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  • AI Upskilling Drives Up to 150 pc Salary Growth in India: Report

    New Delhi, June 18: AI-related upskilling is significantly boosting career growth in India, with professionals reporting an average salary increase of up to 150 per cent after acquiring artificial intelligence and emerging technology skills, according to a recent industry report.

    The findings highlight a sharp rise in demand for AI, data science, machine learning, and automation skills across sectors such as IT services, fintech, e-commerce, and consulting. Employers are increasingly prioritising candidates with AI competencies as businesses accelerate digital transformation initiatives.

    The report indicates that professionals who transition into AI-enabled roles or enhance their existing skill sets with AI tools and technologies are witnessing faster promotions, higher compensation packages, and improved job mobility compared to peers in traditional roles.

    Industry experts noted that organisations are actively investing in workforce reskilling programmes to bridge the widening talent gap in advanced technologies. This trend is also being driven by the rapid adoption of generative AI and automation across business operations.

    Hiring trends show strong competition for AI-skilled professionals, with companies offering premium salaries to attract and retain talent in high-demand roles. Entry-level and mid-career professionals are particularly benefiting from structured upskilling pathways.

    Experts said AI upskilling is becoming a key factor in long-term career sustainability, as industries continue to evolve toward data-driven decision-making and intelligent automation systems.

    The report further suggests that India’s large talent pool and growing digital ecosystem position the country as a key global hub for AI-skilled workforce development.

  • Around the World with Dad: A Father’s Day Brunch at The Leela Palace Chennai

    June 18 : This Father’s Day, Spectra at The Leela Palace Chennai presents “Around the World with Dad”, a brunch inspired by the flavours, traditions and memories that often accompany life’s most meaningful relationships.Around the World with Dad: A Father's Day Brunch at The Leela Palace Chennai

    Set against the backdrop of the Bay of Bengal, the experience takes guests on a culinary journey across continents through a series of thoughtfully curated stations. From London’s “Hops & Batter” Fish & Chips and the wood-fired grills of “Dad’s Backyard” Smoke House, to handmade pastas at “Dad’s Pasta Workshop” and comforting ramen bowls inspired by “My Father’s Recipe”, each offering is designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia while celebrating the universal language of food.

    Closer to home, “My Dad’s Backwater Cruise” pays homage to Kerala’s beloved flavours with Fish Nirvana and Appam, while “The Mentor’s Slider” draws inspiration from familiar Sunday morning breakfasts. The meal concludes on a playful note with “The Cigar & Churro Block”, a nod to the classic Mexican dessert.

    Blending global flavours with personal storytelling, the brunch offers families an opportunity to celebrate Father’s Day over shared meals, cherished memories and new experiences.

    Where: Spectra, The Leela Palace Chennai
    When: 21 June 2026 | 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM

  • Litera Announces New Cloud AI Automation to Boost Security for Law Firm Communications, Removing Metadata Risk

    CHICAGO and LONDON – June 18: Litera, the legal AI platform provider that best unifies the practice and business of law, announced Clean+, the cloud-hosted evolution of Metadact Server. In the practice of law, where speed and volume are constant, every outbound email attachment carries hidden risk. A single missed scrub can expose privileged work, breach client confidence, or trigger a legal ethics inquiry. Clean+ (formerly Metadact Server) delivers server-grade metadata protection across every Outlook environment, on infrastructure Litera manages, with no server for IT to provision, patch, or maintain. 

    “The practice of law runs on trust, and hidden document data breaks it,” said Joey Benedek, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Litera. “As AI accelerates how lawyers draft and collaborate, the volume of outbound documents is climbing and so is the risk. Clean+ gives IT leaders the server-class protection their firm depends on without the infrastructure burden that has always come with it.” 

    As AI generates more documents faster, the volume of outbound documents is climbing while IT teams are asked to do more with less. Probabilistic AI tools cannot be trusted to decide what metadata stays and what gets stripped.

    Litera addresses this with a fully hosted service that routes attachments through the Litera server, enforcing one policy across classic Outlook, new Outlook, Outlook for Mac, Outlook for Web, and mobile — with no server to provision, patch, or maintain. Clean+ is built on a deterministic, rules-based engine refined over 30 years and trusted by 42% of the market (ILTA Tech Survey, 2025). No AI-first entrant can replicate that foundation, and when metadata mistakes are eliminated at the source, lawyers send legal advice with confidence and clients receive work that reflects the firm’s standard.

    Clean+ is part of a broader consolidation of the Metadact line under the Clean brand, giving firms a clear tier of protection for every deployment model: Clean Desktop (formerly Metadact Desktop), Clean Cloud (formerly Metadact in Litera One), Clean Server (formerly Metadact Server), and Clean+ (formerly Metadact Server in Litera One). It is available as a standalone package and included in Draft Advanced, the company’s end-to-end AI drafting suite. Existing Metadact Server customers will receive dedicated migration support. General availability is June 30.

  • Madagascar and Zanzibar Announce New National Shark and Ray Protections at Our Ocean Conference

    MOMBASA, KENYA, June 18: At a side event this evening at the Our Ocean Conference, the governments of Madagascar and Zanzibar announced sweeping new national protections for sharks and rays, marking the latest milestone in a decade of conservation progress across East Africa.

    Madagascar and Zanzibar Announce New National Shark and Ray Protections at Our Ocean Conference

    Sharks and rays are experiencing one of the fastest extinction crises of any vertebrate group on Earth—more than 37 percent of species are now threatened with extinction, driven largely by overfishing and an international trade that, for decades, went largely unregulated. Over the last decade major gains in international management of these species have begun to change the trajectory for these species, and we’re now seeing countries implement these protections at a national and local level.

    “Sharks are an essential part of healthy ocean ecosystems,” said Luke Warwick, Senior Director of WCS’s Threatened Marine Species program. “This rapidly accelerating global framework of laws, coupled to enforcement and local level conservation action gives us hope we can end the declines of the last half century, and start these ancient predators on the long road to recovery.”

    Madagascar announced it will offer full national protection for 14 species of sharks and rays under the country’s Wild Fauna Decree, including the Critically Endangered oceanic whitetip shark, as well as whale sharks and iconic manta rays. Zanzibar also announced full protection for 34 species in its coastal waters, including hammerhead sharks, thresher sharks, and the endemic Zanzibar guitarfish. 

    “The actions taken by the Madagascar government to protect these species, among other positive actions, comes at a time when sharks and rays need conservation efforts more than ever,” said Ravaka Ranaivoson, Partnership and Program Development Director for WCS Madagascar. “This highlights Madagascar’s commitment to the conservation and sustainable management of its marine resources.”

    As recently as a decade ago, the global trade in sharks and rays was largely unregulated, and these species were fast running out of time. Today, that trade has rules, those rules are being enforced, and governments around the world are writing them into national law via species protections and the inclusion of shark specific conservation measures in fisheries and protected area laws and designations. The announcements from Madagascar and Zanzibar are the latest proof that momentum, once built, continues to grow.

    Today’s announcements build on past successes and three years of historic global progress. At CITES CoP20 in November 2025, countries adopted every shark and ray proposal on the table, listing more than 70 species and bringing 96 percent of the global shark fin trade and 70 percent of shark and ray meat trade under international regulation for the first time. In total, 180 species are now listed under CITES, with 33 carrying a full commercial trade ban.

    “From global decisions to local action on the water, the scale and pace of progress in shark conservation is truly remarkable,” said John Mandelman, Executive Director, Shark Conservation Fund. “Yet threatened sharks and rays, and the habitats they depend on, still require the strongest protections. Together, these efforts are creating an essential pathway toward recovery.”

    The announcements were made at a private reception entitled “Celebrating a Decade of Shark Conservation in East Africa: Profiles of Shark Champions,” hosted by Shark Conservation Fund in partnership with the governments of Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar, and supported by WCS.

     

  • Monsoon Rains Ease India’s Peak Power Demand as Cooling Load Drops

    New Delhi, June 18: India’s peak electricity demand has eased in recent days as the onset of monsoon rains across several regions has reduced the use of cooling appliances, particularly air conditioners, officials and industry data indicated.

    The moderation in demand comes after a period of high summer consumption, when elevated temperatures had pushed electricity usage to record levels in multiple parts of the country. With rainfall improving weather conditions, residential and commercial cooling loads have declined, leading to a temporary easing of pressure on the power grid.

    Officials said the seasonal transition has helped stabilise supply conditions, with lower demand during monsoon months typically allowing for better grid management and reduced peak load stress.

    Power sector experts noted that while monsoon-related demand softening provides short-term relief, electricity consumption is expected to gradually stabilise again as industrial activity and agricultural power usage continue during the season.

    They added that grid operators remain alert to regional fluctuations in demand, especially during periods of uneven rainfall distribution and humidity-driven consumption spikes.

    The power system continues to be monitored closely to ensure uninterrupted supply, with authorities maintaining readiness to manage any sudden changes in demand patterns.

  • Gold and Silver Prices Decline as Fed Hawkish Stance and Easing Global Tensions Weigh on Bullion

    New Delhi, June 18: Gold and silver prices declined in global and domestic markets as a stronger US Federal Reserve outlook and easing geopolitical tensions reduced demand for safe-haven assets.

    Gold and Silver Prices Decline as Fed Hawkish Stance and Easing Global Tensions Weigh on Bullion

    Market sentiment remained under pressure after signals from the US Federal Reserve suggested a continued hawkish stance on interest rates, supporting the US dollar and putting downward pressure on precious metals. A stronger dollar typically makes gold and silver more expensive for buyers using other currencies, leading to reduced demand in international markets.

    At the same time, easing geopolitical tensions in key global regions have reduced risk aversion among investors, further weakening demand for traditional safe-haven assets such as bullion. As a result, trading activity in gold and silver remained subdued.

    Analysts said that expectations of tighter monetary policy in the United States, along with improving global risk sentiment, have together contributed to the recent weakness in precious metal prices. Investors are also repositioning their portfolios in response to changing macroeconomic conditions.

    Despite the short-term decline, experts noted that gold and silver continue to hold long-term relevance as hedge assets against inflation, currency volatility, and broader financial market uncertainty.

    Market participants are now closely watching upcoming US economic data releases and further commentary from the Federal Reserve for clearer signals on interest rate direction, which is expected to influence bullion price trends in the coming sessions.

  • Gautam Solar Upgrades Reliability Lab for Enhanced Quality Checks

    Gautam Solar Upgrades Reliability Lab for Enhanced Quality Checks

    New Delhi, India June 18: Living up to the commitment of delivering the best quality products, Gautam Solar Pvt. Ltd., one of India’s leading solar module manufacturers, has recently added advanced technologies in the , in-house Solar Module Reliability Testing Laboratory at its manufacturing facility in Bhiwani, Haryana. This new step aligns with the company’s aim to ensure optimal quality control in each product. The facility is one of the most comprehensive in-house module testing capabilities in the Indian solar industry — built to validate performance, ensure durability, and accelerate R&D across Gautam Solar’s full product range.

    Objective of the Lab

    The Reliability Lab has been established with three core purposes: independent accelerated lifetime testing of every module type in Gautam Solar’s portfolio before it reaches a project site; R&D support to test and validate new module architectures and cell technologies faster than external testing cycles allow; and durability validation under real-world Indian operating conditions — extreme heat, coastal humidity, UV intensity, and mechanical stress — for projects designed to run for 25 to 30 years.

    Key Features — Testing Capabilities

    The lab conducts 18 distinct module qualification tests across mechanical, thermal, environmental, electrical, and corrosion disciplines — all in-house, with parameters aligned to IEC and industry standards:

    •       Visual Inspection & AI-Assisted EL Testing — detects micro-cracks and defects pre- and post-lamination using Gautam Solar’s patented AI system

    •       Sun Simulator (Flash / IV Test) — verifies nameplate wattage and full IV curve for every module

    •       Thermal Cycling (TC 50 & TC 200, IEC/UL) — -40°C to +85°C cycling to validate solder joint and interconnect durability

    •       Damp Heat (DH 1000, IEC 60068-2-14) — 1000 hours at 85°C and 85% RH for encapsulant and delamination resistance

    •       Humidity Freeze (HF 10, IEC 60068-2-38) — combined humidity and freeze cycling for high-altitude and northern environments

    •       Pressure Cooker Test — 121°C at 100% RH for accelerated moisture ingress screening

    •       Mechanical Load Testing — 5400 Pa snow load and 2400 Pa wind load, no frame deformation

    •       Wet Leakage Test — confirms zero current leakage under wet conditions

    •       Peel Test — validates encapsulant and glass layer adhesion against delamination

    •       PID Resistance Testing (IEC 62804) — 60°C, 85% RH, 1000V DC for 96 hours

    •       LETID Testing — 75–80°C for 162 hours, confirming degradation below 1–2%

    •       UV Pre-Conditioning & UV Exposure — up to 5× sun intensity for encapsulant stability

    •       Hail Impact Test (IEC 61215) — 25mm hailstone at 84 km/h for glass resilience

    •       High Voltage / HiPot Testing — insulation and dielectric strength per IEC 61730

    •       Salt Mist Corrosion Test — validates frame and connector durability for coastal installations

    •       Sand & Dust Test (IEC 60068-2-68) — 4 positions, 90 minutes each at 9 m/s

    •       Ammonia (NH₃) Corrosion Test — 6667 ppm over 480 hours across 20 cycles for agri-solar environments

    •       Cell Test — individual cell EL screening before module assembly for defect-free production

    Business Impact

    The lab strengthens Gautam Solar’s product reliability by enabling every module to be validated against a full accelerated lifetime test programme before leaving the factory. For customers — developers, EPC contractors, and institutional lenders who require in-house testing capability alongside third-party certifications — the lab provides the quality infrastructure that long-term supply relationships are built on.

    For export markets, the lab reinforces Gautam Solar’s credibility with international buyers in Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia where in-house testing capability is increasingly a prerequisite for premium supply partnerships. Combined with Gautam Solar’s existing IEC, UL, CE, CEC, and ALMM certifications, the lab positions the company at the global frontier of Made-in-India solar quality.

    Location Details

    Facility: Gautam Solar Reliability Testing Laboratory

    Location: Bhiwani, Haryana — co-located with Gautam Solar’s manufacturing plant

    Status: Fully operational — all 18 test stations commissioned and validated

    Standards: IEC 61215  ·  IEC 61730  ·  IEC 62804  ·  IEC 60068-2-14  ·  IEC 60068-2-38  ·  IEC 60068-2-68  ·  UL 61215  ·  UL 61730  ·  BIS

    Statement from Leadership

    “At Gautam Solar, quality is not a claim — it is a system. The Upgrade of our Reliability Lab takes that commitment to a fundamentally new level. We can now conduct the full suite of accelerated lifetime tests in-house, at our own facility, with our own engineering team. That means we catch problems before they reach the field, accelerate new product development with confidence, and give every customer, lender, and partner detailed, internally verified reliability data alongside our third-party certifications. It signifies our 29+ Years of Experience, Excellence and Trust. India is building the world’s largest solar programme. This lab is our commitment to ensuring every Gautam Solar module is worthy of that responsibility.”

    — Mr. Gautam Mohanka, Director, Gautam Solar Pvt. Ltd.

  • Industrial Ethernet in eight of ten new nodes – Fieldbus decline accelerates according to HMS Networks’ annual analysis

    Halmstad, Sweden, June 18: HMS Networks has released its annual analysis of the industrial network market, marking twelve consecutive years of tracking how factories and machine builders connect their automation systems. The 2026 study shows that the long-running shift from traditional fieldbus technologies to Industrial Ethernet has continued through another full year, with Industrial Ethernet now accounting for 79% of newly installed nodes worldwide, up from 76% in 2025 and just 34% when HMS first began publishing these figures in 2015.
     

    Industrial Ethernet in eight of ten new nodes – Fieldbus decline accelerates according to HMS Networks’ annual analysis 

     
    After the slowdown of 2024, the market stabilized in 2025. Component availability has returned to normal levels and inventory cycles in highly automated sectors have largely been worked through. While Europe’s automotive sector continued to face headwinds, broader manufacturing activity recovered modestly, and capital spending on new automation projects resumed in most regions. The 2026 study confirms HMS Networks’ expectation of approximately +7.7% average annual growth in newly installed nodes over the next five years, with continued migration of the remaining fieldbus install base to Industrial Ethernet driving much of that expansion.

    Industrial Ethernet reaches 79% of new installations

    The 2026 analysis shows that Industrial Ethernet now accounts for 79% of new nodes, up from 76% in 2025. The three leading Ethernet protocols continued to consolidate their position, together representing roughly three-quarters of the wired protocol market.

    Within Industrial Ethernet:

    • PROFINET strengthens its lead at 30% (up from 27%)
    • EtherNet/IP follows at 25% (up from 23%)
    • EtherCAT continues a strong trajectory at 20% (up from 17%)
    • Modbus TCP holds steady at 5%
    • CC-Link IE remains stable at 3%
    • POWERLINK declines to 1% (from 3%)
    • Other Ethernet protocols account for the remaining 2% as market consolidation around the major networks continues
    Fieldbus drops to 14% as PROFIBUS decline

    Fieldbus technologies now represent 14% of new nodes, down from 17% in 2025. PROFIBUS & PROFINET International’s own published figures showed PROFIBUS new-node installations dropping from 1.1 million in 2024 to 1.0 million in 2025, a 9% decline corroborated by HMS
    Networks’ internal data and by HMS’s industry survey.

    Within Fieldbus:

    • PROFIBUS remains the largest fieldbus but drops to 4% (from 5%)
    • Modbus RTU holds steady at 3%, reflecting its continued role as the universal low-cost serial protocol
    • CC-Link, DeviceNet and CAN/CANopen each remain in the 1–2% range with modest further decline
    • Other Fieldbus protocols collectively account for 2%, down from 4%, as the long tail of legacy networks fades
    Wireless remains steady at 7%

    Wireless technologies continue to connect 7% of new node installations, unchanged from 2025. Wireless retains its established role as a complement to wired industrial networks, particularly valuable for mobile equipment such as AGVs (automated guided vehicles) and AMRs (autonomous mobile robots), retrofitted machinery, and IIoT sensors in hard-to-reach locations.

     
    5G remains an area of significant interest but slow industrial deployment. The complexity of private 5G infrastructure is the most commonly cited barrier. Early industrial 5G deployments continue to grow, particularly in Asia, but the technology has yet to deliver the breakthrough adoption many in the industry expected.

    Regional insights

    Europe: PROFINET and EtherCAT continue to lead, with strong activity around APL (Advanced Physical Layer) for process automation and SPE (Single Pair Ethernet) for sensor-level connectivity. PROFIBUS decline is most visible in Europe, where the install base is largest and the migration to PROFINET most advanced.

    North America: EtherNet/IP remains the dominant protocol, particularly in automotive and discrete manufacturing. Adoption of IO-Link, APL and SPE is gaining clear momentum, supported by interest in OT cybersecurity ahead of the regulatory landscape taking shape around CRA and IEC 62443.

    Asia: PROFINET and EtherCAT both continue to grow in the Chinese market. CC-Link IE, the first industrial protocol with TSN mechanism, maintains a strong regional foothold.

    HMS Networks’ perspective

    “Twelve years of data tell a remarkably consistent story. The migration from fieldbus to Industrial Ethernet is now in its later stages, but the more interesting question is what happens next. When nearly everything is Ethernet, the conversation shifts from ‘which protocol?’ to ‘what is running on top of it?’, functional safety, cybersecurity, TSN, OPC UA, Single Pair Ethernet, IT/OT convergence. That is where the complexity, and the differentiation, will increasingly sit,” says Magnus Jansson, Director of Product Marketing, at HMS Networks.

    “The 2026 numbers also reinforce something we have been seeing in our industry survey: cybersecurity is now cited by nearly half of respondents as a top integration challenge, and 93% expect OT cybersecurity to change substantially over the next five years. The protocols matter, but the layers above them increasingly define how factories actually operate.” Magnus continues.

    Beyond the protocols: a wider lens on industrial networking

    To complement the long-running annual market shares analysis, HMS Networks publishes the State of Industrial Networking, an extended companion report that examines the broader dimensions shaping industrial communication: cybersecurity, leading industry voices from across the world, regional or industry-specific dynamics and much more.

    The extended report draws on the Future of Industrial Networks survey, an externally panelled study now in its second annual edition. The 2026 cycle captured responses from industrial designers and users across all major regions and industries, with the 2027 edition opening for participation in June this year. As individual protocol-level shifts grow smaller year on year, the broader picture captured in the extended report will increasingly carry the conversation about where industrial networking is heading.

    About the study

    The HMS Networks analysis is based on a combination of market insights, internal data, and input from key stakeholders in the industrial automation industry. The study focuses on newly installed nodes in factory automation worldwide, each node being a device or machine connected to an industrial control network. This is the twelfth consecutive year HMS Networks has published this annual analysis.

  • MRF Achieves FIA Three-Star Environmental Accreditation, Reinforcing its Global Motorsport and Sustainability Commitment

     

    Chennai, India | June 18: MRF Limited has been awarded the prestigious Three-Star level of the FIA Environmental Accreditation Programme, marking a significant milestone in the company’s sustainability journey and its continuing presence in global motorsport.

    The certification, awarded recently, follows an audit conducted under the FIA Environmental Accreditation framework. The FIA audit recognised MRF’s structured approach to environmental management, continual improvement and responsible manufacturing practices across its motorsport tyre operations.

    MRF Achieves FIA Three-Star Environmental Accreditation, Reinforcing its Global Motorsport and Sustainability CommitmentCommenting on the achievement, Mr Arun Mammen, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Limited, said: “MRF’s global motorsport journey is powered by performance and responsibility. This FIA Three-Star accreditation reinforces our commitment to sustainable innovation, environmental stewardship and continuous improvement across our operations worldwide today.”

    With this recognition, MRF is the only Indian Tyre Company and also joins a select group of global motorsport tyre manufacturers to have achieved the FIA’s highest environmental accreditation.

    MRF manufactures motorsport tyres at its manufacturing locations, which are certified to ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System standards. The audit also noted that these manufacturing locations maintain ISO 50001 Energy Management System certification.

    The audit further recognised MRF’s SMART environmental objectives across its manufacturing locations, covering areas such as reducing specific power consumption, fuel consumption, water consumption and waste generation. Monitoring and measurement systems were documented across key environmental impact areas, including energy use, waste management, water consumption, biodiversity, air quality, noise, materials and procurement, transport, and Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions.

    The FIA Three-Star Environmental Accreditation is the highest level within the programme and reflects MRF’s continued commitment to integrating sustainability into its motorsport operations while maintaining the performance standards associated with the MRF brand globally.

  • Jan Aushadhi Kendras Cross 19,200 Mark Nationwide, Expanding Affordable Healthcare Access

    New Delhi, June 18: The number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) has increased to over 19,200 across the country, rising sharply from just 84 in 2014, the Government of India said on Wednesday.

    The expansion reflects a significant scale-up of the affordable healthcare initiative aimed at improving access to quality generic medicines for citizens at lower costs.

    Officials said the Jan Aushadhi scheme is designed to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure by providing medicines at prices significantly lower than branded alternatives while maintaining quality standards approved by regulatory authorities.

    The scheme has expanded its reach across urban and rural areas, including remote and underserved regions, ensuring wider availability of essential medicines through dedicated retail outlets.

    Health officials noted that the growth in Kendras has contributed to increasing awareness and acceptance of generic medicines among patients, helping to improve affordability in healthcare delivery.

    The government reiterated its commitment to further strengthening the network of Jan Aushadhi Kendras to ensure that essential medicines remain accessible and affordable to all sections of society.