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Indian technicians and pilots 'marvellously' completed their training in France, said Emmanuel Lenain, French Ambassador to India on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of  Rafale  fighter jets. "Planes are outstanding, Indian technicians and pilots marvellously completed their training in  France.  They are totally capable to use these planes at their best," said Emmanuel Lenain. The French Envoy stated he is very proud to say that the first batch of  Rafale  is reaching Indian soil.   ALSO READ:  IAF Chief Bhadauria to receive 5 Rafale jets at Ambala airbase on Wednesday "Our partnership is comprehensive. It goes from strategic, military to health. They have one thing in common. It's for the good of our own people. They take care of their people's security, their health, that is what matters," he said. Read Complete Article

Researchers recently learned that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement used facial recognition on millions of driver’s licence photographs without the licence-holders’ knowledge, the latest revelation about governments employing the technology in ways that threaten civil liberties. But the surveillance potential of facial recognition — its ability to create a “perpetual lineup” — isn’t the only cause for concern. The technological frontiers being explored by questionable researchers and unscrupulous start-ups recall the discredited pseudosciences of physiognomy and phrenology, which purport to use facial structure and head shape to assess character and mental capacity. Artificial intelligence and modern computing are giving new life and a veneer of objectivity to these debunked theories, which were once used to legitimise slavery and perpetuate Nazi race “science”. Those who wish to spread essentialist theories of racial hierarchy are paying attention. In one blog, for ex...

Each evening, the sun sets more than 90 minutes later in western India than in the east of the country, yet the entire country follows the same time zone. Later sunset means people stay awake longer, which induces sleep deprivation among children and negatively affects their study efforts, a new study by a research scholar at Cornell University has found. As a result of sleeping late, children are less likely to complete primary and middle school, and this effect is most pronounced among poor households, says the study, ‘Poor Sleep: Sunset Time and Human Capital Production’, which analysed the consequences India faces by operating under a single time zone. “ Back-of-the-envelope estimates suggest that India incurs annual human capital costs of roughly $4.1 billion (nearly Rs 29,000 crore) or 0.2% of nominal GDP [gross domestic product] due to the existing policy regulating time zone boundaries,” Maulik Jagnani, the author of the study, told IndiaSpend in an email interview. ...