Microsoft joins India's ONDC WHAT HAS HAPPENED? US firm Microsoft has become the first big tech company to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), A government-backed project which is aimed at enabling small merchants and mom-and-pop stores in parts of the country to access processes and technologies that are typically deployed by large e commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart. The software giant intends to introduce social e-commerce - group buying experience in the Indian market, Which would include a shopping app for Indian consumers along with their social circle, harnessing the ONDC network to discover the best pricing among retailers and sellers. WHAT IS OPEN NETWORK FOR DIGITAL COMMERECE ? It is an initiative aimed at promoting open networks for all aspects of exchange of goods and services over digital or electronic networks. ONDC is to be based on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols inde...
Google Street View launched in India after 11 years WHAT HAS HAPPENED ? Google Street View is finally available for ten cities in India and is expected to roll out in about 50 more cities by the end of the year. The 360-degree interactive panorama feature of Google Maps has been available in cities spread over 100 countries since 2007. In India, unlike in other markets, Google Street View is powered by images from third parties as per the National Geospatial Policy, 2021. WHAT IS GOOGLE STREET VIEW ? Google Street View is an immersive 360-degree view of a location captured using special cameras mounted on vehicles or on backpacks by data collectors moving around the city streets. The images are then patched together to create a 360-degree view which users can swipe through to get a detailed view of the location. It is available to view on Android and iOS using the app, or...