|In: Finance|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

If you are from Indian origin, have become a Non-Resident Indian [NRI] over a period of time, and have a consistent source of cash flow in the country, you can invest your money into different investment products in India. Many NRIs park their funds into investments in India because of the tax benefits and the simplified regulations by the government. The government strives to encourage such investments to boost the financial growth of the country.

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Because of the declining value of Indian rupee, you will be able to earn higher returns from the investments made in the country. Even if you are an Indian engaged in an employment abroad, you can send money to your family in India and it will fetch more on conversion. This is mainly because of the depreciating Indian currency, which is the main attraction for NRIs to park their funds in India.

Top investment options for NRIs in India

Here are some of the most preferred and suitable investment options for NRIs in India.

Fixed deposits

One of the best investment options for NRIs is a fixed deposit in the bank, which can generate a regular income in the form of interest. NRIs can open a fixed deposit account with those Indian banks, which are eligible to deal in foreign exchange. This means as an NRI, you can opt for a term deposit under a Non-Resident External Account [NRE], Non-Resident Ordinary account [NRO], and Foreign Currency Non- Resident [FCNR] account. Banks generally offer attractive interest rates on the fixed deposits held by NRIs.

Equity

As an NRI, you can invest in the stock market directly through the Reserve Bank of India’s Portfolio Investment Scheme [PINS]. In order to make an investment in the stock market, you will have to seek permission under PINS. The total investment must not go above 10% of the paid-up capital owned by the company you are investing in.

It is essential to open a dematerialized account as well as a brokerage account with a firm, which is registered with SEBI. It is mandatory for you to process a transaction through a stockbroker. It is important to note that you cannot trade in all the stocks of Indian companies. There is a list of stocks, which are eligible for NRIs and they are not allowed to carry out intraday trading or short selling in the country.

Mutual funds

In order to invest in mutual funds, an NRI will have to have one of the three bank accounts—FCNR, NRO, or NRE. The investment will only be made in Indian currency and the amount will be directly debited from their bank account. During redemption, the maturity amount will be paid in Indian currency through a check or will be directly credited to the account of the investor. In case of mutual funds, the tax liabilities will remain the same for NRIs and that of a ‘Resident’. However, the only point of difference is that in case of NRIs the tax will be deducted at source.

Certificate of Deposits [CDs]

NRIs can invest in CDs but only on a repatriable basis. They carry a higher rate of interest and the tenure ranges between seven days to one year, which makes it ideal for NRIs having short-term financial goals. CDs have an impressive return on investment in comparison to bank deposits.

Unit Linked Insurance Plans [ULIPs]

As an NRI, you can invest in ULIPs and enjoy the benefit of an insurance through an investment product. With a ULIP, you can grow your wealth and have a life insurance cover at the same time. You can also claim a tax deduction up to an amount of INR 1.5 Lakh according to Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Government securities

Indian Government issues bonds from time to time and if you invest into these bonds, you will be considered as a lender for the company. You will have an equity stake in the company. You will receive a fixed return on the bonds and if the purchase is processed through an NRE or FCNR account, the proceeds will be repatriable to the country where you reside.

National Pension Scheme [NPS]

Only NRIs who are citizens of the country can contribute to NPS. If you are not holding Indian citizenship, your account will be closed. NRIs between the ages of 18 to 65 are eligible to contribute through the form of fund transfer from their bank accounts. If you consistently deposit in NPS, you can have high returns and build a strong post-retirement corpus. However, you will only be allowed to withdraw 60% at the time of maturity and the rest will have to be converted into annuity. You can avail of a tax deduction of INR 1.5 lakh under Section 80C and an additional deduction of INR 50,000 under Section 80 CCD [1B].

If you are an NRI wondering where to invest money, you can make the most of your funds by investing in these top investment products in the country. You can get a tax benefit from the investment and can grow your wealth over a period of time. Another popular investment option is real estate. Many NRIs purchase property in India and make the most of the rising real estate prices. It is a valuable possession and gives a sense of security. However, it is advisable to take professional help before you choose any investment product because some investment options have legal documentation and procedures that need to be followed.

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Technology plays a pivotal role in shaping Indian construction industry. One new-gen technology that is gaining interest in the construction industry is the usage of drones. It is poised to serve as an effective medium towards building smart cities in a cost-effective, faster and safer manner with optimum utilization of skills and efforts. It is expected that in the next 10 years, the use of drones in construction will register a manifold growth and will play a leading role in futuristic buildings.

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According to a recent industry report, India is one of the fastest growing markets for UAVs and by 2021, the Indian UAV market is expected to reach USD 885.7 million. The usage of drones in the construction industry, has seen a 239% growth year-over-year globally, higher than any other commercial sector. In India too, the growth is set to increase manifold.

In the present scenario, it is very crucial for India to realize the aerial revolution that can be brought about by the proper utilization of drones which have emerged as a highly viable commercial tool globally. As a matter of fact, the most notable sector of economy being benefited by drones is construction. There’s no denying on the fact that there is an unstoppable rise of commercial drones; a market set to be worth billions over the coming years.

There are numerous safety and legal implications that one should be aware of, as well as the differences between the commercial and personal use of drones. Despite increasing adoption and regulation, there is still tremendous growth in the use of drones in construction. Drones can add significant value to a project throughout its life-cycle.

The areas where drone technology will benefit the construction process

Improvised quality and thermal imaging

The quality of the scans and aerial imagery provided by the cameras mounted on top of the drones are undeniably superior. Drones equipped with high-resolution thermal cameras serve as an excellent investigative tool for a host of building-specific applications and energy efficiency audits, including roof insulation inspection. They can also graphically depict energy inefficiencies and identify wet insulations in the roof or elsewhere by displaying temperature variations within the building.

Drones integration with Building Information Modeling [BIM]

Drones have proved themselves to be an asset for data-driven approach and thus can effectively undertake numerous tasks to aid the BIM [Building Information Modeling] workflow. Giving an aerial perspective in the creation of the initial BIM, drones also provide scalable point cloud scanning and photography at different stages of construction.

Highly cost-effective in topographical surveys

A drone carrying out standard survey and inspection activities is undoubtedly a significant cost-effective approach, as it removes the need for any kind of monetary or physical efforts put in for the surveys. As an example, for a typical topographic survey, the use of a drone can help to reduce costs by approximately 50%.

Ensuring completion of projects

The use of drones completely eradicates the need of shutting down active work sites for the concerns of maintaining and inspecting work like pipeline or flare stacks, which can be carried out safely under UAV supervision. Drones also monitor site activity and provide a comprehensive overview of the site through land surveying. Therefore, it is highly efficient in reducing the time-frame for the process of construction leading to a speedy delivery of the projects.

Reducing risk and keeping people safe

Drones help in minimizing the possibility of risk by being monitored to perform a task. The UAV technology thus helps in supporting the drive towards zero incidents onsite as it takes away some of the risks from the construction activities like the need for labourers to work at heights when inspecting assets like bridges. UAVs and drones are effective in conducting safer, faster and more accurate inspections instead of safety managers, who physically conduct the site walk-throughs to identify potential hazards.

Compact and intelligent results

Acute 3D software can dramatically enhance productivity by turning a simple series of digital photos taken with a smart camera. When these cameras are mounted on drones they give a 360-degree overview of the project into a 3D reality mesh model. The result is a compact, intelligent representation of the asset in its current operating context. This also eases out the task for engineers and designers allowing them to work on an up-to-date 3D model for their enhancement and maintenance plans.

Drones are tools that will play a fundamental role in ensuring that the construction industry can deliver huge and complex projects with a better finishing and on-time results.

About the Author

AV Antao is the Chief Operating Officer [COO] of Synergy Property Development Services. You can more about him here.

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

VeriSign, Inc., a global leader in domain names and internet security, notifies that approximately 2.6 million domain name registrations were added to the internet in the Q3 of 2018, bringing the total number of domain name registrations to approximately 342.4 million across all Top-Level Domains [TLDs].

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The increase of approximately 2.6 million domain name registrations globally equates to a growth rate of 0.8% compared to the Q2 of 2018. The Domain Name Industry Brief [DNIB] further brings out that the domain name registrations have grown by approximately 11.7 million, or 3.5%, Y-O-Y.

Key Highlights

  • The .com and .net TLDs had a combined total of approximately 151.7 million domain name registrations in the domain name base at the end of Q3 2018. This represents an increase of approximately 2.0 million domain name registrations, or 1.3%, compared to Q2 2018
  • As of September 30, 2018, the .com domain name base totaled approximately 137.6 million domain name registrations, while the .net domain name base totaled approximately 14.1 million domain name registrations
  • The .com and .net TLDs had a combined increase of approximately 5.9 million domain name registrations, or 4.0%, Y-O-Y
  • New .com and .net domain name registrations totaled approximately 9.5 million at the end of Q3 2018, compared to 8.9 million domain name registrations for Q3 2017
  • Growth of .com and .net domain names redirecting to popular global social media and e-commerce sites compared to Q3 2017 is dominated by Pinterest [50%] followed by Instagram [47%] and Etsy, Snapchat, Linkedin and Amazon in the following
  • Total new gTLD [ngTLD] domain name registrations were approximately 23.4 million at the end of Q3 2018, with an increase of 1.6 million domain name registrations, or 7.5%, compared to Q2 2018. ngTLDs decreased by approximately 2.3 million domain name registrations, or 10.9%, Y-O-Y

Verisign publishes the Domain Name Industry Brief to provide statistical and analytical research and data on the domain name industry. The Q3 2018 Domain Name Industry Brief, as well as previous reports, can be obtained at Verisign.com/DNIB

 

|In: Fintech|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

To provide additional source of income to over 25,000 brokers associated with it, Square Yards is introducing mortgage option on its ‘Square Connect Mobile App‘ through which brokers will be able to offer home and other loans to their clients at best rates chosen from a clutch of 90 partner banks and NBFCs.

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Brokers will now be able to provide their clients the best solution for loans, an important component in property purchase process in most the cases and earn higher commission for themselves as compared to what they would have earned by selling only property. This will also help Square Capital, the mortgage arm of Square Yards, to achieve multi-fold growth in the current levels of facilitation of around Rs 300 crore disbursements every month.

The brokers will be able to help their clients take advantage of cutting-edge software solutions that Square Capital uses for getting through a maze of complex valuation decisions at the hands of banks and excessive documentation. The technology related solutions that Square Capital uses enables it find out accurate eligibility of the applicant linked to credit bureau and various banks’ credit policies, ability to perform e-KYC of the applicants through integration with NSDL and direct integration with banks’ loan originating system.

Tanuj Shori, Co-Founder and CEO, Square Yards, said

The channel partners associated with our company are a huge asset and we are constantly on a look out for ways to make the partnership we have with them stronger by offering them new technology tools as well as by supplementing their income.

The new option of mortgage being added on the Square Connect App will help the channel partners in providing more touchpoints to their clients in the property buying process and consequently generating high income for themselves. The banks and NBFCs associated with us will also be able to get business from newer geographies as our channel partners are spread far and wide in the country.

The Square Connect division in the company was started in 2016 and lists large inventories of Grade A properties across India and the globe that can be marketed by channel partners from their mobile in an instant to earn higher commissions. The App not only helps channel partners maintain a personalized account to track projects and loan transactions together with client’s details, status and brokerage earned, it also helps them get free leads. The division accounts for 15~20 percent of the real estate business of Square Yards which now touching USD 30 million in revenues with USD 750 million in Gross Transactional Value [GTV].

Started little over 2 years ago, Square Capital has become the largest distributor for secured mortgage industry in India. Square Capital facilitates about Rs 300 crore of loan disbursements every month with home loans and loans against property contributing around 75 percent of the overall volume. The network of 90 banks and NBFCs that are associated with Square Capital is constantly growing.

About Square Yards

Square Yards is a technology-enabled, global real estate marketplace and India’s largest proptech + fintech player that operates O2O transaction platform for Real estate & Mortgages. Square Yards platform covers the full real-estate journey from search, discovery to transactions, mortgages and post-sales service – fully integrating buyers to an extensive network of partners. Square Yards has achieved a significant scale in facilitating real estate investments worth more than USD $2 Billion through its direct presence of more than 2000 employees in in 20+ Indian cities and 10+ International locations.

|In: Finance|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Unit-linked Insurance Plans [ULIPs] are an excellent investment option if you want a safe instrument that delivers good returns. These plans combine life coverage along with investments while also offering tax benefits. A certain portion of the premium is invested in various instruments, such as debt, equity, money markets, or any combination thereof.

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However, there is a plethora of ULIPs you may choose from, which makes it difficult to make the right choice. To help you make an accurate decision, you may opt for online calculators that assist you to determine the potential returns you may earn at the end of the investment period.

How to use online ULIP calculators?

Before investing your money, you may want to know the potential returns on your investments. Online ULIP calculators are beneficial in helping you estimate prospective returns. You may not know how to use these calculators and may think they requires complicated calculations. However, using such calculators is very simple and easy and does not require any complex calculations.

You need to provide some basic personal details, such as your name, date of birth, and state whether you are a smoker/non-smoker. Additionally, you must choose the premium amount, the payment frequency, and your investment horizon. You will then need to input the total fund percent, which is the premium amount you want to invest in the investment options offered by the particular ULIP scheme. Based on this information, the online calculator determines the potential returns on your investment at the end of the duration.

Features of online ULIP calculators

The online calculators provide several beneficial features to help you understand the ULIP performance and determine the potential returns on your investments. Here are five such features:

  1. Versatility

You may modify the investment amount and the premium components as per the policy duration. This helps you calculate your potential returns based on different investment tenure, choice of financial instruments, and investment amount.

  1. Safe investment

When you determine the potential returns, you are able to make an accurate investment decision. Because online calculators allow you to analyze various funds and the potential returns, you are able to make an accurate investment choice.

  1. Goal-based investing

It is important that your investment is linked to a certain life goal. A ULIP helps you meet your various financial objectives. An online calculator helps you analyze the most appropriate ULIP to invest to ensure you are able to meet your various financial objectives.

  1. Complete control

You are able to control your investment with an online calculator. You may enter the premium amount to determine the potential return based on your personal requirements, preferences, and budget.

  1. Transparency

Online calculators are transparent and allow you to determine the estimated returns when you invest in a particular scheme for a certain period of time.

Benefits of online calculators

Online calculators have several benefits as listed below:

  • You are able to make strategic investment plans.
  • These calculators simplify the investment procedure and eliminate the need for complex calculations.
  • You are easily able to access these calculators online without paying any charges or without any obligations to actually make an investment.
  • Such calculators are easy to use with a user-friendly interface that allows you to calculate potential returns without any complexity.
  • The online calculators give you the estimated returns, which in turn allow you to make accurate investment decisions based on your age, financial goals, budget, and personal preferences.

Step-wise guide to use ULIP calculators

Using an online calculator is very simple and requires inputting some basic information. Here is a step-wise guide to use such calculators:

  1. Search online for a reliable and free calculator and then input your personal details, such as smoking habits, name, and birth date.
  2. Next, you must input the investment amount, which must not cause financial difficulties for you considering your financial situation, liabilities, and expenses.
  3. You must then select the premium payment frequency that is based on your financial situation. You may also choose a one-time premium payment option based on the amount you want to invest.
  4. In the next step, you need to determine the investment tenure based on your future financial goals.
  5. You must deduct the various charges as levied by the ULIP scheme. Following this, you must determine how much of the premium you want to invest towards life cover and how much you want to invest in different financial instruments.
  6. In the next step, you must allocate the investible premium component to your choice of financial instruments. You need to consider the past performance of the ULIPs before making this decision.
  7. Finally, select the lock-in period, which is a minimum of five years when you invest in any ULIP scheme. However, it is recommended you choose a longer duration to maximize your returns.

Using an online calculator is not only simple but also very convenient. Moreover, such calculators are easily available and most insurance companies provide these on their official websites.

It is important to understand what is ULIP before you use the online calculators. These calculators enable you to determine the amount you must invest to achieve your various financial goals, such as children’s higher education, building a retirement corpus, or buying a home.

Use an online calculator today and make an accurate investment decision!

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

ITC Infotech, a specialized global technology services provider and a fully-owned subsidiary of ITC Ltd, successfully concluded the fourth edition of its flagship annual co-creation and technology innovation platform ‘iTech 2018‘. As part of iTech 2018, ITC Infotech organized a Startup Showcase and a programing Codeathon on December 8~9, 2018, at its Bengaluru headquarters.

The Startup ‘Showcase’ has been designed with the objective of providing innovative technology startups a platform to present their solutions directly to businesses. Shortlisted startups pitched business solutions powered by new age technologies including Artificial Intelligence, Augment Virtual & Mixed Reality, Blockchain and IoT across three industry verticals – Industry 4.0, HealthTech and FinTech. The potential clients for these startups included C level executives from ITC Infotech’s global client base, senior business decision makers, including CIOs from various ITC Ltd., businesses, technology leaders from ITC Infotech’s leading ISV and technology platform partners, and leaders from across ITC Infotech’s various technology LoBs and industry verticals.

Two startups, JioVio and Ethereal Machines won a cash prize of Rs. 2 Lakhs each, and the chance to co-develop their solution with ITC Infotech as a part of its go-to-market strategy. JioVio is a med-tech company focused on providing a positive pregnancy, infant care and parenting experience with its innovation in healthcare technology. Ethereal Machines solves manufacturing problems faced by industries by equipping them with affordable machines. Additionally, this year two startups – Detect Technology and NeoEyed won the special jury award for presenting exemplary solutions.

Ms. Sushma Rajagopalan, MD – ITC Infotech with the winners

The iTech programing Codeathon, an open forum for students, professional developers and early stage technology startups, witnessed some of the sharpest technology minds compete and created code for complex business applications. Participants addressed various challenges included applications to enable labor matching for farmers & farm owners, interactive mobile UI component using platform specific SDKs, offline analytics for mobile applications, offline app sync and process automation.

The Codeathon also had an open innovation category to explore Blockchain solution across Industry 4.0, HealthTech and Fintech. Pulse [formerly known as DocTalk] won the Codeathon challenge and was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 2 Lakhs. The first runner-up was a team from Institute of Technical Education & Research Bhubaneshwar who won a cash prize of Rs. 1 Lakhs and the second runner-up was a team from RR Donnelley who won a cash prize of Rs. 50,000. Team from CMR Institute of Technology and Mangalore Institute of Technology & Engineering won special jury awards. Select Codeathon participants were also offered internship opportunities with ITC Infotech.

The iTech 2018 jury panel consisted of business leaders from ITC Infotech’s clients and platform & ISV partners, along with senior leaders from various divisions of ITC Ltd.

Commenting on the success of iTech 2018, Sushma Rajagopalan, CEO & MD, ITC Infotech, said

As a technology company in the digital era, it is important for us to create an effective eco-system in order to develop innovative and disruptive solutions. Our objective is to collaborate with our employees, with our clients and ISV partners, and the world of startups, to work at the cutting edge of technology and make innovation a way of life at ITC Infotech. iTech is an extension of our philosophy to foster startups in a non-threating environment through partnership with our clients, and the larger ecosystem. Through iTech, we are also creating a platform to enhance the learning experiences of the next generation of technologists.

The fourth edition of iTech 2018 received over 3500 entries for the Codeathon challenge and 32 teams were shortlisted for the final round of development. For Startup Showcase, 15 shortlisted startups were invited to showcase their solutions at the event as a part of the start-up showcase from the 200+ entries that were received.

|In: Finance|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

A bike insurance policy is a very handy kind of insurance. It offers many benefits and keeps your bike safe and secured. The insurance provider offers this protection. In return, you pay the insurer a premium. The premium is calculated after taking several factors into consideration. From the make and model of the bike to the scope of the cover, many components determine the final premium that you are expected to pay. Unfortunately, some people end up paying a higher-than-required premium. Do you fall into that category? Let’s find out.

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Reasons why you may be paying a higher bike insurance premium

  1. You have the incorrect type of cover – You need to see if the type of two wheeler insurance you have is correct. 2 wheeler insurance is available in two forms – comprehensive and third party. If you need a third party cover and you have a comprehensive cover, you are unnecessarily paying a higher bike insurance premium. So understand the two types of cover and choose wisely thereafter.
  2. You did not compare – Did you compare bike insurance online before you bought the plan? If you didn’t then probably you bought an expensive cover. Comparing is the key to finding the best plans at the lowest rates. If you don’t compare, you don’t even get to know about the cheaper motor insurance covers that may offer the same kind of coverage.
  3. Your IDV hasn’t been calculated properly – Every vehicle depreciates in value with time. And since the value of a bike insurance policy is proportional to the value of the bike itself, the premium should also reduce every year. If your IDV is not calculated properly, you may be paying higher for a bike that has a lower value. So use an online calculator and ensure your IDV is correct.
  4. Your NCB has not been deducted – If you don’t make any claims in the previous policy period, you get a discount on the premium of the following policy period. This is known as the No Claim Bonus [NCB]. At times, the insurance provider doesn’t deduct your NCB and this leads to you paying a higher premium. Do ensure that NCB is calculated properly when you renew your 2 wheeler insurance cover.
  5. Your deductible is too low – You can choose to pay a deductible at the time of claim. If you opt for a higher deductible, your premium will be lower and vice-versa. You may have blindly agreed to the deductible offered by your insurer, which pushed up your premium. When you renew your policy next, calculate a reasonable figure yourself. This will help to reduce your bike insurance costs.
  6. Your bike isn’t safe – You can get a discount on your bike insurance plan if you install some safety gadgets in your vehicle. Currently, you may be paying a higher premium because there aren’t any such devices. If yes, then you need to install the gadget right away!
  7. You have too many riders – Did you choose to buy a lot of riders when you bought bike insurance online? If this is the case, then you need to drop some riders as riders push up the premium of your bike plan. Keep the riders that you absolutely need and discontinue with the others.

Conclusion

If you actually find these points hold true, make some changes to your cover when you renew bike insurance online. You do not need to carry on with the same cover – you can always make amends and get your two-wheeler insurance costs reduced. So do your homework, choose the right policy and you will surely be paying the most accurate price for it.

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Continuing its endeavor to make technology accessible and productive for all, Microsoft India has announced the availability of new Phonetic keyboards in Indian languages to members of the Windows Insider Program. The new feature is available in 10 Indian languages including Hindi, Bangla, Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Odia, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The new Indic Phonetic keyboards are in addition to the Indic Traditional INSCRIPT keyboards already available with Windows.

 

The new keyboards have been added to Windows Insider Preview Build 18272. Users participating in the program can immediately start using them and share their feedback. The keyboards are expected to be added to Windows 10 later, subsequent to which Indian language users won’t need to download and install any external Input Method Editors [IMEs] to input Indic text in a phonetic style.

As words are typed using the existing keyboard, Indic Phonetic keyboards transliterate them to suggest possible Indic text options. For instance, if we type ‘namaste’ using the Phonetic keyboard, it will automatically suggest the same in Hindi/Punjabi/Gujarati.

Setting up and using Indic Phonetic keyboards

  • Go to Time & Language in Settings and select the language from the navigation menu
  • Click on the + icon labelled and add the preferred Indic language [by selecting into the search box and select it – for example ‘Hindi’ and click on the next button and install the Indic language on the device, which will then return to the Language page]
  • Go to language page, select the language and then click the options button to go to language options page
  • Add the keyboard by clicking the + icon and then select the type of keyboard
  • Lastly, enable the phonetic keyboard by clicking on the input indicator on the taskbar [or press the Windows key + Space] and select the Indic Phonetic keyboard
  • After adding the keyboard, one needs to download the dictionaries used for Indic Phonetic keyboard.

To get a first-hand experience of the Indic Phonetic keyboards, join Windows Insider Program.

Microsoft and Local Language computing – Microsoft has been consistently working to provide local language computing in Indian languages for over two decades since the launch of Project Bhasha in 1998, allowing users to input localized text easily and quickly using the Indian Language Input tool. Microsoft is also leveraging AI and Deep Neural Networks to improve real-time language translation for Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and now expanding it to real-time language translation for Telugu. Microsoft also recently announced support for email addresses in multiple Indian languages across most of its email apps and services. Also, as part of the latest Windows update, Microsoft added Tamil 99 virtual keyboard to Windows 10. Through its global Local Language Program [LLP], Microsoft provides people access to technology in their native language. This includes Language Interface Packs for Indian languages like Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam, amongst others.