Don't know of teen getting Rs 1.44 crore offer, says Google

TNN
August 3, 2017

Chandigarh, Aug 3: A 16-year-old boy, Harshit Sharma, from a government school in Chandigarh was the toast of online media and Twitterati on Tuesday after word spread on the internet that he had landed a designer's job in Google for an annual salary of Rs 1.44 crore. By late evening however there was a big question mark on Sharma's 'achievements'. Many wondered if the entire story was hoax after Google officially told that it had no information on the boy's candidacy.

"Currently, we don't have any information on our records with respect to Harshit Sharma's candidacy," a Google spokesperson said.

Word about the boy's so-called achievements had spread after his school - Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33 - issued an official release that the boy had got the job. But when TOI spoke to principal Indra Beniwal, she said, "The student passed out from our school this year and he had come to the campus to inform us about the Google offer. He had sent me the letter on WhatsApp mentioning his recruitment with Google but I deleted the letter by mistake."

According to Beniwal Harshit had come to school a fortnight ago to inform her about him getting the job. On being asked the content of the letter, she said, "The letter had mentioned that Google had hired the boy. I am trying to get the letter. Once I get the letter, I will inform you."

A student of science stream with IT as a subject, the principal said that the boy was academically average though, she said, he was good at practicals. Interestingly, the principal told TOI that he had received Rs 7,000 earlier as well as a reward for the Digital India campaign. Exactly, why he was given the money is not clear.

TOI tried to contact the boy, who is originally from Kurukshetra, but his phone was switched off. Sources also said Google does not recruit from schools.

The school's official release on July 29 read, "Harshit, a student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33 of Class 12(IT stream) has been selected by tech giant Google for graphic designing. Initially, he will be trained for a one-year period for which he will receive a stipend of Rs 4 lakh per month. On completion of training, he will get remuneration of Rs 12 lakhs per month. He was interviewed through video conferencing and was selected on the basis of posters designed by him. Principal, Indra Beniwal lauded him on his achievement."

The department of public relations, Chandigarh administration later issued the same press release adding further credence to the news.

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Agencies
July 3,2020

Mumbai, Jul 3: In yet another move to keep Chinese technologies companies at bay, the Centre has cancelled the 4G upgradation tender for BSNL as it has decided to come up with fresh specifications for the upgrade process, sources said.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to issue a fresh tender in the next two weeks.

People in the know said that the fresh tender may not allow Chinese companies to participate and that the new tenders that will be floated in the next two weeks will emphasise on Make in India.

As the border tussle with China escalated last month and around 20 soldiers lost their lives, the government had last month asked both BSNL and MTNL not to use equipment of Chinese makers in their upgrading process to 4G facilities.

Huawei and ZTE are the major Chinese telecom equipment makers working with Indian telecom companies and they would be the hardest hit by the decision.

The impact may be felt in terms of the much-awaited 5G trials in the country. After much deliberation, the Centre last December decided to allow Huawei to take part in the 5G trials.

The cancellation of tender for BSNL's 4G upgradation comes after the Centre on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser.

A statement by the Ministry of Electronics and IT said that the decision was taken since "there is credible information that these apps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

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Agencies
February 23,2020

Google has indexed invite links to private WhatsApp group chats, meaning anyone can join various private chat groups (including several porn-sharing groups) with a simple search.

According to a report in Motherboard, invitations to WhatsApp group chats were being indexed by Google.

The team found private groups using specific Google searches and even joined a group intended for NGOs accredited by the UN and had access to all the participants and their phone numbers.

Journalist Jordan Wildon said on Twitter that he discovered that WhatsApp's "Invite to Group Link" feature lets Google index groups, making them available across the internet since the links are being shared outside of WhatsApp's secure private messaging service.

"Your WhatsApp groups may not be as secure as you think they are," Wildon tweeted on Friday, adding that using particular Google searches, people can discover links to the chats.

According to app reverse-engineer Jane Wong, Google has around 470,000 results for a simple search of "chat.whatsapp.com", part of the URL that makes up invites to WhatsApp groups.

WhatsApp spokesperson Alison Bonny said: "Like all content that is shared in searchable public channels, invite links that are posted publicly on the internet can be found by other WhatsApp users."

"The links that users wish to share privately with people they know and trust should not be posted on a publicly accessible website," Bonny told The Verge.

Danny Sullivan, Google's public search liaison, tweeted: "Search engines like Google & others list pages from the open web. That's what's happening here. It's no different than any case where a site allows URLs to be publicly listed. We do offer tools allowing sites to block content being listed in our results."

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Agencies
July 24,2020

Pune, Jul 24: Agile and dexterous, 85-year-old Shantabai Pawar wields sticks with absolute ease as she displays 'lathi-kathi' on the streets of Pune.

A video of her, displaying her skills in the Indian martial art form for livelihood, has gone viral on social media.

Pawar told media persons that she learnt the art form when she was only eight and has been practising it since then. The ancient martial art s believed to be linked to Dombari community, a nomadic tribe in Maharashtra.

"I have been pursuing the art of lathi-kathi since I was eight. I have never left it. It is part of me and it is an honour to practice it. My father taught me this. He taught me to work hard," Pawar told media persons.

In the video, the sari-clad octogenarian takes a warrior-like stride and effortlessly rotates a stick several times in a second in her hand and around her head and then does it with two sticks together with a smile on her face. She also tosses a stick in the air and catches it with ease.

The assembled gathering is impressed and enthused.

"People come and say, 'Well done Daadi!' I practice it to earn money for my children and grandchildren," she said.

Pawar leaves her home in the morning in the conditions created by coronavirus and performs the art form on roads and streets.

"I go to various areas to perform the art form and people give money," she said.

The artiste also uses thali and stick to gather the attention of people as most of them are indoors due to conditions created by COVID-19.

Senior citizens have been advised against venturing out due to their greater susceptibility to coronavirus but Pawar said she is not afraid to step out.

"People do advise me to not go out due to fear of COVID-19 but I am not scared. Whenever I step out, I pray to my God and he has kept me safe so far," she said.

Aishwarya Kale, a dancer and the person who uploaded the video on social media, said that it is "only an artist who can understand what help another artist needs".

"I was in that area shopping for some items and it was then I saw her performing and thought that I should film her and upload her video on social media. But I never thought that the video would go viral and she would receive financial help not just from people in the country but overseas as well," Kale told media persons.

"She is now getting honour for her craft that she couldn't get in the last 85 years. I feel good that through my small video, her art form has become viral," she added. 

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