Accenture, IIT-Madras to Conduct Deeptech Research; Cardano Blockchain will Carry Out its Much-Anticipated Vasil Hard Fork Today: Tech Market Roundup

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Good Morning Tech Fam, here's a quick tech update for you to catch on:

What's new today: Iran is to launch a pilot for its "Crypto-Rial" today; what Cardano's highly anticipated Vasil Hard Fork will bring.

Fast-Trach Insights: HDFC Capital launches tech innovation challenge for affordable housing, to invest up to Rs 500 crore in winning deals; Accenture, IIT-Madras to conduct deeptech research.

Iran's Chamber of Commerce has reported that the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) plans to launch a pilot program for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the crypto-rial, beginning on Thursday. The crypto-rial is designed to leverage blockchain technology in order to transform Iranian Rial banknotes into a "programmable entity" that can more easily be transacted across borders and around the world.

Today, the Cardano blockchain will carry out its much-anticipated Vasil hard fork, a backward-incompatible upgrade on the leading network intended to enrich intelligent contract capabilities, increase the chain's throughput and reduce costs.

HDFC Capital, the private equity arm of mortgage lender HDFC, has launched a tech innovation challenge in the affordable housing space and will invest up to Rs 500 crore in three winning ideas. The third edition of the tech challenge will identify and award disruptive innovations in areas of construction, sales, fintech, and sustainability, the company said.

Last week, Apple released the iOS 16 update, which brought in many new features like crash detection and a revamped lock screen. Now, the Cupertino-based tech giant has finally unveiled the much-awaited iPadOS 16 and macOS 16 release date.

Accenture and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) have set up a Center of Excellence (CoE) to undertake collaborative research projects and jointly develop intellectual properties and thought leadership focused on digital engineering and manufacturing across industries.