-The Hindu Business Line UN panel cites social norms, costs among barriers to digital inclusion of poor women New Delhi: Wide gender gaps in access to the internet as well as mobile phone ownership threaten to “leave women behind” as countries develop, says a report by the UN high-level panel, calling for digital inclusion, especially of poor women, to achieve one of the key Sustainable Development Goals — economic empowerment of women...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: A pleasant surprise awaits you the next time you visit a city police station with a complaint. Instead of a grumpy, disinterested policeman, you are likely to have a smart young woman to hear you out and direct you on how to go about registering a complaint. In an image makeover bid, police commissioner Amulya Patnaik has appointed women public facilitation officers who would be the...

-The Hindu Surakhpur, declared ‘fully digital payment enabled’ by government, rues low literacy, poor connectivity Around 10 days ago, a team of Delhi government officials handed over two PoS (point of sale) machines to kirana (grocery) store owners Surat Singh and Ramesh Kumar, both residents of Surakhpur village in Najafgarh, on the Delhi-Haryana border. The officials taught the two how to use the machines. On Wednesday, when The Hindu visited the village, where...

-The Hindu One of the first things to get affected during natural disasters and accidents is the communication network. In a country where over a billion use mobile phones, providing mobile connectivity during a disaster, at least for emergency usage, is a priority. In this context, an IIT Madras team is developing a low-cost communication system that can enable rescue workers to communicate with a locally established centre and, through this centre,...

-The Times of India PANAJI: Goa is likely to become the first state in India to go cashless from December 31, as people will be able to buy perishables such as fish, meat, vegetables or anything else at the press of a button on their mobile. There will be no need to carry your purse for purchases and the profession of pickpocketers may become extinct soon, as all transactions will be done...