TATA to Make Debut in Robotics Industry with BRABO, A Industrial Robot

TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a Tata Group company, has designed its first ever India-made robot called ‘Tata Brabo’. Showcased at the 'Make in India' week in Mumbai, the robot will help micro, small and medium enterprises in building cost-effective robotic solutions for manufacturing purposes. Expected to launch in two months, the arm bot will be priced at ₹3 lakh and ₹6 lakh.

The robot is a Tata Motors innovation. It has been developed in-house by a team of six engineers, led by Anil Bhingurde, COO of TAL Manufacturing Solutions, the development cost of the robot is reported to be about ₹10 crore. The designing has been done at TAL, styling was done at Tata Elxi, and manufacturing of some parts at Tata AutoComp. Tata Capital, a housing finance company, provided the finance.

The robot will be developed for micro, small and medium enterprises. The enterprises will then use the robots for their manufacturing purposes. It has been reported that Brabo will be priced at ₹300,000 for 2 kilograms payload, and ₹600,000 for 10 kilograms payload.

The main advantage that Tata has is that the company will have the localized manufacturing of the robot and it can price the robots lower than the foreign players. The idea behind the making of the robot is to drive mechanization in the Indian markets by offering cheap and cost-effective solutions. It has also been reported that by manufacturing robots, TAL Manufacturing doesn't intend to compete with global robot manufacturing companies but plans to target the small initiatives in the Indian markets with affordable solutions.

In short, Brabo, which is completely designed, developed and financed in house by TATA, going to create sustainable environment for Robotics Industry in India. With the launch of Brabo, from next year, the demand of robots in the Indian market is expected to rise to 5,000 from 1,000, according to the International Federation of Robotics.

Facebook's Free but Restricted Internet Service "Free Basics" Banned in India

India's telecoms regulator has blocked Facebook's Free Basics internet service after the country's national telecoms regulator ruled that the program and others like it violate the principles of net neutrality. The ruling was not directly aimed at Free Basics, but the general practice of zero-rated internet services, that let users access certain apps and websites without consuming their mobile data.

"No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content," ruled the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

The decision from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) comes after a long battle between Facebook and the country's net neutrality advocates. Free Basics was blocked temporarily in India last December while the TRAI considered its case, but other services — like Airtel Zero — had previously been the subject of protests. But although Facebook's attempt to offer subsidized content wasn't the only such program in India, it was particularly visible.

After its temporary ban, the company started a campaign to try and win public support, reportedly spending nearly $45 million promoting Free Basics with billboards and newspaper advertisements. While Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defending the program as free basic internet access to all, the critics of Free Basics and zero-rating in general argued that the practice creates an unfair marketplace. By subsidizing content, companies like Facebook get to pick and choose winners, creating incentives for customers to use certain services because they don't eat into their data. This in turn makes it harder for smaller players to compete and quashes innovation.

Even according to netizen in India, the Free Basics of Facebook doesn’t include web services which considered to be basic in India like government websites agriculture information etc. The people who live in cities and are aggressive users of the internet said: 'You can't dictate the terms, give free internet to villagers and then tell them how to use it'.

The World Wide Web Foundation, founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web, welcomed the regulator's decision.

Program manager Renata Avila said, "The message is clear: We can't create a two-tier Internet - one for the haves, and one for the have-not."

"We must connect everyone to the full potential of the open Web; We call on companies and the government of India to work with citizens and civil society to explore new approaches to connect everyone as active users, whether through free data allowances, public access schemes or other innovative approaches.", he added further.

For More Information Read- "Should I support Facebook's Free Basics in India?"

A Review: IIT Bombay Entrepreneurship summit 2016

Tenth Edition of the Entrepreneurship Summit concluded with key note from Rana Kapoor of Yes Bank on last Sunday, 31st January at IIT Bombay. This two-day annual summit promises an amazing meeting ground for industry experts, business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs and of course, students, many of whom are aspiring entrepreneurs. It’s also the first ever event of its kind to receive patronage from the ‘Make in India’ initiative, as well as UNESCO.

The E-Summit is also the largest such event that is organized by a student body (E-Cell), and its theme this year was ‘The Global Mèlange’ to showcase the entrepreneurial ecosystems of Israel, the US, the UK, Singapore, and Australia – quite apt given that the entrepreneurial spirit is never tethered by geographical boundaries.

Panel discussions, Talk shows & Interactive sessions from the speakers all over the world brought entrepreneurial sparkle and investor energy. Sachin Bansal of Flipkart, Kunal Shah of Freecharge, Vani Kola from Kalaari Capital and Ashish Hemrajani Founder & CEO of Bookmyshow are some of the highlights of talk shows. Jim Beach faculty head of the school for startups got overwhelming response at his talk shows, and an interactive session ‘brainstorming’. The unique talk show hosted by TVF Pitchers added excitement to the event.

The Innovation Conclave witnessed participation from India’s top innovators, comprised of 15-minute long interactions. Anil Gupta, founder of the National Innovation Foundation, and Ramesh Raskar, Head of MIT Media Labs, were among those who gave insights into their ideation styles, work strategies and success stories. Srijan Pal Singh highlighted the opportunities in social entrepreneurship. The struggling story of Mansukhbhai Prajapati, founder of Mitticool and energetic talk on Mumbai’s Dabbawala by Pawan Agrawal added enthusiasm and inspiration in event.

Another major highlight was the second edition of ‘The Ten minute million Challenge’. Ten shortlisted startups got a chance to make a 10-minute pitch in front of a panel of 12 of India’s best angel investors, which was followed by an on-the-spot decision on financial backing.

Other crowd-puller events within the ambit of the E-Summit include the Job and Internship Fair which was open to all college students, and the Start-up Expo. There was also the finals of Asia’s largest Business Model competition on Day 1. Finalists had been chosen from more than 7,000 entries, and prizes worth ₹50 lakh.

Many events were organized to test the skills of young entrepreneur. Competitions like Crowd Pitch, Ideablaze, National BizQuiz, Apocalypse Management and Hackathon, all of which had already created quite a buzz. Teen Tycoons, a pitching platform for teenagers and school students. It was a revolutionary event, aimed at encouraging start-up ideas from all age groups. After all, Mark Zuckerberg was just 19 when he launched Facebook.

India Is Reported To Have World’s First Vaccine For Zika Virus

In a breakthrough discovery Bharat Biotech, a vaccine and biotherapeutic products manufacturer based out of Hyderabad, has claimed to have created the vaccine to combat the rapidly spreading Zika virus outbreak. Zika virus is named after Zika forest of Uganda where it was first identified in Rhesus monkeys in 1947. The virus has recently made headlines all over the world as it is spreading rapidly and has reportedly no vaccines to combat it.

The virus is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito family which causes a mild fever known as Zika fever. The virus has been found to be showing the same symptoms as those caused by Dengue fever and is treated only by taking rest. In the 1950’s the virus was confined to the equatorial belt of Africa and Asia. But since then it has spread to various other regions and as of today has reached pandemic levels.

According to World Health Organization, the virus is ‘spreading explosively’ and will infect 4 million people by the end of the year. In Brazil, the virus has been linked to children being born with small heads or microcephaly, but the diagnosis about that has been inconclusive. The virus has been reported in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, México, Panamá, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela. A cluster of infections similar to what occurred in Brazil was also reported in French Polynesia in 2014. Most recently in Texas, the USA the first infection transmitted through sex has been reported.

Bharat Biotech CMD Krishna Ella said, “We believe we have an early mover advantage in developing the Zikavac and we are probably the first in the world to file for a global patent for Zika vaccine candidates. We have two candidate vaccines in development. One of them is an inactivated vaccine that has reached the stage of preclinical testing in animals”. The patent for the vaccine was filed by the company nine months ago, however, the efficacy of the vaccine still needs to be tested. None the less the discovery is essential to combat the virus and is a big inspiration for Indian budding scientists. The world has only recently started research on developing a vaccine after the outbreak came to limelight.

Dr. Ella has said that the company at best has the capacity to produce one million doses of vaccine per year. To scale up the delivery of the vaccine it needs intervention from the government, and for this, he has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to help fast track the development of the vaccine. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a pediatrician, and Director General, ICMR has said that they will examine the vaccine from a scientific point of view and take it forward.

Science and Technology in India

Indian Scientists and scholars have been contributing in the field Science and technology from ancient time. Many discoveries are made by Indian scientist in field of science, Astronomy, Mathematics, Metallurgy, Medical, etc. Concept of Zero, Cataract surgery, are some of the highlights.

Modern India has had a strong focus on science and technology, realising that it is a key element of economic growth. India is among the topmost countries in the world in the field of scientific research, positioned as one of the top five nations in the field of space exploration.

India is among the world’s top 10 nations in the number of scientific publications. Position-wise, it is ranked 17th in the number of citations received and 34th in the number of citations per paper across the field of science and technology (among nations publishing 50,000 or more papers). The country is ranked ninth globally in the number of scientific publications and 12th in the number of patents filed.

With support from the government, considerable investment and development has incurred in different sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, space research, and nuclear power through scientific research. On the occasion of India’s 67th republic day of India, let’s know about some of major scientific projects of modern India.

Space Applications

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) founded in 1969 under Dr. Vikram Sarabhai with vision to "harness space technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration" and organisation is continuously operating towards the betterment of common people in India. ISRO is pioneer in Space Applications. India has one of the largest fleet of remote sensing satellite operational, contributing in weather forecasting, disaster planning, ground resource management, etc. It also has large number of communication satellite. 

IRNSS is an indigenously developed Navigation Satellite System that is used to provide accurate real-time positioning and timing services over India.The constellation of seven satellites is expected to operate from March 2016 onwards.

At present, ISRO team is actively working on its next generation of GSLV, a heavy liftoff vehicle, GSLV mk-III, which will power India’s Moon Lander Mission, Chandrayaan-2 and Human Spaceflight Program in future.

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)

Mars Orbiter Mission is India's first interplanetary mission to planet Mars with an orbiter craft designed to orbit Mars in an elliptical orbit. Mars Orbiter Mission, also called Mangalyaan is orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. With success of mission in its maiden attempt India has become fourth country to reach Mars and first Asian nation to do so.

The mission was planned to test and prove ISRO’s capability to reach out in outer space which will propel future interplanetary missions of India. The Mission is primarily technological mission considering the critical mission operations and stringent requirements on propulsion and other bus systems of spacecraft. It has been configured to carry out observation of physical features of Mars and carry out limited study of Martian atmosphere with following five payloads:

• Mars Colour Camera (MCC)
• Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS)
• Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM)
• Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA)
• Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP)

ASTROSAT

ASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory, launched on 28th September, 2015. This scientific satellite mission endeavours for a more detailed understanding of our universe. One of the unique features of ASTROSAT mission is that it enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite.

ASTROSAT observes the universe in the optical, ultraviolet, low and high energy X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, whereas most other scientific satellites are capable of observing a narrow range of wavelength band. Multi-wavelength observations of ASTROSAT can be further extended with co-ordinated observations using other spacecraft and ground based observations. All major astronomy Institutions and some Universities in India will participate in these observations.

The scientific objectives of ASTROSAT mission are:

• To understand high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes
• Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars
• Study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond our galaxy
• Detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky
• Perform a limited deep field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region

The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO)

IAO is located near Leh in Ladakh, India, has one of the world's highest sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes. The cloudless skies and low atmospheric water vapour make it one of the best sites in the world for optical, infrared, sub-millimetre, and millimetre wavelengths. It is currently the second highest optical telescope in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters (14,764 ft).

This telescope is remotely operated from CREST at Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Hosakote, Bangalore. using dedicated satellite links. In addition, IIA is collaborating with University of Washington, St. Louis, in operating a 0.5m photometry telescope for continuous monitoring of Active Galactic Nuclei. The two telescopes, 180 deg apart in longitude, would together constitute the Antipodal Transient Observatory. A 0.3-m Differential Image Motion Monitor, a 220-GHz radiometer and an Automated Weather Station have been installed to facilitate continuation of site characterisation. In addition to night observations, the site is also being characterised for solar observations.

Giant Meter-wave Radio Telescope (GMRT)

In trying to answer big questions about the origins of universe and where we all come from, one could start from here in GMRT. The Facility is situated in Khodad, a rural area at the north of Pune, in Maharashtra, free from any radio interferences.

It is home to unique facility picking up signals from the farthest point in space. As a facility there is only one of its kinds in the world. 30 Antennas, each 45 meter on diameter, spread over 20 km stretch and all focus on, trying to unlock the secrets of universe. Panels of the antennas are designed with SMART (Stretched mesh attached to rope trusses), which provide larger reflective area with extremely light structure. 

The complete facility is supported by powerful computer not only for image processing, also for pinpoint focusing of all antennas at a point in vast space. Scientist working 24X7, searching the early formed hydrogen gas clouds in deep space for better understanding of how the universe came in to being. Apart from it GMRT is making new discoveries involving pulsars, binary star system, etc. Working at relatively low frequency (100 MHz – 1000 MHz) GMRT became famous among Radio astronomers around the world and performing better than its counterpart in New Mexico, USA.

India’s Thorium Reactor.

India has one of the largest supplies of thorium in the world (around 319,000 Tons), with comparatively poor quantities of uranium. India has projected meeting as much as 30% of its electrical demands through thorium by 2050. It is the "only country in the world with a detailed, funded, government-approved plan" to focus on thorium-based nuclear power.

In February 2014, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), in Mumbai, India, presented their latest design for a "next-generation nuclear reactor" that will burn thorium as its fuel ore. Once built, with a target date of 2016, they estimate that the reactor could function without an operator for 120 days.

India's first commercial fast breeder reactor the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is approaching completion at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu; making India the most advanced country in thorium research, while other countries planned their programme in the end of last decade.

LCA Tejas, India’s Light Combat Aircraft.

Tejas is the smallest, light weight, single engine, single seat, supersonic, multirole, combat aircraft, consider to be best in its class in the world.

This fourth generation combat aircraft has Carbon Composites, light weight/high strength material for primary structures, quadruplex Digital Flight Control System, glass Cockpit and digital Avionics to give multirole capabilities with carefree maneuvering. These capabilities are further enhanced by several on-board Sensors, Communication and Navigation Systems that are supported by powerful Mission Computers and Cockpit Display System.

The LCA programme was launched in the early eighties for two primary purposes. The principal and most obvious goal was the development of a replacement aircraft for India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. The other main objective was to give an impetus for an across-the-board advancement of India's domestic aviation capability. Many complex technologies like Composite Material, Avionics, and sophisticated test facilities like wind tunnel, Iron bird test facility, simulators for training fighter pilots, etc. has been set up during development of aircraft first time in country. The programme has successfully able to create and sustainable environment for aircraft manufacturing industry in the country.

ALH Dhruv is Advance Light Helicopter developed by HAL, introduced in 2002 has already proved its capability for military and civilian use.

ORV Sagar Kanya

Sagar Kanya is a Ocean Research Vessel (ORV) owned and operated by India's National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR). The ship has helped in India's studies of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.

In the year 1983, under Indo-German collaboration, a multidisciplinary research vessel was built in Germany and delivered in India to Ministry of Earth Sciences (then Department of Ocean Development). The vessel is a versatile ocean observing platform equipped with technologically advanced scientific equipment and related facilities. The ship is continuously monitoring the nutrients dissolve in water salinity, temperature, etc. The on board sampler takes samples from ocean surface water as well as from deep ocean bed and testing it in its 14 Laboratories on the ship. Along with ocean research Sagar kanya is contributing a lot in locating of Poly metallic Nodules on ocean bed. These nodules are rich source of many strategic metals such as copper, nickel and cobalt. Large area of Indian Ocean is identified as a rich source of future development and India has been granted United Nations status as a pioneer investor.

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)

TMT is a planned, eighteen stories, astronomical observatory and extremely large telescope to be built on the summit of Mauna Kea in the state of Hawaii. The TMT is designed for near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared (0.31 to 28 μmwavelengths) observations, featuring adaptive optics to assist in correcting image blur. The TMT will be at the highest altitude of all the proposed ELTs. India has government-level support in R&D along with China, Japan and Canada. The observatory and telescope are expected to be operational on Mauna Kea by 2024.

These are glimpses of Science and technology projects in modern India. Many more scientific projects and invisible innovations are going on in India. India is aggressively working towards establishing itself as a leader in industrialisation and technological development and to become centre of science and technology in world.

HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY !!!

IRNSS - Indian Navigation System on The Edge of Complition

By the time you read this post, ISRO, Indian Space Agency would have launched its fifth regional navigation satellite IRNSS 1E into the space, today. [Press Release] 

IRNSS Service Area

IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System) is an independent regional navigation satellite system being developed by India. It is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area. The Extended Service Area lies between primary service area and area enclosed by the rectangle from Latitude 30 deg South to 50 deg North, Longitude 30 deg East to 130 deg East.

The requirement of such a navigation system is driven because access to foreign government-controlled global navigation satellite systems is not guaranteed in hostile situations, as happened to the Indian military depending on American GPS during the Kargil War.

The fully deployed IRNSS system consists of a constellation of seven satellites, approximately 36,000 km altitude above earth surface and a support ground segment. Three of the satellites in the constellation will be located in geostationary orbit at 32.5° East, 83° East, and 131.5° East longitude. Two of the GSOs will cross the equator at 55° East and two at 111.75° East. Such an arrangement would mean all seven satellites would have continuous radio visibility with Indian control stations. The satellite payloads would consist of atomic clocks and electronic equipment to generate the navigation signals

IRNSS will provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Service (SPS) which is provided to all the users and Restricted Service (RS), which is an encrypted service provided only to the authorized users. Both will be carried on L5 (1176.45 MHz) and S band (2492.028 MHz). The SPS signal will be modulated by a 1 MHz BPSK signal. The Precision Service will use BOC (5, 2). The navigation signals themselves would be transmitted in the S-band frequency (2–4 GHz) and broadcast through a phased array antenna to maintain required coverage and signal strength.

The system is intended to provide an absolute position accuracy of better than 10 meters throughout Indian landmass and better than 20 meters in the Indian Ocean as well as a region extending approximately 1,500 km around India.

Four out of Seven Satellite Constellations are already in space, the fifth satellite is launched today from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Shriharikotta (SHAR) in Andhra Pradesh. Remaining two satellites are scheduled to launch in February and March of this year. So, very soon consumer in India will find option of IRNSS on their Smartphone.

Some applications of IRNSS are:

• Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation
• Disaster Management
• Vehicle tracking and fleet management
• Integration with mobile phones
• Precise Timing
• Mapping and Geodetic data capture
• Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travelers
• Visual and voice navigation for drivers

The IRNSS Signal-in-Space Interface Control Document (ICD) for Standard Positioning Service (SPS) is released to the public to provide the essential information on the IRNSS signal-in-space, to facilitate research & development and aid the commercial use of the IRNSS signals for navigation-based applications. Click here to Register and Download the Document.

INDIA: A PLACE WHERE ZERO ('शुन्य') IS INVENTED

In India people are diverse in their culture, language, nature etc. This is because of the various reasons. If we start to find the roots of it we have to go way beyond the time to see where people were actually used to stay and have developed their culture near river banks. The development of any civilization is closely associated to their development in social and cultural aspects. But what if this whole world has a starting point? Or it might have a time where nothing was there. Any culture in the world has been developed due to the people from their community who have taken thinking to the altogether different platform. Physics Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, and Arts in every field humans have developed themselves and not only survived but also evolved new things. But from where it started, it might have a starting point. At point where it was nothing there, an empty minds, vacuum of thoughts. Then something happened and humans learned counting and things became countable, humans improvised themselves and introduced new fields of knowledge and arts. They called it mathematics. Later, he had developed other branches of it like Physics, Chemistry, and Biology etc. Means all roots come to the history of Mathematics, which can be solved without ‘Zero’.‘Zero’ also known as ‘शुन्य’(Shoonya) in Sanskrit, was invented in India by Indian mathematician ‘Pingala’. The evidences take us to the 2nd or 3rd century BC.

This is one side of the coin that most of us know. But other side of it is yet to be known. When we think that this digit zero which is one of the central part of entire mathematics, is not just a digit and it’s a philosophy. If we see its properties it has surprising qualities in terms of mathematics. If we put it before any digit it has its original value and if we put it after a digit it has its maximum value. If we keep this thought aside and move into the computer science binary numbers are hearts of the system. So right from the number systems to the current technology everywhere we use the invention that has contributed to the development of the human race.

The dot (at right) is now recognized as the oldest known version of our zero.

The concept of zero is evolved in India by the great mathematician Aryabhatta who have also given number system to the whole world. Here it got it’s rules here by another mastermind in India named Bramhagupta who also wrote the behavior of this zero and helped us by creating the rules to use it. This rishi has symbolized the concept of ‘Shoonya’. This era was the time when in India education system was based on the Vedas and the mantras which were taught to students by their gurus. The entire mathematics was not symbolic but it was through mantras and descriptions. This has given wings to the world for the development of the physics, chemistry, mathematics, and finally the technology flew off.

Till this it’s fine. Now question arises why it has been invented? Do really these people know that there was a real need of such concept to discover something? The concept of this ‘Shoonya’ has also been associated with the terms of the astronomy, like space, or vacuum. It also represents the state of an empty mind psychologically. If we think about the time before the invention of the zero. There were lot of questions which were unanswered by the nature. Humans were still searching the answers to such questions. If we consider that the people from that era know the skill of counting, for which world thinks that it was given by Babylonians, then the questions can be how to count a thing which is not there? This might be the big question. Scientifically humans were not so developed at that time. Then why Indians have thought of developing such concept? And moreover to use such concept to solve such questions which were unanswered. This may give rise to the one more thought that do Indians know about counting before the rest of the world knows it? There are lots of such doubts; questions may create huge chaos in our minds. If we keep thinking in this manner sometimes we try to create our own answers. But let this quest will be continued for the next stage of time travel.

Should I support Facebook's Free Basics in India?

Do you have any idea why 'Internet.org' was renamed to 'Free Basics' just for India?

About 1 year ago, when Internet.org was launched in India, many citizens protested and stopped it as it was against the net neutrality. Facebook was shocked by this response. So, the marketing department of Facebook renamed it to 'FREE BASICS' and relaunched as they thought Indians will never say 'no' to anything which is given for free.

Now, Facebook is aggressively marketing to get it accepted by India's Telecom regulator. They are publishing full page newspaper ads, roadside banners and online ads. They stooped so low from their standards and started sending constant notifications to all their Indian Users to click a button which will send a mail to TRAI saying that you support 'Free basics'. They even 'accidentally' sent these notification to foreign users.

They make their ads look like they are doing a favour for India through 'Free basics' and our evil government is stopping their good efforts. And, if you do not accept their nagging notifications, then they make it look like you are a bad person who does not support 'digital equality' showing the list of your friends who support it.

'Digital equality'- another term coined by Facebook for their ads. Does that word look suspiciously similar to 'Net neutrality'? Aye?

What is 'Free basics'/'Internet dot org' according to Facebook?

Free Basics by Facebook provides free access to basic internet services to a billion people all over the world.

Free Basics makes the internet accessible to more people by providing them access to a range of free basic services like news, maternal health, travel, local jobs, sports, communication, and local government information.

To date, we've been able to offer these services to a billion people across Asia, Africa and Latin America. By introducing people to the benefits of the internet through these services, we hope to bring more people online and help improve their lives.

That really makes it look so world challengingly good, right? Who doesn't want free unlimited internet?

You can imagine that a poor kid in a Chhattisgarh village in central India should be able to see Khan Academy videos, her Dad should be able to look up agricultural spot prices on Google or a commodity exchange and perhaps her Mom could look for a better-paying job at a top job board. But natch, none of these are part of the so-called "Internet/Free Basics" that Facebook offers the poor. Videos in fact, are not available at all, presumably to conserve bandwidth so it can be retained for more important things like villagers sending each other Candy Crush requests.

There is no Google, there is no LinkedIn, there's no Alibaba, there's no Amazon, there's no Flipkart, there's no eBay. No place these folks can buy, or sell or trade. There's no Kiva or other bottom-of-pyramid money service. No loans they can receive. No government sites, no banks. No Coursera or EdX or Khan Academy - so it's not about education either. Forget about entertainment - there's absolutely none of that. And no Quora, of course. You name any possible site of importance to someone who needs information and opportunities, and it's not there. But, hey, I guess then you can always poke folks in the next village! (source)

What is 'free basics' according to rest of us?

Free basics give free internet access to Facebook and few other internet services approved by Facebook.

The internet market growth is getting saturated in the western world as most people are already using internet. India and other Asian countries have a large untapped population who are yet to use internet. Facebook wants to acquire these users by any means possible. One easy way to make Facebook popular among these users is to give it for free.

Do you know how drug-agents get college students addicted to their drugs? They first give it for completely free. Then once the students get addicted to it, they start charging them heftily.

Free basics is launched for Facebook's best interests. Otherwise why are they so pushy about this and investing millions for the ad campaign itself, when people are clearly protesting against it? Reliance - the official network partner of Free basics advertises it as 'Free Facebook' on newspapers. (source)

What are 'basics'?

Facebook or Whatsapp wasn't a basic internet service 10 years ago. If some other company X had offered their service free from past 15 years then facebook/whatsapp wouldn't have even existed.

The things which may look basic now may not be basic in next 10 years. By giving Facebook control of which apps to give for free, we are creating a monopoly. New startups won't be able to compete as everyone will use the Facebook's free alternative.

For example:- If free basics was launched in 2010, then Whatsapp would never have been so popular as 'Facebook Messenger' would have been free, while you would have to pay data charges to use 'Whatsapp' or any other service. This creates a monopolistic environment where only Facebook will thrive.

What is Net neutrality?

Net Neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers and governments should treat all data on the Internet the same, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication.

It is one of the fundamental principle due to which Internet exists in the form we see today.

"What net neutrality activists won't tell you?" - Seriously? This is the title they used in their newspaper ads.

The guys behind Save The Internet! have given a befitting reply.

You can read the reply here:-

• There are other successful models (this, this, this) for providing free Internet access to people, without giving a competitive advantage to Facebook. Free Basics is the worst of our options.
• Facebook doesn’t pay for Free Basics, telecom operators do. Where do they make money from? From users who pay. By encouraging people to choose Free Basics, Facebook reduces the propensity to bring down data costs for paid Internet access.
• Free Basics isn’t about bringing people online. It’s about keeping Facebook and its partners free, while everything else remains paid. Users who pay for Internet access can still access Free Basics for free, giving Facebook and its partners an advantage. Free Basics is a violation of Net Neutrality.
• Internet access is growing rapidly in India. We’ve added 100 million users in 2015. Almost all the connections added in India in the last 1 year are NOT because of Free Basics.
• Free Basics is not an open platform. Facebook defines the technical guidelines for Free Basics, and reserves the right to change them. They reserve the right to reject applicants, who are forced to comply with Facebook’s terms. In contrast they support ‘permissionless innovation’ in the US.
• The only source of info on Facebook’s Free Basics is Facebook, and it misleads people. Facebook was criticised in Brazil for misleading advertising (source). Their communication in India is misleading. People find the “Free” part of Free Basics advertising from Facebook (or FreeNet free Internet) from Reliance misleading (source).
• Facebook gets access to all the usage data and usage patterns of all the sites on Free Basics. No website which wants to compete with Facebook will partner with them because it will have to give them user data. Facebook gives data to the NSA (source) and this is a security issue for India.
• Research has shown that people prefer to use the open web for a shorter duration over a limited set of sites for a longer duration. (source)
• Facebook says that Free Basics doesn’t have ads, but does not say that it will never have ads on Free Basics.
• Facebook has shown people as saying that they support Free Basics when they haven’t. They may claim 3.2 million in support, but how many of those mails are legitimate?

Facebook shares 10 key facts about Free Basics. Here's what's wrong with all 10 of them

What can Facebook actually do without violating net neutrality?

• Facebook can give all Indian users free full access to internet up to certain data limit every month.(For example: 100MB internet free for everyone every month without any restrictions. Facebook can pay for that as part of their philanthropic effort.)
• Free internet at low speeds up to certain data limit.
• Ad supported free internet, but with no restrictions on which site/app you can visit and which you can't.
• Give subsidized data coupons like Rs10 for first 200MB of the month.
• Lay the infrastructure(cables, routers etc) to connect villages/rural towns.
• Give free unrestricted internet to poor people in selected regions.
• They can create something like 'GoogleWebLight For Slow Internet' which will reduce the data size of all websites and provide it for free.
• Mozilla in partnership with Grameenphone in Bangladesh allows users to receive 20 MB of data usage for free each day, in exchange for viewing an advertisement.
• Aircel is going to give free unrestricted internet at the speed of 64kbps across the country.

What can you do to stop 'Free basics'?

You can go to Save The Internet! and sent an email to TRAI saying you are against this. TRAI have already put a ban on 'free basics' till 31st Dec and is asking user's input.

You can spread this information and ask your friends to also do the same.

They have made it very difficult to write convincing articles against it, as the writer would end up looking like a jerk/elitist if they say "I am against free basics for the poor". This is why it is important for the people who know the truth to help others understand it. Is it possible to stand against a multi million dollar advertising campaign containing the word 'free' by a company which already has direct access to most internet users?

Microsoft, Paytm and Truecaller have strongly opposed 'Free basics '-(Source)

Mahesh Murthy (co-founder Seedfund) opposes 'Free basics' in his LinkedIn article.

Tim Berners-Lee (Inventor of the World Wide Web) opposes 'Free basics' (Source)

AIB had breakdown this issue in more simplified and quirky explainer video.

Still Confused about about the Free Basics? Read the Arguments in the Favour and Against it at The Logical Indian page.

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PS : We don't own this complete post. We were going through Quora, came across this post and thought its worth sharing. For the original post please click here.

Science behind Holi Festival

India is a colourful country and Holi is the festival if colours celebrated in India with pomp and gaiety on full day moon in month of Phalgun (March). Festival has symbolic legend of demon king Hiranyakashyap and his son Prahlad and sister Holika. The word ‘Holi’ actually derived from Holika. Have you ever thought that there could be scientific reason behind the Holi to celebrate?






Holi is celebrated in the spring, Between end of winter and advent of summer. This period induces the growth of bacteria in atmosphere as well as in the body When Holika (bonfire for holi) is burnt, temperature of nearby area raises by 50-60 degree Celsius. Following the tradition of parikrama (going around the bonfire), heat coming from bonfire kill the bacteria in body and cleanses it.

During this transition period of environment from winter to summer body experiences some tardiness and is quite natural. To counter this laziness on the next morning of burning Holika, people plays with colours (Dulivandan). Sings songs, dances with dhol and other traditional instruments. This helps in rejuvenating the human body.

Colours (made from natural sources) plays vital role in fitness of human body. Colours were made from natural sources in ancient times has healing effect on body skin. It has effect of strengthening the ions in body. Nowadays the market is flooded with synthetic colours cause health issues like asthma, skin and eye irritation also leads to water pollution.