Now, Maruti Swift, Datsun Go Fail NCAP Crash Test

mangalore@coastaldigest.com (ET)
November 4, 2014

Maruti-SwiftBangalore, Nov 4: The frequency of car recalls by Indian makers has increased in recent times. Many such recalls have been for faulty systems that are critical to safety of the passenger.

Now, an independent crash test by a global car crash test watchdog, Global NCAP, has revealed that one of India"s most popular and high selling cars, the Maruti Suzuki Swift is unsafe in many aspects as it failed to fulfil basic safety parameters; raising the question of car safety standards in India.

Considered one of the biggest small car markets in the world, Indian small cars have been found to be lacking in safety features like airbags and anti-lock braking system (ABS), which are available as "optional features" and not standard fitting like other developed markets of the world.

The Swift got a zero rating (adult protection) at 64 kmph frontal collision. Even the structural integrity was said to be unstable, it was reported.

However, the Latin American export version got a 3-star rating due to mandatory airbags and ABS features.

The Swift is one of the top 5 rated cars in India this year. Even the Datsun Go, which competes in the small segment here, is reported to have fared badly with the body shell disintegrating and the test dummies sustaining fatal injuries.

The Swift and Datsun Go failed in independent tests. The watchdog (in January 2014) had found other small cars to be lacking in safety features include Alto 800, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 and the Volkswagen Polo which are popular in India.

“India is now a major global market and production centre for small cars, so it"s worrying to see levels of safety that are 20 years behind the five-star standards now common in Europe and North America,” Max Mosley, Chairman of Global NCAP had said in February 2014.

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Agencies
February 17,2020

Google on Monday announced it is gradually winding down its free public Wi-Fi Station programme currently available at over 400 railway stations in India, and will work with the Indian Railways and Railtel Corporation to help them with existing sites so they can remain useful resources for people.

Google launched its Station initiative in India in 2015 to bring fast, free public Wi-Fi to over 400 of the busiest railway stations in the country by mid-2020.

"We crossed that number by June 2018 and implemented Station in thousands of other locations around the country in partnership with telecommunications companies, ISPs and local authorities," Caesar Sengupta, Vice President, Payments and Next Billion Users, Google, said in a statement.

"Over time, partners in other countries asked for Station too and we responded accordingly. We're grateful for these partnerships, especially with the Indian Railways and the Government of India, that helped us serve millions of users over the last few years," he added.

According to Google, the decision to shut Station has been taken keeping the affordable mobile data plans and mobile connectivity in mind that is improving globally including in India.

"India, specifically now has among the cheapest mobile data per GB in the world, with mobile data prices having reduced by 95 per cent in the last 5 years, as per TRAI in 2019," said Sengupta.

The Indian users consume close to 10GB of data, each month, on average, according to reports.

"Our commitment to supporting the next billion users remains stronger than ever, from continuing our efforts to make the internet work for more people and building more relevant and helpful apps and services," Sengupta noted.

Global networking giant Cisco last year teamed up with Google to roll out free, high-speed public Wi-Fi access globally, starting with India.

The first pilot under the partnership was rolled out at 35 locations in Bengaluru.

Sengupta said that in addition to the changed context, the challenge of varying technical requirements and infrastructure among our partners across countries has also made it difficult for Station to scale and be sustainable, especially for our partners.

"And when we evaluate where we can truly make an impact in the future, we see greater need and bigger opportunities in building products and features tailored to work better for the next billion user markets," he said.

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Agencies
January 20,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 20: An American bride asked for money from her invitees so that they can be on the 'exclusive guest list'.

Weddings can be surely expensive. But is it feasible for one to charge the guests to make up for the expenses?

According to Fox News, that is exactly what happened in a recent American wedding. A 19-year-old shared on Reddit that her cousin was getting married on Sunday and announced that she would charge 50 dollars to those who wanted to attend her wedding.

"She said that they can Venmo her money so there won't be no [sic] problems and everyone who paid will be added onto the 'exclusive guest list' which basically means you won't have to wait in line while other guests pay," wrote the user named DaintySheep.

While she refused to pay for entry into her cousin's wedding the bride-to-be contacted the elders in the family which ended up in an embarrassing situation.

"She wanted to get the money she spent on her special day back. I told her I wouldn't be able to come because this was outrageous and that I wish her well on her special day. She contacted my aunt and my aunt called me cheap and rude. My parents offered to pay for my entry, but I refused," continued the disheartened girl.

While in almost every nook and cranny of the world gifting the bride-groom with money is a tradition, asking for money from friends and family to replenish the money spent on a wedding is can be said to be a rare scenario.

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Agencies
March 8,2020

New Delhi, Mar 8: In order to spread awareness, a special COVID-19 mobile phone caller tune was launched by all telecom operators with basic infection prevention messages played when a caller dials-out, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.

"In order to spread awareness about COVID-19, a special COVID-19 mobile phone caller tune was launched by all telecom operators. Over 117.2 crore subscribers of BSNL, MTNL Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are being progressively reached out to through SMSs and Call Backs," Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a press statement.

"As many as 52 laboratories are now operational across the country for testing the COVID-19 virus. An additional 57 laboratories have been provided with Viral Transport Media and swabs for sample collection," the statement added.

India has 39 confirmed cases of deadly coronavirus so far. The disease has caused deaths of 3200 people globally. 

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