Using AI to mitigate climate disasters; How Equip streamlines hiring

Hello,

Payments via UPI are now possible at Galeries Lafayette, a popular department store in Nice, France. 

At the launch, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the platform will further strengthen the economic and technological ties between India and France. UPI was rolled out at the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 2024.

UPI is now accepted in nine countries: Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, Nepal, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

Speaking of India’s technological advancements, Goyal has urged investors, corporates and venture capital funds to "get into action" and start investing in India before it is "too late".

He said India's investment ecosystem is ready, the domestic market is vast, and the government would help investors connect with market opportunities, while a supportive policy framework is already in place, according to PTI. 

Moving on, the global space industry has never been this competitive. SpaceX’s massive $2.46 trillion market cap is larger than the combined value of the next 20 biggest public space companies. The gap is huge and this graphic puts the numbers into perspective. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Hyperlocal data helps villages brace for disasters
• Using AI to streamline hiring

Here’s your trivia for today: Which Shakespeare play inspired the title of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World?

Social impact

Using AI to mitigate climate disasters

Resilience AI has deployed AI-powered disaster management plans across 75 gram panchayats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Tamil Nadu, helping vulnerable communities better prepare for climate-related disasters.

The programme explores how AI and machine learning (ML) can strengthen climate adaptation and disaster management by supporting development planning at both the sectoral and community levels.

Key takeaways:

• Resilience AI has Resilience 360, a web-based platform that integrates climate, geological, environmental, and infrastructure data to generate hyperlocal risk profiles.
• The platform was used to prepare digital Gram Panchayat Disaster Management Plans in line with the National Disaster Management Authority guidelines.
• These plans included multi-hazard risk assessments, measures to reduce risks, preparedness strategies, and response and recovery plans, and were integrated with Gram Panchayat Development Plans.

Startup

Using AI to streamline hiring

AI hasn’t really fixed hiring like it promised it would. If anything, it has added another layer of noise. Candidates now mass-apply using automation tools, resumes are tailored at scale to match job descriptions.

Bengaluru-based Equip is built around that exact friction point. Founded in 2020 by Jayanth Neelakanta, the platform uses AI to screen resumes, assess skills, and conduct interviews, compressing early-stage hiring into a largely automated workflow.

Filter:

• More than 820 companies currently use the platform, including Wipro, Delhivery, and Shadowfax. Equip has also raised $400,000 in pre-seed funding from Better Capital in September, 2022.
• The company claims latency is low enough that candidates often don’t realise they are speaking to an AI. Importantly, evaluation is based only on responses, not tone, appearance, or delivery style.
• Equip doesn’t train its own foundational models. It relies on tools like OpenAI for resume analysis and Google’s Gemini for conversational interviews.

News & updates

• Ice cream cartel: Amid the brutal summer in Japan, ice cream makers in the country are allegedly forming a cartel to raise the price of their products. The country’s competition watchdog has now raided some of these companies.
• Dispute: Cloud-based instant messaging platform Telegram has taken the Indian government to court over its decision to temporarily ban its service days before millions of students retake a medical entrance examination.
• Robotaxi service: Ride-hailing giant Uber plans to launch a premium robotaxi service in Houston by mid-2027. The company says it will eventually take the robotaxi programme to “dozens of cities” in the coming years.

Which Shakespeare play inspired the title of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World?

Answer: The Tempest

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