Prabhakar Raghavan appointed Google’s chief technologist, receives ₹300 crore offer
Silicon Valley: Google has named Prabhakar Raghavan, a distinguished IIT Madras alumnus, as its new Chief Technologist. In a major career leap, Raghavan has accepted an impressive ₹300 crore offer, marking a high point in his career of over two decades.
Raghavan, 64, previously served as Google's Senior Vice President, overseeing key areas including Search, Assistant, Ads, Commerce, and Payments. Known for his pioneering contributions, he played a significant role in launching AI-powered tools such as Smart Reply and Smart Compose.
In a note to employees, Google CEO Sundar Pichai praised Raghavan’s decision to return to his computer science roots, saying, “After 12 years leading multiple teams at Google, Prabhakar is ready for his next chapter as Chief Technologist.”
Raghavan's career began with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT Madras, followed by advanced studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in computer science from UC Berkeley. His early work at IBM’s Almaden Research Center and as a professor at Stanford University laid the foundation for a distinguished career that included leadership roles at Yahoo and Verity.
His appointment comes amid rising competition in the tech landscape, with Google facing challenges from rivals like Microsoft, OpenAI, and other startups. With a renewed focus on artificial intelligence, Raghavan envisions AI transforming industries and tackling global issues, including urban traffic and disaster management.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengaluru: Karnataka’s district judiciary is facing a significant shortage of judicial officers, with approximately 27.5% of positions across the state's district courts remaining vacant.
According to data cited by The Times of India on Tuesday, out of a total of 21,541 positions, 5,926 remain unfilled, leading to concerns about the efficiency of the state's justice system.
Bengaluru city is particularly affected, with 835 vacancies out of 2,510 sanctioned posts. Bengaluru Rural courts follow closely with 532 vacant positions from a total of 1,003 sanctioned roles. Mandya district shows an alarming vacancy rate, with 376 vacancies against 844 sanctioned positions.
Several other major districts are also grappling with alarming staffing deficits, including Mysuru (299 vacancies) Belagavi (345), Tumakuru (279), Dakshina Kannada (312), and Hassan (207).
Apart from vacancies of judicial officers, 243 of the 1,395 sanctioned posts for district judge, ad-hoc district judge, senior civil judge and civil judge remain vacant, the report added.
Legal experts have stressed that addressing the judicial vacancy crisis should be a priority for the state government to ensure the effective functioning of the justice delivery system. These staffing shortages may contribute significantly to case backlogs and undermine public confidence in the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M.B. Patil, recently stated in the legislative assembly that efforts to fill the vacancies are underway. He cited a notification from February 2025, which will see 158 civil judge positions filled in the near future.
_vb_55.jpeg)
