Tag: Artificial Intelligence

TechPulse

GITDC Launches Hands-On 3D Printing Training for Skill Development

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

To promote hands-on learning and capacity building in emerging technologies, the Goa Information Technology Development Corporation (GITDC), in association with the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (DITE&C), has begun trial training sessions in 3D printing technology. The first session was held on November 21, 2025, at the Additive Manufacturing Hub in Altinho, marking an important step towards strengthening technical competencies within the government workforce.

The inaugural session was attended by Shri Kabir Shirgaonkar, Director of DITE&C, Dr Milind Sakhardande, Joint Director of DITE&C, and Shri Subrai Nadkarni, Chief Engineer, GITDC. The training was conducted by Shri Ryan Vaz of Infinyt3D Pvt. Ltd and saw the participation of around twelve GITDC officials. Participants were introduced to the fundamentals of 3D technology through hands-on training in 3D modelling and design, including the use of 3D pens and basic design tools. The session combined presentations with practical demonstrations to help participants understand both theoretical concepts and real-world applications.

Upon completion of the programme, all participants received an Elementary 3D Printing certificate, recognising their foundational training in the technology. Speaking on the initiative, Shri Kabir Shirgaonkar said the programme is a crucial step in preparing government officials for future technological demands. He noted that exposure to advanced tools like 3D printing can help departments explore innovative applications and improve public service delivery.

The skilling initiative is being implemented under the leadership of Shri Rohan Khaunte, Hon’ble Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications. It is designed as a structured three-module training programme comprising beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, covering the full spectrum of 3D printing applications from basic design to advanced prototyping. As part of this effort, a dedicated 3D Printing Bureau is also being established to support design and printing requirements for various government departments.

The next phase of training sessions will be organised for government officials through the Department of ITE&C, subject to participant availability, as GITDC continues its focus on building technical capacity and fostering innovation within the public sector.

TechPulse

Tata Power’s EZ Home Wins Top Honour for AI/ML Innovation at National Power Conference

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

Tata Power’s smart home automation brand, EZ Home, has earned national recognition after being declared the sole winner in the Home Automation category at the AI/ML National Conference organised by the Ministry of Power. Held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the conference brought together the country’s most promising AI-driven innovations in the power and energy sector. EZ Home stood out among strong contenders including Genus, Schneider Electric, Blaze, and Adani, securing its position as a leading force in India’s smart home ecosystem.

The Ministry’s initiative aims to highlight pioneering AI/ML solutions shaping the future of the power distribution landscape. From 195 applications submitted by DISCOMs, AMISPs, technology innovators, and home automation companies, only 51 solutions were shortlisted for deeper evaluation. EZ Home distinguished itself through its integration of smart home automation with AI-enabled smart meter analytics, demonstrating a consumer-centric approach that enhances convenience, safety, and energy efficiency for households across India.

The EZ Home ecosystem includes a versatile range of Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as smart switches, retrofittable modules, sensors, universal IR controllers, and smart plugs that seamlessly integrate with existing wiring. Through the EZ Home app and compatibility with major voice assistants, users can remotely manage appliances, monitor consumption at device level, automate routines, and receive intelligent insights powered by AI and machine learning. These capabilities allow consumers to better understand their energy use and make informed decisions that optimise consumption, ultimately contributing to long-term grid efficiency.

A distinguished jury featuring members from NPTI, Google India, Microsoft India, Meta India, and SARVAM evaluated the entries. EZ Home’s scalable architecture, intuitive design, and its potential to expand access to smart home technology across India earned high appreciation from the panel.

A Tata Power spokesperson emphasised that this recognition affirms the company’s commitment to building AI-led digital solutions that enhance consumer experiences while supporting India’s transition to intelligent, future-ready energy frameworks. Tata Power was also recognised in the AMISP category at the same conference, adding another milestone to its rapidly growing portfolio of technology-driven innovations.

Tata Power, one of India’s largest integrated power companies, continues to strengthen its role in the nation’s clean energy transition. With a diversified 15.9 GW portfolio spanning renewable and conventional energy, transmission, distribution, trading, storage, and solar manufacturing, the company is steadily progressing toward its Net Zero 2045 mission. Serving around 13 million customers nationwide, Tata Power remains committed to advancing systems that elevate efficiency, sustainability, and digital intelligence across India’s energy ecosystem.

TechPulse

Amazon to Unlock AI for Millions inIndia, Invest $12.7B in Cloud & AI Infrastructure by 2030

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

Amazon has announced a major initiative aimed at accelerating India’s AI transformation and supporting the Government of India’s AI Mission. The company is set to bring artificial intelligence capabilities to millions of Indians by 2030, with a strong focus on accessibility, productivity, and digital inclusion. As part of this commitment, Amazon is on track to invest $12.7 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure across Telangana and Maharashtra, strengthening the foundation for India to become a global technology leader. This investment supports the rapidly growing demand for cloud, machine learning, and agentic AI solutions and also complements Amazon’s long-running efforts in skilling. Since 2017, AWS has trained more than 6.2 million individuals in India to prepare them for a future shaped by AI.

A central part of this mission is Amazon’s plan to empower over 15 million small businesses with AI-driven tools that simplify operations, remove barriers, and enable entrepreneurs—regardless of size or location—to scale faster. Through innovations such as the enhanced Seller Assistant with agentic AI capabilities, the Next Generation Seller Central platform, GenAI-powered product listing tools, Creative Studio, and Video Generator, sellers can now create content, make informed decisions, and automate daily tasks with ease. These tools help level the playing field for small entrepreneurs, enabling them to compete with larger enterprises by providing professional-grade capabilities at their fingertips.

Amazon also announced a commitment to bring AI literacy and career awareness to 4 million government-school students by 2030. This effort supports the National Education Policy 2020 and aims to equip young learners with future-ready skills through AI-focused curriculum, hands-on activities, teacher training, and career exposure programs. By ensuring equal access to AI learning resources, even for students in rural or underserved regions, Amazon hopes to nurture the next generation of innovators who will create solutions for India and the world. Government leadership emphasized that integrating AI education into classrooms is a nation-building effort essential for achieving a Viksit Bharat.

On the customer front, Amazon continues to use AI to make shopping easier, more intuitive, and more inclusive for hundreds of millions of shoppers across India. Tools like Rufus, the in-app AI shopping assistant, help users discover products, compare options, and understand key features quickly and naturally. Lens AI allows shoppers to search using images, screenshots, or barcodes, while augmented reality features let customers visualize products like furniture in their own homes. These innovations reduce the effort involved in product research and decision-making and break down barriers of language, literacy, and digital familiarity.

Amazon’s broader vision is that AI should be an equalizer for India—empowering small businesses, enabling students, supporting economic growth, and making everyday life easier for customers. By combining large-scale AI infrastructure investments with user-friendly AI tools and nationwide skilling initiatives, Amazon aims to help India unlock the full potential of AI and build a more equitable digital future for all.

Business

GCCI & GMA Host Harvard-Led Masterclass on ‘Entrepreneurship in the Age of AI’ in Goa

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral Business Desk

The Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) and the Goa Management Association (GMA), in partnership with the Goa AI Centre of Excellence, successfully organized a transformative one-day Masterclass on “Entrepreneurship in the Age of AI,” led by Harvard Summer School Faculty, Mr. Niraj Kumar. Held on 25 November 2025, the workshop brought together some of Goa’s most influential entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and innovators for an immersive learning experience designed to deliver the core concepts from Mr. Kumar’s renowned 12-session Harvard program in a single, power-packed day. The masterclass focused on the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-enabled entrepreneurship, covering how artificial intelligence is reshaping business models, negotiation strategies, customer engagement, and organisational decision-making. GCCI President Mrs. Pratima Dhond opened the session by highlighting the importance of staying ahead of emerging technologies to build a resilient and future-ready business ecosystem for Goa. She emphasized that as AI transforms industries across the world, it is essential for Goa’s businesses to adopt and leverage AI strategically for innovation, efficiency, and sustainable growth. Supporting this vision, GMA Vice-Chairman Mr. Rajesh Mehrotra shared that in its Golden Jubilee year, the association is proud to bring global expertise to Goa’s corporate sector through such specialised programs.

During the session, Mr. Niraj Kumar spoke of the pressing need for businesses to integrate AI as a fundamental capability rather than an optional add-on. He pointed out that the future of entrepreneurship will be driven by deep personalization powered by large-scale data, and that companies must now optimise not just for traditional SEO but for AI search visibility as well. He reiterated that AI is no longer a peripheral tool but an integral part of the new world, dramatically transforming how people communicate, interact, and make decisions. The participants engaged in hands-on practical activities such as negotiation simulations, employee training modules, and customer service chatbot creation, which enabled them to understand the real-world applications of AI in business scenarios. A special segment by startup founder Ms. Maria Kapinos on “AI in Animation” offered an inspiring perspective on how AI enhances creativity by accelerating the ability of creators to bring their ideas to life. A memento was presented to Mr. Niraj Kumar by GCCI Director Mrs. Pallavi H. Arondekar, who expressed that such high-value insights from a global AI thought leader will spark new ideas and strengthen Goa’s position as a forward-looking hub of innovation. She also acknowledged the efforts of GAICoE founders Mr. Pramod Rane and Mr. Anand Desai for shaping and supporting this impactful initiative.

The masterclass proved to be an invaluable opportunity for Goa’s business community to learn directly from a Harvard expert and gain practical frameworks needed to thrive in the fast-evolving AI era. Notable attendees included Mr. Ralph de Sousa, Past President, GCCI; Ms. Pallavi Salgaocar, GCCI Managing Committee Member; Dr. Niyan Marchon, Program Director, Directorate of Higher Education, Goa; Mr. Carlos De Sousa, MD, De Souza Group; Mr. Amit Bandekar, Director, NRB Group; Mr. Yatish Dempo, Director, Dempo Group; Mr. Sunil Pai Kane, Director, Power Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Gourov Pokle, Chair, GCCI Environment & Waste Management Committee; Mr. Blaise Costabir, MD, GMI Zarak Moulders Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Manish Gosalia, Director, Goa Knowledge Foundation; Mr. Ashutosh Kharangate, MD, MARC; and Mrs. Supriya Rane, Director, La Cabana Beach Resort & Spa, among several others. The event marked a significant step in empowering Goa’s industry leaders with the knowledge and tools required to navigate the future of business confidently in the age of artificial intelligence.

Events in Goa, IFFI 2025

Masterclass on “The New AI Cinema” Explores the Future of Filmmaking at IFFI 2025

Tanisha Cardozo

Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral

The sixth day of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2025 delivered one of the festival’s most forward-looking conversations through its masterclass titled “The New AI Cinema: A Discourse on Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)”. The session brought together eminent voices from technology and cinema, including technologist Shankar Ramakrishnan, AI expert V. Muralitharan, and internationally celebrated filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who led an engaging and visionary dialogue on how rapidly developing artificial intelligence tools are reshaping the art and craft of filmmaking.

The session opened with Ravi Kottarakara honouring Shekhar Kapur for his pioneering impact on Indian cinema, highlighting his innovative approach to storytelling and his enduring influence with films like Mr. India, still celebrated for its technical brilliance and cultural legacy. Kapur reflected on the profound shift unfolding across the world with the rise of AI, describing it as the most democratic medium ever introduced to filmmaking. He emphasised that AI has dissolved long-standing barriers, giving unprecedented creative access to individuals who previously had limited pathways into the industry. Illustrating this point, he shared an anecdote about his cook who used ChatGPT to create a script for Mr. India 2, demonstrating how transformative and inclusive AI-powered creativity has become.

Kapur expressed confidence that India, home to the world’s largest youth population, is poised to take a leading role in shaping the future of film technology. He also clarified the difference between traditional VFX and AI-driven processes, noting that while VFX involves crafting or modifying visuals digitally, AI leverages machine-learning models to automate, enhance, or even generate creative elements, fundamentally shifting the way films can be conceived and executed.

Technologists Shankar Ramakrishnan and V. Muralitharan expanded the conversation by demonstrating how modern AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini assist filmmakers across multiple stages of production, from scripting and storyboarding to generating detailed shot descriptions including lighting, camera angles, and visual dynamics. They showcased their AI-enhanced project The Turban and The Rock, written by Raja Rao, explaining how various AI platforms were integrated seamlessly into its creation.

The interactive Q&A session that followed encouraged deeper conversations about the larger possibilities of AI in cinema. The panellists highlighted how emerging technologies can support documentary production, archival restoration, film education, and creative ideation. Audiences were given a glimpse into the future through the screening of an AI-generated short documentary titled The Lost Legends, which demonstrated the growing sophistication of AI-driven visual storytelling.

Despite the enthusiasm surrounding technological advancement, Shekhar Kapur grounded the discussion by reminding the audience that cinema’s true heart lies in human emotion. He emphasised that while AI can accelerate processes and expand creative possibilities, it is ultimately the human artist who breathes life, meaning, and emotional depth into a film.

The session concluded with a touching tribute to legendary actor Dharmendra, honouring his immense contribution to Indian cinema and reminding attendees that while the tools of filmmaking may evolve, the soul of the art remains in the stories and performances that connect deeply with audiences.