The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked broadcasters in India to give their feedback on the need to allow consumers of the direct to home (DTH) systems to choose the channels of their choice. Acting on complaints about absence of this option currently, where the viewers are obliged to take a bundled bouquet, the regulator said that the system, which will be developed by a third party, will enable consumers to choose their channels easily. In line with this view, it has already created a ‘Channel Selection System API specifications’ document, which prescribes common APIs. “TRAI intends to mandate all the DPOs (Distribution Platform Operators) to compulsorily share information with the apps after authenticating the subscriber, so that such apps can help in easy selection of the required TV channels,” it said on August 9. It has also released a draft regulation to seek stakeholders’ views in this regard.

The move comes after the regulator felt that despite the implementation of the new regulations, the consumers are still not able to make “real choice of TV channels.” In an inspection, it noticed that several MSOs and DTH players were not providing adequate freedom and choice to consumers. The regulator says the draft regulation will be open for stakeholders’ comments up to August 22.

Google India has invited applications from Indian start-ups for the third batch of its Launchpad Accelerator India programme. The applications will be open for this week. Start-ups working in artificial intelligence and/or machine learning or seeking to address areas or issues specific to India can apply for this programme. The other requirement is that such start-ups should be based in India and should preferably have raised at least seed funding, it said.

The programme will start with a week-long bootcamp in Bengaluru in October. Each class will receive mentorship and support from Google in AI/ML, cloud, UX, Android, web, product strategy and marketing. Start-ups will also receive Google Cloud Credits between USD 20,000-100,000 each, a statement from Google said. “With over two decades of experience in building some of the world’s most-used technology products, Google is uniquely positioned to facilitate the Indian start-up ecosystem in building scalable and globally relevant solutions, and Launchpad Accelerator India is one of the key ways in which we drive this,” Paul Ravindranath, programme manager, Launchpad Accelerator India, said.

Restaurant technology company Dineout has announced acquisition of Binge Digital, a Delhi-based food tech firm that helps restaurants up-sell and increase ticket size with the help of analytics and video menus. Binge allows diners to access a restaurant’s menu in video format at the table itself, utilising diner’s data and patterns. The platform also provides in-depth information about the menu at restaurants in addition to restaurant discovery services. This is Dineout’s fourth acquisition after inResto, Gourmet Passport and Torqus.

“We are happy and excited to announce the acquisition of Binge Digital which through hits cutting edge technology will enable us to bolster our product portfolio, especially the newly launched digital menu product, Dine-In. “We will start offering this product eventually across all the cities we are present in over the next few months,” Ankit Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO, DineOut was quoted by a business daily.

ServiceNow, a US-based firm that provides digital work flow capabilities to businesses, has opened a new development centre in India. The centre in Hyderabad, employing 2,000 persons, would be the second largest location for the company that has 10,000 employees globally. “We are going to hire about 1,200 employees in the next 9-12 months. We are going to add two more floors at this facility,” Rao Surapaneni, vice-president of Engineering and Head (India Product Operations) of ServiceNow, was quoted by a business daily. The company kicked off its operations five years ago with two people. Addressing a press conference to mark the inauguration of the development centre, Rao said the firm had entered into an agreement with Telangana Academy of Skills and Knowledge (TASK), a skill development organisation set by the State Government to train engineering graduates in ServiceNow technologies. Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary (Information Technology and Industries, Govt of Telangana), said the government wanted the company to extend the association to 100 colleges from the present 20. “Graduates with ServiceNow certification are getting 20-25 pc more compensation than the regular graduates,” Rao Surapaneni said.

The development centre will house teams across various functions, including product engineering, application development, product operations and management, service engineering and customer support.“They leverage artificial intelligence technologies and build mobile experiences for our customers to unlock productivity for their employees and deliver great consumer experiences,” he said.

Chinese phone maker Oppo has said it will expand its smartphone manufacturing unit in India to double production capacity by 2020 and will use India as an export base for South Asia, West Asia and African countries. Oppo says it could eventually scale up the production capacity of the plant in Greater Noida, near New Delhi, to 100 million telephones a year. “Currently, we are producing 4 million smartphones a month and by the end of 2020, we will double our existing capacity. With the increased production and future export plans, we aim to achieve our dream of making India a global export hub for smartphone phones,” Oppo India vice president for product and marketing Sumit Walia said in a statement.

According to Counterpoint Research, Oppo smartphones are estimated to have around 8 pc market share in India. Oppo plans to export to South Asia, West Asia and Africa markets from the Greater Noida facility, spread across 110 acre, the company said in a statement.“To ensure quality, the campus has over 10,000 strong workforce engaged across manufacturing line, quality assurance and product testing. The manpower capacity is expected to cross 15,000 by 2020,” the statement said. Additionally, Oppo is planning to increase investment in the Hyderabad R&D centre, which is its largest outside China. The Hyderabad facility has played a crucial role in the development of Reno - Oppo’s recent flagship series which comes with 10 times zoom feature.