The Chinse application TikTok was a very popular short-video app that was banned by India in 2020. Many switched to Josh which has 20 million followers. Verse Innovation owns DailyHunt and Josh. Short-videos help many artists to get work. Josh appeared in India in 2020 August. Then the content was curated. These days there is user-generated content. It seeks engagement and scale.

India has remained a video-first market. Increasingly, it is a short-form-video-first market. Reels is the video application of Facebook. It has 300 million monthly active users. Short video is becoming the YouTube of the internet. Much transformation that the new apps of short video go through are what YouTube experienced after it appeared in 2008. YouTube, in fact, remained, the default entry point of anyone who wanted to experience the internet for the first time.

The RBI proposes to introduce its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in FY 22-23 in a phased manner. To begin with, it will be introduced for use by wholesale business, and will be available for use by retail sector after thorough scrutiny. The currency will be designed in such a way that it does not remain anonymous.

India made its own intent of having CBDC clear in the Budget proposals of 2022. It is going to give a big boost to digital economy. Though CBDC is a digital or virtual currency, it is different from private cryptocurrency since it is backed by and issued by a sovereign state. Private virtual currencies do not represent any person’s debt or liabilities, as those have no issuer.

India’s virtual currency, a Digital Rupee, may use blockchain and other technologies. The RBI Act has been amended to facilitate this introduction.

Financial Stability Board (FSB), Basel with members of some of the world’s biggest economies including India is coming up with draft global cryptocurrency regulation. This could be adopted by all members.

Proteins are the building blocks of the body. The structure of the body cells is made up by collagen, a protein. The antibodies, the protective immune force in the body, are proteins. Haemoglobin, the transport mechanism, that reaches oxygen to the body tissues, is a protein. Hormones secreted directly in the body and enzymes, which are bio-catalysts are proteins. Proteins enable the muscles to contract and move. Proteins are vital nutrients which must be consumed in adequate quantities everyday to maintain a healthy life.

DeepMind, an AI subsidiary of Google, published in July, 2022 a free online database of the structures of more than 200 million proteins known to mankind. It developed AlphaFold, an AI that forecasts the likely shapes of proteins. It is not sufficient to know which amino acids make up a protein. It is more important to know how these string together and in what sequence. That decides how the protein would work.

DNA codes specific protein inside the cell. In Covishield Vaccine for Covid19, DNA was sent in a viral body to trigger the reaction of producing antibodies which protect against the alien presence. DNA produces mRNA, a messenger ribonucleic acid to instruct cells to produce the spike protein. As mRNA is less stable, it requires storage at ultra-low temperatures.

Protein database over which Google has created no IPR provides research opportunities to biosciences, chemistry and computer scientists to produce medicines and drugs for healthcare.

The shapes of proteins provide us an understanding of how a parasite works or how a pathogen produces diseases. We can then produce protein which will counter these.

India has got a pool of talented manpower in biotechnology. Even those Indians working abroad can come back and can opt for work in this field. ISER offers interdisciplinary courses courses in chemistry and biosciences. India has the highest pool of trainable young people.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) demands for convergence of various digital services. It should cover telecom connectivity, broadcasting of content and over-the-top (OTT) communication services. All these services could be provided by any technology or network (terrestrial or non-terrestrial) including a satellite-based communication network.

The stated lines between broadcasting and telecom networks are fast disappearing with digital technologies. The platforms are complementing each other. The consumers demand the same content experience (OTT and linear) across all screens — TV, smartphone and PC. They look for bundled services. A single broadband platform can offer voice, data and video services.

The convergence is further increasing because of edge computing, cloud based services and use of AI and Big Data.

This is an opportune time for a comprehensive legal framework which will facilitate the development new technologies.

To tackle misinformation in advertising, we have in India at present two independent bodies — ASCI and the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). According to Section 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, CCPA has the powers to stop false or misleading ads or ads prejudicial to the interest of consumer. It can impose a fine up to Rs.20 lac, along with imprisonment for up to two years on the producers or endorsers. For repeat offences this fine may go up to Rs.50 lac and additional imprisonment up to 5 years.

CCPA is thus focused on misleading ads. ASCI code is more broad-based. It covers three more areas of inappropriate misrepresentation including indecent or offensive, unsafe and harmful products or situations, and unfair competition in advertising.

Blind can enjoy a dignified and independent life with help of an AI-powered assistive device. Dr. Shroff Charity Eye, Vision-Aid and SHG technologies, a Bangalore-based start up have developed the Smart Vision Glasses in collaboration with Vision Aid. Several visually-impaired people have benefited from this device. The device helps then to read non-braille coded books. They can identify objects around them and can detect obstacles. Such glasses made in the USA and Europe are expensive, say Rs.4 lac for a pair. It is unaffordable to many here in India.

Along with the Smart Vision Glasses, there is a Smart Earpiece that reads and understands and tells the same to the blind.

The device provides walking assistance and face recognition.

The institute also makes available smartphones to deserving candidates with vision impairment. The phones have assistive features. They can make them navigate and enable them to make payments.

In the sixties, vanaspati ghee was commonly used as cooking medium in India. Since the 1990s, it was observed that trans-fats had adverse health effects, and that partial hydrogenation process used to make vanaspati ghee with nickel as a catalyst produces trans-fats in abundance. Slowly, vanaspati ghee lost favour. In India, Dalda from Unilever was a popular brand of vanaspati ghee. In the beginning, it was promoted as the medium that is ‘mamta ki kasauti par khara’ or one that passes a mother’s careful scrutiny. Dalda was later sold to Bunge by Unilever. Bunge was a commodity trading giant. Abroad, margarine was used as a butter substitute. Even that was trans-fats.

Of late, instead of hydrogenation, a process that is used to solidify fat is inter-esterification. It reconfigures fat molecules through enzymes and makes trans-fat free vanaspati. Dalda is now made using this technology on a base of palm and sesame oil.

It is not correct to categorise the market as good and bad fats. Different fats have different properties. They are considered on the basis of cost, health effects, taste, tradition, ease of cooking and environmental considerations.

Vanaspati may not be available in supermarkets but it is still sold in wholesale markets and low-end grocery or kirana shops.

Moonlighting refers to the practice of pursuing more than one job. Of late, there is higher demand for skills and talents. Moonlighting enables you to avail of these opportunities to make extra money. Many IT sectors jobs can be performed from home. It provides favourable circumstances to do moonlighting. Moonlighting receives a boost by leveraging the network of contacts. Mostly freshers do not do moonlightig. More than 80 per cent moonlighting happens within an experience range of 4-8 years.

Indian top management or C-suite is divided on its opinion about moonlighting — some call it plain cheating where as some see as the change in policy in future. Some call it as short term gains for the employees, who lose out in the long term. Those who are receptive to it also expect the employees to be open about it, and declare the moonlighting assignment to the existing employer.

It is not possible to keep moonlighting secret. It could be seen from multiple provident accounts and background checks being done by third party vendors. Some companies sack the moonlighters. Some blacklist them.

Employees feel that as long as they discharge their duties effectively, the employers should be liberal about such practices.

At the macro-level, there is demand-supply mismatch. Besides, entry-level salaries have remained poor. The growth in salaries too has not kept pace with the expectations. There is a high demand for digital skills. It is necessary to reconsider the policy in this light. Organisations must become flexible. There should be conditions — no conflict of interest, no breach of confidentiality, respecting IP and ensuring productivity. The government too can change the labour laws to accommodate such employees.

Salesforce is a popular CRM tool for customer, sales and marketing support to sales and marketing teams worldwide. Its software is CRM — customer relationship is management. Salesforce is a US-based company headquartered in San Francisco, California. The software is called Salesforce Sales Cloud.

There are apps focusing on sales, customer service, marketing, automation and analytics. It is a platform to develop your own apps. It is easy to learn, though it is extensive. It is a low-code or no-code app.

The company was set up in 1999, some 23 years ago. They provide services in cloud computing. It was funded by former Oracle executive.

There are subsidiaries such as MuleSoft, Tableau, Slack, Quip and Acumen Solutions.

It takes 6 weeks to get certified. Its online learning platform is Trailhead launched in 2014. It launched an AI platform in 2016. It is called Einstein.

Though its main technologies are for customer management, its other products facilitate app building, integration with other systems and offer training modules.

There are three different pricing plans.

Salesforce SQL is also called Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL). It can be used to search organisation’s Salesforce data for some specific information. SQL and SOQL allow you to specify a source by using SELECT statement.

To build a career in cloud computing, there should be a career plan consisting of several steps.

First of all, it is necessary to master some basic coding skills, say in Python. Secondly, one must learn the fundamentals of the working of internet. What happens when we type a URL in a browser? One must know about TCP, HTTPS etc. One must know how the DNS works. There should be working knowledge of databases both relational and non-relational. Thirdly, one must understand the cloud path. Several options are available — application developer, architect, data engineer, ML engineer, DevOps engineer, security, network engineer. You can choose the path you are inclined for. If there is no previous background, one can choose cloud architecture at the Associate level. Later, a specialisation can be chosen. Fourthly, opt for certification. Lastly, build a cloud portfolio of projects. You can create a project’s repo on GitHub. You can write a blog. You can share it with your network.