PSLV-C45 lifts off with EMISAT, 28 foreign satellites

PSLV-C45 lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota carrying EMISAT and 28 customer satellites on board.

Business Standard : India’s latest observation satellite EMISAT took off smoothly on Monday morning with Isro placing payloads in three orbits and conducting space experiments for the first time.

The launch vehicle PSLV-C45 blasted off from the Isro spaceport, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 09:27 am today. The rocket is carrying an electronic intelligence satellite Emisat for the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and 28 third-party satellites. This is the first mission of the PSLV in which its PSLV-QL variant (4 XL Strap-on motors) is being flown. The mission marks several firsts to the credit of the space agency as it would manoeuvre satellites in various orbits and orbital experiments including on maritime satellite applications.

The primary satellite in the rocket is EMISAT, a satellite based on Isro’s Indian Mini Satellite -2 (IMS-2) bus platform. It is an electronic intelligence satellite for DRDO. The mission would witness the Isro placing payloads three orbits and conducting space experiments.

#ISROMissions #PSLVC45 lifts off from SDSC carrying #EMISAT & 28 customer satellites.

Our updates will continue.

• ISRO (@isro) April 1, 2019

The principal “first-time” innovation this time is the multiple orbits involved in the mission. The main satellite EMISAT and the 28 customer satellites will be ed into two different orbits, and later, the fourth stage engine of the rocket will be taken to a third orbit in space. A new variant of the rocket PSLV-QL equipped with four Strap-On motors in the first stage is used for the launch.

This is the 47th mission for Isro's PSLV programme.

So after injecting the 436 kg primary satellite EMISAT, intended for electromagnetic spectrum measurement, at around 17 minutes from lift off in a 749 km orbit, they would restart the fourth stage again. During this initiative, all the other 28 customer satellites would be released by lowering the fourth state to around 504 kms orbit. Again, the fourth stage would be reignited and further lowered to 485 kms orbit to serve as an orbital platform for carrying out space borne experimentations for the first time in Isro's history.

This is the first time it has been envisaged to provide a micro-gravity environment for research organisations and academic institutes to perform experiments.

IPL 2019 KXIP vs DC Preview: Can Ashwin's Punjab break Delhi's team spirit?

Punjab may again eye home ground advantage but Delhi will be a different challenge after their last win against KKR in super over.

Business Standard : In match 13 of VIVO Indian Premier League 2019 (IPL 2019), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will host Delhi Capitals (DC) at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Monday. The clash will be interesting as both DC and KXIP won their previous IPL 2019 matches against KKR and MI and are high on confidence. K L Rahul's 71 runs off 57 balls proved instrumental for Punjab's victory and marked the return of his form. 

Chris Gayle has found his rhythm and his teammate Mayank Agarwal has been attacking almost every other ball. Ashwin has been shuffling his bowling department and it looks likely that he would again bring a change or two in playing 11.

For Delhi, things have started to fall in places after their second match defeat against MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings.

Shreyas Iyer-led DC is high on confidence after they triumphed in the super over thriller against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday night.

Punjab may again eye home ground advantage but Delhi will be a different challenge.

2019 IPL points table

Check 2019 IPL Full schedule here

DC team news

Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant are in supreme form and Shikhar Dhawan has not found the edge yet but when he takes the charge, there's no looking back. The bowling looks challenging and whatever changed they asre making, has been paying off.

Delhi made changes in the bowling department considering the pitch in Feroz Shah Kotla and are likely to shuffle more as the pitch is different in Mohali. Lamichhane is likely to play and Rabada may be they key pacer in the playing 11 but Chris Morris may have to be rested to make place for Ishant Sharma.

Harshal Patel may also have to sit in the dug out as Trent Boult or Keemo Paul may be included. Amit Mishra is likely to be in the playing 11 as he would be useful in the Mohali pitch.

KXIP team news

Ashwin's Punjab has won two matches out of three and their last triumph against KKR at home ground must be a booster for the team. Murugan Ashwin was also included in the playing 11 and he is likely to remain there against Delhi.

Ashwin made changes to his playing 11 and got it equation right, David Miller produced top-notch innings from his bat but bowling area is where he is likely to make some changes.

Indian monsoon led to global warming 130,000 years ago that ended ice age

The Indian summer monsoon pulled heat and moisture northwards, driving glacial melting in the northern hemisphere and helping tropical wetlands expand their range.

The past may be a surprisingly useful guide for predicting responses to future climate change. This is especially important for places where extreme weather has been the norm for a long time, such as the Indian subcontinent. Being able to reliably predict summer monsoon rainfall is critical to plan for the devastating impact it can have on the 1.7 billion people who live in the region.

The onset of India’s summer monsoon is linked to heat differences between the warmer land and cooler ocean, which causes a shift in prevailing wind direction. Winds blow over the Indian Ocean, picking up moisture, which falls as rain over the subcontinent from June to September.

Keep Reading : Business Standard

The monsoon season can bring drought and food shortages or severe flooding, depending on how much rain falls and in what duration. Understanding how the monsoon responded to an abrupt climate transition in the past can therefore help scientists better understand its behaviour in the future.

When we researched this weather system’s ancient past, we found it was highly sensitive to climate warming 130,000 years ago. Our new study published in Nature Geoscience showed that the Indian summer monsoon pulled heat and moisture into the northern hemisphere when Earth was entering a warmer climate around 130,000 years ago. This caused tropical wetlands to expand northwards – habitats that act as sources of methane, a greenhouse gas. This amplified global warming further and helped end the ice age.

The rate at which today’s climate is changing is unprecedented in the geological record, but our study shows how sensitive the Indian summer monsoon was during a global transition into warming in the past and may still be.

The monsoon rains of yesteryear

Over the last one million years, the climate fluctuated between a cold glacial – known as an ice age – and a warm interglacial as the Earth’s position relative to the sun wobbled in its orbit. The last transition from an ice age into the warm climate of the present interglacial – known as the Holocene – occurred around 18,000 years ago. This period of Earth’s history is relatively well understood, but how Earth system processes responded to these climate changes deeper in time is still something of a mystery.

A recent expedition to drill deep into the ocean floor of the Bay of Bengal gave an opportunity to reconstruct past Indian monsoon behaviour over hundreds of years before the last ice age.

Our study used these deep sea sediments from the northern Bay of Bengal to capture a direct signal of the Indian summer monsoon from 140,000 to 128,000 years ago, hidden in the fossilised shells of tiny microscopic creatures called foraminifera.

Facebook to block housing, job and bank ads that are age, gender specific

The changes to Facebook's advertising methods which generate most of the company's enormous profits are unprecedented.

Business Standard : Facebook will overhaul its ad-targeting systems to prevent discrimination in housing , credit and employment ads as part of a legal settlement.

For the social network, that's one major legal problem down, several to go, including government investigations in the U.S. and Europe over its data and privacy practices.

The changes to Facebook's advertising methods which generate most of the company's enormous profits are unprecedented. The social network says it will no longer allow housing, employment or credit ads that target people by age, gender or zip code. Facebook will also limit other targeting options so these ads don't exclude people on the basis of race, ethnicity and other legally protected categories in the U.S., including national origin and sexual orientation.

The social media company is also paying about $5 million to cover plaintiffs' legal fees and other costs.

Facebook and the plaintiffs a group including the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Fair Housing Alliance and others called the settlement "historic."

It took 18 months to hammer out. The company still faces an administrative complaint filed by US Department of Housing and Urban Development in August over the housing ads issue.

What's not yet clear is how well the safeguards will work. Facebook has been working to address a slew of social consequences related to its platform, with varying degrees of success. Last week, it scrambled to remove graphic video filmed by a gunman in the New Zealand mosque shootings, but the footage remained available for hours on its site and elsewhere on social media.

Earlier in March, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new "privacy-focused vision" for the company to focus on messaging instead of more public sharing but he stayed mum on overhauling Facebook's privacy practices in its core business. Galen Sherwin, senior staff attorney at the ACLU and the group's lead attorney on its suit, praised the settlement as "sweeping" and said she expects it to have ripple effects through the tech industry.

Facebook agreed to let the groups test its ad systems to ensure they don't enable discrimination. The company also agreed to meet with the groups every six months for the next three years, and is building a tool to let anyone search housing-related ads in the U.S. targeted to different areas across the country.

Elections 2019: What really wins you an election? Noida may have the answer

Cash, charity or caste may not help unless your constituents see you and your tangible development work in the constituency.

Article Source BS : Caste? Cash? Charity?

Take Gautam Buddh Nagar (or Noida) Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, which goes to the polls on 11 April. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s sitting candidate is Dr Mahesh Sharma, an amiable doctor who owns a huge hospital in the heart of NOIDA and is currently Union Minister of Culture.

In 2014, there was universal endorsement of Sharma. ‘He really takes care of us’ said a constituent fervently. ‘whenever there is any medical crisis, we know we can fall back on Kailash Hospital (Dr Sharma’s hospital) for treatment.’ Sharma would offer treatment at highly subsidised rates to people for his constituency, especially if they came with local references.

It was charity.

It worked in 2014. Sharma won by a margin of over 3 lakh votes, defeating Samajwadi Party’s Narendra Bhati, on the back of charity. There was also the Modi wave.

In theory the Modi charisma should work this time too. But last week, when Sharma visited rural areas, specifically Mirzapur village in Dankaur district, he was told to go back – that he had done nothing for the villages. Rural areas – Dadri, Jewar and Dankaur - hold the key to victory in Noida. Against an average turnout of 67 per cent, the urban areas in Noida -residential colonies around the malls and the cinema halls – reported a turnout of around 51 per cent, telling its own tale about the lack of interest in politics in urban India.

Caste too plays a big role. The biggest chunk of the rural population of farmers is Gujjar. This time, Satveer Nagar is the joint Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party candidate – and he is going to file his nomination on 22 March, a day after Holi. There is some presence of Thakurs and on the back of that, Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj won an assembly segment in the UP assembly elections. But his father has dismissed all speculation of being fielded from Noida: he will contest from Lucknow, he has said, quite firmly.

Cash – or rather wealth – has played a big role in the elections. Holdings in this part of UP are not small: and they are worth a LOT of money. These are not cowering farmers at the mercy of the elements. They are wealthy and most of them have other sources of hefty income, mostly rental income. Many have sold their land and some own Land Rovers and Audi cars.

In the circumstances, Dr Sharma is finding the going a bit tough. He has just come out with a glossy booklet listing his achievements, among them being claiming the credit for the Jewar airport, and extensions to the Metro. But the decision to extend the metro line was not solely at his behest. And the Jewar airport will take years to build.

Xiaomi launches Redmi Go, announces UPI-based digital payment app Mi Pay

Aimed at first time smartphone users, the Redmi Go comes bundled with a cashback offer worth Rs 2,200 from Reliance Jio.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi on March 19 launched its first Android Oreo Go edition-based Redmi Go smartphone. Priced at Rs 4,499, the entry-level budget smartphone will go on sale from March 22 through Flipkart, Mi stores and Mi online store. Aimed at first time smartphone users, the phone comes bundled with a cashback offer worth Rs 2,200 from Reliance Jio. Along with the Redmi Go, the company introduced its Unified Payment Interface-based digital payment app, Mi Pay.

Xiaomi Redmi Go features and specification

The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 system-on-chip (SoC), paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage -- expandable up to 128GB through microSD card. The phone boots Android Oreo Go, an operating system designed for entry-level smartphones with limited hardware resources. The OS comes preloaded with Google Android Go app suite, which includes a YouTube, Chrome, Google, Google Assistant, Files, Google Maps, and Gmail. It also supports lite apps from Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter, Linked In, etc.

The phone has a 5-inch HD screen of HD resolution, stretched in traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. Imaging is covered by an 8-megapixel camera on the back and 5MP lens on the front. The rear camera supports autoHDR, along with several modes for manual frame selection and scene customisation. The phone support VoLTE and has a battery of 3,000 mAh.

Mi Pay features

Based on UPI platform, the Mi Pay is an app available for company’s MIUI operating system users only. It is integrated within the MIUI interface across SMS, contacts, scanner, app vault and settings. Backed by ICICI Bank the app supports bank account and QR code transfers using UPI, debit cards, credit cards and internet banking across around 120 banks and over 120 billers.

The service also supports utility payments, including phone bills, phone recharges and water or electricity bill payments. The Mi Pay UPI services has been approved by NPCI under the multi bank API model and it has been audited by CERT-IN empanelled auditors E&Y and Lucideus.

Business Standard

Realme 3 review: Decent budget phone marred by weak multimedia capabilities

On paper, the Realme 3 seems to be a feature-rich proposition. However, like any other phone, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Let's take a look at how the phone fares in real life scenario.

Business Standard : Chinese smartphone brand Realme recently introduced the Realme 3, a successor of company’s affordable performance-centric smartphone, the Realme 2. Pitched to be a competitor of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and Samsung Galaxy M10 (review), the Realme 3 has decent hardware, dual camera module on the back, gradient starry design, and waterdrop notch screen.

On paper, the phone seems to be a feature-rich proposition. However, like any other phone, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a look at how the phone fares in real life scenario:

Design and display

The Realme 3 ditches the diamond cut pattern that was introduced by the company in most of its previous devices. However, it compensates the design change with a new starry gradient pattern profile covering the entire back. The rear panel curves all the way to the sides around the frame and meets the glass on the front. It is made of multiple laminated layers that give it a glass-like glittery profile.

Though the phone’s back panel with gradient starry design looks dazzling, it is prone to smudges and is a fingerprint magnet, therefore, needs regular cleaning. Thankfully, the phone comes with a silicone case that fits perfectly and saves the phone body from accidental scratches.

The Realme 3 has a 6.2-inch screen of HD+ resolution. The screen sports dew drop notch on the top, accommodating front camera. The screen looks vivid, but falls short on brightness, leading to average sunlight legibility. Unfortunately, the phone does not support Widewine L3 certification required to stream video content in high-resolution from over-the-top platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Videos. Therefore, the screen looks pixelated while streaming videos and shows online.

Performance and battery

The phone is powered by MediaTek Helio P70 system-on-chip (SoC), paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The phone boast dedicated storage expansion slot, which supports microSD card of up to 256GB. Though the phone falls short in rendering HD multimedia content, it handles graphic intensive games such as PubG and Asphalt 9 well. The phone does show thermal issues as it gets warm after extensive gaming sessions.

In handling average day to day tasks, the phone feels sleek and snappy. It shows no lags while browsing the internet with multiple tabs open and handling multiple apps active in background. The phone boots Android 9 Pie-based ColorOS 6.0, which is a heavily customised user interface that might not please everyone.

DMK promises to abolish NEET, bring back old pricing for petrol & cylinders

A separate budget for agriculture, loan waiver for students, free electricity are other poll promises for Lok Sabha 2019 elections.

The M K Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has promised to abolish the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), formerly the All India Pre-Medical Test, as part of its poll promise.

The party, which has joined hands with the Congress for the upcoming LokSabha election has also promised to bring back the old pricing models for petrol & gas cylinders.

DMK President Stalin released the party’s election manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for April 18 in the state.

The other promises of the party include metro rail projects for Madurai, Trichy, Coimbatore and Salem, and permanent Indian citizenship for Sri Lankan refugees currently living in camps in Tamil Nadu.

The party also promised to release seven prisoners jailed in the Rajiv Gandhi assassin case, loan waivers for students, a separate budget for farmers at the Lok Sabha, free electricity for weavers, museum at Keezhadi, 0.5 per cent GDP for natural disasters, MNREGA up to 150 days.

The other poll promises include bringing back the Sethusamudram project, reduction of cable TV prices, a new law will be introduced to prevent sexual harassment through online, Old pension scheme for Government employees Education to be brought back into state list Expired Toll gates on highways will be removed.

Business Standard

China claims credit for 'constructive role' in reducing India-Pak tension

A Pakistani minister said China and the United Arab Emirates also intervened to lessen tension between the south Asian neighbors.

China played a “constructive role” in reducing tension between Pakistan and India, the foreign ministry said, after the nuclear-armed rivals almost came to blows last month following an attack on an Indian paramilitary convoy in disputed Kashmir.

The sparring threatened to spiral out of control and only interventions by U.S. officials, including National Security Adviser John Bolton, headed off a bigger conflict, five sources familiar with the events have told Reuters.

At one stage, India threatened to fire at least six missiles at Pakistan, and Islamabad said it would respond with its own missile strikes “three times over”, said Western diplomats and government sources in New Delhi, Islamabad and Washington.

A Pakistani minister said China and the United Arab Emirates also intervened to lessen tension between the south Asian neighbors.

In a faxed statement to Reuters late on Monday, responding to a question on China’s role in reining in the crisis, its foreign ministry said peaceful coexistence between Pakistan and India was in everyone’s interest.

“As a friendly neighbor of both India and Pakistan, China pro-actively promoted peace talks and played a constructive role in easing the tense situation,” it said.

“Some other countries also made positive efforts in this regard,” the ministry added.

China is willing to work with the international community to continue to encourage the neighbors to meet each other half way and use dialogue and peaceful means to resolve differences, it said, without elaborating.

The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, is set to meet Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Beijing later on Tuesday.

The Feb. 14 attack that killed at least 40 paramilitary police was the deadliest in Kashmir’s 30-year-long insurgency, escalating tension between the neighbors, who said they shot down each other’s fighter jets late last month.

China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather” friends, but China has also been trying to improve ties with New Delhi.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held an informal summit in China last year agreeing to reset relations, and Xi is expected to visit India sometime this year, diplomatic sources say.

Business Standard

Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi among world's cheapest cities to live in: Report |

Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong are the costliest ones.

Move over Singapore — the world's most expensive city has two new rivals.

After topping the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey for five years, Asia's Lion City has been joined by Paris and Hong Kong in a tie at the top of the table.

Zurich and Geneva rounded out the top five, while New York and Los Angeles reclaimed spots in the top 10 — ranking in seventh and 10th respectively — after slipping to 13th and 14th last year thanks to a weakening dollar.

The survey is designed to help companies calculate cost-of-living allowances and build compensation packages for expatriates and business travelers.

The trio of cities sharing the top spot are 7 per cent more expensive to live in than New York, according to the EIU, which compiles its list from a survey of 160 products and services across 93 countries.

The Japanese port city of Osaka was another re-entry, moving up six spots to number five. Seoul (joint seventh place), Copenhagen (also seventh) and Tel Aviv (10th) round out the top 10 — which actually consists of 11 cities thanks to tied places.

"Weaker local currencies have pushed all five Australian and two New Zealand cities surveyed down in the ranking," the EIU said, accounting for Sydney's absence after it scraped into 10th position in last year's report.

Outside the top 10, the EIU said the cost of living in Chinese cities remains relatively stable, while Southeast Asian destinations were moving up the ranks.

One of the factors behind Asia's strong showing at the top of the table is that some Asian cities are among the world's priciest locations for general grocery shopping, according to the EIU.

But while parts of Asia remain the most expensive places on Earth, the continent also makes several appearances at the bottom of the list.

"Within Asia, the best value for money has traditionally been offered by South Asian cities, particularly those in India and Pakistan," the EIU said. "To an extent this remains true, and Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi and Karachi feature among the 10 cheapest locations surveyed."

Business Standard

Apple iPad Air, iPad Mini launched: Indian pricing, specifications, & more

Here are the specifications, features and Indian pricing of the Apple iPad Air (2019) and iPad Mini (2019).

Business Standard : Cupertino, US-based technology giant Apple on March 18 re-introduced the iPad Air (2019), after discontinuing it a few years ago when the company unveiled the iPad Pro. Along with the Air, the company also launched the iPad Mini (2019), bringing new features and upgrades to the most affordable iPad after a long time. Here are the specifications, features and Indian pricing of the newly launched models:

iPad Air and iPad Mini specifications

The 2019 iPad Air and iPad Mini are midrange devices powered by Apple’s flagship A12 Bionic chipset with neural engine. Except for display size and compatible accessories, both the iPads have similar specifications. The iPad Air boasts a 10.5-inch laminated IPS retina display, whereas, the iPad Mini has a 7.9-inch laminated IPS retina display.

Both these devices come in WiFi and WiFi + LTE variants, available in silver, space grey and gold colour options. They sport a fingerprint sensor (Touch ID), embedded under the home button on the front. Both these iPads come in two storage variants – 64GB and 256GB. While they both support Apple Pencil (first generation) and compatible Bluetooth keyboards, the iPad Air is also compatible with Apple Smart keyboard. Imaging is covered by an 8-megapixel lens of f/2.4 aperture on the back and a 7MP facetime HD camera on the front.

iPad Air and iPad Mini Indian pricing

The iPad Mini starts at Rs 34,900 for the WiFi model and Rs 45,900 for the WiFi + cellular model. Price of the iPad Air, on the other hand, starts at Rs 44,900 for the WiFi model and Rs 55,900 for the WiFi + cellular model. Though the new iPads are available for orders in select countries, it is expected to come to India soon and will be available through Apple authorised resellers and select carriers.

The Apple Pencil (1st generation) will be available for purchase separately for Rs 8,500. The Smart Keyboard for the 10.5-inch iPad Air will be available separately for Rs 3500 with layouts for over 30 languages, including simplified Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.

The polyurethane smart covers will be available for Rs 3,500 for iPad mini and Rs 3,700 for iPad Air in charcoal grey, white, pink sand and a new papaya, with additional leather smart covers available for iPad Air in black, saddle brown, midnight blue and red.

Spotify vs YouTube Music: Know the plans and features before you choose one

Spotify and YouTube Music recently debuted in India, bringing their huge pools of songs and playlists, along with customised local content for users in the country. Here is how the two compare.

If you are a music buff and stream your music over the internet, you would be familiar with Spotify and YouTube Music. Both these music streaming platforms debuted in India recently, bringing their huge pools of songs and playlists, along with their customised collections especially curated to suit the users in the country. Both over-the-top (OTT) audio platforms have a lot in store for everyone. Let’s take a look at what these music streaming services are offering and how they compare with each other:

Pricing

Spotify and YouTube Music, in their basic versions, offer free music streaming supported by advertisement. If you want to remove the ads, you will need to upgrade to their respective subscription-based premium editions. While Spotify provides an option to choose between monthly and yearly subscriptions, YouTube Music offers only a monthly subscription plan.

A Spotify premium subscription costs you Rs 119 for a month, or Rs 1,189 a year. Interestingly, Spotify also offers a one-time payment service, which is like a prepaid top-up plan, for those who do not wish to tie themselves to monthly or yearly subscriptions. These plans are available for Rs 13 a day, Rs 39 a week, Rs 129 a month, Rs 389 for three months, and Rs 719 for six months. A YouTube Music monthly subscription can be purchased for Rs 99.

As part of their introductory offers, Spotify and YouTube Music are, respectively, offering a month and three months of free subscription to the premium edition.

Cross-platform support

Not all users listen to music on their smartphones. They also stream music on laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, and even wearables. Therefore, it becomes imperative for new-age music streaming services to support a cross-platform functionality.

YouTube Music is available as an app on Google Android and Apple iOS devices, so it is compatible with most smartphones and tablets running on these two operating systems. However, there is no dedicated application for desktop, so if you wish to stream music on a laptop or desktop running on Microsoft Windows or Linux Ubuntu, you have to use a web-based client.

Spotify, on the other hand, supports all major platforms. Besides being available as an app on iOS and Android devices, Spotify also has a dedicated application for Windows-based machines, and supports multiple other clients – including PlayStation and Xbox.

Business Standard

Samsung Galaxy A50 review: Worthy mid-range phone competing with Poco F1

Priced at Rs 19,990 (4GB/64GB), the Samsung Galaxy A50 seems to be an identical twin of the Galaxy M30; albeit, with a reflective design, sleek operating system, an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Business Standard : Once a midrange series in the Samsung’s smartphones line-up, the Galaxy A-series has undergone a makeover in 2019 and the new range covers both budget and midrange phones. Leading the charge is Samsung Galaxy A50, which seems to have been built taking cues from the premium S-series and budget M-series.

The Galaxy A50 is Samsung’s first mid-range offering to boast an in-display fingerprint sensor and U-shaped notch screen. The phone also has a triple camera module and gradient reflective design on the back, making it a feature-rich proposition in the entry-level midrange segment.

Samsung Galaxy A50 key specifications:

Display: 6.4-inch super AMOLED of fullHD+ resolution

Rear camera: 25MP wide (f/1.7), 8MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) and 5MP depth lens

Front camera: 25MP of f/2.0

Processor: Exynos 9610

RAM and storage: 4GB/6GB and 64GB

Battery: 4,000 mAh

Design

Premium or budget, gradient reflective design is an emerging trend in smartphone space and the Galaxy A50 showcases its colour reflective properties. The black colour unit I have reviewed has a greyish back panel that reflects rainbow-like colours with a tinge of blue predominantly covering the entire space. In reality, the black colour model does not show any black colour properties. Even the chassis looks blue in colour, making one wonder why the phone colour is marked as black?

The phone has a slim profile with a power button and volume rocker keys on the right side, and dual SIM and microSD card slot on the left of the chassis. The top is left blank with a tiny opening for a secondary microphone. On the bottom, the phone has a 3.5mm audio port, USB type-C port for charging and transfers, primary microphone opening and five-hole speaker grille.

The phone’s front is dominated by a screen with a U-shaped notch on the top, accommodating the front camera. The phone’s earpiece is located in a thin space above the notch and chassis. Though the phone has a thin bezel around the screen, it has a large one at the bottom – something common in most notch screen smartphones.

NGT directs CPCB to prepare noise pollution maps within three months

The green panel said the absence of implementation of noise pollution norms affects the health of citizens, especially infants and senior citizens.

The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to prepare a noise pollution map and remedial action plan to solve the issue across the country.

The green panel said the absence of implementation of noise pollution norms affects health of citizens, especially infants and senior citizens.

(Business Standard)

It also affects sleep, comfort, studies and other legitimate activities, it said.

A bench headed by National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the CPCB to prepare the map, identify noise pollution hotspots and categorise cities with specified hotspots and propose a remedial action plan within three months

Noting that the CPCB has established a noise monitoring mechanism, which is functioning on a continuous basis, in seven cities, the NGT asked the board to consider setting up of such mechanisms in all cities where noise pollution is beyond permissible limits.

"The state pollution control boards may undertake noise level monitoring in conjunction with police and take remedial action.

"The police departments of all the states and Union territories may obtain the noise monitoring devices within a period of three months and specification of such devices may be finalised in consultation with the respective state pollution control boards," the green panel said.

The NGT said police may also train their staff regarding the use of such devices and develop a robust protocol for taking appropriate action against the defaulters.

"The CPCB may explore the possibility, in consultation with leading manufacturers of public address systems and other manufacturers of such instruments, to manufacture such equipments wherein the noise meters with data loggers are fitted therein so that as and when the prescribed parameters are violated, the same gets recorded and retrieved by the regulators for fixing the responsibility on the violators," it said.

Chief secretaries can finalise action plans in this regard within three months and submit the same to the CPCB, the NGT said.

The CPCB may also lay down the scale of compensation to be recovered, including conditions on which equipment seized is to be released within one month, it said.