Chevron, one of largest American multinational energy corporations, and two other major energy companies have joined Vakt, a United Kingdom-based blockchain platform for energy commodity trading. Reuters reported on the development on Jan. 16. Along with Chevron, Total, a leading French multinational integrated oil and gas company, and major Indian refiner Reliance Industries have become members of the Vakt platform. The article stresses that the agreement is […]

Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya can be extradited from the UK to India where he faces fraud charges, a London court has ruled. The extradition ruling will be passed to the Home Secretary for approval. Mr Mallya, whose business empire once included Kingfisher beer, left India in March 2016 after defaulting on debts of more […]

More than 50 people have been killed and 200 hurt after a train ran into a crowd near Amritsar in India’s northern Punjab state, police told the BBC. The victims were standing on the railway tracks watching celebrations for the Hindu festival of Dusshera, eyewitnesses told BBC Punjabi. They did not hear the train approach […]

The Reserve Bank of India has denied the creation of a new internal unit dedicated to cryptocurrency, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) research. In late August, India’s most-popular financial daily, the Economic Times, reported that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had formed a new unit for researching and even regulating disruptive technologies like blockchain. The unit […]

One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, Zebpay, is shutting down its exchange activities due to the crypto banking ban imposed by the country’s central bank. “At this point, we are unable to find a reasonable way to conduct the cryptocurrency exchange business,” Zebpay wrote. Zebpay Stops Exchange Activities Zebpay announced on Friday the […]

As mobile markets in developed world near saturation, Google rolls out Neighbourly, its first Indian-inspired social network To check Instagram at home, Laveena must stand on the edge of her terrace, arm outstretched, hoping the signal is strong enough for her phone to blink to life. A few times a day, she grudgingly shares her […]

In Kalady, where a video of plastic and debris being dumped back into the river from a bridge became viral on social media, the waste generated is overwhelming, says officials. The rains may have stopped, and the water levels are slowly receding from flood-hit areas of Kerala, but residents, and authorities have another uphill battle […]

In a historic decision, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that gay sex is no longer a criminal offence. The ruling overturns a 2013 judgement that upheld a colonial-era law, known as section 377, under which gay sex is categorised as an “unnatural offence”. The court has now ruled discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation […]

The government of the Telangana, a southern Indian state, is partnering with a major IT firm to establish a district exclusive to blockchain startups in the state’s capital city. The Telangana State Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Department (ITE&C) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with multinational IT services giant Tech Mahindra to establish […]

India’s Supreme Court has upheld the central bank’s directive of prohibiting banks from offering services to the domestic cryptocurrency sector following a hearing today. On Friday, India’s Supreme Court held its latest hearing of the case against the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) circularforbidding all regulated financial institutions, including banks, to provide services to business in […]