Over the last year, the pandemic has unleashed the true power of science and technology, pharma, biotechnology and research. The stage has been set for innovative breakthroughs in the domains. For India, Covid is a crisis turned into an opportunity. “With concerted efforts, a huge community of entrepreneurs has come forward to create kits, face … Read more
The UK government has announced the launch of a new research agency, which will pursue areas of science and technology with the potential to generate ground-breaking discoveries and transformative technology in the long term. Plans for a research agency dedicated to this type of research were first announced in 2019. The agency is inspired by … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unveiled an ambitious space programme for the country over the next decade, which includes developing satellite systems and sending a Turkish astronaut on a space mission. The programme is ambitious in its timescale, with Erdogan aiming to establish “first contact with the Moon” in 2023 (‘The Moon Programme’), marking … Read more
Experts at the United Nations have accused North Korea of modernising its nuclear weapons by flouting UN sanctions, using cyberattacks to help finance its programmes, and continuing to seek material and technology overseas for its arsenal. The panel of experts monitoring sanctions on the north-east Asian nation say in a report sent to UN Security … Read more
Infrastructure development, education and transport are among the highlights of the Union Budget 2021-22. Union Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the National Infrastructure Pipeline in December 2019. This first-of-its-kind, whole-of-government exercise undertaken by Government of India was launched with 6,835 projects. The project pipeline has now expanded to 7,400 projects. Around 217 projects … Read more
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has published a report advising the government to develop a new strategy for implementing new technologies, with consideration for security and competition. Last year, the government performed a U-turn and blocked network operators from using Huawei equipment in any part of their 5G infrastructure. The government said … Read more
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the Union Budget 2021-22 in Parliament on 1 February. Here are some highlights. Sitharaman described this as a digital Budget. There has been a manifold increase in digital payments in the recent past. To give a further boost to digital transactions, a sum of Rs 1,500 crore (15bn rupees, … Read more
The EU Commission has outlined its long-awaited plans to overhaul ageing regulations for digital companies. Under the sweeping plans, the largest tech companies could face hefty fines and the threat of being broken up. The Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act will update the 20-year-old e-Commerce Directive, which regulates digital services in the EU. … Read more
The UK government has announced that UK mobile operators must stop installing new Huawei 5G equipment after September next year, following its decision to impose stricter restrictions on “high risk” vendors. In July, the Government announced that – despite previously permitting Huawei a limited role providing equipment for the non-core parts of the UK’s 5G network – … Read more
The US Justice Department has initiated legal proceedings against Google, alleging that the company has abused its market dominance in online search and advertising. The case has been filed in federal court in Washington DC. It alleges that the trillion-dollar search giant uses billions of dollars raised from advertisers to pay Apple, Samsung, and other … Read more