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But compute is awfully expensive. For a country like India, which needs scale and cheaper compute, the cost is only going to get increasingly higher, making it inaccessible to large sections. Open Cloud Compute (OCC), an initiative of People+AI is looking to solve this very issue. It is founded by EkStep Foundation, which Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani started in 2015 and is trying to offer an alternative for larger players by creating a network of micro data centres.

ET’s Puran Choudhary, the company’s global Gen AI leader, Nitin Mittal, shared Deloitte’s “India for global, India for India” strategy. Edited excerpts: Why did Deloitte choose India for the global CoE? There are several reasons. One is the talent base both within Deloitte and the larger ecosystem, including startups, academia and institutions. The other reason is that almost every Fortune 500 company has a presence in India. In Bengaluru alone, 38% of Fortune 500 companies operate. Compare this to other regions, like the Nordic countries, where talent may exist but not at the scale or price points we find here. This dual benefit of “India for global” and “India for India” is rare, and it’s a critical factor for Deloitte.

Direct-to-consumer brands and ecommerce marketplaces are estimated to have recorded a 17-18% increase in order volumes during this year's Black Friday weekend compared to last year. Beauty, wellness and personal care products, and home decor were the most popular categories during the sale, according to ecommerce enablement platform Unicommerce. The gross merchandise value (GMV) — the value of goods sold on ecommerce platforms, excluding discounts and returns — rose more than 24% from a year earlier. The surge in sales was fuelled by the global excitement around Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, bringing the year's ecommerce sale events to a close. The sale event also saw a sharp rise in average order value (AoV), particularly for pricier items, similar to what was observed during the Diwali festive sales, said several brand executives.

Meghan Markle will be looking to leave a mark in 2025 after she is planning on launching her fashion brand in the coming year, along with the release of her highly anticipated Netflix show, where she could be seen playing a part, as per reports. The Duchess of Sussex took a major sabbatical from her acting career after getting married to the Royal Family, but it now looks like she could be back in a major way to the Hollywood scene.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still popular and respected by their fellow players even though they no longer play for European clubs. The 37-year-old Messi and 39-year-old Ronaldo were the only players not with clubs in Europe to be voted on a 26-man shortlist for the world team of the year organized by global players' union FIFPRO on Monday, as per a report.. The other 24 nominees played in the past year with clubs in England, Germany, Spain and France, though Kylian Mbappé was the only French connection after spending last season at Paris Saint-Germain, AP reported. No player from any Italian club was selected, nor from any club in South America or Africa.

«Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity,» Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social site. He added that, «Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

Economists from the Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered now expect a CRR cut later this week as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would rely on the CRR lever, instead of the policy rates, to support growth through liquidity injection. CRR refers to the cash lenders must set aside as part of prudential norms. These funds, kept with the RBI, don't earn any interest. The pressure on the rupee, lower government cash balance and foreign portfolio (FPI) outflows have combined to cast a shadow on growth, although concerns over inflations haven't yet receded.

James Norton and Niamh Algar as parents caught in a life-changing situation.

Juice WRLD Day 2024 event in the month of November held in Chicago, rapper Dave Blunts drew significant attention by performing while connected to an oxygen tank, reported Sportskeeda. This striking visual led to a wave of reactions on social media, with fans expressing both concern and bewilderment over his health struggles. According to Sportskeeda, Dave Blunts performed several of his tracks while seated on a couch, declaring that ‘I do this for Juice. I do this for me. We keep going no matter what’ while showcasing his determination despite ongoing challenges. Also Read: All American Season 7: See premiere date, time, cast and plot

US President- elect Donald Trump's victory, numerous women have decided to undergo sterilization procedures while fearing potential restrictions on reproductive rights under his administration, reported Newsweek. According to Newsweek, Lydia Echols from Texas plans to have her fallopian tubes removed while stating that she feels compelled to protect her reproductive autonomy in light of Donald Trump's policies. Other women echoed similar sentiments while expressing anxiety about losing access to abortion and birth control. Also Read: Playing Nice: Baby swap drama’s trailer, plot and production team

Parents who want to help jumpstart their kid's credit score and credit history can take one fairly easy step, money experts say: Add your child as an authorized user to your credit card account.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have had a sturdy relationship and have been parenting their children together, but in a recent podcast, Kutcher has broadly stated that both of them try to raise their kids in different manners. While speaking at this podcast, he admitted that most of his methods are painted with 'toxic masculinity', something that is already brimming up big sarcasms and criticism on the Internet.

Online payments major PhonePe has informed its merchants that its payments solutions will be offered to them through direct integrations, therebystopping all third-party partnerships with payment aggregators like SoftBank-backed Juspay. In a communication sent out to merchants, a copy of which was seen by ET, PhonePe said that it sees third party payment players receiving a payment aggregator licence (PA) of their own as a conflict of interest. This is a significant development in the merchant payments business where players like Juspay, which facilitates merchants to work with multiple payment gateways, might face loss of business. Juspay recently bagged the final approval from the Reserve Bank of India for a PA licence. What does this mean and what could be the potential impact of this move? ET explains.

BJP has flayed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks on GDP growth rate decline and said his attempt to paint a picture of economic doom, with selective data and «half-truths», is not just misleading but reeks of a «childish» oversimplification of complex realities. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha had on Sunday expressed concern over India's GDP growth rate declining to its lowest in two years and said the country's economy cannot progress as long as a handful of billionaires accrue its benefits. He stressed that new thinking is required for India's economy and a new deal for businesses should be an important part of it. Reacting sharply, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya wrote on X, «Your attempt to paint a picture of economic doom, with selective data and half-truths is not just misleading but reeks of 'Balak Buddhi' — a childish oversimplification of complex realities». He said crying foul over a 5.4 per cent GDP growth rate by the Congress leader is «laughable when it is one of the highest globally».

YES Bank and AU Small Finance Bank have introduced various credit card related changes in December. While AU Small Finance Bank has revised its reward points, Axis Bank has made several changes to the general terms and conditions of most of its credit cards. SBI has revised utility bill payments fees, and YES Bank has revised reward point redemption category. December 2024 money deadlines: Don't miss deadlines for free Aadhaar updates, special FDs, and credit card changes

Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family, as per a report. The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move on Sunday night comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House, AP reported. It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden's legacy.

Swami Chandrashekara Natha, head of a Vokkaliga mutt in Bengaluru, has emerged as a rallying point for BJP leaders after the government booked him over his remarks against Muslims. The Swami had, participating in a protest against the Waqf Board claiming ownership of farmlands at many places, called for a law to end the voting rights for Muslims. The Swami, however, later expressed regrets over his comments, calling them unintended ones uttered in a bout of emotion. He did not mean it as the country gave voting rights to every citizen. While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM DK Shivakumar have distanced themselves from the FIR, registered by the Bengaluru Police based on a complaint from a social worker, the BJP has thrown its weight behind the Swami. The Police had wanted the mutt head to appear before them on Monday to record his statement, but he did not turn up citing health issues and told Police that they were free to visit the Mutt and take his statement.

Over 50 protesters reportedly entered the premises of the Bangladeshi mission in Agartala, triggering concerns among those present at the complex. «The incident earlier today of the breach of premises at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala is deeply regrettable,» the MEA said.

Digital payments major PhonePe has decided to discontinue its partnership with payment orchestration platform Juspay. Instead, the Walmart-backed company is opting for direct integration with merchants. This will also allow PhonePe to offer an integrated payment experience to its merchants from origination of the transaction to the final settlement. While PhonePe has been offering the direct integration service for quite some time now, going forward the company will stop all third-party integrations, a person in the know said.