AAPI: October 2021

DELHI, 20th OCTOBER 2021

Index of this Newsletter

INDIA

INDIA & THE WORLD

21. India, Germany to see growth in M&A space driven by IT, auto, pharma sectors
22.1. IBM Consulting has expanded hiring at double-digits across its global delivery network: Mark Foster
22.2. The tech job market is red hot; it may remain so for 1-2 years
23. How many satellites are orbiting Earth?
24. India committed to assist world in providing most cost-effective ICT services: MoS Devusinh Chauhan
25. India-Russia coop in 6G, cybersecurity and video analytics gathers momentum

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DELHI, 20th OCTOBER 2021

NEWSLETTER, 20-X-2021

INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

1. Reforms 2.0 in works to create robust telecom companies, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

ET Telec., 30 sep. 2021, Anandita Singh Mankolia & Romit Guha

Weighing in on a global debate, Vaishnaw said online platforms need to remunerate original creators and publishers of content "adequately" for all the intellectual property (IP) they produce.

The government is working on a second set of reforms for the telecom sector aimed at creating strong mobile phone operators that can expand overseas while connecting the remotest corners of the country, communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told ET in an interview. This will follow policy changes announced two weeks ago aimed at relieving stress on the sector and helping to preserve the current market structure.

Vaishnaw, also the cabinet minister for information technology and railways, added that spectrum pricing should factor in the point about telecom services being for the "public good". Thus, the pricing should also leave enough resources in the hands of operators to be able to invest in expanding their networks and providing quality services.

When asked whether Vodafone Idea's promoters - the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) and UK's Vodafone Group - had committed to further investment in the company, the minister said, "They have discussed infusion of equity into the company. However, the exact details would be announced by them as and when they finalise."

Weighing in on a global debate, Vaishnaw said online platforms need to remunerate original creators and publishers of content "adequately" for all the intellectual property (IP) they produce. He added that the matter needed to be thoroughly analysed.

'Plan to Reduce Litigation in Sector'

Commenting on the next set of reforms, he said the pricing and the payment mechanism for auctions are being worked on and the measures will be announced soon. "It (spectrum) should be auctioned. But the question here is how to auction? How to work out the terms of payment?" said the minister.

Government also wants to reduce litigation in the sector and enable telecom operators to become globally competitive. "(Telecom sector) reforms will primarily aim to strengthen the industry to enable it to fight it out in India and abroad," he said. "Why can't we have Indian operators in the US, Europe, and other international destinations? Why should we just have international operators coming to India and not the other way round? We will do whatever is needed to keep the sector healthy."

He added that the government wants operators to focus on networks, to be able to serve the remotest corners of the country. "That requires sufficient resources in the hands of the telecom operators," Vaishnaw said. "For that they need to be healthy. Today, with the current structure of the industry, it cannot happen."

1.2. ‘First set of reforms in telecom was to solve problems, next will unleash growth’

Speaking to ET’s Anandita Singh Mankotia and Romit Guha, Vaishnaw, who is also the minister for railways and electronics & IT, said the recently announced relief package for the telecom sector does not need any legislation to back it up since it conforms with the Supreme Court’s orders in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case.

Telcos say the high price of spectrum and a faulty auction mechanism were at the heart of the current stress in the sector, which has run up a debt of over ₹8 lakh crore, with returns on capital in the low single digits.

To address the financial stress and prevent cash-strapped Vodafone Idea from going bankrupt, the government announced wide-ranging reforms two weeks ago. The package includes the option to defer payment of statutory dues to the government by four years such as adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum payments and convert government dues to equity. The measures also include eliminating spectrum usage charges from future auctions, a drastic reduction in bank guarantees and permitting telcos to surrender unused spectrum.

He rejected a news report that said the government was considering legislation or an ordinance to back up the telecom package, saying the steps were well within the scope of the Supreme Court's AGR verdict. "Firstly, the entire (AGR) payment has to be made within 10 years. Secondly, reassessment (of AGR dues) shouldn't happen. So, those two boundary conditions remain unchanged - courts are reasonable," the minister said.

2.2. Microsoft India and Ministry of Labour & Employment collaborate to skill 10 million job seekers across India

ETHR World, 30 Sep. 2021

Through the initiative, Microsoft, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment will provide 10 million active registered job seekers on the National Career Service (NCS) platform, access to inclusive computing and computer science training, equipping them with the skills required to thrive in a digital economy, according to a statement.

Microsoft India announced a partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) to launch DigiSaksham - a collaborative digital skills training initiative to empower jobseekers. Microsoft India on Thursday announced a partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) to launch DigiSaksham - a collaborative digital skills training initiative to empower jobseekers in an increasingly tech driven economy.

Conceptualized and designed by Microsoft India, DigiSaksham will be implemented in the field by Aga Khan Rural Support Programme India (AKRSP-I). The program will impact more than 300,000 job seekers in the first year, training them in subjects including programming languages, data analytics, software development fundamentals and advanced digital productivity, the statement added.

DigiSaksham will leverage the strengths of MoLE’s platform, National Career Service (NCS) to equip youth with skills and industry-recognized credentials that increase access to employment opportunities and promote skills-based hiring. Jobseekers registered on the NCS portal will be trained in specialized technology modules aligned with their existing educational qualifications. The technology modules will be taught at intermediate and advanced levels, equipping participants with digital skills.

DigiSaksham is an extension of Microsoft’s global commitment to help 25 million people acquire digital skills in a COVID-19 economy. This project aims to support the existing government ecosystem by upskilling job seekers through a four-step approach; Facilitation, Content integration, Jobseeker Training and Employment assistance, the statement further added.

The joint initiative is an extension of the government’s ongoing engagement to upskill youth from rural and semi-urban areas.

Bhupender Yadav, Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change; and Labour & Employment, said, “If India has to realize all its ambitions, it is important that our youth are proficient in computer and digital skills. To build their competencies and abilities, Government of India’s Ministry of Labour & Employment in partnership with Microsoft India has launched a new program which we have named DigiSaksham. This program is being offered free of cost on the Ministry's National Career Services portal. You can enroll and join the program to enhance your digital skills and through DigiSaksham enhance your opportunity for jobs and employment in the digital world. I want to see our youth grow and get better opportunities for employment, and for that I encourage everyone to join this program in large numbers.”

Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said, “Ensuring equitable access and opportunity to digital technology and skills will be vital for realizing the Digital India vision. Our collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Employment reflects our commitment to bridge the digital equity gap and empower the youth of India to succeed in a digital economy. We have a unique opportunity to become an increasingly important tech engine of the world. Providing equal opportunity and access to digital skills for all will be the key to long-term economic and social value creation for India.”

Rameshwar Teli, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Labour and Employment, Government of India, said, “Ministry of Labour & Employment understands the critical need for training in this digital era. Understanding this, our Ministry provides trade and career guidance to socially underprivileged groups who are keen to get employed, through our network of 25 National Career Service Centres across India.”

“The Ministry also facilitates diverse education and employability initiatives for these youth. DigiSaksham program is specially focused to provide digital productivity skills to socially and economically backward groups. I believe that trainees from SC/ST groups and Persons with Disabilities will definitely benefit from this program. I hope that all aspirants for employment registered on the National Career Services portal will use DigiSaksham to enhance their skills. I also appreciate the partnership with Microsoft India and our Ministry. I wish success to all the departments and organisations involved in the implementation of DigiSaksham,” Teli added.

Apoorva Oza, CEO, AKRSP, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transition of India to a digital economy and digital society. Unfortunately, rapid transitions tend to leave out the disadvantaged and the poor. In this context, AKRSP(I) is partnering with Microsoft India and MoLE to reach out to millions of youths - to ensure their poverty and geographical remoteness do not prevent them from being part of a steadfastly digital economy. AKRSP(I) commends MoLE for this pro-active initiative to create a society which leaves no one behind.”

2. Healthcare’s Digital Transformation Will Democratise It

Nandan Nilekani, Oct. 02, 2021

India is becoming the global leader on digital transformation across sectors.

India is becoming the global leader on digital transformation across sectors. In less than a decade, extraordinary initiatives like Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, CoWIN, Account Aggregator etc have established a playbook for transformation that involves creating sector-specific building blocks and establishing them as “digital public goods”. These goods have helped unlock private sector innovation and capital flow while focussing on the end goal – bringing high quality services to everyone.

What’s the Digital Health Mission about?

The national launch of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission by PM Narendra Modi takes a leaf out of this playbook. It introduces several digital public goods for the healthcare sector. The vision is vast and will redefine how each of us experience healthcare delivery with our doctors and hospitals. Imagine this: Just a QR code scan will register the patient and they can control what information they share from their personal health record (PHR) with the hospital. And post consultation, the PHR gets updated seamlessly. The Mission adopts the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) which ensures that patients control what they share with whom and for how long, and the purposes the shared data can be used for.

The Unified Health Interface (UHI) proposed by the Mission should help India leapfrog into a new realm of digital health services. Today, you simply use any UPI app to pay anyone without worrying about what app or bank they use. Similarly, the vision is to use any UHI app to connect with any doctor, book an appointment, make a payment, share health records and get the prescription added to health records. Doctors will also have the choice to use the best UHI app that helps them manage their patients’ interactions digitally. Interoperability will accelerate digital adoption. This will be a boon to Bharat as a lot of our healthcare talent is still in the cities.

How is Bharat the real thrust area?

Many elements of the Mission show it is designed for Bharat. It leverages Aadhaar authentication to help people without phones obtain a health ID, collect health records and provide consent for access. It is good to see that patients are being put in control and policies are clear that patients must voluntarily participate. In order to be successful, the Mission will require identifying strong incentives and use cases for all its stakeholders to join hands in this journey.

The emphasis on establishing strong privacy and security standards for health data is in the right direction. The approach of using a federated architecture and not creating any central data store is commendable. Pending India’s Personal Data Protection Bill, the National Health Authority must ensure it plays the role of a strong regulator and protects citizens from misuse or data leaks as the policy on data privacy evolves.

We must apply the principle of data minimalism and add only what would be useful for treatment into the PHR. While the building blocks of this Mission have a host of technical standards and specifications, it is up to the healthtech ecosystem to deal with the complexities and evolve simple solutions that are easy to use for doctors and healthcare providers.

How will it benefit the health insurance ecosystem?

The Mission has announced it will set the digital standards for health claims processing. This is key to India’s journey in achieving universal health coverage. As health insurance moves from covering just in-patient incidents to comprehensive outpatient care, India requires a new health claims exchange that can bring greater transparency and new auto adjudication technology. Only this approach can bring the cost of processing down from the current Rs 600 plus per claim to levels that support an OPD claim that may be just a few hundred rupees.

Everything in the Mission is designed for high-volume, low-cost, small transaction size, and to be universally and easily accessible. It will work for people with smartphones, feature phones and without phones. The ability to either use self-service or assisted service methods ensures it will work for Bharat.

The digital public goods approach requires both time and strong ecosystem adoption for success. UPI was launched in 2016 but it took off in 2019. The Digital Health Mission has ticked off all the right boxes on approach and architecture.

The writer is chairman of Infosys and former chairman of UIDAI

3.1. Rajasthan launches health vans for women & children in slums

TNN, Sep. 21, 2021

The state child commission along with an NGO has launched a van for health consultation of women and children in city slums.

The state child commission along with an NGO has launched a van for health consultation of women and children in city slums. The van painted in bright yellow has been divided into three cabins for consultation, referral and medicines. The van, which will have women health workers, is equipped with tools for check-up. The van would be parked for health checks in at least six places in the city.

The services will be free and all the women and children who come to the vehicle for preliminary health check-ups will be registered before consultation.

The first cabin in the van has been designated for consultation of women for general ailments, check-up and referral. In the second cabin, there is a facility to give information about common ailments which would be flashed on a television screen installed there. In the third cabin, health workers will provide medicine according to the prescription.

“The aim is to provide medical facilities to women and children especially in slums. In case of serious ailments, we will give them appropriate referral so that they can get treated at hospitals. The van has been painted a bright yellow so that it can be easily spotted,” said an official. Keeping in mind the Covid situation, all three entry points of the van have been fitted with sanitiser, plastic sheets etc to maintain the protocols.

The van is air conditioned and all the cabins are segregated using curtains in order to ensure privacy of the patients. The working area of mobile health check-up vans includes Jaisinghpurakhor, Jhalana, Luniyabas, Banjara colony, Jaipur railway station and others.

3.2. Amazon brings global computer science education initiative to India

PTI, Sep. 28, 2021

In India, Amazon's new initiative will primarily focus on students in grades 6-12, and will also train teachers and educators to teach computer science in a more engaging way. It aims to enable and deliver computer science learning opportunities to more than one lakh students from 900 government and aided schools.

Amazon on Tuesday announced the launch of its global computer science (CS) education programme - Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) - in India, that will enable access to quality CS education and career opportunities for students from underrepresented and underserved communities. In the first year of its launch, Amazon aims to enable and deliver CS learning opportunities to more than one lakh students from 900 government and aided schools across seven states in India.

Amazon will partner with multiple education-focused non-profit organisations to take quality CS education to the students of government schools across Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Telangana.

"The ubiquitous nature of computer science has made it a critical skill in the employment landscape. Early access to computer science education will go a long way in providing India's youth the opportunity to build their best future," Amit Agarwal, Global Senior Vice President and Country Head, Amazon India said at a virtual event.

He added that lack of quality course content on an accessible medium, limited availability of advanced learning content in local language and lack of a role model are some of the barriers that prevent the youth from underrepresented and underserved communities to dream of aspirational CS careers.

"We are cognizant of this divide - and that while talent and passion is spread across all young people, opportunity is not. With Amazon Future Engineer, we aim to address exactly this gap by providing early exposure and access to CS education," Agarwal said.

He noted that through AFE, Amazon has enabled CS opportunities for more than a million young people across four countries - the US, the UK, Canada and France.

Agarwal added that the company will continue to collaborate with government and non-government organisations to enable CS education in India from childhood to career by leveraging various growth opportunities and its expertise in technology.

In India, the new initiative will primarily focus on students in grades 6-12, and will also train teachers and educators to teach computer science in a more engaging way.

Peepul India founder and CEO Kruti Bharucha said the organisation has been working with government school systems over the past several years and has seen how providing equitable learning opportunities can transform not just the lives of their students, but of families and teachers around them.

"Critical thinking and problem-solving skills acquired by learning CS have the potential to break opportunity barriers for underprivileged children in India," she added.

Amazon is working with its global knowledge partner Code.org, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to computer science education, to bring high quality and mobile interactive CS content to Indian students.

"We look forward to working closely with AFE's network of partners in India to provide our high-quality CS curriculum and best practices as they enable students across the country to learn this foundational 21st-century subject," Hadi Partovi, founder and CEO of Code.org, said.

Taking the local nuances into account, the curriculum has been contextualised for the Indian teacher and student community in government school settings, and will offer students coding fundamentals along with future-focused tech courses like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (Voice Technology) in Indian languages.

Initiatives will include 'Class Chats' through which students meet Amazonians to understand tech industry careers, and 'Amazon Cyber Robotics Challenge', where students learn programming basics while coding robots and discover how Amazon uses robotics to deliver millions of products around the globe.

Over the next few years, Amazon India will continue to scale the programme and expand the bouquet of CS-related education offerings in India. AFE will also amplify its support to students through scholarships, internships, problem-solving hackathon events, and targeted mentorship programmes.

4.1. Leaders see talent shortages as biggest barrier to emerging technologies adoption: Gartner

ET CIO, Sep. 13, 2021, 2021

"The ongoing push towards remote work and the acceleration of hiring plans in 2021 has exacerbated IT talent scarcity, especially for sourcing skills that enable cloud and edge, automation and continuous delivery," said Yinuo Geng, research vice president at Gartner.

IT executives cited talent availability as the main adoption risk factor for the majority of IT automation technologies (75%) and nearly half of digital workplace technologies (41%).Talent availability is cited as a leading factor inhibiting adoption among all six technology domains included in the survey – compute infrastructure and platform services, network, security, digital workplace, IT automation and storage and database.

IT executives cited talent availability as the main adoption risk factor for the majority of IT automation technologies (75%) and nearly half of digital workplace technologies (41%).

"As one example, of all the IT automation technologies profiled in the survey, only 20% of them have moved ahead in the adoption cycle since 2020. The issue of talent is to blame here."

Emerging Technology Investments and Deployments Are Accelerating

Despite talent challenges, infrastructure and operations (I&O) and other IT leaders have increased the adoption of emerging technologies to drive innovation as organizations begin to recover from the pandemic.

Across all technology domains, 58% of respondents reported either an increase or a plan to increase emerging technology investment in 2021, compared with 29% in 2020. Furthermore, I&O functions have witnessed a reduction in deployment timelines, with all technologies in deployment expected to reach adoption within the next six to 18 months.

“This indicates that organizations feel more comfortable directly deploying new technologies to accelerate growth, rather than relying on an extended observation period to develop the business case,” said Geng.

In addition, a greater number of leaders (both inside and outside of the IT function) are influencing technology investment decisions this year, driving the trend of “democratized delivery.” In 2021, 82% of IT leaders either agree or strongly agree that enterprise leaders outside of IT influence emerging technology adoption decisions across all technology domains evaluated.

Resilience and improving critical IT infrastructure are top priorities among I&O and other IT leaders in 2021, according to the survey. As a result, they are prioritizing cloud deployments and investments in security technologies.

To allow the smooth movement of information between physical and virtual locations, organizations are investing heavily in creating a strong hybrid cloud base, supported by multicloud technologies. Distributed cloud systems, cloud access security brokers (CASBs) and cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) are among those reaching the deployment phase in 2021, with respondents stating that resilience is the primary investment driver for 63% of these cloud technologies.

In addition, infrastructure security is a significant priority for organizations as they tackle rising threats, particularly to endpoint devices in hybrid work environments. From 2020 to 2021, the number of security technologies in deployment rose sharply — from 15% to 84% of evaluated technologies. In 2021, 64% of respondents reported that they have either increased or are planning to increase investments in security technologies, up from just 31% in 2020.

“I&O leaders who do not revise their infrastructure security strategy will face challenges due to the continued rise in the ransomware attack surface for enterprises,” said Geng.

4.2. Tech leaders grow 5X faster: Study

Sep. 27, 2021

Leading companies that amplified their technology investments during the Covid-19 pandemic have significantly extended their growth advantage over competitors, according to new research from Accenture.

Bengaluru: Leading companies that amplified their technology investments during the Covid-19 pandemic have significantly extended their growth advantage over competitors, according to new research from Accenture.

The study finds that tech leaders (top 10% of the sample) are growing revenues at 5x the rate of tech laggards (bottom 25% of the sample). In a similar study done in 2019, Accenture found that leaders were growing at 2x the speed of laggards. The 2019 study looked at the average CAGR for the period between 2015 and 2018 and found leaders growing at 9.1% and laggards growing at 4.2%. The latest study looked at the period from 2018 to 2021, and the respective CAGRs were 4% and 0.8% (the lower growth for both being on account of the slowdown over the past year on account of Covid-19.

The report surveyed 4,300 top-level executives in companies with a minimum revenue of $500 million across 25 countries and 20 industries. The latest study also finds the emergence of a new category of companies, which it calls leapfroggers (18% of the entire sample). “Leapfroggers compressed their digital transformations into a shorter time frame through an aggressive and progressive technology strategy that converted the challenges of the past year into business opportunities and advantage,” the study says.

Ramnath Venkataraman, the lead for integrated global services at Accenture Technology, and a member of the company’s global management committee, said three factors related to technology distinguish the leaders and leapfroggers.

The first is what he calls “replatforming” to the cloud. The cloud, he said, builds systems strength, reducing redundant technologies and disconnected data across the IT stack, while gaining computing power and flexibility. “The leaders don’t just move workloads to the cloud, they also use it for business growth by introducing agile methodologies,” he said. Such methodologies enable solutions to be developed and deployed very quickly. The study said 80% of leapfroggers had adopted some form of cloud technology by 2017, but that figure rose to 98% by 2020.

The second big change follows the first. The cloud enables technological and business model innovations, many of which companies may not even be able to imagine till they get on the cloud. Leaders and leapfroggers are seen to recognise this and “reframe” to an innovation-first technology strategy. Since the shift to the cloud reduces capital expenditures, Venkataraman said it allows more of the IT budget to be used for innovations rather than maintaining the IT infrastructure.

The third aspect that distinguishes leaders is the extent of technology “reach” within their organisations. Leaders expand access to technology across internal business functions and embrace a broader value agenda by addressing personalised employee upskilling, well-being, and mental health.

“So it's not just about IT embracing technology, but really everybody embracing technology and becoming a digital worker,” Venkataraman said. This is typically done in a phased manner. In a pharma company, Venkataraman said, the business processes that need to embrace technology the fastest are R&D, and sales & marketing, while in a consumer goods company, it would be everything that touches the customer.

5. Explained: What is satellite internet and what it means for you

ToI.com, Oct. 13, 2021

Elon Musk's Starlink has already launched its satellite internet service in ‘beta’ and is being used by people in some countries. Airtel has also announced that its satellite internet services will be available starting next year. So what is satellite internet?

Elon Musk is already providing it. Jeff Bezos is also in line to launch it. And there are other players as well. Bharti Airtel has also thrown its hat in the ring. This means that it is a big and serious business. The ‘it’ here is satellite internet. Musk's Starlink has already launched its satellite internet service in ‘beta’ and is being used by people in some countries. Airtel has also announced that its satellite internet services will be available starting next year. So what is satellite internet? We explain what it means for you, how it will work and whether it’s safe or not.

What is satellite internet?

Remember how satellite TVs work? Satellite internet is similar in that sense. You will have a satellite dish installed in your house and the internet is beamed from the space. There’s no cable or anything required for satellite internet as it comes ‘directly’ from satellites orbiting in space.

How does satellite internet work?

A satellite orbiting the earth communicates by using radio waves. However, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites use lasers to make it work. A communication network sends and receives data to your internet-enabled device and connects through a modem and satellite dish to a satellite in space. It is then routed back to Earth to something called NOC or network operations centres.

How useful will satellite internet be?

It will be handy to connect people who live in remote or rural areas where ‘regular’ internet cannot reach. Further, it is expected to deliver faster speeds. The average internet speed is anywhere from 10-40 Mbps depending on where you live. Satellite internet promises to take it up to as high as 300Mbps — or at least that’s Musk promised with Starlink.

What hardware do you need for satellite internet?

You would require a few things at your end: a device that can be connected to the internet, a modem/router and a satellite dish. Starlink sells a ‘kit’ that included a satellite dish and a router. Similar hardware should be given by other players in the satellite internet space.

If it’s satellite-linked, how important is the role of weather?

Well, quite important. For instance, with a satellite TV dish, at times heavy rains or wind can disrupt your connection. The same is applicable for satellite internet as well. The FAQ page on Starlink mentions “Heavy rain or wind can also affect your satellite internet connection, potentially leading to slower speeds or a rare outage.”

How much will it actually cost?

It’s still in the infancy stage so it’s not clear. However, SpaceX has revealed that internet service will cost $99 per month (excluding taxes) plus another $500 for the Starlink kit. So it is an expensive proposition as of now. There are companies in the US and UK that have plans across the price range of $50 to $150 per month.

When can you expect satellite internet to launch?

Bharti Airtel has said by the middle of next year, its service might be ready. Elon Musk’s Starlink has indicated that it might launch in India but there’s no definite date or concrete plan that is known as of now.

- AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

6.1. Jio, Cisco, others ink pact with Agriculture ministry to modernize farming sector

ET Telec. Sep. 16, 2021

Based on these pilot projects farmers will be able to make informed decisions on what crop to grow, what variety of seed to use, and what best practices to adopt to maximize the yield.

NEW DELHI: The Agriculture ministry has signed five Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with Cisco, Ninjacart, Jio Platforms Limited, ITC Limited, and NCDEX e-Markets Limited (NeML) to conduct pilot tests and modernize the agriculture sector by promoting the use of digital technologies.

Based on these pilot projects farmers will be able to make informed decisions on what crop to grow, what variety of seed to use, and what best practices to adopt to maximize the yield.

The agriculture supply chain players can plan their procurement and logistics timely. Farmers will also be able to make informed decisions about whether to sell store their produce and when and where to sell at what price, an official Press Information Bureau release said.

Jio and its affiliates, for instance, own and control the “JioKrishi” platform that provides services such as the creation of a data-driven farmers ecosystem, an analysis of soil conditions of the agricultural land, analysis of irrigation needs, and even helps connect farmers with experts.

The platform’s features are divided into basic and advanced categories. While the basic features use stand-alone data on apps to provide advice, the advanced features use data from different sources, using AI/ML algorithms to provide personalized advice.

“The primary intervention module, i.e., advisory (basic as well as advanced) service will be taken up in the first phase as the pilot in 2 districts of Maharashtra, viz. Jalna and Nashik,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Cisco along with its industry partner Quantela have developed an Agricultural Digital Infrastructure (ADI) solution that includes hardware and software components for farming and knowledge sharing.

JioPhone Next delayed: Challenges ahead for Jio to manage component supply shortage and price, say industry experts

Reliance Jio has officially delayed the launch of its affordable smartphone, JioPhone Next, which was developed in partnership with Google, owing to the ongoing semiconductor shortage globally. The phone will now be available "more widely" around the Diwali festive season instead of September 10.

A common software platform – the Smart Agriculture Platform integrates the sensors and information available from Department and Satellite Data processing solutions into one single dashboard that provides real-time status. Proofs of Concept (POC) have been implemented in select districts in target states.

“Cisco will conceptualize a Proof of Concept in effective knowledge sharing between farmers, administration, academia and industry in two districts in India, viz. Kaithal (Haryana) and Morena (Madhya Pradesh),” the statement further said.

The Central government has further rolled out a Digital Agriculture mission for 2021-25 for projects based on new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, remote sensing, and GIS technology, use of drones and robots, among others.

The agriculture department is also creating a federated farmers database which will be linked by the land records of farmers from across the country for the creation of a unique Farmer ID.

Cisco forecasts growth from software shift, but chip prices pressure profits

The company gave a fiscal 2025 revenue forecast with a midpoint of $62.9 billion, saying it expects a compound annual growth rate of 5% to 7%. Cisco predicted the same growth rate for adjusted profits, targeting a midpoint of $4.07 per share in fiscal 2025.

See More Details

6.2. Karnataka to partner with e-commerce firms to promote its agro-products

ET Gov. Oct. 01, 2021

During a meeting with the Flipkart's chief of corporate affairs Rajneesh Kumar, the Chief Minister emphasised upon the need to sell agri-products in e-commerce platforms, so that farmers can be directly benefited.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said a memorandum of understanding can be signed between the Karnataka government and e-commerce companies to promote agriculture produce along with the products manufactured by the artisans and weavers. During a meeting with the Flipkart's chief of corporate affairs Rajneesh Kumar, the Chief Minister emphasised upon the need to sell agri-products in e-commerce platforms, so that farmers can be directly benefited, an official statement said.

"There are a variety of products such as coffee, spices, maize, oilseeds etc. in the State which has 10 agro-climatic zones. These products may also be promoted. An MoU may be signed with the Government in this regard," the Chief Minister was quoted as saying.

He also said Commerce and Industries will be incentivised, based on the employment generation. He also highlighted that an employment policy is being developed, which would be first of its kind in India. Bommai appreciated Flipkart for creating employment in significant numbers and providing a marketing platform for farmers, artisans and others.

The e-commerce platforms should give feedback to the farmers about market demands along with value addition to agri-products, Bommai told Kumar.

"Commerce and Industries will be incentivised based on the employment generation and an employment policy is being evolved. This would be first of its kind in India," the Chief Minister said.

(With PTI inputs)

7. Odisha to deploy drones, satellite imagery and remote sensing technologies to detect hemp cultivation

PTI, Oct. 06, 2021

The state police and excise department have jointly destroyed 22,217 acres of cultivation of hemp, a variety of cannabis, in 2020-21

Hemp cultivation: As illicit cannabis cultivation continues unabated in Odisha, the government on Tuesday decided to use drones, satellite imagery and remote sensing technologies to locate such activity in the state, an official said on Tuesday. The state police and excise department have jointly destroyed 22,217 acres of cultivation of hemp, a variety of cannabis, in 2020-21, as compared to 9,473 acres in 2018-19, he said.

During a high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary SC Mohapatra, it was decided that the police and the excise department will intensify enforcement activity to stop hemp farming in the state. Mohapatra asked the revenue department officials to check records of land where hemp is cultivated and take action against the landowners as per provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

8. Punjab cabinet approves rules to promote and develop MSMEs

ET Gov., Sep. 18, 2021

These rules provide the first-ever legal framework for recognition of the concept of "enterprise" (comprising both manufacturing and services), and integrating the three tiers of these enterprises, namely micro, small and medium

The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Punjab will get an impetus with the state cabinet approving rules to provide a legal framework for their operations, with effective mechanisms to mitigate the problem of delayed payments to such enterprises.

The Cabinet, in a virtual meeting on Friday under chairmanship of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, cleared the Punjab Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Councils Rules, 2021 under Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, to facilitate promotion, development and competitiveness of MSMEs.

Apart from clearer and more progressive classification of each category of enterprises, particularly the small ones, the Act provides for a statutory consultative mechanism at the national level, with wide representation of all sections of stakeholders and with a wide range of advisory functions.

One of the salient features of the Act is that it provides an effective mechanism for mitigating the problems of delayed payments of micro and small enterprises, the statement said.

With a view to eliminating the pendency of Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and rape cases, the Cabinet also approved the setting up of 9 fast track special courts with the creation of 117 posts for the same.

These nine fast track special courts would be set up in Amritsar, Bathinda, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Mansa, Moga, Patiala and S.A.S. Nagar.

To facilitate quick and effective implementation of mission "Lal Lakir", the cabinet decided to cut down by half the time for filing objections prepared under the Svamitva scheme - from the existing 90 to 45 days.

Earlier in February this year, the cabinet had approved implementation of mission "Lal Lakir" aimed at facilitating villagers to monetise property rights and availing benefits provided by government departments, institutions and banks in all villages across the state.

Fulfilling his government's universal healthcare poll promise, the chief minister announced free insurance cover for the 15 lakh families who were earlier not included in the ambit of the Ayushman Bharat-Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana (AB-SSBY).

The chief minister announced his decision at the cabinet meeting, where the health department had proposed bringing these families into the government schemes cover on a co-sharing basis, which would have required the beneficiaries to pay for part of the expense.

However, Amarinder suggested making the insurance cover for these families also completely free in line with his government's promise of universal healthcare for the people of Punjab. Barring the families of government employees/pensioners, who were already covered under Punjab Medical Attendance Rules, all the remaining nearly 55 lakh families in the state will now come under the ambit of this scheme.

The state government will now be bearing a total cost of Rs 593 crore per annum to cover 55 lakh families to provide insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family for secondary and tertiary care treatments in empanelled public and private hospitals.

Further, fulfilling a pending demand of terrorism/riot affected families and Kashmiri migrants, the Cabinet also gave approval to enhancing their subsistence allowance.

While subsistence allowance of terrorists/riot affected families has been hiked from Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per month, financial assistance being given to Kashmiri migrants as ration money has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 per month per family.

This move would benefit 5,100 terrorists/riot affected families and 200 Kashmiri migrants with an annual outlay of Rs 6.16 crore, the statement said. The financial assistance of terrorists/riot affected families was earlier increased in 2012 and for Kashmiri migrants, it was hiked in 2005.

In another decision, to strengthen industry-oriented teaching, skill training and research in the state, the cabinet approved the establishment of private self-financed 'Lamrin Tech Skills University' at Railmajra in Balachaur (SBS Nagar).

It will have an annual intake of 1000-1100 students when the campus is fully established. The Punjab government has made it mandatory to reserve 15 per cent seats exclusively for students from Punjab in the upcoming University.

The Cabinet also accorded its approval for the establishment of private self-financed 'Plaksha University' in Mohali's IT city. The cabinet also approved the Punjab Custom Milling Policy for Kharif 2021-22, for conversion of paddy procured by state procurement agencies (Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup) into custom milled rice and its delivery into the central pool.

(With PTI inputs)

9.1. Clean Andhra Pradesh: CM Jagan flags off 4097 garbage collection tippers at one go

ET Gov. Oct. 02, 2021

The garbage collected from households through these vehicles will be transferred to integrated solid waste management projects for treatment and recycling on a continuous basis

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Saturday flagged off 4,097 garbage collection tippers under Jagananna Swaccha Sankalpam-Clean Andhra Pradesh programme. The programme is aimed at ensuring cleanliness in rural and urban areas across the state, the government said in a press release.

"As cleanliness is the prerequisite for a healthy society, the government is launching this programme on the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti as a tribute to the Father of the Nation," it said. This programme will go a long way in building a healthy and better society, the government added. The garbage collected from households through these vehicles will be transferred to integrated solid waste management projects for treatment and recycling on a continuous basis, it said.

In rural areas, the government has set up 4,171 waste-to-wealth units where the garbage will be recycled into usable products. In municipalities, around 3,100 tippers will collect garbage and transfer it to waste management centers.

The government is charging 50 paise to Re 1 in rural areas and Re 1 to Rs 4 per month from each household as user charges for the garbage collection.

Municipal Department Special Chief Secretary Y. Srilakshmi, Panchayati Raj Principal Secretary Gopalakrishna Dwivedi, Commissioners M. Girija Shankar and M. Mallikarjuna Naik and other officials participated in the programme.

9.2. UP govt sets up 104 sewage treatment plants of 3298.84 MLD for cleaning rivers under Namami Gange

ET Gov. 03 oct. 2021

The construction of STPs has played a decisive role in controlling several diseases caused due to polluted water

The Uttar Pradesh government has set up 104 sewage treatment plants (STP) of 3298.84 MLD (million liters daily) in the state under Namani Gange programme. With this initiative, the drains falling into the rivers have been tapped. Along with Ganga, the condition of all major rivers including Gomti, Saryu, Yamuna, Rapti has improved due to the intensive cleanliness campaigns.

According to the government, the construction of STPs has played a decisive role in controlling several diseases caused due to polluted water. Along with cleaning the rivers and stopping the sewage from falling into them, efforts are also being made to provide domestic sewerage connections in cities.

Under the Namami Gange programme, the STP and sewerage line provided to Anupshahr in Bulandshahr district, adjacent to the river Ganga, stopped the fall of contaminated water in the river. The work of laying sewerage lines was done at a cost of Rs 78 crores. On the same lines, a sewerage treatment plant of 120 MLD capacity is being set up to treat the sewer water of GH Canal (Haider Canal) in Gomti river of Lucknow.

The construction work of STP has been completed under the scheme to stop the sewage falling in the rivers passing through the cities of Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra, Loni, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Pilkhua, Muzaffarnagar, Rampur, Gorakhpur, Sultanpur, and Ayodhya.

The 128-year-old Sisamau Nala in Kanpur used to be a major reason for the contamination of Ganges river. Around 140 MLD of sewage from this drain is being tapped by I&D and treated with 80 MLD Bingawan STP and 60 MLD Jajmau STP.

10.1. Himachal to link 27,000 self-help groups with online platforms

PTI, Sep. 20, 2021

Himachal Pradesh will link all of 27,000 self-help with the e-commerce platforms of the Central government and private companies, said state Rural Development Minister Virender Kanwar

Virender Kanwar, Rural Development Minister to provide a wider market to products made by 27,000 self-help groups comprising 2.80 lakh women, Himachal Pradesh will link all of them with the e-commerce platforms of the Central government and private companies, state Rural Development Minister Virender Kanwar said on Sunday.

The platform will enable small artisans living in the remote backward areas to showcase their handmade products to the market, globally.

The process of uploading the products through government e-marketplace (GeM) is under progress, he said. Likewise, the products of self-help groups made under the brand Him Ira will also be made available on private e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart.

The necessary standardization procedure and quality tests are being completed to provide sustainable livelihood opportunities to the self-help groups.

This would also integrate the self-help groups with the government's public finance management system, which would mean easy payment for their sales, said the minister.

The government will also help them in branding, packaging and pricing their products to make them more marketable. The new platform will open doors of revenue generation.

Currently the products are being displayed for sale at government emporiums.

The Tourism Department has also agreed to display their products at all their hotels free of cost.

There is a huge demand for ethnic organic products like dry fruits, medicinal herbs, honey, spices, handicrafts and handlooms among those living in metros.

As per government records, more than 12,000 self-help groups are involved in activities other than farm products and some 15,000 doing farm-related activities under the ambit of the National Rural Livelihood Mission.

The products they make are usually sold in 40 Him Ira shops, each having an average sale of Rs 45,000 per month. The government aims to set up 100 more such shops.

In addition, a weekly market is organised at the segment level in which women can sell their products directly to customers.

10.2. Centre to focus on digitisation of 98,000 agri cooperatives for digital lending

ET Gov. Sep. 25, 2021

The priority will be on "ease of doing business" in cooperatives, and the cooperative manpower will be trained to bring professionalism, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation Devendra Kumar Singh said.

The government will focus on digitisation and modernisation of about 98,000 primary agriculture cooperatives (PACs) to ensure digital lending, said Devendra Kumar Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Cooperation, on Saturday. He was speaking at the first 'Sehkarita Sammelan' or National Cooperative Conference here.

In the Union Budget 2021, the government had announced the setting up of the Ministry of Cooperation. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been given the additional charge of the ministry. Kumar said the government will also take steps to popularise the cooperative movement and quality products manufactured by cooperatives in the international market.

The priority will be on "ease of doing business" in cooperatives, the secretary said and added the cooperative manpower will be trained to bring professionalism. He applauded the contribution of cooperative bodies like IFFCO, KRIBHCO, Amul in strengthening the cooperative movement and achieving milestones.

The conference at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium is being organised by cooperative bodies like, IFFCO, National Cooperative Federation of India, Amul, Sahakar Bharti, NAFED, and KRIBHCO.

(With PTI inputs)

- INDUSTRY & MANUFACTURE

11.1. Addverb to expand robots manufacturing by 10 times in next financial year

PTI, Sep. 13, 2021

The company has a manufacturing unit in Noida which was inaugurated in March with capacity to manufacture more than 50,000 robots of varied types in a year.

Addverb will also set-up micro-factories in geographies where it sees a surge in demand. Robotics and automation firm Addverb plans to expand its robot manufacturing unit in India to boost its output by around 10 times in the next financial year, a senior company official said. The company has announced the start of international operations in Singapore, Australia, Europe and is looking to start operations in the US before the end of the ongoing calendar year.

"Addverb is looking to expand its manufacturing capability and is looking to create the world's largest robot manufacturing facility in India which will expand Addverb's capabilities by almost 10 times by next financial year," Addverb Technology CEO Sangeet Kumar told PTI.

The company has a manufacturing unit in Noida which was inaugurated in March with capacity to manufacture more than 50,000 robots of varied types in a year.

Addverb will also set-up micro-factories in geographies where it sees a surge in demand.

"Addverb plans to onboard 30 global employees across different offices at middle and top management positions and will also be looking for existing employees from India with relevant subject matter expertise to support global offices," Kumar said.

According to the company, the global robotics market was valued at USD 27.73 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 74.1 billion by 2026.

The company aims to be in the top five global robotics companies by 2025, Kumar said.

Addverb claims to have more than 100 customers including the likes of Reliance, Flipkart, Amazon, Hindustan Unilever, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Future Supply Chain, Marico etc.

11.2. PLI for telecom: Govt approves 31 investment proposals of Rs 3,345 crore

ET TELECOM, Oct. 14, 2021

The DoT had come out with the PLI scheme of Rs 12,195 crore outlay on February 24, 2021, spread over five years (2021-22 to 2025-26), to encourage domestic manufacturing of telecom equipment.

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecommunications on Thursday approved investment proposals of 31 companies amounting to Rs 3,345 crore over the next 4 years, under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom.

"PLI Scheme in the telecom sector has been launched to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. It will help in reducing India’s dependence on other countries for import of telecom and networking products," Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan said.

Chauhan called upon the industry leaders to focus on making high-quality products and expressed the commitment to provide incentives and support to promote world-class manufacturing in the country.

These 31 companies comprise 31 companies 16 MSMEs and 15 non-MSMEs (8 domestic and 7 global companies).

Companies eligible under the MSME category are — Coral Telecom, Elcom Innovations, Frog Cellsat, GDN Enterprises, GX India, Lekha Wireless Solutions, Panache Digilife, STL Networks, and eight others.

The eligible domestic companies under the non-MSME category are — Akashastha Technologies, Dixon Technologies, HFCL, ITI Limited, Neolync, Syrma Technology, Tejas Networks, and VVDN Technologies.

The eligible global companies under the non-MSME category are — Commscope, Flextronics, Foxconn, Jabil Circuit, Nokia Solutions and Networks India, Rising Stars Hi-Tech, and Sanmina-SCI India.

The DoT had come out with the PLI scheme of Rs 12,195 crore outlay on February 24, 2021, spread over five years (2021-22 to 2025-26), to encourage domestic manufacturing of telecom equipment.

The scheme is expected to facilitate the production of nearly 1.82 lakh crore, and investment of about Rs 3,345-crore which is envisaged in the sector for over four years, creating additional employment of more than 40,000 people, the telecom department had said in a note.

The scheme is expected to additionally employ as many as 40,000 individuals in the telecom sector.

The scheme for the telecom sector includes manufacturing of transmission equipment, next-generation (4G and 5G) radio access network and wireless equipment, customer premise equipment (CPE), access devices, routers, and switches.

Coral Telecom MD Rajesh Tuli while highlighting the inclusion of MSMEs said the company would have been “handicapped” without the scheme.

Meanwhile, hailing the approval of proposals, homegrown telecom gear makers’ body Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA) said the scheme will boost research and development (R&D), innovations, and encourage the domestic manufacturing of 4G and 5G which will enable India to become a global supplier.

TEMA expects this will create direct and indirect employment opportunities for about 1 lakh individuals over the next five years.

“This step is in the right direction to make India Atma Nirbhar Bharat in Telecom Sector. The decision has come right time and investment of the order of Rs 5,000 crores has been committed, as besides PLI beneficiaries Rs 3,345 crores, there would be an investment in ancillaries and startups of about Rs 1,600 Crores,” said NK Goyal, Chairman Emeritus TEMA.

“This will boost R&D, Innovations and help in domestic manufacturing of 4G and 5G. India will soon be suppliers to world for 4G and 5G. The expected turnover of more than Rs 1.82 lakh crores will raise Indian manufacturing to global level,” Goyal added.

Terming it a “landmark decision”, Goyal added that MSMEs have been put at par with large and multinational companies, with the announcement for 16 MSMEs and 15 non-MSMEs at the same time, with the MSME getting 1% additional benefit.

“There has been equal treatment between domestic and global companies as both got 8 and 7 winners respectively,” he said.

12.1. Indian e-commerce sales could grow by up to 60%, hit US$ 84 billion in CY21: study

IBEF, Oct. 08, 2021

EasyEcom, an omnichannel inventory management and e-commerce solution provider released a predictive analysis report on the state of e-commerce in India for the calendar year 2021. The report has been prepared post analysing the data around online sales during 2019 and 2020, according to a press release issued by the company.

As per the findings of the report, total e-commerce sales for the calendar year 2021 are anticipated to clock US$ 67-84 billion, up considerably from US$ 52.57 billion achieved in 2020, and US$ 40.44 billion in 2019.

The report further states that e-commerce sales throughout the festive season have been consistently soaring over the past few years and that the trend is anticipated to persist in the current calendar. EasyEcom said in the report the growth has been constant in the face of several months of lockdown and that it assumes to see e-commerce retail sales clock US$ 11-14 billion during this festive season alone, up by anything between 32-68% over 2020’s figure.

With a global pandemic imminent at large, e-commerce saw a staggering 66% retail hike during the festive season 2020. In 2019, the total online festive sales accounted for US$ 5 billion, and went up to US$ 8.3 billion in 2020, due to inadequate offline services during the first phase of nationwide lockdown.

In recent years, electronics has appeared as the leading category in this space, with a 34% share of gross merchandise value (GMV) in total e-commerce sales for the year 2020. Followed by fashion and apparel (26%), food and groceries (24%), furniture and appliances (5%), with an increasing customer base from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The report says that in 2021, electronics will remain the leading category followed by other major lifestyle segments.

“We believe that e-commerce retail will remain to rise up for the festive season of 2021, due to swiftly shifting customer preferences and digital adoption by masses in the aftermath of a global pandemic. The numbers predict that revenue for digital commerce will stay to register a gigantic YoY growth till 2026 and beyond. The festive season this year will contribute significantly towards this revenue growth enabling D2C brands to make up for any shortfalls they might have incurred during the pandemic, “said Ms. Swati Jindal, Co-Founder at EasyEcom.

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

12.2. Centre clears Rs 26,000 cr PLI scheme to push manufacturing in auto, drone industries

ET Gov. Sep. 15, 2021

The new PLI scheme will incentivize the advanced automotive technologies’ global supply chain in India. It will also promote the strategic and operational use of drones.

In a big push to join the global manufacturing league and enhance similar capabilities in a sustainable manner, the Union cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday cleared a Rs 26,058 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for auto, auto-components and drone industries to ensure higher manufacturing output.

The new PLI scheme will now incentivize the emergence of advanced automotive technologies’ global supply chain in India. According to the PLI scheme, the incentives worth Rs 26,058 crore will be provided to industry over five years.

While announcing the cabinet decision Union I&B minister, Anurag Thakur said the that it is estimated that over a period of five years, the PLI scheme for the automobile and auto components industry will lead to fresh investment of over Rs 42,500 crore, incremental production of over Rs 2.3 lakh crore and will create additional employment opportunities of over 7.5 lakh jobs.

Under the PLI scheme existing auto sector players will have to make new investments of Rs 1,000 crore over the next five years to benefit from the scheme. New players will have to invest over Rs 2,000 crore. Also new players in the auto component sector will have to invest Rs 500 crore while existing players will have to invest Rs 250 crores to reap the scheme benefits.

Meanwhile, the PLI scheme for the drones and drone components industry looks to promote the strategic, tactical and operational use of this technology. “A product-specific PLI scheme for drones with clear revenue targets and a focus on domestic value addition is key to building capacity and making these key drivers of India's growth strategy,” Thakur said.

The scheme will over a period of three years, lead to investments worth Rs 5,000 crore, an increase in eligible sales of Rs 1,500 crore and create additional employment of about 10,000 jobs. The government has offered incentives worth Rs 120 crore for the drone sector.

The announcement for automobile and drone industry is part of the overall announcement of PLI schemes for 13 sectors made earlier during the Union Budget 2021-22, with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

“The incentive structure under the Centre’s PLI scheme is likely to encourage industry to make fresh investments for the indigenous global supply chain of Advanced Automotive Technology products,” Thakur said.

The scheme for the auto sector is open to existing automotive companies as well as new investors who are currently not in the automobile or auto component manufacturing business.

According to Thakur, the scheme has two components - Champion OEM Incentive Scheme and Component Champion Incentive Scheme. While the Champion OEM Incentive scheme is a ‘sales value linked’ scheme, applicable on Battery Electric Vehicles and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles of all segments, the Component Champion Incentive scheme is a ‘sales value linked’ scheme, applicable on Advanced Automotive Technology components of vehicles, Completely Knocked Down (CKD)/ Semi Knocked Down (SKD) kits, vehicle aggregates of 2-Wheelers, 3-Wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and tractors.

Also the new incentives under the PLI scheme also looks to fast track the auto sector transition from traditional fossil fuel-based automobile transportation system to environmentally cleaner, sustainable, advanced and more efficient Electric Vehicles (EV) based system.

The PLI scheme for the auto sector will supplement the already launched PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (Rs 18,100 crore) and Faster Adaption of Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (Rs 10,000 crore).

13.1. Flipkart adds 66 warehouses, sortation centres, creates 1.15 lakh seasonal job opportunities

PTI, Sep. 15,2021

"The complexity and scale during BBD (Big Billion Day sale) require us to scale up for capacity, storage, placement, sorting, packaging, human resource, training, delivery, and the entire supply chain. This scale is always unprecedented so we start preparations months in advance," Flipkart Senior Vice President and Head of Supply Chain Hemant Badri told PTI.

In addition, Flipkart has also strengthened its last-mile reach with the addition of more than 1,000 new delivery hubs (DH) across the country. Flipkart on Wednesday said it has added 66 new large-scale fulfilment and sortation centres across the country over the past few months and created 1.15 lakh additional seasonal jobs to strengthen its supply chain network ahead of the festive season. The Walmart-owned company has also bolstered its last-mile delivery capabilities by adding more than 1,000 delivery hubs, while also expanding its partnership with kiranas.

He added that these new facilities including warehouses and sortation centres have been added in the past 4-5 months, and the company now has more than 100 facilities across the country.

The 66 new large-scale fulfilment and sortation centres have been added in the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal. Unlike traditional warehouses, fulfilment centres are equipped with highly automated pick, pack and shipping processes to facilitate safe and timely processing of orders.

In addition, Flipkart has also strengthened its last-mile reach with the addition of more than 1,000 new delivery hubs (DH) across the country.

"Our delivery hubs are the last mile operations. The delivery executives or wish masters deliver shipments to customers from these hubs. We have about 2,600 delivery hubs across the country...We have always expanded our fulfilment centres keeping in mind the growing customer demand and need for e-commerce in tier II and III cities," Badri added.

E-commerce companies see a large chunk of their business coming in during the festive sales and they make significant investments ahead of time to ramp up their capacity to be able to handle the spike in orders. Electronics, fashion and home furnishing are some of the categories that see a huge demand during the festive season.

Companies like Flipkart and Amazon.in hold multiple sale events during the festive season, timed around Dussehra and Diwali.

"Festive season plays a huge role in bringing these consumers and sellers together. From when we started The Big Billion Days to now, every year we have seen a great uptake, from consumers to sellers, from brands to ecosystem partners... It pushes us to solve for the long term, which becomes a new normal," Badri said.

He added that Flipkart makes 60 million deliveries a month and it expects the deliveries to scale up by 1.5-1.8x per day.

"We feel the festive season is an opportunity to create value for all stakeholders including sellers, customers, kiranas, and ecosystem partners. To enable this, we are significantly expanding our supply chain across the country and have opened several large and small warehouses across various states," Badri said.

He added that the company has also increased direct job creation during festive time year-on-year - it was about 50,000 jobs in 2019, 70,000 jobs in 2020 and this year, it is more than a lakh. This includes various roles in the supply chain and also in last-mile delivery including delivery executives, he noted.

This year, Flipkart is creating direct seasonal employment for more than 1.15 lakh people, of which 15 per cent are women and people with disabilities.

Badri pointed out that the company has imparted training to thousands of new hires this season. This includes safety and sanitation measures, the use of hand-held devices, PoS machines, scanners, various mobile applications and ERP software.

"E-commerce has been an enabling force, bringing value and access for sellers and consumers alike. Our supply chain infrastructure and technology-enabled digital ecosystem plays a key role in enabling numerous possibilities by creating lakhs of new jobs, and offering reliable and tech-enabled transformation for traditional warehousing...," Flipkart Group Chief Executive Officer Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in a statement.

Flipkart is at the fulcrum creating possibilities for India, driving industry and economy, and helping sellers, artisans, and weavers deliver to the remotest parts of the country, he added.

"We are committed to making a significant impact on infrastructure creation, employment generation, and creating an ecosystem of entrepreneurship," he said.

This year, more than 100 facilities have been added from brand partners to help customers get faster deliveries.

"This is where it's an ecosystem play that creates synergies between supply chains of brands and Flipkart that leverages shared infrastructure, processes and expertise to create a long-term sustainable value. This also helps in fostering supply chain best practices through cross-pollination and training between brands and Flipkart while ensuring service reliability and efficiency," Badri said.

13.2. US-based consumer electronics maker Westinghouse forays into India, launch TV sets

PTI, Sep. 29, 2021

Westinghouse, the brand that has a legacy of around 130 years, would compete in the entry-level affordable segment of the smart and non-smart LED TV segment. This would be exclusively available on the e-commerce platform Amazon.

US-based consumer electronics brand Westinghouse Electric Corporation has forayed into the Indian market and has launched a range of its TV sets here. The brand has come here in collaboration with its Indian licensing partner Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL) with whom it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement.

The brand will operate into the affordable segment of the LED TV and aims to gain a market share of 3-5% by the end of next year, SPPL said in a statement.

As per the licensing contract, Westinghouse's manufacturing, branding, designing, packaging, and retailing supply chain will be handled by SPPL.

The Noida-based SPPL already has branding licence for international brands which includes Blaupunkt, Thomson, Kodak and White-Westinghouse.

Commenting on the development, SPPL Vice-President Pallavi Singh said: "We are enormously elated to onboard such a trustworthy brand like Westinghouse that is a well-famed as an American consumer electronics giant."

Westinghouse, the brand that has a legacy of around 130 years, would compete in the entry-level affordable segment of the smart and non-smart LED TV segment.

This would be exclusively available on the e-commerce platform Amazon.

"Our prevailing collaboration with Amazon will play a predominant role to make these Television models reach millions of consumers. With this much-awaited launch on Amazon, we are expecting to additionally gain a market share of 3-5% of the affordable TV category by the end of next year," Singh added.

The entire range of Westinghouse TV would be manufactured locally in India by SPPL at its manufacturing units. SPPL has 3 manufacturing plants in India located in Noida, Una and Jammu.

14.1. Quess Corp’s General Staffing division headcount crosses 2.5 lakh mark

ET HR World, Sep. 20, 2021

Quess General Staffing has added over 50,000 headcounts in the past 12 months, growing over 25 per cent in a year, and 285 per cent in 5 years, according to a statement.

Growth has been primarily aided by over 25 per cent growth in BFSI, Telecom, Manufacturing, Industries and Public enterprises, agriculture, and IT / ITeS.Business services company Quess Corp on Monday announced that its General Staffing division has achieved a milestone by scaling the 2,50,000 associate mark.

Quess General Staffing has added over 50,000 headcounts in the past 12 months, growing over 25 per cent in a year, and 285 per cent in 5 years.

Despite the second wave of Covid-19, Quess General Staffing has seen 11 months of growth over the last year, according to a statement. Growth has been primarily aided by over 25 per cent growth in BFSI, Telecom, Manufacturing, Industries and Public Enterprises, Agriculture, and IT / ITeS.

While the FMCG/FMCD sectors have seen a modest growth of 10 per cent~24 per cent over this period, retail has declined due to COVID’s impact on entertainment, travel, hospitality, tourism and mall operations in some parts of the country.

Ajit Isaac, Founder & Chairman, Quess Corp, said, “We are both pleased and grateful to our customers, employees and our widespread network of associates who have helped fuel our dramatic growth over the last 14 years and propelled us to be the world’s 5th largest staffing company by headcount over this period.”

“Our commitment to providing the right talent with the right opportunity to work, while easing the burden of talent acquisition for businesses, is only reinforced through the achievement of this milestone,” Isaac added.

Lohit Bhatia, President of Workforce Management, Quess Corp, said, “Despite fluctuations in demand and supply of talent in a highly volatile market, Quess Staffing has grown at over 25 per cent in past 12 months to scale this new milestone.”

“Our dedicated efforts towards building industry-leading technology platforms to complement our physical capabilities are paying off, even as we double down to ensure Quess Staffing remains the preferred partner for customers and associates alike,” Bhatia added.

Guruprasad Srinivasan, COO - India Region, Quess Corp, said, “With the support of our associates, we have been able to grow despite challenges, and through continuous investment in the potential of our growing workforce, we believe that this is merely the first of many more milestones to be achieved.”

“We see the combination of post-pandemic market recovery, the impetus of the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat agenda and PLI schemes for various manufacturing segments, and the implementation of the new Labour Codes in the coming year as tailwinds that will further fuel formalization across tripartite staffing,” Srinivasan added.

14.2. GDP contribution of domestic electronics component manufacturing to double soon

IANS, Oct. 05,2021

With the increasing focus of the government on domestic manufacturing of electronics components in the country, the electronics sector will see its contribution to GDP almost double in the next few years, industry experts estimate.

New Delhi: With the increasing focus of the government on domestic manufacturing of electronics components in the country, the electronics sector will see its contribution to GDP almost double in the next few years, industry experts estimate.

"With series of Govt interventions like PMP, SPECS and PLI, India is set to become the global hub for electronic products and with the economy of this size it is important for our country to have its own component manufacturing and echo system. This sector today contributes 3.4 per cent to GDP and is expected to contribute 6.4 per cent in next few years," Rajeev Khushu, Chairman, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) said.

IESA is the key industry body representing the Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and intelligent electronics industry in India. Through its deep connection with its member companies, IESA aims to grow the ESDM and electronics business segment in India while making India the preferred destination for electronics and semiconductor design and manufacturing.

Over the last few years, the government has come out with a number of policies towards subsidising and incentivising the manufacture of critical electronics in the country. Currently, the electronics import bill for the India is the second highest after petroleum and petroleum products.

The government has released a number of policies towards significantly increasing India's domestic electronics manufacturing and is continually improving on these policies. These policies include the National Policy on Electronics (NPE) that sets the vision of making India a global hub of Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM), the Product Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) and Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) that incentivises domestic manufacturing of electronics, among others.

As per data available from Invest India, the agency responsible for investment promotion in India, electronic component production has risen by as much as $4 billion from 2014 to 2018. While the global market for electronic components is expected to reach $191.8 billion by 2022, India's share in global electronics manufacturing has grown from 1.3 per cent in 2012 to 3.6 per cent in 2019. Growth in the Indian electronic components market is driven by rising domestic demand and a growing electronics ecosystem coupled with initiatives like 'Make in India' and 'Digital India'. This has resulted in the Indian Electronic Components Market increasing from $11 billion in the financial year 2009-10 to $20.8 billion in the financial year 2018-19, showing an annual growth rate of around 7 per cent.

"With the median age of India in twenties the consumption of electronics is growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent for next few decades and as a result we will leap into top 3 countries in the ESDM consumption and top 5 countries in electronics production," Khushu added.

Further, initiatives such as 'Digital India' and 'Smart City' projects have raised the demand for Internet of Things. The Indian electronics markets is considered one of the largest in the world and expected to hit $400 billion by 2025.

15.1. UP govt clears plan to set up Electronic Park in NCR

ET Gov. Sep. 21, 2021

The proposed Electronic Park to be developed by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) is likely to attract Rs 50,000 crore investment

Paving the way to roll out a new development plan in the national capital region (NCR), the Yogi Adityanath led government in Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday cleared a proposal to develop an Electronic Park for electronic accessories in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) area.

According to the proposed government estimates the new Electronic Park is likely to attract an investment of Rs 50,000 crore and provide employment to many thousands of local youths.

“The decision to develop electronic park has been taken in view of the growing interest among electronic industry giants to set up their ventures in Uttar Pradesh due to the investor-friendly policies of the Government. The Park is likely to be developed in an area of 250 acres either in Sector 14, or Sector 10 of YEIDA near Jewar Airport,” senior IAS officer and YEIDA CEO Arun Veer Singh said.

The project is among the latest announced by the state government in last one year. The state government has so far cleared projects including Toy Park, Film City, Medical Device Park and Leather Park in NCR.

These projects are likely to attract major investments as the work at the Jewar Airport in NCR has also started. Following the launch of Jewar Airport project about 1,942 industrialists have announced invests to the tune of Rs 17,272.74 crore, which includes setting up new units.

“National and international companies making mobile phones, TVs and other electronic goods will establish their units in the park. The investors are impressed by the State Government’s policies to promote electronics industry,” Singh said.

According to YEIDA, a large number of industries plan to invest in the after the state government cleared a key proposal of opening a new airport in Jewar. As per government estimates the proposed Medical Device Park will be built at a cost of Rs 5,250 crore on 350 acres of land in Sector-28 and will offer employment to more than 20,000 people. Also over 15,000 people are likely to get jobs at the proposed Noida Film City.

Similarly, the Toy Park and Leather Park will provide employment to over 10,000 youths each. The Electronic Park will also boost employment prospects.

15.2. Tesla, Apple now target 2022 to bolster India manufacturing story

IANS, 29 Sep. 2021

"The retail store continues to be a key fulcrum for Apple's growth in India. It will steer Apple products availability, accessibility and affordability in the country," said Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CyberMedia Research (CMR).

New Delhi: The two big-ticket investments in India this year -- Tesla and Apple -- which were set to lift the country as a brand on the world map and further end dependence on China-led investments in the tech and auto sectors, has somewhat been delayed owing to the pandemic and global chip shortage. Nonetheless, both the giants now aim to rewrite their India manufacturing story next year as Covid slows down.

Both Elon Musk and Tim Cook had announced a big-bang entry into the country. Musk wanted his electric cars to run on the domestic roads (despite import duty concerns) while Cook announced to open first branded retail store (in Mumbai), along with a thrust on assembling/manufacturing more Apple products in the country.

However, the second Covid-19 wave and a severe automobile semiconductor shortage have somewhat hampered their plans for the year.

According to Soumen Mandal, research analyst (IoT, automotive and devices ecosystem) at Counterpoint Research, India is believed to become one of the largest EV markets soon and Tesla is aware of this fact.

"None of the big automakers wants to leave out the opportunity to acquire a share in the India market. Tesla is not an exception in this case. The cheap availability of resources and lower labour cost will allow Tesla as well as other automakers to earn a higher profit if they set up a local manufacturing or assembly plant," Mandal told IANS.

The government wants Tesla to either start local manufacturing or assembly plant before getting any import tax concession.

"Hence, the desire to earn more profit as well as the wish to acquire a market share in one of the to-be largest auto markets is bringing Tesla to India," he added.

This microchip shortage has badly affected the automotive industry, which has increasingly become a big consumer of microchips.

When most automakers are predicting that this chip shortage will go through 2023, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says that things will turn positive from 2022.

"All most every automaker is currently suffering from the ongoing semiconductor shortage. While most of the automakers like Stellantis, Volkswagen, Toyota, BMW, Ford and others have cut production severely due to the ongoing chip crisis, Tesla has not been affected significantly," said Mandal.

The Indian passenger car market is mostly dominated by cars priced below Rs 10 lakh, whereas the current Model 3 of Tesla costs (about Rs 29 lakh without import and other taxes) put the car in the premium segment, and the market share of the premium segment in the country was just 7 per cent in 2020.

Presently, India is under the global spotlight due to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Under the scheme, the foreign manufacturers can acquire resources at very nominal cost only if they set up manufacturing or assembly plant, locally.

The PLI scheme has been extra generous towards electric vehicles and its components like batteries because India is already running behind in EV adoption and wants to put a significant number of EVs on road by 2030.

The pandemic has also forced the iPhone maker from opening its own offline store to its fans in India this year. It opened its own online store before the festive season last year, which has seen a tremendous success.

The consumer demand for the new iPhone 13 series is robust in the country. The iPhone 13 series, for which pre-orders were thrown open in India last week, received a record response like last year from fans across the country.

"However, the current supply chain dynamics is causing some constraints for Apple Watch as well as the iPhones. We believe that Apple is slightly better placed in augmenting its supplies over the coming quarters, and meet the strong demand," Ram told IANS.

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

16.1. TCS hires 43,000 freshers in H1 FY22, plans to add 35,000 in H2

ET Bureau, Oct. 09, 2021, Priyanka Sangani

On Friday, the company said that it had added a total of 19,690 employees during the previous quarter, taking its total workforce strength to 528,748. Last quarter, the company had crossed the 5 lakh employees mark. At present, women comprise 36.2% of the total workforce.

TCS said its attrition is at 11.9%, the lowest in the IT industry and is able to retain talent in an era where companies, both within India and globally are fighting to retain people and hire talented professionals to meet growing demand.India’s largest IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services said that it had added 43,000 freshers in the first six months of the fiscal, its highest in the period so far, and would hire another 35,000 freshers over the course of the year as it looks to meet the growing demand for executing projects it is winning from global customers.

“This has been a fulfilling quarter in more ways than one. We brought on board a record number of 43,000 fresh graduates in the last six months. Our Shift-Left training strategy has helped us significantly accelerate their deployment. Investing ahead of time in building our own pipeline of talent has helped us overcome supply-side challenges, and meet the execution timelines of our customers’ growth and transformation programs,” said Milind Lakkad, chief HR officer, Tata Consultancy Services.

“By focusing on organic talent development and by linking learning with careers, we have kept employee satisfaction levels high. At the same time, we continue to scale up programs like Contextual Masters and Elevate to groom the G&T leaders for the workforce of tomorrow,” he said.

Lakkad said that 70% of their employees were now fully vaccinated, with over 95% having received at least one dose. “We plan to gradually get our workforce back in office by the end of this year,” he said.

At the end of September, 2021, the company said that over 417,000 employees had been trained in next technologies, and over 26,000 contextual masters had been identified.

16.2. What would it take to make the National Digital Health Mission a success?

ET CIO, Sep. 24, 2021, Dhrumil Dhakan

Dr. Praveen Gedam, Addl. Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority & Mission Director (NDHM), Government of India says the country’s United Health Initiative, an attempt to integrate all healthcare systems, would require a lot of innovation and willingness from the industry to be successful.

The pandemic has drastically changed the way workplaces operate, and it is tough to imagine things going back to normal. One of the most important lessons learned during this remote working era is location irrelevancy, with people working from the comfort of their home, one thing is certain, it is difficult to even fathom going back to the normal state of affairs.

During a recent ETCIO Fireside, experts from the private and public sector gave an insight on how the Central and State governments are reassessing their workplace strategies and changing the way they provide citizen services.

The need for accessible government services was at its peak in the last year, so it is important to understand how the government bodies like the NHA were adapting to better reach out to those in need.

“The government departments, particularly the health side, took very proactive steps to engage with the people. So, we relied on traditional methods such as advertisement through mainstream media in audio, visual and also, call centers in a big way, I’m glad to share that NHA did that initiative on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and we did millions of calls, outgoing and also addressed incoming queries in millions,” said Dr. Praveen Gedam, Addl. Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority & Mission Director (NDHM), Government of India.

Dr. Gedam also mentioned how telemedicine was quite restricted pre-pandemic, and during the first lockdown itself, the telemedicine policies were changed drastically with a liberal mindset to suit the harsh times.

With governments continuing on their path to leverage collaborative platforms for their daily platforms, it is paramount to develop a connected workforce with people based all over the subcontinent.

“If I have to break it down, I would start at a level where, if I have to talk about our country, we have two distinct spectrums. First spectrum is a huge talent pool, products and services which are basically Indian and on the other hand, we have a massive consumer base which is our sheer population which is spread across the length and breadth of the country. Now, the challenge is where these two spectrums meet, there is a huge gap,” explained Sameer Raje, General Manager & Head of India, Zoom Video Communications.

He further goes on to state that the talent, especially women, in the Tier 2 & 3 cities are enabled to work in good organizations or move to metropolitan cities and consumers in those cities similarly lack those choices in services.

“And in case of healthcare, if we have to talk about, there are people who need healthcare in remote villages and they’re unable to access this facility but on the other hand, we’ve got the topmost, probably are the brightest minds in the medical fraternity in the country, probably in the world, how do we get these two together and I think, the government and IT departments today need to play the role of a facilitator or an enabler, if I may say,” Raje continued.

He further explained that the right talent or service can be leveraged and the consumers can be exploited with choices by following two ways - a Government-Private partnership and secondly, by leveraging the right technology. Commending the initiatives taken by the government, especially in the field of healthcare, he added.

“One of the key success areas we saw was in the Cowin app itself and once we saw the partnerships growing between the private hospitals as well as the Government, we saw the sheer number of vaccinations going up quite high. Now, we’re talking about United Health interface, where we’re talking about healthcare facilities being available through an app or a platform for the various population or citizens of the country,” Raje said.

Providing accessible healthcare across the country should always be the goal of the Government and to do so while expanding capabilities by utilizing existing resources, especially with the challenges faced by the economy is quite the challenge.

Being able to talk to doctors at the touch of a button was just one aspect of the telemedicine, says Raje, “But the other important element which is there to this is the coordination between the field staff, as well as the healthcare professionals at the backend and third element is the governing bodies and these three elements which were brought together on collaborative platforms such as Zoom, brought a huge support to the entire ecosystem rather than working in a silo or its own compartment.”

While there have been multiple solutions in the digital healthcare space like telemedicine, hospital management, etc. it is important to keep in mind that these solutions are scattered and fragmented, with hardly any standardization or interoperability present.

“The challenge for the government is to ensure that this industry moves towards a standardization and interoperability. We are primed to be a facilitator in this regard, broadly on two parameters. One is to standardize the way digital health operates such as having a specific standard terminology, etc. and to provide an interoperable platform, something on the lines of UPI, so we are tentatively calling it UHI (Unified Health Interface) which will connect all these solutions,” said Dr. Praveen.

He explained that the UHI, launched by the Prime Minister, also known as the National Digital Health Mission, is fragmented in its growth and that it will require a lot of push by the industry side, in the form of innovation and willingness.

17.1. Increased shift towards digital is fuelling an already hot data centre industry in India

ET CIO, Sep. 29, 2021, Bhragu Haritas

Data centres have been at the epicentre of this massive shift to digital which was experienced across many industries. Experts suggest this digitisation is most likely to continue, thereby increasing the dependence on data and cloud services.

Currently, home to more than 80 third party data centers, India is witnessing significant investments by domestic and global data center companies owing to the incentives announced by the government. According to a NASSCOM report titled, 'India- The Next Datacentre Hub', there are 25 operational projects, 20 under development projects, 20 announced projects and five planned projects in the country.

According to Rachit Mohan, Head, Data Center Advisory - India, JLL, the Indian DC industry is expected to more than double to 1007 MW by 2023 from its existing capacity of 447 MW.

What’s driving the demand?

Pandemic: The catalyst

As per Nokia Mobile Broadband India Traffic Index, overall data usage increased by 36% in 2020 due to increased usage of smartphones and fixed wireless access. Principally, this digital connectivity was provided by India’s 447 Megawatt of co-location data centre capacity and telecom network.

While 2020 was a challenging year for businesses, five years’ worth of digital growth was witnessed happening in a matter of months. Digitisation became an integral part of businesses, enabling not only smooth functioning but also facilitating continuity of entire economies, according to Milind Kulkarni, SVP Digital & IT & Cybersecurity Head, STT GDC India.

With the pandemic creating a massive migration of critical business applications towards the cloud to facilitate remote working, many enterprises are having to move on from traditional infrastructure to meet the demands of an increasingly digital business world.

“To deal with the distributed workforce, enterprises need to put cloud resources closer to the user to address latency issues and security requirements without compromising performance. Notably, the need for hybrid multicloud solutions is evident across global enterprises,” Manoj Paul, Managing Director, Equinix India.

JLL’s Rachit Mohan believes that Cloud migration is expected to increase in 2021 due to flexibility and security, lower costs and higher performance. The increasing data usage driven by social media activity, online gaming and streaming entertainment is likely to drive the need for more edge data centers in locations beyond the metros.

IT infra upgrade

As enterprises continue to evolve in their digital transformation journeys, there's increasing adoption of emerging technologies such as AI, ML, 5G and IoT. These workloads deal with massive amounts of data and require huge storage, scalability, flexibility, and Hyper Performance Computing (HPC) capabilities.

“It requires large CapEx and skilled resources to build these capabilities in an on-premise environment. Realising this, more and more enterprises are turning to third-party data center companies that can provide hyper scale infrastructure, managed services, HPC capabilities, security and disaster recovery and a host of application-layer solutions on an OpEx model,” said Israni.

“Large enterprises have been pushed to significantly upgrade their IT infrastructure to address increased digital usage. Enterprises have been upgrading their IT infrastructure by adopting hybrid models, given their budget constraints. However, going ahead, competitiveness and digital readiness will drive the up-gradation of IT infrastructure,” said Mohan.

Data localisation

The Government of India is supporting data centres’ growth through a push for data centre infrastructure development, through MeITY’s Data Center Policy.

“The data localization initiatives by the government, to ensure data of Indian consumers are stored on servers in India, will also have a cascading impact on data centre demand. Multi-cloud/hybrid cloud is the key to innovate in this dynamic environment,” Rajiv Sodhi, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft India.

17.2. HCL Tech expands partnership with Google Cloud for healthcare, life sciences solutions

PTI, Oct. 12, 2021

HCL Technologies will establish a joint centre of excellence (CoE) for Google Cloud with industry subject matter experts and Google Cloud-certified ideapreneurs to deliver solutions for payer, provider, medtech and biopharma customers, it added.

HCL Technologies on Monday said it has expanded its strategic partnership with Google Cloud to jointly launch healthcare and life sciences solutions for customers. This partnership will deliver the best of HCL and Google Cloud's deep health care and life sciences domain capabilities and investments through co-innovation and address the shifts in the industry, a statement said.

HCL's Google Cloud Native Labs will help accelerate these solutions with Google Cloud support, which is positioned to deliver solutions through its native data and AI offerings and its security capabilities across the healthcare and life sciences value chain, it said.

HCL's CoE will develop solutions that address critical industry issues, such as interoperability, data governance and security, while delivering a superior customer experience, it added.

"As the healthcare and life sciences industry continues to digitally transform, there is a growing need for solutions that are cloud-native, secure and support innovation," said Kevin Ichhpurani, corporate vice president (Partner Ecosystem) at Google Cloud, said.

"We partnered with Google Cloud for this key initiative because it will enable our experts at HCL to incorporate decades of domain expertise to deliver cutting-edge, cloud-native solutions to the market," Shrikanth Shetty, corporate vice president at HCL Technologies, said.

The partnership will help improve the patient and employee experiences and use data to drive insights in areas like claims management and 'servitization', he added.

18.1. Accenture may have 3 lakh employees in India by 2022

TNN, Sep. 30, 2021, Shilpa Patankar

Saravanan Balasundaram, CEO of talent consultancy firm Han Digital, said, "Our estimates showed that Accenture has hired over 70,000 people in India in the 2021 financial year.”

Accenture currently has more than 250,000 employees.

BENGALURU: Accenture’s headcount in India could cross 3 lakh in its ongoing financial year, which ends in August 2022. The milestone will come after record high levels of hiring over more than a year. The momentum is continuing, considering the company has nearly 30,000 open positions in India now.

Accenture’s India spokesperson told TOI that the company currently has more than 250,000 employees here.

Saravanan Balasundaram, CEO of talent consultancy firm Han Digital, said, "Our estimates showed that Accenture has hired over 70,000 people in India in the 2021 financial year.”

That might be a record for the IT industry in India. TCS and Infosys have been talking of fresher hiring last year and this year of about 30,000-40,000 each. Lateral hiring may add another 10,000 to this.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said in the latest earnings call that the company had added 118,000 people in the last financial year, taking the total headcount to 624,000 people. The fourth quarter alone saw 56,000 net new hires. The hiring is the result of a robust order book. The company had 3 lakh employees in 2014, so the number has more than doubled in seven years.

Balasundaram said that with Accenture posting record numbers and a robust demand environment, the hiring in India will significantly pick up in the coming months. “A sizable demand for talent in India is in hot skills like cloud, cyber security, and data analytics that have emerged as growth drivers for the firm,” he said.

Cognizant has over 2 lakh employees in India, Capgemini has over 1.5 lakh, IBM has over 1 lakh and DXC over 40,000.

Rod Bourgeois, managing partner at DeepDive Equity Research, said India is a hugely important talent source for Accenture, not only to deliver basic services but also high-end services, including those requiring deep skills in AI, cybersecurity, and digital marketing and industry expertise ranging from pharmaceuticals to banking.

“Moreover, we think India’s importance as a talent source has increased due to work-from-anywhere trends combined with a scarcity of digital talent in developed countries. Our research further shows that, during the Covid pandemic, India-based IT services have achieved heightened client satisfaction, which we attribute to Indian staffs’ leaning in to help clients amidst significant Covid-induced challenges,” he said.

James Friedman of Susquehanna Financial Group (SFG), said that while India probably does something of everything for Accenture, India’s growth may also have to do with Accenture seeing double-digit growth in areas such as operations and cloud, which are among the segments that India is known for excellence.

Hansa Iyengar, analyst at London-based IT advisory Omdia, said Accenture is reaping the benefits of shifting its focus to digital early in the game. “Accenture has the largest share (amongst peers) of its revenues coming from digital. The pandemic has accelerated digital initiatives significantly – which is reflected in robust growth for all vendors – but because of Accenture’s digital-heavy base it is outperforming peers. Growth in India is anticipated because of India still being the hottest market for IT talent globally,” she said.

18.2. Gender bender: Women in Jaipur enter jewellery making

TNN, Sep. 13, 2021

Currently, 150-200 women are under the training process. The number of factories showing interest to hire women are growing.

Most women labourers or crafts persons are engaged in artificial and fashion jewellery segment because the sector is growing fast and order pipeline is growing robust.

JAIPUR: The process of jewellery making was always a men’s domain. But this is changing now. With the demand for artificial and fashion jewellery growing, jewellers are now pinning hopes on women to fill the gap in labour supply.

Over the past few months, Sitapura Gems and Jewellery Industries Association has trained and absorbed over 250 women in the core manufacturing process. The target is to skill and employ 2000 but the Covid protocol of working at reduced capacity has slowed down training and deployment. Gaurav Jain, president of Sitapura Gems and Jewellery Association said, “Earlier, women were working as operators or designers. Now, we are preparing them in all the processes of manufacturing, including craftsmanship which was dominated by men.”

He said in other countries like in Europe and China, a lot of women are engaged in the sector in all kinds of jobs roles. “They are highly skilled and as good as men, and sometimes better. We cannot always demand on workers from West Bengal because it has a limitation. That’s why the new women labour pool is very important for us.” Traditionally, security, systems and processes were major issues why women were not preferred in the core manufacturing. But companies have devised ways to mitigate the challenges.

“Because we never focused on women, the infrastructure, systems and processes were not there. Since we cannot allow them with their traditional attire, the factories are giving dresses and created changing room facilities. Secondly, the focus is to have women from nearby areas so that they do not have to spend much time on traveling, given they are required to do other household jobs,” added Jain.

Currently, 150-200 women are under the training process. The number of factories showing interest to hire women are growing. Most women labourers or crafts persons are engaged in artificial and fashion jewellery segment because the sector is growing fast and order pipeline is growing robust.

“The system is working out well. More and more companies are willing to hire women for the core manufacturing jobs because the fashion jewellery segment requires more labour and the demand for products is also increasing. We do not have large training facilities but by the end of December this year, the factories would have hired 500 trained women,” added Jain.

19.1. Tatas back in Air India cockpit

PTI, Oct. 09, 2021

While many airlines have come and gone from the Indian skies since the time when the first move was made to privatise Air India to date, the salt-to-software conglomerate has never let the love affair with aviation, more so with Air India that its former Chairman Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD) had, to go off the radar.

It is said that Tata group executives used to complain in private that JRD -- the pioneer of the Indian aviation industry -- spent more time worrying about Air India than the Tata group when he was heading both the entities. Nevertheless, they also knew heading Air India as Chairman was never just a job but was a labour of love to him.New Delhi: They say better late than never. For the Tatas, the original owners of Air India, bringing back the airline to its fold is worth the wait even if the attempt to privatise the bleeding national carrier by successive governments has taken over two decades.

Considering the respect for legacy that the group has, it is therefore not a surprise that the Tatas shelled out so much (Rs 18,000 crore) to take back Air India. This is a group that didn't mind investing Rs 2 lakh back then in 1932 to start Tata Aviation Service, the precursor of Tata Airlines and Air India.

From the first airmail service flight from Karachi to Bombay in October 1932 with JRD steering a Puss Moth aircraft to wresting control of Air India 89 years later, the conglomerate has had a roller coaster ride in the Indian civil aviation history.

Tata Airlines going public in 1946 as a 'joint stock company' named Air India and the maiden flight on June 8, 1948 of Air-India International -- the first public-private enterprise of independent India -- with its iconic mascot Maharaja to Europe, remain the breakout landmarks in the skies of the group.

Air-India International became one of the best airlines in the world with staff, maintenance and services provided by Tatas' domestic airline Air India.

Contrary to the time taken to privatise the current Air India, it is said that JRD was surprised when the group's proposal made in October 1947 to float Air-India International with the government holding 49 per cent, Tatas 25 per cent and the rest by public was accepted "within weeks", at a time when it took at least two years "not to make a decision".

However, the flights have not been without headwinds. In 1953 when the then government of Jawaharlal Nehru nationalised Air India, JRD fought vehemently against it. There was very little the group could do when the government decided to nationalise 11 airlines, all of which except Air India were making heavy losses and merge them into a single state corporation.

After the nationalisation of Air India, the group's link with civil aviation was through JRD who served as the state carrier's Chairman for 25 years. Yet, the group kept the fire of re-entering the aviation sector burning.

In the 90s, when India's civil aviation sector was opened up to private players, the group's attempt to float a domestic airline in partnership with Singapore Airlines ended in disappointment with the government rejecting the proposal.

In 1994, the Tata group under Ratan Tata's stewardship, had set up a joint venture with Singapore Airlines to start a domestic airline in India but it didn't take off as the then regulations did not permit foreign carriers to hold stake in domestic airlines.

Also, in 2000 the two partners teamed up to purchase stakes in Air India without success.

Still, the group never gave up on its hopes to fly again. In 2012 when India removed foreign investment restrictions, it came together yet again with Singapore Airlines to form a joint venture -- TATA SIA Airlines Ltd, which was incorporated on November 5, 2013, to operate a full service domestic airline under the Vistara brand.

The airlines in which Tata group promoter firm Tata Sons holds 51 per cent stake and Singapore Airlines 49 per cent, had its maiden flight from Delhi to Mumbai on January 9, 2015.

Since then it has spread its wings, serving 40 destinations with over 200 flights daily with a fleet of 47 aircraft.

A year before Vistara took off, Tatas had entered the low-cost, no frills flying segment through a joint venture with Malaysia's AirAsia to fly under the brand AirAsia India, which had its first flight from Bengaluru to Goa in June 2014. It connects 17 destinations in the country at present.

However, AirAsia India, in which the Tatas held 51 per cent stake and Air Asia 49 per cent initially, ran into losses with the COVID-19 pandemic adding to the woes. Last December, Tata Sons agreed to increase its stake in the budget carrier to 83.67 per cent by acquiring an additional 32.67 per cent for USD 37.66 million from AirAsia Investment Ltd (AAIL).

The Malaysian partner had said its business in Japan and India were draining cash, causing the Air Asia Group much financial stress and therefore it was reconsidering its investments in India.

While the homecoming of sorts of Air India will be a joyous moment for the 153-year-old conglomerate, it remains to be seen how would it map the future of its airlines business, considering the fact that the aviation industry crippled by the pandemic is yet to recover from the deadly blows.

19.2. Around 500 new MNCs are likely to set up captive centres in India by FY25

ET Bureau, Sep. 15, 2021

The sector would go on to employ 1.8-2 million people by then, up from 1.38 million at present, the report -- GCC India Landscape: 2021 & Beyond! - launched by IT industry body, National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) in association with global strategic consultancy Zinnov, showed.

ER&D (engineering research and development) is leading the growth story of GCCs in India with a 55% market share, as digital technologies are creating new sources of revenue for ER&D captives. About 500 new multinationals are likely to set up captive centres in India by financial year 2025, while exports from global captive centres (GCCs) could double to between $58 billion and $81 billion from $35.9 billion currently, according to a new report.

At present, about 55,000 people are employed in Tier II towns, and this is projected to increase over time.

“For India to grow as a global GCC hub, GCCs, industry bodies, and the government will need to bridge the skill demand-supply gap and continue to focus on upskilling/reskilling,” said Debjani Ghosh, president, Nasscom.

India is also emerging as a hub for experimentation of various innovations for GCCs due to the scale it offers, with GCCs setting up technical centres here to innovate for the world.

Over 40 Centres of Excellence are focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Over the last 3 years, more than 140 GCCs have set up base in India, taking the total number of GCCs to over 1,430.

The availability of digital talent, maturity of the startup and peer-GCC ecosystem, and a conducive policy environment are among the major drivers enabling the GCC growth story in the country.

Collaborations are becoming more long term and outcome driven as GCCs mature in India. Global management roles are also expanding to include more senior technical leadership out of India, it said.

20. Kerala Tourism to add new 500 farm tourism units in next five years: Tourism Minister

AT TravelWorls, Sep. 15, 2021

The Agri Tourism Network-Farm Tourism will function on the basis of UNWTO’s declaration that sees a future in responsible tourism that emphasizes on the experiential aspect of tour and travel

Inaugurating the Kerala Agri Tourism Network - Farm Tourism, Kerala's Minister for Tourism & PWD PA Mohamed Riyas has said that the state tourism with the support of the local self governments will identify 500 farm tourism units in the state in the next five years. The state tourism will also develop 5,000 homestay farms - integrated agriculture units in the compounds of houses - also by March 31, 2023, the minister said.

Riyas also launched a state-level training programme to create trained manpower to strengthen farm tourism. The Tourism Minister said that the State Responsible Tourism Mission has been entrusted with the responsibility to identify farm tourism destinations with the support of the local self governments at local level. “Tourism projects of Kerala are largely meant to bring benefits to local communities. The department of tourism is striving to tap the tourism possibilities of the entire state.

The responsibility shown by the citizens in showcasing their localities in a sustainable manner has contributed substantially to the success of tourism in many countries. Citizens in each locality should feel proud of their area and take it their responsibility to keep the place safe and hygienic,” the minister said.

Riyas said Kerala’s special agricultural traditions will be taken into account while creating the Agri Tourism Network. The Agri Tourism Network-Farm Tourism will function on the basis of UNWTO’s declaration that sees a future in responsible tourism that emphasizes on the experiential aspect of tour and travel. As many as 680 people have registered under the RT Mission’s training programme.

Those farms run by units that complete the training successfully will qualify for RT packages. Authorities will ensure the marketing of such farms’ produce by connecting them with tourism initiatives as in the famed Kumarakom backwaters of the Kottayam district. The sales will also be carried out online, for which platforms will be formed.

Antony Raju, Transport Minister, Kerala; VR Krishna Teja, Director-Tourism and K Rupesh Kumar, State Coordinator for RT Mission Kerala were present on the occasion.

India and the World

21. India, Germany to see growth in M&A space driven by IT, auto, pharma sectors

IBEF October 05, 2021

As the global financial system regains from the ravages of Covid-19, software program and providers, automotive, prescription drugs and capital goods are expected to maintain the momentum going within the mergers and acquisitions house between India and Germany, reveals a study.

“The biggest perceived challenges for purchasers within the Indian financial system are the paperwork, an elaborate authorized and regulatory framework, and a lack of satisfactory infrastructure,” the examiner has discovered.

Though, “one of many largest challenges Indian buyers deal with is in penetrating the German market, other than its excessive value, is the numerous competitors reducing from a largely developed and arranged ecosystem,” it stated. “This imposes adaptability of enterprise techniques and choices from incoming buyers as a rule to achieve this aggressive panorama,” it stated.

The report that scrutinizes merger and acquisition exercise amongst German and Indian corporations previously decade (2011-2020) has been presented out by Germany’s Ebner Stolz, an unbiased consultancy companies, ranked the highest service supplier for mid-sized corporations and India-based Nexdigm, additionally an unbiased international enterprise advisory supplier. this comes as India and Germany celebrates 70 years of the institution of diplomatic relations.

As of now, 1,800 German corporations have been lively in India and more than 200 Indian corporations had an existence in Germany, the report mentioned. Between 2011-2020, there have been 171 mergers and acquisitions between Indian and German companies. The quantity of bilateral commerce in 2019-20 was US$ 22 billion, it stated.

“After the setback observed in 2020, the economies of each Germany and India are expected to watch a strong restoration as GDP progress charges for 2021 have been pegged at 3.7% and 9.5% respectively,” stated the report.

“The calm noticed in cross-border offers is expected to be countered on account of the reopening of dialogues in paused transactions in addition to revived rigour for new offers,” it stated itemizing the 4 sectors as steering deal exercise within the subsequent few years.

Software program and providers have been projected to do properly given the give attention to avoiding norms mandated throughout the pandemic. As a result, the stress on e-health, ed-tech, e-retail, synthetic intelligence, and automation is scarcely expected to increase, it stated. Cloud adoption and information safety are different areas in IT that can propel deal exercise, the report stated.

In the automotive sector, “the shift to hybrid and electrical automobiles together with technological enhancements (reminiscent of light-weight supplies) will enhance collaborations and investments,” it stated.

In prescription drugs, “the modernizing of provide chains and growth of specialised medicine are likely to enhance FDI or international direct funding,” it stated. “Along with acquisitions and joint ventures, (Indian and German) corporations would also look to contract analysis and manufacturing measures within the close to future,” it stated.

Within the class of capital goods and supplies, “higher investments in inexperienced merchandise and sustainability are expected to drive progress,” it stated.

“Electrical mobility and renewable power are being carefully encouraged by the Indian authorities and can possibly see encouraging developments within the near future,” stated the report.

“With India’s imaginative and perceptive of changing into a self-reliant financial system and establishing itself as a world manufacturing hub, a substantial increase to investments within the manufacturing sector may be anticipated within the near future. MSMEs (micro,small, medium enterprises), are expected to be an essential a part of this transformation. These elements, clubbed with India’s long-term potential, constructive Indo-German commerce and funding associations, favorable coverage frameworks, and the execution of Intergovernmental Consultations by each economies, are expected to draw higher cross-border collaborations,” it stated.

In a study of merger and acquisition tendencies of the previous, the report discovered that Germany ranked among the many prime 5 locations for Indian corporations globally. “Whereas the UK has been the main funding vacation spot in Europe for Indian companies previously, Brexit might boost Germany’s recognition as a foothold for Indian corporations within the EU, as they want an alternative choice to consolidate and handle their EU operations,” it forecasted.

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

22.1. IBM Consulting has expanded hiring at double-digits across its global delivery network: Mark Foster

ET Bureau, Oct. 14, 2021, Dia Rekhi

Mark Foster said business transformation has accelerated for organisations in every industry as they seek to emerge stronger from COVID-19 and pursue digital transformation.

IBM Consulting has expanded hiring at double-digits across its global delivery network, including 55,000 fully cloud-trained consultants globally, and over 70% of professionals have deep industry expertise, Mark Foster, senior vice president, IBM Consulting said while speaking about the company's rebranding exercise.

Foster highlighted that India is 'crucial' to the company's consulting talent and global delivery capability.

"India has always been one of our strongest markets both in business growth and talent," he told ET. "Organizations across the country are accelerating their digital agenda to become technology platforms and experience-centric companies."

He said the company has acquired eight companies for cloud and business process transformation, and consulting acquisitions are expected to drive approximately 2 points of growth.

Speaking about the need for rebranding, Foster said business transformation has accelerated for organizations in every industry as they seek to emerge stronger from COVID-19 and pursue digital transformation.

"With a newly sharpened focus, IBM Consulting is poised to seize this significant marketplace opportunity and more clearly establish our presence in the consulting category. Our ambition is to establish a distinct brand for the current and future moment in business – strengthened by, and strengthening the larger IBM brand," he said.

He said the new brand signals the company's commitment to clients in navigating the new landscape together in an open, collaborative fashion, bringing together the best of IBM and its ecosystem of strategic partners.

"With 140,000 skilled professionals in 150+ countries, the full breadth of IBM Consulting services includes strategy, business process design and operations, data and analytics, systems integration, application modernization, hybrid cloud management and application operations," he said.

IBM Consulting also has a clear intent to leverage a full ecosystem of partners alongside IBM Technology, and our strategic partnerships with SAP, Adobe, Salesforce, Kyndryl, Microsoft, AWS, ServiceNow and Oracle each will contribute at least $1 billion in consulting revenue, he added.

IBM Consulting's strategy would be to develop industry targeted solutions and delivery assets designed to help clients in their business transformation and process outsourcing journey, thereby strengthening their bottom-line performance and improving business efficiency.

There would be continued investment in talent and developing the company's skillsets in areas such as AI, Intelligent workflows, Application modernization and Hybrid Cloud adaption. Later, it would involve leveraging these acquired skills to open new business streams for the future.

There will be committed initiatives to strengthen the business partner ecosystem by strategic collaboration with hyperscalers and cloud solutions and service providers.

Lastly, Foster said that IBM Consulting would leverage hyper-growth being witnessed in global captive centers (GCCs) by investing in those clients.

"GCC continues to be a key pillar of our strategy. Our focus has been on 'Hybrid-GCC'. These hybrid captives are a combination of physical and virtual formats through which digital transformation is delivered and sustained through a robust ecosystem of partners and leveraging the latest IBM technologies and solutions," he said.

Going forward, he said the company is focusing on Business Transformation Services to drive intelligent workflows and Technology Consulting and Application Operations to support hybrid cloud transformation and management.

22.2. The tech job market is red hot; it may remain so for 1-2 years

TNN, Sep. 22, 2021, Avik Das & Shilpa Phadnis

IT services companies, MNC tech centres in India, tech startups now need people in the thousands. For many of the new-age technology skills, salaries are soaring.

The Covid-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on the technology industry – one that almost nobody anticipated. Demand surged, as enterprises realised tech is core to sustainability. The initial increase in demand could be handled by techies sitting idle in the early months of the pandemic. But from around April this year, tech demand and tech startup funding were so humongous that demand for talent started soaring.

IT services companies, MNC tech centres in India, tech startups now need people in the thousands. For many of the new-age technology skills, salaries are soaring.

Sangeeta Gupta, chief strategy officer at Nasscom, thinks this wave will last a few quarters. Jagdish Mitra, chief strategy officer at Tech Mahindra, says it could go up to three years.

For engineers, and those with a math and statistics background, this is almost a dream world. Many of them are holding multiple job offers, playing one employer against the other.

But for companies, it is a nightmare. Fulfilling customer commitments on time depends crucially on being able to employ enough people quickly. Unfunded startups are among the worst hit. Atul Batra, former head of the Nasscom Product Council, says it’s a real challenge for early-stage startups to compete with the kind of salaries MNCs offer.

In the short term, there are limited options. Gupta says companies have to hire more freshers – many may have to go to colleges and polytechnics and small towns that they have never been to. “They will have to train them quickly to make them deployable in projects, upskill existing employees on newer technologies, get women who have left work to come back,” she says.

Kamal Karanth, co-founder of specialist staffing firm Xpheno, says even amongst the digitally enabled/skilled talent, less than 40% can be termed as experts. So a lot of upskilling efforts will become necessary quickly.

Mitra says Tech Mahindra is handling the compensation increases by linking them with outcomes for the customer. That helps to ensure margins don’t go out of whack.

To address the demand-supply gap in the longer term, India needs to take its education and skilling initiatives a lot more seriously. Apprenticeship and closer collaboration between industry and academia are things that have been debated for long with few results. “The biggest defect is we only have 0.5 million apprentices, while Germany has about 2.7 million,” says Manish Sabharwal, vice chairman of talent provider TeamLease Services. “Degree apprenticeship is the future, but apprenticeship is a tripartite agreement between the company, university and student, while in India the agreement is only between the last two,” he says.

Nasscom, in partnership with the government, has started the FutureSkills Prime platform, under which many trainers are offering numerous courses at subsidised rates to learners.

Many companies are also taking serious initiatives. Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairperson & CEO of Salesforce India, says some of the courses of Salesforce have got the necessary certification that allows AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) colleges to offer them as electives and give credits for them. Mindtree has launched a programme with BITS Pilani as part of which BSc and BCA graduates hired by the company can pursue an MTech degree in software engineering.

But despite surging salaries for certain skills, India remains highly competitive, partly because, as Gupta says, other countries too are seeing tech salary increases. Paneesh Rao, chief people officer at Mindtree, also has this warning for young engineers: “Never overprice yourself. If you make yourself unaffordable, that is the end of your career.”

23. How many satellites are orbiting Earth?

AP, Sep. 18, 2021

Over the the second half of the 20th century, there was a slow but steady growth, with roughly 60 to 100 satellites launched yearly until the early 2010s.

It seems like every week, another rocket is launched into space carrying rovers to Mars, tourists or, most commonly, satellites. The idea that "space is getting crowded" has been around for a few years now, but just how crowded is it? And how crowded is it going to get?

I am a professor of physics and director of the Center for Space Science and Technology at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Many satellites that were put into orbit have gone dead and burned up in the atmosphere, but thousands remain. Groups that track satellite launches don't always report the same exact numbers, but the overall trend is clear - and astounding.

Since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik - the first human-made satellite - in 1957, humanity has steadily been putting more and more objects into orbit every year. Over the the second half of the 20th century, there was a slow but steady growth, with roughly 60 to 100 satellites launched yearly until the early 2010s.

But since then, the pace has been increasing dramatically.

By 2020, 114 launches carried around 1,300 satellites to space, surpassing the 1,000 new satellites per year mark for the first time. But no year in the past compares to 2021. As of Sept. 16, roughly 1,400 new satellites have already begun circling the Earth, and that will only increase as the year goes on. Just this week, SpaceX deployed another 51 Starlink satellites into orbit.

Small satellites, easy access to orbit

There are two main reasons for this exponential growth. First, it has never been easier to get a satellite into space. For example, on Aug. 29, 2021, a SpaceX rocket carried several satellites - including one built by my students - to the International Space Station. On Oct. 11, 2021, these satellites will deploy into orbit, and the number of satellites will increase again.

The second reason is that rockets can carry more satellites more easily - and cheaply - than ever before. This increase isn't due to rockets getting more powerful. Rather, satellites have gotten smaller thanks to the electronics revolution. The vast majority - 94% - of all spacecraft launched in 2020 were smallsats - satellites that weigh less than around 1,320 pounds (600 kilograms).

The majority of these satellites are used for observing Earth or for communications and internet. With a goal of bringing the internet to underserved areas of the globe, two private companies, Starlink by SpaceX and OneWeb together launched almost 1,000 smallsats in 2020 alone. They are each planning to launch more than 40,000 satellites in the coming years to create what are called "mega-constellations" in low-Earth orbit.

Several other companies are eyeing this US$1 trillion market, most notably Amazon with its Project Kuiper .

A crowded sky

With the huge growth in satellites, fears of a crowded sky are starting to come true. A day after SpaceX launched its first 60 Starlink satellites, astronomers began to see them blocking out the stars. While the impact on visible astronomy is easy to understand, radio astronomers fear they may lose 70% sensitivity in certain frequencies due to interference from satellite megaconstellations like Starlink.

Experts have been studying and discussing the potential problems posed by these constellations and ways the satellite companies could address them . These include reducing the number and brightness of satellites, sharing their location and supporting better image-processing software.

As low-Earth orbit gets crowded, concern about space debris increases, as does a real possibility of collisions.

Future trends

Less than 10 years ago, the democratization of space was a goal yet to be realized. Now, with student projects on the Space Station and more than 105 countries having at least one satellite in space, one could argue that that goal is within reach.

Every disruptive technological advancement requires updates to the rules - or the creation of new ones. SpaceX has tested ways to lower the impact of Starlink constellations, and Amazon has disclosed plans to de-orbit their satellites within 355 days after mission completion. These and other actions by different stakeholders make me hopeful that commerce, science and human endeavors will find sustainable solutions to this potential crisis.

(Disclaimer: This article is syndicated by AP from The Conversation. Supriya Chakrabarti, University of Massachusetts Lowell. Views are personal.)

24. India committed to assist world in providing most cost-effective ICT services: MoS Devusinh Chauhan

ANI, Oct. 13, 2021

He said this while he was participating in the Ministerial Roundtable Session of the 50th-anniversary edition of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Digital World 2021. The programme was hosted by the Vietnam Government.

New Delhi: India is committed to assist the world in providing the most cost-effective ICT services for accelerating digital transformation by sharing its best practices and knowledge with other nations, said Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister stated that India's telecom policy is driven by the objectives of affordability, accessibility and availability of state of art ICT facilities to every citizen.

India under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ushered historical telecom reforms to ensure the most affordable telecom services which will lead to digital transformation to the next level, he said.

As per the press release issued by the Ministry of Communications, these telecom reforms mainly include an increase in spectrum tenure from 20 to 30 years, rationalization of bank guarantee requirements for a license, no Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) for spectrum acquired in future spectrum auctions and allowing 100 per cent foreign investment through automatic route besides addressing liquidity issues of Telecom Service Providers (TSPs),

"This reformative process will unleash the true potential of the Indian telecom sector to the benefit of all sections including those who live in the remotest part of the country. The vision of the Prime Minister of India will also inspire other countries to charter the same path as adopted by India," he added.

Chauhan further stated that India has not only been working on affordability but has made accessibility one of the prime objectives of telecom policy. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has mandated that all six lakh villages of India should be connected through an optical fibre."

Deputy Secretary-General of the ITU appreciated the role of the Prime Minister of India in supporting the telecom revolution in the country. He further stated that if transformative initiatives are taken at the highest level, their chances of success and potential increase manifold, of which India is a fine example.

In the above session, the Prime Minister of Vietnam and Ministers of Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Lao P.D.R., Myanmar and Vietnam also participated.

25. India-Russia coop in 6G, cybersecurity and video analytics gathers momentum

ET Bureau, Oct. 15, 2021, Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury

For both India and Russia the technological independence of its market is a priority, said Vasily Brovko, Director for Special Assignments of RostecState Corporation, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NtechLab.

India and Russia share close bonds for more than 20 years by the Declaration on Strategic Partnership. In an attempt to push economic ties commensurate with political ties, both large corporations and promising startups are driving innovation between the two countries in the near future.

Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity

In a recent report titled,“Through trust and partnership – to new heights of cooperation”, it was noted that Russia and India plan to work more intensively together on the creation of high-tech products. Among the priority areas is the development of artificial intelligence, robotics and nanotechnology, as well as the pharmaceutical sector.

Work in this area is already ongoing and to date there have been some notable successes. A private school in Chennai, for instance, is using a Russian developmentcalled Promobot V.4 to teach about service robotics.

Oleg Kivokurtsev, Development Director of Promobot, explained, “Children can learn everything about the work of artificial intelligence with a live example of AI in action. This will help them independently create and quickly develop projects”.

As the Covid-19 pandemic forced companies to move to remote working, the number of data thefts and cyber-attacks around the world shot up dramatically. At the beginning of the year, the Russian developer of cybersecurity systems Zecurion signed a partnership agreement with the Indian IT distributor BD Software. The companies jointly plan to develop solutions to prevent persistent and deeply damaging corporate fraud.

According to Lidia Kulik, Head of India Research,SKOLKOVO Institute for Emerging Markets Research, digital transformation is today one of the main priorities for Russia. She said: “…to create a secure digital space, Russia and India, as two independent IT markets, must develop and coordinate security principles, especially concerning cyber threats.”

Video analytics and telecommunications

As part of the hardware and software complex for Moscow’s “Safe City”, video surveillance is being modernized with advanced video analytics. The new facial recognition system can read data from 125,000 cameras in the capital. A structural update is also planned for PARSIV, a gateway through which police officers can connect to the Moscow’s facial recognition system to search for criminals. Technology is being developed with the use of the system’s cameras to record the routes and movement of criminals. Innovations in the field of public security are not only limited to Moscow. Discussions are underway to install new camera systems across the regions and to create a national video surveillance platform.

Earlier, the Indian Western Railway, in a major strategic move, commissioned video cameras with face recognition functionality. The video analytics system developed by the Russian company NtechLab was installed at 30 railway stations on railway sections between the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, including Mumbai.

Vasily Brovko, Director for Special Assignments of RostecState Corporation, Chairman of the Board of Directors of NtechLab said, “It is of great significance that this platform was introduced in India, which is today is one of the fastest-growing technology markets in the world and where all the world’s leading IT leaders are trying to gain a foothold.”

“However, for India, as well as for Russia, the technological independence of its market is a priority. The governments don’t want to be tied into a small number of vendors. Therefore, in addition to exporting NtechLabsolutions, we are ready to offer the Indian market close cooperation within a wide range of technological projectssuch as developing wireless communications for 5G and also 6G.”

Artem Kukharenko, Founder, NtechLab said, “Despite many years of friendly contacts between our countries, cooperation between Russia and India in the field of IT, unfortunately, remains at a rudimentary level. We are certainly aware of the success of individual companies in the Indian market but this does not reflect the enormous potential of greater cooperation. So any advancement in technology cooperation is certainly to be praised andencouraged.”

Tatyana Shaumyan, Head of the Center for Indian Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies Russian Academy of Sciences, noted, “India and Russia already have established economic relations, for example, in energy, metallurgy and space technologies. New opportunities are emerging today in medicine, pharmaceuticals, IT and telecommunications as part of joint development initiatives.”

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Monday 18 October 2021

NEWSLETTER, 20-X-2021

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

– AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

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

NEWSLETTER, 20-X-2021

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

- AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

- INDUSTRY & MANUFACTURE

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

India and the World