Technology News

Eligible central government employees may soon be able to keep the laptops and other devices issued to them for official work, free of cost, after four years of use. The Finance Ministry has revised its device purchase policy, allowing departments to buy devices worth up to ₹1.8 lakh plus taxes, provided they have over 40% Make-in-India content.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov reacted to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with alleged Chinese spy and joked, "Unfair that CEOs who aren’t into Asian girls get fewer dating options from spy agencies." "Where are the French/Russian/Iranian honeypots?...Not one spy girl sent my way," he added. "France is excused — their decision-makers aren’t into girls. Everyone else: try harder!" he said.

Days after ex-Tech Mahindra executive Paramjit Dhankhar was shot dead in Faridabad, CCTV footage showing moments before his killing has surfaced. The accused called him out of his first-floor flat over a parking dispute before firing 15-16 rounds. He was also heard abusing Dhankhar and saying "Happy Diwali" before fleeing.

Nvidia announced it has hired former acting US Attorney Joon Kim's firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct an "independent investigation" into CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy. The company's board is reportedly preparing to fire Huang amid reports of him having a second extramarital affair with Nvidia executive Kimberly Powell, who reported directly to him.

Morgan Stanley retained its forecast of $3.4 trillion in combined capital spending by major cloud companies in 2028–29, calling the post-election AI stock selloff an overreaction. It shifted 20% of 2028 data centre capacity projections to 2029 but kept hyperscaler capex estimates intact at $1.6 trillion and $1.8 trillion respectively.

A tech enthusiast, Ridit Kumawat, has built a DIY smart assistant named 'Jarvis' that controls lights, fans and preset room settings through voice commands without internet access. Inspired by Iron Man's fictional AI assistant, the device features 'Study Mode' and 'Goodnight' settings. Kumawat plans to share the complete project on GitHub, allowing enthusiasts to recreate his innovation.

A bystander recorded an affectionate moment of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang with his company executive, Kimberly Powell, at a hotel in March. He was confronted by Huang's private security personnel and asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), according to a New York Times report. Huang is already facing a probe into his affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Instagram India head Arun Srinivas acknowledged the platform's child safety shortcomings and said Meta is working to address them. He also revealed AI-powered tools are being developed to help small businesses, and announced 'Muse', a new initiative to support local Indian creators and artists, launching soon.

United Airlines has banned AI agents, including Meta's Muse and OpenAI's dots, from booking flights, citing security risks and potential federal regulation violations. The airline warns AI tools could expose sensitive payment data, trigger unauthorized purchases, and breach check-in rules. It is revising its ticketing policies to block unauthorized third-party AI assistants. Meta shares slid 2% following the announcement.

Delhi's e-District platform is being upgraded to version 2.0, integrating AI for document verification and workflow automation. The revamp aims to replace outdated manual processes with end-to-end digital processing, reducing paperwork and office visits. The platform already serves 8.5 million users and has processed 4.3 million applications over four years.

IBM has unveiled the Nighthawk r3 quantum processor, capable of executing 10,000 quantum operations on 520 programmable qubits. It extends the r2's high-speed qubit reset tech, cutting wait times to ~25 nanoseconds. IBM plans to link two r3 chips in 2027, forming a 1,000+ qubit system. A cloud-based IBM Quantum Platform was also announced.

Chinese AI firms are seeking to reserve Nvidia-powered computing capacity at overseas data centres amid fears that a controversy involving CEO Jensen Huang could prompt Washington to tighten restrictions. US export controls bar China from accessing Nvidia's most advanced AI chips directly. A major Chinese cloud provider has discussed securing overseas chip capacity.

Researchers at Gladstone Institute found the blood-brain barrier actively selects proteins entering the brain, including APOA1 and AAT linked to Alzheimer's. In mice with Alzheimer's-like symptoms, APOA1 levels dropped while AAT rose. Boosting APOA1 via liver-targeted gene therapy improved symptoms in these mice, suggesting a potential new treatment pathway for Alzheimer's.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the company's largest individual shareholder, owns 870.6 million shares, representing a 3.58% stake, according to an SEC filing. He is facing mounting scrutiny following US media reports alleging relationships with a woman executive and a suspected Chinese spy. The company's board is reportedly considering replacing Huang amid the controversy.

NASA scientists, led by Lindsay Keller, found signs of ancient water in dust from the Kuiper Belt, an icy zone beyond Neptune. The dust grains, rich in carbon and water-linked minerals, carry a unique 'heavy' oxygen signature, indicating the water originated from a separate reservoir largely isolated from chemical changes near the Sun.

NASA announced the Perseverance Sample Retrieval Architecture (PSRA) on November 9, 2026, led by Mars Exploration Program head Tiffany Morgan. The team launches in January 2027 and will report retrieval strategies by winter 2027–28. The plan comes amid cost estimates of $8–11 billion and competition from China's Tianwen-3, targeting a Mars sample return by 2031.

EAM S Jaishankar launched the website for the 19th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2027 and an AI-enabled 'Bharat Ko Janiye' quiz platform in New Delhi on Wednesday. The quiz runs for over a month, with winners invited for a 10-day India tour. PBD 2027 will be held in Kolkata from January 7–9, 2027.

Reacting to reports of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy, China said, "The US side should stop fabricating such 'spy' narratives as a pretext for imposing a technological blockade." Meanwhile, a report claimed Huang's affair with the suspected Chinese spy helped China evade US restrictions and get ₹70,000-crore NVIDIA chips. Nvidia has launched an internal probe.

Google has faced a setback after an adviser to Europe's top court questioned a lower court's decision to overturn a $1.7 billion fine imposed on the company. The penalty was issued seven years ago over anti-competitive practices in online advertising. The European Commission appealed the 2024 ruling that had cancelled the fine.