Last Updated:November 20, 2025, 15:48 IST

After the news broke out, people began reacting to it. While some criticised the move, others turned it into a meme-fest, with some even suggesting solutions to the problem.

IT giant Cognizant is reportedly set to introduce a new monitoring system to track employee activity on company-issued laptops and PCs. The company has begun training select managers on using tracking tools such as ProHance, which will monitor mouse and keyboard usage to gauge productivity. It will flag users based on inactivity levels.

Employees may be marked “idle” after 300 seconds of inactivity and tagged “away from system” if their device remains inactive for 15 minutes. Such tracking tools generally reveal login times, open applications and time spent on tasks, offering a minute-level breakdown of the workday. The company has told staff the data will be used to understand workflows and improve utilisation, not to evaluate individual performance at this stage.

What Was The POV Of Cognizant?

A Cognizant spokesperson said, as quoted by the Mint, “We occasionally use various productivity measurement tools, a common industry practice, in select business process management or intuitive operations and automation projects, at the request of customers. The purpose is to help better understand the client process steps and related time metrics to assess process design inefficiencies.”

“Also, the tools are used only after obtaining the consent of employees and it is made clear that these are not used for performance evaluation. Additionally, these tools have no impact on the composition of teams engaged in these projects and any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect,“ they further mentioned.

And The Memefest Aftermath…

After the news broke out, people began reacting to it. While some criticised the move, others turned it into a meme-fest, with some even suggesting solutions to the problem.

One user shared a short clip, which showed the mouse tied to a table fan with a swing, and wrote, “My Dear @Cognizant bandhua Majdoors, here is a great Indian jugad to keep your mouse busy.”

A video recreated the ‘Arey Baap Re’ viral meme showing how the employees are getting reminded that they forgot to ‘show themselves’ active while having lunch.

The Internet also took a sly dig at Narayan Murthy, whose work-life balance comments had created a stir back in 2023, showing that, after all this time, he has found a worthy competitor.

Creativity went into another level when the Internet users were reminded of the ‘office hack’ scene of Vivek Oberoi from Grand Masti where he uses gram seeds and calls pigeons who come to his keyboard and start eating them. If not seen, one might feel that someone is typing on a keyboard constantly.

Amid all this, it will be interesting to see how the Cognizant employees settle with this new regime of work they will be going through in the upcoming days.

Do you think this is a good decision, or should authorities at the workplace be a little more lenient?

Buzz Staff

A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.

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Seoul: South Korea’s auto exports decreased 10.5 per cent from a year earlier in October, largely due to fewer business days caused by the extended Chuseok holiday, data showed on Thursday. 

The value of outbound shipments of automobiles came to $5.5 billion last month, compared with $6.2 billion the same month last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, reports Yonhap news agency.

The value of accumulated auto exports from January to October, meanwhile, reached an all-time high of $59.6 billion. The ministry said October exports were weak due to the fall harvest Chuseok holiday that fell in early October, unlike in 2024 when the traditional holiday fell in September.

Auto exports in September jumped 16.8 per cent on-year, the ministry said earlier. By destination, exports to the United States plunged 29 percent on-year to $2.12 billion in October, apparently due to the 25 per cent import tariffs imposed on Korean cars by the Donald Trump administration.

The Trump administration is expected to lower the tariff on Korean cars to 15 per cent as agreed in its trade deal with South Korea after the Seoul government submits a special bill to the National Assembly on the country’s planned $350 billion investment in the U.S. under the bilateral trade agreement reached late last month.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said Wednesday the government plans to submit the bill before the end of this month, which he said would allow local automakers to enjoy the reduced tariff rate retroactively from the start of the month of its submission.

Shipments to the European Union dipped 2.1 per cent to $746 million last month, and those to the Middle East contracted 13.5 per cent to $403 million. On the other hand, exports to Asia jumped 42 per cent on-year to $802 million, while shipments to Latin America advanced 23.7 per cent to $290 million.

By type, exports of eco-friendly cars, such as electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid cars and hydrogen cars, gained 0.9 per cent from a year earlier to 64,427 vehicles last month, amounting to a combined value of $2 billion.

In detail, shipments of hybrid cars climbed 3.9 per cent to 42,683 vehicles, and EV exports inched up 0.3 per cent to 19,247 units. Exports of plug-in hybrid cars dropped 30.8 per cent to 2,492 units.

At home, sales of automobiles went down 12.8 per cent on-year to 127,000 units in October.

New Delhi: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is considering issuing Aadhaar cards having only the holder’s photo and a QR code. The UIDAI is considering the initiative to prevent exploitation of personal data and discourage offline verification practices.

In an open online conference about a new Aadhaar app, UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar said, “There is a thought process as to why there should be any detail on the card. It should be only a photo and a QR code.” He added, “If we keep printing, then people will keep accepting what is printed. People who know how to misuse it will keep misusing it.”

According to Kumar, the authority is planning to implement a rule in December that will enhance age verification processes and prohibit offline verification by hotels, event organizers and others.

According to Kumar, legislation was being drafted to discourage offline verification using physical copies. The Aadhaar authority will review the proposal on December 1.

Kumar said, “Aadhaar should never be used as a document. It should only be authenticated with the Aadhaar number or verified using the QR code. Otherwise, it can be a fake document.”

Currently, the Aadhaar Act forbids the collection, use or storage of an Aadhaar number or biometric information for offline verification. However, several entities continue to maintain duplicates of Aadhaar cards.

Offline verification using the Aadhaar App would offer both users and entities a secure, convenient and privacy-protecting method for identity verification and discourage sharing and reliance on physical or photocopies of Aadhaar, which otherwise is a possible reason for potential fraudulent practices, Bhuvnesh Kumar, CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Wednesday.  

Addressing an informative webinar on ‘Offline Verification using the Aadhaar App’, ahead of the formal launch of the new Aadhaar App, Kumar said that the objective of the webinar — to promote Offline Verification, build a strong ecosystem around it and spread awareness about the features, benefits, and potential of offline Aadhaar verification through the forthcoming Aadhaar App.

UIDAI gave a detailed overview of the advantages offered by offline verification. Meanwhile, Vivek Chandra Verma, DDG, UIDAI, explained the purpose, scope, and practical usage of offline verification.

The session also covered in detail the technical framework, integration pathways, and future-ready nature of the verification process.

Participants were also given a detailed overview of the advantages offered by offline verification, like the option to verify and share complete or selective Aadhaar information and the ability to confirm proof of presence through offline face verification.

UIDAI authorities underlined multiple benefits for Aadhaar Number Holders, like having Aadhaar details of up to five family members in the App; full control over what data of Aadhaar is shared; flexibility to disclose complete or selective Aadhaar information, one-click biometric lock/unlock for enhanced security and features like hassle-free mobile number and address update options.

With IANS Inputs