With an estimated 40 crore devotees expected to attend the once-in-144-year Purna Maha Kumbh, the event stands as the largest human gathering on Earth. But behind this spiritual spectacle lies a troubling reality—hundreds of thousands of people, many of them children, have gone missing during past Kumbh Melas, often never reuniting with their families. In response to this crisis, DSP Mutual Fund, Dentsu Creative Webchutney, and Falco Robotics have joined forces to launch Garuda Rakshak, an innovative offline drone-based search-and-rescue system. According to the official press release, the project, inspired by the mythological Garuda, aims to use advanced drone automation to quickly locate and reunite lost children with their families, even in the midst of the massive crowds and network congestion. Utilising low-frequency radio bands for long-range communication and precision satellite tracking, Garuda Rakshak operates with minimal infrastructure. If a child goes missing, guardi

  Five months after its unexpected shutdown, Industrial Economist, one of India's most respected business magazines, is making a triumphant return. The publication, known for its incisive analysis of industrial trends, policy insights, budgets and corporate developments, is back in business. Author and the magazine’s former editor Jayanthi Raghunathan confirmed the news to Influencing India, stating that the magazine is in the process of restructuring and hiring as it prepares for a fresh chapter. While the finer details are still being finalised, the relaunch signals a revival of an institution that had left a void in South India's business journalism landscape. The news comes as a pleasant surprise to industry watchers, especially since the shutdown in 2024 was met with uncertainty regarding the magazine’s future. Now, with a new plan in place, Industrial Economist aims to reclaim its role as a trusted voice in economic journalism. Though the specifics regarding the fir

LinkedIn has launched a new feature called the “News Banner” in India to keep professionals updated on the latest developments in their field, a release stated. The News Banner will appear at the top of users’ feeds and highlight developing or trending news stories. Clicking on the banner will lead users to a dedicated page that offers in-depth insights, relevant articles, and LinkedIn posts from top publishers and industry experts curated by LinkedIn’s editorial team. The feature will display the most recent stories from the past 24 hours, ensuring that professionals stay informed about the latest conversations. Users will have the option to dismiss any article from their feed at any time by clicking the close icon (“X” button) at the top right corner of the banner. This will hide the banner for 24 hours. Notification preferences can also be adjusted through Feed Preferences Settings. Currently available on mobile, this feature underscores LinkedIn’s focus on en

The death toll in the Maha Kumbh stampede has touched 30 and is expected to increase further as the nation grapples with the tragedy that struck one of the most auspicious event of the Maha Kumbh. Shocking stories of people recalling horrific details of how they lost their loved ones crushed under the feet of approximately ten crore people flooded all newspaper front pages as well as digital media outlets. "The stampede at Maha Kumbh came like a tornado — sudden, fierce, and unstoppable," wrote Arvind Chauhan for The Times of India. "A surge of young men tore through the crowd, trampling sleeping devotees and those huddled near the ghat, recounted survivors and eyewitnesses. When the dust settled, 30 lay dead — most of them women," he wrote. It began around 1am. Barricades gave way under the force of the crowd, and in the mad rush towards the river, those who had been waiting patiently for dawn were crushed underfoot, recalled survivors who lost family members to the stampede

Lauren Joyce is set to take on the role of ARN’s chief audience and content officer, a responsibility she approaches with great enthusiasm and dedication.  In a LinkedIn post, Joyce expressed pride in leading a team of content creators, marketers, publicists, and researchers focused on expanding ARN’s audience across all channels. She will work alongside Duncan Campbell in the new role, transitioning from chief content officer to a consulting and advisory position after 15 years.  Joyce has been with ARN since 2019, first as national strategy director and later as chief strategy & connections officer. Prior to ARN, she worked at Mamamia, UM, and Ensemble, where she led content strategies for major Australian brands. Acknowledging the ever-changing media landscape, Joyce is excited to guide ARN through these shifts, emphasising the importance of human connection with audiences. She looks forward to leading the company’s growth as a powerhouse of entertainment brands. �

Greg Byrnes, head of content at Nine Radio, will take on the roles of 2GB Sydney’s station manager and national content manager. This move is a part of several leadership changes Nine Radio has announced, according to Radio Info. Luke Davis, 2GB’s 2024 ACRA-winning content director, will transition to promotions and community manager and Chelsea Barrett, the current Nine radio marketing manager, will take on the same role at 3AW.  These transitions come as Nine Radio aims to strengthen its ‘live and local’ approach, which is especially important during a federal election year. No job losses have been reported and they are also looking to hire new promotions and community managers for Brisbane’s 4BC and Perth’s 6PR.  

Thursday 30, January 2025 | Having upset the global AI hegemony in a big way, DeepSeek is still all that anyone can talk about right now.  In her story China's chatbot juggernaut DeepSeek could mark the end of US supremacy in AI at ABC News, Ange Lavoipierre called the service’s launch onto the world’s stage “a public routing of the world's hitherto unshakable confidence in Silicon Valley's best labs, which have always insisted that the only path to a shining AI future is paved with as many expensive computer chips as possible.”   Noted AI expert and scientific commentator Toby Walsh agreed too, quipping, “It marks the end of US dominance of the AI race” and “It's like running the four-minute mile.” The fact that everyone is spooked now might also lead to a new set of problems, as Professor Jeannie Paterson from the University of Melbourne warned the journalist that “My concern is that a possible AI race means the guardrails on the US-developed AI models [wi