Modi government delays crypto bill, may not be tabled during winter session of Parliament

The Indian government is working on a new bill to regulate the crypto industry in India. This bill was expected to be tabled in the lower house of the parliament during the winter session. However, ahead of the tabling of this proposed bill, reports now claim that the bill has been delayed by several weeks, with the government not looking to table it in the winter session anymore. 

As per a report by The Economic Times, the government is thinking of changes to the proposed legislation’s framework, which would mean the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, will now be tabled in the next session of the parliament. 

The government is of the opinion that some aspects of the bill need more deliberation, discussions, and comments from the public. These include the government bringing in a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which will be recognised under the RBI Act. Another reason for this is the government's belief that the new law for cryptocurrencies needs to be in line with a global framework which is still a work in progress.  

Indian government working on a new crypto bill

Earlier, reports had suggested that this bill would ban the use of cryptocurrencies as a method of payment in the country, and will also bring in stringent punishments for those who go against the regulations proposed in the bill. The bill, as per the report, would allow the authorities to arrest individuals without a warrant and hold them without bail. 

According to the summary of the bill accessed by Reuters, the government is making plans of "general prohibition on all activities by any individual on mining, generating, holding, selling, (or) dealing" in digital currencies as a "medium of exchange, store of value and a unit of account". The report further states that flouting any of these rules would be "cognizable", thereby opening the door to non-bailable arrests without a warrant. 

Also Read: Crypto bill could propose arrest without warrant for violation of new laws: Report

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WhatsApp partners with 1Bridge to bring digital payments across 500 villages in Karnataka and Maharashtra

Digital payments have become the norm in most metros in India. With that in mind, WhatsApp has decided to push digital payments across 500 villages in Karnataka and Maharashtra. These will all be UPI payments. The Digital Payments Utsav programme was unveiled at WhatsApp’s Fuel for India 2021 annual event. The goal of the company is to help 500 million users with digital payments, making things a little easier for people who don’t live in major cities. WhatsApp set up a pilot programme which began on October 15. In that, villagers were taught to use digital payments, set up a UPI, and basic education around digital payments. 

WhatsApp to bring digital payments to 500 villages

This seems like a good idea as the rest of the country should be able to use digital payments. WhatsApp has partnered with 1Bridge and got to work in Kyathanahalli village in Karnataka's Mandya district. In fact, a local village elder stated, “Withdrawing money from banks in villages used to be tedious and time-consuming and ATMs also don't usually have cash. Things have become much easier because of payments on WhatsApp.”. 

In fact, as we reported earlier, WhatsApp announced that it will be blocking apps that allow users to monitor ‘Last Seen’ and ‘Online’ statuses. These apps were used by people to harass others and even monitor time logs. As more and more sensitive material is passed through its servers, WhatsApp has to take extra precautions to keep things safe for its users. 

Also Read: WhatsApp blocks third-party apps that intrude on your privacy

 

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Oppo Find N Foldable Phone with waterdrop Hinge launched at Inno Day event

On the second day of its Inno Day event being held in Shenzhen, China, Oppo launched its first mainstream foldable phone, the Find N, which is more compact and affordable as compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. 

The major chunk of the launch event covered foldable use cases and in convincing users and media personnel that how the form factor is now a necessary next step in smartphone evolution. 

Oppo Find N Price and availability 

For now, the Oppo Find N will be available only in China. The 8GB RAM and 256GB storage option has been priced at CNY 7699 (roughly $1200) and the 12GB RAM and 512GB storage option will retail for CNY 8999 (or roughly $1400). 

Oppo Find N Specifications 

To start with, Oppo Find N has a 5.49-inch cover display (1972 x 988) and unfolds to reveal a bigger 7.1-inch LTPO screen (1792 x 1920) with a 120Hz variable refresh rate display. Sticking to the 18:9 aspect ratio for the cover display ensures that the primary screen won’t feel odd to consumers, but it also means that the phone will be a tad wider than the Galaxy ZFold 3 in its folded state. 

The 7.1-inch size offers 60 per cent more visual area than a regular 6.7-inch display phone. Oppo studied the sound of limousine door closing in order to achieve a gratifying folding snap for users

The gapless hinge that can fold halfway has been designed to create a water-drop-like fold in order to minimize the crease (similar to hinges used by Motorola and Huawei). Oppo says the bulk of their R&D effort over 4 years went into perfecting this hinge and claims that it successfully made the crease notably less intrusive than the competition.

The foldable screen has a layer of ultra-thin glass that can withstand 200,000 folds. 

On the software side of things, there are convenient ways to split-screen, make app pair and to multi-task. 

The Oppo Find N weighs 275g in heft and is 15.9 mm in thickness when folded. Snapdragon 888 octa-core chipset paired with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 storage. The phone houses a 4500mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging and 15W wireless charging. 

As for optics, the primary camera is a 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor and it’s assisted by a 16MP ultra-wide and 13MP telephoto camera. 

Apart from Find N, Oppo also introduced MariSilicon X ISP and Air Glass.

The Air Glass can display useful information directly in front of your eyes. It comprises of two components, an oppo-designed frame that houses components like Snapdragon Wear 4100 Platform chipset and a snap-on monocular waveguide and Spark Micro Projector that uses micro-LED technology to project information through the five-element glass lenses. Some advertised use cases include teleprompter, real-time translations, weather information, GPS Navigation, and checking your phone notifications with a nod of your head.

Also Read: Upcoming Oppo foldable phone spotted on Geekbench with Snapdragon 888

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Best Gadgets 2021: Our Favourite Buys, From PlayStation 5 to Pixel 4a

Best gadgets of 2021: PlayStation 5, Pixel 4a, MacBook Air M1, Apple One, OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z, Moto G 5G — these are some of Gadgets 360’s favourite gadgets of the year.

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India is tipped to be the fastest growing mobile and PC games market globally

Video games have surpassed even movies as the most profitable form of entertainment. From a hobby in the 80s to now being one of the largest industries in the world, gaming has come a  long way. Gaming in India has seen its own rise with games like PUBG and Battlegrounds: Mobile dominating the mobile gaming scene. In fact, a new report by Niko Partners states that Indian is the fastest growing gaming market in the world. Niko Partners is a market research and consulting firm covering video games, esports, and streaming in Asia. The new report covers the mobile and PC games market in India and is one of ten reports covering the Asia-10 market. Asia-10 countries include, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

India is the fastest-growing mobile and PC gaming market in the world

The report includes a comprehensive market model and 5-year forecast through 2025 by games segment, key data on game publishers, games rankings, growth drivers, and trends. This includes details on esports, product distribution, payments, financial transaction events, regulations, and qualitative and quantitative analysis on gamer demand, spending, and behaviour.

Key takeaways from the report include:

India’s PC and Mobile game revenue in 2021 is projected to reach $534.1 million*, up 31.79% YoY  

India PC and Mobile game revenue will grow at a 5-year CAGR of 29.8%, reaching $1.491 billion* in 2025.  

India’s PC and mobile gamers in 2021 is projected to reach 339.9 million, up 21.97% YoY  

India’s PC and mobile gamers will grow at a 5-year CAGR of 13.7%, reaching 529.1 million in 2025 

India will account for 56% of all mobile and PC gamers in Asia-10 in 2025. It is already the #2 games market in the world by players, behind China.  

India is the fastest-growing market in Asia-10 by both revenue and gamers. India’s APRU will grow at the fastest rate through 2025.  

India is the fastest-growing region in Asia-10 thanks to the low cost of 4G data, the proliferation of affordable smartphones and the abundance of high quality free to play titles. 

Mobile gamers in India are more engaged than any other market in Asia-10, playing 14.1 hours of mobile games each week on average. However, India has the lowest ARPU in Asia-10 and requires a different approach to monetization.  

Niko’s research methodology combines data from game developers and publishers, data from other sources such as retailers and app markets, our market model, and our gamer surveys. They also regularly interview executives at games and hardware companies as well as government officials. The company leverages its own proprietary primary data combined with direct access to a panel of millions of consumers throughout Asia, to create deep qualitative and quantitative analysis, market models, and five-year forecasts. 

Also Read: Battleground Mobile India Series 2021 The Grind Tournament: Team XP Emerges Victorious

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Vi joins hands with Hungama Music to launch a music-streaming app for pre and postpaid users

If you’re a fan of good music, there's some news for you, It looks like Vi, formerly known as Vodafone, has partnered with Hungama Music. This partnership has led to the launch of a brand new music streaming app on the Vi app. Users will receive six months of Hungama Premium. The app doesn’t contain any ads either and comes with music from 20 different local languages in India. The service also offers 52 live digital concerts at a small cost as well. So, if you’re into that kind of thing, this should be a great deal. 

Get ready to groove to good music with Vi App. Enjoy ad-free songs with unlimited downloads. https://t.co/GUe2TBTDZv pic.twitter.com/qDwrhjJMUn

— Vi Customer Care (@ViCustomerCare) December 14, 2021 Vi partners with Hungana music to launch new music-streaming app 

Speaking on the partnership, Avneesh Khosla, CMO, Vi stated that, “Our association with Hungama will allow Vi users to get access to a rich repository of diverse music, across genres and in their preferred language.” And although the app does offer a ton of content, there is no word on how these 52 live digital concerts will be priced. Will it be a single payment or will users have to pay for each concert. Neeraj Roy, Founder, Hungama Digital Media also stated, “We are excited to be a part of Vi's 250+ million-strong customers' musical journey. Our association with Vi has seen us introduce a first-of-its-kind Pay Per View service model in India's exploding Premium Video On Demand (PVOD) market, earlier this year.” 

In fact, as we reported earlier, Vi (Vodafone Idea) has joined hands with Hungama to offer customers access to Premium Video on Demand (PVoD) service. Priced at Rs 60 and Rs 120, customers will have access to 380 movies to rent. The duration of the rental is 48 hours. Using the Vi Movies and TV app, users will be able to cast the content to a larger screen. The catalogue of movies is quite extensive and includes popular titles like Tenet and Joker, Birds of Prey, SCOOB and Aquaman, to name a few.  Users will have access to content in Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, for the PVoD service. 

Also Read: Vi and Hungama join hands to offer movie rental services

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Assassin’s Creed Vahalla’s Second DLC Dawn of Ragnarök, Crossover Stories Announced

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Dawn of Ragnarök expansion pack has been announced and is slated to release on March 10, 2022. This is the second DLC for the game and marks the second year of the game’s post-launch support. Additionally, Ubisoft has also announced cross-game Assassin’s Creed Crossover Stories that will be available from December 14.

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