Latest news with #RestofWorld
Scroll.in
4 days ago
- Health
- Scroll.in
Bangladesh's telehealth centres were lifesavers. Now they're on life support
This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology's impact outside the West. Mahbubur Rahman is used to the rhythms and interruptions of running a telemedicine center on the northern fringe of the Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forest. At the government-funded hospital in Dacope, Bangladesh, the internet sometimes cuts out for days. Or the power goes out, like it did one recent morning in May, with more than a dozen patients waiting. Rahman, a 36-year-old administrator, technician, and all-around troubleshooter at Dacope's telehealth clinic told them to hold on. No one complained. Rahman is widely respected, and they knew he didn't have to be there. He hasn't been paid since January. Bangladesh's health sector has been beset by crisis since a new government came to power last August. It was further worsened when the US Agency for International Development, which gave around $88 million yearly to Bangladesh's health programmes between 2021 and 2023, halted funding in January. The health ministry has so far not funded the telehealth programme, which treated more than 8,000 patients a month during its peak years after the Covid-19 pandemic. Rahman has struggled to keep the Dacope clinic running. 'I find a deep sense of joy in serving. Even though I'm not able to provide the same quality of care as before, I can't bear the thought of the centre closing completely,' he told Rest of World. ' But we have no food on our plates. We can't show this hardship to anyone,' he said. Telemedicine, which includes virtual consultations and other remote health care technologies, surged in popularity worldwide during Covid-19 as millions went online to visit doctors. It was the future of health care, experts said, especially in poorer regions, but it is often hampered by poor infrastructure, lack of funding, and digital illiteracy. In Bangladesh, too, the modestly named 'telemedicine service' got a boost during the pandemic, Israt Jahan Kakon, who heads the telemedicine programme at the Directorate General of Health Services, told Rest of World. By 2024, there were 234 such centers across the country, and they treated more than 100,000 patients last year. It was Bangladesh's longest-running telehealth programme. The centres, located within subdistrict hospitals, had a computer and LED screen for video conferencing, a backup battery, a 2 Mbps internet connection, and an assortment of smart devices for remote monitoring, including a stethoscope, an ECG machine, and a spirometer. But with the funding crisis, only about 35 centres have survived, kept on life support by unpaid staff who occasionally open the clinics, leading to uncertainty about the future of this programme in Bangladesh. Rural residents who used the centres earlier told Rest of World they are no longer receiving sufficient care. 'Without strong policy backing or well-thought-out planning, telemedicine has yet to reach its full potential in Bangladesh. It's an idea with promise, but it needs much more support to become truly effective and accessible,' MH Choudhury Lelin, a doctor and public health expert who was not involved in the programme, said. Bangladesh's government spent just 0.7% of its gross domestic product on health care last year, among the lowest in the world but similar to other lower-income nations, such as Pakistan and Nigeria. Virtual care makes sense for the nation, where 68% of the population lived outside cities in 2022. Millions of working-class people find traveling to the capital Dhaka or other cities too expensive, especially for chronic conditions that require regular checkups. Bangladesh also suffers from a severe shortage of doctors, with only five available to treat every 10,000 people – much lower than the global average of 17. The scarcity is even worse in rural areas. 'Hospitals are often far from rural villages. Normally, patients are referred to [city] hospitals when a specialist is needed, but through this telemedicine system, they could access specialist care without leaving their [area],' Kakon said. The Dacope clinic is set in the busy town on a low-lying riverine island in the Ganges delta. The water here is so saline that many residents develop skin infections due to constant salt exposure. But Dacope does not have a dermatologist. In fact, the town has only one specialist – an orthopedist – and 10 vacancies, according to Sudip Kumar Bala, Dacope's health officer. The telehealth center, launched in 2011, provided some relief. Local doctors would refer patients to the clinic, where a medical officer would connect them to a dermatologist in a distant city. The doctors would decide on a course of treatment together, either prescribing medicines or referring to a hospital. Skin disorders are easier than other conditions to diagnose using only photos, without other diagnostic tests. Rahman, then 21 and a second-year university student of philosophy, was hired to run it. Fifteen years on, he is well-known and respected by villagers, army officials and administrators alike. He liaises between patients and physicians, gently asking people to put up with the constant delays caused by recurring tech failures. He also does basic nursing tasks such as measuring blood pressure, taking photographs of affected areas, and organising the material for the physician. One morning, while waiting for the power to be restored, physician Selim Reza praised the center. 'For just 10 taka [8 cents], patients can speak directly to a senior doctor while sitting in their local health center,' he told Rest of World. 'For many, it feels like a dream.' As Rahman switched on the battery backup, the LED screen blinked to display a dermatologist in the nearby city of Barishal. Reza presented the case of Sagar Chandra Mondal, a middle-aged farmer and tutor who had a persistent, generalised itch. The dermatologist suggested medicines, which Reza prescribed. Mondal said the treatment was a 'blessing.' 'Getting specialist care without having to travel far is very important for us. We are working-class people,' he told Rest of World. Then, the battery drained and the power went out. Reza said the internet, too, is slow and unreliable, sometimes making it difficult to diagnose. 'Sometimes, it is really hard to understand the voice and see the photo due to slow internet speed,' he told Rest of World. Rahman unlocked a cupboard in a corner and pulled out the internet-connected diagnostic medical devices, including a stethoscope and a microscope the clinic received a decade ago. But the government never provided the software to run them, so they are kept in storage, he said. The clinic, like most of rural Bangladesh, has a 2 Mbps internet connection provided by Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited, the nation's largest telecom provider, which maintains a 38,000-kilometre fiber-optic network. But the cables are vulnerable to the delta's ferocious storms, leading to regular power and internet outages. And there is only one repair technician for the entire district, where 2.6 million people live. 'We don't have enough manpower,' MD Jubaer Ahmed, an assistant manager at the telecom company, told Rest of World. The internet is among the biggest barriers to telemedicine in Bangladesh, BM Mainul Hossain, director of the Institute of Information Technology at the University of Dhaka, told Rest of World. 'Because of internet speed issues, telemedicine services are inconvenient for many, so they are a little reluctant [to use it],' he said. 'Since patients are seen from a distance, it is important that the internet not be inconvenient for both the patient and the doctor. Otherwise, there is a risk of misdiagnosis.' Satellite internet provided by Starlink has recently launched in Bangladesh, but it costs at least twice the price of the cable connection. Despite its bare bones setup, the center treated as many as 300 patients every month at its peak, Rahman said, confirming, 'So many patients depend on it, and they would truly suffer without it.' Shah Ali Akbar Ashrafi, director of management information systems in the health department, said the ministry has not committed to restoring the telehealth service. 'We have written several letters, but no decision has been made at the relevant levels of the government yet. As a result, we still do not know its future,' Ashrafi told Rest of World. A three-hour drive by road from Dacope leads to a telehealth clinic at Bagerhat, which has fared poorly compared to its neighbor. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and a layer of dust covered the furniture and equipment. The internet has been cut. Pranto Mondal, 25, the administrator who ran the center, told Rest of World he stopped getting paid last August and quit in February. 'I kept going for nearly six months, hoping things would get better. But, honestly, how long can someone keep pushing through like this?' he said.
Scroll.in
5 days ago
- Business
- Scroll.in
WhatsApp can't crack India's digital payments market
This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology's impact outside the West. Meta's fintech ambitions have failed to take off in India – the company's largest market, with over 500 million WhatsApp users. When WhatsApp first began testing payments in India back in 2018, local players braced for disruption. The app's massive reach – 400 million users at the time – raised fears it could wipe out competitors. But Indian regulators quickly stepped in, insisting WhatsApp store user data in the country and keep it separate from Facebook. The regulators also capped WhatsApp Pay's user base at just 1 million. The cap was gradually raised and then entirely lifted in December 2024. But rivals had cemented their leads by then. Six months on, the world's largest messaging app holds a speck in India's $3 trillion digital payments market. The market is dominated by Walmart-owned PhonePe and Google. Industry experts believe Meta's struggle is not only because of the regulatory hurdles. The company has not done much to support its growth and build user trust. 'Even after the cap was lifted, WhatsApp didn't do anything fundamentally different – no big product revamp, no cash-back play, no merchant push, no marketing blitz. It's like they have lost interest,' Deepak Abbot, co-founder of gold loan app Indiagold and former senior vice president of products at Indian fintech firm Paytm, told Rest of World. Between December 2024 and May 2025, WhatsApp Pay added just over 12 million transactions. In the same period, rivals Google Pay and PhonePe saw their transaction volume rise by nearly 700 million and 500 million, respectively, according to data from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Google Pay and PhonePe together account for over 80% of transactions on UPI, the wildly popular government-built payment system. 'It wasn't simply a matter of delayed access – it was a matter of timing in a fast-moving ecosystem,' Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and CEO at Greyhound Research, told Rest of World. 'The platform's arrival came after critical foundational layers of trust, habit, and brand affinity had already been built by incumbent players.' According to Yugal Joshi, a partner at US-based management consulting firm Everest Group, WhatsApp lacks key features that make digital payments seamless – such as clear transaction tracking and user-facing rewards – while its rivals have built deeper engagement through robust app interfaces, merchant partnerships, and financial incentives like cash-backs and scratch cards. Brand perception is another barrier. Unlike established fintech brands, 'users may be hesitant to trust [WhatsApp] with financial transactions due to its primary association with messaging', Koppisetty Yasaswini Pujitha, banking analyst at GlobalData, told Rest of World. WhatsApp's only major push into digital payments came in July 2022 as Meta invested $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio, India's largest telecom firm, run by the country's richest man, Mukesh Ambani. The deal enabled Reliance's online grocery arm, JioMart, to launch a WhatsApp-based ordering service, advancing Meta's push into digital payments. The tie-up had 'a lot of potential', but Reliance Retail 'has not met its promise or potential,' and 'the WhatsApp Pay partnership is also taking a hit,' Jayanth Kolla, founder and partner at advisory firm Convergence Catalyst, told Rest of World. Underinvestment appears to be a recurring theme. The company pushed digital storefronts on Facebook and Instagram, but it 'hardly spent marketing dollars or bandwidth in even educating people about the [payments] feature,' Kolla said. WhatsApp Pay's international expansion has also largely fizzled. Outside India, it's available only in Brazil, where it lets users send money to peers and pay merchants. In Singapore, the service is limited to individuals making payments to registered businesses. Talks about Mexico and Indonesia launches, reported back in 2019, haven't yet materialized. The Indian government plans to limit payment apps to 30% of UPI-enabled transactions for fair competition, but earlier this year, the deadline for that move was extended to December 2026, giving WhatsApp more runway to grow without regulatory limits. The real barrier however isn't compliance but intent, according to Ankur Bisen, senior partner at Indian management consulting firm Technopak Advisors. 'QR codes, UI, all these things WhatsApp can also do. It's very easy. There's no big tech about these interventions, especially for a company like WhatsApp. But whether WhatsApp will want to do it or not, that's a key question,' Bisen said.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Chile leads push for 'Latam-GPT'
More than 30 Latin American institutions are collaborating to build their version of ChatGPT, trained on local languages and nuances. Artificial intelligence chatbots made by US firms are available in other languages, but their Spanish-language capabilities are largely powered by data that is from Spain or translated from English text, which can lead to inaccuracies, Rest of World wrote. The Chile-led 'Latam-GPT' project is trained on text from local schools, libraries, and historical documents, and is designed to include Indigenous languages and dialect variations. Latin America has been seen as slow to adapt to AI; researchers in Southeast Asia, East Africa, and India have already pushed forward with efforts to tailor AI to their populations and languages. Solve the daily Crossword
Scroll.in
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scroll.in
Rivals speed ahead as Tata Motors lags in EV race
This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology's impact outside the West. Until recently, Tata Motors had a dream run in India's electric-vehicle market. The first homegrown automaker to successfully launch an EV in the country, it quickly gained traction with vehicles across diverse price points. By 2023, Tata Motors had cornered most of the Indian market. Then came the speed bumps. Tata Motors' fleet sales plummeted from 26,000 in 2023 to 2,000 in 2024. Its market share eroded from about 70% in early 2024 to 53% this year. Rivals closed in. JSW MG Motor India, a joint venture between India's JSW Group and China's SAIC Motor, more than doubled its market share to 28% in 2025. It sold 3,765 EVs in May, while Tata Motors sold only 586 more, according to data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations. Domestic auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra sold 2,632 EVs and registered a 343% year-on-year growth. Overall volumes continue to be small amid fluctuating demand in the Indian market. While the government aims for a third of all vehicles to be electric by 2030, EVs comprised only 2.5% of the 4.3 million cars sold in the country in 2024. Sales have grown to a modest 4% this year. The EV market is estimated to expand from $8 billion in 2023 to more than $117 billion by 2032. Tata lost its first-mover advantage because of 'innovative ways of selling by [JSW] MG', Puneet Gupta, director for South Asia at automotive intelligence firm S&P Global Mobility, told Rest of World. JSW MG's competitive pricing and battery-as-a-service model – which allows customers to lease or subscribe to EV batteries – gave it an edge in the Indian market. This signals a growing shift. As domestic and international electric carmakers try to win over India's cost-conscious buyers, the battle ahead hinges on value, not just slashed rates. Escalating price wars have triggered fears of a financial crisis in China's EV sector. But in India, the still-nascent segment is following a different trajectory, industry experts told Rest of World. India's increasingly well-traveled consumer prefers affordable EVs that can offer futuristic technology, good performance and reliability. 'It will not be a zero-sum game on pricing,' said Harshvardhan Sharma, a Gurugram-based auto tech and innovation expert at Nomura Research Institute. 'Pricing is one of the factors – the competition is evolving around a value-based differentiation rather than a race to the bottom.' Tata Motors aims to regain market leadership with a well-conceived product portfolio, new launches, and a renewed focus on improving after-sales service, according to its latest earnings report. Representatives from Tata and JSW MG did not respond to Rest of World 's requests for comment. The rate of adoption is still slow, Rajat Mahajan, partner and auto sector leader for South Asia at global consulting firm Deloitte, told Rest of World. 'And so, what is at play is: how can we get more customers aware of EVs, and get used to EVs.' Tata Motors tackled the challenge early on. In 2020, it introduced the Nexon, an electric SUV priced at Rs 14 lakh, which became India's most popular EV. In 2022, its most affordable hatchback, Tiago – which offered a range of 250 kilometers at a starting price of Rs 8.5 lakh – sold 10,000 units in one day. But JSW MG chipped away at Tata Motors' leadership with the Windsor – the country's best-selling EV since its launch in September 2024. With an introductory price of Rs 13.5 lakh – only slightly higher than a premium hatchback – the spacious car is able to compete with the bigger SUVs and sedans in the market. Much of Windsor's success is tied to JSW MG's introduction of the battery-as-a-service model in India, which gave the company a 'significant tactical advantage,' Sharma said. 'It allows the customer to decouple 50% of the acquisition cost of the product.' Such a service doesn't just reduce upfront costs, it also encourages adoption by mitigating customer anxieties about vehicle range and battery health. JSW MG has since extended the battery-as-a-service model to all its EV cars. These include the Comet – the company's smallest EV – relaunched in March at a starting price of Rs 4.99 lakh ($5,800). Tata Motors appears wary of battery-as-a-service for now. Its representatives argue the model is a 'market activation storyline' that gives the illusion of better affordability without significantly lowering the total cost of ownership. Earlier this month, Tata Motors launched its most advanced EV, the at an introductory price of Rs 21.49 lakh. Following JSW MG and Mahindra's lead, it offered a lifetime warranty on the vehicle's battery pack. The car is powered by a battery that is 'designed and manufactured in India', Anand Kulkarni, chief products officer for electric passenger vehicles at Tata Motors, said at the launch. The company may still be able to regain its stronghold. As US protectionism disrupts global supply chains and forces Chinese automakers to turn to other markets, the Tata Group – Tata Motors' parent company and one of India's largest conglomerates – is pursuing a self-reliant ecosystem, dubbed the ' Tata UniEVerse,' by leveraging diversified businesses. Tata Power operates a vast infrastructure with over 5,500 charging points; outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services provides advanced research and product design for car technology; Tata Chemicals is engaged in cell development and localized manufacturing; and Tata Motors Finance extends financing solutions for customers and dealers. Most EV companies tend to depend on Chinese batteries – Tata plans to change that. Its subsidiary Agratas is eyeing in-house production at a $1.5 billion plant in the western state of Gujarat, and a $5 billion battery gigafactory in the U.K. 'Nobody understands the EV industry in India today better than Tata,' Gupta said. 'EV is about the ecosystem; it's not only about car manufacturing.' Tata Motors is also expanding overseas with its EVs in emerging economies such as Mauritius and Sri Lanka. It tasted initial success with its 2021 entry into Nepal, a fast-growing EV market, but Chinese brands have since gained ground. In India, the competition is set to intensify as global players trickle in, albeit with uneven moves. As Tesla's long-pending entry takes shape, it has shelved assembly plans and opted to roll out imported cars. VinFast India, a subsidiary of Vietnamese EV maker VinFast, was expected to debut with premium SUVs this month, but its launch plans have been delayed due to lagging production and dealers dropping out. Although Chinese auto giant BYD has been operational in India for several years, the government has rebuffed its attempts to establish a local factory, citing national security concerns. Since BYD's cars are imported, they're more expensive than local competitors, limiting its market share. Domestic EV upstarts, meanwhile, are experimenting with compact models. This January, Vayve Mobility, a Pune-based startup, launched Eva, a two-seater EV that goes into production next year – it is expected to be India's cheapest electric car. The car aims to address urban mobility challenges for nuclear families, and offers a range of 250 kilometres. Prices across models start from Rs 3.25 lakh ($3,700). It has a solar-panel roof for charging, in addition to a standard port. The company plans to scale at a tempered pace and the car is currently sold out for the first year of production, Vilas Deshpande, co-founder and chief operating officer at Vayve Mobility, told Rest of World. EV startups have had limited success in India so far, with four legacy carmakers dominating 80% of the market, according to research firm Bernstein.
Scroll.in
06-07-2025
- Business
- Scroll.in
Data breach of 16 billion login credentials could risk Indian users
This article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology's impact outside the West. A recent data breach of about 16 billion login credentials is said to have put users of Facebook, Instagram, Google, and Apple at risk of fraud and identity theft. The stolen records, scattered across 30 databases, are a 'blueprint for mass exploitation' that threatens users in developing nations, according to a June 18 report by CyberNews, whose researchers found the breach. Unlike traditional database hacks, this leak originated from malware that infiltrates devices only when users download corrupted files, then targets people with poor password habits. Developing countries face the greatest risk from this breach due to rapid digital adoption coupled with inadequate cybersecurity infrastructure, experts said. The vulnerability is particularly acute in Asia and Latin America, which represent the largest user bases for many affected platforms. 'Breaches like this can cause serious damage in Africa and Asia, especially emerging economies like India, Brazil, Nigeria, and Indonesia,' Salman Waris, founder of UAE-based cybersecurity consultancy TechLegis, told Rest of World. 'Since digital growth is rapid but security is lagging, the risk of fraud and cybercrime spikes for millions.' Meta, Google, and Apple have yet to react to the breach. The geographic concentration of users amplifies the potential impact significantly. India represents Facebook and Instagram's biggest market, accounting for 20% and 26% of the platforms' app downloads, respectively, according to San Francisco-based research firm Sensor Tower. Countries across Asia and Latin America similarly house substantial portions of Gmail's global user base. Government institutions and critical infrastructure operators face elevated risks from the breach, Waris said. Individuals and organisations lacking two-factor authentication become easy targets for infostealer malware campaigns, he added. Historical precedents show the devastating potential of such breaches in developing regions. A 2015 leak exposed 184 million Pakistani users' credentials for banks, social media, and government services, triggering widespread fraud warnings. The same year, Operation Secure in Asia led to more than 216,000 victim notifications after attacks targeted credentials and payment information across Vietnam and Sri Lanka. African nations have suffered similar breaches targeting critical infrastructure. Almost 500,000 pieces of personal and financial data were stolen in 2024 from Telecom Namibia, affecting ministries and senior government officials. In the first quarter of 2025, over 119,000 leaked data breaches were recorded in Nigeria, according to a report from cybersecurity firm Surfshark. Many other African countries, like South Africa and Morocco, have had their fair share of data breaches. The economic impact can be severe for emerging markets with limited resources. Costa Rica's 2022 ransomware attack crippled government services and cost the country 2.4% of its GDP. Such incidents highlight how cyberattacks can devastate economies already struggling with infrastructure challenges. Weak law enforcement compounds the problem in many developing nations. Inadequate policing infrastructure often fails to identify thefts, let alone lead to prosecution, Ankur Bisen, a senior partner at consulting firm Technopak, told Rest of World. 'In India, digital frauds are now recognised as the single biggest financial risk by the central bank,' Bisen said, emphasising the growing threat to emerging economies where millions lack basic cybersecurity awareness. The leaked data sets flagged by CyberNews varied dramatically in size and scope. The smallest collection contained about 16 million records, while the largest – reportedly targeting Portuguese-speaking users – held more than 3.5 billion credentials. Each batch averaged approximately 550 million records. While the scale appears unprecedented, security experts caution that much of the data may be outdated or recycled. Infostealer malware typically captures a broad range of credentials from infected devices, Waris said. 'The data covers everything from Google and Facebook to VPNs and developer portals, but a lot of it is recycled, outdated, or even fake,' he said.
