Morning, welcome to Friday and now that the U16 social media ban has mostly moved off the front pages the person responsible for that area - Sports and Commmunications Minister Anika Wells - is still in the spotlight over legitimate family travel allowances - but why is that?  The obvious reason is because pollies families travelling for free to accompany their MP mum or dad or husband or wife - sometimes in business class - doesn't pass the much quoted pub test when many are struggling to pay bills, but given all MPs are allowed to do it - the Coalition has been mostly silent on the issue - some commentary yesterday suggested it was aimed at getting Wells to either resign or be moved by the Prime Minister and there were questions about why now and why the focus on Wells? The fact there's a new piece of legislation that is being enacted and talked about around the world, and it's giving the tech giants a serve of sorts, has the consp

On November 14, the day of the Bihar election results, the Dainik Bhaskar app saw 2 million users from the state. Each user stayed on the app for more than 35 minutes on average.   This happened because the app offered many election-focused features. It had original shows on Bihar’s political history, full election coverage, updates every second on voting and results, Bhaskar’s Reporter Poll, an AI election chatbot, quizzes, live streams, short reels, a constituency-wise results map, a candidate-suggestion survey, and a civic-issues portal.  These tools created very high engagement and helped Dainik Bhaskar strengthen its digital leadership in Bihar.  According to e4m, Girish Agarwal, Promoter Director, Dainik Bhaskar Newspaper Group said people trusted the app for real-time and credible information. He said the strong time spent by users shows the app’s power and reach in the region.   

  Concept Public Relations India Ltd has been appointed to manage the communication mandate for Avro Furniture, taking charge of its media outreach, strategic communications, and visibility initiatives. Avro India Limited, headquartered in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, manufactures plastic-moulded furniture and plastic granules under the brands Avro and Avon. Since its inception in 2002, the company has built a portfolio of more than 250 products, distributed through a nationwide dealer network and online platforms. The company has also positioned sustainability at the core of its operations, recycling post-consumer plastic waste to support responsible manufacturing. Chairman Sushil Kumar Aggarwal, former President of the All India Plastics Manufacturers’ Association (AIPMA), brings over five decades of industry experience and continues to champion large-scale, ethical production practices.

Agartala Press Club has strongly condemned the attack on Sumit Kumar Singh, a photojournalist associated with Agartala TV and a member of the Tripura Photo Journalists’ Association. Singh was returning from work late on December 7 when four miscreants attacked him near Colonel Chowmuhani in Agartala. The attackers allegedly threatened to kill him and snatched his gold chain and wallet. Although he managed to escape, he had to receive primary treatment at IGM Hospital with the help of his colleagues. While speaking to Influencing, Pranab Sarkar, President of the Agartala Press Club said “We have been raising issues regarding journalists’ welfare, and any attack on the press will not be tolerated. We have demanded that the police take strict action against the attackers". Following a complaint, the West Police Station arrested all four miscreants the same night. The Agartala Press Club has strongly condemned the incident and demanded strict legal action against those involved

Image source: The Tribune; Edted by Dinesh Raj M   India’s tech story has officially moved from aspiration to scale. In the space of a few days, Microsoft, Amazon and other global giants have lined up more than $50 billion for India’s AI, cloud and data-centre buildout. This isn’t just fresh FDI; it’s an attempt to hard-wire India into the global computing stack, while quietly trying to answer the country’s toughest question: where will the next wave of quality jobs come from? Hot off the Press The Times of India reported the big headline number first: Amazon has promised a record $35 billion in India by 2030, on top of the $40 billion it has already sunk into the country since 2010. The focus, as TOI notes, is clear – AI-driven digitisation, logistics and export growth – with a target of supporting 3.8 million jobs and enabling $80 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports, while bringing AI tools to 15 million small businesses. Ove

  On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi via a letter to step in and release journalists who are currently in jail in India. According to CPJ, two journalists remain imprisoned on security and criminal charges. One of them is Rupesh Kumar Singh, an independent journalist from Jharkhand, who has been in jail for more than three years and is currently lodged in Patna’s Adarsh Central Jail. His family has alleged that he is facing poor conditions in jail, including low-quality food, limited medical care despite health issues, long hours locked inside his cell, and restricted access to basic facilities. CPJ said that although the number of jailed journalists in India has come down compared to previous years, at least 15 journalists have been investigated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) since 2014. The UAPA is a strict anti-terror law that allows detention wit

  Ramakant Mahananda, the Rairakhol correspondent of Odia news channel OTV, died in a road accident near Naktideul on Monday. He was 46. According to The New Indian Express, Ramakant was travelling to Naktideul to cover a grievance-related programme of the Sambalpur Collector when his motorcycle hit a culvert. He suffered serious injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital by locals. He was later shifted to VIMSAR in Burla, where he passed away during treatment. Journalists in the region expressed deep grief over his death and remembered him as a sincere and committed reporter. Many also recalled his warm nature and his interest in literature, which made him well respected in the community