thenewsbit.com

Blog

  • AI talent and practical solutions are priorities for Indian IT firms

    AI talent and practical solutions are priorities for Indian IT firms

    Indian IT services firms are moving beyond AI hype to make it a core business strategy. While early initiatives often served as marketing optics, recent commentary reveals a marked shift toward tangible investments in AI talent, domain-specific solutions, and client-focused innovation. Generative AI, conversational AI, and productivity-focused solutions dominate today, especially in BFSI, healthcare, and retail, with agentic AI emerging as the next frontier.

    IT services giants like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro also made significant bets on AI in their Q4FY25 commentary, securing multiple deals in the space.

    Wipro CEO & MD Srini Pallia during the Q4 Earnings Conference Call, shared the company’s clients responded well to its consulting-led AI-powered industry and cross-industry solutions, reflected in the growth in top accounts and large deal bookings in FY25.

    In Q4, the company closed 17 large deals with a total value of $1.8 billion across markets and sectors, and 63 large deals for full FY25 at a value of $5.4 billion and a 17.5% growth YoY.

    “We are applying whatever GenAI benefits are relevant to our customers. In many cases, as customer budgets free up, we can use GenAI and get some additional work done for them. That could also offset some revenue drops. We continue to infuse GenAI into managed services, deals, and other opportunities with our existing clients, and leverage it to look at new revenue streams. So it is not just operating or developing better for clients using GenAI but also changing the game for them.”

    TCS CEO K Krithivasan also noted during the Q4 Earnings Conference Call that the company’s pipeline of AI, and GenAI engagement is higher than in the last few quarters, with a significant increase in deal wins across AI for IT and business.

    There is an increasing demand for GenAI use cases in contracts management, sales campaigns, content creation, customer servicing, and tech support among others. Alongside, the propensity to roll out more GenAI use cases to production is increasing, and the organizational barriers witnessed earlier are diminishing. He also pointed out the maturity in the request for GenAI pilots with a sharper focus on business outcomes rather than mere experimentation.

    “The AI push by Indian IT services firms is increasingly becoming a strategic pivot and not just a marketing play. While early efforts may have leaned more on narrative, we now see serious investments in AI talent, domain-focused solutions, and client-centric innovation. The shift is real—but uneven across the industry. The leaders are separating themselves by embedding AI into core service lines, not just front-end showcases,” Dikshant Dave, Co-founder & CEO, of Zigment AI, explained.

    While most firms continue relying heavily on third-party platforms or open-source LLMs, proprietary AI platforms are still nascent. However, some green shoots are emerging in sector-specific copilots, internal developer tools, and IP-led automation, all crucial for differentiation going forward.

    Global players like Accenture or IBM may have a longer legacy in AI R&D and industry-specific solutions, but Indian companies are catching up fast by leveraging their strong engineering base, cost advantage, and experience in managing scale, observed Jaspreet Bindra, the co-founder of AI&Beyond. This shift is aided by proactive investment in AI platforms, partnerships with hyperscalers, and GenAI integration into service offerings.

    “That said, most AI adoption by clients is still happening as part of broader digital transformation mandates rather than standalone AI engagements. Clients often look to Indian firms to modernise their tech stack, improve efficiencies, or build new digital experiences—with AI becoming a powerful enabler in that journey. Key challenges lie in operationalising AI at scale—ensuring model governance, data quality, ethical use, and measurable business outcomes. Indian IT firms must also build deeper domain-specific AI capabilities and IP to stay competitive,” Bindra noted. The Hindu BusinessLine

  • One-third reduction in US HHS spend is offered in the draft text

    One-third reduction in US HHS spend is offered in the draft text

    A draft budget proposal circulating among federal officials would dramatically deepen cuts at the nation’s top health agency, eliminating some public health programs entirely and serving as a roadmap for more mass firings.

    The document suggests a cut in the US Department of Health and Human Services’ discretionary spending by as much as one-third, or tens of billions of dollars, according to public health experts familiar with its contents.

    Though it’s preliminary, the draft gives an indication of the Trump administration’s priorities as it prepares its 2026 fiscal year budget proposal to Congress. It comes amid massive funding and job cuts already underway across much of the federal government.

    The HHS plan lays out a reorganization of its many agencies and offices and calls for eliminating or whittling away dozens of programs. Among them: Head Start, a development program for more than half a million of the country’s neediest children, as well as programs focused on teen pregnancy and family planning, Lyme disease, and global health.

    The National Institutes of Health — the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, and long called the government’s crown jewel – would see its budget shrink to $27.3 billion, from $48.5 billion. Beyond the monetary cuts is a proposed restructuring, reducing the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers to eight. Many institutes that specialize in distinct diseases — involving, for example, the heart and lungs, diabetes, and skeletal and skin conditions — would be combined.

    NIH-funded research has played a part in the development of most treatments approved in the US in recent years, and until recently, had strong bipartisan support. It’s not clear whether Congress would go along with the proposed changes. During the first Trump administration, Congress rejected a major cut to NIH’s budget.

    “I just have not heard anybody say, ‘We wish the government would spend less money trying to cure cancer or trying to deal with Alzheimer’s,’” said Jeremy Berg, a University of Pittsburgh professor and former director of an NIH institute.

    Yet that’s what the $20 billion budget cut will mean, he said, adding that restructuring will cost time and money, too.

    The budget of the Food and Drug Administration would be cut by nearly half a billion dollars, to $6.5 billion, in part by eliminating some longtime agency responsibilities and shifting them to states. For example, the FDA would no longer handle routine food inspections. It already contracts with state inspectors for some of that work and would now do so to cover “100 percent of all routine foods,” according to the document.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s core budget would be slashed to about $5 billion, from more than $9 billion, with a number of programs eliminated and some transferred into a proposed new agency to be called the Administration for a Healthy America.

    The cuts include the complete elimination of the agency’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which had 1,000 employees at the beginning of this year. That center houses CDC programs on adolescent health, reproductive health, cancer prevention, heart disease and stroke prevention, and smoking prevention, as well as nutrition, physical activity and obesity.

    The draft was not officially released or confirmed by the Trump administration, and it’s not clear what will make it into the final budget proposal. “But it’s an important indication about what the administration is thinking about,” said David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, an association that represents people running health department programs to track and prevent sexually transmitted infections. “We are taking it very seriously.”

    The proposal was first reported by The Washington Post. The Associated Press saw a copy of the 64-page document, dated April 10.

    The draft is the result of discussions between HHS and the White House Office of Management and Budget. It’s called a “passback” document — it’s what OMB passed back to HHS after both had input. The Associated Press

  • AR/VR gadgets are great, but platforms are where the true power lies

    AR/VR gadgets are great, but platforms are where the true power lies

    Exciting new Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) devices tend to steal the spotlight, but often the supporting platforms for those devices are of equal or greater importance; according to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, the competitive landscape for Extended Reality (XR) platforms will see shifts in major players, key partners, and enabling technologies over the next five years.

    “After a handful of stops and starts for the XR market over the past decade, there are a few key drivers that are accelerating growth today: major players are more established, the popularity of no-display smart glasses, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) broadly enabling new use cases while improving existing applications,” says Eric Abbruzzese, XR Markets and Technologies Research Director at ABI Research. “The XR platform, including hardware, software, and services, will grow and mature to support an expected increase of users and use cases across market segments.”

    XR devices, including AR smart glasses and VR headsets, are expected to grow over the next five years. ABI Research estimates more than 80 million shipments by 2030 across these categories. The newest device type included in this forecast is the “no-display smart glass”, often called AI glasses, thanks to its focus on enabling AI interaction; these devices are expected to grow at a 48% CAGR through 2030. Meta Ray Ban is the most well-known and successful product in this category today, though competitors are expected.

    “To support these devices, the enabling elements attached to them—be it operating systems, content stores, developer communities, or key technology components—will grow in kind,” Abbruzzese explains. Meta, Apple, and Google are positioned as technology incumbents, each with end-to-end platforms that include all these elements. They will work to strengthen XR as a standalone product within their portfolio and weave XR into other relevant offerings where possible. Others will operate as partners, such as Samsung as a hardware OEM, or Mediatek and Qualcomm as chipset partners, and combine for a cohesive XR offering.

    XR hardware, Operating Systems (OS), content, and development platforms are key segments where platform differentiation and advancement will be most impactful. “An open relationship between these segments across the entire XR ecosystem is critical. Siloed platforms will be increasingly difficult to scale successfully, with the market instead favoring cross-platform and hardware-agnostic approaches and open-source technologies and solutions when possible. This will force companies to deliver on a wider swath of product and portfolio elements so that partnerships will be key,” Abbruzzese concludes. ABI Research

  • LG Electronics India will launch its Rs 15,000 cr IPO in early May with a UDRHP

    LG Electronics India will launch its Rs 15,000 cr IPO in early May with a UDRHP

    LG Electronics India, the Indian arm of the South Korean major, is likely to file the updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) for its Rs 15,000 crore IPO with the market regulator Sebi early next month, according to sources.

    Following this, it is aiming to hit the Dalal Street later the same month.

    The sources also stated that Cho Joo-wan, chief executive of LG Electronics, would visit the country and attend the listing day event.

    In response to FE’s query, a spokesperson of the company said, “We do not comment on market speculation or rumours.”

    The company has already conducted roadshows to attract investors for the IPO. It had received Sebi’s approval for the IPO in March this year.

    The company would raise around Rs 15,000 crore through the IPO, which would be an offer for sale by its parent. LG Electronics will be offering a 15% stake in the Indian unit.

    Some experts have suggested that the company may raise money at a lower valuation, given the recent market volatility. However, it would become clear only once the UDRHP is filed.

    The IPO is expected to accelerate the company’s expansion into other countries in Asia and Africa, reducing its reliance on North America following the announcement of hefty tariffs on imports by the USA last week.

    In a recent speech, Cho said, “We want to be a national brand in India. We’ll turn the market’s potential into reality.”

    LG Electronics is also slated to break ground on its third consumer electronics plant in India at Sri City. It currently operates two manufacturing factories here- one in Noida and another in Maharashtra’s Ranjangaon.

    It is a significant player in the country’s consumer durables market and rivals brands like Samsung, Voltas and Whirlpool.

    According to market estimates, the company controls 33.5% of the washing machine market here, 28.7% of the refrigerator sector, 25.8% of the TV market, and 19.4% of the air conditioner market.

    In FY24, LG Electronics achieved its highest-ever revenue in India. The revenue from its Indian operations jumped 14.8% to $2.8 billion, according to the regulatory filings.

    Its net profit in India surged 43.4% year-on-year.

    LG is also planning to roll out an appliance rental service across the country. This service was piloted at its exclusive stores last year, mainly to target premium customers.

    “We plan to roll this out across our distribution network, which, we believe, will enable us to offer differentiated services, enhance consumer satisfaction and drive sales,” the company said in its DRHP. Financial Express

  • Musk & Modi explore future tech ties

    Musk & Modi explore future tech ties

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Elon Musk and talked about “various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington DC earlier this year,” he said in a post on X on Friday, without saying when the conversation took place.

    Modi said that they discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation. Reuters

  • Netflix offers trust with an upbeat revenue estimate

    Netflix offers trust with an upbeat revenue estimate

    Netflix executives on Thursday backed the company’s revenue outlook for the year and voiced confidence that the streaming service would weather any economic turbulence from President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff plans. Following an earnings report that topped analyst expectations, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the company had not seen any significant shifts in customer behavior, commentary that is likely to ease Wall Street concerns that Trump’s policies would prompt lately frugal consumers to reconsider spending on streaming services.

    Netflix shares rose 2.7% in after-hours trading. The stock has risen 9% so far this year, compared with a 10% slump in the broader S&P 500 index.

    With more than 300 million global customers, Netflix has continued to sign up subscribers in markets around the world as consumers flocked to its lower-priced, ad-supported tier since its launch in late 2022.

    Peters noted that the entertainment sector, and Netflix specifically, had proven resilient during previous downturns in the economy. “We really do expect the demand to remain strong,” he said.

    He added that the company’s lower-cost options also should help. The ad-supported tier accounted for 55% of new sign-ups in countries where it is available, the company has said.

    The streaming giant also said its co-founder, Reed Hastings, had left his post as executive chairman to become the board’s non-executive chair, “part of the natural evolution of our leadership structure and succession planning.”

    Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company remained focused “on the things we can control, and improving the value of Netflix is a big one.”

    “In difficult economies, home entertainment value is really important to consumer households,” Sarandos said, “and Netflix is a tremendous value in absolute terms and certainly in competitive terms.”

    The company projected its revenue would rise to $11.04 billion for April through June, above the analyst consensus of $10.90 billion.

    For the year, Netflix reaffirmed its forecast of revenue between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion, “which assumes healthy member growth, higher subscription pricing and a rough doubling of our ad revenue.”

    For the first quarter, Netflix reported revenue of $10.54 billion, edging past analysts’ estimates of $10.52 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

    Per-share earnings of $6.61 exceeded consensus estimates of $5.71. The company released hits such as the limited series “Adolescence”, drama thriller “Zero Day” and the unscripted series “Temptation Island” during the quarter.

    Netflix said revenue and operating income beat its own guidance “due to slightly higher subscription and ad revenue and the timing of expenses.” It said advertising revenue was “still very small relative to subscription revenue.”

    PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said he believed Netflix was in a strong position to handle a recession.

    “Netflix is an indispensable service in users’ lives. It will be the last subscription that users will cancel given the broad and breadth of programming,” Pescatore said. Reuters

  • Sparkle joins a €4M EU project to create seismic sensors out of underwater wires

    Sparkle joins a €4M EU project to create seismic sensors out of underwater wires

    The project explores how existing subsea cables could double as a global distributed sensing network for earthquakes and tsunamis.

    With over five billion kilometres of optical fibre already deployed worldwide—much of it in regions beyond the reach of traditional sensors—researchers see an opportunity to create large-scale sensing capabilities without requiring new infrastructure deployment.

    Backed by €4 million in EU funding, the ECSTATIC consortium consists of 14 academic and industrial partners working to develop interferometry and polarisation-based methodologies that could improve vibration and acoustic sensing through fibre-optic cables.

    The group’s approach aims to enhance sensitivity, detection range, and location accuracy while incorporating advanced data processing and AI and machine learning for real-time event monitoring.

    Testing is currently underway using the Tyrrhenian segment of Sparkle’s BlueMed subsea cable system between Genoa and Palermo, with data being stored at Sparkle’s Network Operation Centre in Catania.

    The trials will evaluate the technology’s potential for seismic early warning systems, predictive maintenance, and network integrity monitoring.

    “Our involvement in the ECSTATIC project is a clear example of Sparkle’s vision to push the boundaries of what digital networks can achieve,” commented Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle. “By using our existing global fibre infrastructure, we demonstrate how the telecommunication industry can play a critical role in seismic monitoring and network protection.”

    Sparkle’s participation builds on earlier experiments with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), with the pair agreeing last December to study if its subsea fibre optic cables can help detect seismic events. Capacity Media

  • Netflix’s quarterly results above Wall Street predicts, and its revenue view is upbeat

    Netflix’s quarterly results above Wall Street predicts, and its revenue view is upbeat

    Netflix executives on Thursday backed the company’s revenue outlook for the year and voiced confidence that the streaming service would weather any economic turbulence from President Donald Trump’s erratic tariff plans. Following an earnings report that topped analyst expectations, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said the company had not seen any significant shifts in customer behavior, commentary that is likely to ease Wall Street concerns that Trump’s policies would prompt lately frugal consumers to reconsider spending on streaming services.

    Netflix shares rose 2.7% in after-hours trading. The stock has risen 9% so far this year, compared with a 10% slump in the broader S&P 500 index (.SPX).

    With more than 300 million global customers, Netflix has continued to sign up subscribers in markets around the world as consumers flocked to its lower-priced, ad-supported tier since its launch in late 2022.

    Peters noted that the entertainment sector, and Netflix specifically, had proven resilient during previous downturns in the economy. “We really do expect the demand to remain strong,” he said.
    He added that the company’s lower-cost options also should help. The ad-supported tier accounted for 55% of new sign-ups in countries where it is available, the company has said.]

    The streaming giant also said its co-founder, Reed Hastings, had left his post as executive chairman to become the board’s non-executive chair, “part of the natural evolution of our leadership structure and succession planning.”

    Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company remained focused “on the things we can control, and improving the value of Netflix is a big one.”

    “In difficult economies, home entertainment value is really important to consumer households,” Sarandos said, “and Netflix is a tremendous value in absolute terms and certainly in competitive terms.”

    The company projected its revenue would rise to $11.04 billion for April through June, above the analyst consensus of $10.90 billion.

    For the year, Netflix reaffirmed its forecast of revenue between $43.5 billion and $44.5 billion, “which assumes healthy member growth, higher subscription pricing and a rough doubling of our ad revenue.”

    For the first quarter, Netflix reported revenue of $10.54 billion, edging past analysts’ estimates of $10.52 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

    Per-share earnings of $6.61 exceeded consensus estimates of $5.71. The company released hits such as the limited series “Adolescence”, drama thriller “Zero Day” and the unscripted series “Temptation Island” during the quarter.

    Netflix said revenue and operating income beat its own guidance “due to slightly higher subscription and ad revenue and the timing of expenses.” It said advertising revenue was “still very small relative to subscription revenue.”

    PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore said he believed Netflix was in a strong position to handle a recession.

    “Netflix is an indispensable service in users’ lives. It will be the last subscription that users will cancel given the broad and breadth of programming,” Pescatore said. Reuters

  • Delhi urges 110 hospitals to start the Ayushman Bharat initiative

    Delhi urges 110 hospitals to start the Ayushman Bharat initiative

    Days after signing the Memorandum of Association (MoU) with the Centre to roll out the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the city, the Health Department has directed more than 100 hospitals to implement the same at the earliest, official sources said.

    Officials said contract letters have been sent to these hospitals to enter into an agreement with the Delhi government with a direction to sign them as soon as possible.

    “The department has issued an advisory for the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana in 110 hospitals. As part of the initiative, a copy of the contract letter has been sent to these hospitals to enter into an agreement with the Delhi government,” an official said.

    Along with this, the guidelines for implementation have also been shared with all the associated hospitals, the official added.

    Officials said the hospitals have been asked to sign the agreement as soon as possible so that the beneficiaries of Ayushman Yojana do not face any problems in availing healthcare services.

    The BJP-led Delhi government inked an MoU with the Centre on April 5 to implement the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the city. With this, Delhi has become the 35th state/Union Territory to implement the health insurance scheme.

    The Ayushman Bharat scheme provides free and cashless treatment for 1,961 medical procedures across 27 specialties, covering the costs of medicines, diagnostic services, hospitalisation, ICU care, surgeries and more. Under the scheme, eligible families in Delhi will receive annual health coverage of up to Rs 10 lakh—Rs 5 lakh from the Centre and an additional Rs 5 lakh as a top-up from the Delhi government.

    The BJP, which formed the government in Delhi in Feb after more than 26 years, approved the implementation of the scheme at its first cabinet meeting held right after Gupta and six of her ministers took the oath of office on Feb 20. The New Indian Express

  • Russia permits medical facilities to give certain duties to paramedics in place of doctors

    Russia permits medical facilities to give certain duties to paramedics in place of doctors

    Russia’s Health Ministry has authorized hospitals and clinics to delegate some of the responsibilities of doctors to paramedics and midwives in response to a nationwide healthcare staffing crisis, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday.

    According to the ministry, Russia faced a shortfall of 23,200 doctors and 63,000 other medical professionals in 2023.

    Under new regulations published on Monday, chief medical officers will be allowed to assign primary and emergency care responsibilities to paramedics and midwives “in case of understaffing or insufficient staffing.”

    Once reassigned, these mid-level personnel will be permitted to deliver babies, prescribe medications and provide direct medical care typically handled by physicians.

    Dmitry Sukhikh, head of the Kulakov National Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology in Moscow, said more than 3,600 obstetrician-gynecologist and over 1,730 neonatologist positions in Russia went unfilled last year.

    The updated regulations will take effect on Sept. 1, replacing similar rules from 2012. However, the move could place even greater pressure on an already strained workforce.

    Adding new responsibilities to ambulance crews will likely increase their already “extreme” workload, said Dmitry Belyakov, who heads a union of paramedics. The Moscow Times