AAPI: April 2022

DELHI, 20th APRIL 2022

Index of this Newsletter

INDIA

INDIA & THE WORLD

21. India-Australia sign trade pact; bilateral trade to reach $45 bn in 5 years
22. Indian goods exports reach $400 bn for first time ever, says PM Modi
23. How recent graduates benefit from India and Australia's historic trade deal
24. India, Australia working in Quad to ensure peace in Indo-pacific: Goyal
25. Trade Agreements signed with Australia and UAE will open infinite opportunities

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DELHI, 20th APRIL 2022

NEWSLETTER, 20-IV-2022

INDIA

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

1.1. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann launches anti-corruption helpline

ET Gov. 21 Mar. 2022

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal tweeted a video message, claiming that the practice of demanding bribes for getting work done in government offices will be stopped.

On a day when the new MLAs took oath, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday announced the launch of an anti-corruption helpline — his government’s first initiative a day after he took charge. He also assured that his government would not indulge in political vendetta unlike earlier regimes and he wouldn’t maintain a red diary like other parties, only a green one.

In a video message, Mann said the helpline will be unveiled on martyrdom day of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on March 23 and will enable the people of Punjab to lodge their complaints regarding corruption on a WhatsApp number that he will monitor.

Claiming that it will be his personal WhatsApp number, Mann said a similar initiative to check corruption by the AAP government in Delhi had worked and it will be replicated in Punjab. “Wherever I used to go in the state, people used to complain about the existing system. It is my responsibility to make their lives better. It is an unprecedented announcement. Send the video or audio recordings and my office will inquire into it and take action,” he added.

Referring to the "forced weekly collection (hafta vasooli)" in earlier regimes, he said that no AAP leader will make calls to harass officers for such weekly collections or for transfers and postings.

Assuring that he would set the corrupt system right and people's work will be done smoothly, Mann promised to "make a Punjab of Bhagat Singh's dreams".

Earlier in the day, Mann had tweeted that a big pro-people decision would be taken on Thursday.

"It is not a threat to any government employee. 99% people are honest, the system crumbles due to only 1%. I will not let the entire bureaucracy and government staff get tarnished because of a few," said Mann. Mann also exhorted the top brass of state civil and police administration to discharge their duties as public servants in the letter and spirit, respecting the massive mandate given to AAP in the recently concluded assembly polls.

Addressing his maiden meeting after assuming charge as CM, Mann announced a quarterly 'Best Performance Award' for civil and police officers making a difference in the lives of common man at the grassroots level besides ensuring free and fair justice to one and all.

He also directed the DGP to send congratulatory messages to family members of all police employees on their birthdays.

Urging officers to display team spirit to make Punjab a frontrunner state, Mann said, ''Matches are won or lost but it is the team spirit which matters.''

Sending out a clear message, the chief minister said, "I expect you to respect the common man, and in turn, we would too give you respect and due recognition in exhibiting the real spirit of being a public servant. Corrupt officers have no place in my government and if any such complaint comes to my notice, don't expect any sort of sympathy."

Reacting to Mann’s announcement on the anti-corruption helpline, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal tweeted a video message, claiming that the practice of demanding bribes for getting work done in government offices will be stopped.

“Now if anyone asks for a bribe, don’t refuse.. put your hand in your pocket and make an audio or video recording with the phone and send it to the number Bhagwant Mann will publicise on March 23.” Kejriwal said, “When AAP formed the government in Delhi for 49 days, we had launched a similar campaign and corruption was completely wiped out. The phone became the biggest tool in the hands of citizens. When we tried to implement it again when we formed the government the next time, PM Narendra Modi issued an order to take away the anti-corruption branch from Delhi government… We are here to root out corruption.”

1.2. In a first, Delhi to conduct audit of jobs created with taxpayers' money

ETHRWorld, 28 Mar. 2022

"Every rupee of the budget passed by this House, whether that money is being spent in the field of education and health or is being used to build roads, buildings, bridges, schools, hospitals, colleges, electricity, water system, call centres, art culture etc... a complete account of how many people got employment as a result of every rupee spent will be kept," said Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Finance Minister.

With an aim of creating 20 lakh new jobs in the next five years, Sisodia presented a Rs 75,800-crore "Rozgar Budget" for the financial year 2022-23 which focuses on setting up an electronic city and promoting night economy, retail and wholesale markets in the national capital.

The Delhi government will conduct a survey to ascertain how many people got employment as a result of expenditure incurred on different programmes and schemes, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said while presenting Delhi's budget for the financial year 2022-23 on Saturday. This will be the first such employment audit in the country along with the general outcome of the work done with the tax money of the public, he said.

"For this, the government is coming up with a plan of employment audit of each department. This in itself will be the first step in the country," the deputy chief minister said.

The government has identified priority sectors for job creation -- food and beverages, logistics and supply chain, travel and tourism, entertainment, construction, real estate and green energy.

Under the "Rozgar Budget", the Kejriwal government will organise shopping festivals to promote retail and wholesale markets in the city, seeking to make these places attractive for tourists and create jobs to boost the economy. An amount of Rs 250 crore has been allocated for this in the 2022-23 budget.

Sisodia said an artificial intelligence-based website and a mobile application -- "Rozgar Bazaar 2.0" -- will be launched with an aim to provide at least one lakh jobs every year to the youngsters of Delhi, especially women.

An electronic city will be set up at Baprola to create 80,000 jobs by attracting big IT companies, Sisodia said, adding that a "food truck policy" will also be introduced under which local delicacies will be promoted.

These food trucks will be allowed on streets from 8 pm to 2 am, a move that is aimed at promoting the night economy in the national capital.

The government will develop Asia's largest textile trading centre in Gandhinagar into "Delhi Garment Hub" which is expected to create more than 40,000 jobs in the next five years.

The budget emphasised rebuilding Delhi's non-conforming industrial areas, redeveloping popular food hubs and setting up Cloud Kitchen Clusters in Delhi.

The government also aims to create "green jobs" in Delhi by promoting schemes like e-vehicle, solar energy and urban farming.

Sisodia also announced a Delhi Film Policy and International Film Festival in the capital to generate employment and business opportunities related to tourism and art and culture.

About Rs 4,500 crore will be required for these programmes during the next five years. An outlay of Rs 800 crore has been proposed in the first year (2022-23), he said.

2. Centre builds 17.5 million houses under PM Awaas Yojana-Gramin

IBEF, Mar. 21, 2022

In parliament, the Centre claimed that the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin had resulted in the construction of 1.75 crore houses out of the 2.28 crore houses sanctioned under the plan have been constructed as of March 9, 2022. The PMAY-G plan was created to provide rural residents with pucca houses with basic facilities. The support is disbursed to the beneficiary in a minimum of three payments, each tied to a different level of completion, such as the foundation, plinth, windowsill, lintel, roof, and so on. The Union Cabinet has authorised the extension of PMAY-G beyond March 2021 to March 2024 in order to complete the remaining dwellings within the 2.95 crore housing goal set under PMAY-G.

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

3.1. Teleconsultation services to be launched at 1 lakh health and wellness centers from April 16

ET Gov. 14, Apr. 2022

"Teleconsultation services are very crucial for people in remote areas and are helpful in making healthcare services accessible for all."

Of the 1.17 lakh health and wellness centres operationalised in the country, one lakh will have teleconsultation services from April 16, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday.

If people living in remote villages need health-related advice from an expert, the teleconsultation services will be quite helpful for them, Mandaviya said in a tweet.

The Union health ministry will organise week-long celebrations under "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" from April 16 to April 22 to mark the fourth anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs), it said in a statement.

Mandaviya, who chaired a meeting through video-conferencing on Tuesday with the health ministers and senior officials of all the states and Union territories to review the operationalisation status of the AB-HWCs and the teleconsultation services, provided guidance on the preparations and invited suggestions from them for the celebrations.

Appreciating the healthcare services being provided through the digital platform of teleconsultation, Mandaviya noted that "e-Sanjeevani" is providing affordable and accessible healthcare, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"People in many states have been quick to recognise the benefits of e-Sanjeevani and this has led to an encouraging trend of widespread rapid adoption of this digital modality of seeking health services. Patients consult with doctors and specialists on a daily basis using this innovative digital medium to seek health services.

"Teleconsultation services are very crucial for people in remote areas and are helpful in making healthcare services accessible for all. The states and Union territories should mobilise all the stakeholders in providing services at the spokes and efficiently connecting them with the hubs," he said.

The Union minister also advised the states to promptly and proactively spread awareness regarding the AB-HWC "health melas", which will be organised from April 18 to April 22, in addition to the yoga sessions to be organised on April 17 at all the HWCs, so that the citizens can actively participate in these programmes and become aware of the HWC services provided in their regions.

"Yoga connects the body with the mind and the soul and is an integral part of our health and well-being. We should promote yoga among the masses so that everyone benefits from this," Mandaviya said.

Highlighting the importance of working as Team India, he said the Centre must take the "whole of government" and "whole of society" approaches to serve the citizens better and ensure good governance. The way the government has worked on a mission mode in providing quality medicines through the Jan Aushadhi Kendras is a prime example of this, he added.

Translating the intent of the National Health Policy-2017 to achieve universal health coverage into budgetary commitment, the Centre announced the establishment of 1.5 lakh AB-HWCs in February 2018.

The existing sub-health centres and primary health centres in rural and urban areas are being transformed to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare to all the citizens, closer to their homes, for free.

The concerted and collaborative efforts of the states and the Centre have resulted in 1,17,440 AB-HWCs being operationalised across the country by the end of March, against the target of 1.1 lakh, the ministry said.

The Union health ministry, in collaboration with all the states and Union territories and key ministries such as the women and child development, information and broadcasting, panchayati raj, Ayush and education ministries, will also organise block-level "health melas" at all the 1.17 lakh AB-HWCs across the country.

The AB-HWCs are also being revolutionised by connecting those with e-Sanjeevani teleconsultation services.

On April 16, a live broadcast of the celebrations will connect with primary healthcare team members in more than 75,000 AB-HWCs and citizens who have received services through teleconsultation.

The celebrations will also witness the launch of the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) and Public Health Management Cadre (PHMC) guidelines. The top three states and Union territories reporting the highest number of teleconsultation services, the states that have already achieved their December 2022 targets, along with the good-performing states under the TB-Mukt Bharat campaign shall be felicitated.

On the second day, yoga sessions will be organised at all the AB-HWCs under "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" to highlight the integration of health and wellness in service provision at the centres.

From April 18, health melas at the AB-HWCs in at least one block in each district of the states and Union territories will be inaugurated across the country. Each health mela would be a daylong event and each block in the states and Union territories is to be covered.

The key services to be provided at the health melas shall include consultation, testing and treatment for reproductive child health-related services, screening for hypertension and diabetes, yoga, meditation and lifestyle counselling, counselling for tobacco and alcohol cessation, cancer prevention awareness and general health check-up teleconsultation with specialists.

3.2. 18,600 million cases were heard virtually by courts during pandemic

ET Gov. 4 Apr. 2022

Courts across India heard about 1.86 crore cases via video conferencing during the pandemic, the Parliament was told on Friday.

However, the decision of virtual mode of court hearing is a matter which is under the purview of the judiciary and the Central government has no role to play in this matter, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told the Lok Sabha.

"Since the Covid lockdown started, the district courts heard 1,23,19,917 cases while the High Courts heard 61,02,859 cases (totalling 1.84 crore) till February 28, 2022 using video conferencing (VC). The Supreme Court held 2,18,891 hearings till March 14, 2022, since the beginning of the lockdown period making it the world leader in virtual hearings," he said in his reply to a question.

The Supreme Court on April 6, 2020 gave legal sanctity and validity to the court hearings done through VC. Further, VC rules were framed by a 5-judge committee which was circulated to all the High Courts for adoption after local contextualisation.

As many as 24 High Courts have implemented VC rules. One video conference equipment each has been provided to all court complexes including taluk level courts and additionally, funds have been sanctioned for additional VC equipment for 14,443 court rooms. Funds for setting up 2,506 VC cabins have been made available, and an additional 1500 VC licenses have been acquired, the Minister said.

He also said that VC facilities are already enabled between 3,240 court complexes and corresponding 1,272 jails, while a sum of Rs 7.60 crore has been released for procurement of 1,732 document visualisers.

Noting that lack of access to computers, laptops, and digital hardware amongst lawyers in rural areas and the resultant digital divide is a genuine problem, Rijiju said that to overcome this problem of digital divide, 493 eSewa Kendras have been set up in High Courts and district courts across the country which give lawyers easy access to e-Court facilities and internet facility.

To resolve technical glitches which arise during VC hearings, the NIC has been closely monitoring the complaints.

It has also developed a VC software which is under test, he added.

4.1. Delhi govt now allows women drivers to jointly own e-autos

ET Gov. 16 Mar. 2022

“We have taken multiple initiatives to encourage more and more women drivers, which include not only reserving 33% e-autos for women but also relaxing height restrictions so that women can drive buses of Delhi Transport Corporation,” transport minister Kailash Gahlot said.

As part of its endeavour to get more women behind the wheel in public transport, the Delhi government has allowed joint ownership of electric autos.

Since the government has been uncompromising on the decision that 33% or 1,406 out of the total 4,261 e-autos be reserved for women, a new initiative includes co-registration of e-autos.

Gahlot said that since finding women who would have a driving licence and could buy an e-auto was not easy, more flexibility had been allowed. “We have given the option of joint ownership and co-registration can be done,” he said. This means aggregators or companies can also jointly own an electric vehicle with the permit holder and provide it on lease. The driver can pay back the cost in installments and own the vehicle after a few years.

The department launched the e-auto registration scheme in October 2021 and received 20,589 applications, out of which 19,846 were from men. The letter of intent has been recently provided to the first list of successful male applicants and 743 women applicants. In all, 823 women had applied for permits.

Gahlot said the remaining permits had been given to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for last-mile connectivity. DMRC can provide the permits to an operator who can engage women drivers and run the e-autos on feeder routes, he added.

“We are also in touch with women taxi drivers and have involved NGOs to encourage more women to come forward,” Gahlot said. Women drivers are also being motivated at interactive sessions to drive their e-autos regularly.

The department is going to ensure that e-auto permits in the name of women drivers are not misused. An official said that unlike CNG autos, where the original allottee could transfer the permit only after five years, the e-auto permit can be transferred in just one year. However, e-autos allotted to women drivers can be transferred only after five years.

To provide visibility, ensure compliance and prevent misuse of the scheme, the department has notified a special colour scheme for these vehicles, with lilac e-autos for women drivers and blue ones for the rest. The department’s enforcement teams will carry out checks to ensure that the lilac-coloured e-autos are not driven by men.

4.2. Budget allocation on education sector crosses Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time: MoS Education

IBEF, Mar. 24, 2022

The government has increased its education budget, which now exceeds Rs 1 lakh crore (US$ 13.08 billion) for the first time, according to information presented to the Rajya Sabha. Mr. Subhas Sarkar, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, said the 15th Finance Commission provided a grant of Rs 6,143 crore (US$ 804.05 million) for online learning and development of professional courses, among other things, during question hour in the Upper House.

In a statement laid in the Upper House on whether any time limit has been fixed to achieve the target of GDP allocation for education, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan Cabinet Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, "The Centre and states work together to increase the public investment in education sector to reach 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the earliest." He also said for National Education Policy (NEP) that the The policy prioritises critical thinking in school or higher education by requiring students to learn in their native language, also known as the mother tongue or local language.

"AICTE has already started translating engineering course books to respective languages in some parts of southern India, some parts of western India and some parts of eastern India... Also, already 14 institutions have started teaching in local language. Local language has to be given priority," he said. He also added that, the entire goal of the NEP and Samagra Shiksha is to increase education quality and reduce dropout rates, and that the PM Poshan Abhiyan is an ambitious effort in this direction.

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

5.1. Indian Education Sector news: Evolution of Indian Education Sector Hinges on Technological Advancement

ETHRWorld, 23 Mar. 2022

Today, EdTech-propelled digital learning content offers the flexibility of anytime-any place learning. Digitized assessments and guidance bring to the fore quick, real-time outcomes.

Ravi Panchanadan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Manipal Global Education Services in conversation with Ashwini Prakash - Managing Partner and Board Director, Singapore, and India at Stanton Chase.

How is the EdTech industry disrupting the traditional education sector?

The pandemic-induced disruptions and collaborative efforts across industry, academia, and governments have accelerated the adoption of technology and digitized upgrades in education.

Today, EdTech-propelled digital learning content offers the flexibility of anytime-any place learning. Digitized assessments and guidance bring to the fore quick, real-time outcomes.

Skill transformation courses offer professionals easy access to train and develop skills that match future work expectations.

The campus of the future will continue to focus on quality e-learning adapted content and new tech modules as a part of everyday pedagogy. Upskilling academia for campus operations and teaching will shape the campus of the future to drive scalable learner outcomes.

What are the opportunities and challenges posed by the technological interventions in the field of education?

The possibilities of tech intervention in education are limitless. It nullifies geographic limitations with opportunities for learners to train with the world’s leading faculty and subject matter experts through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), VEP (Virtual Education Program)/COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning). It also allows individualized learner plans catering to personal interests and preferences.

Credit equivalency today hinges on globalizing content from the world’s best universities. However, for India to match global standards, a tech infrastructure improvement along with faculty training and upskilling is required.

What does 'future-ready students' mean to Manipal? What are your initiatives in this direction?

The learners of the future will be lateral thinkers who are high on adaptability. They are analytical and will look for experiential and job-relevant real-time learning.

Learning will be career-focused to improve skills and competencies – making them future job-ready. Manipal Global will continue to find solutions to existing pedagogy gaps.

Transdisciplinary learning and experiential campuses need to be integrated within formal academics (e.g., an engineer learning digital marketing) or encouraged via hackathons (medicine + business).

Where do you see the most investments happening in the education sector over the next 5 years?

The next few years will see significant investments in digitizing quality learning content, enabling seamless outreach, improving assessments, and thus enhancing learner outcomes. This will be coupled with a strong focus on R&D and domain-specific upskilling to improve the employability quotient.

How did Manipal as a group manage to navigate the disruption caused by the pandemic? Was there any silver lining?

Manipal Global is focused on creating a culture of value overvaluation for our employees, learners, and stakeholders. While the pandemic disrupted life at work, our practices ensured we remained resilient and adaptive.

We trained faculty for online delivery and created quality digital learning content across our global campuses. These efforts helped some of our units to be among the first in their regions to turn around quickly and transition to an online mode of learning, limiting disruption to student learning.

We were able to engage with global teams during lockdown with our employee resource group MERG (Manipal Employee Resource Group). Our business efforts during the pandemic received industry recognition as we were awarded as one of India’s first ‘Best Managed Companies' by Deloitte in 2021.

Does Manipal Group see any potential in leveraging the EdTech startup ecosystem to its advantage?

We see a lot of scope for digital integration in teaching methods to facilitate smarter learning. The Manipal Group has been one of the early adopters of this change with investments in online university affiliate courses and certificate programs through UNEXT as an organization.

Being a part of the highly regulated sector, what scope do you see to redefine your boundaries and progress in the education sector?

There is a significant opportunity in this space. The system works as a collaborative triage – government, industry, and academia connected by technology. We are excited to see the opportunities the NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 will present. Countries have revamped their higher education strategies reflecting the changing demographics and aligning them to clear economic growth trails.

What are the desirable skills and competencies for professionals exploring education space? How do you attract and retain them?

One of the key elements of being successful in the education industry is having the attitude of a lifelong learner. This cannot be achieved without the hunger for creating value and growth. Challenging the status quo with solutions to improve learner outcomes anchored in research and digitization is essential. Creating value in the field of skills training and learning is important. Manipal Global provides opportunities to push boundaries, get multi-faceted exposure and come up with innovative ideas which are explored and implemented to create world-class learner solutions.

You have an impressive career in the education industry. Do you attribute your success to your multidisciplinary background?

While the multidisciplinary background gave me a wider lens, success lies in bringing together industry and academia when creating solutions for the future learner. This combined with government intervention and connection by technology creates the perfect triage for success.

Besides work, what other pursuits do you enjoy most?

I like watching sports and reading trivia, humor, and comics - a fan of Calvin and Hobbes and the works of PG Wodehouse. I also indulge in a bit of writing and spend my downtime learning something new.

5.2. IT spending in India to hit $110.6 bn despite inflation, geo-political disruption

ET CIO, 7 Apr. 2022

The overall IT spending in India is likely to reach $110.6 billion in 2022 -- growing 6.3 per cent from 2021 - as inflation, geo-political disruption and talent shortages are not expected to slow down IT investments, a Gartner report said on Wednesday.

New Delhi, The overall IT spending in India is likely to reach $110.6 billion in 2022 -- growing 6.3 per cent from 2021 - as inflation, geo-political disruption and talent shortages are not expected to slow down IT investments, a Gartner report said on Wednesday.

In India, the forecast has been revised from the earlier estimate of $105.2 billion, primarily due to the growth in devices in 2021.

"In 2022, along with devices, Indian CIOs and business leaders will continue to increase their spending towards analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, customer experience and cloud," said Naveen Mishra, senior research director at Gartner.

Indian CIOs are contemplating to restructure their existing IT vendor engagement programmes "with an eye on co-creation of solutions in close partnership with their providers and newer contracting models," Mishra added.

The spending on IT services in India is likely to reach $19.7 billion in 2022 -- an 8.6 per cent growth from last year.

The increasing cost of talent will be one of the major growth drivers in the country.

Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $4.4 trillion in 2022, an increase of 4 per cent from 2021.

"This year is proving to be one of the nosiest years on record for CIOs. Geopolitical disruption, inflation, currency fluctuations and supply chain challenges are among the many factors vying for their time and attention," said John-David Lovelock, distinguished research vice president at Gartner.

Software spending is expected to grow 9.8 per cent to $674.9 billion in 2022 and IT services is forecast to grow 6.8 per cent to reach $1.3 trillion globally.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not expected to have a direct impact on global IT spending, according to the report.

Price and wage inflation compounded with talent shortages and other delivery uncertainties are expected to be greater impingements on CIOs' plans in 2022 but will still not slow down technology investments.

"CIOs anticipate having the financial and organisational ability to invest in key technologies throughout this year and the next," said Lovelock.

- AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

6.1. India's sugar exports seen rising to 7.5 million tonnes in 2021-22

IBEF, Mar. 16, 2022

According to Mr. Abinash Verma, Director General of the Indian Sugar Mills Association, Indian sugar exports are expected to increase to 7.5 million tonnes in 2021-22, up from 7.1 million the previous season. “We believe that we have signed contracts for 6.3 million tonnes in the current season already and contracts are getting signed pretty fast in India every week,”. He said that Indian sugar production is likely to increase to 33.3 million tonnes in the 2021-22 season, up from 31.2 million the previous season.

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

6.2. India's maize exports up 22% YoY, hit all-time high of $816.31 mn in FY22

IBEF, Mar. 21, 2022

Maize exports reached US$ 816.31 million in the first ten months of the current fiscal year 2021-22 (April-January), surpassing the US$ 634.85 million obtained the previous fiscal year. "From an exports realization of US$ 142.8 million in 2019-20, the export of maize increased nearly six-fold, taking the total value of shipment to US$ 1593.73 million in the last three years despite logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak," the Ministry said in a press release.

Maize, dubbed the "Queen of Cereals" around the world, has emerged as a major foreign exchange earner among the commodities covered by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). "The significant rise in agri-exports is seen as a testimony of the government's commitment to increase farmers' income through creating requisite infrastructure and improving value chains on boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products," Dr M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA said.

After rice and wheat, maize is India's third most important cereal crop. Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh are the states where the cereal crop is largely grown. "The rise in export of agricultural and processed food products has been largely due to the various initiatives taken by APEDA such as organizing B2B exhibitions in different countries, exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns by the active involvement of Indian Embassies," the Ministry said.

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

7.1. Bayer's digital solutions will boost farmers' live

ET CIO, 20 Mar. 2022

Our ability to contribute towards making these dreams become reality starts with access to our products across our entire portfolio. Our largest presence is in agriculture, which is very important for India with the government's focus on doubling farmers' income over the next few years to come.

Werner Baumann, chairman of Germany's $50-billion agrochemicals-to-pharmaceuticals giant Bayer AG, said the company will invest heavily in India in the next few years. Also the company's chief sustainability officer, Baumann said Bayer will help the Indian government double farmers' incomes over the next few years. Baumann spoke with ET Prime's Vikas Dandekar at the Economic Times Global Business Summit about Bayer's business plans in India and what it aims to do on the sustainability front. Edited excerpts:

Bayer has been present in India for the last 125 years. That's a long history. How do you see your business going from here?

India is very important to us, looking at the huge footprint that this country has. Our ability to contribute towards making these dreams become reality starts with access to our products across our entire portfolio. Our largest presence is in agriculture, which is very important for India with the government's focus on doubling farmers' income over the next few years to come.

How can Bayer play a role in helping to double farmers' incomes over the next few years?

We can play a crucial role with digital solutions that will enable smallholders to significantly improve their livelihood and their family's livelihood. In pharmaceuticals, we can give better access to our cardiology and radiology products, when it comes to better diagnosis. Then there is women's health and ophthalmology, where we have some very important products that are also becoming available in India. For our consumer health business, we have now entered the market directly rather than through third parties. In the Indian market, we are building and scaling up our consumer health business for the non-prescription part of our business.

What kind of investment plans do you have for India?

We are operating in 3 businesses. We have 14 manufacturing entities in India that we sustain and scale, and it is in the triple million euros that we are going to be investing in the years to come.

You have steered Bayer's sustainability theme across global operations.Your views on those goals for India?

If we look at the opportunity and really scaling it up, the first name that comes to mind would be India, because India has such a significant population of smallholder farmers. Almost 90% of all farmers are smallholders, and that is a constituency that we cater to and that we can bring significant benefits to. We do that with our "better life" farming centres.As of last year, we have been operating 1,000 of these "better life" farming centres together with partners like the International Finance Corporation to bring seeds, crop protection products, agronomic advice, better financing and access to markets, and irrigation to people on the ground so that they can really improve their farming practices and at the same time reduce their carbon footprint. This is just as important as creating a higher harvest and, with that, more produce for their own livelihoods and also for the markets they're operating in.

7.2. Tamil Nadu unveils digital agriculture interventions to make farming profitable and sustainable

ET Gov. 21 Mar. 2022

Under farm mechanisation-kisan drone scheme, 60 drones will be purchased with state and central funding, and awareness will be created in drone technology by providing adequate training in pesticide spray and survey of crop growth.

Days are not far off when a farmer from Mannargudi in Thiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu could download his soil test report, choose crops that could withstand climate change and even book a drone to spray pesticide on his farm. Giving a major thrust to the Union government’s Digital Agriculture Mission, the Tamil Nadu government on Saturday unveiled a series of technological interventions in the agriculture budget presented by agriculture minister MRK Panneerselvam to make agriculture profitable and sustainable.

An exclusive portal, Tamil Mann Valam will be launched in coordination with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University through which farmers will get soil fertility status of their lands, survey-number wise, and can print soil health cards by themselves. Recommendations will be made for cultivation of agricultural and horticultural crops and agroforestry trees based on the city of the soil. “Soil-specifi c cropping is very important. Many farmers are unaware of it. We are making it open source, where people can enter the survey number, patta details and get the health card,” agriculture secretary C Sa mayamoorthy said. The agriculture department has been taking grid-based sampling besides tests on payment through its soil testing laboratories in all districts. On Saturday, the government announced a new testing laboratory in Mayiladuthurai district.

The state has seven agroclimatic zones including the Cauvery delta. It has a high rainfall region, rain shadow region, hilly and high-altitude regions.

The agriculture department will soon categorize the zones into 1,330 micro-agro climatic zones and prescribe the right crops for them. The plan is to suggest individual farm-based crop plans. Survey numbers and sub-divisions of all villages will be geo-tagged and they will be superimposed with details of land owner’s basic information, soil health, cultivated crops and online land records from the revenue department.

Artificial intelligence will be used to monitor pest infestation in crops and instantaneous management measures will be delivered to farmers through SMS advisories. This will be done in coordination with the Tamil Nadu e-governance agency and TNAU, which has a separate cell for monitoring. Farmers in 2018 suffered a huge loss due to fall armyworm, an invasive pest, and the state government even allocated Rs 20 crore to combat the attack last year, however, heavy rainfall helped prevent any further loss. The state also witnessed attacks of Rugose spiraling whitefly on coconut and mealybug pest attack on tapioca.

8.1. Farm exports topped $50 bn in FY22, driven by cereals, marine products

IBEF, Apr. 4, 2022

According to Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Mr. Piyush Goyal, India's agriculture exports reached a new high of US$ 50 billion in FY22, driven by a variety of things such as cereals (rice and wheat), marine products, spices, and sugar, among others. He stated over 10 million tonnes of wheat exports in FY23 are "achievable," but sources said the Centre was hoping to double exports to around 15 million tonnes in FY23, up from over 7 million tonnes in FY22.

“Higher agricultural exports signify the ability of Indian farmers to meet the requirement of 1.35 billion populations and yet produce a surplus to export to the rest of the world,” he said. He stated that total farm exports were around US$ 40.35 billion until March 21, 2021 and had already surpassed US$ 48.59 billion by March 21, 2022. He stated that Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are developing as key wheat export destinations and that the state administrations in both states have been aggressively encouraging the exports.

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

8.2. Indian greenhouse project takes shape

AsiaFruit, 13 Apr. 2022, Mattew Jones

Dutch Greenhouse Delta (DGD) and Sahyadri Farms have signed a letter of intent to start working on the “cleaner, healthier, safer and higher quality” production of fresh produce in India.

The pair have begun work on a greenhouse project, which is set to result in the construction of a high-tech facility in the state of Maharashtra.

“Together, we intend to do research on customer wishes and future trends,” said Azhar Tambuwala, director of marketing at Sahyadri Farms. “We also want to talk to large retail chains, large hotel chains, large restaurant chains and large government-run organisations – like universities and the army – to find out what is the best crop, the most profitable crop and the most wanted crop that can be grown in greenhouses in a way that is more beneficial than open-field farming.”

Turning ideas into actions, Sahyadri and DGD are currently undertaking a feasibility study to determine the best greenhouse solution to optimise profitability, sustainability, food safety, quality and logistics.

“This feasibility study will shed light on commercial and technical feasibility and viability,” Tambuwala said. “The intent is to write a more compact and minimal feasibility report to venture into the next stage.”

Once the feasibility report is complete, Sahyadri and DGD will canvas investors, growers and any other stakeholders deemed necessary.

“The feasibility study will provide the information to inform, attract and persuade new partners, if needed, to start developing a greenhouse solution befitting the future ambitions of Sahyadri Farms,” Tambuwala added.

“The final stage will be designing, building and operating the greenhouse in order to provide Sahyadri Farms with sustainable, high-quality produce to be sold. It will strengthen the commercial position of Sahyadri Farms and our farmers.”

Soft fruits, including a range of berry varieties, will be a key focus of the feasibility study.

According to a statement from DGD, the outcome will benefit both Indian consumers and growers.

“DGD and Sahyadri Farms have decided to start investigating if locally grown fresh fruit is feasible. If so, together we will start providing locally grown, more sustainable, safer, cleaner, healthier soft fruits at a higher quality than imported, expensive soft fruits,” the statement said.

“This will provide local jobs, local income and strengthen the local economy. Sahyadri Farms and DGD both aim to change the way soft fruits are made available to consumers in India.”

DGD markets Dutch greenhouse horticulture technology worldwide. It offers its clients “the entire horticultural eco-system”, consisting of science, enterprise, education and government.

Desh Ramnath, director of business development at DGD, is confident there are more resource-efficient ways of producing soft fruits in India than current broadacre operations.

“We believe Dutch technology can be a partial answer,” Ramnath explained. “With a higher yield per square metre, 96 per cent less water usage per product and no chemical pesticides, Dutch technology will lower the demand for land for production; resulting in less deforestation, improved water management and maintaining biodiversity.

“We need to show Indian investors, retailers and consumers that our tech will work in India. That is what this whole partnership with Sahyadri Farms is about; showcasing Dutch technology and knowledge in a way that leads up to a commercially viable solution that creates profits for the farmer and retailer, while having a positive impact on the food production system, local climate, fresh water management and the level of pollution.”

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9.1. India central to IBM’s global skilling strategy: IBM India MD Sandip Patel

ET Gov. 12-Apr. 2022

The company's Skill Build Platform has enrolled over 7.5 lakh learners and placed over 7,800 into jobs and now it is intensifying focus on AI, cyber security and quantum computing, says IBM India MD Sandip Patel.

IBM's skilling strategy in India is centred on the Prime Minister's vision of India becoming the world's skill capital, according to a top executive, who said that the technology giant has reached over 10 million learners across the country through a variety of good tech CSR activities.

"Our chairman stated in October of last year that our goal is to skill 30 million learners by 2030. We [IBM India] are a microcosm of IBM. As a result, we will be taking a fairly large share of that number as we as we work through," Sandip Patel, Managing Director of IBM India/South Asia, said in an exclusive interview with ETGovernment's Mohd Ujaley.

The company's Skill Build Platform, which was launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in 2019, has enrolled over 7.5 lakh learners and placed over 7,800 into jobs. It now intends to intensify its focus on artificial intelligence, data science, cyber security, and quantum computing.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

Government is trying to create a supporting ecosystem for skills development across the country. How does IBM see it, and how can we make it more inclusive and market-driven?

Through a variety of our good tech CSR initiatives, we reach over 10 million learners in India. We have skill development engagements with a number of universities and collaborate on skills development initiatives with our own clients and partners. Personally, I have been a strong proponent of skill alignment with job creation — you can continue skilling people indefinitely, but the skills must be relevant at the end of the day. Finally, they must be aligned with the job market or evolving market needs.

I am extremely proud that we have been able to place over 7800 learners in jobs last year through our Skill Build Platform initiative. While I do believe that skilling is great, but skilling that can actually add to the employment numbers is better.

Our entire skilling initiative in India is centred on the Prime Minister's vision of India becoming the world's skill capital. Take a look at the India skills report's eighth edition, which was released in February 2021. It stated that slightly more than 45 percent of graduates were found employable, a decrease of nearly 46-47 percent from the year 2020. Also, according to International Labour Organization (ILO) statistics, India will face a skill shortage of nearly 29 million people by 2030. Thus, all of these require both short- and medium-term intervention by industry as a whole and the government.

You underlined the need for short- and medium-term intervention to address the skills gap. How is IBM addressing this?

IBM is attempting to address this challenge through a variety of initiatives. We launched the STEM for girls programme in India a few years ago with the goal of preparing over 2 lakh high school girls. We began with approximately 10 states in 2019. We have now surpassed the goal that we had established. This programme has benefited over 2.3 lakh girls and over 1.15 lakh boys to date.

Apart from assisting students in scaling, we are promoting a teach the teacher concept in order to equip teachers with new age skills. Additionally, we have trained over 7000 teachers. Around 1700 schools across the country participate in the programme. Furthermore, the project is being implemented in 155 districts throughout 11 states. Among these 33 are aspirational districts, out of a total of 124 identified by the government.

This Skills Build Platform was launched in 2019 in collaboration with the Directorate General of Training (DGT) of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and has since enrolled over 7.5 lakh learners. States such as Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have partnered with us to promote skill development through this initiative.

Additionally, we collaborated with the Ministry of Education and Niti Aayog on the Shram Siksha programme, an online higher education initiative. The programme is aligned with the mission of Skill India and aims to provide last-mile connectivity and high-quality higher education. It is a personalised learning platform powered by AI that we developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Niti Aayog, and others.

It has the potential to grow into a single point of contact for higher education in India by acting as a virtual campus that facilitates access to knowledge and skills. And it's not just about technical abilities. Other skills can be gleaned from alternative education sources. It enables easy access and bridges the divide between students, faculty, schools, and service providers, with the goal of eventually having a learning passport that can travel with the student and be tracked.

Also, we partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to establish the Common Services Center Academy, which will leverage technology, teaching, and the delivery of specialised courses and training programmes, including cloud and artificial intelligence, to train the trainers and learners from diverse backgrounds and educational needs. Thus, this includes village entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the CSC programme. As a result of this collaboration, CSC will be able to bring IBM Skill Build Platform to over 5 lakh learners across the country.

Given their enormous potential, the centre and state governments are trying to integrate AI and data science into the curriculum. How do you see it?

When I was in high school, these options were not available, but today's students have a variety of options and are eager to learn — when you give them something, they actually pick it up and do amazing things with it.

For instance, in 2018-19, we collaborated with the CBSE to offer an elective course in artificial intelligence to students in grades 9 through 12. We have reached out to over 15,000 students and 6,000 teachers through this AI programme, which is currently being implemented in over 200 CBSE schools across the country.

On next-gen technology push, we have also collaborated with the Atal Innovation Mission of the Government of India. We are promoting young innovators as part of this initiative through the Atal Tinkering Lab. This training has benefited approximately 4 lakh students. As part of our capacity for skill development, we have reached out to over 20,000 teachers.

IBM also offers two-year advanced diploma programmes in emerging technologies developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship. It is accessible to all 100 ITIs, including the 50 all-female ITIs. This programme offers five-month internships and mentoring by IBM. Almost 100 per cent of previous batches were placed in jobs within IBM or through one of our partners, or more broadly in the industry.

Quantum computing is gaining ground in the next-gen technology drive. What do you think of status of quantum computing skilling in India?

In higher education, we work with a number of higher education institutions on a variety of programmes. IIT Delhi and IIT Mumbai are members of our artificial intelligence horizons network. At Indian Institute of Science (IISC), we've established a Hybrid Cloud Lab, an innovation centre dedicated to advancing hybrid cloud research in India.

As you said, we are innovators in the fields of quantum technology and quantum computing. This necessitates a highly specialised curriculum. As a result, we have established an IBM Quantum educators' programme for faculty and students. Numerous universities and institutions of higher education will be able to access not only the curriculum, which includes quantum learning resources and a quick set of tools via the IBM cloud, but also live IBM quantum computers. This is not a simulation; it is the actual computer side computing cycles that we offer via the IBM cloud.

Earlier you referred to two reports indicating a skill deficit in the country. What challenges do you see in India’s skilling push and how could they be overcome?

The global shortage of technical talent is not limited to India. That is why our 100% of CSR activities in India have been and will continue to be focused on workforce and skill developments.

As you know, I am on the boards of NASSCOM and other industry organisations. The private sector continues to help students enhance their skills. We have a number of initiatives underway with our partners and we are exploring ways to collaborate to accelerate some of this, through industry associations, because the need to develop a global talent pool and foster an ecosystem conducive to learning is critical.

We look forward to being growth partner for India. We keep investing in skill development across the value chain because we believe in investing for the greater good. We recently announced our software labs expansion to places like Kochi and Ahmedabad and consulting expansion in Mysore and Hyderabad.

We can leverage this expansion to encourage skills and digital innovation among kids and provide them with the best technology available. Our chairman remarked in October last year that "By 2030, we want to skill 30 million learners." We are an IBM microcosm. So, we'll take a big chunk of that amount as we go.

9.2. IBM India collaborates with Nagaland school education dept to impart digital powered training to 12,000 girl students

ET Gov. 26 Mar. 2022

The IBM STEM for Girls programme will help young learners become problem solvers.

IBM India announced a collaboration with the Nagaland School Education department to introduce digital powered training in more than 250 secondary and higher secondary schools across 15 districts in the northeastern state. The programme "IBM Stem" (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) for Girls programme aims to provide 21st-century skills to more than 12,000 girls, a statement said on Thursday.

"The curriculum will align and supplement the state's efforts towards quality education. This programme will help enable more than 12,000 girls studying between 8th to 10th grade with access to digital fluency, coding skills training, 21st-century skills, including life and career skills," officials said.

The IBM Stem for girls programme, currently running in 12 states that include Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, Assam, Bihar, Uttarakhand, and Nagaland.

The collaboration is part of a three-year programme between IBM and Nagaland government, with the QUEST Alliance and YouthNetas an implementation partner, to increase the participation of girl children and women in STEM careers.

The programme will also aim to empower nearly 1,400 teachers in the participating schools to engage and train students on computational thinking.

"The IBM STEM for Girls programme will help young learners become problem solvers. We hope that in the days to come, our children become job creators, and we nurture citizens who will be able to solve problems and think out of the box. We hope YouthNet, Quest Alliance and IBM continue the partnership for years to come," Kevileno Angami, Special Secretary, Government of Nagaland, said.

"With the expansion of our STEM for Girls programme in Nagaland, we have increased our footprint to 12 states across India. This is a part of IBM's ground-breaking commitment to provide 30 million people of all ages worldwide with new skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow by 2030," IBM India, managing director, Sandip Patel said. PTI

10.1. MSME Ministry to set up Global Market Intelligence Network for MSME exports

IBEF, Mar. 30, 2022

Minister of MSME Mr. Narayan Rane announced at the Mega International Summit on MSMEs' Competitiveness and Growth in the capital that the Ministry of MSME will create a Global Market Intelligence Network to aid MSME exports. The focus has been on providing easier loans, better technology, support, and export market access. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) collaborated on the event. The two-day summit, which will feature speakers from several countries, will focus on the MSME sector's possibilities, problems, and growth prospects.

MSMEs are an important sector of the Indian economy, accounting for 48% of exports and 30% of GDP. It's essential for rural industrialization. It can drive growth once it becomes more competitive. India, with its concentration on entrepreneurship, innovation, and MSMEs, is in a unique position due to innovative economic decisions and tactics. New research and innovation, new business ideas, and workforce scale-up will be required. Technology, financing, product diversification, networking, and long-term infrastructure are just a few of the areas where entrepreneurs require guidance, mentoring, and grooming. Recent policies have targeted such locations, allowing MSMEs to flourish not only in large cities but also in semi-urban areas.

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

10.2. Kisan Samman Nidhi, other schemes giving new strength to farmers: Modi

IBEF, Apr. 11, 2022

PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and other agriculture-related programmes are bringing fresh vigour to crores of farmers across the country. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi tweeted, "The country is proud of our farmers. The stronger they are, the more prosperous the new India will be. I am happy that PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and other schemes related to agriculture are giving new strength to crores of farmers of the country”

According to publicly available information, Rs. 1.82 lakh crore (US$ 23.96 billion) was directly sent to the bank accounts of 11.3 crore farmers. PM Kisan Samman Nidhi provided annual support of Rs. 6,000 (US$ 79) to all farmers, and during the Covid pandemic, Rs. 1.30 lakh crore (US$ 17.11 billion) was transferred, benefiting small farmers in particular.

A loan of Rs. 8,585 crore (US$ 1.13 billion) has been sanctioned for 11,632 projects related to basic agricultural infrastructure. The National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-India electronic trading system that connects the existing APMC mandis to form a unified national agricultural commodities market.

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

- INDUSTRY and MANUFACTURE

11. How Lupin promotes culture of innovation from top to bottom and bottom-up

ETHRWorld, 16 Mar. 2022

Lupin, a leading pharmaceutical company, has built a culture that promotes innovation at every level that not only allows the company to come up with better and new things, but also allows its employees to solve any problem or inefficiency they may face.

Change is constant and considering the age we are living in, it is more frequent than ever. We are constantly innovating and trying to come up with something new, better and more efficient.

It is not just the technology that is getting updated but also the systems and processes in place that are becoming more efficient and innovative. It is needless to say how important it is for any company to keep innovating in order to keep up with the emerging trends.

Yashwant Mahadik, President - Global Human Resources, Lupin, believes that creativity and innovation are at the centre of wanting to drive growth and customer satisfaction.

“Innovation is industry agnostic. Earlier, the notion was that innovation is only at the centre where you are doing research and development, designing products or designing solutions, but over the past decade and a half, it has become a norm everywhere in every function,” Mahadik said.

Explaining the Japanese concept of Kaizen, Mahadik told ETHRWorld that this entire concept of Kaizen, which was popularised by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota, was all about innovation. The company believed that even incremental improvements and innovation activity have a much larger cumulative effect on the company's growth and customer satisfaction, as compared to quantum innovations.

The concept of Kaizen in a workplace means how a person working in an organisation can improve and innovate the process to deliver high quality products with less effort and become more efficient.

“The belief here is that a person who's working on something is best suited and best knows how to improve it, whether it's a machine, a coding of a software, or whether it's designing an induction programme in HR,” Mahadik said.

How does the company promote innovation?

According to Mahadik, innovation is one of the core competencies and values at Lupin. “And when you make it a competency you get a lot of processes and systems, and you design a lot of programmes to make and sharpen that competency in your workforce,” he said.

Mahadik suggested that there is also a need to build a culture where innovation is actually the bedrock for wanting to make transformation, improvements, and making sure that growth and customer satisfaction are at the highest.

He said building an innovative, high performance and value-based culture is very important. The leaders and all the employees are expected to role model that competency and that value.

Suggesting ways to build a culture like that, Mahadik said organisations should offer formal education and training around it. The second is by putting the right kind of programmes in place.

Sharing the latest example of such programmes, Mahadik said, “Hackathons have been used by companies largely to crowdsource and engage people. We design it in such a way that not only our technical teams, but our business teams, and even other stakeholders are brought in. We give them a set of problems and they keep hacking at the problems and come up with solutions. They could be process solutions, system solutions or practice changes. Then, once they bring out all these ideas, they are presented to the stakeholders.”

“Hackathons are focused on various topics and subjects. We recently completed a hackathon on how to be more digital and data-driven as a company. We got 168 ideas across the globe when this hackathon finished, and then out of those 168 ideas, the stakeholders shortlisted 12. And out of those 12, three have already been embraced,” Mahadik added.

Mahadik believes that when people see their ideas being recognised and implemented across the company, they feel valued and there is an excitement for such programmes which exudes a lot of positive energy.

“So, organisations need to come up with programmes and design such programmes, which help them to create that culture,” Mahadik said.

Lupin has six values at the core of the organisation. The first value is customer focus, the second value is entrepreneurial spirit, which includes innovation and creativity because that's a key towards being an entrepreneur, the third is integrity, the fourth is a passion for excellence, the fifth is respect and care, and the sixth is teamwork.

“These six core values were propagated by the founder (Dr Desh Bandhu Gupta) almost 54 years ago, when the company was founded, and they are so well ingrained now. These are the core values around which the entire foundation of the culture, the operating model of the company is based upon,” Mahadik said.

Based on these values, Lupin awards its employees with the DBG Spirit of Lupin Awards (named after the founder DB Gupta) where six role models of six values are awarded. The DBG is equivalent to an Oscar that one gets in Lupin.

Maintaining the flow of the innovation culture

Just building a culture is not enough. There is a need for communication, culture dissemination and popularisation so that the flow of culture is both top to bottom and bottom-up.

“Once you are a multinational, you don't have a choice but to be professional. Otherwise, you cannot manage a global company. So, we have a very structured communication, cadence process and systems and our corporate communication team actually anchors it as the custodian of it,” Mahadik said.

Lupin also conducts monthly LEADx through which different CXOs and Country Heads connect with their teams across the company. This allows the leaders to talk to the entire company, at least twice a year where they are given insights into what's happening. This also allows for international coordination among the employees, as a person from a different region also gets to know about what's happening in the India region and those in the India region get to know about what's happening elsewhere.

Mahadik believes that whatever an organisation does has to be very well designed, structured, and fairly communicated across the company so that everyone can participate. But the most important thing is “It has to be done with very high energy and passion because passion exudes and it's infectious.”

12.1. Apple begins production of iPhone 13 at Foxconn’s Chennai plant

ET Telecom, 11 Apr. 2022

With the iPhone 13, the company now makes all its top selling models locally through its two contract manufacturing partners Foxconn and Wistron. Pegatron, its third partner, is also expected to start production this month, initially with iPhone 12. Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 with iPhone SE, and currently produces iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and now the iPhone 13 locally. None of the Pro models are made in India currently.
Experts say widening local manufacturing speeds up the go-to-market for Apple with a better control on the supply chain. It also offers it the option of investing the cost savings into aggressive marketing initiatives, through partners, especially during the crucial festive season, moves which have contributed significantly to its growing share.

NEW DELHI: Apple has started the production of its flagship iPhone 13 in India at its contract manufacturing partner Foxconn’s plant near Chennai, a move which will help deepen the US smartphone major’s presence in the world’s second largest smartphone market and likely grow its market share to record levels.

“We are excited to begin making iPhone 13—with its beautiful design, advanced camera systems for stunning photos and videos, and the incredible performance of the A15 Bionic chip—right here in India for our local customers,” an Apple India spokesperson told ET exclusively in an emailed statement.

With the iPhone 13, the company now makes all its top selling models locally through its two contract manufacturing partners Foxconn and Wistron. Pegatron, its third partner, is also expected to start production this month, initially with iPhone 12. Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 with iPhone SE, and currently produces iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and now the iPhone 13 locally. None of the Pro models are made in India currently.

The Cupertino-based major has thus reduced the timeframe between launch—September 24, 2021—and local production of the latest iPhone model to six-seven months, from eight months previously. This comes after Apple, for the first time, had made its iPhone 13 available to customers in India simultaneously with the US, among other markets. Analysts say the developments underline the growing importance of India as a market where the company has been increasing its volume as well as value share steadily in recent quarters.

Experts say widening local manufacturing speeds up the go-to-market for Apple with a better control on the supply chain. It also offers it the option of investing the cost savings into aggressive marketing initiatives, through partners, especially during the crucial festive season, moves which have contributed significantly to its growing share.

Neil Shah, vice president at Counterpoint Research, said almost three in four iPhones sold in India are made in India. But that goes up to almost 90% of the total phones sold in India in the non-launch quarter. “During the launch quarter and the subsequent quarter, Apple normally imports a third of its phone shipments in India.”

Driven by wider local manufacturing backed by aggressive marketing to tap into strong demand, Apple was among the fastest growing brands in India in 2021 with shipments growing 108% on-year to a record of 5 million units, or a roughly 4% market share, said market trackers.

And with Pegatron starting to make iPhone 12 locally from this month, and the launch of iPhone SE 2022, analysts expect 2022 to be an even stronger year for the company.

“The Apple iPhone shipments will potentially touch the 7 million-mark in CY2022. This, in turn, would translate into a historic 5.5% market share for Apple,” said Prabhu Ram, head-Industry Intelligence Group at CyberMedia Research (CMR). Shah, on his part, estimates Apple to grow more than 40% on-year in 2022 from 2021 levels for domestic consumption and to more than double its exports.

Apple, which is the country’s leading premium brand, though still lags top brands overall in as price sensitive a market as India. Market leader Xiaomi ended 2021 with a 24% share with fifth-ranked Oppo at 10% share, as per Counterpoint Research.

Apple, with a 4% share, though entered the top 10 for the first time in 2021, ranked at number six. It maintained its lead in the premium segment (over INR 30,000, or around $400) with a 44% share, followed by Samsung and OnePlus, as per Counterpoint.

As a result, Apple recorded the highest revenue among handset brands in India for 2021—around $2.09 billion—compared with second-ranked Samsung at about $2 billion, estimated Counterpoint.

“Apple’s expanded iPhone production capabilities and aggressive retail initiatives contributed to its aggressive growth in the premium smartphone segment. As Apple further diversifies its manufacturing base and expands its retail footprint with Apple-owned and Apple-operated flagship retail stores, it will further build on its strong growth momentum in India,” said CMR’s Ram.

Aggressive expansion in local manufacturing has also meant Apple—through its current operational partners Foxconn and Wistron—has been leveraging the government’s production-linked incentive scheme and is exporting to markets such as the UK (27%), Japan (24%), the Netherlands (23%), Germany (7%) and Italy (4%), said CMR.

CMR said that over the past four years, Apple’s share of made-in-India iPhones has grown 15 times, and the company now exports 75% of the phones that it locally produces.

Apple is contributing to almost 13% of the mobile handset volumes exported from India in Q4 2021, as per data from Counterpoint. This puts Apple as the second largest smartphone exporter from India, after Samsung, with 78%.

12.2. Auto PLI invites 76% higher investment than planned outlay, industry commits Rs 74850 crore investment

IBEF, Mar. 16, 2022

The government's much-desired PLI programme for the vehicle and auto component business has attracted 76% higher investment than the objective of Rs 42,500 (US$ 5.56 billion). Over the next five years, auto and component makers have proposed investing Rs 74,850 crore (US$ 9.79 billion) in the nation. While the 20 automakers who have been accepted for the plan have sought to invest Rs 45,016 crore (US$ 5.89 billion), the 75 component manufacturers who have been approved for the Component Champion Incentive Scheme have requested to contribute Rs 29,834 crore (US$ 3.9 billion).

Over a five-year period, auto component firms might invest up to Rs 250 crore (US$ 32.7 million), while new-age component companies could contribute up to Rs 500 crore (US$ 65.4 million). Apart from catering to the expanding local market, sourcing from India is gaining appeal as part of multinational automakers' China plus strategy. The Rs 25,938 crore (US$ 3.39 billion) PLI plan for the auto and component sector is aimed at assisting the industry in overcoming cost constraints, achieving economies of scale, and establishing a stable supply chain in the field of Advanced Automotive Technologies (AAT). The scheme would give an incentive of up to 18% to encourage companies to engage in the AAT supply chain on a local level.

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

13.1. An 'India plus' is going to happen in every industry: Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran

ET Telecom, 18 Mar. 2022

"We are creating businesses for the future," he said. "So we're looking at 5G, complete network and 5G network stack. We already have a 4G and 5G we will announce this year. We're looking at an end-to-end stack. We're getting into precision manufacturing, semiconductors and getting into batteries."

Tata Sons Chairman, N Chandrasekaran said that there is going to be an "India plus" that is going to happen in every industry while delivering his keynote speech on Thursday in Chennai at United Way Chennai's Markets and Economy 2022 event, which is an annual discussion on the economic and investment outlook for India.

He said that the geopolitical situation in the world, from the time of the pandemic, the US-China trade war and now further accentuated by the Ukraine-Russia war, is creating a lot of disruption in the global supply chain which will give rise to an "India plus" opportunity.

"An India plus is going to happen in every industry," he said. "I don't want to say an alternative to China but an India plus. And the push will come. It will happen in materials, it is going to happen in chemicals, it is going to happen in electronics, semiconductors and batteries. And this is not only for India's needs but for global needs. There is going to be an alternative play in everything."

Chandrasekaran went on to speak about how the Tata group too is exploring these opportunities and is investing heavily in their manufacturing capabilities in these sectors.

He added that the company was eyeing the Indian consumer ecosystem and has identified a set of businesses which play to the strengths of the Group and also builds for India.

"We'll be launching it (the super app) soon," he said. "Our idea is to bring together the power of Group. And also at the same time, it'll be open architecture. I think you're looking at a very good value proposition. But obviously, these kind of apps, you know, need to launch you need to get the response, get feedback, but I think I think we are pretty bullish about it."

Chandrasekharan said the Tata Group was betting big on EVs in particular.

"We're pretty aggressive on EVs," he said. "We're investing heavily. That's why we're getting into batteries and we're putting the charging network across the nation. So we're very positive... We will get into the manufacturing of EV batteries because it is concentrated in China and there's going to be huge demand."

Further, Chandrasekaran said that while India has seen exponential growth and gas seen tremendous strides in the last 75 years in numerous aspects, he highlighted that there are issues with regard to several parameters that need to be addressed. He spoke of how the number of women who were employed has come down to 27% now from 30% in 2000. He also brought out how the healthcare, education and judicial system was extraordinarily overwhelmed and said that technology could step in and assist these sectors.

He said that the future belongs to technology as technology will solve the problems in all these three sectors. Speaking of India's biggest problems being jobs and access, he said technology will play the critical role of an enabler and also address the issues of what he called the "missing middle."

"India has people at the top-end and at the lower-end," he explained. "We don't have skilled people in between these two segments. Technology will solve the problem of the missing middle."

13.2. Top US trade body to help India become global chip manufacturing hub

ET Telecom, 12 Apr.2022

"We are delighted to sign this MoU with IESA and welcome India's goal to become both a more powerful digital economy and a hub for electronics and semiconductor innovation within the broader global value chain," said John Neuffer, President and CEO of SIA.

New Delhi: As India doubles down on local semiconductor manufacturing, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which is the top trade association representing the US semiconductor industry, on Tuesday joined hands with the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., SIA represents 99 per cent of the US semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-US chip firms.

The collaboration will help foster collaboration and identify potential opportunities between the two countries in the semiconductor sector.

The government in December last year announced to set up the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and approved Rs 76,000 crore ($10 billion) for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

The Rs 76,000 crore scheme will be spread across 6 years.

Rajeev Khushu, Chairman of IESA, said that the association wants to ensure global semiconductor companies are successful in India while also helping local semiconductor startups and service companies build products for domestic and global markets.

"SIA's global reach will help IESA members explore opportunities and expand beyond India," Khushu added.

Both organisations will also co-host events (virtual or in-person) to explore potential opportunities for US-India cooperation within the global semiconductor value chain.

"We look forward to India working towards an even more competitive policy environment and intellectual property regime fortified with transparency and predictability," said Neuffer.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) last week formed a 17-member committee to steer India's semiconductor mission to enable the building of a resilient supply chain, promote investments and ways of financing the semiconductor sector.

14. Apple stores: Offline play driving sales for Apple in India; partners bullish

ET Telecom, 18 Mar. 2022

“Apple is growing and so are their partners. Aspiration is very high among youngsters and students. The business is increasing…people are aspiring to have their first Apple products, especially the student community,” Baljinder Paul Singh, director of Unicorn Infosolutions, told ET. “Situation is coming back to normal. We are seeing sales better than before with Covid situation improving.”

NEW DELHI: iPhone-maker Apple’s retail partners are bullish on the company’s growth in the smartphone and tablet space and are accordingly preparing to further grow their businesses. The company's partners across North, South and East regions are preparing to expand their presence having increased their iPhone, iPad, MacBook and Apple Watch sales significantly in the last 18 months.

ET spoke with Apple premium resellers or APRs such as Unicorn Infosolutions, iDestiny stores and Coimbatore iPlanet that said affordability options, growing customer aspiration and aggressive portfolio from Apple are driving the sales across their stores in the country.

Unicorn Infosolutions, Apple’s largest preferred reseller, is aiming to clock Rs 5000 crore by 2025 riding on demand for the former’s products in India, up from estimated Rs 1600 crore in the current fiscal. It is aiming to become Apple’s largest preferred retailer globally by size by 2025.

Unicorn, which is the company’s largest retail partner in India, also has plans to increase the total Apple store count from 33 to 75 stores in the next 3 years. It will also open four more such flagship stores, taking the overall count to seven in India. “Our investment varies from city to city and business plan. We will keep expanding,” Singh said.

Unicorn, which started business with Apple in 1996 in India, opened its largest 3800 sq.ft Apple Flagship Premium Reseller store in CyberHub, Gurgaon. The retailer acquired adjacent space, which used to be a Samsung store, and combined with another 2000 sq.ft space to open its largest store.

Raakesh Ramanand, managing director at Coimbatore iPlanet, a South based Coimbatore-headquartered partner of Apple said, “In tier 1 cities like Bangalore and Chennai we see an opportunity in small micro markets developing on the outskirts. Customers today prefer shopping in their neighborhood rather than taking the pain to travel. Similarly tier 3 & tier 4 towns are also witnessing a boost on economy…we see an opportunity there as well. We are actively looking at these pockets on our expansion plans .”

Ramanand added that iPlanet has seen 35% on year-growth and is steadily growing on QnQ in similar lines. iPlanet has 27 Apple stores

Apple products are sold from several thousand points of sale across approximately 150 cities and towns and through Apple's valued partners. Apple launched its online store in September 2020, and will be furthering its focus with the upcoming launch of Apple Retail Stores in Delhi and Mumbai. However, it hasn’t provided a timeline for the same.

Vijay Dugar, Director, iDestiny with stores in Kolkata and cities like Guwahati, Ranchi, Patna and Bhubaneswar, said that the Apple product sales have doubled in the last 18 months. “It is pandemic proof. There is a waiting period and customers are okay with it. Which was unheard in today’s time. We have doubled the store count in the pandemic,” he said.

iDestiny, which has 10 stores, plans to open 5-6 new stores in capital cities of states in East and North East parts of the country.

Dugar said that the mindset is different in Eastern part of the country as people want to experience the product physically, leading to better footfall in shops. “In these cities, Apple is about a status symbol. People have aspirations in tier 2 cities, which is driving sales up.”

Dugar also added that affordability schemes and buyback options are the key drivers for Apple sales in these cities. “We don’t open new stores if we don’t have affordability and financing options available with partners.”

Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint said, Apple exited 2021 as its highest ever iOS user base in India and that will also provide momentum for its other products and services. “In such a scenario having a strong offline presence is important and APR plays an important role for educating users about Apple products and passing on that brand experience Apple is known for.”

Pathak said that the offline channel as a whole will take back some share from online this year assuming no more waves and lockdowns. “For Apple this transition makes more sense because of its ecosystem play.”

Apple was one of the fastest-growing brands in 2021 with 108% year-on-year growth in shipments. It maintained its lead in the premium segment (>Rs 30,000, ~$400) with a 44% share, as per Counterpoint Research.

Prabhu Ram, head-Industry Intelligence Group at CMR said that offline retail is a pivotal cornerstone for fostering and furthering Apple’s India growth story. “These offline retail touchpoints, including the recent Apple premium reseller stores and upcoming Apple-owned and operated flagship retail stores, will be able to provide consumers with the product experience, specialist knowledge and access to Apple services.”

15. Suzuki, Tata Motors and others to pump billions into India's EV market

IBEF, Mar. 22, 2022

Suzuki Motor has made a splash in India's electric vehicle sector, announcing plans to invest Rs. 10,440 crore (US$ 1.37 billion) in its India factory to develop electric vehicles and batteries. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Gujarat for the manufacture of electric vehicles and batteries in India, as well as pledged investments toward carbon neutrality. Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private would invest Rs 3,100 crore (US$ 406.53 million) by 2025 to increase battery EV manufacturing capacity and Rs 7,300 crore (US$ 957 million) to build plant car batteries.

Tata Motors is India's largest electric vehicle producer, so it's no surprise that the company is investing heavily in this area. Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, the company's electric vehicle business, had previously been formed (TPEML). Only passenger electric and hybrid vehicles will be the focus of the subsidiary Tata Motors agreed to sell an 11-15 % in TPEML to investors TPG Rise Climate and ADQ in October 2021, raising US$ 1 billion. The subsidiary is valued at approximately US$ 9 billion, and the capital infusion is scheduled for March 2022. Over the next five years, Tata Motors will invest US$ 2 billion in the company.

Mahindra and Mahindra, another automaker, is also betting big on electric vehicles, with plans to invest 3,000 crore (US$ 393.42 million) in electric vehicles in the near future. For its electric car sector, it recently established a partnership with Jio-BP, a joint venture between Reliance and BP. Hero MotoCorp is betting big on electric vehicles for two-wheelers. For electric scooters, Hero MotoCorp has chosen Ather Energy's fast-charging technology. The corporation owns a 35% investment in the electric vehicle startup.

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

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

16.1. Global outsourcing contracts grew 31% to over $24 billion in Jan-March: ISG

ET CIO, 15 Apr. 2022

Global outsourcing contracts grew 31% to a record $24.2 billion in the first quarter of this calendar year, according to data from the ISG index. ISG measures commercial outsourcing contracts on Annual Contract Value (ACV) terms.

Mumbai: The top Indian IT service providers – Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Infosys, Cognizant, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra -- won 31% of the total $33 billion managed service deals in 2021, data from global advisory firm ISG showed.

This is likely to increase in the coming quarters, ISG said.

The managed services market, meanwhile, continued its recent string of $8 billion-plus wins for the fourth consecutive quarter, reaching $8.6 billion of ACV, up 13% year over year.

“Qualitatively, we do feel like the Indian heritage providers are likely going to increase their share a bit and multinationals (like Accenture, Capgemini) will likely shrink share a little bit,” said Stanton Jones, director and principal analyst, ISG.

The global Cloud as a Service, or XaaS, market broke through the $15 billion mark for the first time ever in a quarter, reaching a record $15.6 billion.

This was up 43% versus the prior year.

However, cost pressures from an industrywide 20% annualized attrition rate have led to 4-7% increase in deal pricing as well, analysts said.

Within managed services, IT outsourcing (ITO) slumped 6% versus the prior year to $5.6 billion. This was caused by weakness in Europe, a double-digit decline in infrastructure services, and a sequential slowdown in application development and maintenance (ADM).

A total of 602 managed services contracts were awarded in the first quarter, up 14% versus the prior year, with a majority – nearly 60% – falling within the smallest range of $5 million to $10 million of ACV.

Six mega-deals – contracts with annual value of $100 million or more – were awarded in the quarter, versus four such contracts in the prior year. Combined, they were worth more than $820 million in ACV.

Demand for managed services was strongest in the telecommunications and manufacturing sectors, as well as in the financial services industry, which saw record ACV in the quarter.

ISG said talent shortage is affecting pricing on time-and-materials projects, with pricing up by 15% or more.

“On the provider side, almost half of them indicated that providers are struggling with staffing, and in turn, they're not being able to ensure a smooth transition and run services. Almost another half notice performance issues due to lack of resources,” said Namratha Darshan, director and principal analyst, ISG.

The ever-unpredictable business process outsourcing (BPO) segment, meanwhile, surged 86% to a record $3 billion of ACV, fuelled by strong demand for industry-specific services.

16.2. Samsung to re-enter India’s laptop market; eyes double digit market share

ET Telecom, 20 Mar. 2022

The company will launch six laptops in the price range of under Rs 40,000-Rs 1,20,000 in the next 2-3 days. The portfolio will have the flagship Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 along with Book2 Pro, Book2 , Book2 360, Galaxy Book Go for students and Galaxy Book 2 Business for Enterprises.

NEW DELHI: Korean smartphone major Samsung is re-entering India’s laptop market to take on the likes of Apple and traditional laptop players such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo. It is aiming to corner a “double digit” market share by the end of this year with the help of laptops targeted at students, enterprises and consumers seeking flagship experience.

“Pre pandemic, there used to be one device per family but now it is about one device per member. People bought laptops for school education and work for home but going forward and use cases are growing. The market will be growing…it will be a stable use case,” Sandeep Poswal, general manager and Head of new computing business told ET.

Poswal said that the company is bullish on the enterprise and student segments of the market. “We have strong enterprise teams that are customising requirements for customers…we have started the process and are in talks with partners. 45% of the overall notebook market is enterprise and we see a big opportunity there.”

Samsung will also roll out discounts and offers for students which will be available on all six devices even though the company will specifically launch its entry level Galaxy Book Go laptop for the segment.

Driven by the persistent pandemic, there has been a strong demand for powerful computing devices, in an everything-from-home context, especially, for work, learn and unwind use cases. This, in turn, is translating into significant market opportunities for traditional PC vendors as well as new market entrants (including smartphone makers), Prabhu Ram, head-Industry Intelligence Group at CMR told ET.

"The strong market appetite, in both consumer as well as enterprise segments, makes a strong case for Samsung’s re-entry into the laptop market. Samsung has a robust brand equity and a strong channel play in India. This, in turn, should potentially enable the brand to secure early wins and taste success in a rather competitive market," Ram added.

Tarun Pathak, director at Counterpoint said that Samsung comes with an advantage and has an ability to solve a big pain point that no other Android or Windows OEM has solved - Phone to PC connecitivity and continuity experience.

“Being a vertically integrated player it can ace the specs part easily and can bring in unique features especially leveraging its connected ecosystem (smartthings) , Spen, quickshare, continuity and second screen etc,” Pathak added.

The India traditional PC market, inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations delivered a strong year with shipment growth of 44.5% year-over-year (YoY) in 2021 calendar year, as per IDC.

While the notebook category was the volume driver with shipments reaching 11.6 million units, the desktop category, which saw a steep decline in 2020, managed a recovery with 30% YoY growth. This can be attributed to strong demand from enterprises, SMB, and consumer segments, IDC said in its recent report.

HP continued to lead the overall PC market with a share of 31.5% followed by Dell Technologies with 23.6% share and Lenovo with a share of 18.4%. Acer Group retained the fourth position with an 8.2% market share while ASUS maintained the fifth position with a share 5.9%.

In the last 15-18 months, smartphone makers have also entered the market to capitalize the opportunity. Xiaomi, Realme and Honor brought their respective notebook offerings for Indian consumers.

Poswal said Samsung laptops will be available across online and offline channels in India. “We want to inform consumers about the ecosystem play and our go to market strategy will revolve around that.”

17.1. How Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre automated the Chemotherapy process

ET CIO, 5 Apr. 2022, Mugbil Ahmar

Technology has helped the Delhi-based institute to provide succour to millions of cancer patients in the country. The RGCI has recently been leveraging cutting-edge technology to great effect.

The Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre (RGCI) is a leading healthcare center of the country and is today armed with state of art technology in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research in the field of oncology. However, this didn't happen overnight. It took years of experimentation with technology. This has helped the Delhi-based institute to provide succour to millions of cancer patients in the country. The RGCI has recently been leveraging cutting-edge technology to great effect.

"Our aim has always been to prevent, treat, as well as improve the quality of life of cancer patients by providing affordable oncology care of international standards in India," says J. P. Dwivedi, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre and the man behind the digital initiatives. The institute is a project of Indraprastha Cancer Society & Research Centre, a non-profit public society setup in 1994 by a group of philanthropists.

According to him, every day about 600 patients are seen by doctors in the OPD and about 19,000 patients are admitted every year. The radiation department alone handles about 200 patients every day. The PET-CT gets about 100 patients per week and more than 1000 BMT cases have been undertaken by the Hemato-Oncology unit. Within years of installation, 2000 cases have been done with Da Vinci Robot. An average of 10,000 patients are screened annually under preventive oncology.

Challenges facing Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre: As the institute grew, there was a need for modernization and digitization.

"There were circumstances calling for digital transformation for streamlining processes and providing better customer experience, such as the need to prevent prescription errors, enabling alerts and notifications, documentation of records, OT scheduling, RT planning, etc. We wanted to ensure prevention of medication errors, streamline the administration, create optimum space utilization, along with cost savings and continuous improvement in the image of the Institute. We were also looking at research facilitation, data storage & analytics, and a proper maintenance of records of trials," says the CIO.

Dwivedi talks about a number of challenges that were facing the institute. According to Dwivedi, there were several barriers and bottlenecks to the grand digitization plans such as limited IT infrastructure, openSource e-mail solutions, limited internet, low capacity servers, frequent network disruptions, inadequate IT strength in terms of manpower and competency. There was a lot of focus on endpoint support and the institute had basic software applications for patient management, billing, etc.

The institute implemented several state-of-the-art IT systems that transformed its healthcare solutions.

"We worked with our Application Solution provider to develop a sophisticated chemotherapy management system that helped automating the entire chemotherapy process. By implementing this new solution, we were able to save 30% of the clinician time and 40% of nursing time that was being spent while following the old paper based process and it plugged most of the holes that could create a possibility of medication error. We then expanded this effort to all other areas including radiation therapy and surgery to automate these workflows and facilitate online clinical documentation. We also utilized medical imaging information systems for managing and viewing images using PACS. This web based, intuitive and scalable solution was able to meet our needs anywhere and at any time, with on demand access providing images in a short time and came with integration capabilities," explains Dwivedi.

Digital transformation journey at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre

The journey has been a long one. During the initial days, the Institute Governing Council debated and searched for a volunteer and a surgeon with no IT background volunteered to go ahead on a “Trial Basis” for the Head & Neck set of Diseases. However, since the inter-vendor issues started demanding a lot of his time, the Institute decided to recruit a CIO to accelerate and sustain the momentum of digital transformation. After a period of trials, the IT team took charge of the overall program and results started appearing.

"We wanted to build a robust IT infrastructure, in terms of server room set-up, network upgrade, virtual servers, virtual desktops, virtual LAN, DHCP, etc. We had a number of priorities in front of us: demographics, radiology images and reports, lab (provisional and final) reports, vitals, ordering, billing, clinical documentation, etc. We also focused on non-clinical applications with module wise progress and controlled flow with data migration. With respect to the interfaces, we had renewed focus on thorough testing and we encouraged collaborative working between vendors. We went for a paper-free model. Documents were scanned and old paper files were uploaded. We maintained and kept scanning paper files until there was 100% adoption. We started with disease based advanced templates after we experimented with generic templates and designs. We rolled them out one by one," says Dwivedi.

“In early 2020, COVID brought a new set of challenges and it also created opportunities for the IT team to step up digitalization efforts. We rapidly deployed an integrated patient app that enabled our patients to book appointments from home and consult our doctors using videoconferencing facility provided by the app. Today, all our patients see all their records including lab and radiology reports on their mobiles devices or laptops from anywhere” Dwivedi adds.

According to the tech leader, there were several benefits that accrued from the digital transformation journey.

"Looking back, we have an immense satisfaction of developing digital culture. People communicate over e-mails & chats, our Intranet is used for collaboration, clinical documentation is almost completely online, we have documented Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery process giving an assurance of availability of information system and all this is helping us focus our efforts on patient care and much more the effective outcome of care delivery," says Dwivedi.

17.2. 181 new companies, 10,400 jobs created in IT sector despite Covid: Kerala CM

ETHRWorld, 20 Mar. 2022

Developmental activities, focus on IT parks, and various concessions granted by the government have helped not only to retain the existing entrepreneurs but also attract new groups, he said in Malayalam in the social media.

During the pandemic, the 181 companies - 41 in Technopark here, 100 in Kochi-based Infopark and 40 in Cyber Park in Kozhikode - came into being, he said.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite Covid-19, the information-technology industry in Kerala has showcased growth with the opening of 181 new companies in IT parks and creating over 10,000 new jobs, chief minister of the state Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday.

During the pandemic, the 181 companies - 41 in Technopark here, 100 in Kochi-based Infopark and 40 in Cyber Park in Kozhikode - came into being, he said.

"As many as 10,400 job openings have been created in IT parks alone during the period," Vijayan said.

In addition to the infrastructural expansion to improve the business environment, the government introduced better marketing mechanisms to attract national and international IT companies, he said while detailing the factors contributing to the achievement.

The Chief Minister mentioned several ongoing construction activities and new projects coming up in the sector.

Observing that the government announced several programmes for the IT sector in its recently presented State budget, he said the new IT park in Kannur, a five-lakh- square-foot IT facility in Kollam and satellite IT parks were some of them.

"We are moving forward fulfilling the assurance given to the people that the IT industry, which can play a key role in the growth of the State as a knowledge economy, will be developed. That's why we could make these achievements possible even during the COVID period," the chief minister added.

18.1. TCS ready to roll out 5G network any day

ET Telecom, 23 Mar. 2022

When asked about the readiness of TCS to roll-out 5G network for telecom customers, Bhadada said, "TCS can stitch it today. TCS is doing it today. So it's not about whether TCS is ready or not. TCS is ready. What we are working for in India is India-specific stack," Bhadada said. BSNL is working with TCS and C-DoT to roll-out an indigenously developed 5G-enabled 4G network.

New Delhi: IT major TCS is ready to put in place 5G network for any telecom operator across the globe on any given day and the company is working in India on a country-specific gears for the network, a senior company official said.

TCS head for Communication, Media & Information Services Kamal Bhadada told PTI that the company is already helping telecom operators across the globe in managing their networks, swapping equipment and technology providers.

BSNL is working with TCS and C-DoT to roll-out an indigenously developed 5G-enabled 4G network.

The government expects the BSNL 4G network to be launched by August 15.

Bhadada said TCS is a system integrator and it builds networks of telecom operators based on their requirements.

The government is gearing up to hold 5G auctions before June so that 5G networks can also be launched by August 15.

"In my view 5G has at least 3 more years of cycle left before it starts, I mean India is in the very tail end of it. If you really look at it in the western markets everybody is in the middle of it. By 2023 or 2024 I feel all the 5G roll outs will be complete," Bhadada said.

He said that it will take another 3-4 years for full exploitation of the 5G network and then the process for 6G networks will start.

"6G is interesting, but I feel 5G will take five years for exploitation. I mean as I said 2-3 years for completing the rollouts and another 3-4 years for exploitation. 6G even in other markets is in my view at least four years away from any commercial right," he said.

18.2. Over 27 million more Indian workers to require digital skills by next year: Report

ET CIO, 24 Mar. 2022

About 95 percent of workers surveyed in India acknowledged that they require more digital skills -- the ability and knowledge to apply digital technologies for tasks in the workplace -- in order to cope with changes in their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of Indian workers requiring digital skills for their jobs is set to rise by 27.3 million, representing seven percent of India's workforce, over the next year, according to a report. Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, released findings from a new research report that revealed digital skills training needs have become more pronounced amid the pandemic.

"Over the next year, the number of India workers requiring digital skills for their jobs is projected to increase by 27.3 million, representing 7 percent of India's workforce," according to the report.

That said, only 45 percent of employers in India have a training plan in place, which could affect their competitiveness in areas such as productivity, innovation and employee retention.

The 'Building Digital Skills for the Changing Workforce' report, prepared by strategy and economic consulting firm AlphaBeta and commissioned by AWS, surveyed 1,012 digitally skilled workers in technology and non-technology roles, and 303 employers in India, with representation from public, private, and nonprofit sectors of different industries.

The ability to use cloud-based tools, such as cloud developer tools, as well as online collaboration, accounting, and customer relationship management (CRM) software will be the most in-demand skill required by employers by 2025, followed by technical support and cybersecurity skills.

The findings also highlight the need for more advanced cloud computing skills, including machine learning and cloud architecture design.

These skills are expected to be in high demand in businesses from healthcare to agriculture, fintech to media and entertainment, the report said.

"Over the course of the pandemic, we have seen organisations of all sizes accelerate their digital transformation plans, driving an increased need for employers and their workers to advance skills training for cloud computing, cybersecurity, and machine learning," noted Rahul Sharma, President, Public Sector - Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL), AWS India and South Asia.

AWS is investing heavily as part of its global endeavour to provide free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people. AWS offers over 500 free digital training courses.

To prepare the next generation of professionals for early cloud careers, and to build a diverse pipeline of entry-level talent into the workforce, AWS partners with higher education institutions, non-profits, workforce development organisations, governments, and employers on a range of digital upskilling programmes.

In India, this includes programmes like AWS re/Start, which is a free, full-time, 12-week course that prepares individuals for careers in cloud computing.

Tech Mahindra Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of Tech Mahindra and Generation India, a non-profit organisation, recently announced they will support training individuals in cloud computing through the AWS re/Start programme, extending the reach of the programme to more cities in India. AWS has already trained over one million individuals in India with cloud skills since 2017.

19.1. India bets on satellite broadband to bridge rural digital divide

ET Telecom, 30 Mar. 2022

The government has made universal broadband a priority under its Digital India programme to improve governance through technology, with projects such as the Bharat Net rural broadband project aimed at connecting about 650,000 villages nationwide.

DUNGE, India: The day started well for Sayi Gharat. The nine-year-old schoolgirl managed to connect easily to her online science class, as she sat on a daybed in her grandmother's home in western India.

But Sayi knew she would not be able to stay in the same spot for long due to the shaky mobile internet connection she relied on for her education as classes in Dunge village and across India moved online when COVID-19 struck in March 2020.

"Sometimes the network is good, sometimes it's not good: she has to move from one room to another, from one corner to another, and even go outside," Sayi's grandmother, Chandrakamalkar Gharat, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Two years on, Sayi is back at school, but staying online all day remains a challenge for her and tens of millions of others with poor connectivity in rural India, where the digital divide https://news.trust.org/item/20210423005445-p5ly8 hampers education, livelihoods and healthcare access.

"It's very hard for her - we sometimes wonder if it's worth the trouble," Gharat said.

There are currently more than 800 million internet subscribers in the nation of 1.3 billion people, according to the telecom regulatory authority (TRAI). Yet in rural India, only about 38% of the population is connected to the internet.

But digital inclusion "continues to remain a distant reality for most parts of rural India", marred by delays in implementation, and a lack of access and digital literacy, according to a report from the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), a policy think-tank.

That might now change due to recent policy moves including easier approvals for satellite broadband network rollouts, and the imminent launch of satellite broadband from India's Bharti Airtel and Jio Platforms, Elon Musk's Starlink, and others.

"With the saturation of urban markets, there is keen interest among service providers to increase rural subscribership," said Mansi Kedia, a fellow at ICRIER, and a telecoms and internet expert.

"But rural connectivity should look beyond the dominant technology - optical fibre and mobile communications. The use case for satellite broadband is the strongest in rural areas - it can help achieve connectivity at much lower costs," she said.

CHEAP MOBILE DATA

The United Nations stated in 2016 that internet access is a human right, adding a clause to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the "promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the internet," including for women, girls, and those impacted by the digital divide.

India was among several countries that opposed the amendment at the time, and the country has among the most internet shutdowns in the world.

It also has one of the lowest charges for mobile data globally, helping mobile wireless to account for the bulk of the country's 834 million internet subscribers. Only about 24 million subscribers have fixed internet connections.

Besides government programmes, private-sector and philanthropic initiatives have also helped build last-mile connectivity and increase digital literacy in rural areas.

"The big telcos will only go into rural areas if it makes economic sense, as it's more expensive to build infrastructure, and it is for a customer base with less ability to pay," said Michael Ginguld, a director at AirJaldi, which provides affordable networks in rural and semi-urban areas in India.

"The deeper you went into rural areas, the less demand there was - they can watch a show or a film on their phones. But this is changing, and COVID has hastened that shift https://news.trust.org/item/20210622035033-kghlv, with demand for better connectivity to access education or healthcare," he said.

AirJaldi, which has partnered with Google, Facebook and Microsoft on internet projects, reaches more than 200,000 users in about 1,500 villages in India, including some that had no mobile connectivity previously.

CLIMBING TREES

Globally, three-quarters of students who cannot access remote learning come from rural areas or poor households, according to the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF).

During COVID-19 lockdowns, Indian media carried reports of students and teachers in villages climbing trees or trekking up hills in an attempt to get online.

Such anecdotes may soon be a thing of the past.

Earlier this year, OneWeb and Hughes Communications India - a joint venture with Bharti Airtel - said they had an agreement to bring low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband services, "especially in areas outside the reach of fibre connectivity".

Last month, Jio Platforms - owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani - said it would launch satellite-based broadband services in India with Luxembourg-based telecom company SES, using geostationary and medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites.

Also in the mix is Musk's Starlink, which is waiting for its licence in India, and has already launched about 2,000 of its intended 42,000 LEO satellites to deliver internet across the globe. Amazon's Project Kuiper is another potential entrant.

"The fixed costs for satellite broadband are high, but it has a lower cost of implementation for larger geographical coverage and lower population density, as compared to technologies such as optical fibre cable," said Kedia.

Residents of the southern Indian village of Sittlingi, who once travelled to another village about 20 km (12 miles) away to get online, could not afford to wait for satellite broadband.

Nonprofits the Digital Empowerment Foundation and the Internet Society stepped in during the pandemic, and established a stable internet connection in the village using free, unlicensed spectrum.

That meant students were able to resume classes, farmers could sell their produce online, and an indigenous crafts centre found new buyers, said Lalitha Regi, manager of Porgai, the crafts centre.

"It was like a celebration - getting connectivity," she said.

19.2. Motherhood Hospitals starts scaling-up digital infra for steady care

ET CIO, 1 Apr. 2022, Salvi Mittal

With the sophisticated technology, the limited resource can now be expanded comfortably to Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities for better outcomes, especially in the category of neonatal intensive care units.

In today’s world, no sector can ignore digital tools, especially the healthcare sector. Healthcare may have started a little late in the adoption of technology on both patients’ and the sector’s side, but now the pandemic has fuelled technology investments in healthcare. Any organisation which is looking at growing its presence or reaching out to customers, delivering a certain category of services, needs to embrace the digitalization of services.

Motherhood Hospitals has adopted digital technologies extensively and seamlessly to deliver patient care services across India and is aiming to scale-up digital infrastructure to ensure their patients have uninterrupted access to all services. The hospital is providing integrated services like laboratory services, pharmacy etc. to provide a holistic healthcare experience.

Motherhood Women & Children’s Hospital network is India’s leading single-speciality chain with 16 hospitals, 10 fertility centres and 2 clinics across 9 cities in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and NCR Regions. The network has more than 1000 specialist doctors associated with it who provide clinical services in Gynaecology, Obstetrics, IVF, Neonatology, and Paediatrics.

“The pandemic was an unprecedented situation and being in the healthcare delivery space, we had to expand the scope of our care delivery to the digital space and quickly adapt to the changing times. Our focus was to ensure uninterrupted services and continuity of care for women, expectant mothers and children. This could only be done with swift adoption of technology,” Vijayarathna Venkatraman, CEO, Motherhood Hospitals said.

Additionally, customer behaviour is also changing over the past few years with many of them seeking healthcare services done virtually like consultations, counselling sessions etc.

Building digital assets

Today’s healthcare consumers /patients would like to access services at their fingertips. In fact, research shows about 70% of people use their mobile phones to book their doctor appointments, scans and other laboratory tests. Therefore, healthcare providers have quickly changed their way of working and enabled the patients to access the services very easily.

There is an increased comfort amongst the clinicians and the patients in adapting to virtual healthcare delivery. From consultations to ordering medicines online, today's patients are using technology seamlessly. A patient is very comfortable doing video consultations for follow-ups. The Motherhood Hospitals have converted most of it antenatal sessions into virtual to ensure the expectant mothers continued their ANC journey smoothly amid the pandemic. Today this channel is very active even after normalcy is returned.

The hospital has further set up a virtual emergency room that provides round the clock video consultation support. “Our clinical teams are available 24X7 for a virtual consultation. We call this “Digital or online Triaging”. It has proven to be highly convenient and effective for patients who could avoid rushing to the hospital for small matters which were being taken care of virtually,” Venkatraman explained.

Furthermore, the hospital has simplified the payment methods by making use of UPI/payment gateways. As they say, adversity creates opportunity, now the patients can access healthcare services from the comfort of their homes.

Investing in digital technologies is strategic and long term

Technology has helped take away a huge logistical issue for the patients. Hospitals are able to deploy their resources in the right places and retrain people to adopt this emerging change.

Doing consultation from their home has ensured that patients do not ignore health issues due to lack of time and convenience. Patients, especially in women’s health, tend to ignore gynae conditions like PCOS, Fibroids etc, until they start suffering from painful physiological symptoms. “But now, we are seeing a significant increase in women’s consultation through online visits. This wasn’t the case a couple of years ago. Most importantly the privacy that a woman can have in an online consultation is significant,” he said.

Future of digital health

Pandemic has wreaked havoc throughout the world but has also been a catalyst for change. It has opened up new avenues for the healthcare sector. People are more willing to accept technological changes. There are new ideas, practices and systems that are emerging every day now. The sheer pace with which the technology has been implemented to cope with the pandemic is remarkable. Just goes to show, unprecedented challenges make way for newer and better systems.

“Remote monitoring of patients and providing expertise in critical care will be our core focus. With the sophisticated technology, the limited resource can now be expanded comfortably to Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities for better outcomes, especially in the category of neonatal intensive care units. The prompt adoption of digital & clinical parameters for patient safety has further instilled confidence in our customers and we will strive to maintain the same level of trust and support. This is my one key takeaway. The more willing you are to accept change, the better you will be able to rise from the challenges that are facing you,” he concluded.

20.1. IT companies looking at small towns to expand talent base

ETHRWorld, 5 Apr. 2022

Accenture is setting up centres in Jaipur, Indore and Coimbatore, and expanding its existing presence in Ahmedabad, the company said.

Tech Mahindra has over the last two quarters ramped up hiring for its centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Vizag, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Indore, Vijayawada and Coimbatore.

By Sai Ishwarbharath & Romita Majumdar

Bengaluru/Mumbai: IT service providers such as Accenture Inc, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Mindtree, among others, are expanding to tier II and tier III locations as they battle an unprecedented talent crunch.

Accenture is setting up centres in Jaipur, Indore and Coimbatore, and expanding its existing presence in Ahmedabad, the company said.

Tech Mahindra has over the last two quarters ramped up hiring for its centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Vizag, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Indore, Vijayawada and Coimbatore.

HCL Technologies, the country’s third largest software firm, said campaigns like Stay Rooted and Come Back Home have been instrumental in growing and nurturing talent at its centres in small cities.

Mid-tier firms like Mindtree, Zensar and Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) are also following larger peers in going deeper into small towns.

An increasing number of companies are tapping resources at these locations due to greater availability of talent, lower cost and attrition rates, analysts said.

Quite a few employees hailing from small towns do not want to return to big cities post-Covid-19, they added.

“India is a key talent and innovation hub for Accenture… (These centres will) provide our people with work options that fulfil their need for flexible working, and in-person connections,” Mahesh Zurale, senior managing director and lead of Accenture’s advanced technology centres in India, told ET. “The new locations will not only strengthen our already rich and diverse talent base, but also provide local talent with the opportunity to build meaningful careers.”

The US-based company, whose largest employee base is in India, has been hiring for specialised areas such as digital, cloud, security, data and artificial intelligence from these locations.

HCL Tech, which has delivery centres in Lucknow, Madurai, and Vijayawada as part of its ‘New Vistas’ strategy, said the

availability of abundant talent and better quality of life compared to other metro locations, were the main reasons to move into such locations.

“Campaigns like Stay Rooted– which aims to provide global career opportunities to people in their hometowns, and Come Back Home – which provided avenues to people to return to their cities and still pursue global careers, were instrumental in

growing and nurturing talent in our New Vistas locations,” a spokesperson for HCL Tech told ET.

Apart from reskilling the workforce and hiring professionals skilled in niche technologies, Tech Mahindra has also been ramping up its presence and hiring from tier-II and tier-III towns to tap into new talent, said Harshvendra Soin, global chief people officer and head of marketing.

Before the pandemic, one reason why companies set up these centres was to cut costs and diversify the talent pool, said Pareekh Jain, an outsourcing advisor and founder of Pareekh Consulting.

“Now, the main reasons are to facilitate employees who don’t want to return to their base locations after the pandemic and also tap into local talent whose stickiness to the company may be slightly longer due to lack of competitive employers in those locations,” he said.

Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal and others are providing many incentives to IT service providers to establish campuses in smaller cities, Jain added.

Companies are opening ‘satellite centres’ of 100-200-seater capacity in tier II and III locations to make employees meet once a week, analysts said.

Local colleges

Top colleges and universities are also influencing companies to pick these locations.

For example, Mindtree launched its first development centre in Kolkata in March.

The company is aggressively adding to its team in the city and expects to double its headcount in the next financial year.

Mindtree chief executive Debasish Chatterjee told ET previously that the city has very good access to talent in terms of engineering colleges and management institutes, apart from the Indian Statistical Institute.

Zensar, another mid-tier IT firm, also established a delivery centre in the city recently.

“The advantage of Kolkata is, apart from engineering talent, you also have the statistical mindset which is very unique to the work that we do these days in terms of data and analytics,” Chatterjee had said.

Similarly, LTI, which opened a 3,000-seater delivery centre in Hyderabad in December, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian School of Business to conduct research on digital readiness.

20.2. AI is explaining itself to humans. And it's paying off

ET Telecom, 7 Apr. 2022, Paresh Dave

While AI scientists have no problem designing systems that make accurate predictions on all sorts of business outcomes, they are discovering that to make those tools more effective for human operators, the AI may need to explain itself through another algorithm.

But some AI experts question whether explanations are necessary. They could even do harm, engendering a false sense of security in AI or prompting design sacrifices that make predictions less accurate, researchers say.

OAKLAND: Microsoft Corp's LinkedIn boosted subscription revenue by 8% after arming its sales team with artificial intelligence software that not only predicts clients at risk of canceling, but also explains how it arrived at its conclusion.

The system, introduced last July and described in a LinkedIn blog post on Wednesday, marks a breakthrough in getting AI to "show its work" in a helpful way.

The emerging field of "Explainable AI," or XAI, has spurred big investment in Silicon Valley as startups and cloud giants compete to make opaque software more understandable and has stoked discussion in Washington and Brussels where regulators want to ensure automated decision-making is done fairly and transparently.

AI technology can perpetuate societal biases like those around race, gender and culture. Some AI scientists view explanations as a crucial part of mitigating those problematic outcomes.

U.S. consumer protection regulators including the Federal Trade Commission have warned over the last two years that AI that is not explainable could be investigated. The EU next year could pass the Artificial Intelligence Act, a set of comprehensive requirements including that users be able to interpret automated predictions.

Proponents of explainable AI say it has helped increase the effectiveness of AI's application in fields such as healthcare and sales. Google Cloud sells explainable AI services that, for instance, tell clients trying to sharpen their systems which pixels and soon which training examples mattered most in predicting the subject of a photo.

But critics say the explanations of why AI predicted what it did are too unreliable because the AI technology to interpret the machines is not good enough.

LinkedIn and others developing explainable AI acknowledge that each step in the process - analyzing predictions, generating explanations, confirming their accuracy and making them actionable for users - still has room for improvement.

But after two years of trial and error in a relatively low-stakes application, LinkedIn says its technology has yielded practical value. Its proof is the 8% increase in renewal bookings during the current fiscal year above normally expected growth. LinkedIn declined to specify the benefit in dollars, but described it as sizeable.

Before, LinkedIn salespeople relied on their own intuition and some spotty automated alerts about clients' adoption of services.

Now, the AI quickly handles research and analysis. Dubbed CrystalCandle by LinkedIn, it calls out unnoticed trends and its reasoning helps salespeople hone their tactics to keep at-risk customers on board and pitch others on upgrades.

LinkedIn says explanation-based recommendations have expanded to more than 5,000 of its sales employees spanning recruiting, advertising, marketing and education offerings.

"It has helped experienced salespeople by arming them with specific insights to navigate conversations with prospects. It's also helped new salespeople dive in right away," said Parvez Ahammad, LinkedIn's director of machine learning and head of data science applied research.

TO EXPLAIN OR NOT TO EXPLAIN?

In 2020, LinkedIn had first provided predictions without explanations. A score with about 80% accuracy indicates the likelihood a client soon due for renewal will upgrade, hold steady or cancel.

Salespeople were not fully won over. The team selling LinkedIn's Talent Solutions recruiting and hiring software were unclear on how to adapt their strategy, especially when the odds of a client not renewing were no better than a coin toss.

Last July, they started seeing a short, auto-generated paragraph that highlights the factors influencing the score.

For instance, the AI decided a customer was likely to upgrade because it grew by 240 workers over the past year and candidates had become 146% more responsive in the last month.

In addition, an index that measures a client's overall success with LinkedIn recruiting tools surged 25% in the last three months.

Lekha Doshi, LinkedIn's vice president of global operations, said that based on the explanations sales representatives now direct clients to training, support and services that improve their experience and keep them spending.

Fei-Fei Li, co-director of Stanford University's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, said people use products such as Tylenol and Google Maps whose inner workings are not neatly understood. In such cases, rigorous testing and monitoring have dispelled most doubts about their efficacy.

Similarly, AI systems overall could be deemed fair even if individual decisions are inscrutable, said Daniel Roy, an associate professor of statistics at University of Toronto.

LinkedIn says an algorithm's integrity cannot be evaluated without understanding its thinking.

It also maintains that tools like its CrystalCandle could help AI users in other fields. Doctors could learn why AI predicts someone is more at risk of a disease, or people could be told why AI recommended they be denied a credit card.

The hope is that explanations reveal whether a system aligns with concepts and values one wants to promote, said Been Kim, an AI researcher at Google.

"I view interpretability as ultimately enabling a conversation between machines and humans," she said.

INDIA and the WORLD

21. India-Australia sign trade pact; bilateral trade to reach $45 bn in 5 years

IBEF, Apr. 4, 2022

On Saturday, India and Australia signed an economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) under which Canberra will grant duty-free access to over 95% of tariff lines in its market, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery, machinery, and some medical items. The agreement will take four months to implement. After more than a decade, India has finally struck a trade pact with a developed economy. In the current fiscal year, Australia is India's 17th largest trading partner, and India is Australia's 9th largest trading partner. In five years, bilateral trade in products and services between the two countries is predicted to increase from US$ 27.5 billion to US$ 45 billion.

India's offer comprises immediate duty removal on 40% of its tariff lines, which account for 85% of Australia's value-added exports to India, as well as the elimination or reduction of tariffs over a 3,5,7, or 10-year period on the remaining 30.3% of its tariff lines. In the services industry, India benefits from reciprocal post-study work visas for Indian students of two to four years, as well as work and holiday visa arrangements for young professionals.

“Post study work visas will provide extended options for working in Australia to eligible Indian graduates, post graduates and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) specialists,” said Mr. Piyush Goyal Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles.

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

22. Indian goods exports reach $400 bn for first time ever, says PM Modi

IBEF, Mar. 24, 2022

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi announced that India had surpassed the US$ 400 billion mark in goods exports for the first time, calling it a "key milestone" for his government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative for manufacturing self-sufficiency. He made the statement on Twitter as India's services and industrial activities remained stable in February, despite the fact that the crisis in Ukraine has clouded the outlook for prices and growth in the consumer-driven economy.

"India set an ambitious target of US$ 400 billion of goods exports & achieves this target for the first time ever. I congratulate our farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters for this success,” he said posting a graphic showing the target being met nine days ahead of the deadline. The needle on a dial measuring so-called 'Animal Spirits' stayed fixed at 5 for the eighth month in a row, according to all eight high-frequency indicators collated by Bloomberg News. To smooth out volatility in single-month data, the gauge employs a three-month weighted average.

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

23. How recent graduates benefit from India and Australia's historic trade deal

IBEF, Apr. 5, 2022

India and Australia have finally struck a historic economic cooperation and trade deal after a decade of negotiations. Under the terms of the deal, India's 6,000 broad sectors will have duty-free access to Canberra's market. Furthermore, Australia would provide additional options for Indians to relocate to the nation to study and work.

Experts hail the introduction of 1,000 working holiday visas for Indian backpackers and a lengthier post-study visa for top Indian IT, engineering, mathematics, and science graduates as a win-win situation for both countries. There are currently over 1 lakh Indian students enrolled in various courses in Australia.

Australia has committed to settle the issue of double taxation that domestic IT companies experience in that market. Canberra has also agreed to change its domestic tax laws to eliminate the taxation of offshore income earned by Indian companies that provide technical services in Australia.

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

24. India, Australia working in Quad to ensure peace in Indo-pacific: Goyal

IBEF, Apr. 11, 2022

"We have been having a sea-saw of the negotiation over India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA), for many years. Later with the blessing of Prime Minister Mr. Scott Morrison and Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. It was finally decided that we must seriously engage and agree on how to take this comprehensive partnership which was launched by Prime Minister Mr. Scott Morrison and Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in June 2020 to the next level and bring the economic dimension to our wonderful dimension," said Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Minister of Textiles, Mr. Piyush Goyal. India and Australia, according to him, are working closely together in the Quad to promote peace, stability, and order in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in terms of geopolitical alignment.

"We already have the Quad where Japan Australia, US and India are working closely together to ensure peace and stability and order in the Indo-pacific region especially geopolitical alignment that is the need of the hours" he said during the speech. Speaking to ANI, the He said: "The trade agreement has been well received in India and Australia. I think it will be a great boost to both economic ties, help us in our geopolitical and strategic partnership and create huge employment opportunities for our young boys and girls in India."

ECTA is projected to generate new job opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the overall well-being of both countries' citizens. Within the next five years, an additional 10 lakh jobs are predicted to be created.

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

25. Trade Agreements signed with Australia and UAE will open infinite opportunities

IBEF, April 13, 2022

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, Public Distribution, and Textiles, said that new Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreements with Australia and the United Arab Emirates would provide Textiles Handloom and Footwear with limitless potential. He stated that Indian textile exports to Australia and the United Arab Emirates would be duty-free. He expressed optimism that Europe, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries would soon follow suit.

Trade agreements will help increase exports from labour-intensive businesses. He went on to say that India must be open to obtaining new technologies, rare minerals, and raw resources that are in short supply in India at reasonable prices from the rest of the globe. This will only enhance our output, productivity, and quality, resulting in increased demand for our products worldwide, he said.

He also stated that the Indian textile industry has the potential to export US$ 100 billion by 2030. He praised CITI-CDRA for directly engaging roughly 90,000 cotton farmers in developing a robust cotton ecosystem. He stated that our textiles must become a symbol of Quality, Reliability, and Innovation to achieve atmanirbharta in the textiles sector.

It should be mentioned that India's textile sector accounts for roughly 10% (US$ 43 billion) of the country's overall merchandise exports. According to the Minister, India is the world's largest cotton producer, accounting for 23% of worldwide production and employing 65 lakh people directly and indirectly.

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

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Monday 18 April 2022

NEWSLETTER, 20-IV-2022

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

– AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

– INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURE

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

NEWSLETTER, 20-IV-2022

– GENERAL POLICY, INFRASTRUCTURES, COUNTRY FINANCES, ETC.

- AGRICULTURE, FISHING & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

- INDUSTRY and MANUFACTURE

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

INDIA and the WORLD