Facebook Names Avinash Pant As India Marketing Head

Facebook on Friday said it has appointed Avinash Pant as Marketing Director for its India operations.

The role of marketing director will be a new one at Facebook India, with the mandate to drive the company's consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, the company said in a statement.

Pant comes with 22 years of experience working with consumer brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, The Walt Disney Company, and most recently, Red Bull, it added.

In his last assignment as the India Marketing Director at Red Bull, he was responsible for building the brand in India, the statement said.

Pant, an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad, will report to Ajit Mohan, Facebook's Vice President and Managing Director, India.

The announcement comes a year after Facebook announced a new leadership structure in India bringing the company's functions under Ajit Mohan, reporting directly to its headquarters in Menlo Park.

Over the last year, the company has undertaken many India-focused initiatives, and also made its first minority investment in social-commerce venture Meesho.

"We've been working towards deepening our mission to build empowered communities... Consumer marketing is a new strategic area of focus for Facebook and one where we will dramatically increase our investment in communicating directly to consumers," Mohan said. PTI SR

India Ranks 2nd in Govt Requests for Facebook User Data, Spike in Emergency Requests in H1'19

India came in second after the US in terms of nations asking Facebook to divulge information related to user accounts, with such requests increasing by moe than 9 per cent to 22,684 in the first half of 2019, according to a report by the social networking giant.

In January-June 2019, India made 22,684 requests for user data of 33,324 users/accounts from the social media company.

This was only behind the US that asked the social media giant for 50,714 user data requests of 82,461 users/accounts in the period.

Facebook, in its half-yearly Transparency Report, noted that government requests for user data were at an all-time high at 1.28 lakh total requests in the first half of 2019. This is up by over 16 per cent from 1,10,634 requests in July-December 2018 time frame.

The UK (7,721), Germany (7,302), France (5,782) and Brazil (5,683) were also in the tally.

In the first half of 2019, India made 21,069 requests under 'legal process' and 1,615 emergency requests with 33,324 users/accounts requested. The US-based company said some data was produced in 54 per cent of the requests.

Requests from India in the July-December 2018 quarter was at 20,805, of which 861 were emergency requests, and 19,944 requests were under legal process.

"Facebook responds to government requests for data in accordance with applicable law and our terms of service. Each and every request we receive is carefully reviewed for legal sufficiency and we may reject or require greater specificity on requests that appear overly broad or vague," it said.

The company added that it accepts government requests to preserve account information pending receipt of formal legal process.

"When we receive a preservation request, we will preserve a temporary snapshot of the relevant account information but will not disclose any of the preserved records unless and until we receive formal and valid legal process," it added.

Facebook said it restricted access to 1,233 items of content, including 1,211 posts, two profiles, 19 Pages and Groups and one comment on its social media platform.

It added that the company permanently restricted access to content in India in response to legal requests from law enforcement agencies, court orders, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Content restricted was alleged to violate Indian laws on the grounds listed under to Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and was primarily in the categories of hate speech, anti-religion content constituting incitement to violence, defamation, extremism, anti-government, and anti-state content, it added.

"We also restricted access to 217 items in response to private reports related to defamation," Facebook noted.

The company, which has faced flak previously over breach of user data, said it also "temporarily restricted access to 448 items in response to reports received from the Elections Commission of India alleging that the content was subject to election blackout periods".

Access to this content was restored following the end of the applicable blackout period, it added.

India also topped the list of Internet disruptions, with 40 disruptions in the first half of 2019, lasting cumulative period of over eight weeks. This included regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. PTI SR

Facebook to Support Indian SMBs by Tying up with VC Funds

Facebook India has announced that it will support the growth of the small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India by collaborating with venture capital funds and support startups/SMBs they invest in. Facebook will work with these VC funds with the aim of skilling and mentoring the brands by sharing insights proven solutions, playbooks, among other key learnings.

The VC Brand Incubator Programme will be the first in a series of programmes by Facebook that will be geared towards laying a strong foundation for SMB growth in India by providing them with timely skill and guidance, enabling these businesses to hasten socio-economic growth of the country as well.

For the first edition, Facebook is working with Sauce.vc, a Mumbai-based early-stage venture capital fund that has partnered with startups in the food and beverages, personal care, apparel, and the lifestyle space.

The VC Brand Incubator program is a series of events that will be held across Mumbai, Bangalore and other key cities, where SMBs will be provided with skilling and training sessions by Facebook experts on a range of themes and topics that will help them build their brands on the digital medium more effectively.

Archana Vohra, director, small and medium businesses at Facebook India, said "With the VC Brand Incubator program we hope to unlock the potential of SMBs in India, enabling them to enhance their and the country's socio-economic growth."

"SMBs are the backbone of our economy and Facebook is the default destination for them to thrive and grow. Several SMBs are actively working towards creating a larger social change, and many are empowering women entrepreneurs and generating impact in tier-2 and tier-3 towns. Their seamless growth can lead to consistent job creation, adding to the GDP growth. Working with VC funds is crucial as it allows us to scale and support SMBs at an early-stage itself, fast-tracking their growth," said Vohra.

Manu Chandra, Founder, Sauce.vc said, “The VC Brand Incubator programme provides a much needed understanding of Facebook, its family of Apps, and the digital landscape. The entire consumer startup ecosystem benefits from these initiatives, both from a skill-development and a community-building perspective."

Facebook, T-Hub Open Applications from AI Startups for 2nd Edition of "India Innovation Accelerator" Programme

Facebook, in partnership with the global startup catalyst T-Hub, on Friday announced to open applications for the second edition of the "India Innovation Accelerator' programme.

In the first edition, T-Hub and Facebook selected a cohort of nine start-ups from 20 shortlisted applications for the three-month programme. These start-ups offered solutions with the potential to solve real-world problems in industries such as health tech, industrial manufacturing, human resources, education and corporate learning, among others.

The India Innovation Accelerator will now focus on identifying and empowering most innovative startups leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solutions.

"With the second edition of the India Innovation Accelerator programme, we want to help build the ecosystem for AI in India and support startups with the resources and opportunities," said Satyajeet Singh, Head of Platform Partnerships, Facebook India and South Asia.

The programme will support a cohort of AI startups in the domains of empowerment of women and girls, agriculture, healthcare, education, climate change and resilient cities, etc.

"We are excited to partner again with Facebook and work with some of the best startups in India in AI for social good space," said Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub.

This Content was First Published in Business Standard Via IANS

Facebook to Host 1st India Startup Day in Delhi on October 9

Facebook on Wednesday said it will host its first-ever India Startup Day in New Delhi on October 9 in a bid to recognize the country’s thriving start-up ecosystem.

At the event, Facebook will celebrate Indian stories of founders and leaders applying technology to solve current and future societal problems.

Fcebook will also recognize outstanding startup stories with the India Startup Day Awards. For more details on India Startup Day, and to register your interest for the awards, please log-on to https://fbindiastartupday.splashthat.com/. Registration for India Startup Day Awards ends on September 28th.



Catch us live here on the Facebook India page on October 9, 2018 for India Startup Day!

The event will also see key business, policy leaders, and aspiring start-ups discuss opportunities and challenges of the new generation of entrepreneurs, the social media giant said in a statement.

“As the third largest start-up destination globally and with one of the fastest-growing base of developers in the world, India is on a journey to usher in rapid advances in technology and economic growth,” said Facebook.

Facebook is already working with the start-up ecosystem in the country.

According to Facebook, India Startup Day is its way of reaffirming the company's commitment to help enable the developer and start-up community through its tech programs and to support entrepreneurs who are building the future. At the event, Facebook will be celebrating stories of entrepreneurs applying technology to solve current and future societal challenges, and talking to leaders to learn more about the challenges this new generation of entrepreneurs face.

Facebook Launches Email-based Hotline for Indian 'Netas' Data Security

To prevent Indian politicians and their political parties from cyber attack, social networking giant Facebook has launched 'Cyber Threat Crisis', under which it will provide e-mail based hotline to India's politicians and political parties in order to secure their data.

Under the hotline, compromised accounts and even the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), which works under union ministry of electronics and IT, can write to indiacyberthreats@fb.com in the event of cyber interference including suspected hacks. In a contrast, it is seen that political parties in India is itself using data of millions of users in India to target potential voters and change their political opinions, exactly like what Cambridge Analytica did in the last presidential election in the US.

Facebook also released a “cyber hygiene guide” for political accounts. These include best practices for politicians and political parties on how to keep Facebook Pages and accounts secure.

"At times, a few sophisticated bad actors will seek to target high-profile political figures and those connected to them to undermine democratic discourse online. This cyber security guide provides best practices for politicians and political parties on how to keep your Facebook pages and Facebook accounts secure. We are also making available to politicians and political parties in India a special Cyber Threats Crisis Email Line for compromised Facebook pages and accounts." says a note attached to the guide.

These efforts are part of Facebook’s broader Indian Election Integrity Initiative.

The announcement comes a day after the company, co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, submitted its responses to the union government’s questions on user privacy and election integrity, which is Indian government’s second such round of questions to the company.

Through the Indian elections integrity microsite, Facebook will be putting out dynamic updates to what the social network is doing in terms of education, enforcement, and what we are doing with fact-checking partners.

Last month, Facebook partnered with BOOM, a Bengaluru-based fact-checking website, to flag pieces of misinformation on the website. Content reported as fake news is down-ranked on the social network to prevent it from going viral.

Last October, Facebook had announced that it would roll out a feature, where political and issue-based ads would be marked as such, and carry a disclosure on sponsorship. This feature will be extended to India ahead of the 2019 general elections.

“The entire purpose of ads transparency is disclosure. So if you’re running an issue campaign in support of a candidate, and if it’s an issue ad, that ad will have to have a disclosure saying who’s paid for it. There has to be an assignment of interest and that will help you say that well, this surrogate is actually supported by so-and-so,” said Ankhi Das, who is Facebook's public policy director for India and South and Central Asia.

Earlier last year, Election Commission of India partnered with Facebook to launch first nationwide voter registration reminder by showing the 'Register Now' button to people on Facebook in India who are eligible to vote.

Via - Times of India | Top Image - usatoday.com

Facebook Launches Email-based Hotline for Indian 'Netas' Data Security

To prevent Indian politicians and their political parties from cyber attack, social networking giant Facebook has launched 'Cyber Threat Crisis', under which it will provide e-mail based hotline to India's politicians and political parties in order to secure their data.

Under the hotline, compromised accounts and even the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), which works under union ministry of electronics and IT, can write to indiacyberthreats@fb.com in the event of cyber interference including suspected hacks. In a contrast, it is seen that political parties in India is itself using data of millions of users in India to target potential voters and change their political opinions, exactly like what Cambridge Analytica did in the last presidential election in the US.

Facebook also released a “cyber hygiene guide” for political accounts. These include best practices for politicians and political parties on how to keep Facebook Pages and accounts secure.

"At times, a few sophisticated bad actors will seek to target high-profile political figures and those connected to them to undermine democratic discourse online. This cyber security guide provides best practices for politicians and political parties on how to keep your Facebook pages and Facebook accounts secure. We are also making available to politicians and political parties in India a special Cyber Threats Crisis Email Line for compromised Facebook pages and accounts." says a note attached to the guide.

These efforts are part of Facebook’s broader Indian Election Integrity Initiative.

The announcement comes a day after the company, co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg, submitted its responses to the union government’s questions on user privacy and election integrity, which is Indian government’s second such round of questions to the company.

Through the Indian elections integrity microsite, Facebook will be putting out dynamic updates to what the social network is doing in terms of education, enforcement, and what we are doing with fact-checking partners.

Last month, Facebook partnered with BOOM, a Bengaluru-based fact-checking website, to flag pieces of misinformation on the website. Content reported as fake news is down-ranked on the social network to prevent it from going viral.

Last October, Facebook had announced that it would roll out a feature, where political and issue-based ads would be marked as such, and carry a disclosure on sponsorship. This feature will be extended to India ahead of the 2019 general elections.

“The entire purpose of ads transparency is disclosure. So if you’re running an issue campaign in support of a candidate, and if it’s an issue ad, that ad will have to have a disclosure saying who’s paid for it. There has to be an assignment of interest and that will help you say that well, this surrogate is actually supported by so-and-so,” said Ankhi Das, who is Facebook's public policy director for India and South and Central Asia.

Earlier last year, Election Commission of India partnered with Facebook to launch first nationwide voter registration reminder by showing the 'Register Now' button to people on Facebook in India who are eligible to vote.

Via - Times of India | Top Image - usatoday.com

Facebook Planning To Enter Indian B2C E-Commerce Market; To Test Transactions This Month Only

Amid acquisition of Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart by Walmart, Facebook is eyeing a larger piece of the country’s fast-growing ecommerce market where the world’s largest e-tailer Amazon is already betting with huge capital infused in its Indian business.

According to a report by Economic Times, the social networking giant is in talks with several brands and businesses in India to list on Facebook Marketplace. It will begin testing business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions on the marketplace this month ahead of a soft launch planned for June.

The report further said that, Facebook will build more tools on its marketplace for businesses to upload products and manage inventory and orders, and it will also add payments to it by the end of this by the end of this year. For now, Facebook will start with directing consumers to sellers’ (Facebook) pages or websites.

Launched in October 2016, Facebook Marketplace is a flagship platform by Facebook to sell items on the social network platform.

To recall, In India, Facebook launched its marketplace as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) interface in November 2017. The social network however received a very cold response to its attempt at creating a domestic C2C marketplace, competing with other C2C marketplace startups such as Quikr and OLX.

Facebook Marketplace is available in 70 countries and has more than 800 million people visiting each month to buy and sell goods.

E-commerce industry of India is estimated to grow at 60 percent to about $28.5 billion in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2018, according to a report by Redseer. While, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, the Indian e-commerce market will be worth $200 billion by 2026.

While Walmart is already close to acquire a majority share in Flipkart and Amazon and has promised to invest more money in its India operations to compete with new competitors. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, may also invest $1-2 billion in Flipkart if the Walmart deal goes through.

Alibaba-backed Paytm had also come up with its own e-commerce arm called 'Paytm Mall'. Launched in 2016, PayTM Mall is also giving a quite a good competition to these e-commerce giants, replacing Snapdeal as the third largest player after Flipkart and Amazon India. Just last month, PayTM Mall raised close to Rs 3,000 crore in a financing round led by Japan’s SoftBank along with participation from existing PayTM investor Alibaba.

Facebook Marketplace, along with Flipkart, Amazon and PayTM, will be in cut-throat competition with each other because of the very fact that all of them are ultimately fighting for the same customers. But for sellers and brands, these different platforms will give different distribution channel for them to sell their products, which is a good thing.

According to the Forrester's report called "the Indian Online Retail Market", H1 2017, India is the fastest-growing online retail market in the world. As per the report, e-commerce sales in India will reach $64 billion by 2021, growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.2%.

Facebook Planning To Enter Indian B2C E-Commerce Market; To Test Transactions This Month Only

Amid acquisition of Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart by Walmart, Facebook is eyeing a larger piece of the country’s fast-growing ecommerce market where the world’s largest e-tailer Amazon is already betting with huge capital infused in its Indian business.

According to a report by Economic Times, the social networking giant is in talks with several brands and businesses in India to list on Facebook Marketplace. It will begin testing business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions on the marketplace this month ahead of a soft launch planned for June.

The report further said that, Facebook will build more tools on its marketplace for businesses to upload products and manage inventory and orders, and it will also add payments to it by the end of this by the end of this year. For now, Facebook will start with directing consumers to sellers’ (Facebook) pages or websites.

Launched in October 2016, Facebook Marketplace is a flagship platform by Facebook to sell items on the social network platform.

To recall, In India, Facebook launched its marketplace as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) interface in November 2017. The social network however received a very cold response to its attempt at creating a domestic C2C marketplace, competing with other C2C marketplace startups such as Quikr and OLX.

Facebook Marketplace is available in 70 countries and has more than 800 million people visiting each month to buy and sell goods.

E-commerce industry of India is estimated to grow at 60 percent to about $28.5 billion in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2018, according to a report by Redseer. While, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, the Indian e-commerce market will be worth $200 billion by 2026.

While Walmart is already close to acquire a majority share in Flipkart and Amazon and has promised to invest more money in its India operations to compete with new competitors. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, may also invest $1-2 billion in Flipkart if the Walmart deal goes through.

Alibaba-backed Paytm had also come up with its own e-commerce arm called 'Paytm Mall'. Launched in 2016, PayTM Mall is also giving a quite a good competition to these e-commerce giants, replacing Snapdeal as the third largest player after Flipkart and Amazon India. Just last month, PayTM Mall raised close to Rs 3,000 crore in a financing round led by Japan’s SoftBank along with participation from existing PayTM investor Alibaba.

Facebook Marketplace, along with Flipkart, Amazon and PayTM, will be in cut-throat competition with each other because of the very fact that all of them are ultimately fighting for the same customers. But for sellers and brands, these different platforms will give different distribution channel for them to sell their products, which is a good thing.

According to the Forrester's report called "the Indian Online Retail Market", H1 2017, India is the fastest-growing online retail market in the world. As per the report, e-commerce sales in India will reach $64 billion by 2021, growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.2%.

To Fight 'Fake News' in India, Facebook Ties-up with BOOM - An Independent Journalism Initiative

To combat the spread of "fake news" on its platform, Facebook is partnering with third-party fact-checking organizations in different parts of the world as one of the ways to better identify and reduce the reach of false news that people share on Facebook. In India, Facebook has partnered with BOOM, an independent digital journalism initiative certified through the International Fact-Checking Network, for a pilot in Karnataka.

BOOM, which is India’s premier fact checking website bringing its readers verified facts rather than opinion, will review English language news stories flagged on Facebook, check facts, and rate their accuracy.

Boom will review flagged stories thereafter these stories will be placed lower in the News Feed and will be less visible.

For pages that frequently share false stories, their post distribution will be reduced and their ability to monetize and advertise will likely be removed.

People who will try share a fake story will receive a notification that the post has been determined by the fact checker to be false.

As a global phenomena, false & fake news, lies have ripped countries apart as a society, fomenting hate and anger. Last December, seven people lost their lives in two separate incidences in Jharkhand, in a fury that was born on social media and based on falsified information that the killers received over WhatsApp, a messenger owned by Facebook.

Facebook is running similar initiatives in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines and the US.

In its blogpost, the Facebook said that it believes that “once a story is rated as false, we have been able to reduce its distribution by 80 per cent, and thereby, improve accuracy of information on Facebook and reduce misinformation”.

Facebook has already stated that it will use reports from community along with other signals to send stories to fact-checking organizations. In the Philippines, Facebook's fact-checking partner Rappler has documented the disinformation and misinformation online which shape public opinion and influence critical decisions

“We are beginning small and know it is important to learn from this test and listen to our community as we continue to update ways for people to understand what might be false news in their News Feed,” it said.

Detailing out the process, Facebook said after a story is rated as false by the fact-checker, it will figure lower in News Feed, “significantly reducing its distribution”.

“This in turn stops the hoax from spreading and reduces the number of people who see it. Pages and domains that repeatedly share false news will also see their distribution reduced and their ability to monetise and advertise removed,” it said.

This, Facebook said, will help curb the spread of “financially motivated false news”.

“We also want to empower people to decide for themselves what to read, trust, and share by providing the community with more information and control… If third-party fact-checkers write articles debunking a false news story, we’ll show it in Related Articles immediately below the story in News Feed,” Facebook said.

Facebook will also send people and Page administrators notifications if they try to share a story or have shared one in the past that has been determined to be false.

“While third party fact checking is part of our ongoing efforts to combat spread of false news, we are working hard to improve the accuracy of information on Facebook in various ways,” it added.

The above news was first reported in Times of India.

Meet The 9 Virtual Reality Startups Selected for Facebook India Innovation Hub Accelerator Program

Last year in November, with a view to build an ecosystem for startups, social networking giant Facebook expanded its scope of operations in India by announcing India Innovation Hub, an exclusive 6-month Accelerator programme, for which Facebook will shortlist 10 Virtual Reality (VR) based startups in India. The accelerator was launched in association with T-Hub, one of India’s biggest accelerators in India.

Today, T-Hub along with Facebook has announced the first batch of winning startups selected for their joint program “India Innovation Hub", which aims to help startups focused on using emerging technologies by providing support and mentorship to accelerate their businesses in new and innovative ways.

A cohort of nine startups focused on Virtual Reality have been selected and each startup will get access to training, mentors, workshops, research, and Facebook’s VR Innovation lab located at T-Hub as a part of the three-month accelerator program. Further, the qualified startups will be directly accepted for the FbStart program.

Speaking on the development, Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub said, “We have witnessed the recent growth of AR and VR and it has the potential to disrupt many areas. Our program with Facebook has discovered startups leveraging AR and VR technologies in such areas like healthcare, HR and enterprises training, enriching customer experience and enterprise analytics. We are excited to help these startups scale up to global markets through our bespoke accelerator program with Facebook.”

Meet the startups that have been selected for T-Hub and Facebook’s India Innovation Hub Accelerator Program

Dimension NXG

NXG was born out of passion to evolve the most powerful tool that humans have “the computer” to a new dimension where the digital and real world seamlessly integrate. Opening up possibilities of mastering skills instantly, holographic teleportation, x-ray vision, clairvoyance and many more. They believe this has the power to transform industries like healthcare, Education, construction, etc.

Notably, Dimension NXG was also among VR startups shortlisted for reality web series Pitch Right, in February.

GMETRI Studios

GMETRI creates AR (Augmented Reality) and VR content across industries and applications. The content is created with their in-house team of Designers, which further enables them to create VR content accessible across web and devices.

Highir Technologies

Highir was created with the intention to create a an immersive viewing experience to resort owners and their end customers. It is a team of photographic specialists shooting in different formats, they travel ,shoot ,digitize some of the most spectacular places.

Innov4sight (I4S)

Started in 2014 on an epiphany moment to reduce errors, second guesses and improve effective care impacting Fertility & Cancer Care. I4S uses Information Technology, Analytics, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Educational Technology, among many others

VadR

VadR is a Virtual Reality (VR) Analytics firm. With this platform, content creators can understand their users better and their usage patterns as well. With VR specific metrics one can ask for any metric that is necessary for the content developer.

Scapic innovations

Scapic enables people to create, share and explore VR, AR content. it’s a platform for building Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality content. People will use Scapic many purposes: presentations, product tours, sales tools, training, portfolios, location tours, brand marketing experiences, promotional experiences, educational content, galleries, Immersive experience prototyping, and more.

Merxius Software

MERXIUS, is a privately owned, deep technology company based out of Hyderabad and Bangalore. Its flagship product is an Extended Reality Authoring Tool with which ‘AnyBodyCanXR’ from just a 3D model and interact with their XR file across devices ranging from iPads to Oculus Rift to Hololens. No coding required.

Loop Reality

Loop Reality creates solutions for integrating technologies like AR, VR, AI/ML, and IoT. Its flagship product Loopfit is a fitness induced gamification with a blend of immersive VR, IoT and Analytics.

Parallel XR

Parallel XR, formerly known as Byond Studio, is a leading technology and content studio which works with global brands to create interactive learning experiences using virtual reality and augmented reality based on a “Predictive Content” framework.

[Source - Financial Express]

Meet The 9 Virtual Reality Startups Selected for Facebook India Innovation Hub Accelerator Program

Last year in November, with a view to build an ecosystem for startups, social networking giant Facebook expanded its scope of operations in India by announcing India Innovation Hub, an exclusive 6-month Accelerator programme, for which Facebook will shortlist 10 Virtual Reality (VR) based startups in India. The accelerator was launched in association with T-Hub, one of India’s biggest accelerators in India.

Today, T-Hub along with Facebook has announced the first batch of winning startups selected for their joint program “India Innovation Hub", which aims to help startups focused on using emerging technologies by providing support and mentorship to accelerate their businesses in new and innovative ways.

A cohort of nine startups focused on Virtual Reality have been selected and each startup will get access to training, mentors, workshops, research, and Facebook’s VR Innovation lab located at T-Hub as a part of the three-month accelerator program. Further, the qualified startups will be directly accepted for the FbStart program.

Speaking on the development, Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub said, “We have witnessed the recent growth of AR and VR and it has the potential to disrupt many areas. Our program with Facebook has discovered startups leveraging AR and VR technologies in such areas like healthcare, HR and enterprises training, enriching customer experience and enterprise analytics. We are excited to help these startups scale up to global markets through our bespoke accelerator program with Facebook.”

Meet the startups that have been selected for T-Hub and Facebook’s India Innovation Hub Accelerator Program

Dimension NXG

NXG was born out of passion to evolve the most powerful tool that humans have “the computer” to a new dimension where the digital and real world seamlessly integrate. Opening up possibilities of mastering skills instantly, holographic teleportation, x-ray vision, clairvoyance and many more. They believe this has the power to transform industries like healthcare, Education, construction, etc.

Notably, Dimension NXG was also among VR startups shortlisted for reality web series Pitch Right, in February.

GMETRI Studios

GMETRI creates AR (Augmented Reality) and VR content across industries and applications. The content is created with their in-house team of Designers, which further enables them to create VR content accessible across web and devices.

Highir Technologies

Highir was created with the intention to create a an immersive viewing experience to resort owners and their end customers. It is a team of photographic specialists shooting in different formats, they travel ,shoot ,digitize some of the most spectacular places.

Innov4sight (I4S)

Started in 2014 on an epiphany moment to reduce errors, second guesses and improve effective care impacting Fertility & Cancer Care. I4S uses Information Technology, Analytics, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Educational Technology, among many others

VadR

VadR is a Virtual Reality (VR) Analytics firm. With this platform, content creators can understand their users better and their usage patterns as well. With VR specific metrics one can ask for any metric that is necessary for the content developer.

Scapic innovations

Scapic enables people to create, share and explore VR, AR content. it’s a platform for building Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality content. People will use Scapic many purposes: presentations, product tours, sales tools, training, portfolios, location tours, brand marketing experiences, promotional experiences, educational content, galleries, Immersive experience prototyping, and more.

Merxius Software

MERXIUS, is a privately owned, deep technology company based out of Hyderabad and Bangalore. Its flagship product is an Extended Reality Authoring Tool with which ‘AnyBodyCanXR’ from just a 3D model and interact with their XR file across devices ranging from iPads to Oculus Rift to Hololens. No coding required.

Loop Reality

Loop Reality creates solutions for integrating technologies like AR, VR, AI/ML, and IoT. Its flagship product Loopfit is a fitness induced gamification with a blend of immersive VR, IoT and Analytics.

Parallel XR

Parallel XR, formerly known as Byond Studio, is a leading technology and content studio which works with global brands to create interactive learning experiences using virtual reality and augmented reality based on a “Predictive Content” framework.

[Source - Financial Express]

Facebook Unveils Two New Programmes for Startups and Engg Students in India

Social networking giant Facebook is expanding its scope of operations in the country. With a view to build an ecosystem for startups working in emerging technologies, it has announced two new programmes in India -- an exclusive 6-month Accelerator programme, for which Facebook will shortlist 10 VR-based startups in India, and a School of Innovation for engineering students.

The Accelerator is being launched in association with tech incubator T-Hub, the biggest startup incubator in the country. It launched the India Innovation Hub at the T-Hub, marking the Global Entrepreneurship summit, which will begin on Tuesday in Hyderabad.

“For now, we are starting off with Virtual Reality. We will later cover other emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The short-listed 10 start-ups will get tools developed by us,” Satyajeet Singh, Head of Platform Partnerships, Facebook India and South Asia, told reporters.

“We will shortlist about 20 start-ups and, then, pick the final ten for the accelerator programme. They will get mentorship and access to VR Innovation lab to test their products. Applications for the Innovation Hub program will be open from January 2018,” he said.

Facebook has about 21.7 crore users in the country, including 40 lakh pages for small businesses. Over 60,000 small businesses were trained by Facebook in tapping the social media potential.

School of Innovation

“We are also setting up a School of Innovation in association with Startup Village to build talent in various emerging technologies. We will pick 10 student teams to help them work on their ideas in Virtual Reality,” he said.

The 10 teams will undergo a 20-week programme, where they will be taught how to translate their ideas into products and to find customers.

These two programmes will run parallel to other startup- focussed initiatives like FbStart that are run by Facebook already, for last couple of years.

Facebook, which counts India as its largest userbase after the US, has 217 million users here.

Facebook Launches Digital, Startup Training Hubs in India

Facebook on Wednesday introduced its digital training and startup training hubs in India aimed at helping small businesses and people grow by giving them the digital skills they need to compete in today's digital economy.

Facebook said it plans to train more than half a million people in the country by 2020 through these online training hubs, which are being rolled out first in India.

The learning curriculum which is personalised to the individual's needs and available in English and Hindi on mobile, the social network, which is used by 217 million people in India, announced.

"We believe the best way to prepare India for a digital economy is by equipping people with the tools, knowledge, and skills they need to succeed," said Ritesh Mehta, Head of Programmes, Facebook, India and South Asia.

To develop the learning curriculum, the social network worked with several organisations, including Digital Vidya, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), DharmaLife and the government's StartupIndia initiative.

The curriculum includes vital skills for digital skill seekers and tech entrepreneurs, including how to protect their ideas, how to hire, how to go about getting funding, what regulations and legal hurdles they need to consider, how to build an online reputation, and a host of other critical skills.

This could mean teaching a small business owner how to create an online presence; helping a non-profit reach new communities and potential donors; or it could mean helping a tech entrepreneur turn their product idea into a startup through practical business advice.

Facebook said its digital training hub would provide free social and content marketing training for anyone - from students to business owners - who is looking to develop their digital knowledge and skills.

According to new research by Morning Consult in partnership with Facebook, small businesses use of digital translates into new jobs and opportunities for communities across the country.

Since 2011 Facebook has invested more than $1 billion to support small businesses globally.

The "Boost Your Business" and "SheMeansBusiness" initiatives have trained more than 60,000 small businesses, including 12,000 women entrepreneurs, in India, Facebook said.

Facebook India MD Umang Bedi Quits To Start Own Venture

Indian social media circuit has witnessed another high profile exit. This time, Facebook India Managing Director Umang Bedi has bid the social networking giant adieu just about 16 months after joining the organisation. Bedi is the second top executive to quit Facebook India in the past two years.

Bedi joined Facebook India in July 2016, at a time when the Mark Zuckerberg led company was facing severe backlash from India’s telecom regulator TRAI over the net neutrality issue for its ‘Free Basics in India’ project.

With Bedi’s exit, Sandeep Bhushan, director, consumer and media for South Asia at Facebook, has been appointed as the interim managing director.

“We confirm that Umang Bedi will be leaving his role at Facebook at the end of this year. He’s built a really strong team and business during his time with us, and we wish him all the best,” read a company statement.

Reportedly, after quitting Facebook, Bedi has plans of starting a technology-based venture of his own.

When Bedi joined Facebook from Adobe India, he was given the responsibility of salvaging the company’s reputation and brand image in the Indian subcontinent and work out solutions to generate new revenue streams for the company in addition to launching variations of Free Basics or Internet.org in India.

Bedi played a crucial part in launching Express Wi-Fi, another product under Facebook’s Internet.org programme. I

The Express Wi-Fi project is an integral part of Facebook’s much talked about Internet.org mission through which the social networking giant is aiming to bring internet connectivity across the whole wide world, especially in the rural pockets. The company tied up with Bharti Airtel to launch as many as 20,000 hotspots.

One of the interesting things about the project's launch in India is, unlike any other project or product launch by Facebook, the company has maintained a very silent demure about the whole launch. It can be understood that Facebook decided to keep it this way after a very public failure of its Free Basics program, which entailed granting people in India access to the web free of cost but came with a few strings attached. The program was ultimately banned by India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) last year for violating the principles of net neutrality.

Unlike Free Basics that provided access to selected websites for free, Express Wi-Fi operates on a ‘paid’ model. Further, the access is not restricted to any particular website and users can log into Wi-Fi hotspots and buy daily, weekly or monthly data packs.

India is the second-largest user base for Facebook globally, after the US. In November last year Bedi said, not only is India Facebook’s second-largest market, but it is also “the most strategic market” for the company.

Facebook India MD Umang Bedi Quits To Start Own Venture

Indian social media circuit has witnessed another high profile exit. This time, Facebook India Managing Director Umang Bedi has bid the social networking giant adieu just about 16 months after joining the organisation. Bedi is the second top executive to quit Facebook India in the past two years.

Bedi joined Facebook India in July 2016, at a time when the Mark Zuckerberg led company was facing severe backlash from India’s telecom regulator TRAI over the net neutrality issue for its ‘Free Basics in India’ project.

With Bedi’s exit, Sandeep Bhushan, director, consumer and media for South Asia at Facebook, has been appointed as the interim managing director.

“We confirm that Umang Bedi will be leaving his role at Facebook at the end of this year. He’s built a really strong team and business during his time with us, and we wish him all the best,” read a company statement.

Reportedly, after quitting Facebook, Bedi has plans of starting a technology-based venture of his own.

When Bedi joined Facebook from Adobe India, he was given the responsibility of salvaging the company’s reputation and brand image in the Indian subcontinent and work out solutions to generate new revenue streams for the company in addition to launching variations of Free Basics or Internet.org in India.

Bedi played a crucial part in launching Express Wi-Fi, another product under Facebook’s Internet.org programme. I

The Express Wi-Fi project is an integral part of Facebook’s much talked about Internet.org mission through which the social networking giant is aiming to bring internet connectivity across the whole wide world, especially in the rural pockets. The company tied up with Bharti Airtel to launch as many as 20,000 hotspots.

One of the interesting things about the project's launch in India is, unlike any other project or product launch by Facebook, the company has maintained a very silent demure about the whole launch. It can be understood that Facebook decided to keep it this way after a very public failure of its Free Basics program, which entailed granting people in India access to the web free of cost but came with a few strings attached. The program was ultimately banned by India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) last year for violating the principles of net neutrality.

Unlike Free Basics that provided access to selected websites for free, Express Wi-Fi operates on a ‘paid’ model. Further, the access is not restricted to any particular website and users can log into Wi-Fi hotspots and buy daily, weekly or monthly data packs.

India is the second-largest user base for Facebook globally, after the US. In November last year Bedi said, not only is India Facebook’s second-largest market, but it is also “the most strategic market” for the company.

Facebook To Launch New Tool For Blood Donors In India

On October 1, which is National Blood Donors day, Facebook will launch new tool to connect blood donors and blood banks with those seeking them, announced facebook in a press release.

There is a shortage of safe blood in India, and Facebook says sometimes patients and families needing blood will reach out on social media networks to locate donors. In an effort to address this, Facebook is introducing new features to help donors, patients, and hospitals connect more easily. These will include the option for nearby donors to be notified of blood requests.

Starting October 1, Facebook users in India will be able to start signing up to be blood donors. To help encourage participation, Facebook will show a message in News Feed or people can edit their Profiles to sign up. All information will remain private and set to "only me" by default, but people can choose to share their donor status on their timelines. This will first be available on Android and mobile web, as these are the most widely-used platforms in India.



When individuals or organisations are in need of blood, they will be able to create a special interactive post requesting the same. Generating this post will notify donors in the area who can then contact the requester over Facebook, Messenger or on WhatsApp. As of December 2016, Facebook had 166 million monthly active users in India.

Moreover, over the time Facebook will roll out more tools in stages. If someone or a clinic needs blood, they can create a special post that includes information about where the blood is needed, contact information, and an option to identify the blood group required and an anecdote about the patient. When that request is posted, those nearby who have indicated they’re willing to donate blood will be sent a Facebook notification and given the option to respond through Messenger, WhatsApp, or a call. Donors’ details are kept private unless they choose to disclose it to the person in need of blood.



According to Zuckerberg, Indian product developer Hema Budaraju's own experience led to the development of this feature. "This issue is personal to Hema, whose father was diagnosed with cancer five years ago and lost so much blood during chemotherapy that he had to have a transfusion every day for a week," Zuckerberg said in his status update.

In designing the new features, Facebook says it worked with non-profit organizations, health industry experts, potential donors, and those who have used Facebook to find blood donors.

People in India can go to facebook.com/donateblood to learn more and sign-up to be a blood donor.

Election Commission of India Partners Facebook To Launch First Nationwide Voter Registration Reminder

With over 180 million people in India on Facebook, the 'Register Now' button is designed to encourage Indian citizens to register themselves with the Election Commission of India. Starting from 1st July till 4th July, the voter registration reminder will be sent to people on Facebook in India who are eligible to vote. The reminder will be in 13 Indian languages - English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Assamese, Marathi and Oriya.

Dr.Nasim Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India, said “I am pleased to announce that the Election Commission of India is going to launch a ‘Special Drive to enrol left out electors, with a particular focus on first time electors. This is a step towards fulfilment of the motto of ECI that ‘NO VOTER TO BE LEFT BEHIND’.

As part of this campaign, on 1st July, 2017, Facebook will run a voter registration reminder in multiple Indian languages to all the Facebook users in India. I urge all eligible citizens to enrol and VOTE i.e. Recognize your Right and Perform your Duty. I am sure this initiative will strengthen Election Commission of India’s enrolment campaign and encourage future voters to participate in the Electoral Process and become responsible Citizens of India."

This is the first time Facebook's voter registration reminder has been rolled out across India. Earlier, similar reminders have been rolled out in partnership with Chief Electoral Officers during the State elections of 2016 and 2017.

Ms. Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director for India, South & Central Asia, said "People use Facebook to learn, talk and get involved with issues that matter to them. We want to build products that support this type of civic engagement - on Election Day and every day. We believe that democracies are stronger when more people are engaged - that's why we are encouraging everyone who is eligible to register to vote and connecting them with resources."

By clicking on the “Register Now" button, people will be directed to the National Voters’ Services Portal which will guide them through the registration process.

Please find below the link to view the video message from Dr. Nasim Zaidi, Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of Indiaon ECI's partnership with Facebook for the first nationwide voter registration campaign: https://www.facebook.com/FacebookIndia/videos/vb.103274306376166/1928468260771945/?type=2&theater

Its Official, Facebook Internet Drone Aquila Is Not For India, Says Facebook India Chief

While Facebook has constantly boosted about having a special corner for its Indian users since they form the second-largest user base for the social networking site, but unfortunately this time their action isn't in coherence with their this speech. The Mark Zuckerberg led company has decided not bring its unmanned solar-powered drone, Aquila, to the Indian subcontinent.

Aimed at providing infrastructure for affordable internet connectivity in remote areas all around the world, Aquila could have made substantial difference in India's below-average internet connectivity scenario.

The social networking decision to not bring Aquila to India was recently confirmed by Facebook's India and South Asia managing director, Umang Bedi to a website.

Earlier in the month, India's Aquila dreams were fanned by an ET report which quoted Robert Pepper, Facebook’s connectivity public policy director, divulging the fact that the California-based giant was currently in the midst of talks with a number of Indian telcos for the trials of the drones.

What makes Aquila so interesting to the world is the fact that solar-powered drone's wingspan is wider than a regular Boeing 737 and is capable of staying in the air for up to a whopping 90 days at one go, delivering internet connection in remote areas where fibre connectivity hasn't completely reached yet. The drone has a potential of delivering internet in a 96.5-km radius. Unfortunately, Aquila is currently under investigation in the United States after it recently met with an accident.

Whether or not this investigation has something to do with the project being scrapped for India can only be speculated about, at this moment.

Though Aquila might not be coming to India, Facebook is still looking at a sustainable development effort in the country via one of its new initiatives called the Express Wifi. Though the project is still in early stage pilot, but the social networking giant has already started working with telcos and entrepreneurs.

Express Wifi is going to allow users to purchase internet from local data providers, and according to a leading daily, it has already successfully been offered at 125 rural Wifi hotspots as part of the pilot. As soon as the pilot materialises, we can expect more details on the project.

According to Bedi, not only is India Facebook’s second-largest market, but it is also “the most strategic market” for the company.

Facebook's Express Wifi initiative comes after Facebook’s Free Basics was banned by India's Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) earlier this year for violating the principles of net neutrality. Free Basics pitched to provide some of the websites such as its own absolutely free of cost. But, with the Express Wifi initiative, Facebook will be adhering to all the rules and regulations of the land.

According to Bedi, Facebook's vision for India is to remain a "loved and trusted brand.”

[Top Image: rark.in]

Election Commission of India Partners With Facebook to Register Voters

Voting is important for a democracy. Everyone knows that in theory, but there are very few who practice this in their lives, in India, at least. That's why, in a first-of-its-kind initiative the country's Election Commission has found an innovative way to get the people interested in this most important democratic exercise. They have joined hands with the social networking giant Facebook to spearhead a voter registration drive in five Indian states going to polls in 2017. The main aim here is to encourage the youth to come out and vote.

Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook has entered into a collaboration with the Election Commission of India and the office of Chief electoral officers in the state of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur for the very first time in the country to carry out a voter registration drive, said Uttarakhand's Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi.

It seems, since Facebook has a good 155 million users in India, the Election Commission chose the right medium to tap its target audience.

Facebook's 'Register to vote' button is primarily designed to encourage the citizens across the aforementioned five states going to pole next year to understand their dusty and come out exercise their vote. From October 6 to 9, Facebook users in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand who were 18 years of age and above received a reminder in their News Feed to register to vote.

By clicking on Facebook's 'Register Now' button, people were directed to the National Voters' Services Portal which further guided them through the entire voter registration process. "Youth is the future of India and it is very important that they take part in the biggest democratic exercise of elections," said Raturi. She also appealed to people from all walks of life to register themselves as voters through the process.

Not only this, the Office of CEO Uttarakhand has also started with its very own official Facebook page so as to connect with the younger generation and make them understand the importance and power of voting in a democracy. A twitter account with handle @UttarakhandCEO has also been started with the same aim of striking a cord with the younger generation which is more active on social media platforms.