It’s a wrap: News this week (March 9 —  March 15)

There have been multiple developments this week on the tech front. From TCS’ Nuuday contract to update on digital competition bill, this is the list of the most important developments for a quick catch-up:

TCS bags contract from Denmark's Nuuday

IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has sealed a multi-million dollar deal with Nuuday, Denmark's premier digital connectivity provider. The agreement, announced on March 14, is poised to transform Nuuday's digital infrastructure.  
Under the deal, TCS will orchestrate a comprehensive cloud transformation for Nuuday, assuming full responsibility for its management. This strategic move is anticipated to expedite the introduction of new products and services, thus enriching both customer and employee experiences.

First chip from Tata’s plant by 2026

On Wednesday, at the groundbreaking ceremony of Tata Electronice and CG Power’s chip plant at Dholera, the Union Minister for IT and Electronics Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the first made-in-India chip from the plant will be rolled out by 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually laid the foundation of three semiconductor plants during the function. 

Minister Vaishnaw also said that the chip from Micron’s plant will be out by December 2024, and by 2029, India will be among the top five chip ecosystems in the world.

LTTS bags $100mn contract

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) announced on Friday that it has won $100 million (over ₹800 crore) cybersecurity contract from Maharashtra government’s State Cyber Department. Under this contract, LTTS in consortium with KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services as the forensics partner, will provide advanced cyber security solutions for the state enhancing public safety against cyber threats. 
The project entails designing a sophisticated cybersecurity system and establishing a state-of-the-art, fully equipped, Cyber security and Cybercrime prevention Centre to address Cybercrime Incidents and Invest

Acquisitions of the week

Global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform Zendesk announced on March 14 that it will acquire German generative artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Ultimate at an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is anticipated to close this month only upon completion of customary closing conditions, the company said in a statement. With this acquisition, Zendesk aims to pioneer a comprehensive AI-driven customer experience (CX) solution in the market.

Further, on Friday cloud security company Zscaler said that it is acquiring cybersecurity startup Avalor to boost AI data capabilities with Avalor’s Data Fabric for Security.

Digital competition bill

The 16-member Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) submitted its report to Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this week. The panel was constituted last year and was tasked with preparing a draft Digital Competition Act. The digital panel has recommended ex-ante measures be introduced to complement the current ex-post framework by identifying large digital enterprises in India in selected ‘core digital services’ and setting predetermined rules for their conduct.

Staqu collaborates with UP govt

AI company Staqu Technologies launched its latest AI-powered offering, Crime GPT. This tool is a result of the company’s ongoing collaboration with the UP Government and Special Task Force in strengthening and expanding the horizons of the region’s security landscape. Crime GPT is an extension of Staqu’s pioneering Trinetra application. Trinetra utilises facial recognition and audio cues to detect, monitor and maintain a criminal’s trail, making it easier to track and apprehend the criminal. With collaboration with the UP police department, Staqu had previously built a digitised database of more than 9,00,000 criminals.