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Tuesday 19 January 2021

20-I-2021











DELHI, 20th JANUARY 2021
Index of this Newsletter


INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC. 


1.1. The next big leap in India’s e-Governance
1.2. ISRO to adopt 100 Atal Tinkering Labs for mentorship and promoting space education
2. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot launches One Stop Shop for fast approval of new enterprises
3.1. Quality healthcare access for all can be a reality by deploying cutting-edge technology: Meena Ganesh
3.2. India's top private recruiter says job market is looking bright and not grim
4.1. DPIIT to come out with single-window system soon: Piyush Goyal
4.2. APSSDC to launch single window portal for all skilling programs in Andhra Pradesh
5. PARFI Foundation trains 18,000 underprivileged youths


– AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT


6.1. Flipkart in partnership with Logistics Skill Sector Council and KSDC to set up Centre of Excellence
6.2. Amazon India adds 1.5 lakh sellers in 2020
7. 18.1 million to be employed by direct selling industry by 2025
8. Maharashtra signs MoUs with 25 companies, to generate over 2.5 lakh jobs
9.1. Light house projects in 6 states to use global technology to build world class houses for poor and middle class
9.2. Our approach is to have a gender-balanced workplace: Parineeta Cecil Lakra, IKEA India
10. How plant meat is coming of age in India


– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE


11.1. Lockdown impact: Automotive industry suffered 3.45 lakh job loss
11.2. Bajaj Auto to set up Rs 650 crore manufacturing plant in Chakan, Maharashtra
12.1. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to invest $150 million to set up global digital hub in Hyderabad
12.2. HFCL commences mass production of FTTH cables at its new facility in Hyderabad
13. Pegatron, Tata to set up Apple products manufacturing plants in Tamil Nadu; jobs likely for 32,000 people
14.1. Indian Railways successfully completes 180-km speed trial with Vistadome coaches
14.2. Robots change game for diamond sector
15.1. Big incentive scheme coming for wearables, hearables, IoT devices and drones in 2021
15.2. India's first toy cluster to generate 30,000 direct jobs


– SERVICES (IT, R&D, Tourism, Healthcare, etc.) 


16.1. IT firms hired 80,000 people in last two months of 2020
16.2. UP achieves 5-year electronics manufacturing target, creates employment for 300.000 people
17.1. Tatas to upgrade 225 Gujarat Industrial Training Institutes
17.2. Amazon India launches 'Amazon Academy' to help students prep for JEE
18. IIT Jodhpur partners with WhizHack Technologies to build a new centre for excellence
19.1. How TCS turned Covid crisis into an opportunity
19.2. Indian IT Firms rush in as Europe takes to outsourcing in new normal
20.1. Pharma exports get a boost as nations depend less on China
20.2. Emerging hiring trends & need for employment in pharmaceuticals industry


INDIA & THE WORLD 

21. India, Vietnam to hold virtual summit today, agreements on healthcare, defence, energy expected
22. US plans to set up India's second American Hub at Vishakhapatnam
23. India set to expand ties with Taiwan; focus on trade and investments, says envoy
24. Indian companies weathered the pandemic 'much better' than counterparts: Cognizant study
25. How the invention of 'India' eroded the idea of Hindustan


* * *

DELHI, 20th JANUARY 2021

NEWSLETTER, 20-I-2021



INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC. 



1.1. The next big leap in India’s e-Governance
Livemint, 12 Jan. 2021. HT Brand Studio

Hitachi plays a vital role in the relentless push for India’s digitally enabled e-Governance mission. 

Amid unpredictable business environments, the Government of India’s Mission e-Governance, coupled with Digital India, has undergone a paradigm shift; there is new thinking on how it engages with its citizens, inter-state & inter-governmental functions. India has put its delivery of healthcare, e-Education, agricultural support, financial services and other economic and social obligations on mission-mode. 

Hitachi plays a vital role in this relentless push for India’s digitally enabled e-Governance mission. A global leader in Social Innovation Business solution, Hitachi’s initiatives are constantly creating three value propositions by improving citizen’s social, environmental and economic values. For Hitachi, they converge into ‘Powering Good’, a society that effectively bridges the need gap between itself and the government. 

"Digital transformation from the top has been helping streamline government operations, optimize costs and create transparency for end-users and citizens. Hitachi has been a key enabler in providing solutions for the delivery of these services through its revolutionary innovative and globally accredited OT x IT solutions and data analytics, thereby improving the people's Quality of Life," says Mr Bharat Kaushal, Managing Director, Hitachi India. 

Citizen’s Charter: The Journey Together 

Over the years, numerous initiatives have been undertaken by India to promote e-Governance holistically and improve the dissemination of public services to its citizens. People, process, technology, and resources have been its key pillars. 

Hitachi is combining for the government, data, technology and governance as a force to accelerate social change and address the criticality of harnessing the data generated through various e-Governance initiatives to optimize decision making. Among the most recent and notable of Hitachi’s transformational works are KV Shaala Darpan - an educational e-Governance platform for Kendriya Vidyalayas and pan-India remote education system developed for the Ministry of Human Resource Development; police modernisation programme in Bihar under the homeland security solution. 

Network rehauling of a state electricity board and creating a data-centric environment through World Bank funding for the Ministry of Agriculture -- notably completed during the COVID lockdown. 

Innovation continues to be the bedrock of development and the hallmark of all joint initiatives that Hitachi has undertaken with the government integrating ‘Connected Citizen’ solutions; thus, reinforcing social Innovation for larger societal good. 

In Education 

The government’s National Policy on Education 2020 charts India on the course for modern, futuristic and visionary learning system. It is technology-based and inculcates scientific temper. 

To complement this mission, Hitachi’s robust e-Governance platform for e-Education promotes participation by stakeholders like parents and brings in uniformity and standardization of implementation of policies, processes and programs across the multitude of branches of institution. The platform also takes care of the time-consuming aspects of education, leaving the School Management and the academic staff to concentrate on what they do best- Imparting Education! 

Additionally, Hitachi MGRM Net has developed KV Shaala Darpan, an e-Governance platform for all Kendriya Vidyalayas. The platform leverages Information & Communication Technology to enhance the academic delivery system in all schools under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghathan. 

That apart, Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic supplied and implemented Smart Digital Boards to 109 colleges spread across India. The project aims at improving the quality of engineering education in existing institutions with special consideration for low-income states and special category states. 

In Homeland Security 

Mobile-based emergency services and disaster management are the key areas of focus in e-Governance, which also involves police modernisation. 

Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic partnered with the government on the entire digitalisation of police stations in Bihar. This has helped citizens to easily lodge a complaint online, availability of relevant and timely information for police, assisted in the investigation of crime and in tracking and detection of criminals. Going forward, it aims to encourage inter-state police communication by facilitating easy recording, retrieval, analysis and sharing of the pile of information. 

In Public Utilities 

Hitachi has been integral to many government initiatives on public utilities that have enhanced citizen service. More recently, Hitachi collaborated with a leading power trading, generation, transmission, and distribution organization, in Gujarat to transform the networking infrastructure for its 800 locations. Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic helped refresh the network hardware at all connected 805 locations with enhanced, feature-rich, design-centric cutting-edge data centre architecture to ensure that revenue leakage is identified, and people get electricity at an affordable cost through improved efficiency. 

In Farmland 

e-Kranti: A national e-Governance plan 2.0 is now in action to modernize agricultural operations of the country. Hitachi has helped build infrastructure for disaster recovery data center with a robust, future-ready physical as well as information security architecture. The project involves supply, installation and setting up of the necessary basic ICT and physical infrastructure - all of which and more Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic’s solutions have provided. 

The success of digital transformation in Indian agriculture heavily relies on dissemination of information and inputs to the last mile i.e. farmers. Hitachi MGRM Net is partnering with the government, public and private sector in delivering end-to-end farmer-centric solutions including 

educating farmer groups on the latest technologies in farming, agriculture extension, remote help for issues, promotion of agriculture as an enterprise, required knowledge sharing and training. 

The Way Forward 

Hitachi’s innovative technology, globally bench mark practices, and a strong partnership have ignited a social revolution in India. It is building a strong, efficient and effective e-Governance environment that enables all stakeholders, primarily citizens. It is a leap that is critical to the nation’s emergence as a global production and economic powerhouse. 



1.2. ISRO to adopt 100 Atal Tinkering Labs for mentorship and promoting space education 
ET Gov. Jan. 12, 2021 

Scientists and engineers from ISRO centers, in close coordination with the capacity building programme office at its headquarters, will actively mentor the kids as well as interact with teachers in these ATLs for encouraging experiments, brainstorming ideas and spreading awareness in space activities. 

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will adopt 100 Atal tinkering labs under the Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog across the country to promote education in the field of STEM, space education and space technology related innovations for school students.
Addressing a virtual event to formalize the partnership, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said, "Different departments and ministries of the Central government are working in synergy to create an ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ and the collaboration between NITI Aayog and ISRO is one of the prime examples of such effort."

This is a great opportunity for our young budding space researchers and astronauts to learn from the best minds of our country, and become living inspirations for their schools, families and local communities, Kumar added.
ISRO chairman K. Sivan expressed hope that the step will help promote innovation and the spirit of experiential learning among the school kids compared to traditional learning. He also opined that this project-based learning will improve the aptitude towards research right from the school days. With today’s adoption of 100 ATLs, distributed geographically in line with ISRO’s presence across the country, the organization is taking a small step in engaging with the students, towards giving them direction in pursuing their space dreams as a part of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.

Scientists and engineers from ISRO centers, in close coordination with capacity building programme office, ISRO headquarters, will actively mentor the kids as well as interact with teachers in these ATLs for encouraging experiments, brainstorming ideas and spreading awareness in space activities. Sivan also extended an invitation to the students associated with these ATLs, to one of the launches as guests, to witness the launch from Sriharikota.
An Atal tinkering lab provides a makerspace where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands on do-it-yourself mode and learn innovation skills. To foster entrepreneurship and innovation, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog has established over 7,000 ATLs across the country so far enabling over 3 million students between grade VI to grade XII acquire a problem solving, tinkering and innovative mindset.

Through this collaboration, ISRO will facilitate coaching and mentoring of students in advanced cutting-edge technologies of the 21st century including those related to space. The students will not only gain theoretical but also practical and application-based knowledge of STEM and space education related concepts such as electronics, physics, optics, space technology, material sciences among others.
"I am proud to share that NITI Aayog is collaborating with ISRO to make advancements in space technology via Atal Innovation Mission and its initiatives, such as ARISE, Atal Incubation Centers, Atal Community Innovation Centers, and Atal Tinkering Labs.

To nurture our future space scientists, ISRO in collaboration with their regional research centers is adopting 100 ATLs, where ISRO scientists and researchers will personally guide and mentor the young innovators in the field of STEM education and space technology," added NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

"We are currently witnessing an extremely exciting time in space technology. ISRO has been a global pioneer and innovation leader in this area with many crucial landmark achievements for India in the recent past. Recently ISRO has also opened up to startups and private players pitching in, and the future of the space industry is very promising. This collaboration with ISRO will add great impetus to the opportunities provided by ATLs to young school students to learn in space technologies and innovate for the country," said Ramanathan Ramanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, adding that by providing access to the latest technologies, it not only aligns with the vision of the NEP 2020 but also paves the way for an Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

Atal Innovation Mission had earlier collaborated with ISRO for the Atma Nirbhar Bharat ARISE-ANIC initiative along with four other ministries to spur applied research and innovation in Indian MSMEs and startups. 


2. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot launches One Stop Shop for fast approval of new enterprises 
ET Gov. Dec.20, 2020 

The facility connects officers from 14 departments, around 100 types of clearances with a timeline of 7-45-days for completion of various approvals. 

The One Stop Shop (OSS) facility improves upon the existing single window clearance system and will relieve the aspiring investors from running between offices of different departments. Being established at Udhyog Bhawan, Jaipur under the Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP) the facility will host officers from 14 departments, around 100 types of clearances.
The services required by investors from these departments will be made available through the OSS. An online interface of the services will also be available through Raj Nivesh portal which was also launched by the Chief Minister.

Facilitating industry and improving the single window system was one of the promises in the assembly election manifesto of the Congress party. The manifesto has been adopted as an official document by the party’s government under Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
While the government, in its first year has introduced new industrial policy and investment scheme, earlier this year it amended the Rajasthan Enterprises Single Window Enabling and Clearance Act with provision for establishment of OSS and its rules were notified on November 26, 2020.
Speaking on the occasion the Chief Minister said that there is a tradition of celebrating anniversaries of government, but it is also a time for presenting the government’s achievements, Gehlot said. Inaugurating several infrastructure works and services from various departments, the CM said OSS is a landmark decision his government has made towards facilitating industry and investment in the state.

The rules establish a timeline for the various kinds of services to be provided by the departments under OSS. There are services regarding which decision has to be made within 7 days of application while the maximum deadline for any of the services will be 45 days. As infrastructure works for the OSS continues at Udhyog Bhawan, Raj Nivesh portal has come live as a single point (online) interface.
With a time-bound clearance system for all kinds of approvals, it will also be a one-stop point for information, registration, approval, tracking center for clearances and approvals.
The portal will also provide an electronic transparent system for online submission and tracking of applications including e-payments. It will also provide updated information relating to relevant rules, regulations, orders and policy initiatives and schemes for the guidance of investors. 


3.1. Quality healthcare access for all can be a reality by deploying cutting-edge technology: Meena Ganesh 
ET Health World, Jan. 16, 2021 

The policy changes introduced during the pandemic have ensured that conditions are ripe for adoption of remote monitoring. 

Digital technology has penetrated all sectors globally. However, the Indian healthcare ecosystem was somewhat lagging, and that’s when the pandemic arrived earlier this year. Now more than ever, we can feel the impact that technology can bring about in the healthcare delivery segment. In a country like ours where easy access to common public amenities such as healthcare is considered a privilege, it is only through technology that we can scale things up. With a doctor-to-patient ratio that is well below the WHO standards, and is further skewed in favour of urban areas, digital and remote healthcare technologies can be the real game changers. The pandemic has highlighted this significantly as can be seen by the success of unconventional healthcare services such as tele-medicine, remote monitoring of COVID-19 patients and home-based healthcare services etc.

Despite the challenges caused by the pandemic, there has been an impetus for rapid and massive build-up of quality healthcare services on a pan India level. The aim is to ensure delivery of diagnostics and care services to people irrespective of their location across the country. The pandemic also brought forth the fact that the challenges with conventional institution based care are not only related to quality or availability of infrastructure, but also safety. The COVID-19 pandemic is highly contagious and potentially fatal, and in such a scenario, even where hospitals and clinics existed, it became increasingly risky to visit them for routine treatment and diagnostic services. It has now become necessary to leverage the alternate technology based services for healthcare delivery as exemplified by home healthcare startups. There are certain key areas that have gained widespread public acceptance and demand.

Telemedicine and remote consultations – Telemedicine is a great fit for the current scenario where a physical visit to a medical facility can lead to infections especially among the elderly and those with weak immunity. Although, this safe and swift mode of consultation has been around for many years now, it is only now that we are seeing a mass adoption. When managed efficiently, it can be a real transformational practice in terms of patient consultations and follow ups. In a country starved of qualified doctors, telemedicine serves as a force multiplier and is economical for patients as they don’t need to travel to a medical facility for even a basic consultation. Today, there are digital thermometers, blood sugar and blood pressure measurement devices, heart rate and pulse monitors etc., which can help in checking vitals and communicate the same to the doctor during a tele-medicine consultation. Thanks to smartphone access and high-speed internet even in remote areas, all places are connected with each other round the clock. The heartening thing is that people are now becoming aware of the telemedicine process and in the years ahead, it will play a crucial role in delivering medical consultations across India.

Remote monitoring – The second core area where technology has come to fore in improving healthcare delivery and helping the medical professionals in handling the pandemic crisis has been remote monitoring. Remote monitoring has ensured that COVID-19 patients can be managed at home without the risk of complications. It can also facilitate care for conditions ranging from chronic diseases to recovery from acute episodes of care. The policy changes introduced during the pandemic have ensured that conditions are ripe for adoption of remote monitoring.

Home based healthcare – The relevance and efficiency of home care has been transformational in today’s scenario. In the absence of access to institutional facilities for routine checkups, diagnostic tests or follow up services such as physiotherapy, chronic disease management and nursing for the elderly, home healthcare has managed to save the day for millions of patients across the country. By deploying cutting-edge technology to diagnose patients and providing them with regular healthcare services within their home environment, it is possible to make quality healthcare access for all, a reality.

These are the three key pillars of technology driven healthcare which have made tremendous impact in the post-pandemic India. They have enabled healthcare personnel to resiliently fight the menace. The need of the hour is for stakeholders such as the government, local authorities, communities, medical fraternity and technology driven healthcare brands to join hands and formulate a long-term strategic plan. This will help in expanding the coverage of out-of-hospital healthcare services on a pan India level and drive forward the agenda of digital healthcare.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETHealthworld.com does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETHealthworld.com shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly. The author is MD and CEO, Portea Medical) 


3.2. India's top private recruiter says job market is looking bright and not grim 
ETCFO, Dec. 16, 2020, Mannu Arora 

How the employment scenario is shaping up for India as corporates gather business recovery? Which sectors are shining bright, and which ones are struggling? How will vaccine development impact the pace of revival? ETCFO caught up with top private employer Quess Corp CFO S Ramakrishnan to get deep insights. 

S Ramakrishnan, CFO at Quess CorpIndia’s employment picture is looking bright and sunny and not grim and dark as businesses, across most industries, are back to hiring again on the back of strong recovery, said top private recruiter Quess Corp CFO S Ramakrishnan.
Manufacturers are flushed with strong orders in the next 3-6 months, the finance executive stated as he discussed the employment situation and business prospects for his company. Edited Excerpts.

Q: How is your reading of the job market?
Ramki: We are seeing a strong revival back in the market. We are seeing employment bouncing back to pretty strong levels. Multiple economic indicators are reflective of this trend. From the government’s GST Collections to fuel consumption and auto sales data, everything is pointing towards economic recovery.
The unemployment rate has been coming down consistently. It is now sub 7 per cent as of October as against 8.75 per cent in March. Both urban and rural unemployment has come down. While urban unemployment has come down to 7.1 per cent from 9.4 per cent in March, rural has fallen to 6.98 per cent from 8.75 per cent. Of the total 120 million job loss due to Covid, a good number of them have got employment back, and now one is seeing more and more additions coming in.
This same economic trend has been reflective in Quess performance also. We have witnessed a net increase of about 7-8K in jobs in October for the first time during the pandemic. Corporations which had cut down on the jobs in the early part of the pandemic are now back to hiring. Progress on the vaccine front also gives a fillip to this entire positive narrative.

Q: There is a view that the recovery is hitting a saturation point with the economic indicators like the GST collections tapering off in November. Are you concerned?
Ramki: We do not believe the recovery is saturating. If one sees the September and October economic data points, clearly there has been an uptick, aided by festival season demand. Now that the festivals are over, some slowness was bound to happen.
But this does not indicate the basics of the economy aren’t strong. Manufacturers are flushed with a good number of orders. Employment prospects are reviving for sure. We strongly feel the job situation is looking bright and sunny, and not grim and bleak.

Q: How are the different sectors faring with respect to jobs?
Ramki: The job recovery has been faster and quicker across the board than one had anticipated. Job losses have not happened on a scale one had initially imagined when the crisis first broke. Industries like professional services are now seeing jobs rising to more than pre-covid levels. E-commerce, too, is witnessing a robust hiring trend, while construction is continuing to recover.
As far as the worst affected retail industry is concerned, it is showing significant uptick on a sequential basis, though it may take slightly longer time to reach pre-covid levels.

Q: How are the Q3 and Q4 shaping up for Quess?
Ramki: We are expecting to return to positive revenue growth in the Q3 year-on-year on the back of strong business recovery. Our top line number was only down 0.5-1 per cent YoY in Q2FY21. In the Oct-Dec quarter, we are expecting to surpass Rs 2,500 crore-mark which we clocked in Q3FY20.
The company feels confident to show improvement over the last year's numbers for the subsequent quarters. Growth can be sustained long-term only if one grows on top line; barely reducing costs to support growth may only work for a short-term.

Q: What will be the company's immediate focus areas?
Ramki: Our immediate focus will be on reducing interest costs, ensuring good PAT numbers, and effectively pursuing a long-term target of 20 per cent ROE.
In the quarter gone by, we have been able to reduce interest costs by Rs 6 crore. We expect a similar reduction in the ongoing Oct-Dec quarter.

Also, it will be important to ensure the balance sheet is trimmed and looks lean, supported by strong cash and low debt. We have been able to bring our net debt to Rs 45 crore as of September end from over Rs 250 crore as of the previous quarter-end.~ 


Q: How would you remember the pandemic-hit year 2020?
Ramki: We would remember the year 2020 for bringing agility and flexibility in the CFOs' lives. Never before the CFOs were tested to this level and scale. The pandemic cuts across every industry and geography.
The unprecedented crisis forced the CFOs to look at the costs which they would have never viewed earlier. For instance, with corporations switching to work from home amid pandemic, finance executives had to look at real estate costs as permanent savings for the future. 


4.1. DPIIT to come out with single-window system soon: Piyush Goyal 
ET Gov. Dec.16, 2020 

"The 24 sectors being worked upon will contribute ₹20 lakh crore annually additional contribution to manufacturing, and it will grow as it gains dynamism and momentum," Goyal said. 

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which is working on a pilot project, will come out with the first-cut of a single-window clearance system by March or April to ease compliance requirements and reduce the burden of frequent renewals of licenses and government clearances.
"The DPIIT is making a genuine effort to provide single-window clearance system on approvals amongst various ministries at the Centre, compliance of various laws in India and also at the State governments and Local government levels," said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at an event on Tuesday.

"We are trying to integrate the new system, and I do hope that by March or April in the coming year, you will see the first cut of a genuine single window that will ease your compliance burden and help you focus more on your business rather than government compliances," he said.
He further said, "Historically we have seen single windows, which when you open, further open 10 doors behind them. I am putting in my best efforts to truly make a genuine single window."
He also talked about the Steering Committee on Advancement of Localisation and Exports and Employment (SCALE) which is being collectively spearheaded by all industry associations and trade bodies that are working to identify sectors where India has the competitive advantage to become a global manufacturing leader.

"The 24 sectors being worked upon will contribute ₹20 lakh crore annually additional contribution to manufacturing, and it will grow as it gains dynamism and momentum. At least 30 percent of this amount, i.e. ₹6 lakh crore will go straight into the pockets of people of India in terms of salaries, wages, employee costs, indirect costs on our services," said Goyal.
The Minister also said, "As part of other benefits, we are also looking at three crore plus young boys and girls getting jobs, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities." 


4.2. APSSDC to launch single window portal for all skilling programs in Andhra Pradesh 
ET Gov. 17 Dec.2020 

CM Jagan Mohan Reddy left instructions to integrate skilling programs being in different departments. 

An integrated online platform for all skill development programs undertaken by various departments, their evaluation and certification is being planned by Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC).
In accordance with GO RT No.50 issued by the state government earlier to this effect, the corporation is making efforts to bring all skilling related programs under one roof, said MD and CEO Arja Srikanth. The chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had also instructed us to integrate the skilling programs being conducted by different departments, he added.

The portal acts as a dashboard for an integrated, real-time view of all the skill development programs being conducted at various levels, Srikanth said. It will be easier for the government to monitor and strengthen the skill development activities of various departments and corporations, he said.
As part of the preparations for the launch of Skill AP portal, the APSSDC executive directors V. Hanuma Naik and B. Nageshwar Rao held a review meeting with the representatives of various government departments and corporations on Tuesday.
Each department will have a single point of contact (SPOC) for all skill related programs, they informed the delegates.
Representatives of Society for Employment Generation and Enterprise Development in AP (SEEDAP), TRICOR of tribal welfare department, National Academy of Construction, MEPMA and employment and training department among others participated in the review meeting. 


5. PARFI Foundation trains 18,000 underprivileged youths 
ET HR World, Jan. 06, 2011 

According to Kalyan Chakravarthy, Founding Sevak & Executive Director, PanIIT Alumni Reach For India (PARFI) Foundation, bringing together the government and business as stakeholders are essential to deliver a self-sustainable, job assured, loan funded, vocational skilling model at scale to enhance the incomes and livelihoods of the underserved. 

Experts in the education sector urge towards bringing together the key stakeholders and the IIT community to design solutions in order to address the crisis we face in the country.By Abhishek Sahu and Chitrali Ghatak
Vocational education has never been this essential. But thanks to the digital age which demands a higher level of upskilling, today it has become the need of the hour. Experts in the education sector urge towards bringing together the key stakeholders and the IIT community to design solutions in order to address the crisis we face in the country.

According to Kalyan Chakravarthy, Founding Sevak and Executive Director, PanIIT Alumni Reach For India (PARFI) Foundation, bringing together the government and business as stakeholders are essential to deliver a self-sustainable, job-assured, loan-funded, vocational skilling model at scale to enhance the incomes and livelihoods of the underserved.
On working for the underprivileged, he essentially highlighted that today, PanIIT Alumni foundation has 7 Kaushal Colleges and 36 Kalyan Gurukuls training more than 18,000 youths and has so far impacted the lives of 1,19,406 people.
The foundation imparts training through Kalyan Gurukuls and Kaushal Colleges. Kalyan Gurukul is the flagship initiative for assured placement-linked skill development of marginalized communities and Naxal affected areas.
“The Kaushal College initiative is geared towards enhancing competency for employability through 1-2 year vocational education courses. There are 8 Nursing Colleges churning out 960 Auxiliary Nursing & Midwifery nurses and 3 ITI colleges churning out 540 ITI technicians every year,” said Chakravarthy.

Vocational education for the underprivileged

He further said, “We have successfully established a collaborative model by bringing Samaj, Sarkar, Bazaar together to establish PanIIT Alumni Reach for Jharkhand (PReJHA), a joint social enterprise between the PanIIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation and agencies of the Department of Welfare, Government of Jharkhand.”
Adding that, “the objective is to design, implement and scale in an institutionalised manner across various districts of the state, initiatives for skill development and livelihood enhancement with a special focus on marginalized communities such as Scheduled Tribes (ST), Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG), Scheduled Caste (SC), and other minorities.”
Chakravarthy also said that they believe in bringing the IITian Spirit towards imparting vocational education exclusively for the underprivileged through a non-profit joint venture with the state.

Influencing the ecosystem is significant

Speaking about the initiatives lined up for upscaling vocational education, he stressed on the significance of influencing the ecosystem, and about how it addresses the livelihood problem.
“We have been able to bring Samaj, Sarkar, Bazaar to work together and create an impact-driven convergence in building a public vocational education (VE) system exclusively for women and disadvantaged groups,” he said.
“Along with people-level outcomes at the community, we have also been able to achieve system -level outcomes such as institutionalisation with several non-profit joint ventures with states, backed by funds leveraged through state and skill loans,” he concluded. 


- AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT 



6.1. Flipkart in partnership with Logistics Skill Sector Council and KSDC to set up Centre of Excellence 
ET Bureau, Jan. 08, 2021, Sreeradha Basu 

The centre aims to bring the spotlight on the importance of skill development for the sector and complement its growth in the coming years. 

Introduced to augment skill development for the logistic industry, Flipkart’s CoE will be open to aspirants who want to work in the logistics industry. Flipkart has announced an MoU with the Logistics Skill Sector Council (LSC), an organisation set up by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) through National Skill Development Corporation of India (NSDC) and Karnataka Skill Development Centre (KSDC). As part of this MoU, Flipkart has launched an industry-first Centre of Excellence (CoE) to build a skilled and trained workforce for the fast-growing e-commerce industry in India.
Introduced to augment skill development for the logistic industry, Flipkart’s CoE will be open to aspirants who want to work in the logistics industry. The centre aims to bring the spotlight on the importance of skill development for the sector and complement its growth in the coming years.

Spread across an area of 1,500 sq ft, the CoE for e-commerce supply chain in Bengaluru hosts new-age classrooms equipped with computers and projector-based learning. Flipkart has co-developed this extensive training module along with LSC & KSDC, to train candidates on the various nuances of storage and distribution, customer management, and material handling. This also includes imparting knowledge on local transportation laws and regulations and giving students holistic knowledge of the end-to-end supply chain. Karnataka Kaushalya Mission, which is part of the Department of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Karnataka Government, and LSC is helping mobilise aspirants for the Centre of Excellence.
The training also covers the necessary “soft skills” required to interact with customers. In addition to the above training, selected candidates will also get an opportunity to join an apprenticeship program with Flipkart under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme to work on various aspects of a supply chain. This 60 day training will also increase the candidates’ employment prospects in the fast growing e-commerce sector in India

Upon successful completion of the training, candidates will be awarded certification under the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSFQ), which is equivalent to an undergraduate degree. Through this initiative, Flipkart aims to enhance the employability of unskilled and unemployed people and make them a part of India’s skilled and certified workforce.
Amitesh Jha, Senior Vice-President and Head of Ekart, said, “We understand the importance of having a trained workforce for the long-term sustainability of the logistics industry. We are delighted to partner with Logistics Skill Sector Council and Karnataka Skill Development Corporation for this initiative and share our expertise towards building a dynamic learning module for the development of this sector.” 

Captain T.S. Ramanujam, Chairman of Logistics Skill Sector Council, said, “Unemployment and unemployability are two of the big issues the country faces today. The logistics industry is one of the largest employers in the country with over 40 million people employed in the supply chain but faces the shortage of skilled manpower to meet the growing demand. Our partnership with Flipkart is a bright step towards bringing industry acceptability and employment to the unskilled workforce.” 


6.2. Amazon India adds 1.5 lakh sellers in 2020 
PTI, Dec. 21, 2020 

"There are now over 70,000 Indian exporters selling millions of 'Made in India' products worldwide across 15 international Amazon websites. 

Amazon has over seven lakh sellers on its platform. New Delhi: E-commerce major Amazon India on Sunday said 1.5 lakh new sellers joined its platform this year, and over 70,000 Indian exporters in its global selling programme have crossed USD 2 billion in cumulative exports.
Amazon India, in its SMB Impact Report 2020, noted that it works with more than 10 lakh small and mid-size business (SMBs) including sellers, delivery and logistics partners, neighbourhood stores, enterprises, developers, content creators and authors work with the company in the country.

"This year has been unprecedented and has impacted the way we work and live. Yet, we remain inspired by the undying entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, resolve and trust in us of businesses, creators and authors to overcome challenges and grow," Amazon India Senior VP and Country Head Amit Agarwal said.
He added that technology adoption and digitisation will continue to play a crucial role in offering expanded access and opportunities to SMBs, and that the company remains committed to invest and partner in success of SMBs in India.
Earlier this year, Amazon had pledged to invest USD 1 billion to digitise 10 million SMBs, enable e-commerce exports worth USD 10 billion and create 1 million incremental jobs by 2025.

The SMB Impact Report 2020 said 1.5 lakh new sellers joined Amazon.in in 2020 with over 50,000 registering in Hindi and Tamil.
"(A total of) 4,152 Indian sellers surpassed Rs 1 crore in sales in 2020 and the number of crorepati sellers grew 29 per cent year-on-year," it added.
Amazon has over seven lakh sellers on its platform.
Amazon.in has unveiled the top 10 states and union territories with most number of sellers. With more than 110,000 sellers, Delhi has the largest number of Amazon.in sellers in the country, followed by Maharashtra (87,000) and Gujarat (79,000).

Besides, Amazon Business marketplace registered 85 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in sales.
"There has been a 64 per cent increase in monthly order volumes in 2020. Over 3.7 lakh sellers on the B2B marketplace offer more than 20 crore goods and services tax (GST)-enabled products," the report said.
Referring to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) - which enables Indian authors to self-publish in multiple languages and reach millions of readers globally - the report said in the year ending November 30, 2020, Indian authors have cumulatively earned over Rs 45 crore through books published on KDP (growing over 2X YoY).

Hundreds of independent authors have earned over Rs 1 lakh each in royalties, in the year ending November 30, 2020, it added.
"There are now over 70,000 Indian exporters selling millions of 'Made in India' products worldwide across 15 international Amazon websites.
Indian SMBs and brands on the program have crossed Rs 15,000 crore in cumulative exports," it said.
Amazon said there are over 1 lakh developers from India building for Alexa - its digital assistant - globally.
These developers have built over 30,000 skills with the Alexa Skills Kit.
Thousands of smart home devices compatible with Amazon Alexa, and there are over 100 Alexa built-in devices like smart speakers, fitness trackers, and Smart TVs. SR ANS ANS 


7. 18.1 million to be employed by direct selling industry by 2025 
IANS, Dec. 22, 2020 

Another interesting trend that is noticeable is that the sector has been instrumental in employment generation for nearly 122 million Indians who lost their jobs this due to the pandemic. 

In FY 2018-19, there were 5.7 million direct sellers. These numbers are projected to grow exponentially to 18.1 million by 2025. New Delhi: Direct selling sector is poised to employ more than 18 million by 2025 and as per industry estimates, the Direct Selling industry in India, which currently ranks No. 15, globally, is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 4.8 percent to reach Rs 15,930 crore by 2021.
This proves that the Direct Selling Industry is flourishing and illustrates its potential with the continued rate of growth -- increasing at an impressive rate of 12.1% Y-o-Y.
Another interesting trend that is noticeable is that the sector has been instrumental in employment generation for nearly 122 million Indians who lost their jobs this due to the pandemic.

Gautam Bali, Managing Director, Vestige Marketing Pvt Ltd., said, "Direct Selling is one of the fastest-growing sectors in India today. Despite these challenging times, the sector has witnessed spectacular growth in the last three quarters. At Vestige, we have provided an alternative career opportunity to millions during the pandemic period. We are looking forward to 2021 and we hope to continue to be a key player in the Direct Selling Industry's rapid growth by empowering people."
Initiatives like 'Vocal for Local' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' encouraged Indians to explore the option of buying and selling locally made products via the direct selling route, which entails low investments and high returns. This not only boosted local manufacturing but also established a sense of ownership as well as determination amongst budding entrepreneurs to succeed.

In India, the Direct Selling industry has provided additional income opportunities to its people and has significantly promoted micro-entrepreneurship. In FY 2018-19, there were 5.7 million direct sellers. These numbers are projected to grow exponentially to 18.1 million by 2025.
The sector has also empowered women in a significant way right since its inception. There are almost 2.1 million women today who are at the heart of this industry and have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs. 


8. Maharashtra signs MoUs with 25 companies, to generate over 2.5 lakh jobs 
TNN, Dec. 23, 2020, Clara Lewis 

Three IT industries with a cumulative investment of Rs 10,000 crore will create around 39,000 jobs. 

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was happy to note the department had crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore investment target, and set a fresh target of Rs 2 lakh crore. MUMBAI: State industry department on Tuesday signed Memoranda of Understanding with 25 Indian companies from various sectors, including textiles, steel, renewable energy, chemicals etc, for investments totalling over Rs 61,000 crore and promising over 2.5 lakh jobs.
With an investment of Rs 3,500 crore, Kirtikumar Steel Industry has promised to create 60,000 jobs in the state. It is the highest number of jobs that will be created if the investment comes through. Three IT industries with a cumulative investment of Rs 10,000 crore will create around 39,000 jobs.
Since June, under the aegis of Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0, the state industry department has signed MoUs that will bring in over Rs 1.13 lakh crore. In June, the state signed MoUs worth Rs 16,000 crore. In November, the government signed MoUs worth Rs 30,000 crore. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was happy to note the department had crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore investment target, and set a fresh target of Rs 2 lakh crore. 


9.1. Light house projects in 6 states to use global technology to build world class houses for poor and middle class 
ET Gov. Jan. 02, 2021 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for six light house projects under Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) across six states through a video conference mode on Friday.

The light houses under the projects in Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh will be constructed using modern technology and innovative processes in a shorter timeline and at the same time ensuring a more resilient, affordable and comfortable house for the poor and the middle classes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for six light house projects under Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) across six states through a video conference mode on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said today is the day to move forward with new energy, to prove new resolutions and today the country is getting new technology to build houses for the poor and middle class. He said the houses are called light house projects in technical language but these six projects are really like lighthouses showing a new direction to the housing sector in the country.

Stating that these light house projects are an example of the approach of the present government, the Prime Minister said previously housing schemes were not as much as the priority of the central government and did not go into the nuances and quality of home construction.
"Today, the country has chosen a different approach, adopting a different route and a better technology, to complete the projects faster," Modi said and stressed on the importance for the government ministries not to have large and sluggish structures, but to be fit like startups.
He expressed happiness on the active participation of more than 50 innovative construction companies from around the world in the LHPs. He said this global challenge has given us a scope to innovate and incubate with new technology.

The PM said in the next phase of the same process, the work of six light house projects at different sites is starting from today. These light house projects will be made up of modern technology and innovative processes and reduce the construction time and make a more resilient, affordable and comfortable house for the poor.
Further explaining the innovations in construction technology used for the construction of these houses, he said, "For example the project in Indore will not have brick and mortar walls, instead they will use the prefabricated sandwich panel system. The light houses in Rajkot will be built using French technology and have monolithic concrete construction technology using tunnel and the house will be more capable of withstanding disasters. In Chennai, US and Finland technologies will use the precast concrete system, which will construct the house faster and cheaper. In Ranchi houses will be built using Germany's 3D construction system.

Each room will be made separately and then the entire structure will be added in the same way as Lego Blocks toys. He said houses are being built in Agartala with the steel frames using New Zealand's technology which can withstand major earthquake risk. Canada's technology is being used in Lucknow, which will not require plaster and paint and will use the entire walls already prepared to build houses faster."
He further said that thousands of houses will be built in 12 months at every location which will act as incubation centers through which our planners, architects, engineers and students will be able to learn and experiment with new technology. He announced that along with this, a certificate course will be started to upgrade the skills related to new technology to the people in the construction sector, so that the people can get the best technology and material in the world in house construction.

The Prime Minister remarked that the ASHA-India program is being run to promote research and startups related to modern housing technology within the country. Through this, new and affordable technology for building 21st century houses will be developed in India itself. He said five best techniques have also been selected under this campaign.
He said that the biggest dream of poor or middle class people living in the city is owning their house. But over the years, people were losing their hope in their dream. He said even after earning the trust, the demand has gone down due to high prices. People have lost trust whether they would have legal standing in case of any issue. High interest rates of the bank and the difficulties in getting loans, have further dampened the interest on owning a house. He expressed satisfaction on the efforts taken in the last 6 years to restore the confidence of a common man that he too can have his own house. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, lakhs of houses have been built in a very short time in cities.

The Prime Minister said that in PM Awas Yojna construction's focus is both on innovation and implementation as per the local needs and expectations of the home-owners. It is a complete package as every unit is equipped with electricity-water-gas connection. Transparency is being ensured through the technologies like geo-tagging and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the beneficiaries.
Talking about the benefits for the middle classes, Modi said they are getting rebates on home loan interest. A special fund of Rs 25,000 crore, created for incomplete housing projects, will also help the middle class.
Measures like RERA have brought back the trust of the home owners and given them confidence that they will not be cheated out of their hard-earned money. There are 60,000 projects registered under RERA and thousands of grievances have been redressed under the law.

The Prime Minister said that getting the key of a house is not just getting possession of a dwelling unit but it opens doors of dignity, confidence, safe future, new identity and expanding possibilities. All round work that is being done for ‘Housing for All’ is bringing positive change in the lives of crores of poor and middle-class families.
The Prime Minister also mention new scheme that was taken up during the Corona pandemic - Affordable Renting Housing Complex Schemes. Government is working with industry and other investors to provide housing with fair rents to the workers who migrate from various states to different states. Their housing conditions are often unhygienic and undignified. Effort is to provide them fair rent dwellings in the vicinity of their workplace. This is our responsibility that our worker friends should live with dignity, Modi added. 


9.2. Our approach is to have a gender-balanced workplace: Parineeta Cecil Lakra, IKEA India 
ETHR World, Jan. 04, 2021, Baishakhi Dutta 

Parineeta Cecil Lakra, Country People & Culture Manager, IKEA India, said, “I am happy to share that overall, at the country level, we have 46% women coworkers, and at country level management we are 60% coworkers. Our male-to-female manager ratio is 50-50.”

A key trait of successful organisations is reinforced attention towards equality, diversity and inclusion. In every enterprise’s journey towards an equal gender workforce ratio, pay consistency and overall employee wellness, HR and organisational leaders have a key role to play. Parineeta Cecil Lakra, Country People & Culture Manager, IKEA India, shares her thoughts with ETHRWorld on equality, diversity and inclusion in workplace, and what the new normal has in store for businesses.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are today a part of the corporate focus area. What’s the current ground-level scenario, especially in the context of the Indian business ecosystem?
It’s not just with corporates – it's everywhere. When I bring that context home to IKEA, our vision is to create a better living life for people. Thus, while talking about equality, diversity and inclusion, it’s not really an agenda for us – it's a very natural thing to do. Since the time we actually started retail way back in 2014, we have kept a really close eye on equality, diversity and inclusion because we also want to be known as an equal opportunity employer. Since then, knowing that market around us, we have taken a lot of actions and put policies in place.
I am happy to share that overall, at the country level, we have 46% women coworkers, and at country level management we are 60% coworkers. Our male-to-female manager ratio is 50-50. So, our approach is to have a gender-balanced workplace and ensure that we are giving equal opportunities for both men and women coworkers.

How big is the gender equality gap in the furniture & appliances industry today? What are the key stimulants of this gap?
In the retail industry, I think the best case is 30% of female coworkers in organisations, and again, depending upon the region – north, south, east and west – the participation of women in the labour force changes. It is lesser in the north compared to the south. Having said that, when we look why we don’t see women participation in the retail industry, one reason is the inadequate support network availability. Another reason is with shifts starting early in the day or finishing later in the evening, commute to work becomes a consideration, especially from a safety viewpoint. As a solution, IKEA has ensured transportation for coworkers working in such shifts.

How is IKEA working towards closing this gap in gender equality? What efforts are you taking to attract more female candidates?
When we look at our 50-50 gender diversity, we want to have that ratio of female co-workers across all levels – starting from entry level up to country-level management. We ensure that in the recruitment process, the candidates coming for an interview, as well as the interview panel, have equal representation of women and men.
When we look at mass recruitments, we partner with organisations and one such partnering was to create a programme called ‘Disha’, where we had worked in United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for creating employment for the underprivileged women.
We are looking for collaborations to continue this commitment. Our co-workers are the best brand ambassadors for us.

Are you taking any initiatives to mend the gender pay gap?
This is something we have been addressing for over three years, and is a part of the global IKEA direction. Today, the pay gap between men and women in IKEA is -0.095%, in comparison to the India industry where the pay gap is -30% to -40%. We are hoping that by the end of FY21, we will close the pay gap completely.

Any specific efforts to bring in more specially-abled talents?
Recruiting specially-abled talent is also a part of our diversity and inclusion agenda. We have to be conscious in the context of our stores, especially where we have machinery operations, as well as the work environment to ensure we offer a safe and secure workplace for such co-workers. We are working towards having office spaces that are absolutely open and has no distinction. For our frontline stores, we will start working towards ensuring these are safe workplaces for them.

What key actions in terms of workplace safety and employee engagement should HRs take to drive better gender equality, diversity and inclusion in their firms?
In the current situation, the awareness that bringing in numbers for the sake of just showing results is not the right approach is crucial. When we talk about an inclusive mindset, infusing the leadership with the organisation is important. When we look at the population around us, customers are representative of men and women. So, from what we have learned, having a balanced workforce is the right thing to do and makes good business sense as well.
Secondly, commitment is very important in the workplace when we have to drive the agenda of gender equality. This includes being committed to ensure that we are getting an equal number of men and women candidates during recruitment, ensuring developments of our colleagues inside the organisation, and ensuring adequate number of women for leadership and development programme.
Finally, we need to listen to our colleagues about what we could do to support them. In turn, it makes the workplace safer, better and productive.

Covid-19 has impacted work-life balance for most of us. How can firms reinstate and reinforce work-life balance for their employees?
Organisations, as well as their co-workers, have gone through tremendous changes due to Covid-19. We all must continue to care for our colleagues and take considerate approaches in the following months. At IKEA, we care for business as well as for our people, and that becomes really important in the new normal. Research shows that across the world, the pandemic has had a lot of impact on emotional and mental wellbeing. So, one of the aspects is to support the co-workers on an emotional and mental level. Lastly, we must remain agile and flexible. The ramifications of the change that has happened are being faced by all of us in different tones. We must emotionally support each other, build resilience among each other, and empower the organisation to navigate the unknown ahead of us post-Covid. 


10. How plant meat is coming of age in India 
Mint, 12 Jan. 2021, Goutam Das

Amid viral outbreaks and climate change, an alternative meat industry is taking root. Can it be the next big thing? 
Success is possible because there are strong triggers. Aware consumers, particularly in cities, are worried about climate change and viral outbreaks. There is a health imperative too. 

NEW DELHI: Before the midnight hour, on 31 December, this writer microwaved a packet of frozen ready-to-eat shami kebabs for five friends. One of them had turned vegan and wouldn’t touch it—shami kebabs, after all, are mostly made with minced red or chicken meat. A second friend liked the burst of old Delhi spices. The third and the fourth chewed into the kebab but kept silent. The fifth sniffed a difference. “The aftertaste," she said, “is not quite that of meat." 

The kebabs were recently launched by a startup, Greenest Foods. At its factory in Delhi’s Okhla, the company’s research and development team took a dry fibrous substance made from soy and chickpea protein isolates, rehydrated it with coconut fat and flavourings, and ultimately textured what is essentially a plant-based product to mimic real meat. 

Getting the taste closer to the real thing is the big deal. Companies such as Greenest Foods say they are getting better with every new version as researchers, food scientists, academic institutes and chefs collaborate with entrepreneurs to propel India’s alternative protein sector—sometimes called the smart proteins industry—off the ground. 

This growing tribe, of both new and established companies, has seen the market sizzle in countries like the United States. In 2020, plant-based burger firm Impossible Foods raised $700 million in funding; in 2019, Beyond Meat, another plant-based meat maker, went public. The firm turned in revenues of $305 million for the nine months ending September 2020. Indian startups think similar success can be scripted in the subcontinent with a range of products, from nuggets and keema to sausages and egg substitutes. 

Success could potentially be scripted because there are strong triggers. Aware consumers, particularly in cities, are worried about climate change, the pressures that animal husbandry puts on land, water and electricity. There is a health imperative too. Plant-based egg substitutes, for instance, have no cholesterol; there is also less chance of pathogen contamination, leave alone diseases like the avian flu. India is in the middle of an avian influenza outbreak with confirmed cases of the disease in nine states. As of Monday, the flu has been reported from districts in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Such outbreaks strengthen the case for meat alternatives. 

The market, nonetheless, is not just plant-based. A smaller set of companies globally are also “cultivating" meat—where muscle cells from animals are grown in a reactor and hence the process does not involve slaughter. A third set of firms use fermentation technology in which bacteria is engineered to produce a protein of choice. Put together, India today has about 25 such companies, estimates The Good Food Institute, a non-profit that promotes alternatives to animal products. 

“Most of these companies became serious in the last 18 months. And we think this number will keep doubling until we hit about 150 within the next few years," said Varun Deshpande, managing director at The Good Food Institute India. 

Quick service restaurants are getting into the act. When popular food chains champion a product, the market expands at a faster clip. In December 2020, Domino’s Pizza introduced “The Unthinkable Pizza". Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, which holds the India franchise for Domino’s Pizza, said that the pizza is made from plant-based proteins and yet has the sensory properties of chicken. 

Over the next five to seven years, the smart protein market in India may touch $1 billion on the back of early adopters in cities, Deshpande projected. The top 50 million in India’s vast consumer pyramid is the first target. “There is much more momentum on the plant-based side because it is easier to do from a capital standpoint. Cultivated meat is early in its life cycle as a category. It is going to take long for companies to bring products to the market," he noted. 

While the sector is clearly at the next frontier of food tech, there are doubts about whether the products would work beyond the well-heeled. “When incomes rise, people buy more animal protein. It is probably a matter of prestige that a family is able to afford meat. Would people give up on real meat?" a food-tech entrepreneur, who didn’t want to be identified, asked. 

Many in India don’t eat meat due to religious reasons. They have little reason to try out a product with the sensory appeal of meat (national surveys though show that only about a third of Indians are vegetarians). Finally, making a business case might be hard at the moment for the entrepreneurs at the vanguard, considering how pricey alternative meat and eggs are as of now. Plantmade, a company that has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi for research, has priced its plant-made liquid egg at ₹350 for 450 grams, or an equivalent of 10 eggs. The price of a chicken egg in Delhi is trending at ₹6. 

“There is a time for everything," Amit Jatia, vice chairman at Westlife Development Ltd, which operates McDonald’s restaurants in west and south India said, while talking about alternative proteins. “When you introduce something in 311 restaurants, you need scale on the supply chain end. Second, the reality is that Indian mass consumers can barely afford to eat meat every day. Since plant-based is two-three times costlier, it is a niche market at the moment," he added. 

Supply chain readiness is the critical link between lab-scale and commercial-scale. Entrepreneurs are beginning to quickly learn the ropes. 

Cultivating consumers 

Prakarshi Pulkit, a former chef at ITC Hotels, is the chief of innovation at Plantmade. The company started in 2020 and makes its liquid eggs from proteins derived from moong beans. 

“I broke over a lakh eggs during my tenure as a chef," he said. “I have high expectations. I want our plant-based egg to taste the same as chicken egg. Currently, it tastes about 80% the same when used in the right recipe—like in a French toast or a pancake," he added. As the company works on improving the taste, it also has to sort out the supply chain. Pulkit wanted to sell to restaurants, but the hospitality industry usually buys in low quantities. 

Maintaining the supply chain for a cold product at low volumes is expensive for a startup. He could sell the liquid egg frozen but restaurants will take a long time to first thaw and then cook the egg. Plantmade is therefore working on a powder form which will have a longer shelf life. 

In any case, the hospitality route was closed for most of 2020 because of the pandemic. That forced startups to sell directly to consumers. It wasn’t such a bad deal. Companies were able to generate customer insights and early feedback, which helped fine-tune the products further. Greenest Foods, for instance, found that millennials and Gen Z consumers were driving its sales of plant-based shami kebabs and keema. Over 60% of the orders came from those in the age bracket of 18-34. 

“We launched the kebabs in late-October through a direct-to-consumer website. It is not just the vegans or the vegetarians but it is a rapidly increasing cohort of meat eaters who want to try our product," Gaurav Sharma, CEO at Greenest, said. 

Blue Tribe, a company co-founded by Sandeep Singh, the managing director of pharmaceutical company Alkem Labs, is another plant-based meat company. The firm has launched plant-based nuggets that apes chicken, using protein derived from soy and peas. Sohil Wazir, chief commercial officer at Blue Tribe said a host of products are in the pipeline. Keema (which will resemble chicken/mutton) and sausages (resembling pork meat) will be launched next. 

“We have started with a direct-to-consumer platform. We are in Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. In the next six months, we want to be present in 10 metros," Wazir said. “We are looking at quick service restaurants as a volume driver but that might take a while." Making the products available in the retail channel is his last priority because of the high margins that retailers corner. 

The next frontier 

In December 2020, the Singapore government’s food regulation authority, Singapore Food Agency, approved the sale of meat cultivated from animal cells, a development expected to shore up the cultivated meat industry globally. Where is India when it comes to lab-grown meat? 

In 2018, Siddharth Manvati and Pawan Dhar, two researchers with a background in drug discovery, founded Clear Meat, India’s first cultivated meat company that is attempting to grow minced chicken. The company has created proof of concepts and is focussed on patenting its technologies. 

Simply put, growing an animal muscle cell in a lab starts with placing the cell in a reactor that has a broth filled with nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, and other inorganic materials that mimic blood. It is almost like replicating what goes on in an animal body inside a reactor. Food technologists foresee a future where tall reactors will populate farm lands one day; millions of cells would be grown and harvested continuously. Nevertheless, what goes into the broth can be exorbitantly expensive and this makes cultivated meat pricey. A lab-grown steak could be 10 times the price of conventional steak. But the costs are expected to drop quickly as companies pour in research dollars and innovate. 

Manvati said Clear Meat could price the minced chicken at ₹800-850 a kilo, or closer to the price of processed meat, when the product is ready in about 16-18 months from now. Nonetheless, the meat grows awfully slowly in a lab—to grow 100 grams of minced chicken, the company takes between nine and 12 days. 

Meanwhile, India’s research institutes are also playing a role. 

The government of India’s department of biotechnology granted a ₹4.6 crore research grant to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad and the National Research Centre on Meat in 2019 to create cultivated meat from sheep cells. The research is ongoing. The Good Food Institute said that it will work to establish Indian and international industry partnerships in order to commercialise the research. 

The services sauce 

India, in fact, is poised to play an important role in the global smart protein industry by offering products and services. Pune-based Proeon Foods, for instance, extracts and develops plant-based proteins, which it sells to alternative meat companies. 

The company has created protein ingredients from fava beans (which goes into plant-based sea food options), amaranth (for alternative dairy applications), moong bean (egg replacement products), chickpea (meat replacement) and hemp seed (nutraceuticals). 

“We give startups our proteins along with some base recipes," Kevin Parekh, co-founder at Proeon Foods, said. “We can co-develop solutions as well. Larger companies may want us to develop a completely new source of protein but it’s a longer process," he added. 

Then, there is Richcore Lifesciences in Bengaluru, a biotech company, that offers development and manufacturing services to companies who want to use fermentation technology to produce proteins. Outsourced production to India—as in the case with any other manufacturing sector—can cut costs substantially for global companies, and, by extension, lower the price of alternative meat over the course of this decade. 

“New-age companies in San Francisco and Europe that make egg proteins without eggs and milk protein without cows know how to make it at the lab level. However, in biotech, the important shift happens from lab-scale to commercial scale. The new companies lack expertise and experience," Rajesh Krishnamurthy, executive director and head of global business development at Richcore Lifesciences, said. 

The company is building a plant near Bengaluru to host huge reactors totalling about 180,000 litres that would manufacture animal proteins at a mass scale. The facility would be ready by February 2021. 

“The world needs capacity. We can become the farmers of the (smart protein) world," Krishnamurthy said over a Zoom call. His eyes lit up. 

The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, and Jubilant FoodWorks are closely related. There are, however, no promoter cross-holdings. 


- INDUSTRY & MANUFACTURE 

11.1. Lockdown impact: Automotive industry suffered 3.45 lakh job loss 
PTI, Dec. 16, 2020 

The Parliamentary Standing Committee On Commerce, chaired by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP Keshav Rao, has suggested a slew of measures for attracting investment in the automotive sector in the country, including overhauling of prevalent land and labour laws. 

Production cuts in the automobile sector have a percolating negative impact on the component industry adversely affecting the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) engaged in the automobile spare parts manufacturing, the report states.New Delhi: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the automotive industry suffered Rs 2,300 loss crore per day and an estimated job loss in the sector was about 3.45 lakh, according to a parliamentary panel report submitted to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee On Commerce, chaired by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) MP Keshav Rao, has also suggested a slew of measures for attracting investment in the automotive sector in the country, including overhauling of prevalent land and labour laws.

"The committee was informed by the auto industry associations that all the major original equipment manufacturers (OEM) have cut down their production by 18-20 per cent due to low demand and decline in sales of vehicles. As a result, the employment scenario in the automobile sector has been affected and an estimated job loss in the auto sector at 3.45 lakh," the panel said in its report.
Hiring of manpower has been stopped in the auto industry sector. Besides that, 286 auto dealers have been closed. Further, production cuts in the automobile sector have a percolating negative impact on the component industry adversely affecting the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) engaged in the automobile spare parts manufacturing, the report states.

"As informed by the Automobile Industry Associations, the production stoppage at the automotive OEM and component supplier due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns led to a loss of approximately Rs 2,300 crore per day to the automotive sector," according to the report.
The standing committee further said the actual magnitude of the impact depends on the duration of lockdown period, the intensity and extent of spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Considering the crisis, it is predicted that the automobile industry is likely to go through at least two consecutive years of severe contraction, leading to low levels of capacity utilisation, lack of future CAPEX investment, high risk of bankruptcy and job losses across the entire automotive value chain, the committee said. 


11.2. Bajaj Auto to set up Rs 650 crore manufacturing plant in Chakan, Maharashtra 
ANI, Dec. 23, 2020 

The facility is expected to start production in 2023 and will be utilised for manufacturing high-end KTM, Husqvarna and Triumph motorcycles as well as for electric vehicles starting with Chetak. 

"The proposed investment further reinforces the commitment of Bajaj Auto to the state of Maharashtra where the journey began," the company said in a statement adding that it is being done in the year when Bajaj Auto celebrates its 75th anniversary. MUMBAI: Two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Maharashtra to set up a manufacturing facility with a proposed investment of Rs 650 crore in Chakan, the biggest industrial corridor in western suburbs of Pune.
The facility is expected to start production in 2023 and will be utilised for manufacturing high-end KTM, Husqvarna and Triumph motorcycles as well as for electric vehicles starting with Chetak. 

The state government will facilitate Bajaj Auto in obtaining necessary permissions, registrations, approvals, clearances and fiscal incentives from the concerned departments as per existing policies.
"The proposed investment further reinforces the commitment of Bajaj Auto to the state of Maharashtra where the journey began," the company said in a statement adding that it is being done in the year when Bajaj Auto celebrates its 75th anniversary.
Present in over 70 nations, Bajaj Auto is the world's third-largest manufacturer of motorcycles and the largest manufacturer of three-wheelers. 


12.1. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to invest $150 million to set up global digital hub in Hyderabad 
ET HR World, Dec.16, 2020 

FCA ICT India will create nearly 1,000 new cutting-edge technology jobs by the end of 2021 and has plans to increase hiring over the next two to three years. 

The newly recruited employees will work on exciting products and concepts that will define the future of mobility at FCA. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced the investment of $150 million to set up a new Global Digital Hub in Hyderabad. FCA ICT India, FCA’s new innovation and technology development facility is the company’s largest Digital Hub outside of North America and EMEA. The investment significantly expands the automobile manufacturing group’s presence in the country. 
FCA ICT India will create nearly 1,000 new cutting-edge technology jobs by the end of 2021 and has plans to increase hiring over the next two to three years. The newly recruited employees will work on exciting products and concepts that will define the future of mobility at FCA. The Global Digital Hub will serve as a ‘transformation and innovation engine’ for FCA and drive global IT strategy, and deliver excellence through a robust platform, technology and service centers of excellence.

Mamatha Chamarthi, CIO, FCA, North America and Asia Pacific, said, “In the digital era, data is the new currency. Our goal is to build an innovation powerhouse that harnesses the intelligence enabled by data to build exciting new products and services to deliver at the speed of our customers’ expectations. One of the key objectives of FCA ICT India is to digitalize every aspect of FCA’s automotive operations globally and within India, and to shift from legacy to digital through adoption of emerging technologies. We are fostering a strong, global culture of innovation and entrepreneurship to promote agility at scale, and drive customer-centricity.”

Karim Lalani, Director and Head of FCA ICT India, said, “We are working closely with strategic technology partners to accelerate our talent and competency ramp-up at FCA ICT India. We are also aggressively hiring, and the response has been overwhelming. I am excited to see the new ideas and technologies our talented engineers and data scientists will develop for our customers. We foresee our Global Digital Hub driving innovation in multiple areas, including customer safety, connected mobility and digital showroom experience. We are excited to build a truly pioneering, global digital hub that will strengthen FCA’s position as a global mobility leader.”

Partha Datta, President and Managing Director, FCA India, said, “The $150 million investment to set up a Global Digital Hub in Hyderabad, Telangana cements our continued commitment to India and our customers. FCA ICT India will be our technology backbone that will not only help us develop products for future mobility but will also sharpen our efforts to enhance customer-centricity. This is a significant step forward in realizing our vision to make our Indian operations more capable to develop digitally-driven products and technologies locally for India and also for the world.”
FCA has a presence in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, with headquarters in Mumbai and employs over 3,000 people. With the Global Digital Hub, FCA will be expanding its presence in Telangana. 


12.2. HFCL commences mass production of FTTH cables at its new facility in Hyderabad 
ET Gov. Dec.17, 2020 

Expanding FTTH rollouts will not only boost our country’s 4G connectivity but it will also enhance our readiness for 5G. 

Railways, telecom and defence sector's advanced communication network provider HFCL has commenced mass production of optical fiber cables for Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) applications at its newly established facility in Hyderabad.
With the launch of this new facility, HFCL together with its subsidiary HTL Limited, has become the largest manufacturer of FTTH cables in India with a capacity of 6 lakh kms per annum, the company said in a press release.
The Company had earlier invested ₹260 crore in Hyderabad plant for manufacturing of optical fiber that was commissioned in January, 2020. The new state-of-the-art, automated high-speed FTTH cable facility has come up with a fresh outlay of ₹40 crore to ensure high throughput, economies of scale and highest quality standards. So far, the company has invested ₹300 crore in Hyderabad facility as part of its expansion roadmap, the release said.

Elaborating on the capabilities of the plant, Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director, HFCL said, "Our latest facility in Hyderabad makes HFCL the largest FTTH player in the country. India is seeing buoyant FTTH activity driven by private telcos and government’s thrust on rural network deployment. Expanding FTTH rollouts will not only boost our country’s 4G connectivity but it will also enhance our readiness for 5G. The momentum in penetration of high-speed internet, increasing investment in digital networks and growing demand for affordable access makes us excited to serve the next generation communication needs of customers in India and across the globe."

The FTTH cable plant has backward integration for supplies of major raw materials like optical fiber and ARP rods from the company’s existing manufacturing facilities, further strengthening the supply chain, it said.
Apart from supplying FTTH cables to telecom service providers in India, HFCL will also be exporting them to more than 30 countries where the company is already having its presence. The company markets the FTTH cables under its brand name of HFCL.
The company's R&D facilities are developing different variants of new cables which will also be manufactured from the Hyderabad facility, it added.
HFCL is engaged in manufacturing of high end transmission and access equipment, optical fiber, optical fiber cables (OFC) and specializes in setting up modern communication networks for telecom service providers, Railways, Defence, Smart Cities and surveillance projects. 


13. Pegatron, Tata to set up Apple products manufacturing plants in Tamil Nadu; jobs likely for 32,000 people 
TNN, Jan. 06, 2021, D. Govardan 

The Taiwan-based Pegatron is the second largest manufacturer of Apple products and has chosen Mahindra City as the site for its proposed plant in India. 
The state is expected to formalize agreements with Taiwan-based Pegatron and Tata Electronics around Pongal festival to facilitate establishing units to manufacture Apple products.

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is set to start 2021 on a positive note on the industrial investments front by signing two major MoUs, among others, in the electronics manufacturing segment in January. The state is expected to formalize agreements with Taiwan-based Pegatron and Tata Electronics around Pongal festival to facilitate establishing units to manufacture Apple products, multiple sources said.
The Taiwan-based Pegatron is the second largest manufacturer of Apple products and has chosen Mahindra City as the site for its proposed plant in India. It is likely to invest around Rs1,200 crore in the first phase to employ about 14,000 people. A subsequent phase will see the company doubling its investment and employment potential, sources with leading international property advisories said.

Yet another MoU will be signed by the government with Tata Electronics, which will make components for Apple products. It is investing Rs5,000 crore and will employ 18,000 people in the first phase. The company too has lined up higher investments and employment opportunities in subsequent phases. It has already broken ground and started construction work at GMR SEZ near Hosur in Krishnagiri district. The MoU will formalize the investment plans and tune it in line with the state government's investment incentives. When contacted by TOI, state government officials declined to comment. "Nothing has been finalized yet and companies are generally in talks with more than one state," an official said. In the case of Pegatron, the Taiwan company's board had recently cleared the investment plan for a new plant in India to make iPhones. It was in talks with both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron are the three leading makers of phones for Apple. While Foxconn is already located near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Wistron opted for Karnataka. Wistron's Karnataka operations recently witnessed a labour strife that resulted in arson and large-scale damage to property, even though the company said the manufacturing equipment remained safe.
The development seems to have convinced Pegatron to settle for a site in Tamil Nadu and it opted for Mahindra World City, a multi-product SEZ about 40 km south off Chennai on the GST Road. Both Pegatron and Tata Electronics are opting for the Government of India's production-linked incentives to drive exports.

In September, Tamil Nadu government unveiled its ambitious Electronic Hardware Manufacturing Policy seeking to transform the state into a globally competitive Electronics Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) destination. The policy sought to increase Tamil Nadu's electronics industry output to $100 billion by 2025 and to contribute 25% of total electronic exports to the world from India by that time. In order to promote electronic manufacturing clusters, Tamil Nadu has categorized the districts into Class A, B and C for administering state-level incentives. To cater to the workforce needs of the industry, the state has plans to train one lakh youngsters on skilled and semi-skilled streams. 


14.1. Indian Railways successfully completes 180-km speed trial with Vistadome coaches 
ET Gov. Jan. 02, 2021 

Fully air-conditioned, aesthetically designed vistadome tourist coaches, the first-of-its kind to operate on the Indian Railways network, come with a GPS-based information system and toilets with ceramic tile flooring. 

Indian Railways has successfully completed a speed trial of 180 km per hour for a new design vistadome tourist coach. The vistadome coaches mostly operate in mountain railways and are specially designed to make train journeys scenic and memorable. The coaches are expected to give a boost to tourism, according to the Railway Ministry.
Manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, the European-style coaches come with technologically-advanced features for improved passenger's comfort and offer a panoramic view during the train journey.

The first vistadome Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coach for the broad gauge (BG) lines was cleared for the 180 km per hour oscillation trial.
These tourist coaches boast of large windows on the sides and have glass panels on the roof of the trains.
These coaches are being operated on selected routes on the Indian Railways network including the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Kangra Valley Railway, Kashmir Valley, Kalka-Shimla Railway, Matheran Hill Railway between Dadar in Mumbai and Madgaon in Goa and in the Araku Valley of Andhra Pradesh.

The premium vistadome coaches provide glass observation lounge as they are fitted with wide windowpanes and a roof of switchable glass that becomes either transparent or translucent with just the click of a switch.
Among other features, the vistadome coach also has a GPS-based information system and toilets with ceramic tile flooring. These air-conditioned, aesthetically designed tourist coaches are the first-of-its kind to operate on the Indian Railways network.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said on his Twitter handle @PiyushGoyal:
Ending the year on a great note: Indian Railways' train successfully completed 180 km per hour speed trial of new design Vistadome tourist coach; these coaches will make train journeys memorable for the passengers Railway track and give further boost to tourism. 


14.2. Robots change game for diamond sector 
TNN, Jan. 11, 2021, Melvyn Reggie Thomas 

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown have wreaked havoc on Surat’s diamond industry, which has so far been labour intensive. The pandemic deeply affected the industry as almost half of the cases in Surat, from June to September, were reported from the diamond units. 

In 20 minutes, the robots can complete a diamond processing task that a skilled worker would take two hours to do.Robots are replacing skilled artisans in the world’s largest diamond cutting and polishing centre in Surat. Thanks to the ‘new normal’ caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, robots have become a game-changer for many diamond barons in Surat.
The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown have wreaked havoc on Surat’s diamond industry, which has so far been labour intensive. The pandemic deeply affected the industry as almost half of the cases in Surat, from June to September, were reported from the diamond units. With social distancing becoming a priority, diamond processing units find it difficult to maintain their outputs.
The situation has made many diamantaires realize that in the new normal, digital technology and automation are inevitable. The bigger diamond units have already begun shifting to robotic technology to increase their production.

Robotic technology, industry players say, can make some of the most complex aspects of diamond polishing perfectly automated and error-free. Right from planning the rough diamonds to cutting and polishing, robots perform all the tasks with precision.
Vice-chairman of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), Vipul Shah told TOI, “Over the years, diamond manufacturing units have been upgrading to newer technologies to improve the quality and quantity of production. We always require skilled workers, but post-Covid outbreak the scenario is different.” Shah added, “The labgrown diamond industry is growing fast, and skilled workers have an option. So, along with skilled workers, we have to adopt the latest automation technology to increase production.”
According to industry sources, only one operator is required to run five intelligent robots. Thus, the rules of social distancing can be fully complied with. These intelligent robots complete the integration of CAD-CAM solutions between diamond planner and diamond cutting equipment.

In 20 minutes, the robots can complete a diamond processing task that a skilled worker would take two hours to do.
Shailesh Italiya, owner of Twara Diamond, who has invested in robotic technology, told TOI, “The lockdown has caused problems in the diamond industry and in all other industries. But I think if we understand automation and robotics properly and adopt them, we will get out of this problematic situation very quickly.”
Italiya added, “Through the robotic technology, we have been able to take our production to the next level even though we don’t have enough diamond workers because of the stricter norms.”
Hitesh Patel, managing director, Dharmanandan Diamonds Private Limited said, “Robotic technology is the only way out to achieve more production in a shorter time. There are indigenous and foreign players offering automation technology. We are investing heavily in automation technology to improve production when there is a severe dearth of workers due to social distancing norms.”

Surat-based Sahajanand Technologies Private Limited (STPL) has already developed an indigenous robot for the diamond industry. “Diamond processors who understand the importance of digital solutions will outperform others in a more competitive world. Robotics and automation allow for faster, more quantitative and better quality production in less time, less space and with fewer craftsmen,” said Rahul Gaywala, CEO, STPL.
The robotic technology, however, will not affect employment of skilled workers, say industry players. Robotic automation is being adopted only by the big units who can afford the high costs involved. Medium and small units, which form a major part of the diamond industry, will continue to depend on skilled artisans for diamond processing. On the other hand, the labgrown diamond industry has emerged as an alternative employer for the skilled artisans. 


15.1. Big incentive scheme coming for wearables, hearables, IoT devices and drones in 2021 
ET Bureau, Jan, 052021, Surabhi Agarwal 

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is in the process of chalking out an incentive scheme for manufacturing such devices and expects to launch it in the coming months. 

The government is planning a big push for the domestic manufacture of new technology devices – including wearables (smartwatches/ fitness trackers), hearables (in-ear wireless hearing devices), drones, virtual/augmented reality and Internet of Things products -- in the country this year.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is in the process of chalking out an incentive scheme for manufacturing such devices and expects to launch it in the coming months.
The sops will be in line with the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched for mobile phones and components last year and is aimed at capturing the huge, anticipated demand for wearable, hearables as well as IoT and VR devices.

“These devices are becoming quite popular, so the incentive scheme will be targeted at capturing that demand and enabling their manufacturing in India,” said an official aware of the development. Most of these devices are currently imported.
There is demand for 2-3 billion IoT devices currently, and it is expected to increase to 5 billion over the next two-three years, the official added.
The incentive scheme is the latest initiative to drive domestic manufacturing after the Rs 50,000-crore package under three schemes to attract large smartphone and component manufacturing companies to set up base here.

ET reported earlier that the government was close to unveiling sops worth Rs 7,300 crore for laptops, servers and tablets in the next few weeks.
It is also in the process of once again calling component manufacturers to take advantage of the PLI scheme and has invited applications for semiconductor fabs.
It makes higher business sense for companies to set up chip fabrication units in the country, the official said, adding that India currently accounts for 3.5% of global manufacturing but the percentage will increase significantly going forward.
“We are telling companies to look at the potential of India five years from now and the government is ready to not only offer incentives but also aggregate the demand for the players -- be it for the smart cities, IoT devices, industry 4.0, smart metering etc,” the official said.

The current manufacturing push will create a huge base in the country over the next five years, the official added.
The PLI scheme, launched last year, received responses from the likes of iPhone contract makers Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron, as well as Samsung, Karbonn, Lava and Dixon, and will lead to manufacturing worth Rs 11.5 lakh crore.
The success of the scheme, especially the PLI for mobile manufacturing, made the government unveil similar schemes for 10 additional sectors including automobiles, pharmaceuticals, solar and textiles with a total outlay of Rs 1.46 lakh crore. 


15.2. India's first toy cluster to generate 30,000 direct jobs 
IANS, Jan. 10, 2021 

Spread over 400 acres of land, the toy manufacturing cluster is expected to attract Rs 5,000 crore worth of investments and comes with the potential to generate direct employment for about 30,000 people. 

The global toy industry experienced continued growth, reaching a value of $90.7 billion in 2019, posting a 0.5 per cent growth over 2018.Koppal: The next time your child plays with a remote controlled car, watch it, as it might well be manufactured in Karnataka.
Bhanapur, a remote village in Koppal district, is poised to attain star status with the Karnataka government the laying foundation stone for the country's first toy manufacturing cluster in the village on Saturday.
Spread over 400 acres of land, the toy manufacturing cluster is expected to attract Rs 5,000 crore worth of investments and comes with the potential to generate direct employment for about 30,000 people.

The manufacturing campus is being promoted by Aequs SEZ Pvt Ltd in partnership with Karnataka. Bhanapur village in Koppal district, which has a population of less than 2,000 people, is located 365 km from Bengaluru.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'Vocal For Local', and to boost toy manufacturing, Koppala will have India's first toy manufacturing cluster.
After taking part in the foundation stone laying ceremony here, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said that the toy manufacturing cluster will contain over 100 units with a potential to generate 25,000 to 30,000 direct jobs and over one lakh jobs indirectly.
He added that the toy manufacturing industry is labour intensive and most of the workers are women, hence this toy cluster coming up at Koppal is a bold step towards empowering women.

"This is a momentous occasion as the Koppal toy cluster is the first in the country. The construction of the campus is expected to be completed by December this year. If it happens, we will invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the toy cluster," Yediyurappa said.
The CM said that preference would be given to women for employment in the manufacturing cluster in Koppal. "Women who are earning Rs 200 per day now will be able to earn Rs 600 per day. We will prioritise employment for women and Aequs has promised to train the locals in skill development," he said.
Karnataka is the third-largest market for toys in India and is worth $159 million, 9.1 per cent of the national market. The industries department said the state has invited domestic and global toy makers in line with the Prime Minister's vision of boosting toy manufacturing in India.

Karnataka is poised to emerge as a leading toy-making cluster due to the robust ecosystem the state has created to support toy-making industries, the industries department claimed.
The state has supported and nurtured tool manufacturing and precision engineering (TMTP), polymers manufacturing clusters in Bengaluru, Dharwad, Tumkuru and Mysuru, robust design capacity and testing certification agencies in Bengaluru, Dharwad and Koppala and GTTC (Government Tool Room and Training Centre).
"Koppal has a tradition of making traditional toys such as Kinnala. It is against this backdrop that we aim to make Koppal the country's toy-making hub by promoting this art. I want to thank Aequs and other toy industries who have joined hands with the government initiative," Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said.

He said the foundation of this toy cluster has played a vital role in unlocking Karnataka's toy-making capacity.
The Koppal toy cluster will be a one-stop destination, facilitating globally competitive and reliable manufacturing solutions with co-located facilities.
Regarding apprehension among the locals that the promised jobs would be given to those from outside the district, Shettar said that 80 per cent of the jobs would be given to the locals from Koppal and other parts of the state.

"We are implementing the Sarojini Maharshi report which calls for employment for locals. We will give companies a margin of 10-20 per cent of their workforce to be hired from outside the state. These will be the high-level skilled jobs. First preference will be given to the residents of Koppal," Shettar said.

Prior to the BJP coming to power in the state, the toy manufacturing cluster was to come up in Ramanagara district. However, Koppal was chosen in 2018 by former Industries Minister and Congress MLA R.V. Deshpande as it is 380 km away from Bengaluru, 400 km from Hyderabad, 95 km from Hubballi and 215 km from Belagavi, all of which have airports. Koppal also has a well-connected railway network and is strategically closer to Mumbai, Goa, Mangaluru, Visakhapatnam, Chennai and Thoothukudi, which have major ports.
The global toy industry experienced continued growth, reaching a value of $90.7 billion in 2019, posting a 0.5 per cent growth over 2018.
On the other hand, India's toy industry has grown at a CAGR of 15.9 per cent during 2011-19 to $1.75 billion in 2019, principal secretary (industries) Gaurav Gupta said.

"Karnataka's toy market grew at a CAGR of 17.54 per cent between 2010 and 2017. Currently, Karnataka is the third-largest market for toys in India. It constitutes 9.1 per cent of the national market valued at $159 million," he claimed.
The six companies that signed the MoUs include Playgro Industries Pvt Ltd, which is investing $15 million to manufacture remote controlled cars in Koppal with its manufacturing unit spread across 4 lakh sq ft; Sterling New Horizons Pvt Ltd, whose manufacturing unit will be spread across 50,000 sq ft and it will invest $10 million; Hotshot Tooling and Engineering Ltd, which will invest $6 million in a manufacturing unit spread across 1 lakh sq ft; Aequs Force Consumer Products Pvt Ltd, which will invest $60 million for a unit spread across 6 lakh sq ft; and Aequs Engineering Plastics Pvt Ltd, which will invest $80 million in a manufacturing unit spread across 8 lakh sq ft. 


- SERVICES (Education, Healthcare, IT, R&D, Tourism, etc.) 


16.1. IT firms hired 80,000 people in last two months of 2020 
ET Bureau, Jan. 08, 2021, Ayan Pramanik 

Most of those recruited were for technology areas such as Custom Application Development, Digital Engineering, Product Engineering, Infrastructure support and BPM. 

Analysts said hiring of freshers also witnessed a surge during the last two months, unlike in previous years.Bengaluru: The IT services industry hired about 81,000 people across mid- to senior-levels during the last two months of 2020, on robust demand from tech services companies and captive centres of global firms, hiring agencies said.
The combined recruitment by technology services companies, captive centres and business process management (BPM) companies came on the back of a 10% increase in hiring in December alone compared to the year-ago period, according to Han Digital, an IT-BPM recruitment research firm.

During the November-December period in 2019, the industry hired 75,000 people.
This number, however, does not reflect net new job creation by the sector.
“Usually IT-BPM sector’s onboarding number is relatively lesser in December. However, December onboarding was 10% higher than hiring in 2019. However, the November numbers are almost equal to 2019,” Saran Balasundaram, founder and chief executive officer of Han Digital told ET.
Most of those recruited were for technology areas such as Custom Application Development, Digital Engineering, Product Engineering, Infrastructure support and BPM.

Han Digital expects the industry to undertake a minimum recruitment (job change) of 160,000, given anticipated higher attrition of between 16% and 18% this year.
Analysts said hiring of freshers also witnessed a surge during the last two months, unlike in previous years.
Balasundaram pointed out that one of the top five Indian IT firms is creating a bench of highly skilled employees, due to increased competition and demand for new digital technology-led projects.
The IT-BPM industry will end the ongoing financial year with a significant net employee addition despite the impact of the outbreak on businesses, said Sangeeta Gupta, chief strategy officer of industry body Nasscom.
“The hiring activity picked up during the last two months and onboarding started for freshers too,” said Gupta.

Typically, IT services companies recruit most freshers during the January-March period and the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Kamal Karanth, co-founder of specialist staffing agency Xpheno, said hiring growth in December rose sharply compared to the previous year.
“Some of the captive centres in the financial services and banking space added nearly 2,000 people each last year despite the pandemic. We might see further rise in overall hiring in January,” Karanth said. 


16.2. UP achieves 5-year electronics manufacturing target, creates employment for 300.000 people 
TNN, Jan. 15, Neha Laichandani 

An Electronic Manufacturing Cluster is also being set up in the National Capital Region where foreign companies like Oppo, three Indian companies and four Taiwanese companies are setting up their units with an expected investment of Rs 2,000 crore. 

“We had to achieve the target of getting investment of Rs 20,000 crore and employment to three lakh persons by 2022 but achieved it two years earlier with as many as 30 investors ready to invest in the sector due to the policies of the state,” said Alok Tandon, industrial infrastructure and industrial development commissioner.

LUCKNOW: The UP government has achieved its five year targets for the electronics manufacturing sector in just three years, it has claimed. In three years, it has attracted investments of Rs 20,000 crore and generated employment for 300.000 persons.
The government has said that due to its policies, especially during the Covid-19 period, companies from China, Taiwan, Korea have shown interest in investing in the state.

‘30 investors ready to invest in mfg sector’

An Electronic Manufacturing Cluster is also being set up in the National Capital Region where foreign companies like Oppo, three Indian companies and four Taiwanese companies are setting up their units with an expected investment of Rs 2,000 crore.
“We had to achieve the target of getting investment of Rs 20,000 crore and employment to three lakh persons by 2022 but achieved it two years earlier with as many as 30 investors ready to invest in the sector due to the policies of the state,” said Alok Tandon, industrial infrastructure and industrial development commissioner. He added that Noida, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Expressway areas had come up as electronics manufacturing hubs. Samsung, with the largest mobile phone manufacturing unit in the world, is also located in Noida. 


17.1. Tatas to upgrade 225 Gujarat Industrial Training Institutes 
TNN, Dec. 24, 2020, Kapil Dave 

Tata Group has proposed the PPP (public-private partnership) model to upgrade the 225 ITIs in the state. The group has already tied up with the Gujarat government for setting up and operating Indian Institute of Skills (IIS). 

Almost a decade after setting up its Nano project in Gujarat, Tata Group has proposed a fresh big-ticket investment in the state — of over Rs 7,000 crore to upgrade Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

GANDHINAGAR: Almost a decade after setting up its Nano project in Gujarat, Tata Group has proposed a fresh big-ticket investment in the state — of over Rs 7,000 crore to upgrade Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). The move is expected to bridge the demand-supply gap in terms of trained blue-collar workers in diverse and emerging industries of Gujarat.
Tata Group has proposed the PPP (public-private partnership) model to upgrade the 225 ITIs in the state. The group has already tied up with the Gujarat government for setting up and operating Indian Institute of Skills (IIS). The project to upgrade ITIs is being seen as a natural progression of the IIS proposal.

Except for the admission process, Tata Group will manage all aspects of the functioning of the ITIs in the state for five years. Ownership rights of the institutes will, however, remain with the state government. Tata Group has proposed an investment of Rs 34 crore for each ITI and the total upgrade cost will be about Rs 7,650 crore. Tata Group will bear 88% of the cost, while the government will take care of the remainder.
In its proposal to the state government, Tata Group said, “Towards PM Modi’s Skill India programme, we have already contributed for developing IIS in Gujarat.”
The proposal went on to say: “During the inaugural address of IIS, Union home minister Amit Shah had suggested that our group examines the possibility for upgradation of the ITIs and it really motivated us to help the ITIs in the state.”

The company added: “Tata Technologies, along with the Gujarat government, would like to upgrade 225 government ITIs in the state of Gujarat with latest industrial technology tools, hardware, machinery, course and integration. The ITI facility upgradation will be majorly funded by the industries led by Tata Technologies.”
Manoj Das, additional chief secretary at the chief minister’s office and the industries and mines department, confirmed the development. “The proposal of Tata Technologies for upgrading the ITIs is under active consideration,” Das said. “The state government, under the Skill India mission, has made a series of reforms. Tata Group has significant presence in the state in various sectors and its technical expertise will help the state enhance skills of youth and workforce.” 


17.2. Amazon India launches 'Amazon Academy' to help students prep for JEE 
IBEF, Jan. 14, 2021 

Amazon India introduced 'Amazon Academy' on Wednesday, an online platform that enables engineering learners prepare for competitive examinations such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). 

In January and April, JEE (Mains), the entry exam for engineering colleges across India, is conducted twice a year. JEE (Advanced) is intended for admission to the Indian Technology Institutes (IITs). 

'Amazon Academy' platform provides tailored learning resources in maths, physics and chemistry, live tutorials, and detailed evaluations. 

The beta version of the platform is accessible on the Web and on the Google Play Store and is free for everyone. The app from the play store has now been downloaded over a million times. 

At planned intervals, Amazon Academy will also conduct live in All India Mock Tests (AIMT). These tests are intended to illustrate the JEE expertise to help students understand the complexities of the exam. Students can also benefit through shortcuts, mnemonics, hints, and tricks, equipping learners with the tools required to maintain concepts and effectively solve questions. 

The platform provides students an All-India Rank for their mock test to determine JEE aspirants track their progress and evaluate their test performance through customised reports detailing chapter-wise time and strength analysis. 

It also provides regular JEE tricks and tips through its 'Past Daily Digest' feature. 

Mr. Anmol Gurwara, education director at Amazon India said, “The goal of Amazon Academy is to provide high-quality, affordable education for all, beginning with those planning for entrance examinations for engineering. Our purpose is to help students achieve their result while also empowering educators and content partners reach millions of students.” 

He said, “Our primary objective has been on the quality of content, deep learning analytics and experience of students.” 

This launch will enable aspiring engineers to better plan and achieve the winning edge in JEE. The online curriculum of the website will include more than 15,000 high-quality questions covering the whole JEE syllabus, mock tests including chapter-wise tests, part tests, full tests, and previous papers to study for the whole JEE syllabus. 

For students of Classes 11 and 12, Amazon Academy has separate JEE Main and Advanced syllabuses. According to the statement, the content for the platform was developed by qualified professionals. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same. 


18. IIT Jodhpur partners with WhizHack Technologies to build a new centre for excellence 
ET Bureau, Dec. 23, 2020 

The CoE will also launch Certificate Learning Programs for placement linked skill training in cyber defense and part-time M.Tech. programs specializing in cyber security for graduates and working professionals. 

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur and WhizHack Technologies Private Limited signed an MoU to build a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for new innovations in cyber security, AI and IoT, slated to be the country's first Indian product engineering and human capital development company that manages complete value chain of secured cyber environment.
This CoE is being set up for the purpose of advancing scientific and technological products and services IPs for protecting assets of India’s strategic importance like government infrastructure, enterprises and digital forensics for police and defence forces. With the dearth in India’s cyber security workforce, the burgeoning security breaches and Government’s priority to strengthen India’s cyber security resource, this collaboration comes at a pertinent time, it said in a statement.

“Emerging technologies like cyber security are crucial for India’s self-reliance in national digital security and youth empowerment by bringing together the best of Indian and global academic excellence and industrial knowledge," Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director IIT Jodhpur, said.
The CoE will also launch Certificate Learning Programs for placement linked skill training in cyber defense and part-time M.Tech. programs specializing in cyber security for graduates and working professionals.
“This collaboration with IIT Jodhpur, provides a great opportunity for capacity building and exporting talent in an accelerated manner for the skill intensive cyber security industry. Globally, we want empowered Indians to leverage the huge cyber security market due to higher digital adoption, post Covid, and an increased proliferation of sophisticated cyber criminals,” Kallol Sil, MD, WhizHack Technologies, said.

According to NASSCOM, global cyber attacks along with data protection and privacy laws are estimated to lead to a $35 billion revenue opportunity creating over two million new cybersecurity jobs to India’s workforce by 2025. However, India’s cybersecurity workforce shortage already stands nearly 10% higher than the global average and there is a critical need to address the demand for job-ready security professionals through skills-based initiatives. 


19.1. How TCS turned Covid crisis into an opportunity 
ET Now, Dec, 18, 2020 

"Double-digit growth for the IT industry is a real and achievable target and something that we are 100% going for," says Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & MD, TCS. 

Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & MD, TCS The real long-term trend that will redefine industry structure operating models is this idea of borderless organisations which can seamlessly partner and collaborate in larger ecosystems to deliver value to the customer, says. Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO & MD, TCS.

How has the Covid crisis turned out to be an opportunity for TCS?
This has been a phenomenal year in many ways. It is unbelievable what you have gone through but what is most important is that all of us -- in TCS and the rest of the industry and the economy -- have been so resilient and so adaptable and true human spirit has been at the forefront of the way we have bounced back and dealt with this unprecedented pandemic.
As we look back at it, it is a year that gives us a lot of confidence and a lot of hope when the chips are down. Collectively, we will do the right thing and we are a very resilient bunch. In any such unexpected transmitive periods, changes that have come about, will leave their mark long into the future. From the TCS perspective, there are a couple of changes which are interrelated and which will significantly shape the way we go forward.

One of our four underlying technology pillars was cloud and over the last three years it had been gaining traction but this pandemic has significantly accelerated that transmission and it is very important not just from technology platform perspective but also from the fact that it has introduced something even more important and that is borderless operations. We have spoken about borderless operating model from a TCS talent perspective, but the real long term trend that will redefine industry structure operating models is this idea of borderless organisations which can seamlessly partner and collaborate in larger ecosystems to deliver value to the customer.

Industry after industry are getting transformed through this borderless operating model and we ourselves are at the forefront of it and we ourselves are transforming the way we are operating. I believe the real excitement is the implications it has for the wider set of customers that we serve. Over the next 5-10 years, the seamless fabric of technology enabled by cloud, the seamless fabric of talent enabled by providers like TCS and this underlying operating model of borderless organisations is what is going to redefine the industry for the next many years to come.

If COVID had not happened, do you think this kind of digital transformation, especially on the cloud front, would have opened up?
It is not a question of yes or no, but it would have taken a lot longer. The technology relevance has been long excepted. The question that was haunting people was what is the right time to do it and what is the ROI of a decision like that and what is the payback? When the renewals were happening, they were always happening on the cloud but there was not enough push to move away from the existing state to a cloud-based estate. That question has been answered through the whole Covid crisis because the power of resilience, the power of adaptability, the power of security that cloud provides is very visible. If your business was up and running within week or so and compared to a competitor who was taking let us say three or four weeks or a month or more, the business value of it was immeasurable, not just in immediate profits and revenues delivered but in terms of the confidence it generated. So the equation with which these cloud transformation decisions were being evaluated has completely changed and that has given an accelerated push. I believe that in the next few years, we are going to see significant attraction and a lot more acceleration on a path that we were anyway on.

In your presentations you have said that the cloud penetration even in big countries like America is not even 30-35%. So can I safely assume that you can perhaps see the visibility of growth and transformation for next three to four years and this is just not a sugar rush?
Absolutely. This is not definitely a sugar rush and to that, I want to go back to what I said about borderless. If you think about what companies are going through, if you take banking for example, the entire product set of the bank has got unbundled and they are getting cherry picked by individual, best of breed providers -- be it mortgage or auto loans or any of the individual product sets.
But the response to it has been that they need to change their operating model from product sale led operating model to a more perpetual interactive rich relationship with their customers and that requires an operating model which is similar to ours, in the way we deal with our customers. So the consumer-oriented companies did not necessarily enjoy operating models that involved significant interactivity with their customers and that is going to change or that is currently changing and that change is getting accelerated. In order to do that, it requires both a technology platform and more importantly, a partner ecosystem platform that allows them to operate in this borderless world.

When you think about a borderless operating world, your value proposition changes significantly. It is no longer the current functionality or how good your current product or services are. It becomes a lot more about who you are and what are the values that you stand for and are you a reliable partner in the long term and that kind of purpose led operating model is the model of the future.
As clients shift to this purpose-led operating model, they will seek out partners who have always operated in that model, who have a history of having successfully transformed and stayed over decades in a purpose-led transformative model. I believe that is the industry structure of the future and cloud is only an enabler which will accelerate this path and therefore it is by no means a sugar rush. It is a defining characteristic of the next decade’s infrastructure.

There are two ways that a company grows – the size of the opportunity and the market share gain. What would be your endeavour now – focus on the big pie or focus on grabbing more market share also?
Both. Let me put it in perspective. We have about 1,000 odd customers. For about 500 of them we are a significant provider, $5-10 million of revenue a year which irrespective of the size of the customer is a fairly big size relationship for both parties. But even if I look at my top 500 customers, I would say that for less than 10-20% of the customers we have the kind of relationship that I described where we are actually complete holistic partners where we are operating in this kind of an ecosystem model where we are bringing everything that we have and the customer also knows that we are in it for good. That kind of relationship is there with less than 20% of our customers and that is the huge opportunity to grow inside our own customer base.

So systematically keep on expanding the richness and the sophistication of the relationship because these are fundamental value pillars for us. We have demonstrated that value to many of our existing customers and that forms a phenomenal reference base. There is a huge headroom to significantly transform the kind of relationship that we have in our existing customer base. When you look at the extended market, we are less than 3% of the market and that leaves phenomenal headroom for expansion into the uncontested areas and market share gains.
So there are huge opportunities in that and none of this addresses the fact that technology is continuously redefining industry structures worldwide. It is expanding our addressable market even more. So there are multiple dimensions of growth but all are coming out of this common core which is built on our own values.

Up until now, Indian IT companies have always competed with an Accenture or Cognizant. Do you think the market share and the competitive landscape could be very different now?
Beauty of our industry is that it is always evolving. The landscape today and into the next five years will be quite different from that in the last five-ten years. But I see it as an ecosystem play. The value that we bring and the value that technology provides us like the hyper scalers bring are distinct. Will there be some level of diffusion of the boundary? Probably. But we should be comfortable with being cooperative and competitive at the same place and that has been a longstanding principle.
I believe the extent of transformation required and extent of transformation challenge in front is so high that there is much more value in working together than in working against and that will be the underlying principle of collaboration that guide these relationships.

We do not know what happens beyond five-ten years but we need to trust in the dynamism of this industry that the change will happen and all that we need to do is to position ourselves appropriately to continuously keep ourselves relevant to our customers. I am very confident of TCS’ ability to do that because it goes back to our fundamental beliefs. Three-four-five years ago, there used to be lot of scepticism about TCS’s ability to transform and we used to be very steadfast in saying that our commitment to our people is strong and we are very confident in our ability to retrain and rescale and build on the contextual knowledge that we have so that we will be ready for the digital transformation opportunity that we see.
Today nobody is questioning whether that is there or not. TCS has been a story where we have always been building on our beliefs and been very purpose-led in terms of our commitment to our customers and to our own people and that has turned out to be a winning strategy. I do not think that we need to move away from that.

When do you think the new business will automatically take over from old business? How do you see the revenue pie changing? Could there be a permanent reboot in the margins that you have?
Not necessarily because we have been constantly going through this transformation in our services over the last many decades now. So the margin is not a factor of the services that we provide. The margin is a factor of the relative competitiveness that we enjoy relative to both your customers and relative to your competitors. As long as we do not lose relative competitiveness, the broad margin framework that we operate in should be secure and we should be able to defend it. Obviously, this is not a given, it is not a static kind of a situation. We need to constantly keep investing and transforming but in many ways, it’s like riding a bicycle. You are in a state of dynamic equilibrium and as long as you keep pushing forward and have the skills to deal with the ups and downs, it is not an unsafe place to be in.

What is your big picture assessment? Do you see IT budgets changing dramatically for the next couple of years or is there only going to be an incremental change?
The IT budget as a concept will probably need to be relooked because there will be the budget that is owned by various parts of the organisation and that will go through ups and downs but I am sure the overall spend on technology and services will continuously expand in industry after industry. Now who controls the spend, how does that come to the market, who do we interface with -- we have to be prepared to constantly evolve and that is a space that we have been also investing in significantly.

Our addressable stakeholders and engagement maturity and the engagement sophistication that we have across a wide spectrum of stakeholders is continuously going up. It is a two-way process because five or 10 years ago, many of the functional stakeholders did not care much about technology and when you do not care about technology you do not really care about who your technology partner is but now technology has become a fundamental differentiator for function after function. There is a greater need and a greater openness to engage with your strategic partner on the technology side irrespective of what your own functional responsibilities are.
So on one side, we are stepping up and investing in increasing that engagement and on the other hand, they are also stretching out and seeking out that engagement. In our last customer summit, non-technology executives made for almost 50% of the people who were up on stage. So the budget will need to be rethought and the addressable market is definitely increasing significantly.

You have raised the bar higher with your Q2 numbers. Is that the benchmark now or growth now in future could be more moderated?
There was a significant element of catch up going on in Q2 and hopefully for the next few quarters. But I will be happy to be back on a double digit growth trajectory and the opportunity exists for that. As we look forward into the next year, definitely the momentum is there and as we look beyond, there are positive elements around the entire industry ecosystem that should allow us to continue on that trajectory.

If I say double digit growth for the Indian IT sector is not a distinct dream and is achievable, will I be right?
I think so. It is definitely a real and achievable target and something that we are 100% going for. 


19.2. Indian IT Firms rush in as Europe takes to outsourcing in new normal 
ET Bureau, Jan. 06, 2021, Ayan Pramanik & Anandi Chandrashekhar 

TCS, Infosys and Wipro have made many acquisitions or won large deals in Europe in the last few months as the Covid-19 pandemic pushed companies to transform their businesses quickly. 

Indian IT services providers will step up focus on Europe this year to tap a market that has traditionally shied away from outsourcing, experts said.Bengaluru | Mumbai: Indian IT services providers will step up focus on Europe this year to tap a market that has traditionally shied away from outsourcing, experts said.
Large software services exporters such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro have made many acquisitions or won large deals in the region in the last few months as the Covid-19 pandemic pushed companies to transform their businesses quickly.
These firms will target more acquisitions and bigger deals in the region, analysts said.

“Germany is where the recent ‘mega-deals’ have taken place (in Europe) because most large German firms have never outsourced at scale before, and the current market made it appealing for the likes of Infosys, TCS and Wipro to secure a foothold in the lucrative German market,” said Phil Fersht, CEO, HfS Research.
TCS has increased its interest on Europe and is likely to make more acquisitions in the region, analysts said. According to the company's chief operating officer NG Subramaniam, the region continues to grow at more than 20% year-on-year for the company. In November, TCS acquired Postbank Systems AG from Deutsche Bank in a deal that involved the takeover of 1,500 employees based in Germany. In the same month, the company acquired the IT assets of Pramerica Systems Ireland from insurance firm Prudential Financial Plc.

“It (Europe) is a growth market. In all the places where there is a constraint in quickly getting visas… (both in case of Postbank Systems and Pramerica) we now have access to about 2,500 people who are highly talented with the latest skill sets whom we can quickly deploy,” Subramaniam told ET recently.
Local resource strength will be a winning strategy for technology firms and TCS will look to augment it, analysts said. “TCS has some extremely aggressive topline targets set for 2022, heavily relying on inorganic growth. Most probably we are going to witness multiple acquisitions by TCS in 2021,” said Ashish Chaturvedi, principal analyst at technology consulting firm ISG. 


20.1. Pharma exports get a boost as nations depend less on China 
ET Bureau, Jan. 07, 2021, Divya Rajogopal 


From April 2020 to September 2020 the domestic formulation industry grew 32%, with India’s share in export markets such as US, Europe and African countries growing in double digits. 

Mumbai: India’s domestic pharma companies have seen their exports, especially of anti-viral drugs such as hydroxychloroquine (despite its weak evidence in curing Covid-19) Favipiravir and Remdesivir, to non-regulated markets grow as several countries chose to cut down their exposure to China, data from rating agency CRISIL and the ministry of commerce showed.
“Chinese supply disruptions in early 2020 and persistent quality issues provide opportunities for Indian players as customers look at India as an alternative supplier of bulk drugs. Further, Indian API exporters have been able to garner good realizations on their exports during the first half of this fiscal”, CRISIL in a report.

From April 2020 to September 2020 the domestic formulation industry grew 32%, with India’s share in export markets such as US, Europe and African countries growing in double digits. In its New Year outlook for the Indian healthcare sector, brokerage firm Jefferies said it remains bullish on India’s healthcare sector.
2020 was the best in recent years with the Pharma index outperforming Nifty by 45%, Jefferies wrote in its report published on Wednesday, adding that Indian exports are set to gain on a stable pricing environment and complex product launches.
One of the factors driving the bounce-back of the Indian pharma export has also been the stable US market which had chipped away revenues of several Indian drug companies because of regulatory and pricing issues. Jefferies noted that after several years of the hyper-competitive environment in US generics, market forces have kicked in to ensure excess competition has moved out.

Large Indian manufacturers appear to have been key drivers of generic price erosion, driven by their cost advantage and willingness to do business at lower gross margins, said Piyush Nahar, equity analyst Jefferies. “Things are changing on the margin as Indian companies are starting to get complex product approvals and the phase of volume-driven gains being the sole growth driver also appears to be ending”. 


20.2. Emerging hiring trends & need for employment in pharmaceuticals industry 
ET HR World, Jan. 10, 2021 

There is a shift of focus from conducting the pharmaceutical business in traditional way to adoption of agile working practices so as to ensure technological transformation of the business, aimed at strengthening the healthcare ecosystem. 

The catastrophe, called Covid-19 Pandemic, has changed the entire landscape of businesses globally, especially the dynamics of the Pharmaceuticals Industry. Due to the Covid pandemic, the renewed challenges such as emergent need to accelerate Research and Development efforts, fast-track clinical trials and regulatory approvals, strengthen the IT infrastructure and digitalisation in the wake of sudden spate of cyber-attacks on a couple of Pharma majors, changes in consumer behaviour and emerging importance of health informatics and health analytics, need to have better prevention and early detection mechanism in place, the usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to strengthen the healthcare ecosystem, demands the specialized talent pool more than before.

The abundance of opportunities has become more visible in the ever-changing pharmaceuticals industry.
It is a great news for job seekers from varied backgrounds. Many pharma giants as well as mid-size pharma companies are on the hiring spree in order to strengthen their ecosystems. The war for talent is ON.
The hiring is being done across the board, more specifically in the key functional areas such as Research and Development, Manufacturing, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, Logistics, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and Information Technology.

There is a shift of focus from conducting the pharmaceutical business in traditional way to adoption of agile working practices so as to ensure technological transformation of the business, aimed at strengthening the healthcare ecosystem. The technological transformation of the businesses is being facilitated by increased usage of technology tools such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning approaches, Health Informatics, Health Analytics, Biotechnology and cell as well as gene therapies, which proposition will add substantial value to the ecosystem, thereby saving the cost as well as time for pharma businesses.

There is a paradigm shift in scouting for talent, due to the shifting of focus of the businesses in today’s trying times. To lead the technological transformation, pharmaceuticals companies will need technology experts, business analysts, strategy experts with technological knowhow and technical manpower at operating levels to run the show, more than before. The emerging opportunities in technological, biotech and health informatics space will see enhanced hiring levels in these areas, apart from the core domains such as Research and Development, Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Analytical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain, Logistics, Intellectual Property Rights, Therapeutic Segments, Legal and Human Resources.
The existing and prospective job seekers will be required to upgrade their skill sets and keep themselves updated with the latest technological knowhow, in order to stay in the race.

The Pharma companies are seeking the candidates, who are:
  1. Ethical with high level of integrity
  2. Emotionally intelligent
  3. Wedded to innovation
  4. Highly tech savvy, when it comes to operating the latest equipment and gadgets
  5. Conversant with the latest technology in their domain
  6. Aligned to the changing needs of the pharma business
  7. Quick thinkers and learners
  8. Receptive to innovations and ideas
  9. Quality conscious, familiar with ICH guidelines and updated about various developments in their domain
  10. Thorough to deal with complex problems such as Data Integrity and ensure that it becomes the way of life in their respective setups
  11. Abreast with ever changing regulatory practices
  12. Confident with sharp instinct to innovate and challenge the status quo
  13. Collaborative across the borders
  14. Agile marketers navigating in foreign markets
  15. Extremely good in troubleshooting
  16. Extremely good in written and verbal communication
  17. Adaptable to drive innovation seamlessly
The author, Vijay Shitole, is Vice President - HR and Admin at BDR Pharmaceuticals International. 



India and the World 



21. India, Vietnam to hold virtual summit today, agreements on healthcare, defence, energy expected 
ANI, Dec. 21, 2020 

"PM Narendra Modi and Vietnam counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc will exchange views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional and global issues and provide guidance for the future development of India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," issued the PM Office. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be holding a virtual summit with his Vietnam counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday to discuss the future development of the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.
According to an official statement issued by Prime Minister's Office, "During the Summit, the two leaders will exchange views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional and global issues and provide guidance for the future development of India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership."
During Monday's summit, the two leaders will exchange views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional, and global issues and provide guidance for the future development of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They are also likely to issue a Joint Vision for this, sources said.

In addition, a number of agreements and announcements are likely, covering areas such as defence, energy, development partnership, and healthcare. The implementation of India's Defence Line of Credit for high-speed guard boats for Vietnam will be further progressed. New opportunities in renewable energy cooperation will also be explored.
India's development and capacity building assistance to Vietnam through initiatives such as Quick Impact Projects (QIPs), ITEC and e-ITEC initiatives, PhD fellowships, as well as projects in water resource management in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region, SDGs, digital connectivity, and heritage conservation are also likely to be discussed, sources said.
They further said the timing of the Virtual Summit in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic will also allow the two leaders to take stock of the regional and global landscape and exchange views on their respective strategies to deal with the pandemic as well as the post-pandemic economic revival.

In this context, the existing economic and trade linkages between the two countries provide a useful platform to explore new and resilient supply chains.
Both countries have maintained high-level exchanges in 2020. In February, the Vice-President of Vietnam Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh came to India on an official visit.
Both Prime Ministers had a telephone conversation on April 13 to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic situation.
Both countries enjoy a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and India is one of the very few countries with whom Vietnam has such characterisation for bilateral relations, sources said. 


22. US plans to set up India's second American Hub at Vishakhapatnam 
IANS, Jan. 07, 2021 

The US has chosen the port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to set up India's second American Hub. 

The US has chosen the port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to set up India's second American Hub.
US Consul General, Hyderabad, Joel Reifman met Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday and informed him about the American interest.
"He (Reifman) said the US government is interested in setting up an American hub in Visakhapatnam. Ahmedabad is the only other city in the country to have an American hub so far and Vishakapatnam will be the first location in south India," an official statement said.

Reifman said he was satisfied with the facilities in Vizag.
Welcoming the decision, Reddy has also requested the Consul General to set up an incubation centre in the port city, popularly known as Vizag, on the similar lines of one established in Delhi.
Reifman responded to this request positively.
"The CM assured to provide all facilities required to set up an incubator centre in Vishakapatnam. He welcomed the decision to set up American Hub in Vishakapatnam and asked for US cooperation in developing Vishakapatnam as a smart city," said the statement.
Reddy also requested Reifman to take initiative to further enhance mutual cooperation between the US and AP.

He also informed Reifman that English has been introduced as the primary language of instruction in government schools, recognising the language's international standing and importance.
The Chief Minister marketed the southern state as an ideal investment destination with a vast coast.
"There will be great economic development with the construction of ports and the government is laying special attention on manufacturing electronic goods. The consul general should take the initiative to invest in the state and the government will provide full assistance," observed Reddy.
Reifman lauded the state government's welfare programmes and called them revolutionary, including the decentralised ward and village secretariat governance system.
He also appreciated the multiple direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes which obviate room for corruption and praised the state for containing the spread of coronavirus. 


23. India set to expand ties with Taiwan; focus on trade and investments, says envoy 
ET Bureau, Jan, 11, 2021, Dipanian Roy Chaudhury 

India’s representative to Taiwan recently told local media that his office will focus on enhancing bilateral investments, people-to-people exchanges and technical cooperation between Delhi and Taipei. 

India has signalled widening of ties with Taiwan amid the ongoing border crisis with China with its envoy indicating expanding scope of trade and investments ties and people-to-people contacts.
India’s representative to Taiwan recently told local media that his office will focus on enhancing bilateral investments, people-to-people exchanges and technical cooperation between Delhi and Taipei.
"India presents great opportunities for sustained growth to Taiwanese investors, who in turn can impart their world-renowned manufacturing skills and know-how necessary for India's rapid transformation," Gourangalal Das, director-general of the India Taipei Association or embassy, told Taiwan’s Central News Agency.

In terms of people-to-people interaction, Das said office would like to start with exchanges in higher education and tourism, two areas where there is much room for improvement. India was Taiwan's 17th largest trading partner and Taiwan India's 31st largest trading partner in 2020.
Though nearly 3,000 Indian students are pursuing Masters and PhD programs in Taiwan, they represent only a section of the more than 750,000 Indian students seeking higher education globally, Das pointed out.
The 10,000 Taiwanese tourists visiting India annually represent only a small proportion of the over 15 million outbound trips a year by Taiwan's leisure travellers, he said.

Das praised Taiwan's advancements in functional and technical fields, ranging from agriculture to smart cities, as well as industrial automation, science parks and ICT manufacturing. "By promoting better sharing of knowledge, experience and technology, we can benefit stakeholders in both India and Taiwan.”
The envoy predicted healthy prospects for cooperation between the two countries amid the restructuring of global supply chains, citing India's huge market, pro-business reforms and the many investment incentives, among other factors. "It is heartening that a lot of Taiwanese supply chain forerunners now consider India a strategic destination for the next stage in their growth," he said, adding that some Taiwanese ICT companies are already building an ecosystem in India.

Das also hailed Taiwan's effort to promote deeper interaction with India under its New Southbound Policy, adding that the policy compliments India's "Act East" policy.
"We must redouble our efforts once the temporary disruption eases, and aim high to tap the growing mutual awareness and mutual admiration. I am also confident that with the increase in our interactions in the areas of education, trade and investment and tourism, people-to-people contacts will only grow in the future."

The momentum of bilateral economic cooperation has been steadily increasing in the recent years. Bilateral trade has crossed $ 7 billion in 2018, a growth of 40% in the two years during 2017 and 2018. The major items exported to Taiwan include naphtha, metal and metal products, organic chemicals and agricultural products. The major items imported from Taiwan are PVC, machinery, organic chemicals, electrical machinery, ICT products and solar cells. India and Taiwan signed a bilateral investment agreement in 2018. Between April 2020-Sep 2020 FDI inflows from Taiwan to India was $ 368 million. 


24. Indian companies weathered the pandemic 'much better' than counterparts: Cognizant study 
ET Bureau, Jan, 12, 2021 

Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work surveyed 4,000 senior executives across 23 countries and 14 industries to gain insights into how organizations worldwide are gearing up for the second act of digital and why Asia seems to be leading the charge. 

The study revealed that Indian companies are most bullish on embracing digital ways of working as 52% of them (highest among APAC countries) agreed that the pandemic had accelerated the adoption of new, digital ways of working practices.Only 36% of companies in India experienced slightly negative to a very negative impact on their business performance in 2020, as opposed to the regional average of 44%, making Indian companies more resilient through the pandemic, a study by Cognizant revealed on Tuesday.
Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work surveyed 4,000 senior executives (1,200 from Asia Pacific and the Middle East, including 160 in India) across 23 countries and 14 industries to gain insights into how organizations worldwide are gearing up for the second act of digital and why Asia seems to be leading the charge. Most Asian businesses were quick to respond to the pandemic—compressing many long-term digital projects into the space of weeks and months—and are therefore emerging stronger from the pandemic.

Indian companies weathered through the pandemic "much better" than most of their regional and western counterparts, the study said while revealing that currently Indian companies generate 12% of the total revenue from digital channels, which is the highest among APAC countries. However, by the end of 2023, the study projects that digital-driven revenues will go up to 17%, the study said.
The study revealed that Indian companies are most bullish on embracing digital ways of working as 52% of them (highest among APAC countries) agreed that the pandemic had accelerated the adoption of new, digital ways of working practices.

“The first phase saw the dominance of Big Tech giants in the West leading the global digital agenda. The second phase will be marked by AI, automation, analytics and IoT – all of which are more aligned with industry and business strengths in Asia Pacific," said Manish Bahl, Assistant Vice President, Center for the Future of Work, Asia Pacific, Cognizant. "The work ahead will be all about striking a balance between machine-driven and human-centric work. Even when machines can do everything, it will still be people who are the ultimate X factor.”
The main technologies that companies are leveraging to augment business processes (from some implemented projects to widespread implementation) would be AI (40%), sensors/ IoT (35%), and big data/ analytics (35%).

The top three forces that will have a strong impact on work in India by 2023 are hyper-connectivity as billions of people, machines, and devices become connected (49%), concerns about security and privacy relating to business practices (46%), and process automation (44%).
Machines will augment humans by taking over data-oriented tasks and providing insights for better decision-making. By 2023, the main tasks that machines will pick up are sifting large data sets to filter and identify errors or actionable items (25%), evaluation of options/recommendations to take decisions (23%), and execution of routine, rules-based decisions based on data inputs (23%), as per the findings of the study.

Despite machines gaining a stronghold, the study said human-centric skills will continue to gain prominence. According to the study, the top five skills that will become more important in 2023 than they are today include decision-making (62%), analytical (54%), learning (55%), strategic thinking (54%), and communication (54%).
The study said that three ways that work will be transformed by 2023 are that jobs will become more specialized (54%), we will work faster (50%), and work will require greater technical expertise (47%).
On a broader scale, the study said businesses in APAC and the Middle East have reached a point of clarity in terms of the real purpose of digital tools and made great strides in understanding what the human-machine balance of work should be. 


25. How the invention of 'India' eroded the idea of Hindustan 
By Vivek Menezes, Jan. 10 2021 

Historian Manan Ahmed Asif’s new book traces the corruption of a cosmopolitan idea of Hindustan due to centuries of colonial rule 


In her recent book Voices of Dissent, historian Romila Thapar argues that the advent of colonialism meant “a dramatic change” in how wildly diverse religious practices from across the subcontinent were understood and categorised. Inherently heterodox “beliefs, codes and worship were force-fitted to emphasize uniformity,” she writes. That is how “Hinduism was reconfigured by colonial scholarship and came to include everything non-Islamic barring Christianity and Zoroastrianism.” 

Thapar says this revivalism introduced new “characteristics similar to the Abrahamic religions—Islam and Christianity. The Hindu was identified by the fact of his ancestry and the origin of his religion coming from within the territories of India—the current British India—and the Hindu, being of the majority religion, was therefore the primary citizen.” In the process, “the enviable flexibility of the earlier religion in its various phases has been leached out” and the resultant “Hindutva is not Hinduism as it was nor the religion as is.” 

The Loss of Hindustan: The Invention of India by Manan Ahmed Asif expands on and explores these very questions: what important ideas were effaced due to centuries of colonial machinations that were calculated, and often minutely engineered, to sway the “natives”? How does the fallout of those processes continue to persist, detract and distract even today? In his dazzlingly erudite pursuit of these veins of inquiry, the 49-year-old Associate Professor of history at Columbia University has delivered us an intellectual tour de force, with evidence and arguments arrayed in lock-stepped sequence to define, understand and resolve the mystery posed by his very first line, “What happened to Hindustan?” 

Asif makes the case that for at least 1,000 years, it was perfectly understood by most people of the subcontinent—including those living in almost every part of what is today India, Pakistan and Bangladesh—that they were “Hindustani” (the term never had any religious connotation). He writes, “European travelogues, histories, philological works, operas and plays that wanted to signal their authenticity or knowledge of ‘Oriental languages’ would also use this same word, with its varied spellings, as the ‘local’ name of the subcontinent. Yet, in the early nineteenth century, the word Hindustan begins to fade.” 

This was an exceptionally momentous loss in the realms of meaning. Asif argues that “erasure of the precolonial idea of Hindustan has meant that it is taken as a truism that there was no coherent concept of peninsular India before British domination.” In the process, all the original implications of the word have disappeared, and—as in VD Savarkar’s oft-repeated slogan of “Hindu, Hindu, Hindustan”—it has become comprehensively co-opted by chauvinistic nationalism. 

It can be quite tricky to rebut this conventional wisdom, even if it is blatantly false. Asif notes, “To study the erasure of concepts or ideas is a difficult task, especially when it happens gradually and when the erased concepts are replaced by some hegemonic or majoritarian truth.” Thus, “how does one, then, write the history of something that is not even realizable as missing or cannot even be fully articulated? Colonization refuses the colonized access to their own past.” 

The Loss of Hindustan, published by Harvard University Press, 336 pages, ₹599 

The Loss of Hindustan marshals considerable resources—there are several hundred sources in its 32-page bibliography—to challenge the received wisdom of the “colonial episteme”, the “domain of knowledge constituted beginning in the 16th century by the Portuguese, French, Dutch, German and British about the subcontinent” that “under guise of a purported universalism—the field of world history—stripped ‘Hindustan’ from geography and supplanted it with another concept, 'India'”. It concludes, “Europe’s making of ‘India’ itself as a geography, and the ways in which historical change takes place in that geography, is the first and necessary act of political forgetting of Hindustan.” 

In a recent interview, Asif has said he wanted “to make naked the construction of the ways in which colonialism has elided, obfuscated and compartmentalised the history of the subcontinent, of Hindustan… We have to enter the archive that itself has to be decolonised [and think] about how black and brown bodies and how women are erased from such citational apparatus.” 

These aims resound with familiarity for followers of Chapati Mystery, an online platform established by Asif in 2004 to focus on “the histories and cultures of Hindustan.” Over the years, he and several co-authors, most notably the Vermont-based artist, writer and translator Daisy Rockwell, have continually plumbed the crucial fault lines and fissures in the way South Asian histories and cultures are assessed, assimilated, and analysed both at home and in western academia. 

Back in 1935, in what Asif describes as “the first national gathering of Hindustani historians” at the Indian History Congress, the University of Allahabad’s Shafa’at Ahmad Khan had warned that uncritical absorption of colonial and western ways of thinking about the complex Indian past was fundamentally dangerous. He said that would “make moral shipwreck, of most traditions and ideals” and encourage “perverted sectionalism.” He asked instead for “the slow but difficult task of conscientious and honest investigation of elusive material” in order to “avoid appeals to racial and national prejudices.” 

That is precisely what this exceptionally stimulating new book does—with its meticulous piecing together of the jigsaw that reveals an entire conceptual universe, complete with its own geography, peoples, history and archives. The centre of this effort, and its main resource, is the 16th century Tarikh-i-Firishta, which was written in Persian by Muhammad Qasim, who may or may not have been of Caspian origin. But dozens of other medieval historians are also cited, about whom Asif says, “many of them had a fearless composure, even as they predicted and faced the violent distending of the subcontinent [and] I found comfort in their ethics and resolve.” 

In the same way as many of those guiding lights, The Loss of Hindustan provides promising directions for future study. Asif spells out the task ahead with suitable intensity—“across the subcontinent we now confront a crisis of the past, with an explicit understanding of difference as destiny.” But work like his supplies countervailing impetus, “to imagine ways forward that do not yield to the majoritarian present, that do not inherit the past as a certainty, and do not romanticize that which is lost. [It is] our collective responsibility to speak against the conformism of prejudice. It is our collective task to re-imagine the past.” 

Vivek Menezes is a Goa-based writer and photographer. 

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