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Smartphones have changed how we connect, work, and entertain ourselves, but they might also be silently reshaping our closest relationships. A recent study titled ‘Impact of Smartphones on Parent-Child Relationships’ sheds light on a growing concern: the excessive use of smartphones is creating barriers between parents and children in India. The sixth edition of the vivo Switch Off survey, conducted in collaboration with CyberMedia Research (CMR), highlights how technology, while indispensable, has become a source of conflict in family dynamics. The findings are a stark reminder of the need for balance in a world increasingly dominated by screens. <h2>Children are more aware of smartphone impact </h2> One surprising revelation from the study is that children appear more aware of the negative impact of <keyword id="24400365" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="excessive-smartphone-use" source="keywords">excessive smartphone use</keyword> than their parents. About 69% of children acknowledged that smartphone overuse has led to conflicts with their parents, and an overwhelming 94% suggested that their ideal phone for parents should focus on basic features like calling, messaging, and a camera—stripping away apps for entertainment, gaming, or social media. Children also demonstrated a desire for collective change: 66% said they would give up social media if their peers did the same, while over 90% wished that some popular social media platforms had never been created. <h2>Parents spend more time on their phones than children </h2> While 75% of parents worry about their children’s ability to build meaningful relationships, the irony is evident. Many parents overlook how their own smartphone habits are affecting their bond with their kids. On average, parents spend more than five hours daily on their phones, compared to four hours for children. A striking 73% of parents admit that their device use has caused friction at home. Even during significant moments like family vacations or celebrations, both groups confess to using their phones, underscoring how deeply ingrained this habit has become. <h2>Yearning for stronger bonds </h2> Despite the challenges, there’s a shared longing for deeper connections. About 76% of children and 84% of parents expressed a wish to strengthen their relationships through meaningful family time, free from digital distractions. Both groups are exploring solutions such as creating “phone-free” zones at home and setting mutual screen-time limits. One-third of children believe the world would be better off without certain apps, reflecting their frustration with the digital environment they’ve grown up in. Yet, they also see hope in collective action—if their families and friends embrace healthier smartphone habits, they’re ready to follow suit. <h2>Expert opinion </h2> Highlighting the issue, Riddhi Doshi Patel, a child psychologist and parenting counsellor, noted, “Excessive smartphone use is silently eroding emotional bonds between parents and children. Campaigns promoting mindful tech use aren’t just helpful; they’re transformative. They can foster genuine connection and create homes where relationships flourish beyond screens.” To address these challenges, vivo has collaborated with experts like Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up with Your Phone, and Riddhi Doshi Patel to offer practical advice. Their guidance includes actionable steps like setting screen-time boundaries, creating phone-free zones, and prioritising face-to-face interactions. What are your thoughts on this growing issue? Can families bridge the digital divide, or is it a price we’ll continue to pay for staying connected?

Parents spend more time on their smartphones than children and this might be straining relationships, new study suggests

The long-promised <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/club-penguin-died-disney-and-money-destroyed-a-community-2020-1">digital apocalypse</a> has finally arrived, and it was heralded by a blog post.Published on July 18, the post's headline sounded pretty arcane. "Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available," it declared. I know, I know — not exactly an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-cybertruck-apocalypse-inequality-2023-12">attack of alien zombies</a> from the death dimension. But the news nevertheless freaked me out. It means another swath of the web is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-childhood-internet-gone-club-penguin-neopets-webkinz-nostalgia-2024-8">about to disappear</a>.Here's the gist: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-google-killed-google-reader-2013-6">Google used to have an online service</a> that generated pithy, user-friendly versions of long, commercially unwieldy uniform resource locators — the key addresses that identify everything on the web. Shorter URLs are easier to track and better for online commerce. Google stopped shortening addresses back in 2019, but the concise URLs it had already created kept right on doing their job. Click on one and it would take you to the right webpage, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-internet-works-infrastructure-photos-2018-5#in-the-most-basic-sense-the-internets-job-is-to-carry-information-from-point-a-to-point-b-1">the way it's supposed to</a>.No more. In the <a target="_blank" href="https://developers.googleblog.com/en/google-url-shortener-links-will-no-longer-be-available/">blog post</a>, Google announced that as of next year, all of the existing shortened URLs are getting turned off. Poof. And on the web, if your URL doesn't work, you might as well not exist. You are unreachable. Without laborious renaming, everything behind those links — billions of them, a decade of digital content — will become inaccessible. Gone. Ask not for whom the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/what-is-a-404-error">404 message</a> tolls.Now, rendering a bunch of web content invisible isn't the end of days. Not by itself. The problem is, this kind of thing keeps happening. And it's getting worse. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-dead-instagram-tiktok-bereal-replaced-group-chats-messaging-2023-8">Social networks</a> go bankrupt. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-most-trusted-news-source-online-comment-sections-google-2024-6">Digital journalism sites</a> close up shop. Companies pull their online products. Links rot. Files get not found. The cloud, as wags have noted, is really just "someone else's computers." And when clouds get turned off, not even the silver lining is left to tell the tale.Maybe none of this matters much right now. But it will. The internet has become the default archive of our history and culture. And the whole thing is burning down before our eyes, like the Library of Alexandria — only worse. For the first time since people started carving letters into rocks, we're making a time with no history. We're about to enter the Digital Dark Ages.Attempts to quantify the scope of the problem are heartbreaking. <a target="_blank" href="https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/vol-127/perma-scoping-and-addressing-the-problem-of-link-and-reference-rot-in-legal-citations/">Half of links in US Supreme Court decisions</a> no longer lead to the information being cited. A report in 2021 found that <a target="_blank" href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3833133">a full quarter of the more than 2.2 million hyperlinks</a> on The New York Times website were broken. Even worse, the Pew Research Center estimates that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/">a quarter of everything put on the web</a> from 2013 to 2023 is inaccessible — meaning almost 40% of the web as it existed in 2013 is simply not there today, a decade later.The degradation of those links wouldn't panic me so much if they hadn't replaced what came before them — if museum storerooms and dusty library stacks still served as the warehouses of our collective memory. It's not that I miss the days of wrangling with old newspapers preserved on microfiche, or trying to sweet-talk a librarian into an international interlibrary loan. I'm glad lots of old movies are streaming and many out-of-print books are only a few clicks away. But archives and databases are more than places to keep old stuff; what we save defines who we are. Today, so much of everything is only digital that when it disappears, it leaves a hole in our shared culture.Gawker is gone. So is the archive of The Awl, the beloved culture-criticism site. You can go to a library and read the entire output of long-dead newspapers like the Los Angeles Herald Examiner or New York Newsday, but God help you if you want to read old Vice articles. Shenanigans over the ownership of what used to be Paramount have resulted in the deletion of decades' worth of shows on MTV and Comedy Central.The <a target="_blank" href="https://slate.com/technology/2024/08/david-zaslav-warner-bros-discovery-culture-deleting-movies-tv-shows.html">Cartoon Network archive</a> is gone. So are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/12/11/these-crusaders-want-preserve-human-culture-online-their-latest-target-yahoo-groups/">Yahoo Groups</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://cinema.usc.edu/spectator/43.1/01_Rudenshiold.pdf">Yahoo Answers</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.engadget.com/imgur-to-ban-explicit-images-and-delete-uploads-not-tied-to-an-account-122537118.html">big chunks of the Imgur photo service</a>, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/12/dear-tumblr-banning-adult-content-wont-make-your-site-better-it-will-harm-sex">spicy parts of Tumblr</a> that got zapped in a porn purge, everything that ever happened on Friendster and the other pre-Facebook social networks, Club Penguin, Neopets, Geocities, AOL, and Prodigy. Vast swaths of video games made for obsolete systems are unplayable memories.Hard drives have a finite lifespan, and the ones the <a target="_blank" href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/09/music-industrys-1990s-hard-drives-like-all-hdds-are-dying/">music industry used for storage</a> in the 1990s ahead of the transition to digital are crumbling. The Department of Veterans Affairs is legally required to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oracle-cerner-health-larry-ellison-28-billion-deadly-gamble-veterans-2024-5">preserve all medical records</a> for 75 years after the death of a vet — but it's having problems, in part because of a balky digital records system. And that's not to mention things like personal photographs, most of which now exist only on your phone, and nowhere else. Every email you sent or received in your last job, or anything a deceased relative had on their now-unusable computer? These are the things that make us us. Yet <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/search-web-email-google-streaming-online-shopping-broken-2022-4">I dare you to find them</a>.There are always brave souls out there who try to rescue scrolls from a burning library. But it's hard to rescue something that exists only in the ether. "If a library burns down, it's a tragedy, but most of the books survive elsewhere," says Mark Graham, a leading internet archivist. "But the digital world is inherently fragile and potentially ephemeral."Graham is director of the Wayback Machine, a decades-old project that seeks to collect and save digital copies of web pages, for posterity. Gawker? Yeah, they got most of it. And that Pew study I mentioned, which showed that more than a third of the recent internet had vanished? "When we redid their study using their data, we found that about two-thirds of that material was safely stored on the Wayback Machine," Graham says. "So really only a ninth is gone." The Wayback Machine automatically archives more than a billion URLs every day. It also performs constant maintenance on the hundreds of millions of links across all 320 language editions of Wikipedia, which are atrophying at a rate of 10,000 URLs a day. Most recently, Graham worked on preserving 5,000 videos from a YouTube channel run by Rohingya activists, whose people were subjected to genocide in 2017. "They asked us to archive it because YouTube regularly deletes videos from their platform," Graham says. "They don't even leave metadata up, so you don't know what was deleted." He says he got all of the videos except one, which was age-restricted.Usually, the Wayback Machine's biggest obstacle is paywalls. Most of the articles in the world's scientific journals, for example, are widely available to anyone with a university affiliation. But the articles are prohibitively expensive for the rest of us — even if our tax dollars paid for the research they describe. An archive isn't really an archive if no one can afford the entry fee.But now there's a new threat to archiving our lives: artificial intelligence. When websites don't want to let AI slurp up their content, they block a certain kind of digital crawler-bot — the same species of critter the Wayback Machine uses. "That's happened almost overnight," Graham says. AI, with its insatiable hunger for training data, can't access the sites. But neither can the preservationists. In the wake of artificial intelligence, more intelligence is going to vanish.Let's be clear: This is about more than just losing a few <a target="_blank" href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/07/to-preserve-their-work-and-drafts-of-history-journalists-take-archiving-into-their-own-hands/">news articles</a> or clips from your favorite Adult Swim cartoon. What <a target="_blank" href="http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/71216">an archive</a> is able to save, down to what formats fit in its file cabinets or data banks, literally determines what gets remembered. If you preserve, say, bank records from the 18th century but not sewing patterns, your annals are going to leave out a lot of people. Similarly, if your digital archive retains only the records of profitable businesses — because the ones that go bust wind up nuking their servers — you lose the memory of everything those deceased companies labored for. And what gets remembered about the past determines what we're able to do in the present. "Society is memory," says Marlene Manoff, who served as a senior collection strategist at MIT Libraries. "When you lose that memory, what does that mean?"Unreadable hard drives and vanishing links aren't the only threats to the historical record. Consider the selfie. Fifteen years ago, a researcher from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography named Loren McClenachan wanted to know whether commercial overfishing and environmental changes were making fish smaller. So she looked at five decades' worth of <a target="_blank" href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01152.x">pictures of winning sportfishing catches</a> off Key West, Florida. The fishing boat company that ran the competitions, it turned out, had kept all the physical photographs, most of which had the date handwritten on the back.Armed with those artifacts, McClenachan was able to show that over the prior half-century, the sizes of prize-winning catches had declined by more than 50%. None of that data would have been available if all the fishers had kept the records of their catches on their phones. Instead we'd be subject to what's known as "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/subtle-weather-shifts-might-make-climate-change-hard-to-see/">shifting baseline syndrome</a>" — the common assumption that whatever's normal today was the norm in the past, too.As the internet vanishes and we store our lives on our devices, we're actively choosing to punch huge gaps in our historical record. It's self-inflicted cultural amnesia, made worse by the fact that most of the web is in the hands of large corporations that place little value on preservation. "Over the long term, you can't preserve a digital object in its original form," says Manoff, the former MIT librarian. "But in the case of corporate ownership, the likelihood of responsible long-term stewardship of digital content in any form becomes increasingly unlikely."The Dark Ages, as historians used to call the early centuries of medieval Europe, lasted for 500 years. Our digital version may never end. A postliterate society leaves exactly as much of a mark on the world as a preliterate one. Which is to say, not much of a mark at all.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/adam-rogers">Adam Rogers</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider.

We're about to enter the Digital Dark Ages

<keyword id="19897919" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-media" source="keywords">Social media</keyword> platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook have established safeguards to combat <keyword id="23571068" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bot-accounts" source="keywords">bot accounts</keyword>, including policies and technical mechanisms. However, the effectiveness of these measures is increasingly being questioned as AI-driven bots evolve and find ways to bypass restrictions. <h2>AI bot evolution</h2>While <keyword id="21559036" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="AI-bots" source="keywords">AI bots</keyword> can serve legitimate purposes like marketing and customer service, some are designed to manipulate public discussions, incite hate speech, and spread <keyword id="19933162" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="misinformation" source="keywords">misinformation</keyword>. Research from the University of Notre Dame investigated the bot policies of platforms like LinkedIn, <keyword id="19932634" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tiktok" source="keywords">TikTok</keyword>, and X, testing how well these platforms enforced their rules. The findings were troubling. "Despite what their policy says or the technical bot mechanisms they have, it was very easy to get a bot up and working on X. They aren't effectively enforcing their policies," said Paul Brenner, a Director at Notre Dame. Even interns, who had only a high school-level education and minimal training, were able to launch the test bots using technology that is readily available to the public, Brenner explained. Their bots were created using commonly-available AI tools such as <keyword id="19918823" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OpenAI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="OpenAI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="OpenAI">OpenAI</keyword>'s GPT-4o and DALL-E 3, and the tests were run on LinkedIn, Mastodon, Reddit, TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114283439" title="Security threats to AI models are giving rise to a new crop of startups" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>As per the tests, none of these platforms had sufficient safeguards to keep the bots out. Researchers successfully published benign test posts from bots across all platforms, with X and Reddit posing minimal challenges. While <keyword id="19911549" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meta" source="keywords">Meta</keyword> platforms proved somewhat more challenging due to stronger enforcement mechanisms, they ultimately could still be bypassed — even by relatively inexperienced folk. <h2>Why does it matter?</h2>In India — and the rest of the world, for that matter — the rise of AI-driven bots has significant implications for public discourse, particularly in the political arena. Research has indicated that a substantial portion of misinformation circulating during electoral periods can often be traced back to automated accounts. Many experts emphasise that the pervasive influence of these accounts can negatively shape public perception and discussion, and is often used to target certain sensitive groups and stoke communal tension. As platforms struggle to keep pace with the evolving tactics of malicious bots, the need for stronger regulations becomes increasingly evident. Considering that AI is evolving at a rapid pace that makes it supremely difficult to tell bots apart from real human accounts — even for the tech-savvy — Brenner argues for US legislation that mandates platforms to identify human versus bot accounts. Similar measures are needed in India, where the lack of accountability for social media platforms allows harmful bot activity to proliferate. <h2>What needs to be done?</h2>Addressing the bot problem requires a multitude of different solutions. For starters, enhanced technology, such as more sophisticated AI detection systems, could help platforms identify and mitigate bot activity more effectively. Recent advancements in machine learning are paving the way for tools that can better analyse user behavior and detect anomalies that indicate bot activity. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114250696" title="AI labs are fragmenting because of ego clashes and commercial pressures. It&amp;#39;s about to drive a wave of new startups." mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>However, it is almost just as necessary to educate users about identifying bots and understanding online discourse. To platforms can implement user-friendly tools that highlight potentially automated accounts, empowering users to make more informed decisions about whom to engage with. Legislation could also play a pivotal role in shaping how social media platforms handle bot accounts. By requiring transparency about bot activity and holding companies accountable for enforcement, policymakers can create an environment where genuine discourse thrives and misinformation is curtailed. In India, the proposed <keyword id="19955205" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-India-Act" source="keywords">Digital India Act</keyword> could be an avenue for strengthening regulations around <keyword id="19979951" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-platforms" source="keywords">digital platforms</keyword> and enhancing user safety. While platforms like X and Facebook have made strides in developing detection methods, the sophistication of AI-driven bots continues to outpace current safeguards. This situation requires urgent attention from both tech companies and policymakers to ensure a safer social media environment. The findings of this research has been published on a pre-print server and can be accessed <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.18931">here</a>.

Even high school interns were able to use common AI tools to bypass security and launch bots on X, Facebook and other social media: report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Salesforce has expanded its AI tools with Agentforce, a platform to help users automate tasks.</li><li>Agentforce uses generative-AI models that build on Salesforce's existing products.</li></ul>For "CXO AI Playbook," Business Insider takes a look at mini case studies about AI adoption across industries, company sizes, and technology DNA. We've asked each of the featured companies to tell us about the problems they're trying to solve with AI, who's making these decisions internally, and their vision for using AI in the future.Salesforce is best known for its customer-relations-management software, which it says is used by over 150,000 companies, including Amazon and Walmart. It also owns Slack, a popular communication platform.The company is expanding the availability and capabilities of its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-ceo-marc-benioff-says-new-focus-on-ai-agents-2024-9">AI agents with Agentforce</a>, a platform that helps Salesforce clients build and deploy agents to automate tasks such as generating written reports from sales data and creating summaries of conversations in Slack.<h2 id="68b90c5d-18fe-403b-bd1d-9eb93eab0695">Situation analysis: What problem were they trying to solve?</h2>AI agents aren't new to Salesforce. In 2016, the company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/more-details-about-salesforce-einstein-2016-9">released Einstein</a>, an AI service for its CRM software. Einstein handled some of the tasks Agentforce can tackle, but the actions it could take were more scripted.With the arrival and rapid progress of generative-AI models, Salesforce saw an opportunity to improve agents' decision-making and understanding of natural language inputs, like email.That initially led to Einstein GPT, a generative-AI overhaul of Einstein. Then it evolved into Einstein Copilot, announced in early 2024. Now it's called Agentforce, which offers prebuilt and customizable agents."We had to recognize that our customers want to either extend the agents that we ship or they want to build their own customer agents," Tyler Carlson, Salesforce's vice president of business development, told Business Insider.<h2 id="2ba2ccfb-6dbf-46ab-848b-5578f676962f">Key staff and partners</h2>Agentforce's core technology, which Salesforce calls the Atlas Reasoning Engine, was developed by the company's engineering team. Salesforce also allows its clients to access AI models from third-party technology partners including OpenAI, Anthropic, Amazon, and Google.Salesforce has worked with internal and external partners to showcase its AI agents. The company uses Slack to spotlight AI agents that can be accessed directly from the communication platform. (Currently, Agentforce's integration in Slack is in beta.)"The reason Slack is interesting for these employee-facing agents is that it surfaces these automations and capabilities to users where they're spending their time," Carlson said.<div type="image" title="Tyler Carlson headshot" height="640" width="640" msid="115192386" hostid="261" sizebytes="19750"></div><h2 id="5811f14e-6416-45e5-8f7e-d703b210910b">AI in action</h2>Salesforce says the Atlas Reasoning Engine uses what's known as <a target="_blank" href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.03629">ReAct prompting</a> to help agents reason through problems.ReAct helps an AI agent powered by a large language model break down a problem into its components and then provide steps to solve it. After each action, the AI agent evaluates the result to judge whether it has satisfied the user's prompt. If not, the agent loops through different reasoning and action steps until it reaches a satisfactory result.Salesforce says this can lead to fully autonomous agents that offer personalized support based on a user's specific inquiry and take action — like scheduling an appointment or meeting — without human intervention.The concept is similar to OpenAI's new o1 model, which uses the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-new-o1-model-capabilities-agi-2024-9">chain-of-thought prompting technique</a> to work through prompts step-by-step.The Atlas Reasoning Engine is proprietary technology built by Salesforce, and it has access to the company's internally developed LLMs. But it's also designed to work with LLMs provided by partners — the company expects many agents will take advantage of that capability."This is what I find most interesting about agentic systems," Carlson said. "They're not monolithic. They're not a single LLM."Allowing access to third-party LLMs can be risky because it means <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cyber-insurance-coverage-plan-benefits-costs">passing data to an outside vendor</a>. To address this, Salesforce instituted a policy that prohibits data retention. It also provides safeguards designed to identify and reject inappropriate responses to prompts.Salesforce's clients can also use a tool called Agentbuilder to create and deploy custom Agentforce agents that can act on triggers, such as receiving an email or making a sale, without a direct prompt from a company's employees. An automated agent might open messages from a general email inbox and forward them to specific departments based on the agent's understanding of the message's intent.Agentforce also uses <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retrieval-augmented-generation-making-ai-language-models-better-2024-5">retrieval-augmented generation</a> to create agents that can answer questions based on a company's internal documents and private data. For example, this year Salesforce and Workday created an "AI employee service agent" designed to answer employee questions about a company's HR policies.<h2 id="31002808-8cdf-4bbd-a666-7e22bd1e3fdb">Did it work, and how did they know?</h2>Carlson said Salesforce measured the success of its software by the success of its clients, adding that the results so far had been positive. "That includes promising statistics, like seeing 90% of customer inquiries resolved by an agent," he said.Salesforce will also judge its success by Agentforce's adoption as a platform. The company wants to see clients broadly adopt AI agents designed with Agentbuilder and deploy them within their CRM systems and in Slack. It also wants to see the new AI agents take on larger caseloads and resolve interactions to satisfy clients and customers."By next year I want to see a larger and more open ecosystem of partners," Carlson said. "I want Agentforce to have thousands upon thousands of agent skills, topics, and a lot more that our customers can take advantage of."

Salesforce's new AI platform lets companies build their own digital agents to automate tasks

<keyword id="20242921" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Adobe" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Adobe" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Adobe">Adobe</keyword> has launched two new initiatives aimed at empowering both learners and marketing professionals through advanced AI technologies. The announcements were made at Adobe MAX 2024, which is underway at Miami Beach, Florida. The company unveiled a new global initiative designed to provide <keyword id="21872144" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-literacy" source="keywords">AI literacy</keyword>, content creation and <keyword id="20399182" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-marketing" source="keywords">digital marketing</keyword> skills to 30 million next generation learners so that they can carve a niche for themselves in the modern workforce. <h2>Collaborating with <keyword id="20153384" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coursera" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Coursera" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Coursera">Coursera</keyword> </h2> Adobe is collaborating with Coursera, educational institutions, NGOs, and other education platforms to make its training and certification accessible to a diverse range of emerging professionals. Adobe’s initiative also features a focus on responsible AI use, ensuring learners are equipped to handle emerging technologies in an ethical manner. The curriculum will cover various areas such as generative AI, social media content, and multi-channel advertising. Courses have already been rolled out globally on Coursera. To enhance inclusivity, Adobe is providing $250,000 in scholarships and expanding partnerships with nonprofits like DECA and NPower to integrate skilling opportunities into youth education programs. The company has pledged over $100 million this year through scholarships, product access, and partnerships to help learners from all backgrounds thrive in today’s workforce. Adobe’s Stacy Martinet, VP of Marketing Strategy and Communications, said that the goal is to ensure AI becomes a bridge, not a barrier, in helping professionals succeed. “Adobe’s mission has always been to design products that create opportunities and empower people from all backgrounds to change the world,” she said and added, “We want AI to bridge the digital divide not widen it, and this program will open doors for emerging professionals to succeed in the future workforce with AI literacy, content creation and marketing skills.” <h2><keyword id="23563843" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GenStudio" source="keywords">GenStudio</keyword> for Performance Marketing </h2> Simultaneously, Adobe also launched GenStudio for Performance Marketing, an AI-driven application that aims to accelerate the creation and management of marketing campaigns. By integrating generative AI tools such as Adobe Firefly and third-party large language models, GenStudio empowers marketers and creative teams to generate high volumes of personalised content for digital campaigns. The new tool addresses a critical challenge faced by businesses today: the demand for dynamic, on-brand content that can be tailored to individual consumer preferences across multiple platforms. GenStudio streamlines the content supply chain, from creation to activation, enabling marketing teams to respond quickly to shifting consumer trends. Adobe has forged key partnerships with platforms like Google Campaign Manager 360, Meta, TikTok, Microsoft Advertising, and Snap, allowing brands to activate and adjust campaigns based on real-time insights. This integration, Adobe says, provides marketers with a comprehensive view of campaign performance, helping them tailor content to resonate more effectively with their target audiences. Prativa Mohapatra, Adobe India’s VP and Managing Director, highlighted how the new AI-powered workflows bring marketing and creative teams closer together. Brands like Air India and HDFC Bank have already begun exploring the possibilities of GenStudio, with plans for broader adoption across various industries. “With collaborations across industry leaders like Air India, HDFC Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Adobe is empowering marketing and digital teams to seamlessly manage multi-channel campaigns, with real-time insights to optimize performance. We’re excited to see how more Indian businesses will harness GenStudio to revolutionize their marketing strategies and deliver exceptional customer experiences,” she said.

Adobe collaborates with Coursera and others to help people develop AI skills, announces new AI-powered marketing tool

In today’s customer-centric market, businesses must align product design, processes, and delivery with the needs of the customers. However, the manufacturing sector faces several challenges, including extended time to market, wastage,and design inefficiencies. Other key challenges include maintaining operational efficiency while reducing downtime. Ensuring that the product meets the required quality standards is time-consuming and expensive. In a competitive marketplace, these issues can hinder the success of a business. While technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Machine Language (ML), etc., have addressed many of these challenges, there is still room for improvement. Enter <keyword id="14248037" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="digital-twin-technology" source="Orion">digital twin technology</keyword>: the key to <keyword id="3108381" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smart-manufacturing" source="Orion">smart manufacturing</keyword>! Digital twin technology has rapidly gained popularity across various industrial sectors! , Infact, the global digital twin market, <a href="https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/digital-twin-market-106246">valued </a>at $12.91 billion in 2023 is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.8% from 2023 to 2032. A 2022 report by Research and Markets highlights that 60% of executives across diverse industries plan to integrate digital twin technology in their projects to boost revenue. But why is digital twin technology making huge strides in the industrial sector? Let’s explore the details of this path-breaking technology! <h2>What is digital twin technology?</h2>A digital twin is essentially the virtual representation of physical products during different stages of their lifecycle. This can include real devices, objects, machines, services, intangible assets, and more. By connecting virtual models to their real devices, digital twins provide a detailed and dynamic representation of the physical objects they emulate. Continuous data transmission ensures that the virtual models remain in sync with the real objects. <h2>How does the digital twin make manufacturing smart?</h2>In manufacturing digital twins can be generated for various real-life scenarios like assets, specific production lines, end products, etc. These digital representations offer deep insights and visibility into production processes. Manufacturing involves a complex network of processes and products with several data points. These data points describe products, assets, entire lines, processes, etc. The digital twin replicates the manufacturing operations to capture, map, and structure the process variables in a continuously updated database. <h2>Technologies used in digital twin deployment</h2><ul><li>Internet of Things (IoT): IoT sensors enable continuous data transmission. </li><li>Cloud computing: Helps in storing large volumes of data that can be accessed by various stakeholders. </li><li>AI: AI gathers data and provides valuable insights. AI also makes accurate forecasts. </li><li>Extended Reality (XR): XR technology facilitates digital modelling of physical objects and processes. </li></ul><h2>Benefits of the digital twin in manufacturing</h2>1. Risk mitigation Businesses can test and validate a product before physical production begins. This helps identify potential process failures early and mitigates risks by simulating various scenarios. 2. Facilitates predictive maintenance The data provided by the simulation model helps identify the bottlenecks in the system. It helps in scheduling preventive maintenance accurately which lowers maintenance costs and boosts production line efficiency. 3. Real-time monitoring and control One of the biggest challenges in manufacturing is getting an in-depth view of the system in real time. A digital twin helps overcome this challenge by facilitating remote monitoring and control of the process by providing real-time data. 4. Seamless collaboration A digital twin offers a single point of truth for different stakeholders. They can access data 24/7 and collaborate through a single platform for better outcomes. 5. Data-backed decisions Large volumes of real-time data and advanced analytics facilitate better and faster decision-making regarding the adjustments in the manufacturing system. 6. Delights customers Digital twin technology facilitates the simulation of different product variations in a virtual environment. This helps manufacturers build customised products efficiently and cost-effectively, enhancing customer experience. There was a time when physical proximity and inspection were the most effective ways to gain insights into the status of operating equipment. Digital twin technology has offered an innovative method to gain these insights by virtualising real processes/products. This innovation allows businesses to create, test, and build equipment in a virtual environment, moving to production only when the virtual model meets all criteria. This reduces waste, optimises costs, and makes manufacturing more agile, resilient, and efficient. It’s no wonder the digital twin market in manufacturing is projected to reach $48.2 billion by 2026. Disclaimer: This article is authored by Raja V., BPM Expert. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Insider India. This article is published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on <a href="mailto:insiderstudios@businessinsider.in">insiderstudios@businessinsider.in</a>.

How digital twin technology is revolutionising smart manufacturing

In a landmark judgement, the <keyword id="19900742" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Supreme Court of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Supreme Court of India">Supreme Court of India</keyword> has broadened the definition of crimes under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court ruled that simply viewing <keyword id="20456028" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="child-pornography" source="keywords">child pornography</keyword> on the internet, without physically possessing or storing the material, is now a criminal offence under Section 15 of the <keyword id="19920672" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="POCSO-Act" source="keywords">POCSO Act</keyword> and provisions of the <keyword id="19930099" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="information-technology" source="keywords">Information Technology</keyword> (IT) Act. This ruling significantly expands the scope of the law to address the evolving challenges posed by digital platforms. <h2>A wider net</h2>In its ruling, a bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice J.B. Pardiwala stated, "Any act of viewing, distributing, or displaying child pornographic material by a person over the internet without any actual or physical possession or storage of such material in any device or in any form or manner would also amount to 'possession' in terms of Section 15 of POCSO Act." This interpretation effectively settled conflicting verdicts from various high courts, notably overturning a Madras High Court decision that had quashed a POCSO case against an individual who had viewed child pornography but had not circulated it. The Supreme Court, in agreeing with senior advocate H.S. Phoolka's arguments, deemed the earlier judgement "egregiously erroneous." <h2>Crimes categorised</h2>In a further clarification, the Supreme Court divided crimes related to child pornography under Section 15 of the POCSO Act into three distinct categories. The decision emphasised that law enforcement and courts must carefully assess each case to determine the specific category under which an offence falls. One critical insight from the judgement is that an offender cannot escape prosecution by simply deleting illegal content before an FIR is registered. The bench declared, "We clarify that there is no requirement under Section 15 of POCSO Act that ‘storage’ or ‘possession’ must continue to exist at the time of initiation of the criminal proceeding, and no such requirement can be read into the said provision." <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113417654" title="“Learned no lessons from Nirbhaya case”: Madhya Pradesh High Court criticises lenient treatment of crime-accused juvies in India" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>This means that even if an individual deletes the material before the authorities take action, they may still face <keyword id="20554971" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="legal-consequences" source="keywords">legal consequences</keyword> based on the mere act of viewing or temporary possession. <h2><keyword id="23293250" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="automatic-downloads" source="keywords">Automatic downloads</keyword></h2>Acknowledging the complexities of <keyword id="20573374" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-media" source="keywords">digital media</keyword>, the Supreme Court recognised that certain child pornographic content might be automatically downloaded onto devices without the user’s knowledge. To address this, the court created a safeguard for those unaware of the offensive material stored on their devices. If a person discovers such material on their device through automatic downloads, they will not be prosecuted if they take immediate steps to delete it and report it to the authorities. However, the onus is on the device owner to act swiftly. Failure to delete or report the offensive material after becoming aware of it would constitute an offence under the law. To avoid the automatic downloading of problematic material, there are several proactive measures you can take. First, adjust your browser settings to disable automatic downloads and pop-ups, ensuring you have to approve any file before it is downloaded to your device. Regularly update your web browser and security software to benefit from the latest protections against malicious websites. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113146443" title="Karnataka HC rejects school teacher&amp;#39;s plea to quash POCSO case over filming of girl students" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Additionally, be cautious about the sites you visit, particularly those that seem suspicious or unfamiliar; stick to well-known, reputable sources. Additionally, consider using ad blockers or content filters that can prevent potentially harmful content from loading. Always be mindful of any unsolicited links in emails or messages, as these can lead to automatic downloads of unwanted material. Lastly, routinely monitor your device for any unfamiliar files and promptly delete anything that looks suspicious to minimise your risk of unknowingly storing problematic content. <h2>What this means for the future</h2>This judgement sends a clear message: India is taking a zero-tolerance approach toward child pornography in all its forms, whether stored, distributed, or merely viewed. The ruling adapts the legal framework to modern challenges, ensuring that perpetrators can no longer hide behind technicalities such as the absence of physical possession. The Supreme Court’s interpretation also places a burden on individuals to exercise responsibility in the digital world. Anyone who stumbles upon child pornography, whether intentionally or accidentally, must take swift action to avoid legal consequences. (With inputs from agencies)

You can now be prosecuted for unknowingly “auto-downloading” child porn. Here’re some safe browsing habits

The Reserve Bank on Thursday proposed to create a <keyword id="22711172" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-repository" source="keywords">public repository</keyword> of <keyword id="21305551" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="digital-lending-apps" source="keywords">digital lending apps</keyword> in a bid to address the problems arising from mushrooming <keyword id="22711171" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unauthorised-players" source="keywords">unauthorised players</keyword> in the segment. In another significant move, the central bank proposed to introduce a facility of "<keyword id="22710839" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delegated-Payments" source="keywords">Delegated Payments</keyword>" in UPI to enable an individual to allow another individual to make <keyword id="19957378" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UPI-transactions" source="keywords">UPI transactions</keyword>. In a <keyword id="13144094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="post-monetary-policy-review" source="Orion">post-monetary policy review</keyword> address, <keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI" source="keywords">RBI</keyword> <keyword id="20595794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Governor-Shaktikanta-Das" source="keywords">Governor Shaktikanta Das</keyword> said the central bank has taken several measures for the orderly development of the <keyword id="12577431" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-lending-ecosystem" source="Orion">digital lending ecosystem</keyword> in India. In a bid to address the problems arising from unauthorised digital lending apps (DLAs), he said the RBI proposes to create a public repository of DLAs deployed by its regulated entities. "The regulated entities (REs) will report and update information about their DLAs in this repository. This measure will help the consumers to identify the unauthorised lending apps," Das said. On introduction of 'Delegated Payments' through UPI, the Governor said the facility would enable an individual (primary user) to allow another individual (secondary user) to make UPI transactions up to a limit from the primary user's bank account without the need for the secondary user to have a separate bank account linked to UPI. This, he added, will further deepen the reach and usage of digital payments. The central bank also announced an increase in the transaction limit for tax payments through UPI to Rs 5 lakh. Currently, the transaction limit for UPI is Rs 1 lakh, except for certain categories of payments which have higher transaction limits. "It has now been decided to enhance the limit for tax payments through UPI from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per transaction. This will further ease tax payments by consumers through UPI," Das said. The Governor also announced measures to speed up cheque payment which will benefit both the payer and the payee. At present, cheque clearing through Cheque Truncation System (CTS), operates in a batch-processing mode and has a clearing cycle of up to two working days. "It is proposed to reduce the clearing cycle by introducing continuous clearing with 'on-realisation-settlement' in CTS," Das said. This means that cheques will be cleared within a few hours on the day of presentation.

RBI to set up public repository of digital lending apps to check unauthorised players

Ashlee Wisdom left a toxic workplace environment after developing chronic hives.At the time, Wisdom was also getting her master's in public health at New York University, where she was learning about how social and political factors can affect specific groups' health.These experiences led her to build Health In Her HUE, a digital health platform that connects women of color to medical providers committed to serving their health needs."I had my own experience of seeing how racism impacts your health, and I saw all of this innovation happening in healthcare, but I didn't see anyone at that time building anything that addressed the specific pain points that Black women and women of color tend to have when they are navigating the healthcare system," Wisdom told Business Insider.Health In Her HUE is part of a surge in femtech, or technology companies that aim to support women's health and wellness. A report published last year by a consulting company called FemHealth Insights found that the sector was rapidly growing, with over 60% of femtech companies founded from 2017 to 2022.Historically, women's healthcare has been impaired by challenges like bias and a lack of specialized providers. But femtech offers a new way forward — one where connecting with a doctor doesn't require an in-person appointment and female founders are creating digital spaces that mirror the care they want to receive.<h2>Connectivity to close the women's health gap</h2>Increased access to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/5g-advanced-standalone-6g-qualcomm-huawei-mwc-2024-3">high-speed internet</a>, the expansion of telemedicine, and demand for women-centric healthcare are some factors behind the recent support for femtech platforms and apps."In 2020, because we were left with no alternative, there was a massive increase in online services, which created a culture shift for providers and clients," said Smisha Agarwal, the executive director of the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation at Johns Hopkins University.As a result, the US healthcare sector became less resistant to remote tools like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teledermatology-future-of-skincare-musely-ceo-jack-jia-2024-6">telehealth</a> and medical apps, and patients realized they enjoyed the relative privacy of talking with a provider in their home rather than at a clinic. "These tools can change the power dynamic in a clinical relationship," Agarwal said.Health In Her HUE says nearly 14,000 women have accounts and use the website to access medical information tailored specifically to women of color; virtual peer-support groups; and medical professionals who deliver healthcare in a way that meets patients' social, cultural, and linguistic needs.Black women often confront <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-crossing-state-lines-give-birth-black-maternal-mortality-crisis-2023-9">greater difficulties</a> in accessing affordable and quality healthcare, are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8020496/">disproportionately burdened</a> by chronic conditions, and are more likely to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-doctors-and-community-groups-are-promoting-health-equity-2023-11">experience discrimination</a> in medical settings. "I wanted to build a platform that helps Black women, and women of color more broadly, navigate healthcare and a system that is too often precarious for us," Wisdom said.<div type="image" title="A headshot of Ashlee Wisdom on a tan background." height="810" width="1080" msid="113135183" hostid="261" sizebytes="46492"></div>Through the platform, users can look up providers by the insurance they take, their specialties, and their ZIP code, and then meet with them in person or virtually, depending on the provider.In the beginning, Wisdom reached out to providers who seemed aligned with her mission and asked if they would participate in the project. Now providers looking to join can make an account, and once they commit to the company's health-equity pledge, they're added to the directory.Wisdom said one Health In Her HUE user who felt that other doctors had ignored her symptoms got a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome after meeting with a Health In Her HUE provider. Another told Wisdom that she drove three hours to meet with a gastroenterologist she found in the directory; she felt that "if a Black GI doctor saw her, they would take her symptoms more seriously," Wisdom said.For years, healthcare systems weren't <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/women-health-gap-davos-2023/">designed for women</a>, and there are still gaps in research and treatments for women's health issues. A study published in the Journal of Women's Health in 2021 found that funding from the US National Institutes of Health was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jwh.2020.8682">more likely to go toward conditions</a> that primarily affect men and less likely to go toward conditions that disproportionately affect women, like migraines and endometriosis.With this reality in mind, Joanna Strober cofounded Midi Health, a website designed to help people experiencing menopause and perimenopause access specialists. Described as a virtual care clinic, Midi Health allows people to make telehealth appointments with licensed nurse practitioners and doctors specializing in women's midlife health. Strober told BI she started the company after encountering barriers to finding menopause care."I also realized that the only way to scale this and give access to all women was to do it virtually," Strober said. "It's about connecting women to excellent care regardless of where they live."During a virtual appointment, patients can discuss perimenopause and menopause symptoms like hot flashes and brain fog. Interventions can range from lifestyle coaching to prescription medication, and Midi providers can refer patients to in-person treatments when needed. Some insurance plans cover care if the providers are in-network with PPO plans. Strober is focused on scaling insurance coverage so more women can use Midi.Strober said that as of August, about 100,000 women had used Midi in 2024. Most are between 40 and 50, and the average age is 46."It's growing really fast, and women are coming to us in increasing numbers for more issues than we originally expected," Strober said. She added that while Midi isn't intended to be a primary-care clinic, users' interest in speaking with providers about more than hormonal health demonstrates that "there are just not enough providers who are trained in women-centered care."Strober attributed an increased desire for digital platforms like Midi to improvements in telehealth technology and to women's demands for better care. The relative ease of virtual appointments is also a benefit.<h2>Investing in solutions</h2>A report by Silicon Valley Bank published last year said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.svb.com/trends-insights/reports/womens-health-report/">venture-capital funding for women's health companies</a> had surged by 314% since 2018.But Strober believes that the industry has just taken off and that founders must convince investors that more money can be made. Midi Health is on its way toward doing that; the company closed a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/midi-health-raising-series-b-menopause-2024-1">$60 million Series B round</a> in April.Agarwal said that as more companies enter the healthcare industry, they'll need to consider patient needs beyond health, such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-hospitals-dont-have-policies-for-new-ai-tech-survey-2024-2">privacy</a>. She argued that minimizing data collection and communicating about data use are imperative."Digital solutions do not replace in-person services, but they are a brilliant addition to in-person care," Agarwal added.Wisdom acknowledged that virtual care isn't a cure-all and told BI that while Health In Her HUE's main goal is connecting women of color to culturally responsive clinicians, she hopes for a future where all providers offer that level of care."We don't want Black patients always to feel like they need to be seen by a Black healthcare provider," Wisdom said. "They should feel comfortable and confident knowing that any provider they engage with can provide them with high-quality care."But for now, Wisdom said, virtual care can be a path toward accessibility. Health In Her HUE raised <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/08/health-in-her-hue-closes-3-million-seed-round/">$3 million in a seed round</a> in January, and Wisdom and her team are hopeful about features they can build to create a space where users know they're getting accurate information from medical providers who understand their experiences. Wisdom and her team plan to create an app and possibly partner with a telehealth company to offer virtual appointments."It feels good to build a solution that's useful for my community," Wisdom said. "I'm glad my energy is being used for a mission that deeply resonates with me."

Women face bias and disparities in healthcare. Digital tools could help meet their needs.

Prime Minister Narendra <keyword id="19899684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi" source="keywords">Modi</keyword> on Friday said the government is making necessary <keyword id="20861068" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="policy-changes" source="keywords">policy changes</keyword>, like removal of <keyword id="20279287" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Angel-Tax" source="keywords">Angel Tax</keyword>, to promote the <keyword id="19945816" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fintech" source="keywords">fintech</keyword> sector, even as he asked the <keyword id="19962476" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="regulators" source="keywords">regulators</keyword> to take additional measures to check cyber frauds which can have a crippling impact on startups. Lauding the fintechs for democratising <keyword id="19976433" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-services" source="keywords">financial services</keyword>, Modi said the sector, which has attracted USD 31-billion investment in the last 10 years, has played a key role in denting the parallel economy. The Prime Minister was addressing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024, jointly organised by the Payments Council of India, the National Payments Corporation of India and the Fintech Convergence Council. He said the domestic economy and the capital market are in a celebratory mood at a time when the nation is also going through a festive period. Modi underlined that the government is making all necessary changes on the policy level to assist the fintech sector and gave examples of doing away with Angel Tax, allocating Rs 1 lakh crore to encourage research and innovation in the country and implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Broadly, fintech refers to entities utilising technologies for providing financial services. Expressing the need to put an end to <keyword id="19901142" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyber-fraud" source="keywords">cyber fraud</keyword>, he urged the regulators to take major initiatives to boost digital literacy. It is equally important to ensure cyber fraud does not come in the way of the growth of fintech and startups in the country, Modi said. In his speech, the Prime Minister also cautioned about the dangers of a parallel economy for the world. Fintech, he said, has played an impactful role in denting such a system and credited the emergence of transparency. He said that digital technology has introduced transparency in India and gave the example of the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer used in hundreds of government schemes that has prevented leakages in the system. "Today, people can see the benefits of aligning with the formal banking system," he said. Modi further said the trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile have broken down the mentality of 'Cash is King' and made way for approximately half of the <keyword id="20004116" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-transactions" source="keywords">digital transactions</keyword> in the world taking place in India. "India's <keyword id="19900911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="upi" source="keywords">UPI</keyword> has become a major example of fintech in the world," he said, adding that it has enabled 24X7 banking services in every village and city in all weather conditions. Underlining the role of fintech in democratising financial services, the Prime Minister gave examples of readily available loans, credit cards, investments and insurance. He said that fintech has made access to credit easy and inclusive, and gave the example of PM SVANidhi scheme that has enabled street vendors to avail collateral-free loans and further expand their business with the help of digital transactions. "Sustainable <keyword id="19900794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-growth" source="keywords">economic growth</keyword> is India's priority today," he said and emphasised that the government is creating robust, transparent and efficient systems to strengthen financial markets with advanced technologies and regulatory frameworks. About 800 speakers, including policymakers, regulators, senior bankers, industry captains, and academicians, from India and other countries are participating in the fest.

Removed Angel Tax, taking policy measures to promote fintech sector: PM Modi

Nalin Bansal, Chief Relationship Management at the National <keyword id="20242630" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="payments" source="keywords">Payments</keyword> Corporation of India (<keyword id="19998946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NPCI" source="keywords">NPCI</keyword>), speaking at the Global Fintech Festival 2024 on Wednesday, emphasized that only 25 per cent of payment users are <keyword id="19900675" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="women" source="keywords">women</keyword>, with even lower penetration in semi-urban and rural areas. "While we've achieved significant scale in <keyword id="20377974" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-inclusion" source="keywords">financial inclusion</keyword>, penetration remains a challenge, with only 25% of payment users being women, and even fewer in semi-urban and rural areas. Many women's mobile numbers are not linked to their bank accounts, hindering their participation," Bansal said. He added, "Yet, data shows women are 50% less prone to fraud and are highly loyal and engaged users. As an ecosystem, we must prioritize personalized, assisted services and continuous engagement across all channels. UPI123 has made strides, especially for initiatives like Ujjwala, and prepaid instruments hold promise as a 'secret purse' for women. Building trust is crucial, and it is our collective responsibility to foster it." Women are more likely to adopt <keyword id="20853683" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="digital-financial-services" source="keywords">digital financial services</keyword> when introduced by local agents or <keyword id="22950816" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="community-influencers" source="keywords">community influencers</keyword>, particularly women who can help them overcome social and technological barriers. Women who make at least five <keyword id="19971375" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="transactions" source="keywords">transactions</keyword> in the first week of onboarding are twice as likely to continue using <keyword id="19900911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UPI" source="keywords">UPI</keyword>. This highlights the need for financial service providers to rethink in-app nudges and sales metrics to encourage consistent usage. 93 per cent of women surveyed expressed the need for ongoing support during the first three months of using digital payments, particularly for grievance redressal during failed transactions. Kalpana Ajayan, Regional Head - South Asia, Women's World Banking, said, "We recognize that digital payments can serve as a powerful tool for women, enabling them to manage their finances more effectively, access a broader range of services, and ultimately secure a better future for themselves and their families." She added, "By addressing the specific barriers that women face in adopting digital payments, we open up a new frontier for growth. This initiative is about much more than inclusion--it's about positioning women as key drivers in the digital financial ecosystem." The NPCI's UPI platform has already revolutionized India's payment landscape, with UPI transactions soaring from Rs 920 million (USD 11.08 million) in FY 2017-18 to Rs 83750 million (USD 1.01 billion) in FY 2022-23, reflecting a staggering CAGR of 147 per cent. The value of UPI transactions reached INR 80.79 trillion (USD 96,287) across approximately 55.66 billion transactions in the first four months of FY 2024-25. Of the 536 million women aged 15 years and older in India, 37 per cent report using mobile internet, making the addressable market for UPI solutions among women around 200 million strong.

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