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Crowd-sourcing, Google help Railways showcase its heritage

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By Arun Kumar Das
New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS) In partnership with Google, the Railways has undertaken an elaborate crowd-sourcing exercise to create a digital repository of its rich heritage and provide passengers a free virtual tour.

In a pilot project, Google Cultural Institute has deployed six video screens at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Station (CSTM) in Mumbai showcasing the national transporter’s rich history and heritage – with much of the content crowd-sourced.

“A virtual visit will never replace the real thing. But technology can help open up art and culture to everyone and we think that’s powerful thing,” said a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project.

There will be more such screens at other stations to expose commuters to the Railways’ past, said the official.

Even as the Railways began collecting rare pictures through its unique crowd-sourcing effort, it entered into an agreement with the Google Cultural Institute to digitise and showcase these slices of history on digital platforms and to help create a digital repository for free and universal online access.

Various other ministries and institutes of the government have already collaborated with Google Cultural Institute for displaying and preserving India’s cultural heritage digitally.

Indian Railway has a huge list of heritage assets including bridges, steam locos, buildings, artefacts and museums which can be showcased for a global audience.

It currently has 34 museums, heritage parks and heritage galleries across India. It has also preserved about 230 steam locomotives, 110 vintage coaches and wagons at prominent places. In addition, it has a large repository of built heritage, including 25 bridges and 70 buildings.

“Once these are placed online, it will act as a great tourist attraction,” the official said.

The Railways spends about Rs 250 crore annually to maintain and manage the heritage assets.

“We are seeking private players’ participation to help preserve rail heritage assets — like SBI Foundation is doing at CSTM,” the official added.

As part of the Digitial India-Digital Rail campaign, Google is also providing free Wi-Fi service at 100 stations.

Indian Railways is preparing a comprehensive conservation management plan to preserve and promote its heritage assets. Besides, a dedicated rail heritage website under Railway Board’s website is operational for dissemination of information.

Currently, the Railways has Unesco-accorded sites such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai. Matheran Light Railway and Kangra Valley Railway are also likely to get World Heritage status soon.

Google will soon include Rewari Steam Locomotive Shed and National Rail Museum in the virtual tour, and later the Nilgiri Mountain railway will also be included.

If things go according to plan, all the rail heritage assets would be available online in the next 5-7 years.

(Arun Kumar Das is a Delhi-based senior freelance journalist and can be reached at [email protected])

–IANS
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Apple is giving a huge discount on its gadgets: Details inside

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If you want to buy an iPhone and were waiting for a nice offer, then we have a piece of good news for you! Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 has begun and they are offering major discounts on various smartphones, laptops, and smart TVs, among others.

The sale is live now on the e-commerce platform with no-cost EMI options and exchange discounts on various products. In addition to this, Amazon has also partnered with several banks including ICICI, Kotak Bank, and RBL so that customers get instant discounts of up to 10% using their cards and EMI transactions.

Customers can easily enjoy this summer sale and get massive discounts on iPhones. They can also compare prices on Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale 2022 before making a purchase.

 

Amazon Summer Sale May 2022: Discount offer on iPhone 13 

Apple’s coveted phone model iPhone 13 in the 128 GB storage model will be available during the Amazon Summer Sale May 2022 for Rs 64,900. The MRP of the phone is Rs 79,900. This means that the customers will be able to enjoy a discount of up to Rs 15,000 on the purchase of the iPhone 13.

If you have an old iPhone in working condition then you will also be eligible to receive another additional discount worth up to Rs 17,000 on the iPhone 13.

Buy at Rs. 64,900 (MRP – Rs. 79,900)

Features of Apple iPhone 13 

The iPhone is powered by an A15 Bionic processor with 6 core CPU. Apart from this, it has 16 core neural engines. With the iPhone 13, up to 512 GB of storage will be available. The iPhone 13 has a 6.1-inch Retina XDR display with 1000 nits brightness.

The iPhone 13 has a 12-megapixel dual rear camera setup. This time a new wide-angle camera has been given, whose aperture is f/1.6. With this, there is support for sensor optical stabilisation. Night mode has been made better than before. The second lens is also 12 megapixels ultra-wide and has an aperture of f/2.4.

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