Global technology leaders and senior executives from around the world spoke on a range of topics, including Digital India, Smart Cities, Make in India, Skill India and cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, 3D printing, drones, robotics, robotic surgeries and genomics, at the two-day EmTech India 2016 event, held in New Delhi on 18 and 19 March. The event was organized by Mint and MIT Technology Review, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The speakers included Jack Hidary, senior adviser at Google X Labs; Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman of Microsoft India; and Sharad Sharma, co-founder of think tank iSPIRT. The full list can be accessed at emtech.livemint.com/speakers. Here are edited excerpts from their speeches. A moonshot is an initiative that accompanies a goal that was previously thought to be near impossible. Moonshot philosophy sounds like it is quite radical and risky, but actually it is low-risk. That is because it attracts the best human capital and finance. Moonshot approaches do a few things. First, they attract the best human capital, which is a key driver of growth. They attract the best financial capital as well; capital from big and long-term thinkers. One describes India as a moonshot nation. India itself is going through a radical transformation--the likes of what we have never seen. This is very different to what is happening in China or any other country in the world. It is a combination of smartphones, digital payments, broadband and power of energy storage coming together. Smartphones ease the access to the Internet and open up users to mobile apps and that really changes the name of the game.

Somewhere in a Cupertino warehouse, a giant labors with robotic precision, its 29 arms singularly focused on one thing: an iPhone. But instead of putting pieces together, this robot is pulling pieces apart. It disassembles iPhones at the rate of one handset every 11 seconds--less time than it takes you to fish your phone out of an overcrowded bag. Apple calls the machine Liam. The project was kept secret for three years, says Mashable deputy tech editor Samantha Murphy Kelly, who was allowed a sneak preview of Liam in action.

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as the Amazon Echo and self-driving cars are hitting the market, they are poised to become an essential part of society. For people around the world, especially college students, this could mean some big changes. Once created, an AI can be used either internally or externally. Internal interfaces are located on a cloud and can access other devices and software that is used in the home such as a TV or smartphone. Technology like the Amazon Echo, which can access apps that are downloaded on a smart phone, is an example of this, but in comparison this technology is rudimentary compared to what others have developed.

Any savvy investor with a hand in tech stock knows that an innovation gold rush is well underway. Although the market is viciously competitive, creative upstarts that aim to change the game in their field are increasingly gaining an edge over bigger, less adaptable entities. The name of the game is Change, so the companies to watch are those who are making the biggest waves in their industry, the ones who promise to disrupt the status quo, the ones who are launching new methods and ideas in stagnant landscapes. In 2016, these are just five companies to keep an eye on, because when their innovations go mainstream, we'll be looking at tidal waves. Ten years ago, when the concept of "the cloud" first got rolling, the public looked at the technology with a skeptical eye.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

Perhaps the most clever trick that Todoist for Android now features is called Intelligent Input. Todoist already let you type using natural language to set to-do items and reminders (For example: typing "send in rent check on the 1st of every month at 10AM" would automatically add a recurring to-do item, complete with reminder). But Intelligent Input takes it a step farther, letting you add things directly to project or adding members to a to-do item just by typing. Adding a # symbol lets you put in whatever project you'd like to assign the item to, and typing with another Todoist user's name will add them to the task -- perfect if you use the app along with family members or roommates to get things done. The update also adds support for Bluetooth keyboards.

When most people think of artificial intelligence, they think of Cylons, or Terminators, or HAL--sentient robots who turn on their masters in an effort to destroy the human race. But companies like SwiftKey, who are making helpful, smartphone-compatible artificial intelligence apps, are trying to change that. SwiftKey Neural Alpha is the world's first artificially intelligent smartphone keyboard. The keyboard uses machine learning to help predict what words the user is likely to enter by understanding the way the user puts sentences together. "Human language itself is a pattern," said Michael Smith, VP of Product at SwiftKey.

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display

Data Skeptic takes a different take on how we review data--thanks to some healthy skepticism, listeners come out with unusual information and knowledge. The show alternates between interviews with industry experts, and mini episodes wherein the host explains data science tidbits to his non data scientist wife. The tone of this show is simultaneously intellectual and a bit off beat. It's fun, and easier to follow than highly technical podcasts. If you need a series with nice production quality and clear, friendly radio voices, this may be the one.

On one otherwise unremarkable day in May 2013, August de los Reyes fell out of bed and hurt his back. Forty-two years old at the time, he was just six months into his dream job at Microsoft: running design for Xbox and righting a franchise that was drifting due to mission creep. At first, de los Reyes was worried that the fall was serious; he went to the ER and was assured that he was fine. Yet several hospital trips later, he found himself undergoing emergency surgery. His spine had been fractured all along. His spinal cord had been damaged. With breathtaking quickness, he was unable to walk ever again. De los Reyes has the reassuring smile and steady calm of a high-school guidance counselor, and an almost-spiritual attachment to video games. He likes to tell people that the universe is play, and that we all have a moral imperative to play.