Category: Technology

New Delhi, June 25: India has the potential to emerge as a global leader in sustainable water management by adopting nature-based solutions and innovative approaches, an expert said on Tuesday.

Speaking on the importance of long-term water security, the expert highlighted that climate change, rapid urbanisation, and increasing demand are putting significant pressure on water resources across regions. In this context, nature-based solutions such as watershed restoration, wetland conservation, rainwater harvesting, and ecosystem-based water management were identified as key strategies.

The expert noted that integrating traditional knowledge systems with modern technology can help improve water conservation outcomes and ensure sustainable use of resources. Community participation and decentralised water governance were also emphasised as critical components for success.

India’s diverse geography and existing experience in large-scale water management programmes provide a strong foundation for scaling up such initiatives, the expert said. Strengthening local water bodies and improving groundwater recharge were highlighted as priority areas.

The need for collaborative efforts between government agencies, local bodies, and communities was also underlined to ensure effective implementation of sustainable water practices.

The expert further stated that investing in nature-based solutions not only supports water security but also contributes to climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and rural livelihoods.

With growing global attention on environmental sustainability, India’s focus on innovative water management strategies could position the country as a model for other developing economies.

Blending Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processing with a reinforced, low-profile design, the EPIC-PTH9 sees AAEON target the industrial AI sphere.

Taipei, Taiwan – June 25:  Industry-leading provider of embedded solutions AAEON (Stock Code: 6579) today announced the release of the EPIC-PTH9, a 4” industrial single-board computer with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors (formerly Panther Lake), PCIe Gen 5 x8 expansion, and a robust, low-profile design. 

Offering standard models with a choice of either the Intel Core Ultra X7 Processor 358H or Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 356H, the EPIC-PTH9 can deliver up to 180 TOPS of AI performance through the Intel platform’s integrated CPU, Intel Arc B390 GPU, and NPU.

Given the product’s positioning as a platform for industrial AI applications, its I/O is geared towards support for the need to support multiple cameras, sensors, or control devices such solutions require. For this, the EPIC-PTH9 comes with four LAN ports, three of which three running at 2.5GbE and one at 1GbE speed, with two of these four ports supporting PXE enablement.

Other notable I/Os come in the form of four USB ports (two USB 3.2 Gen 2 and two USB 2.0), as well as four internal serial port headers. The board also provides a GPIO 8-bit, and SMBus header, co-lay with I2C and timed GPIO functions, which can be changed by BOM.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the EPIC-PTH9 and its predecessors, outside of its processing foundation, is the presence of a PCIe 5.0 x8 slot, which can be used to host next-gen AI accelerators, frame grabbers, and other specialized industrial I/O cards. Other expansion options include a M.2 3052 B-Key, M.2 2230 E-Key, and M.2 2280 M-Key slots for 5G, Wi-Fi, and NVMe storage modules, respectively.

The EPIC-PTH9 also sees improvements in its environmental ruggedness, with a default temperature range of -20°C to 70°C and a 9V to 24V power input tolerance. These features are particularly notable given the board’s low-profile 1U I/O height.

With respect to OS compatibility, the EPIC-PTH9 lists support for both Windows 11 and Linux Ubuntu 26.04 (kernel 7.0.0-14). 

New Delhi, June 25: Amazon CEO has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and announced plans to invest $48 billion in India by 2030, marking one of the company’s largest long-term commitments in the country.

The investment is expected to be directed towards expanding Amazon’s e-commerce infrastructure, strengthening cloud computing capabilities, enhancing logistics networks, and supporting digital innovation across India.

According to officials, the announcement reflects growing confidence in India’s digital economy and its rapidly expanding consumer and enterprise markets. The planned investment is also expected to create new opportunities in technology, supply chain management, and employment generation over the coming years.

During the meeting, discussions focused on India’s digital transformation, ease of doing business, and the role of technology in driving inclusive economic growth. The government highlighted its continued focus on building a strong digital ecosystem to support global and domestic companies.

Amazon’s commitment is expected to further deepen its presence in India, where it already operates across multiple sectors including e-commerce, cloud services through Amazon Web Services (AWS), and digital payment solutions.

Industry experts say the investment underscores India’s position as a key global growth market for technology and retail expansion. It also aligns with broader trends of increasing foreign direct investment in India’s digital and infrastructure sectors.

The company stated that the long-term investment will support innovation, expand small business participation on its platform, and improve customer experience across the country.

The announcement is seen as a significant boost to India’s digital economy and reinforces global investor confidence in the country’s growth trajectory.

The historic milestone belongs to a global ecosystem of trainers, partners, and practitioners, proving that agile capabilities are foundational to surviving and thriving in the age of AI and other disruptive forces

DENVER, CO, June 25: In a definitive sign that agility has become the foundational skill for the modern workforce, the Scrum Alliance® community has officially surpassed 2 million professional credentials earned from the organization. This historic milestone belongs entirely to the global community that built, shaped, and sustained this movement from the ground up.

This ecosystem is anchored by the training partners who scale workplace agility through hands-on education, and the members who sustain it through everyday practice. This milestone is a collective victory for every layer of the community: the early practitioners who first legitimized agility globally, the volunteers who shape professional standards, the local chapters and User Groups creating grassroots community, the enterprises adopting it at scale, and the dedicated members driving it forward every day.

From foundational certifications to emerging microcredentials, these credentials reflect a global movement of professionals applying agile principles beyond software and technology into business operations, healthcare, education, marketing, product development, leadership, and organizational transformation.

As organizations face unprecedented complexity driven by the rapid rise of AI and other disruptive forces, agile capabilities have become more important than ever. Agile principles and behaviors serve as the essential foundation for navigating these dynamics, allowing professionals across every sector to take charge of their career longevity and build adaptable, future-proof skill sets.

“Reaching two million credentials serves as a definitive index for a broader shift in the global talent market—one where agility is a core requirement for organizational resilience,” said Tristan Boutros, CEO of Scrum Alliance. “Modern enterprises increasingly rely on multi-faceted employees who can enable strategy, navigate AI-driven disruption, lead organizational change, and solve complex business problems. This milestone belongs to our extraordinary community. From the early practitioners who legitimized agility globally to the trainers and partners who scale it today, this celebrates the people who drive meaningful results in an unpredictable world.”

Buenos Aires, Seoul, Beijing, Berlin, Fort Collins, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, Taipei, Tokyo, June 25: The cellular IoT module market is starting to look a little different. For years, most of the module innovation came from connectivity upgrades from 2G to 4G, then to NB-IoT to Cat 1 bis, and now 5G and RedCap. But that is beginning to change. Today, intelligence is becoming just as important as connectivity, but the path is proving less linear than many expected.

According to Counterpoint Research’s latest Cellular IoT AI Module & Chipset Tracker, AI-embedded cellular IoT modules contributed 6% of total cellular IoT module shipments in Q1 2026. While AI remains one of the most discussed topics across the IoT ecosystem, adoption lost momentum during the quarter for cellular AI modules. After growing 19% YoY in 2025, AI-embedded module shipments declined nearly 17% YoY in Q1 2026.

The slowdown was mainly due to rising memory prices, which have increased the bill of materials for many AI-enabled products. Unlike basic connectivity modules, AI-capable and AI-enabled modules typically require larger memory configurations to support local AI processing and computing workloads. As memory costs increased throughout the supply chain, several enterprise deployments were delayed, particularly in cost-sensitive segments.

AI-embedded Cellular Module Shipments Share by AI Capability, Q1 2026

Source: Counterpoint AI Module & Chipset Tracker & Forecast, Q1 2026 

Commenting on the market scenario, Senior Analyst Tina Lu said “We are starting to see two different AI adoption paths in modules. One is the Modem AI modules where intelligence is directly embedded into modems (for example Qualcomm X72, X75, X80, X85 or Mediatek T830, T930) to handle tasks like optimization of connectivity, network selection and power efficiency, the second is application-centric AI where modules integrate CPUs, GPUs and dedicated NPUs to run AI processing locally.”

Lu added, “The different cost structure and component dependencies affected the growth and adoption of these two approaches. Modem AI, which is not dependent on memory and does not perform application processing, registered a growth of 8% YoY, whereas AI-capable and AI-enabled modules which mainly perform on-device edge AI and are dependent on higher memory configuration required to do processing tasks, declined 22% YoY and 11% YoY respectively, due to rising memory costs.”

Commenting on the drivers & outlook, Director of IoT Practice Mohit Agrawal said “Smart retail, rugged handhelds and industrial are the major adopters of AI-enabled modules whereas for AI-capable modules POS is driving the contribution. Modem AI growth is being single-handedly driven by router-CPE application as operators look to optimize network performance, improve power efficiency and deliver a better user experience in enterprise deployments and 5G FWA.”

Agrawal added, “Due to these memory price increases, AI-embedded cellular modules witnessed double-digit ASP growth as module players were forced to raise prices, eventually affecting demand across applications due to hardware costs. The recent slowdown does not change the direction of the market. AI adoption is still at an early stage across IoT applications. With ongoing traction in smart cameras, surveillance, retail, automotive, and industrial robotics, we expect AI penetration in cellular modules to reach 25% by 2030. Over time, AI will move beyond a few niche applications and become a standard feature, helping connected devices become smarter rather than simply remain connected.”

AI Category Definitions:

AI-Capable Modules: Modules integrating CPUs and GPUs that can support basic AI processing and lightweight inference, but without a dedicated AI accelerator. An example is the Fibocom SC226 module, which is powered by an ARM Cortex A53 quad-core processor, and includes a built-in Adreno 702 GPU.

AI-Enabled Modules: Modules integrating dedicated AI hardware such as NPUs, TPUs or AI engines to support advanced AI workloads and local inference. For example, the Meig SLM925 module, based on the QCM6125 SoC.

Modem AI Modules: Modules based on modem platforms with embedded AI capabilities focused on connectivity optimization, including network performance, power efficiency, positioning and signal management, rather than application-level AI processing.

Acquisition of 150 million parcel-level land intelligence dataset strengthens Wood Mackenzie’s leading market position and will drive faster, higher-confidence capital allocation decisions for power, renewables, and data center developers

LONDON/HOUSTON/SINGAPORE, June 25: Wood Mackenzie, a global leader in data, analytics and insights for the energy and natural resources industry, today announced the acquisition of LandGate. The deal combines Wood Mackenzie’s power market forecasting and supply chain analytics with LandGate’s proprietary land and grid intelligence, as electricity demand grows at an unprecedented pace.

“Wood Mackenzie is committed to providing the data, analytics and insights our clients need to make critical decisions in an increasingly complex energy world,” said Jason Liu, CEO of Wood Mackenzie. “The system is becoming more interconnected and companies that rely on siloed approaches will be left behind. This acquisition advances our strategy by bringing LandGate’s granular land and infrastructure data into our platform, giving customers a uniquely connected view of where demand is growing, how the grid must respond, and where capital should flow.”

Power generation investment in the US is expected to reach $1.36 trillion through 2035. Data centers are at the forefront of this growth and Wood Mackenzie estimates they will account for roughly 68% of US load growth through 2030.  That concentration of large-scale, location-specific load is shifting power markets from a supply-led model to one defined by demand and whether grid infrastructure can respond in time. Decisions made at the earliest stages of project development are more crucial than ever and require data connecting power market fundamentals to ground-level site conditions within a single workflow.

Founded in Denver, Colorado in 2016, LandGate offers a highly differentiated and proprietary data and analytics solution, leveraging insights on the US power transmission grid and more than 150 million land parcels in the US to support critically important capital allocation decisions for data centers, power and renewables projects, and other energy infrastructure assets.

“The energy industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation, and our customers are at the heart of it,” said Yoann Hispa CEO of LandGate. “By combining our proprietary data and insights with Wood Mackenzie, we are creating a unified ecosystem that will strengthen our offerings and accelerate the growth and innovation our clients rely on.”

“The future of power market analysis requires connecting demand, supply, networks and infrastructure in a single decision-making framework,” said Xizhou Zhou, Executive Vice President and Head of Power & Renewables at Wood Mackenzie. “LandGate adds a critical layer of high-resolution data across land, transmission and large-load demand that allows us to model and understand markets from the ground up and significantly enhances our ability to support clients through the full investment lifecycle, from screening and siting to development and financing.”

KippsDeSanto & Co., KPMG, and Brach Eichler LLC served respectively as financial, tax, and legal advisors to LandGate in connection with the transaction. 

New Delhi, June 25: India and the United States have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening strategic and economic ties, with discussions focused on expanding cooperation in key sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and critical minerals.

The talks underscore the growing importance of technology-driven collaboration between the two nations as they seek to build resilient supply chains, accelerate innovation, and enhance economic competitiveness in an increasingly interconnected global landscape.

During the discussions, both sides emphasized the need for closer engagement in semiconductor manufacturing and research, recognizing the sector’s critical role in powering next-generation technologies. Efforts to promote investments, foster talent development, and encourage industry partnerships were highlighted as areas of mutual interest.

Artificial intelligence also featured prominently in the dialogue, with India and the US exploring opportunities to advance responsible AI development, strengthen digital infrastructure, and support innovation-led growth. The discussions reflected a shared vision of leveraging emerging technologies to drive economic progress while ensuring ethical and secure deployment.

In addition, both countries reviewed avenues for cooperation in securing critical mineral supply chains, a key component in the production of advanced electronics, clean energy technologies, and strategic industrial applications. Enhancing supply chain resilience and reducing vulnerabilities remain central priorities for both governments.

The renewed focus on these strategic sectors highlights the evolving nature of the India-US partnership, which continues to expand beyond traditional areas of cooperation into advanced technology, innovation, and sustainable economic development.

Industry observers view the discussions as a positive step toward deepening bilateral collaboration and creating new opportunities for investment, research, and technological advancement in the years ahead.

NOIDA, India and Sydney, Australia, June 25—HCLTech, a leading global technology company, has expanded its collaboration with Google Cloud and ServiceNow to deliver AI agents for enterprise adoption on the Gemini Enterprise platform. The launch coincides with HCLTech’s sponsorship of the Sydney Google Cloud Summit 2026.

Building on HCLTech’s recently launched Gemini Enterprise business unit, the latest collaboration brings together advanced ServiceNow AI capabilities, enterprise workflow orchestration and industry expertise to enable organizations to deploy and scale AI in real business environments.

HCLTech will introduce enterprise AI solutions on Gemini Enterprise that combine Gemini’s advanced AI capabilities with ServiceNow’s workflow platform – anchored in ServiceNow’s Blueprint for Agentic Business, a framework for structured, outcome-driven AI adoption. This includes a next-generation Factory Shop Floor Assistant, which delivers real-time operational intelligence to manufacturing environments, enabling faster decision-making and improved efficiency.

Initial solutions span two high-impact domains: Field Services, where Gemini Live, integrated with ServiceNow Field Service Management, delivers real-time audio and visual intelligence to field technicians for faster issues resolution; and Customer Experience, to ensure customer intent is preserved across channels. HCLTech is also leveraging ServiceNow’s AI Control Tower to enhance visibility and governance of AI agents within Gemini Enterprise, while an ITOps ServiceNow Agent—available on Google Cloud Marketplace for Gemini Enterprise—supports incident management and remediation in enterprise IT environments.

“Bringing agentic AI to the enterprise requires deep integration into the systems that businesses rely on every day,” said Satish Thomas, Vice President of Applied AI and Platform Ecosystem at Google Cloud. “Our partnership with HCLTech and ServiceNow combines the foundational power of Gemini Enterprise with industry-leading workflow and operational expertise, giving customers the tools they need to safely scale AI and accelerate innovation across their entire organization.”

“The future of enterprise AI lies in orchestrating intelligent agents across the business as a connected system of action,” said Michael Park, Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships and Channels at ServiceNow. “By bringing together ServiceNow’s AI-native platform, HCLTech’s implementation expertise, and Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise capabilities, we are helping organizations build the foundation for an agentic enterprise. This collaboration enables customers to orchestrate AI agents across workflows, systems and teams, accelerating productivity, strengthening governance and delivering business outcomes at scale.”

“Enterprises are moving quickly from exploring AI to embedding it at the core of their operations, and that shift requires stronger levels of integration and orchestration,” said Vijay Guntur, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Ecosystems at HCLTech. “Our collaboration with Google Cloud and ServiceNow reflects this evolution—integrating advanced AI, enterprise workflows and ecosystem scale to help clients move beyond pilots to sustained, enterprise-wide impact. By aligning AI with operational systems and industry context, we are enabling a more practical and accountable adoption of agentic AI, and our ServiceNow Agentic Blueprint gives enterprises the structured path to get there.”

“Agentic AI will only deliver enterprise value when it is built on a resilient, secure and scalable digital foundation,” said Jagadeshwar Gattu, President, Digital Foundation Services at HCLTech. “By combining HCLTech’s deep infrastructure, cloud and operations expertise with Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise platform and ServiceNow’s workflow and AI capabilities, we are helping clients move from experimentation to production-ready adoption. This collaboration enables enterprises to embed intelligence into mission-critical environments with the governance, visibility and operational rigor needed to drive measurable outcomes at scale.”

This expanded collaboration underscores HCLTech’s focus on enabling enterprises to transition from experimentation to scaled deployment of agentic AI, with solutions that are designed to deliver measurable impact across industries. HCLTech will showcase this focus at the Sydney Google Cloud Summit 2026, and at the Sydney ServiceNow World Forum where enterprise leaders will explore how cloud, AI and ecosystem collaboration can accelerate business transformation.

Delhi, 24 June: Best Power Equipment (BPE), a leader in critical power solutions, today announced the reappointment of Mr. Manish Gaur as Assistant Vice President-Sales for Best Power Equipment, who will lead the Channel and National Distribution operations for the company. This reappointment reaffirms Best Power Equipment’s commitment to grow its footprint and deepen relationships across India. 

Manish Gaur has over a decade of experience in distribution management, channel development, and sales leadership. He was previously associated with BPE for over six years in key business management and sales leadership roles. He has a proven track record of driving growth and building sustainable company structures and is well-positioned to help lead Best Power Equipment into its next expansion phase. 

Commenting on the reappointment, Mr. Manish Gaur said, “The company’s vision of empowering customers with reliable solutions resonates deeply with me. I look forward to strengthening our channel ecosystem and ensuring that our national distribution strategy delivers both growth and value to partners and customers alike.”

Welcoming Manish on board, Mr. Amitansu Satpathy, Founder and Group Managing Director, Best Power Equipment India Pvt Ltd (BPE), said, “Our emphasis on creating a strong platform for sales and distribution is reflected in Manish’s hiring. His knowledge of national distribution and channel management will be critical in helping us move our expansion goals forward. Under his leadership, we are confident of reaching new heights and strengthening.

This strategic move underscores Best Power Equipment’s objective to fortify its leadership position in the market by providing its products and services to customers across the country through a more efficient distribution network.

New Delhi, June 24: India is steadily positioning itself as a significant player in the global artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, driven by rapid digital adoption, expanding talent pools and increasing investments in emerging technologies, according to a recent report.

The report highlights that India’s growing AI capabilities are being supported by strong technological infrastructure, a large base of skilled professionals and rising demand for AI-driven solutions across industries such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing and services.

Experts noted that government initiatives promoting digital transformation, along with private sector innovation, are accelerating the development and deployment of AI applications across the country.

The study further states that India’s startup ecosystem is playing a crucial role in advancing AI innovation, with companies focusing on areas such as machine learning, automation, data analytics and generative AI solutions.

Analysts believe that India’s demographic advantage, combined with its expanding digital economy, positions it strongly to contribute meaningfully to the global AI value chain in the coming years.

The report also emphasised the importance of continued investment in research, skilling and infrastructure to ensure sustainable growth in the AI sector and strengthen India’s global competitiveness.

With increasing global collaboration and domestic innovation, India is expected to deepen its role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence worldwide.