iWorld
Jio now ready for IoT onslaught
MUMBAI: Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) is at it again and the competition better watch out. The company is gearing up to harness the internet of things (IoT). It is focussing first on enterprises and industries while also initiating talks with car manufacturers and consumer durable companies.
The company has hired Ayush Sharma from the Silicon Valley as senior vice president of engineering and technology to drive the business around IoT and other technologies such as mobile edge computing, distributed artificial intelligence and blockchain.
“Jio is looking at these technologies to enable the world’s largest programmable network with alternate technologies available,” Sharma said. “It will take at least around a year to enable consumer IoT but the large focus is on enterprise IoT. We are working on specific use cases.”
Sharma has joined the company after working on his own venture, MotoJeannie, in the US. He has worked for telecom equipment makers Huawei, Ericsson and Cisco in the past in the US.
Jio’s 4G network will complement IoT for enterprise and industrial use cases that require bandwidth and latency, he said. The company had recently said that it had started offering enterprise solutions along with fibre-to-the-home on a trial basis in a few locations.
“The idea is not just to launch IoT products and solutions for consumer IoT but also for enterprise and industries,” Sharma said, adding that the parent company, Reliance Industries, is looking to use these technologies initially within in-house verticals such as retail and logistics to make them intelligent.
For consumer IoT, Jio is working with a variety of technology vendors and bringing car manufacturers, consumer durables and appliances players, among others, on board to build a complete ecosystem. “We are building our own platform with big data strength,” he said.
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iWorld
Karnataka weighs phone ban for under-16s
State consults university heads as Goa and Andhra Pradesh examine similar curbs on minors’ online access
BENGALURU: Karnataka may soon tell teenagers to put their phones away. The Congress-led state government is considering a ban on mobile phone use for students below 16, arguing that social media addiction is warping young minds, denting academic performance and fuelling wider social ills. The proposal is under active discussion, with chief minister Siddaramaiah seeking the views of vice chancellors from state-run universities on whether minors’ access to mobile phones on campuses should be curtailed.
“Today we are discussing this, and as you are all the vice chancellors here, I seek your opinion. Children are falling prey to drugs. Also, in line with various other countries, like Australia, there is a thought to ban mobile phones among students. I want your opinion on this. We are looking at this,” Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister pointed to what he described as a growing obsession with social media among students. Excessive exposure, he warned, is affecting behaviour, education outcomes and mental health, while increasing vulnerability to drug exposure.
The debate is not confined to Karnataka. Priyank Kharge, electronics and IT/BT minister, told the legislative assembly that the state is consulting stakeholders on ensuring responsible use of artificial intelligence and social media, particularly by children, according to PTI.
Elsewhere, Goa is reportedly examining a proposal to bar children under 16 from accessing platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and X. In Andhra Pradesh, Nara Lokesh, education minister, has signalled that tighter curbs are under consideration. He has cited online harassment of women and the corrosive effects of excessive screen time on children’s attention spans and academic performance.
Lokesh said the state has commissioned a study of legal frameworks to ensure age-appropriate access to online platforms. The government has also invited Meta Platforms, X Corp., Google and ShareChat to an upcoming Group of Ministers meeting to review global best practice and explore ways to make social media safer for women and children.
“Trust in social media is breaking down. Children are slipping into relentless usage, affecting their attention spans and education. Women are facing non-stop online abuse. This cannot be ignored. The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to act. In the meeting of the Group of Ministers on Social Media, we have ordered a study of legal frameworks for age-appropriate access,” Lokesh said in a post on X.
From Bengaluru to Amaravati, the message is sharpening. The smartphone, once a classroom companion, is fast becoming a political flashpoint. For India’s under-16s, the scroll may soon come with a stop sign.
