Daily Bulletin: PM addresses nation in last Independence Day speech before election; Reliance GigaFibre pre-bookings start today

Modi to address nation from Red Fort: As India celebrates 72 years of Independence, all eyes are on the Red Fort ramparts today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving the last Independence Day Speech of his current term in the Lok sabha. Modi’s speech is likely to have messages for the 2019 elections next year. Besides, market players will be tracking PM Modi’s independence day speech for announcements related to populist measures, including an ambitious plan to provide health insurance for roughly half the country; an anticipated boost to the ongoing campaign that’s giving India’s poor access to banking; as also the expected modifications to a state-backed pension scheme targeting those employed in the unorganised sector. [caption id=“attachment_4957251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP[/caption] Pronouncements related to the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Scheme (AB NHPS), dubbed ‘Modicare’; a boost to the Jan Dhan Yojana; and modifications to the Atal Pension Yojana will compel investors to begin decoding the economics of populism, ahead of general elections, due in early 2019. Meanwhile, the chief ministers of states will be hoisting the Tricolour in their respective states. In Jammu and Kashmir, the Governor will be hoisting the flag amid heavy security. India to push for Mehul Choksi’s extradition: According to a top legal officer of Antigua, India’s request for Choksi’s extradition is likely to be taken up by the end of this month. So far, Antigua has refused India’s request to extradite Choksi stating that there’s no extradition treaty between the two. Choksi along with Nirav Modi is accused of siphoning off crores from the bank. Kerala floods update: Red alert on heavy rains and floods continues in six Kerala districts. So far, 4,000 people have been evacuated amid reports that the gates of Mullaperiyar Dam may be opened due to rising water levels Reliance Jio Phone 2, Jio GigaFibre pre-bookings start today: Reliance Jio Infocomm announced the Jio Phone 2 and Jio GigaFibre home broadband services at the Reliance Industries 41st Annual General Meeting, which was held in Mumbai on 5 July. While Reliance Jio confirmed the price of the Jio Phone 2, it did not reveal the GigaFibre connection cost or plans detail. However, the company announced that the pre-registrations for both the feature phone and broadband connections would start on Jio.com and Jio mobile app from 15 August. Siri could come with multi-user support: A new patent granted to Apple for “User profiling voice input processing” may be hinting at a smarter Siri that could soon distinguish a user’s voice. The problem with Apple’s AI digital assistant right now is that it is unable to provide customised responses for different users. As per the patent, the new system would allow “a device” to identify different users. It would be able to do this using user-entered credentials, specific commands, or even biometric voice prints. Once identified, the user would then receive customised recommendations or responses that would end up making Siri all the more accurate than what it currently is.