Current Affairs - Technology

Microsoft announced its next-generation Maia 300 AI inference platform on October 14, 2026, to support Azure cloud services and emerging artificial intelligence workloads. The platform is designed to deliver 40% more tokens per megawatt and up to seven times higher token throughput at rack scale compared with the previous Maia 200 system. It targets long-context reasoning, latency-sensitive conversations, and sustained multi-step AI agent tasks. Maia 300 is also intended to improve AI experiences across products such as Copilot and Teams, while supporting coding through GitHub and model deployment through Microsoft Foundry. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, and its CEO is Satya Nadella.

India had approximately 1.11 billion internet subscribers as of June 2026, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The total number reached 1,114.17 million, increasing from 1,092.79 million in March 2026, which represents a growth of 1.96%. Wireless internet subscribers accounted for 1,066.43 million, while wired internet subscribers totalled 47.73 million. Broadband subscriptions increased by 2.03% to reach 1,087.50 million, whereas narrowband subscriptions declined by 0.89%. The report also highlighted differences in internet penetration between rural and urban areas, reflecting the continuing need to improve digital connectivity across the country.

France is collaborating with India on the TRISHNA (Thermal Infra-Red Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural Resource Assessment) mission. The project is jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). The satellite is designed to provide high-resolution data on Earth’s surface temperature, water resources, vegetation, and ecosystem conditions. France’s CNES is responsible for developing the Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) payload, while ISRO is developing the Visible-Near Infra-Red and Short-Wave Infra-Red (VNIR-SWIR) payload and the satellite bus. TRISHNA will support agricultural water management, drought monitoring, climate research, and sustainable use of natural resources.

New Delhi hosted the inauguration of the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) at Yashobhoomi on October 8, 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the event, which is recognised as Asia’s largest digital technology forum. The congress focused on next-generation technologies, including 5G, 6G, artificial intelligence networks, semiconductors, quantum communication, and electronics manufacturing. IMC 2026 attracted over 1.5 lakh attendees from more than 100 countries, featuring more than 500 partners, 600 startups, and 900 thought leaders. The event was jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications and the Cellular Operators Association of India, highlighting India’s ambitions in digital connectivity and telecommunications innovation.

IIT Ropar, located in Rupnagar, Punjab, launched the AVNI – Grow with Nature digital learning platform on October 6, 2026. The application was developed by ANNAM.AI, the Centre of Excellence in AI for Digital Agriculture, under the leadership of Dr Mukesh Saini. It uses artificial intelligence to help children identify crops, fruits, vegetables, spices, cereals and millets. The platform supports Hindi and English and includes audio content, a digital Nature Book, a Nature Gallery, a Crop Compare tool and daily learning challenges. It is free, ad-free and privacy-focused, encouraging children to learn about nature through direct observation and interactive activities.