India one of the fastest growing regions for AR technology: Facebook
Bengaluru, Sep 4: India is one of the fastest growing regions for Augmented Reality (AR) technology and Facebook is providing tools like our AR Studio for developers and creators in the country to help them create unique experiences, a top company executive said here on Tuesday.
Facebook's AR Studio is new software suite -- purpose-built for creators and developers that allow them to easily make stunning visual effects for the Facebook camera.
"India is one of the fastest growing regions for AR technology. Through our cutting-edge creative offerings, we are giving creators and developers power to build for tomorrow with emerging technologies like AR without using any expensive hardware or specialised apps," Satyajeet Singh, Head of Platform Partnerships, Facebook India and South Asia, said in a statement.
Facebook is focused on opening up the AR platform to more people, offering more utility by bringing AR to everyone and their daily habits.
"With 1.5 billion people who have access to Facebook camera today, we want to focus on providing unique experiences, and through the AR studio we are enabling creators to build new ways for them to access AR experiences," the company said as it organised an "AR Day" event here.
AR Studio is currently available on macOs and will soon be available on Windows.
"Myntra has been a pioneer in AR applications. We are looking to partner with Facebook now to bring AR effects into our brand pages, feed and stories on Facebook and to leverage the massive reach of Facebook to bring these experiences and tools to our customers across the various Facebook platforms," said Jeyandran Venugopal, CTO, Myntra.
According to Adhvith Dhuddu, Founder and CEO, AliveNow, they are excited to work on AR studio because it's opened up unique possibilities to build interesting AR experiences for brands and 1.5 billion users on Facebook.
"With face gestures, hand tracking, object recognition and more, we are building for the future with AR camera filters," he added.
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Parliament passes Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025
New Delhi (PTI): Parliament early Friday passed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha had on Thursday approved the Bill after over a 12-hour debate.
In Rajya Sabha, the Bill got 128 votes in its favour and 95 against after all the amendments moved by the opposition were rejected.
In the lower house, the bill was supported by 288 MPs while 232 voted against it.
Participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Bill was brought with a number of amendments based on suggestions given by various stakeholders.
"The Waqf Board is a statutory body. All government bodies should be secular," the minister said, explaining the inclusion of non-Muslims on the board.
He, however, said the number of non-Muslims has been restricted to only four out of 22.
Rijiju also alleged that the Congress and other opposition parties, and not the BJP, were trying to scare Muslims with the Waqf Bill.
"You (opposition) are pushing Muslims out of the mainstream," he added.
He said for 60 years, the Congress and others ruled the country, but did not do much for Muslims and the community continues to live in poverty.
"Muslims are poor, who is responsible? You (Congress) are. Modi is now leading the government to uplift them," the minister said.
According to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Waqf tribunals will be strengthened, a structured selection process will be maintained, and a tenure will be fixed to ensure efficient dispute resolution.
As per the Bill, while Waqf institutions' mandatory contribution to Waqf boards is reduced from 7 per cent to 5 per cent, Waqf institutions earning over Rs 1 lakh will undergo audits by state-sponsored auditors.
A centralised portal will automate Waqf property management, improving efficiency and transparency.
The Bill proposes that practising Muslims (for at least five years) can dedicate their property to the Waqf, restoring pre-2013 rules.
It stipulates that women must receive their inheritance before the Waqf declaration, with special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.
The Bill proposes that an officer above the rank of collector investigate government properties claimed as Waqf.
It also proposes that non-Muslim members be included in the central and state Waqf boards for inclusivity.
