its reliability and robust systems. This app is able to function on Wi-fi and/or Bluetooth as well. Apparently, this app is quite popular among activists and journalists as well.
Briar, similar to Manyverse, is independent of a central server and is able to sync the messages between the smartphones. It also takes care of direct and encrypted connections between the devices, thus ensuring the privacy of the users.
Txti
Txti is an innovative app that has multiple functions. It can show you webpages even if the speed of the internet is slow. It also enables users to gather information at a single point which can be accessed at a later point where there is no ease of internet access. Through Txti, you can also share links directly to Twitter.
Txti will create a custom URL and an Edit code. This code enables you to modify the information on a webpage and your data will not be lost ever.
Bank KYC Can Now Ask Your Religion For Verification: Here Is The Reason Why?
Very soon, bank KYC or Know Your Customer forms will have a new column for all clients: Religion.
If this happens, this would be for the first time that religion will be asked to bank customers’ KYC.
But what is the reason?
Bank KYC Will Have Religion: What Is The Reason?
As per a report by Times of India, banks can be forced to include a religion column in their KYC documents, because of changes made in the FEMA Act Rules.
FEMA or The Foreign Exchange Management Act is a 1999 act to “to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India”.
As per a recent change in the FEMA Act, benefits of opening NRO accounts and holding property will now extend to few religious minorities, which excludes Muslims.
As per an amendment made last year, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from Afganistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh can now hold LTVs or Long Term Visas, which will help them to open bank accounts and buy property in India.
Just like Citizen Amendment Bill 2019 which was passed this week, Muslims from these three countries are excluded in the benefits of FEMA changes, so are the immigrants (from all religions) from other nations such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Tibet.
What Do The New FEMA Rules Say?
The amendment to Schedule 3 of the Fema (Deposit) regulations states: “A person being a citizen of Bangladesh or Pakistan belonging to minority communities in those countries, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who is residing in India and has been granted a Long Term Visa (LTV) by the central government is permitted to open with an authorized dealer only one NRO Account. The said NRO account shall be converted to a resident account once the person becomes a citizen of India within the meaning of the Citizenship Act, 1955.”
Is This Unconstitutional?
As per some lawyers and activists, such religious discrimination for foreign nationals in banking sector is unprecedented and unconstitutional.
As per them, it violates Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
The newly launched Realme X2 will be going against the upcoming Redmi K30. Both being midrange killers, they have a lot in common backed by flagship-level specs and features. Redmi K30 will launch in the same price bracket in India as Realme X2.
Realme X2 vs Redmi K30: Who’s Going To Be The Next Midrange King?
In India, the 4G variant of Redmi K30 will launch running on the same Snapdragon 730G SoC as Realme X2.
The all new Redmi K30 comes with the latest 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 rear sensor, and is also the first smartphone in the world to run on Snapdragon 765 5G chip with other top features being the first device under the Redmi K30 series.
The Redmi K30 India launch is expected in a few weeks, probably in early 2020.
Design & Display: Redmi K30 vs Realme X2
Realme X2 comes with a high-quality glass body, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It does feel premium. The glass sandwich built is backed by some of the striking gradient colour schemes. There’s no rear mounted fingerprint sensor.
The colour mixes are stylish, and the smartphone feels very premium.
With an all new design on the out, the Redmi K30 features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display offering 120Hz refresh rate in an 20:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone comes with dual hole-punch cameras upfront with curved edges on the sides.
It’s not an AMOLED panel, and operates at 1080 × 2400 pixels.
Realme X2 features a 6.4-inch full-screen AMOLED display with a small notch. The display is quite vibrant with minimal bezels on the sides with a little chin down under and an in-display optical fingerprint scanner.
The design at the back is quite similar to the OnePlus 7T featuring a frosted AG glass design and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. Both the sides, front and back are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
Hardware, Storage: Realme X2 vs Redmi K30
Redmi K30 is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 765 SoC with support for 5G. In India, the 4G variant of Redmi K30 will launch which will run on Snapdragon 730G. The company has already confirmed the 4G variant of the Redmi K30.
Redmi K30 will be available in three different storage models: the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, a mid-end model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, and finally the top model will come with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
Similarly, Realme X2 also runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset. It’s an upgrade over the Snapdragon 712 SoC on Realme XT. A special variant of Snapdragon 730, the Snapdragon 730G focuses on gaming-centric features with additional emphasis on visual graphics.
Snapdragon 730G share similar features and specs as it’s original SD 730 with the same CPU configuration, GPU and connectivity options.
Snapdragon 730G is built on an 8nm process sporting a Kryo 470 octa-core CPU paired with Adreno 618 GPU.
It will offer 15 percent faster GPU rendering for faster refresh rate and HQ gaming experience. There’s also a Wi-Fi latency monitor and jank reducer to smoothen up the overall gaming experience.
There are three different Realme X2 models to choose from with upto 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Realme X2 will be offered with 4GB, 6GB and 8GB of RAM along with 64GB and 128GB of internal storage.
Software, UI: Realme X2 vs Redmi K30
Redmi K30 will run on the latest Android 10 with MIUI 11 out-of-the-box. On the other hand, Realme X2 has been launched in India running on Android Pie based ColorOS 6.1. The smartphone runs on Android 9 Pie with Color OS 6.1 UI on top.
The UI comes loaded with features and bloatware, and delivers a clean performance as any other non-stock device.
Cameras:Realme X2 vs Redmi K30
Coming to optics, Redmi K30 features a rear quad camera setup. The four cameras at the back include the brand new 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 sensor, the successor to the popular 48MP Sony IMX586.
The primary Sony 64MP IMX686 sensor is further supported by a 2-megapixel camera, a 5-megapixel sensor, and an 8-megapixel wide angle camera.
Realme X2 comes with a rear quad camera system, powered by the much-appreciated 64MP camera sensor. Realme X2 dons the 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 sensor, an 8-megapixel 119-degree ultra wide-angle camera, 2-megapixel macro lens and 2-megapixel depth sensor.
Upfront, Redmi K30 flaunts a dual selfie camera setup inside the capsule shaped punch-hole sporting a 20-megapixel front-facing primary sensor coupled with a 2-megapixel depth sensor while Realme X2 has an upgraded 32-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture.
Battery, Fast Charging: Redmi K30 vs Realme X2
The 5G model will remain exclusive to China offering a 12-antenna design and including dual-frequency GPS support. The Redmi K30 4G variant is expected to offer a higher battery output. K30 houses a sizeable 4,500mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging tech.
It ships with the 30W fast charger in the box.
Realme X2 houses the same 4,000mAh battery as the predecessor. Compared to Realme XT, it’s the same capacity, but the smartphone supports newly improved 30W VOOC 3.0 fast charging technology compared to the 20W fast charging tech on XT.
Redmi K30 India Launch, Redmi K30 Launch In India
The 4G variant of Redmi K30 will come to India, and not the one with the 5G processor. Both the 5G models of Redmi K30 smartphones will remain exclusive to China. Redmi K30 and Redmi K30 Pro are also the first Redmi smartphones to come with 5G support.
Xiaomi India haven’t yet revealed the Redmi K30 India launch date, but it’s expected in early 2020.
The company will be upgrading the current Redmi K20 series really quick to take on the growing competition. Realme will also soon be launching Realme X2, a direct Redmi K20 competitor. Redmi K30 hence will have some leverage with better features and specs.
Redmi K30 India Price: To Be Priced As Realme X2?
After the recent price cut, Redmi K20 is currently the best smartphone you can buy in India under 20000. Xiaomi has unveiled Redmi K30 in China, and the the Redmi K30 Indian variant is expected to be priced in India in the same price range as the current K20.
Xiaomi India hasn’t yet revealed anything from their side by far, and we need to wait to have the official Redmi K30 India launch date.
Realme X2 in India starts at Rs 16,999 for the base model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The mid-end model with 6GB RAM with 128GB will be sold at Rs 18,999. Finally, the last model comes with the highest RAM and storage, the top-end Realme X2 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is priced Rs 19,999.
All the three Realme X2 smartphones are priced aptly under 20,000 with hardly anyone at present to compete against. Redmi K30 will go directly against Realme X2 in India at the same price.
In China, Redmi K30 has been launched starting at 1,999 Yuan (around 20,150 INR) for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage model. The mid-end 8GB/128GB variant has been priced at 2,299 Yuan (around 23,150 INR) and finally the 12GB/ 256GB model is priced at 2,599 Yuan (around 26,190 INR).
The 4G version of the Redmi K30 in China will sell starting at 1,599 Yuan (around 16,100 INR). The smartphone will be available in four color options.
Redmi K30 India price is expected in the sub-20,000 category. Currently Redmi K20 is selling at a discounted price of Rs 19,999. Redmi K30 India price is expected to start at the same Rs 16,999 for the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage to take the fight to another level.
Internet Shutdown? 5 Messaging Apps Which Can Work Even Without Internet
Here is something to ponder over: India accounted for 67% of all Internet shutdowns which happened last year across the world. No wonder that India is right now the Internet Shutdown Capital Of The World.
As per India Today Data Intelligence Unit, India witnessed massive 350 Intenet Shutdowns since 2014, and even as we write this, Internet is off in several parts of India due to protests against CAB and NRC.
In case you are stuck somewhere with Internet shutdown, and unable to reach your friends and family, then here are 5 messaging apps, which can work even without Internet:
FireChat
This is a messaging app which does not require any internet or data. It also provides an open wireless service that functions on Bluetooth and Wi-fi hotspot.
In addition to that, FireChat also supports texts and images.
Signal
Signal is another messaging app which you can use to communicate with people even in the absence of the internet. Moreover, this app is available at no cost at all. It has multiple features such as voice calls, video calls, sending text messages and multimedia messages with internet and SMSes offline for free.
What’s even more interesting is that the app also comes with a feature that enables users to send disappearing messages also. This is a feature that Whatsapp is still working on, which allows you to send messages that can be deleted after a pre-specified period.
Manyverse
Manyverse is another social networking app that is not dependent on the cloud and is available free of cost. This is a different app than the rest, by which we mean that the app is not connected to the company’s online cloud system or any other cloud system as well. The data of the users will be stored in the phones of the users and it can be accessed anywhere and at any time.
This app comes with features that are found in many apps of today, such as posts, threads, likes, profiles, etc.
Briar
Briar is another app that is popular for its reliability and robust systems. This app is able to function on Wi-fi and/or Bluetooth as well. Apparently, this app is quite popular among activists and journalists as well.
Briar, similar to Manyverse, is independent of a central server and is able to sync the messages between the smartphones. It also takes care of direct and encrypted connections between the devices, thus ensuring the privacy of the users.
Txti
Txti is an innovative app that has multiple functions. It can show you webpages even if the speed of the internet is slow. It also enables users to gather information at a single point which can be accessed at a later point where there is no ease of internet access. Through Txti, you can also share links directly to Twitter.
Txti will create a custom URL and an Edit code. This code enables you to modify the information on a webpage and your data will not be lost ever.
This Actor Has Beaten Salman Khan In Making Money; Who Is India’s Richest Celebrity?
Forbes India has just released their ranking of the richest celebrities, and there is a shocking development here: One actor from Bollywood has beaten Salman Khan, when it comes to making money.
But who is the richest Indian celebrity?
Keep reading to find out!
Akshay Kumar Beats Salman Khan In Making Money
As per Forbes’ 2019 Celebrity 100 List, Akshay Kumar has beaten Salman Khan in wealth creation, and has grabbed #2 position in the list.
Thereby, Salman Khan has been fallen to #3 position.
In the year 2019, Akshay Kumar earned Rs 293.25 crore, whereas Salman Khan earned Rs 229.25 crore.
Last year, Salman Khan was at #1 position in the same list.
This way, Akshay Kumar has beaten A-class Hollywood celebrities like Rihanna and Bradley Cooper in making money.
On the other hand, Salman Khan’s fortune must have fallen in 2019, since his only one movie was released: Bharat.
Virat Kohli Is The Richest Indian Celebrity
The ranking by Forbes puts Virat Kohli in the #1 position, with total earning of Rs 252.72 crore.
Not only Virat Kohli is right now ranked #1 cricketer for both ODIs and Test matches as per ICC Ranking, but he is also making money from endorsements of brands such as Uber, Audi, MRF, Manyavar and Tissot and more.
Virat has also launched a brand with Pume: One8, which has crossed Rs 100 crore sales this year.
In 2017, he was ranked #3, and in 2018, he was ranked #2 in the Forbes Celebrities list
Who Are The Richest Indian Celebrities: Top 10
Amitabh Bachchan, with total earning of Rs 239.5 crore, is ranked #4 in the coveted list, whereas MS Dhoni with total earning of Rs 135 crore, is ranked #5.
Badshaah of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan has been ranked #6 with earning of Rs 124.38 crore.
Ranveer Singh is at #7 with Rs 118.2 crore.
Alia Bhatt is the richest women celebrity in India, as she is ranked #8 with total earning of Rs 59.21 crore.
Sachin Tendulkar is at #9 and Deepika Padukone is at #10.
Airtel Wants An Average Mobile User To Pay Rs 300/Month; Adds 1.2 Crore New Users In 2 Months
In a recent media interaction, Bharti Airtel Chairman Suni Mittal has pitched an idea: Average Revenue Per User or ARPU in the telecom industry should be Rs 300/month.
This means that atleast Rs 300 should be spent by every user, who has a mobile connection.
Meanwhile, owing to the excellent 4G network and performance, Airtel has managed to add whooping 1.2 crore new users, in the last 2.5 months.
Since Airtel was consistently losing customers, ever since Jio came into existence, this is indeed an achievement.
In case ARPU becomes Rs 300, then as per Mittal, Rs 100 per month would be spent by the lower-end consumers, and Rs 400-450 would be spent by the higher end customers, per month.
Without naming Jio, he said that mobile users in India have been enjoying lower rates since long, and now time has come to change that.
He said, “That’s the balance we need to get to try and Trai has to work on this because the industry has not been able to have an orderly mechanism to get to that point,”
Why This Statement Holds Significance?
This statement from Airtel founder holds much signifiance, because of two reasons:
Recently, TRAI hinted that they may set a base tariff for all telecom operators in India: This means, that soon, a base tariff will be declared, and no telco can provide service below that rate. This had led to speculations that the mobile tariff in India can increase even more, in the coming days.
Now, after Sunil Mittal’s statements about ARPU, it seems that the mobile tariff in India will increase even more. Note here, that right now, India has 10th cheapest Internet service in the world, and is counted among those 6 nations, where a user can get 1Gbps speed under $20.
But, it can change soon.
Airtel Adds 1.2 Crore New Users
In a related news, which is actually excellent for Airtel, 1.2 crore new users have joined in their network, since October.
While 5 million or 50 lakh new users were added in October, 70 million or 70 lakh new users opted Airtel in the month of November.
Reacting on this positive news, an Airtel spokesperson said, “We are seeing a clear customer preference for our network and product propositions like Airtel Thanks. We are confident of exiting the quarter with record net 4G subs adds.”
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
Jio Alert! Use Old Plans With Old Tariff To Save Money; Get 2TB Data For Rs 101 Voucher And More..
Most of the telecom company has increased their plans cost by over 40%. With this recent hike across the country has hit the telecom users hard.
Although, Jio offers an option to queue up your plans to get more benefits, but in case you did not queue up your plans before the price hike and find the new prices expensive.
How To Get Old Tariff Plan For Reliance Jio?
Then no need to worry as there is a way to how you can avail Jio plans at old prices but obviously there’s a catch.
As per a TelecomTalk report, users who wish to purchase the plans at old prices and did not buy any new plan after the price hike can avail this offer.
In simple words, there should be no active plan in the account of the user to avail the plan at old prices.
So, when you visit the Jio website or log in to the MyJio app, you will be shown the old prices. But if you have already recharged with a new prepaid plan in the last few days then you will not be able to see the old plans.
The report also says that the subscribers need have to go the Settings option after logging in to the Jio website using their Jio number and OTP.
Noe, tap the Tariff Protection option under Settings to view the old plans.
How About Jio Fiber Data Vouchers?
According to the reports, the Jio Fiber data vouchers are now available starting at Rs. 101 to help subscribers increase their data allocation.
These new data vouchers are now available for Jio Fiber paid users, can be availed after signing in to the Jio website or through the MyJio app.
According to this new plan, the Jio provides up to 2000GB or 2TB additional data through the data vouchers that are priced between Rs. 101 and Rs. 4,001.
It is different from the existing Jio Fiber plans, the data vouchers don’t carry any additional validity benefits.
However, the new offering is helpful, especially if you’re about to exhaust your given data allocation.
What Are Different Options Provided For Jio Fiber Data Vouchers?
As per the details given in the Jio website and MyJio app after signing in to Jio Fiber existing account, there is a total of six data vouchers that are provided under the Data Voucher section.
The vouchers prices start at Rs. 101 that bring 20GB data quota and go up to Rs. 4,001 that include 2TB data allocation.
Customers have also been provided with a range of options as Rs. 251, Rs. 501, Rs. 1,001, and Rs. 2,001 data vouchers to avail additional data benefits.
But the new data vouchers provided by Jio Fiber don’t make any changes to your plan validity.
Same way, you won’t see any differences in terms of the download speeds of your plan.
With the addition of these data vouchers enable Jio Fiber customers to get additional data allocation — over and above the data quota they get through their existing Jio Fiber plans.
Data Voucher Price
Benefits
101
20GB
251
55GB
501
125GB
1001
275GB
2001
650GB
4001
2000GB
What Are The Conditions For Jio Fiber Data Vouchers?
The Jio Fiber doesn’t provide the option to carry forward your data quota to the next billing cycle.
This is different than what you’ll get on ISPs such as Spectra and You Broadband that do offer data carry forward to their customers, as noted by Telecom Talk.
Apart from Jio, its competitor and one of the leading ISPs, Bharti Airtel, also recently removed the data rollover facility for its broadband customers. (Reference)
Jio Fiber used to provide a 40GB free top-up voucher to persuade new customers earlier. But, it is no longer offering any free top-up data voucher.
Govt. Will Spend Rs 436 Crore To Reskill 4 Lakh IT Employees: These Skills Will Be Covered
We all know that reskilling is the need of the hour, for IT professions in India. Due to the emergence of new technologies, and new ways of doing business, more and more IT employees are getting redundant.
This is leading to job loss, and the nation is worried.
Understanding this need, Govt. has announced a massive reskilling program for IT employees.
Here are the details..
IT Reskilling Program Launched By Govt.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and IT industry lobby NASSCOM has joined forces to create a massive reskilling program for IT employees in India.
The program is called Future Skills PRIME (Programme for Reskilling Upskilling of IT Manpower for Employability).
As per the initial estimate, Govt will spend Rs 436 crore in this reskilling project, and 4 lakh IT employees are expected to get direct benefits.
Announcing the launch of this program, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The government will release ?436 crore for this purpose. The government along with NASSCOM will develop a programme for training 4 lakh professionals in higher digital skilling over the next 3 years,”
Which Skills Will Be Taught?
As per the initial plan, the reskilling program will cover 10 emerging technologies, which is reshaping the IT industry, not only in India, but globally.
We don’t have the full list of the skills which will be taught to the IT employees, but as per the report by Mint, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cyber security, Internet of Things are definitely part of the curriculum.
As per the plan, the reskilling program will be launched online, and the courses will start from Rs 6000.
Modules from the top IT companies will be included in the program, so that the attendees can get maximum exposure and experience of the emerging technologies.
The Minister said, “The portal will also provide a diagnostic for learner’s preference and through the programme we aim to create India Digital Talent Stack,”
Will Such Reskilling Program Help the IT Industry?
Reskilling is the need of the hour, and some of the biggest IT companies have already launched reskilling programs for their employees.
TCS, Infosys from India have joined a global forum to reskill 1 million employees, where companies like Accenture, CA Technologies, Cisco, Cognizant, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Pegasystems, PwC, Salesforce and SAP are also participants.
Recently, Cognizant announced that close to 1 million IT employees in India are unfit for new age technologies, even as they pledged to reskill 5000 employees.
Under these circumstances, reskilling IT employees is an important step, and this will certainly help employees in the longer run.
Entire India Will Have One Ration Card: One Nation, One Ration Card Will Go Live From June, 2020 (How Will It Work?)
As per the news coming in, the Centre has designed a standard format for ration cards as it moves ahead with ‘one nation, one ration card’ initiative.
On Tuesday, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan said that The government‘s ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ initiative that will largely cover migrant labourers and daily wagers will come into force across the country from June 1, 2020.
One Nation One Ration Card: The Vision
According to reports, a standard format for ration card has been prepared after taking into account the format used by different states.
The center has asked the state governments to follow the pattern while issuing fresh ration cards.
Under the ‘One nation, one ration card’ initiative, the government wants to implement this facility across the country from 1 June 2020.
Moreover, the government is working on ‘One Nation One Standard’ initiative to harmonise standardisation activity.
Implementastion Of ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’?
As of now, the central government’s ambitious initiative is being implemented on a pilot basis in a cluster of six states. They are planning to implement this facility across the country from June 1, 2020.
After this implementation, the services would be provided after biometric/Aadhaar authentication on ePoS (electronic Point of Sale) devices, Paswan, the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, told the Lok Sabha.
He also mentioned that the facility of inter-state portability under the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ initiative would be available only through the FPSs having fully online ePoS devices.
Advantages Of ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ ?
Under the ‘One nation, one ration card’ initiative, the eligible beneficiaries would be able to avail their entitled foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) from any Fair Price Shop in the country using the same ration card.
While talking about this scheme, a senior Food Ministry official said “In order to achieve the aim of national portability, it is necessary that ration cards issued by different states and union territories conform to a standard format. Accordingly, a format for standardised ration card has been prepared for issue of ration card under the NFSA,”.
Apart from these advantages, a set of another two digits will be appended with ration card number to create unique member IDs for each member of the household in a ration card, as informed by the official.(Reference)
Following the official data, around 75 crore beneficiaries have been covered so far against the target of 81.35 crore under the NFSA.
