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Govt revamps incentives for autos to boost EVs, hydrogen fuel cells: Report

Auto parts makers, however, will get incentives to produce components for clean cars as well as for investing in safety-related parts and other advanced technologies like sensors and radars used in connected cars, automatic transmission, cruise control and other electronics, the sources said.

“The idea is to promote the development of technology that is currently not manufactured in India but is imported either because regulation demands it or customers want those features in their cars,” said the second source.

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Surging collision risks Satellite and Space Debris force insurers to exit satellite coverage market

Space coverage has been a lucrative niche for insurers, which took in $475 million in gross premiums to cover satellites, rockets and unmanned space flights last year and paid just $425 million in losses, according to Seradata.

Space premiums are 10-20 times aviation premiums, said Peter Elson, CEO of insurance broker Gallagher Aerospace.

Only 11 spacecraft have suffered a partial or total failure due to suspected debris strikes over the past decade, according to Seradata, making insurer worries largely theoretical for now.

Yet because insurers predict risks over the life of current and future policies, space underwriters fret over doomsday scenarios years ahead.

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Health Ministry partners with Google to enhance people’s access to COVID-19 vaccine

Starting this week, for over 13,000 locations across the country, people will be able to get more helpful information about vaccine availability and appointments — powered by real-time data from the CoWIN APIs (application programming interfaces). This includes information such as availability of appointment slots at each center, vaccines and doses offered (dose 1 or dose 2), expectations for pricing (paid or free) and the link to the CoWIN website for booking.

The above information will automatically show up when users search for vaccine centres near them, or in any specific area – across Google Search, Maps and Google Assistant.

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WhatsApp fined $266 mn by Irish regulator over data transparency breaches

Under the three-year-old GDPR law, authorities have powers to fine companies as much as 4% of their annual sales. The rules put watchdogs based in a company’s chosen EU hub in charge of supervising them. But the Irish regulator, which has at least 28 privacy probes open targeting tech giants such as Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, has faced mounting criticism for taking too long to wrap up its cases.

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India aims to open finance to millions with user-data system

Regulators agreed to allow banks, pension funds, tax authorities, insurers and other finance firms to pool together customer information — once the user consents — to make transactions smoother. If the system works, firms will be able access large amounts of data within seconds to assess the creditworthiness of a small business, recommend a wealth management product for an individual, or tailor an insurance policy for a family.

The Account Aggregator system, years in the planning, was formally introduced on Thursday. It’s an ambitious approach that combines privacy protection with credit reporting.

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Uber proposes industry-wide gig worker benefits model in Canada

Uber said it advocates for benefits funds everywhere, but added that labor laws, social safety nets and different cultures meant it would pursue a different approach in every country, with Monday’s proposal tailored to Canada.

Gig companies have long been criticized for the lack of benefits and protections they offer their independent contractor workers. Many labor unions, some lawmakers and the Biden administration have said gig workers should be reclassified as employees.

The companies have also faced several lawsuits in Canada and the United States alleging worker misclassification.

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Chinese regulators seek more control over internet firms’ algorithms

Under the draft regulations, companies must disclose the basic principles, purpose and operation mechanism of its algorithm recommendation services, and must include convenient options for users to turn off the recommendation service.

Algorithms should also not be used in ways that may cause addictive behaviors in users, or induce them to spend excessively. It was not immediately clear how that would be enforced.

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