Seasonal Magazine - Andhra GIS 2023

www.seasonalmagazine.com

Managing Editor

Jason D Pavorattikaran

Editor

John Antony Director (Finance)

Ceena

Associate Editor

Carl Jaison

Senior Editorial Coordinator Jacob Deva

Senior Correspondent

Bina Menon

Creative Visualizer

Bijohns Varghese

Photographer

Anish Aloysious Office Assistant Alby CG

Correspondents

Bombay: Rashmi Prakash

Delhi: Anurag Dixit Director (Technical)

John Antony

Publisher Jason D Pavorattikaran

Editorial & Business Office

Cochin: 36/1924 E, Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, Near IGNOU, Kaloor, Cochin-17.

Ph:0484- 2345876, 2534377, 2340080 Mob. 09947141362

Delhi: H.No: P-108, Uppal Southend, Sector 48, Sohna Road, Gurgaon, Haryana – 122018 Ph: 9891771857|099471 41362

Mumbai: 202, Woodland Heights Building, St. Martins Road, Bandra West, Mumbai400 050 Mob: 919947141362

Bangalore: House No: 493, Block 3 3rd Main, HBR Layout, Bangalore-4209731984836, Email:skmagazine@gmail.com www.seasonalmagazine.com

UK Office: “CRONAN”, Boundaries Road Feltham, Middlesex, UK TW13 5DR Ph: 020 8890 0045, Mob: 00447947181950 Email: petecarlsons@gmail.com

Reg No: KERENG/2002/6803

BIG TECH’S BIG THEFT

THE WORLD IS GOING GAGA OVER CHATGPT, THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BASED CHATBOT DEVELOPED BY OPENAI, FOR ITS STUNNING CAPABILITIES. BUT WHAT IS THE REALITY?

There is a word that is almost used as a synonym for ‘innovation’, ever since the startup culture caught on. Yes, it is ‘disruption’ itself, and how it came to be a positive word despite its quite negative meaning is a feat that only Big Tech could manage on this planet.

It is said that angel investors and venture capitalists have made disruption an important yardstick while assessing the ‘innovative potential’ and ‘scalability’ of startups. For a startup idea to click bigtime it should ideally disrupt the lives of the incumbent players and the people they employ. But of course, all for the common good.

Maximum the disruptive potential, maximum will be the scalability. The logic? It is quite simple to understand, and can be explained with two real world examples. Uber has to first disrupt the lives of millions of cab drivers across the world, so that this huge segment will have no option but to enrol for Uber. Or Oyo has to disrupt the lives of lakhs of hotels and lodges, so that they will have no option but to enlist themselves for Oyo. But all for the common good.

In olden days when more commonsense prevailed, people would have cried foul that these are nothing but the forcible creation of monopolies, and invited regulatory action. But it doesn’t happen these days, as seemingly there will be ready competitors too, though in reality there will be only one major competitor emerging - an Ola for an Uber or a Swiggy for a Zomato - which makes them powerful duopolies, but which is enough to keep regulators at bay. Again, all for the common good.

What is this kind of disruption really? It is nothing but violent theft, if not looting by broad daylight. To understand this, you should speak to the millions of cab drivers and small hotel owners who were ‘forcibly’ enrolled by these tech aggregators and later left in the lurch. One silver lining amidst this grim scenario is how more and more restaurant owners are now coming out of the shackles of the food delivery aggregators.

But all these hard facts about these disruptive tech aggregators were mentioned here to just show what poor lambs they are compared with the really Big Tech firms, which have been carrying on a grand theft at a much grander scale for decades now.

Remember the time when hundreds of thousands of text bloggers used to live off advertising programs like AdSense? But then Google introduced the innovation of showing snippets from the web pages in the search result itself, which meant that only if the snippets failed to satisfy a reader, will they need to go to a webpage. And Google continued to strengthen the snippets with more and more features,

like the current almost endless Q&A style, which makes sure that no one will find any need to visit the source web pages. But remember, all for the common good.

Wikipedia is another seemingly harmless operation that has amassed other people’s content and made it their own, even while not paying a dime to the content creators. Of course, you will get a citation to your webpage if you are lucky - as per the whims and fancies of that wiki page’s editor - but which is a citation that delivers poor to no value to the content creator. But can you complain? Of course not, as it is for the common good.

Now, artificial intelligence chatbots like ChatGPT take this kind of content theft to an unprecedented scale. ChatGPT being very efficient at understanding user queries as well as in generating answers in its own words, is leaving no trail even of its large-scale theft! High quality content creators who have painstakingly created complex and knowledge-class content are suddenly at the mercy of this AI beast. But no complaints, as it is all for our common good.

ChatGPT’s cousin in graphics and design, DALL-E, by OpenAI itself, is similarly being flagged by artists and designers across the world, as their works are being taken without permission or credit and made into DALL-E’s intelligent creation.

One may ask that can’t the content creators prevent this from happening? Oh, yes, they can, but for that a content creator will have to ‘opt-out’ of all such programs one by one - from Google, from Wikipedia, from ChatGPT, from the upcoming Google Bard, and another dozen such grand theft AI schemes coming their way. By default we all have been forcibly ‘optedin’ into these services. Big Tech reserves such big rights for themselves. All for our common good.

In case you didn’t know it yet, even before ChatGPT recently launched a professional account that costs a hefty $42 dollar a month per user, they have been valued at $29 billion dollars, which is one of the fastest accelerations in value creation ever in this planet’s history.

It is high time that ‘disruption’ is restored to its correct meaning in the English language. At least that, for our real common, collective good.

John Antony

CONTENTS

ALL ROADS LEAD TO VIZAG NOW

More than 2500 business and diplomatic delegates from the world over are expected for Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s dream Global Investors Summit for his beloved Andhra Pradesh. No ambition is too high for the mega AP GIS 2023 as the invitee list includes global biggies like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos & Tim Cook. While their attendance is not highly probable even if a US state is hosting such an event, the very fact that AP had the ambition to invite them shows the scale at which the young and dynamic CM of Andhra Pradesh is acting. At the same time, Jagan Mohan Reddy is never one to inflate the might of the investment proposals expected, and has kept it at a surprisingly low and refreshing Rs. 1.85 lakh crore. While this figure is likely to be.....

THE ANCIENT WISDOM OF STOICISM FOR OVERCOMING MODERN CHALLENGES

It can sometimes feel as though we live in uniquely difficult times. Zeno of Citium developed Stoicism to teach how to face such challenges. Later Stoic

DECODING THE HYPE ABOUT AI AND CHATGPT

A conversation with Arvind Narayanan By Julia Angwin. If you have been reading all the hype about the latest artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, you might be excused for thinking that the end of the world is nigh.

HOW THE JAPANESE ETHOS OF WABI SABI CAN HELP YOU

Perfectionism is on the rise and its consequences for mental health can be devastating. The Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi helps us appreciate our imperfections. By accepting our faults as part of our journey toward improvement, we can better approach life with greater humility and self-worth.

WHY UNION BANK IS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

The Union Bank stock which had already been on an upswing since July, recently shifted to overdrive after the second quarter results were announced. The recent vertical climb was of course prompted by the overall good numbers recorded by the bank in Q2, but there is also more to it than catches the eye. For instance, under its new MD & CEO A Manimekhalai, who took charge only in June this year, Union Bank has outperformed the entire banking system’s credit growth..

6 ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

Think of the most successful people you know. Perhaps you’re thinking of someone you grew up with or went to school with. Maybe the people you imagine include someone you’ve worked with, or been fortunate to recruit as a mentor. Maybe - although

SIMPLE BRAIN HACKS FOR BOOSTING YOUR MOOD

You can boost your brain's 4 happy hormones - dopamine, serotonin, endorphin and oxytocin. Here's how to do it naturally.

G20 & RULES-BASED ORDER

The Presidency of G20 should be used by India to argue for globalisation and a rules-based global economic order

BANK OF BARODA IS BANKING SECTOR’S SILENT OUTPERFORMER

If you are wondering how the Sensex and Nifty are surging, but not your portfolio or favourite stocks, maybe you need to take a closer look at the silent outperformers during the last two quarters. And Bank of Baroda will be

TREAT ADULTS LIKE ADULTS

A few days after the admissions process, I saw an unexpected email from my daughter’s college administration. On clicking it open, I was relieved to see that it was only an automated message informing me that she had 100% attendance that day. I don’t think my adult daughter’s attendance is my

HOW TO FIND YOUR LOST KEY, LIKE HOW A NAVY FINDS A LOST SUBMARINE

Everyone has misplaced something from time to time, be it a phone, wallet, or set of keys. When something extraordinarily valuable, like a nuclear submarine, is lost, a

GIVE DIGI YATRA A CHANCE

No matter how repugnant a technology might sound at first blush, I must try it out myself before forming a firm opinion

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CONCENTRATION & ATTENTION?

THE MAGIC OF COMPOUNDING: WHY SMALL STEPS LEAD TO BIG GAINS

Compounding isn’t just useful in finance. It is a principle that applies to all of life. Brad Stulberg researches and writes on sustainable excellence and wellbeing, explains its magical

Is modern life ruining our powers of concentration? Is the ping of a text stealing our focus or do we just lack willpower? And could mindless scrolling ever be good for our brains?

WHY YOU OFTEN NEED TO BE UNHAPPY TO BE SUCCESSFUL

If you make happiness your primary goal, you might miss out on success as well as the challenges that give life meaning. In 2007, a group of researchers began testing a concept that seems, at first blush,

10 PROVEN WAYS TO LEARN FASTER, FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE

Modern socioeconomics is demanding that both children and adults learn more and more new things, faster. Thankfully, neuroscience has taught us a lot about how our brains process and

ALL ROADS LEAD T

More than 2500 business and diplomatic delegates from the world over are expected for Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy’s dream Global Investors Summit for his beloved Andhra Pradesh. No ambition is too high for the mega AP GIS 2023 as the invitee list includes global biggies like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos & Tim Cook. While their attendance is not highly probable even if a US state is hosting such an event, the very fact that AP had the ambition to invite them shows the scale at which the young and dynamic CM of Andhra Pradesh is acting. At the same time, Jagan Mohan Reddy is never one to inflate the might of the investment proposals expected, and has kept it at a surprisingly low and refreshing Rs. 1.85 lakh crore. While this figure is likely to be surpassed by a huge margin, CM Jagan’s focus for GIS 2023 is sharp and revolves around 13 most promising sectors in the state. And even above that is his plans for Visakhapatnam, the state’s commercial capital that the CM prefers to be the political capital too. Andhra’s plans for Vizag is nothing short of building it up as a world-class metro city that can rival Bengaluru, Chennai or Hyderabad.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has been working round the clock for ensuring the success of the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit 2023, scheduled for March 3 & 4 at Visakhapatnam. Close on the heels of the highly successful New Delhi roadshow for the event, that CM had personally led, he has unleashed a slew of initiatives for increasing the momentum even more in the run up to the event.

Under the Chief Minister’s direction, the Andhra Pradesh State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) has recently cleared investment proposals worth Rs. 1,44,000 crores in the state. This figure assumes significance as the state’s investment target for the GIS 2023 has been kept at Rs. 1,85,000 crore, and this shows that despite what his detractors say about the economic situation of the state, Andhra Pradesh has no trouble in attracting major investments, whether there is a GIS or not.

However, a Global Investors Summit, especially in the scale that CM Jagan is planning will definitely help much more than routine investments pouring into the state, in many ways. For one, AP GIS 2023 has 13 focus areas that are most promising for Andhra.

These designated focus sectors for GIS 2023 are Aerospace & Defence, Agriculture & Food Processing, Automobile & Electric Vehicles, Electronics & IT, Healthcare & Medical Equipment, Industrial & Logistics Infrastructure, MSME, Startups & Innovation, Petroleum & Petrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences, Renewable Energy, Skill Development & Education, Textiles & Apparel, and Tourism & Hospitality.

While it is customary now for almost all statelevel investment summits to designate such focus sectors, in the case of Andhra Pradesh, the state seems to have done its homework well in this regard. Under CM’s guidance, the state has already made it a point to personally invite the

13 Central Ministers who are handling these crucial growth sectors at Delhi.

Such steps Jagan has taken despite the growing animosity between his ruling YSRCP and BJP. While they were traditional allies, with Jagan enjoying a personal rapport with Prime Minister Narendra Modi too, in recent months both parties have been at loggerheads over many issues. However, the pragmatist in Jagan knows that such fights are inevitable as BJP tries to carve its own space in the new Andhra which is dominated by traditional rivals YSRCP and Telugu Desam Party.

Jagan is focused and astute enough to do what is best for the state, and has invited PM Modi himself to inaugurate the AP GIS 2023. In another example of not picking up unnecessary fights with Centre and the ruling BJP, Jagan had warmly welcomed the new Andhra Pradesh Governor S Abdul Nazeer, whose appointment had courted some controversy with opposition parties in India crying foul about it, as he was recently serving in the Supreme Court as a judge. Such pragmatic steps help CM Jagan stay focused on the more important issues for Andhra. For instance, while clearing the Rs. 1.44 lakh crore worth of investment proposals in the state recently, the CM had directed officials to ensure that 75% of jobs in those proposed projects are given to local residents.

Such a step is vital for bringing development into every nook and corner of the state, not to speak about the different cities vying to be the capital of the state,

Jagan Mohan Reddy Chief Minister

or for economic prominence, like Amaravati, Vijayawada, Vizag and Kurnool. Under CM Jagan’s guidance, the state is all set to launch a new industrial policy soon, which will walk the tightrope of ensuring ease of business as well as employee welfare.

The host city of AP GIS 2023, Visakhapatnam, is the second largest city on India’s east coast, after Chennai. This has helped Andhra in projecting itself as India’s window to South East Asia, which is a core theme of GIS 2023. All roads will lead to Visakhapatnam during March 3 & 4, as CM Jagan will lead in showcasing the state’s success in attracting high profile investments, and especially its surging rise in the Ease of Doing Business indices.

It is usual for India’s various states to host similar Global Investors Summits, away from their capital cities, and preferably in their economic or financial capitals. Andhra Pradesh too is not toeing a different line, as Visakhapatnam or Vizag as it is affectionately called, is indeed Andhra’s largest city and de facto economic capital, after its erstwhile capital Hyderabad became a part of neighbouring Telangana when it was carved out from Andhra 9 years back.

But this time around, CM Jagan Reddy is doing it with a significant difference. In a recent curtain raiser to the global event, Chief Minister Jagan had also announced that Vizag is also destined to be Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city. This has been widely hailed by most sections of India Inc. as Vizag indeed has several aces up its sleeve, compared with the current capital Amaravati which is really a new city.

Though his plan for a decentralized threecapital-city formula, with Vizag as executive capital, Amaravati as legislative capital and Kurnool as judicial capital has run into rough weather, Jagan has shown much boldness with his recent announcement that Vizag will indeed be Andhra’s new capital.

This kind of decisiveness from the CM breaks the years-long stalemate in the state after losing Hyderabad, and will definitely position Vizag as something similar to Bengaluru which is neighbouring Karnataka’s both political and economic capital. No other city in Karnataka comes anywhere near Bengaluru in prospects,

and this same model can be a huge success in Andhra too if Vizag is made the capital city.

CM Jagan Reddy has also made it clear that the prospects of Vizag will be the chief attraction during the upcoming Global Investors Summit. Vizag has many unique claims to its fame, apart from being Andhra’s largest city and Indian east coast’s second largest. It is the largest city by population too and therefore Andhra’s biggest consumer and labour market.

It is the only city in India with two major ports. Vizag is also the headquarters of India’s Eastern Naval Command which gives it a head up on attracting defence businesses. Major Indian and international business groups including Cadbury India, Kia of Korea, Saint-Gobain, Toray of Japan, Everton Tea India, Apache & Hilltop of Taiwan and several others have come forward recently to applaud Andhra’s edge in ease of doing business.

CM Jagan has also been determined to ensure that the poor performers from among his party rank and file are to be replaced with promising new leaders. A major overhaul of YSRCP is expected anytime now - nicknamed Jagan’s hitlist - that will replace some non-performing

ministers and MLA from the key posts they handle now. For identifying such poor performers, CM is said to be relying on the state’s own intelligence mechanism as well as independent sources like Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).

With the state scheduled to go for polls next year, the success of GIS 2023 and his administration in general is critical for Jagan to return to power and continue his socio-economic reforms for Andhra. Towards this, he has already indicated that only high performers or the winning horses will be given tickets to contest in the polls, in which rival TDP is expected to put up a stiff fight to come back to power.

Ministers and MLAs are also being assessed also for their participation in the noted program ‘Gadapa Gadapaku Prabhutvam’, which was about spending time in bettering the governance. Also, preference is being given for those party workers who are willing to be ‘Gruha Sarathulu’ or door-to-door campaigners for the party and government.

They will be given special training, and soon after the GIS 2023, YSRCP is all set to launch their poll-bound program, ‘Jagan is Our Future’, which will explain door-to-door how the CM’s initiatives

including the GIS have been delivering big for the state.

CM Jagan Reddy is also launching a new civic grievance platform named ‘Jaganannaku Chebudam’ which stands for ‘Let’s Talk to Jagan’. The CM has already indicated the length to which he is willing to travel for its success when he said that no complainant would be left unhappy at the end of the process.

Every complaint and civic grievance must be resolved within the stipulated deadline, under this initiative. ‘Jaganannaku Chebudam’ is expected to consolidate Jagan’s major wins so far among the public as it is aimed at addressing civic grievances at mandal, divisional and district level. The programme is being designed in such a way that people should feel that their grievances have been resolved as it has reached CM Jagan.

Separate teams for the tracking of complaints, project management, audit and analysis are being appointed to handle the programme. A major innovation that has been brought to the system is ensuring accountability. Under this, field officers cannot merely pass on the matter to senior officials and senior officials cannot keep referring the matter back to field officials.

The administration at some point should find a solution to the grievance and close the petition to the satisfaction of the complainant.

Such innovations spring directly from Jagan’s handson and compassionate leadership. The CM was dissatisfied with the current redressal mechanism, Spandana, in which around 50% of cases were not being resolved effectively or in time. In discussions to create the new system, Jagan had exhorted the district collectors to resolve people’s pending issues with a personal touch, good judgement, helpful interpretation of the rules and the right spirit.

Under CM Jagan’s visionary leadership, Andhra has also chalked out an ambitious plan to emerge once again as a powerhouse in the IT sector, where it once had the uniquely successful destination of Hyderabad. Jagan’s new plan for the IT sector is to attract more IT companies into the state during this GIS by projecting and facilitating three new IT industry corridors - Visakhapatnam-Chennai, HyderabadBengaluru, and Bengaluru-Chennai - all of which passes much through the state.

1) The foundation stone of YSR Steel Corporation Ltd has been laid, which will be an enterprise to manufacture high-grade steel products with a capacity of up to 3.3 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA). It will take advantage of its closeness to major auto and industrial hubs, proximity to raw material sources, and connectivity by road, rail, sea, and air. It will drive the region’s growth by providing direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 25,000 people.

2 ) Since steel making is a CO2 emission intensive process, new technologies like Hydrogen are in the process of consideration in the commercial operations in the state. Government will actively support the technology providers to develop and establish the low carbon steel making in the state. Government also is actively pursuing the natural gas pipeline projects of the state, which

will enable the steel industry to adopt the latest technologies and reduce the carbon footprint.

3) Since Andhra Pradesh ranks high in production of grains such as Rice and Maize,the governmentis pushing for the production of ethanol in the state and towards this has identified Ethanol Manufacturing as one of the priority sectors. The Government of Andhra Pradesh intends to provide best-in-class support for ethanol production including an Ethanol

Production Policy and this will provide vast employment to local, women and skilled workers.

4 ) The government of Andhra Pradesh is now placing significant thrust on the adoption of sustainable green measures across industries in the state. Common facilities like Waste water treatment, Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) etc. would be setup in new APIIC Industrial parks.

5) The Andhra government is setting up 26 secondary food processing units, one in each parliamentary constituency, with an investment of Rs.3500 Cr, holding potential to create direct employment to 10,000 people and indirect employment to 23,000 people.

6) The government is developing 9 new fishing harbors in two phases with an outlay of approx. Rs 4,000 Cr of investment. These facilities will benefit 60,000 fishermen directly and will create additional employment of 35,000 from allied activities such as ice plants, cold storages, preprocessing, fish transport, marketing which will be operationalized by 2023-24 in a phased manner.

7) The AP Government is planning to develop Andhra Pradesh into a logistics hub not only for India but

also targeting the entire South Asia, just like how the city-state of Singapore, has emerged as a logistics hub due to its favorable policy structure, use of IT, skilled manpower and standards for logistics and warehousing.

8) Airports are given special thrust inAP and the current developments are greenfield airports

at Bhogapuram Visakhapatnam / Vizianagaram and Dagadharti at Nellore on PPP model. The Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Kurnool Airport has already been developed and inaugurated. Also being planned is an Aerotropolis where infrastructure, land use, and economy are centered on an airport and necessary studies at now being undertaken for the Kurnool Airport, to cater to the technical infrastructure

needs of the Orvakallu Mega Industrial Hub region.

9) A Dedicated Freight Corridor of 1,080 kms between Vijayawada –Kharagpur section will provide connectivity to Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Kakinada, Krishnapatnam and Machilipatnam ports in Andhra Pradesh, ensuring faster movement of goods and capacity enhancement in the oversaturated sections of the railway network. Another 890 rkm (Route Kilometer) North South sub-corridor Vijayawada- Vijayawada-NagpurItarsi (Madhya Pradesh) route.

10) Under CM Jagan, the state has also been ranked as the top state in the country for the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ by the Government of India,

offering a robust industrial infrastructure, first-class connectivity and skilled workforce, making it a globally competitive investment destination.

11 ) A multi-faceted business enablement centre, christened as “YSR AP One” is being developed which will be a one stop shop offering business/ and investor support services.

12) Unlike under earlier regimes, the Jagan government has organized an unprecedented number of industrial interactions, that include over 200+ CEO, Embassy, and Inbound delegation interactions, 50+ Sector-specific roadshows and 15 Ministerial-led national and international investment roadshows since 2019-20, including a highly

successful one in Dubai during Dubai Expo 2020.

13) Exports are faring well under the Jagan government, with total exports from Andhra Pradesh in 2021-22 being Rs. 1,57,398 Cr ($ 19 Bn USD) with a growth rate of 13% CAGR during the last three years. The major exports from the State are Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Marine products, Agriculture produce, and Agro- based products, Handicrafts, and Engineering products.

14) AP’s new industrial policy by the Jagan government is a major pull towards the state. The core theme of the industrial policy of Andhra Pradesh is to provide support to industries across the business value chain – from approvals to setup & going beyond setup, supporting operations & scaling up. We would like to mention some salient features of the policy :

15) AP’s MSME ReStart Package has been a big breakthrough in the sector with its release of industrial incentives for revival. This was done factoring the hardships faced by the MSMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Rs 962.42 Crore ‘ReSTART’ Package in May 2020 had helped about 8,000 MSMEs to restart their operations.

IT CAN SOMETIMES FEEL AS THOUGH WE LIVE IN UNIQUELY DIFFICULT TIMES. ZENO OF CITIUM DEVELOPED STOICISM TO TEACH HOW TO FACE SUCH CHALLENGES. LATER STOIC PHILOSOPHERS OFFERED PERTINENT ADVICE ON HOW TO ADJUST OUR PERCEPTION AROUND STRUGGLES AND LIVE A FULFILLING LIFE.

Wars, disease, economic upheavals, and political strife dominate news headlines. Traditions, once the terra firma of our lives, have split along cultural fault lines and are shifting widely. And the lessons imparted to us by our parents seem completely out of touch with the challenges we face daily. In short, there seems to be much cause for sadness, despondence, and being overwhelmed by life.

We are not special in this regard, though. Our modern circumstances may be idiomatic — Plato worried over the harms of pervasive poetry; not social media would have thrown him for a loop — but strife and struggle have been universals of human history. Every generation has had to endure both to various degrees.

Amid those struggles, our ancestors developed and refined a variety of traditions to help them persevere, and we can draw on those traditions to give us a leg up in facing our contemporary challenges. These traditions include the religious doctrine of Buddhism from India, the philosophy of Chinese Taoism, the humanism of the European Enlightenment, and the topic of today’s article, the Stoicism of Hellenistic Greece.

Zeno of Citium founded Stoicism in the 3rd century BC. He lived in Athens and lectured in the open market at a place called the stoa poikile — literally “painted porch” and Stoicism’s namesake. That’s important for understanding Zeno’s philosophy because this period of history represented a time of profound change and unrest.

In 323 BC, Alexander the Great died without an obvious heir, leaving his kingdom to be fought over and subsequently carved up by his generals. As a result, the Greek poleis became subsumed by larger political entities run by professional bureaucrats. Where once Greek freemen operated in democratic city-states, they were now entangled in large, more impersonal empires.

In the words of Chloè Valdary, founder of Theory of Enchantment, it was an era of “existential homelessness,” and many

Greeks found themselves saddled with traditions and a worldview that no longer matched the social and political disorder surrounding them.

Within that existential despair, Stoicism developed as a unified philosophy that sought to understand the essence of knowledge and the natural order of the cosmos. From that pursuit, the Stoics derived an ethic that, in the words of philosopher Simon Blackburn, focused on self-sufficiency, benevolent calm, and a near-indifference to pain, poverty, and death. This would in turn lead to happiness (in the eudaimonic sense of the word).

As Stoicism moved from the Hellenistic period into the Roman world, its ethics took center stage, becoming the reason

for the philosophy. It centered on how the practice of virtue could be applied to everyday living through sound judgment, proper character, and the rejection of vice. It does this by considering where we should and shouldn’t place our efforts. Today, that emphasis on engaging with everyday life has seen Stoicism revived as a kind of practical philosophy. It draws strongly from Stoicism’s later Roman practitioners and is often used in tandem with other strategies for coping and emotional regulation.

As such, you can use the quotes below without having to dust off earlier Stoic concepts like the phantasia kataleptikç or the logos spermatikos. (So no worries if you haven’t brushed up on your ancient Greek.)

“Things do not touch the soul, for they are external and remain immovable.”Marcus

Aurelius.

As Valdary noted in an interview: “Stoicism is all about getting us in [the] right relationship with the things that we can control and we can’t control.”

For example, Zeno’s Greek contemporaries couldn’t control Alexander the Great’s death or the ensuing social upheaval. Such things, as Aurelius put it, should be considered external and immovable. They do not touch a person’s soul because where someone lacks control, they also lack responsibility.

By worrying needlessly over what we aren’t responsible for, we distract

ourselves from the things we can control. And if we can’t control such events, then why should they cause us undue suffering? If we aren’t responsible for something, why should it affect our happiness and fulfillment?

In the same section of Meditations (Book IV), Aurelius also warns that the world is always changing, and we can’t stop that from happening. We can only influence how we think and react to that change. As he writes, “The universe is transformation: life is opinion.”

“For as wood is the material of the carpenter, bronze that of the statuary, just so each man’s own life is the subject-matter of the art of living.” –Epictetus.

Now, Aurelius doesn’t mean we should live lives as moral recluses in total passivity. Far from it. We can (and should) strive to enrich our lives and the world in virtuous ways. The Stoics did this themselves when they taught their philosophy.

However, we need to understand where our control lies, and that responsibility is primarily with ourselves. Just as a carpenter shapes wood, Epictetus writes, so too are we responsible for the art of living. That art includes how we respond to our thoughts, our emotions, and the world outside of us.

In particular, this quote comes from a moment in The Discourses where Epictetus is consulting a man whose brother is upset with him. Like a true Stoic, Epictetus’s advice is for the man to tend to his emotional state and act according to his governing principles.

As for the brother: “Bring him to me, and I will talk to him,” Epictetus said, “but I have nothing to say to you on the subject of his anger.”

“We suffer more often in the imagination than in reality.” – Seneca

When our minds are filled with those “external” and “immovable” qualities of life, we often catastrophize more than is appropriate.

We exaggerate how bad a sickness is by doom-scrolling through Google results before visiting the doctor. We pronounce that the world is going to hell

whenever an election doesn’t swing our party’s way. And we anticipate that a difficult conversation will be the end of our friendship. None of which, according to Seneca, is helpful in the least.

In Letters of a Stoic (Epistle XIII), the Stoic philosopher advises his interlocutor, Lucilius, that such catastrophizing does no good. It only makes us unhappy before the crisis, assuming the crisis comes at all. Instead, we should reign in our mind’s calamitous predictions and handle what’s before us with the proper care and attention.

Aurelius backs up Seneca on this point. As he notes in The Meditations (Book II), “Those who do not observe the movements of their own minds must, of necessity, be unhappy.”

Neither Seneca nor Aurelius are saying you’ll never feel pain, sorry, stress, anger, or a host of other unwelcome emotions. Outside events, as well as our internal struggles, will still give rise to these feelings naturally. They are part of the materials of the art of living, too. Rather, they teach us to not let our emotions grow strong enough to overwhelm us or blind us to reason. Better to understand the source of the emotion and treat it with the proper care than to continue suffering in the mind.

“What do you think that Hercules would have been if there had not been such a lion, and hydra, and stag, and boar, and certain unjust and bestial men, whom Hercules used to drive away and clear out?” - Epictetus.

Epictetus teaches that while difficult times are often, well, difficult, they can also be a means toward growth and selfimprovement. In The Discourses (Book I), he exemplifies this in the example of Hercules. Had Hercules not undergone his 12 labors, Epictetus contends, he would not have become the legendary Hercules. He would have wallowed his life away dreaming instead.

One can say the same of the Greeks during the Hellenistic period. While it was a time of immense social and political tumult, it was also a cultural renaissance that birthed new ways of thinking and expression.

New forms of art, music, and literature emerged. Science and invention reached new heights under thinkers such as Euclid and Archimedes. And alongside Stoicism, the era gave birth to the philosophies of Epicureanism and Neoplatonism as well.

Modern science backs up Epictetus’s claim. According to Paul Bloom, a professor of psychology at Yale University, research shows that the most meaningful jobs aren’t the most luxurious, highest paying, or those of the highest status. Instead, they are jobs that involve struggle and difficulty, such as being an education or medical professional.

“I think that the way people think about a meaningful life is that it requires some degree of suffering,” Bloom said in an interview. “That suffering could be physical pain. It could be difficult; it could be worrying. It could be the possibility of failure. But stripped of that, the experience isn’t meaningful. We need pain and suffering to have rich and happy lives.”

With that said, Bloom and Epictetus both put caveats on this dictum. Epictetus warns that a person shouldn’t go searching for lions and hydras simply to introduce suffering to their lives. Similarly, Bloom distinguishes between

“chosen suffering” (such as exercise) and “unchosen suffering” (such as chronic pain from disease).

But we shouldn’t turn away from suffering simply because it’s difficult, painful, or includes the possibility of failure as many of life’s great achievements can be found within that struggle.

“The first thing which philosophy undertakes to give is fellow-feeling with all men; in other words, sympathy and sociability.” – Seneca

So far, we’ve looked at how the Stoics taught individuals to approach difficult times. That may make it seem as though Stoicism is some kind of proto-libertarian philosophy. Just take care of yourself and let the rest of the world take care of itself.

That characterization, while common, is also misleading. As this quote from Seneca’s letters (Epistle V) makes clear, Stoicism advises us to be there for others, and the way we can do that is through sympathy and companionship.

Consider friendship. In Epistle IX, Seneca writes: “For what purpose, then, do I make a man my friend? In order to have someone for whom I may die, whom I may follow into exile, against whose

death I may stake my own life, and pay the pledge, too.”

For Seneca, a friend isn’t someone who can come to the rescue and solve your problems for you. Like Epictetus with his angry brothers, Seneca can’t save his friend from exile or death. He can’t change a friend’s mind or live his life for him. Nor would Seneca expect a friend to take responsibility for his problems or emotions either.

Instead, a friend is someone whom we experience the shared experiences of life with. They can make the good times better, but they also stand by us during life’s struggles. They can listen to our ideas and point out our blind spots. Their compassion can help us cope with life’s losses.

In other words, simply through sympathy and companionship, a friend becomes a source of immense strength that helps us along our individual paths. And that can be true of any relationship. “Compassion is about learning how to be with ourselves and our fellow humans in their suffering,” Valdery said. “Stoicism is as much about having compassion for others as selfcompassion on our individual journeys toward fulfillment and happiness.”

(Credit: Kevin Dickinson for Big Think)

he Union Budget for 2023-24, presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament saw a significant increase in the amount of public funds set aside for capital expenditure.

As Ms Sitharaman pointed out, this was the third successive Budget with a major scale-up in government capital expenditure. Of the Rs 10 trillion set aside for this, more than half will go to the transport sector. And around half of that — about Rs 2.4 trillion — will go to the Indian Railways in particular, taking its capital expenditure to Rs 2.6 trillion for the year. The government is to be commended for its sustained emphasis on infrastructure spending in its Budgets and by correctly identifying the problem of underinvestment that has plagued many of India’s core infrastructure sectors, especially transport.

The Indian Railways, the workhorse of connectivity in the country and the backbone of its industrial economy, has been a particular target for underinvestment and thus it is excellent

news that this trend has reversed. There are multiple ways in which this money could be used within the railways. The Budget numbers indicate, for example, that Rs 30,000 crore has been set aside for the doubling of tracks, and that was less than Rs 9,000 crore in 2021-22. Further, Rs 32,000 crore is to be spent on new tracks, and that is about a 50 per cent increase from two years ago. Almost Rs 40,000 crore is to go into rolling stock, which received just Rs 8,000 crore in last year’s Budget. And Rs 8,000 crore has been earmarked specifically for electrification.

These are big numbers, and reasonable questions can be asked about the railways’ absorption and implementation capacity over the next year for this expanded capital budget. There are, however, even longer-term questions that must be asked. While capital investment in the railways is overdue, it must be accompanied with a plan that makes such ongoing capex financially sustainable. This cannot be a one-time effort, but equally this level of support from the Union Budget cannot always be expected, given that the government will need to consolidate its overall fiscal position in the coming years. Therefore,

work must begin now on understanding how to make the railways earn enough to generate meaningful surpluses to invest in its own improvements. This will require tariff reform, and the end to the massive cross-subsidisation through freight costs of passenger travel. The latter must, in effect, be made sustainable if not profitable in order to ensure that any returns from freight service can be ploughed back into system management and improvements.

Naturally this will not easily happen under the current system of management. Therefore, alongside financial reform, administrative reform and greater independence from political control must also be a priority. The government’s focus on infrastructure and the railways in particular is valuable and should be welcomed, but it cannot stop merely at budgetary allocation. Reforming processes and creating independent centres of power that have the ability and authority to set tariffs are a necessary additional step if the current vast investment in the network is to pay off over time and not be wasted.

DECODING THE HYPE ABOUT AI AND CHATGPT

A

JULIA ANGWIN.

The clever AI chat program has captured the imagination of the public for its ability to generate poems and essays instantaneously, its ability to mimic different writing styles, and its ability to pass some law and business school exams.

Teachers are worried students will use it to cheat in class (New York City public schools have already banned it). Writers are worried it will take their jobs (BuzzFeed and CNET have already started using AI to create content). The Atlantic declared that it could “destabilize white-collar work.” Venture capitalist Paul Kedrosky called it a “pocket nuclear bomb” and chastised its makers for launching it on an unprepared society. Even the CEO of the company that makes ChatGPT, Sam Altman, has been telling the media that the worst-case scenario for AI could mean “lights out for all of us.”

But others say the hype is overblown. Meta’s chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, told reporters ChatGPT was “nothing revolutionary.” University of Washington computational linguistics professor Emily Bender warns that “the idea of an all-knowing computer program comes from science fiction and should stay there.”

So, how worried should we be? For an informed perspective, I turned to Princeton computer science professor Arvind Narayanan, who is currently cowriting a book on “AI snake oil.” In 2019, Narayanan gave a talk at MIT called “How to recognize AI snake oil” that laid out a taxonomy of AI from legitimate to dubious. To his surprise, his obscure academic talk went viral, and his slide deck was downloaded tens of thousands of times; his accompanying tweets were viewed more than two million times.

Narayanan then teamed up with one of his students, Sayash Kapoor, to expand the AI taxonomy into a book. Last year, the pair released a list of 18 common pitfalls committed by journalists covering AI. (Near the top of the list: illustrating AI articles with cute robot pictures. The reason: anthropomorphizing AI incorrectly implies that it has the potential to act as an agent in the real world.)

CONVERSATION WITH ARVIND NARAYANAN BY

IF YOU HAVE BEEN READING ALL THE HYPE ABOUT THE LATEST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHATBOT, CHATGPT, YOU MIGHT BE EXCUSED FOR THINKING THAT THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH.

Narayanan is also a co-author of a textbook on fairness and machine learning and led the Princeton Web Transparency and Accountability Project to uncover how companies collect and use personal information. He is a recipient of the White House’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Our conversation, edited for brevity and clarity, is below.

Angwin: You have called Angwin: You have called ChatGPT a “bullshit generator.” ChatGPT a “bullshit generator.” ChatGPT

Can you explain what you mean? Can you explain what you mean?

Narayanan: Sayash Kapoor and I call it a bullshit generator, as have others as well. We mean this not in a normative sense but in a relatively precise sense. We mean that it is trained to produce plausible text. It is very good at being persuasive, but it’s not trained to produce true statements. It often produces true statements as a side effect of being plausible and persuasive, but that is not the goal.

This actually matches what the philosopher Harry Frankfurt has called bullshit, which is speech that is intended to persuade without regard for the truth. A human bullshitter doesn’t care if what they’re saying is true or not; they have certain ends in mind. As long as they persuade, those ends are met. Effectively, that is what ChatGPT is doing. It is trying to be persuasive, and it has no way to know for sure whether the statements it makes are true or not.

Angwin: What are you most Angwin: What are Angwin: worried about with ChatGPT? worried about with ChatGPT? worried about with ChatGPT? worried about with ChatGPT? ChatGPT?

Narayanan: There are very clear, dangerous cases of misinformation we need to be worried about. For example,

people using it as a learning tool and accidentally learning wrong information, or students writing essays using ChatGPT when they’re assigned homework. I learned recently that CNET has been, for several months now, using these generative AI tools to write articles. Even though they claimed that the human editors had rigorously factchecked them, it turns out that’s not been the case. CNET has been publishing articles written by AI without proper disclosure, as many as 75 articles, and some turned out to have errors that a human writer would most likely not have made. This was not a case of malice, but this is the kind of

danger that we should be more worried about where people are turning to it because of the practical constraints they face. When you combine that with the fact that the tool doesn’t have a good notion of truth, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Angwin: You have developed a have developed a Angwin: You have developed a have developed a Angwin: You have developed a taxonomy of AI where you of AI where you taxonomy of AI where you of AI where you taxonomy of AI where you describe different types of different types of describe different types of different types of technologies that all fall under that technologies that all fall under that this umbrella of AI. Can you tell this of AI. Can you tell us where ChatGPT fits into this where ChatGPT fits into us where ChatGPT fits into this where ChatGPT fits into into taxonomy?

Narayanan: ChatGPT is part of the generative AI category. Technologically, it’s pretty similar to text-to-image models, like DALL-E [which creates images based on text instructions from a user]. They are related to AI that’s used for perception tasks. This type of AI uses what’s called deep learning models. About a decade ago, computer vision technologies started to get good at distinguishing between a cat and a dog, something people can do very easily.

What’s been different in the last five years is that, because of a new technology called transformers and other related technologies, computers have gotten good at reversing the perception task of identifying a cat or dog. This means that,

given text prompts, they can actually generate a plausible image of a cat or a dog or even fanciful things like an astronaut riding a horse. The same thing is happening with text: Not only are models taking a piece of text and classifying it, but given a prompt, these models can essentially run classification in reverse and produce plausible text that might fit into the category given.

Angwin: Another category of AI Angwin: category of AI you discuss is automating you discuss automating judgment. Can you tell us what judgment. Can tell us judgment. us this includes? this includes? this includes? this includes?

Narayanan: I think the best example of automating judgment is content moderation on social media. It is clearly imperfect; there have been so many notable failures of content moderation, many with deadly consequences. Social media has been used to incite violence, even perhaps genocidal violence in many parts of the world, including in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia. These were all failures of content moderation, including content moderation AI.

However things are improving. It is possible, at least to some degree, to take the work of human content moderators and train models to make those judgments about whether an image represents nudity or hate speech. There will always be inherent limitations, but content moderation is a dreadful job. It’s a job that’s filled with the trauma of looking at images of gore and

beheadings and all kinds of horrible things day in and day out. If AI can minimize the human labor, that’s a good thing.

I think there are certain aspects of the content moderation process that should not be automated. Deciding the line between acceptable and unacceptable speech is time-consuming. It’s messy. It needs to involve input from civil society. It’s constantly shifting and culturespecific. And it needs to be done for every possible type of speech. Because of all that, AI has no role here.

Angwin: Another category of AI category AI that you describe is one that aims that you describe is that to predict social outcomes. You to predict social outcomes. social are skeptical of this type of AI. are skeptical this type of AI. are skeptical of this type of AI. are skeptical this type of AI. Why? Why? Why? Why?

Narayanan: This is the kind of AI where decision-makers predict what someone might do in the future and use that to make decisions about them, often to preclude certain paths. It’s used in hiring, it’s famously used in criminal-risk prediction. It’s also used in contexts where the intent is to help someone. For example, this person is at risk of dropping out of college; let’s intervene and suggest that they switch to a different major. What all of these have in common is statistical predictions based on rough patterns and correlations in the data about what a person might do. These predictions are then used to some degree to make decisions about them, and in many cases, deny them certain opportunities, limit their autonomy, and

take away the opportunity for them to prove themselves and show they’re not defined by statistical patterns. There are many fundamental reasons why we might want to consider most of these AI applications to be illegitimate and morally impermissible.

When an intervention is made based on a prediction, we need to ask, “Is that the best decision we can make? Or is the best decision one that doesn’t correspond to a prediction at all?” For instance, in the criminal-risk prediction scenario, the decision that we make based on predictions is to deny bail or parole, but if we move out of the predictive setting, we might ask, “What is the best way to rehabilitate this person into society and decrease the chance that they will commit another crime?” It opens up the possibility of a much wider set of interventions.

Angwin: Some people are Angwin: Some are are warning of a ChatGPT warning of a ChatGPT “doomsday,” with lost jobs and jobs and the devaluing of knowledge. of knowledge. the devaluing of knowledge. of knowledge. knowledge. What is your take? What your take? What is your take? What your take? your

Narayanan: Assume that some of the wildest predictions about ChatGPT are true and it will automate entire job categories. By way of analogy, think about the most profound information technology developments of the last few decades, like the internet and smartphones. They have reshaped entire industries, but we’ve learned to live with them. Some jobs have gotten more efficient. Some jobs have been automated, so people have retrained themselves, or shifted careers. There are some harmful effects of these technologies, but we’re learning to regulate them.

Even with something as profound as the internet or search engines or smartphones, it’s turned out to be an adaptation, where we maximize the benefits and try to minimize the risks, rather than some kind of revolution. I don’t think large language models are even on that scale. There can potentially be massive shifts, benefits, and risks in many industries, but I cannot see a scenario where this is a “sky is falling” kind of issue.

(Credit: The MarkUp)

By Rahul Mattan

GIVE DIGI YATRA A CHANCE

NO MATTER HOW REPUGNANT A TECHNOLOGY

I strongly believe that no matter how repugnant a technology might sound at first blush, I must try it out myself before forming a firm opinion. When I don’t, I find that my implicit biases colour my judgment, sometimes to the point where I assume the worst before giving it a chance. As a commentator on the impact of technology on society, I can hardly express an opinion without experiencing it first hand.

It was in that spirit of experimentation that I signed up to Digi Yatra, the government’s new biometric access system for air travel, despite protestations from every privacy bone in my body over the risk of handing over facial data. I had to make a day trip to Delhi for a conference, and, given the horror stories about the interminable queues at Terminal 3, I was hoping that Digi Yatra would improve the odds of my making the return flight on time.

Onboarding was relatively easy, although it takes a bit of effort to set up the Digi Yatra app. You need to first allow the application to take a photograph of you, using your phone’s selfie camera. This is the image that will identify you at the airport, so try and make sure it is clear and well lit. Once you have done this, you need to add your identity information to Digi Yatra. If, like me, you already have the DigiLocker app installed on your phone with your Aadhaar details updated, all you need to do is connect Digi Yatra to your DigiLocker app and authorize it transfer your Aadhaar information. From start to finish, it took me all of 5 minutes to complete this initial set-up process. And since this is a one-time set-up process, I will never have to bother with it again.

Now all you need to do just before you travel, is share the specific details of your

flight with the airport so that it can identify you when you show up. To do this, you first add information about your flight to a digital wallet on the app. This is easy enough, as the Digi Yatra app can scan the QR code of your boarding pass and automatically extract the relevant flight information that needs to be stored in the wallet. You can do this up to 24 hours in advance, but no later than 2 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart; you have to share the information in your

Digi Yatra wallet with the airport so that your face biometrics and associated travel information is uploaded onto the airport’s Biometric Boarding Processing System (BBPS).

Much of the opposition to Digi Yatra has been on privacy grounds. Civil society activists are concerned about the use of facial recognition technology and the fact that if we allow our photograph to be uploaded onto Digi Yatra servers, it will inevitably be used to track us wherever we go.

This fear is misplaced for two reasons. In the first place, if it is government access to your photograph that you are worried about, I am sorry to break this to you, but that ship has already sailed. For the

MIGHT SOUND AT FIRST BLUSH, I MUST TRY IT OUT MYSELF BEFORE FORMING A FIRM OPINION

100 million of us who have passports and the 1.35 billion of us have who have Aadhaar cards, our photograph is already with the government in one database or another. It is not clear how Digi Yatra is going to make this situation any worse.

But perhaps most importantly, Digi Yatra has been designed to keep your personal data on your device as far as possible. This includes, most importantly for the purposes of this discussion, the photograph you took when you first set the app up. That photo is never shared as is. Instead, it is first converted into a digital template that extracts a set of unique data points and stores it in a specified format. These data points are what is used to identify whether the person in front of the onsite scanner is you or not. It is impossible to use this data to generate a photograph of you and so the fact that it is being shared has very little privacy significance.

This is all that is transferred to the airport BBPS when you share your travel information, and it is against this biometric template that the airport identifies you as you pass through its various checkpoints. And then, 24 hours after your flight departs, all this data is purged from the airport systems. This is privacy by design. At every stage, the app makes every effort to use

only as much information as is necessary to achieve its stated purpose, and no more. And once that purpose is served, all the data is deleted. The only place where it remains is on your device, which is under your control. You can, if you choose, simply delete the app and all the data that it has collected.

As it happened, the conference I was supposed to be speaking at was running late even before I arrived. When our turn came to speak, the audience must have really enjoyed what we had to say because there were more questions than anyone could have anticipated. By the time I left the venue and got into my cab, I knew that there was every likelihood that I was going to miss my flight. Not only did I have the dreaded T3 queues to get past, now I also had to contend with New Delhi’s utterly unpredictable mid-evening traffic snarls.

Despite the best efforts of Baljeet, my taxi driver, by the time I got to Delhi airport, I had just 40 minutes left to make it to the boarding gate. I took one look at the long queues at the entrance and knew that if, for any reason my Digi Yatra didn’t work in this instance, there was no way I would make my flight. I took a deep breath and scanned my boarding pass and looked at the camera, till it snapped a picture and turned green. I was through.

Ten minutes later, I was in my seat on the aircraft.

APPLE STARTS FIRING HUNDREDS OF THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTORS: REPORT

Apple, which has been the only major technology firm to avoid the recent wave of mass layoffs, has reportedly started firing hundreds of third-party contractors. "Instead of waiting for contracts that are typically renewed every 12 to 15 months to expire, Apple is firing contractors outright," New York Post reported. The move has been reportedly implemented to cut costs.

VERY LONG CHAT SESSIONS CAN CONFUSE BING'S AI MODEL: MICROSOFT

Microsoft has said that "very long chat sessions" on AI-powered Bing search engine "can confuse" the AI model. "In long...chat sessions of 15 or more questions, Bing can become repetitive or be prompted/provoked to give responses that aren't necessarily helpful," Microsoft said. "We may...add a tool so [users] can more easily refresh the context" of a chat session, it added.

GOOGLE CEO ASKS STAFF TO SPEND 2-4 HRS/DAY TESTING CHATBOT: REPORT

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has reportedly asked employees to spend two to four hours every day helping test the company's AI chatbot 'Bard'. As per Business Insider, Google already has thousands of external and internal testers using Bard and submitting feedback regarding the quality of its responses. This comes after Bard provided an incorrect response during its unveiling last week.

By K P Krishnan

G20 & RULES-BASED ORDER

THE PRESIDENCY OF G20 SHOULD BE USED BY INDIA TO ARGUE FOR GLOBALISATION AND A RULES-BASED GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER

A major problem that is now roiling the global economy is the rising levels of protectionism and industrial policy. India has been a great beneficiary of globalisation, but has (so far) taken a back seat, with the leadership role on these issues provided by advanced economies. When advanced economies are not working for globalisation like they used to, there is an important possibility for India to play a leadership role, through all levers of state power, including the G20.

While the Indian state has often dragged its feet on international integration, a careful examination of the progress in the post-1991 period shows the immense importance of globalisation. The Indian economy is now undergirded by gigantic resource flows, of the order of nearly $1 trillion each on the capital and current accounts per year.

Consider the IT industry. IT is now the

biggest industry in India. It was made possible by foreign technology, foreign companies building captive operations in India, Indian companies receiving foreign equity capital, and of course Indian companies getting foreign customers. Every part of the journey of India’s most important industry was made through intense engagement with the world. Indeed, the journey to success in IT for India was all about removing barriers to engagement with the world. These facts show India’s interest in globalisation. Indian interests are fostered by a more open world order, in which global companies are freer to make foreign direct investments (FDI) into India, where foreign capital more readily flows into India, and where foreign customers are comfortable giving critical technology tasks to Indian companies. As an example, the upsurge of “data nationalism” all over the world, where governments try to block off foreigners

from operating in the local IT sector, is both a zero-sum game and against India’s interests.

Many features of the world economy are now running in the opposite direction. The US has passed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science (CHIPS) Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will provide hundreds of billions of dollars to domestic semiconductor, energy and battery industries. The Economist quotes the UN, which finds that more than 100 countries, accounting for over 90 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), have initiated “industrial policy” measures, and also investment screening and export controls as strategic measures aimed at political rivals.

India has also done similar things. The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme was launched by the Government of India in 2020 to help make India a manufacturing and export

hub. Eligible participants receive incentives (4-6 per cent of production value) for five years, conditional on annual investment and production value targets. This is a costly path for India, given the extreme shortage of fiscal resources for the core state functions of building public goods like security, judiciary as also redistributive programmes aiming at the most vulnerable.

Technology policy in India has drifted into data nationalism, and initiatives, such as Unified Payments Interface, were built by blocking foreign companies from competing in Indian payments. It is in India’s interest if a country like, say, Brazil will have a free and open world where Indian IT firms are first class participants, as opposed to policy frameworks in Brazil that favour data nationalism, which engage in “data is crude oil” analogies.

This calls for strategic thinking on the questions of globalisation and industrial policy. For decades, India gained from globalisation even though the Indian government engaged in solidarity with the third world, and tried to impede the process of globalisation. The revolution in the Indian economy from 1991 onwards could not have been possible without the world of globalisation that

was largely built by the West. The single big number that should play on our mind is the total proceeds from goods and services exports in India, which now stands at a full trillion dollars per year. Globalisation has served India well. The political environment in the world around globalisation has changed. The advanced economies are less inclined than before, to expend political capital in favour of globalisation. And, India’s clout has gone up. Now it is time for the Indian state to understand the best interests of the people of India, and pick up this mantle. Critics could argue that the West is engaging in industrial policy and protectionism as a consequence of China and Russia breaking international rules. The shape of this “third globalisation” could perhaps be full globalisation between democracies and caution when dealing with undemocratic countries. Global security considerations would need to be accommodated in this new form of globalisation.

The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for the finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss global economic and financial issues. It was upgraded to the level of heads of state/government in the wake of the global financial crisis of

2008. These 20 countries add up to twothirds of the world population, threefourths of global trade, and almost 85 per cent of global GDP. The G20 has soft power in shaping global thinking on the optimal behaviour of governments and groupings of governments. During the Indian G20 presidency, the Indian government has an enhanced role in shaping the agenda and outcomes of G20.

Our prime minister is an important voice in the world today. He has publicly stated often that serious reforms and change happen not because of government actions alone but when these ideas become people movements, “jan-aandholans” in his words. In line with this thinking, the government has constituted 11 G20 engagement groups in important sectors with state government, private sector, academia and civil society representatives. So the machinery required to convert these ideas into mass movements is in place.

This is the time for India the Vishwa Guru to show the world the path. Guru in its original Sanskrit phrase means more than just a teacher. It means an exemplar in life, an inspirational source. It is time for the Guru to remind the world of the way forward, and walk the talk.

MADHYA PRADESH TO FASTTRACK GIS 2023 INVESTMENT PROPOSALS

With the Global Investors Summit 2023 proving to be a major success by way of global participation and solid investment proposals, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is leading the Madhya Pradesh Government from the frontline in facilitating the implementation of the various investment proposals that were signed during the summit and in the runup to it. The immediate objective that CM Chouhan has set before the state is to leverage the Rs. 15.50 lakh crore investments signed up during GIS 2023 to transform MP into a 550 billion economy by 2026.

he two-day MP GIS 2023 event that was held in Indore during January 11 & 12 witnessed truly global participation with representatives and business leaders from 84 countries attending it. As many as 10 nations were official partner countries for the event, including Japan, Canada, Neitherland, Guyana, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Surinam, Panama & Fiji.

Top ranking participants in MP GIS 2023 included Presidents of two countries, and Ambassadors, Consulate Generals & Deputy Chiefs of Mission of 35 countries. On the business side, around 450 international business delegates including CXO level corporate leaders and around 400 global buyers & sellers participated in the event.

Heavy participation was witnessed from various geographies, including European Union and Africa,

with the delegates of India Africa Trade Council participating actively. There was also a high level of participation by Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in the event, partly due to the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas being held in Indore, just prior to the investment meet.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directly reviewed the outcome and further follow-up from the GIS 2023 and has taken several decisions for fast tracking the implementation of the various investment proposals. Under these guidelines, Madhya Pradesh’s plug and play facility will be further strengthened, while no permission will be required for setting up projects in identified and notified industrial areas.

Inspection too will be waived for a period of three years in Madhya Pradesh. The state’s single window clearance system will continue to work as a separate facility. CM Chouhan also made it clear that his hugely successful initiative of meeting with investors on every

Monday is to be continued, while weekly review would be done for the follow-up of all the recent investment proposals.

Madhya Pradesh’s Department of Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion has been designated by the CM as the nodal department for doing the follow-up on all MP GIS 2023 proposals, while the individual department level reviews will also be done periodically. During the review meeting, the CM noted that the event saw hitherto unseen enthusiasm among investors, and congratulated all the officers concerned and exhorted them to make sure that GIS 2023 continues to be the rising sun in the state’s future prospects.

Madhya Pradesh’s strategy of playing to its strengths seems to have delivered big for the state in MP GIS 2023. Under CM Chouhan’s guidance, the summit had given priority to sectors in which MP has significant strengths including agriculture, food processing, textiles, pharmaceuticals, logistics, automobile, renewable energy and IT. The plug and play facility that was already available to the IT & ITES sector, is now being extended to the garments sector.

The state received investment proposals worth Rs.15.50 lakh crore during GIS 2023, and the sector-wise split-up has been Rs. 6 lakh crore in renewable energy, Rs. 2.80 lakh crore in urban infrastructure, Rs. 1 lakh crore in agriculture and food processing, Rs.1 lakh crore in mineral based industries, Rs. 78,000 crore in IT & electronics sectors, Rs. 77,000 crore in chemicals & petroleum, and Rs. 71,000 crore in the services sector. Of these, the urban infrastructure projects alone have the potential of creating over 4 lakh jobs.

The Chief Minister has announced that the near term target for the state would be to make itself a 550 billion economy by 2026. With a population of 8.5 crore citizens, CM Chouhan has explained that it is very much possible, if their 17 crore hands contribute something worthwhile to the state in their own capacity, even if it

is just planting a sapling for the future.

Madhya Pradesh indeed is a state with staggering potential. MP is in the very heartland of India, and the 2nd largest state in India by area. Economically, it is one of the fastest growing states with annual GSDP growth of over 8% CAGR over the last decade. Madhya Pradesh Government has worked diligently over the past decade to develop the state as an industrial hub and promote it as a high potential investment destination.

During the last five years alone, the state government has made an investment of more than $15.4 billion for creating advanced support infrastructure. The state enjoys excellent connectivity to India’s largest cities and markets including New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Kolkata, by air, road and rail.

The state has an extensive road and rail network, with 2,30,000 km of roads, including over 40 national highways, and over 550 daily trains passing through the state. The state is also connected to all major metro cities by air. To leverage its central and strategic location and overcome the challenges of being a landlocked economy the state has developed 7 Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and is also developing Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs).

Madhya Pradesh Government has made ready over 95 sprawling industrial parks that offer ready industrial infrastructure, complete with online and GIS based land allotment. The state government’s ease of business services have caught the attention of global investors in GIS 2023, as over 45 services and approvals from 12 departments are provided to investors within 30 days of application through a single window clearance system.

SCIENTISTS LEARN SURPRISING SECRETS OF MAKING CONCRETE THAT LASTS THOUSANDS OF YEARS FROM ROME'S PANTHEON. MIT EXPERTS HAVE UNCOVERED THE ROMAN RECIPE FOR SELF-REPAIRING CEMENT — WHICH COULD MASSIVELY REDUCE THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF THE MATERIAL TODAY.

ome’s Pantheon stands defiant 2,000 years after it was built, its marble floors sheltered under the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. For decades, researchers have probed samples from Roman concrete structures—tombs, breakwaters, aqueducts, and wharves—to find out why these ancient buildings endure when modern concrete may crumble after only a few decades.

In a recent study, scientists have got closer to the answer—and their findings could reverberate long into the future. Not only is Roman concrete exponentially more durable than modern concrete, but it can also repair itself. Creating a modern equivalent that lasts longer than existing materials could reduce climate emissions and become a key component of resilient infrastructure, like seawalls. Currently, concrete is second only to water as the world’s most consumed material, and making it accounts for about 7 percent of global emissions.

“We are dealing with extremely complex material,” says Admir Masic, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who led this new research on Roman concrete. “To kind of reverseengineer or understand the original way these civilizations made this material is just a nightmare.”

Until now, efforts to explain the longevity of Roman concrete have pointed to its

use of volcanic tephra—the fragments of rock emitted in an eruption—mined in the Naples area and shipped to construction sites throughout the sprawling Roman empire. But Masic and his MIT colleagues, along with researchers from Harvard and laboratories in Italy and Switzerland, suggest another reason: heat. Using a number of different scanning techniques, they examined a sample from a city wall in Privernum, a 2,000-year-old archaeological site near Rome, focusing on millimeter-scale white chunks running through the sample, called lime clasts. These are not found in modern concrete.

“Every wall made out of Roman concrete will have these inclusions,” Masic says, who in the past has looked at structures across Israel, North Africa, Italy, France, and Spain. Previously the lime clasts were thought to be a product of not mixing the concrete properly, Masic explains. But the team’s scanning revealed that the clasts were formed at extremely high temperatures, and are made from various forms of calcium

“WE ARE DEALING WITH EXTREMELY COMPLEX MATERIAL,” SAYS ADMIR MASIC, A RESEARCHER AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY WHO LED THIS NEW RESEARCH ON ROMAN CONCRETE. “

carbonate. They contain a kind of calcium that Masic’s team theorized could heal cracks by reacting with water, creating a solution that recrystallizes in fissures to fill them in. That calcium, he says, could be the “missing link” explaining the material’s durability.

The question, then, was where the necessary heat came from to make those clasts. It had been thought that Roman concrete was created by combining water with a calcium compound called slaked lime. But what if the Romans used lime in a more reactive form, called quicklime, Masic wondered. When mixed with water, quicklime reacts and produces heat.

To test the theory, his team created concrete both with and without quicklime. They then cracked the blocks they had created and ran water through the fissures. Only the cracks in the concrete made with quicklime closed up—they had found the recipe for the self-repairing material.

Patents have now been secured by MIT. Masic says a company will begin producing what he calls Roman-inspired concrete by year’s end. “Translating this knowledge of the ancient world into modern applications, I think that’s the next step,” he says. “These cracks are healed in two to three weeks using ingredients that are readily available and, most importantly, cheap.”

Masic’s paper is the latest in a string of

investigations into Roman concrete. Last year, he published research with Marie Jackson, a researcher at the University of Utah, that examined the 70-foot-tall tomb of first-century Roman noblewoman Caecilia Metella on the Appian Way, an ancient Roman road that runs across Italy. Their investigation revealed that the particular formation of Roman concrete used in the tomb interacts with rainwater and groundwater, becoming more resilient over time.

And in earlier work, Jackson and her colleagues produced an exact replica of a similar concrete, used 1,900 years ago to build the Markets of Trajan in Rome, and developed an innovative fracture test to better measure its resilience, showing that it is far less brittle than modern concrete. Jackson also studied cores drilled from concrete in Roman harbors, determining that seawater moving through the concrete reacts with it to create new minerals that make the concrete more cohesive and resilient over time.

Jackson has some concerns about Masic’s new paper, however. The sample it analyzed is undated, and it

contains sand instead of the volcanic tephra typically used—the sample therefore isn’t representative of Roman concrete, she says. In response, Masic says his team plans to analyze other sites “to confirm our hypothesis” that the Romans used quicklime in their concrete recipe—known as hot mixing. Masic’s team also wants to look in more detail at the influence hot mixing had on how the Romans built their structures.

So has Masic actually solved the mystery of how Roman concrete was made? “Who knows?” he says. “What I do know is we were able to translate some of these concepts into the real world. That’s what really excites me the most.” There’s the potential now to build better concrete, regardless of whether it is strictly “Roman” or not.

This recipe and process were lost over a millennium ago. No similar concrete existed until Joseph Aspdin of Great Britain took out a patent in 1824 for a material produced from a mixture of limestone and clay. He called it Portland cement because it resembled Portland stone, a limestone used for building in England.

Modern concrete is made from fragments

of rock combined with Portland cement—a mixture of limestone, clay or shale, and other ingredients ground and burned at 1,450 degrees Celsius (2,642 degrees Fahrenheit). That process creates an enormous amount of greenhouse gas and leaves you with concrete that’s not durable, degrading sometimes in as little as 50 years, especially in marine environments. Roman concrete, in comparison, is strong, requiring no steel reinforcing it, unlike its modern counterpart. And it’s relatively cheap.

Concrete infrastructure today, such as roads, cost six to 10 times their initial price when factoring in repairs over their lifespan, says Joseph King, who recently left his position as a program director at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-e), where he created and ran the cement program. So extending the life of concrete made today, even by just a few times its life expectancy, would dramatically reduce demand and lower greenhouse emissions. “When you lay a new freeway, a pothole shows up every three years,” King says. “If you now only have to fill your potholes every 10 years or 20 years, it’s a better material.” Having concrete that survives for 2,000 years isn’t necessary to make a big difference.

On this front, Masic’s and Jackson’s labs are working with entrepreneurs interested in bringing their versions of Roman concrete to market. Jackson’s team, for instance, has collaborated with an industry partner to create a synthetic version of the volcanic tephra the Romans mined, because of the tremendous volume that will be needed.

After years and years of pursuing an answer, Jackson is happy the quest is generating interest. “What’s really important and valuable is that the topic of Roman concrete is now in the media,” she says. “This is an incredibly sophisticated and complex material. The people who made it were so brilliant, and so precise in what they did, that it has taken us 15 years of work to decipher much of this. And we are humbled by how much more we have to learn.”

(Credit: Jim Morrison for Wired)

MUCH LIKE HOW THE AAP GOVERNMENT WAS A REFRESHING CHANGE IN THE STATE WHEN IT CAME TO POWER 10 MONTHS BACK, THE FIRST INVESTORS SUMMIT UNDER CHIEF MINISTER BHAGWANT MANN’S LEADERSHIP ALSO PROVED TO BE A BIG REFRESHING CHANGE.

FIFTH PROGRESSIVE PUNJAB INVESTORS SUMMIT

It was the fifth time that Punjab went for its investors summit. But the 5th edition of the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit was the first time this event was held under the AAP government that was voted to power almost a year back.

The two-day event held on February 22 & 23 at Indian School of Business campus in Mohali, has proved to be a major success and will undoubtedly go a long way in the economic progress of Punjab in the coming years and decades.

Just like how the Chief Minister had promised that the pre-event investment flow was only a premonsoon shower and that a full-fledged monsoon awaited the state during the event, there was a deluge of proposals in all sectors that matter for the state like manufacturing, textiles, agriculture, food processing and more.

The summit includes well-structured exhibitions on the achievements and potential of various sectors in the state including Textiles, IT, ESDM & Startups, Healthcare, Green Energy & Sustainability, Tourism & Hospitality, and Entertainment.

Altogether, it was a well-planned event, and the hard work that the CM did and led his team to do were evident throughout the event.No effort was

spared in making fool-proof arrangements and it came in handy as several global delegates of VIP stature attended the event.

Under CM’s direct directive, the top-level officers also made sure that Punjab’s entrepreneurs were facilitated in groups as well as in one-to-one meetings with the visiting international experts and delegates. The entire team can be proud of the event as the Brand Punjab was upheld throughout the event as per CM’s wish.

His team takes up such suggestions earnestly as the Chief Minister himself had made it a point to lead from the frontlines by meeting industry leaders during his visits to various cities, including Bangalore, Mumbai & Hyderabad, to seek investment in the state.

He seems to have made a special rapport with the Telengana CM during his visit. Apart from learning about Telengana’s success spree in attracting massive investments, CM Mann also made it a point to study about the state’s noted irrigation reforms, which will come in handy for him while leading his state which still has a sizeable agrarian economy.

PUNJAB HAS RECENTLY BEEN SELECTED AS A ‘TOP ACHIEVER’ IN THE ‘EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN INDIA’ INDEX.

During the first 11 months of his rule as the Punjab Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann had led the state in attracting Rs. 38,175 crore in new investments with a potential to create 2.43 lakh jobs. While this is similar in scale to other best performing states in India, CM Mann’s achievement is noted for its geographic inclusivity, well balanced growth across buzzing sectors, employment generation, and above all its transparency.

The young and dynamic chief minister had recently come out with the finer details of the investments so far attracted under his rule. The real estate, housing and infrastructure sector has received investment proposals worth Rs. 11,853 crore, which will generate 1.22 lakh jobs.

In the manufacturing sector, which is a traditional stronghold of the state, investment proposals worth Rs. 5,981 crore have been committed and will generate 39,952 jobs. Alloy steel and steel sector has attracted investments of Rs. 3,889 crore and will be creating 9,257 jobs.

DURING THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF HIS RULE AS THE PUNJAB CHIEF MINISTER, BHAGWANT MANN HAS LED THE STATE IN ATTRACTING RS. 38,175 CRORE IN NEW INVESTMENTS WITH A POTENTIAL TO CREATE 2.43 LAKH JOBS.

Another buzzing sector of the state is textiles, technical textiles, apparels & made-up sector which has firmed up investments worth Rs. 3,305 crore and comes with a commitment of creating 13,753 jobs.

The state which is most famous for agriculture will see its agri, food processing and beverages sector attracting investments worth Rs. 2,854 core that will provide 16,638 jobs. The remaining investments worth Rs. 2157 crore is from the healthcare sector which will generate 4,510 jobs.

The new projects will also take investments into every nook and corner of Punjab, and not just in its largest cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar & Patiala. For instance, Mohali has attracted investments worth Rs. 9,794 crore which will generate 68,061 jobs, while Ropar has bagged investments worth Rs. 9,319 crore that will deliver 3,172 jobs.

While his detractors were surprised by CM Bhagwant Mann’s achievement of attracting Rs. 38,175 crore in new investments so far with a potential to create 2.43 lakh jobs, this former actor, comedian & satirist has asserted that this is just the beginning.

Even his enemies would have to grudgingly agree as the state has recently been selected as a ‘Top Achiever’ in the ‘Ease of Doing Business in India’ index.

During the first eleven months of its rule, the AAP Government has been successful in giving government jobs to over 26,000 people in the state. The focus that CM Bhagwant Mann has on employment generation is seen also in his other welfare measures.

Recently, he had led an initiative to shut down several toll plazas on Punjab’s highways that have been keeping on collecting tolls for several years now. According to the CM, this will amount to more than Rs. 10 lakhs in daily savings for the people of Punjab.

And keeping true to his AAP roots, CM Mann had earlier overseen the launch of 500 Mohalla Clinics in Amritsar. Mohalla Clinics that offer free or heavily subsidized treatments to the people has been a trump card of AAP in Delhi, where it first stormed to power in India.

He has also shown his unique nationalistic trait when he categorically made it clear that Punjab won’t be doing any new business initiatives with Pakistan, come what may. The reason the Chief Minister cited for it was quite persuasive - that

Pakistan was daily trying to push massive quantities of narcotic drugs into his state.

Indeed, in recent years, Punjab has been reeling from an onslaught of drugs, and this is the first time a Chief Minister has unequivocally taken such a massive stand against India’s troublemaking neighbour, with whom the state has a long and treacherous border.

The CM has also been lobbying hard with the Central Government for meeting his state’s vital needs. Coal, for instance, is an industrial fuel that Punjab is heavily dependent upon, and the timely access to coal supply has been an Achilles heel in Punjab’s development.

After studying this issue in-depth recently, the CM has now demanded for trains to be allotted to Punjab for ferrying coal into the state in a timely manner, which is a facility that many other states in India enjoy with regard to coal.

Under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann, several poll promises like free electricity, Aam Aadmi Clinic, farmer welfare, international training to teachers, reasonable and affordable sand for construction, employment opportunities for youth, ensuring the dignity of martyrs and ensuring corruption free governance have been implemented, during the 11 months it has been in office.

UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF BHAGWANT MANN, SEVERAL POLL PROMISES INCLUDING FREE ELECTRICITY, AAM AADMI CLINICS ETC HAVE BEEN DELIVERED WITHIN THE 11 MONTHS THE AAP GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN IN OFFICE.

MD & CEO

Sanjiv Chadha

If you are wondering how the Sensex and Nifty are surging, but not your portfolio or favourite stocks, maybe you need to take a closer look at the silent outperformers during the last two quarters. And Bank of Baroda will be right on top of the list. During the last six months, the PSU lender’s stock has doubled in value, and not without reason too. After a blockbuster performance in FY’22 that saw its bottomline surging by over 5 times, the Vadodara headquartered lender has done an encore in Q1 and Q2 of this current fiscal with net profit continuing to surge year-on-year as well as sequentially or QoQ. The writing on the wall is clear - FY’23 is going to be another great year for BoB - and mutual funds and other investors have been lapping up BoB shares during Q1, Q2 and even now, as the stock continues to be available at not too expensive valuations compared to its private sector peers. Despite being India’s second largest PSU bank post the merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank into itself, BoB continues to trade at a price to book value below 1 times, and a price to earnings below 20 times. The overall market capitalization is also unbelievable as it is still

trading at around Rs.91,000 crore, which is clearly midcap territory for even banks, even though this is one bank that is destined to be large cap in the coming years. In comparison, India’s largest PSU bank, SBI is trading at a P/B of 1.8, a P/E of 46 and a market cap of over 5.25 lakh crore. BoB clearly deserves more appreciation as it has a balance sheet size of over Rs. 8 lakh crore and has been continually improving its asset quality with Net NPAs getting contained to just 1.16%which is better than even many private banksfrom the 3.13% it was in FY’20. It’s fresh slippages too has been contained remarkably under the guidance of its MD & CEO, Sanjiv Chadha, with slippage ratio falling to 2% from the 3.4% it was during the height of the pandemic three years back. Sanjiv Chadha whose tenure was to end on January 19th has recently obtained a 5 months extension to his tenure till his superannuation on June 30th. And the headhunter for PSU banks, the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) has selected a current Executive Director of BoB, Debadatta Chand, as the next MD & CEO, which will assure investors of a continuity in policies and performance.

WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR

IS MODERN LIFE RUINING OUR POWERS OF CONCENTRATION? IS THE PING OF A TEXT STEALING OUR FOCUS OR DO WE JUST LACK WILLPOWER? AND COULD MINDLESS SCROLLING EVER BE GOOD FOR OUR BRAINS?

H H H H How does it feel inside your head? Turn your attention inwards. Maybe you’re daydreaming, allowing your mind to wander. Or maybe it feels sharp and alert. Maybe your thoughts are forging freely ahead, a sign that you have achieved the fabled state of “flow”. More likely, however, your brain feels like a browser with too many tabs open. From the widespread reports of a post-pandemic “brain fog” and the books on “deep work” and “stolen focus” topping bestseller lists, to the soaring diagnoses of ADHD in adults and children, it seems we are increasingly concerned by our ability to pay attention.

Early last year, the Centre for Attention Studies at King’s College London found that 49% of 2,000 adults surveyed felt their attention span was shorter than it

used to be. Almost as many (47%) agreed that “‘deep thinking’ has become a thing of the past”. These are generalisations and impossible to quantify – we have no consistent measure of attention or deep thinking, let alone of contrasting those through history with today’s. But the response proves that we at least perceive there’s a problem.

I have been feeling the same myself. Last year, writing – my job for more than a decade – started to feel more laborious. Unrelated to the complexity of the task, I found it hard to manage my time, or structure an argument, or see how one thought followed another. Directing my attention felt outside my grasp. I confessed to a friend that I had been Googling the symptoms of ADHD, increasingly convinced I would receive a

diagnosis. Or maybe, he replied, kindly, my struggle had more to do with spending upwards of eight hours a day staring at screens, without real breaks, for weeks at a time. Maybe the mental strain I was feeling was not a sign of executive dysfunction, but an apt response.

“I’ve studied hundreds of people over the decades, and many, many people report feeling distracted and having a loss of control,” says cognitive psychologist Gloria Mark over Zoom. “But not everybody,” she adds. A professor of informatics at the University of California, Mark has been researching humancomputer interaction and technology’s effects on our day-to-day lives since the mid 1990s. Now, in her first book Attention Span: Finding Focus for a Fulfilling Life, Mark brings together her findings for a lay audience, and the results are star-

tling. It’s not as simple as flow good, screens bad. Most strikingly, it is not even the case that we should necessarily be striving to focus at all.

Broadly speaking, there are two schools of thought on attention. The first argues that we haven’t lost our ability to focus, it has been wrested, even “stolen”, from us by technology. In this view we’re little more than lab rats lured by notifications and algorithms, pings and dings in a large-scale social experiment. We may develop strategies for resisting those dopamine dispensers, such as blocking software or switching to a “brick phone”. But the game is rigged against us.

Those in the second camp may scoff at this: they maintain that most of our struggles with focus are more to do with self-control. There is no notification that can distract us unless we are on some level willing to be distracted. Even the notion of a “shorter attention span” may provoke scepticism. Instead, could it be that you’re just not that motivated? Whichever worldview you subscribe to – that our attention has been hijacked by our devices, or by our lack of self-discipline – they share an element of fatalism: there is either little you can do, or you’re just not doing enough.

Mark believes that neither of these views is quite right. In Attention Span she dismantles common misconceptions about our attention, among them that we should always be striving to focus when at work on our computers, and that the mindless scrolling we do on screens is counterproductive. The reality is more nuanced, says Mark – but our digital lives have evolved so fast, we have found ourselves struggling to keep up or safeguard ourselves.

“That’s why I think we’ve got to this point, where we’re having such a hard time controlling our attention, because we haven’t figured out yet how we can integrate this technology in our lives, and use it wisely.”

Mark has been studying distraction since 2004, when she carried out the first of her studies on “knowledge workers” (who work primarily with computers). Shadowing them with a stopwatch, she logged how long they spent on one ac-

tivity (opening their email) before switching to another (making a call). It was painstaking work – “like watching paint dry”, one of her participants said selfeffacingly, of their own routine – but effectively illustrated how our attention roamed about, often with no obvious prompt.

The results showed that people shifted their attention, on average, every three minutes or so (including to interact with colleagues). When restricted to just computer activity, it was about 30 seconds quicker. At the time this seemed unfathomably fast, says Mark, but it was nothing compared to what was to come. With developments in tracking technology in the 2010s, Mark was able to repeat the study with greater precision, amassing thousands of hours of observation. In 2012, the average time spent on any screen before switching was down to 74 seconds. Since then it has declined even further. Research by Mark and others from 2016 to 2021 put it relatively consistently at just 47 seconds –“crazily short”, she says.

The result holds true regardless of job or age (though Mark studied all adults; distraction in developing minds is even less known). “Simply put,” Mark concludes in her book, “our personal use of technologies affects our ability to pay attention.” Those in the first camp might feel validated by this. But, Mark cautions, it’s not a straightforward tradeoff. “There are so many things in our culture and society that collude to make us distracted –it’s more than just targeted algorithms.”

In film and TV, for example, shot lengths have been getting pacier over decades, potentially influencing our own processing and behaviour in ways we may not be aware of. On social media, we consume and produce content in bite-size chunks, at a frenetic pace. “We are creating the culture,” says Mark. “Our attention spans have shaped the media, and the media in turn is shaping our attention.”

Further complicating the issue is that, though the world at large might seek to distract us, we are not equally susceptible. “There’s aspects of our individual natures – it’s more than just a lack of willpower,” she says. Personality plays a

part in how we use the internet, and what for. Some people find it easier than others to recover from interruptions, making them more effective multitaskers. Others are innately predisposed towards self-regulation. “If they go to social media, they are pretty good at getting themselves back on track,” says Mark.

For some, individual traits coalesce with context to create a perfect storm of distraction. Mark’s research found the higher a person scores in neuroticism and urgency tests, the shorter their attention span. “It doesn’t mean you can’t change – but you’ll have a harder time than others.” Mark’s own doctor confessed to an extreme strategy for writing a grant application: to book a round-trip plane journey from California to Washington DC, and write on the plane, literally rising above earthly distractions. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “He said he has to change his environment. He has to put himself in a place where he can’t get access to the internet – and apparently he’s got the money to do it.”

The very design of the internet mirrors how we think, explaining how we can lose hours down a rabbit hole on YouTube or Wikipedia. “In terms of a semantic network, we think naturally in terms of associations, and the internet just aligns with that so well,” says Mark. Stress and exhaustion further exacerbate the problem, diminishing our ability to resist temptation. It means the line between free will and conditioning has blurred: we might genuinely want to learn more, or we might be impulsively clicking on links. Either way, our curiosity is aroused and – with the next video or webpage –rewarded, perpetuating the cycle.

The many influences Mark identifies on our attention – individual, social, environmental, technological – emphasises not only the scale of the challenge, but the limits of zeroing in on any one of them for a potential solution. Distraction isn’t a tech problem, or a people problem – it’s both, inextricably intertwined. Indeed, one of Mark’s most disquieting findings is that we have become so accustomed to being interrupted, we do it to ourselves. Mark found that email trumped social media as a source of interruptions, with study participants checking their inboxes an average of 77

times daily (one checked 374 times). But most concerning was that 41% were doing so of their own accord, without external triggers. It’s proof that even if we turn off notifications, we can’t escape those internal triggers.

“We have these 47-second attention spans, and we maintain them by interrupting ourselves,” Mark says. “I feel it myself, this tension that builds up so that I have to change my screen – go to a new site, or social media, or whatever.”

Accordingly, the salve often proposed for fragmented focus is flow, the psychological state of being so engrossed in your work that you lose track of time, and even the outside world. Mark has extensive experience of flow, though not in her scientific career. Before she did a master’s degree in statistics, paving the way for her to pursue psychology and computer usage, Mark studied fine art, specialising in abstract expressionism.

She abandoned her dreams of being an artist in the face of the economic reality – but years later, those hours spent in flow, painting and drawing, and thinking laterally proved valuable in her scientific research. What she discovered is that most knowledge work requires analytical thinking that precludes us from getting swept away. “You see a lot of people claim that when you’re working on your computers and in your everyday life, you can get into flow, but it’s very much about the nature of the work. Working on a spreadsheet or writing a report – it’s not conducive.” In fact, flow depends on a certain level of challenge, whereby we feel pleasurably engaged and extended, making us happy, but also causing low-level stress. “It’s a myth that we should be continually focused – it’s too stressful,” says Mark.

Equally, though mindless digital diversions like playing Candy Crush or even scrolling social media might seem like exactly the kind of time-wasting that we should be striving to avoid, it actually serves a valuable function, says Mark. That kind of easy, rote activity is not only enjoyable, it replenishes our cognitive resources, necessary for us to be productive later on.

The fact that flow is not only rare, but draining; and that taking a break to scroll

a different screen or play a game on your phone can be restorative, is proof of the need for nuance. The moralising over productivity and screentime is unhelpful when it comes to finding solutions –but highly profitable as the boom in (useless) blue-light glasses and “distractionfree” tech goes to show.

Last year, writer Johann Hari’s book Stolen Focus, decrying the “huge invasive forces” corroding our concentration and championing flow as a solution, was a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic. Stolen Focus concludes by calling for an urgent societal “movement to reclaim our minds” – and, in the meantime chase that flow state. (Hari himself took a months-long “digital detox” on Cape Cod.)

Like others, Mark has “concerns” about Hari’s “one-sided” argument and research. It is no more possible for us to sustain focus all day than it is for us to lift weights nonstop, she says – yet that is exactly what many of us expect of ourselves, at the expense of our own wellbeing. The problem is felt well beyond the small segment of the population with ADHD, says Mark. “People are saying we have this ‘epidemic of ADHD’, but we should hold back on making that claim.” More research is needed into any relation between ADHD and use of personal devices – but it may be that people are simply exhausted and trying, and failing to focus.

Much advice sidesteps this self-assessment through the use of productivity software that restricts access to social media. But this, says Mark, undermines our autonomy. “Especially the cold-turkey approach, it takes agency away from people – like having training wheels on your bike, and you never learn to ride the bike.”

In Attention Span, Mark makes the case for a new, evidence-based approach to attention, one that works with our techriddled modern world and tendencies towards distraction, instead of trying to squeeze the genie back in the bottle. “We are stuck with technology, we can’t give it up, so let’s not even talk about that – but we can use it in an intelligent way, to find the benefits.” Rather than aspiring towards flow, or always being

focused, Mark suggests we should aim for a “balance of attentional states” that reflects our natural circadian rhythms.

Identifying your individual chronotype – whether you work better early, late or are a moderate type; sometimes split into lions, bears, dolphins and wolves – can help you to structure your day for ease, Mark says. “It’s a matter of understanding when you’re at your peak, when you’ve got the capacity to do hard work, to be creative – and to understand when you don’t.”

She and I are both “bears”, so are most productive in daylight, between 10am and 2pm – when lions are winding down, and dolphins and wolves are getting started. By becoming aware of those precious peaks, Mark says, we can protect that window for work requiring creativity or concentration – not “wasting” them on email. She has learned to do it herself. “I used to get totally exhausted. At the end of the day, my brain was just fried… I learned to pull back and take a break.”

Now, for her downtime, Mark will schedule undemanding admin – or revive with a walk around the block, or by playing an online word game. “I realised that I had been under so much stress for a very long time,” she says.

At the societal level, Mark supports “right to disconnect” laws to combat email overload, but says the cultural shift may have to come first. She suggests cultivating “meta-awareness” of our own attention – whether we have resources to burn, or need to refuel – and engagement with tech. “If you end up going to social media, keep yourself in the present by asking: ‘Am I still getting value out of being here?’” If not, and you’re feeling increasingly drained or, conversely, refreshed, “then leave,” Mark says. It is a more pragmatic – and even, dare I say, empowering – outlook on our technological future than many. “I am very optimistic that we can take control, and change the way things are,” agrees Mark. But the first step is accepting that our attention, like our time, is finite – and that we can choose how we spend it.

(By Elle Hunt, based on the new book, Attention Span: Finding Focus for a Fulfilling Life, by Dr Gloria Mark.)

THE ROCK BUILDS THOSE MASSIVE MUSCLES BY NEGATIVE OR ECCENTRIC EXERCISES

THE ROCK SWEARS BY ONE TIME-SAVING EXERCISE — AND SCIENTISTS JUST SHOWED IT CAN HELP YOU BUILD MUSCLE SUPER FAST.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson uses eccentric exercise to build muscle, his strength coach says. It involves lengthening muscles under tension, such as when you lower a weight (called a negative rep). Eccentric exercises can build strength and more muscle in less time, research suggests.

Don't just focus on lifting weights — lowering them may help you build as much muscle in half the time, a new study suggests.

Researchers from Edith Cowen University in Australia tested different types of dumbbell exercises on a group of 53 university students over 10 training sessions in five weeks.

They found that the most efficient way to build strength and muscle was focusing on the lowering portion of exercise — known as "eccentric contraction," or putting tension on muscles as they lengthen.

Their findings won't come as a surprise to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who is one of many elite athletes to swear by eccentric exercise. This specific move was a crucial part of The Rock's Black Adam workouts to take his fitness to the next level, his strength and conditioning coach Dave Rienzi told Insider.

According to the study, published recently in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, participants who did eccentric exercise had the same strength gains, and more muscle growth, but did half the amount of reps, compared to their peers who did more typical exercise (raising and lowering weights).

"This latest study shows we can be far more efficient in the time we spend exercising and still see significant results by focusing on eccentric muscle contractions," Ken Nosaka, co-author of the study and professor of exercise and sports science at Edith Cowen University, said in a press release.

Most traditional exercises also include a concentric contraction, which involves shortening the muscle, often by lifting a weight.

Concentric exercise has benefits for improving strength and endurance, so doing both types of exercise (concentric and eccentric) can help you be a wellrounded athlete, says Chris Travis, owner and coach at Seattle Strength and Performance.

You can do eccentric versions of exercises with dumbbells, a barbell, kettlebells, or body weight too. An eccentric exercise involves controlling a weight while lowering it, sometimes called a negative rep.

Examples of eccentric exercises with body weight include, climbing down stairs, creating a tempo by counting to five as you lower into a squat or lunge, slowly descending from the top of a pullup, lowering yourself to the bottom position of a push-up. Interestingly, multiple studies have shown that climbing down stairs is moore beneficial than climbing up stairs!

If you're using weights, Nosaka recommended using both arms to lift a weight, and then using a single arm to lower it for exercises like a shoulder press, bicep curl, or overhead extension. Gym machines like knee extensions and leg curls can help you use a similar technique for lower body gains, he said. One advantage of eccentric exercise is that it can be safe for beginners and helps develop good form and prevent injury, according to Travis.

"We do a lot of eccentric work because it builds muscle really well and we do it in a way that people who are starting in strength training aren't moving too quickly and are understanding the range of motion," he said.

But they're just as good for seasoned athletes, The Rock's strength coach Rienzi previously told Insider.

"I love negatives. The mental thing with negatives is you're thinking about controlling the weight, or fighting the weight on the way down. You're exerting more effort," he said. "It's one of the most effective techniques in my opinion."

CHINA LOCKS DOWN AREA AROUND WORLD'S LARGEST IPHONE FACTORY OVER COVID OUTBREAK

China has locked down area around the world's largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou over a COVID-19 outbreak. The lockdown will last until November 9, the local government said in a statement posted on its WeChat account. No vehicles are allowed to operate except for those carrying necessities, the government further said.

SRK WOULD SPREAD A CLOTH & SLEEP ON FLOOR IF VANITY VAN WASN'T READY, RECALLS ADITYA

On the occasion of Shah Rukh Khan's birthday, Aditya Narayan recalled shooting with him for 'Pardes'. He said, "I remember he was shooting for another film, he used to come to sets, vanity van wouldn’t be ready. He would...pick a corner in the room, put his bag, spread a cloth on the floor, and sleep….No complaints and no ego."

PUNJAB STARTS ENTREPRENEUR SCHEME IN 31 GOVT SCHOOLS AS PILOT PROJECT

Punjab Minister of School Education

Harjot Singh Bains on Tuesday launched the "Business Blasters Young Entrepreneur Scheme" as a pilot project in 31 government schools across Punjab. "We aim to launch it in all senior secondary schools next year," he tweeted. Under the scheme, the students of Class 11 will be provided seed money of ?2,000 to start a business.

UPL FOUNDER RAJJU SHROFF STEPS DOWN AS CMD, JAI SHROFF NAMED CHAIRMAN

Global crop protection products manufacturer UPL announced that its Founder Rajju Shroff has stepped down as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD). Shroff, 90, will become Chairman Emeritus of the Board, effective from December 1, 2022, the company said in its filing. Jai Shroff, a Non-executive Director has been designated as the Chairman of the Board with effect from December 1.

INDIAN-ORIGIN FORMER EMPLOYEE ADMITS CHEATING APPLE OF RS 140 CRORE

Dhirendra Prasad, a former Apple employee, has pleaded guilty to fraud that led to a loss of more than $17 million (?140 crore) to the company, according to a statement from the California Department of Justice. Indian-origin Prasad said he began to defraud Apple back in 2011 by inflating invoices, stealing parts and charging Apple for services it never received.

ELON MUSK ANNOUNCES $8 PER MONTH PRICE FOR BLUE TICK ON TWITTER

Twitter's new owner Elon Musk confirmed the microblogging website will charge $8 per month if anybody wants the 'blue tick', and tweeted, "Power to the people! Blue for $8/month." He added, "Price adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity." Musk called Twitter's current policies for who has or doesn't have a blue checkmark "lords & peasants system" and "bulls**t".

LARGEST WHALES CONSUME 1 CRORE PIECES OF MICROPLASTIC DAILY OFF CALIFORNIA COAST: STUDY

A study published in Nature Communications found that blue whales, the largest animals on the planet, off California's coast are consuming about 1 crore pieces of microplastic every day. A whale that feeds mostly on fish consumes about 2,00,000 pieces a day, the study found. Some microplastic consumed by the whales are even smaller than 5 millimetres, the study added.

O YOU LIKE TO BE ADDRESSED AS YOUR EXCELLENCY, MR PELE? A REPORTER IN THE EASTERN INDIAN CITY OF KOLKATA (THEN CALCUTTA) ASKED THE FOOTBALL LEGEND DURING HIS THREEDAY-TRIP TO PLAY AN EXHIBITION GAME WITH HIS STAR-STUDDED TEAM NEW YORK COSMOS 45 YEARS AGO. THE BRAZILIAN STAR, THEN 37, GAVE A "DISARMING SMILE AND BURST INTO LAUGHTER," REPORTED THE HINDUSTAN STANDARD NEWSPAPER, A DAY BEFORE THE GAME ON 24 SEPTEMBER, 1977 AGAINST MOHUN BAGAN, A STORIED LOCAL TEAM AND ONE OF THE OLDEST FOOTBALL CLUBS IN ASIA.

ndia's football-crazy city was agog with excitement over Pele's first game in India at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium, which then accommodated more than 60,000 spectators. Mohun Bagan, the papers said, had spent nearly 1.7 million rupees to get Pele and the glamorous US club to play in the city. Around 35,000 policemen would be deployed to control rowdy fans. Tickets were priced between five and 60 rupees.

The papers variously called him "King Pele" and "The Emperor". The Hindustan Standard rhapsodized: "Without appearing to be even immodest, let alone vain and arrogant, Pele can compare himself with the other all-time greats in history like Leonardo da Vinci and Beethoven. Maybe to connoisseurs of the game, Pele's football is as rapturously beautiful as the Mona Lisa

or the Ninth Symphony".

The build up to the game was intense. Pele - and that too in Calcutta is unbelievable, said a tea shop billboard. A local paper ran a graphics-led series on its front page explaining how Pele played his game. The star's name

featured in advertisements for health drinks. Long queues of fans to buy "lottery coupons" - tickets would be sold after a draw - snaked outside football grounds. An astrologer played spoilsport, predicting Pele would fall ill and would not be able to play the entire duration of the game.

When Pele arrived in an Air India plane from Tokyo - Cosmos Club was ending a two-week goodwill trip to Asia, with stops in Japan and China - around midnight on 22 September all hell broke loose. Mass hysteria had gripped the city. Newspapers reported a sea of screaming fans inside and outside the airport. Cries of "Long live Pele!" rent the air. "I have never seen such a crowd at this time in the night outside the airport. Fans have come from all over the city and the suburbs," a reporter with the Ananda Bazar Patrika, the largest-selling Bengali newspaper, wrote.

On the tarmac a wave of fans brandishing garlands broke through the security cordon and surged towards the Boeing 707 plane. Pele stepped out of the plane, his fingers in his familiar V salute, and went back inside after seeing the scrum below, according to the papers. Only after the police dispersed the crowd, the footballer stepped out with wife, Rosemeri, followed by the rest of the team, that included stars like Brazil's World Cup-winning team member Carlos Alberto Torres and Italian player Giorgio Chinaglia. They went to the terminal building, where Pele told waiting reporters: "I am tired, will see you in the field."

So much was the desperation to know more about Pele, reporters pounced on a Japanese co-passenger on the flight. "I thought I would get friendly with him on the flight. But the English is poor and I didn't want to impose myself on him. Also Pele slept through the flight," the passenger said.

The mayhem continued. Inside the airport, police baton charged fans who smashed glass panes and flung shoes for not being able to catch a glimpse of their idol. Outside, thousands of fans prowled around the car park. Occasionally a roar would go up - "Pele is leaving! Pele is leaving!" - and fans would run in all directions trying to find the vehicle that would take the team to the city, the papers said.

The police whisked Pele and Cosmos players into a bus to take them to a luxury hotel in the heart of Kolkata. Fans teemed outside, and crowded the hotel lobby. Over the next two days, according to the papers, Pele was mostly holed up in his suite with his wife, secured by his "enormous bodyguard" in the next room. He turned up at two receptions hosted by the US consulate and Mohun Bagan. "We are trapped in this fortress of love," Rosemeri told a reporter.

Pele, of course, turned up at the Eden Gardens with his team for the weekend game, vowing to play for the entire 90 minutes, despite the wet and slushy ground and a grim weather forecast, according to local papers.

Novy Kapadia, a football writer, offered a different version in his book, Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian

"PELE WAS INVITED TO KOLKATA SO THAT OUR YOUNG FOOTBALLERS COULD LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GAME. AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT THE ORGANISERS TOLD US. WHAT THEY ACTUALLY LEARNT FROM PELE IS HOW TO SPEND 90 MINUTES ON THE FIELD WITHOUT DOING MUCH," WROTE MOTI NANDI, A RESPECTED BENGALI SPORTS WRITER, IN ANANDA BAZAR PATRIKA.

Football. "Pele almost refused to play because of the slippery conditions... Police officials implored Pele, saying the crowd would get violent and lynch the Mohun Bagan officials if he did not play. The great Brazilian finally relented, but was cautious throughout the match," he wrote.

By most accounts, the game turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax. Despite taking a few unsuccessful shots at the goal, Pele was mostly off-colour against a spirited home team on a muddy ground battered by rains earlier in the week. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. When Pele left the ground, there was a hushed silence, the papers said. In contrast, tens of thousands clapped in frenzied unison when the Mohun Bagan team left the field.

Kolkata's manic love affair with Pele was beginning to unravel. One headline said: "It is clear that Pele has grown old". Local football pundits were unforgiving.

"Pele was invited to Kolkata so that our young footballers could learn more about the game. At least, that's what the organisers told us. What they actually learnt from Pele is how to spend 90 minutes on the field without doing much," wrote Moti Nandi, a

respected Bengali sports writer, in Ananda Bazar Patrika. The hysteria over Pele now evaporated quickly. Crowds outside his hotel thinned. A deflated fan accosted a minister of the ruling Communist government and said "a fake Pele had been brought to Calcutta". A Communist MP told the same minister: "You need to refund the ticket money for the game."

So when Pele left for New York on a Sunday night, there were no crowds at the airport. "The King's Depressing Departure," headlined a newspaper story. The exuberance of fans had waned. Santosh Kumar Ghosh, a veteran journalist, said a fraction of the money spent on Pele and Cosmos could have "beautified many of the roads in the city".

The parting shot on this "most uncompetitive match" was provided by Arijit Sen, a well-known sports commentator of the time.

"The Cosmos players did not offer more than 25% of their capacity and were content to play out the time," he wrote. "Their purpose had been served. Their kitty had swelled with the poor Indians' hard-earned money".

(Credit: BBC)

11 SIMPLE HABITS THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY EVERY DAY

DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPIER? MOST OF US THINK THAT THE KEY TO GREATER HAPPINESS IS TO MAKE BIG CHANGES IN OUR LIVES. SURPRISINGLY, RESEARCH SHOWS THAT INCREASED HAPPINESS OFTEN COMES FROM TINY CHANGES TO OUR DAILY OR WEEKLY ROUTINES. EACH OF THESE HAPPINESS HABITS CAN PROVIDE A POWERFUL LIFT TO YOUR MOOD AND YOUR OUTLOOK ON LIFE. DO SEVERAL OF THEM TOGETHER, AND YOU'RE GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOURSELF HAPPIER.

hat advice comes from Cassie Holmes, professor at UCLA's Anderson School of Management and author of Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most. In a review posted to UC Berkeley's Greater Good site, psychologist Jill Suttie explores how Holmes's recommen dations can translate into a happier, less stressed life for all of us.

The key to increased happiness, Holmes writes, is how we spend our discretionary time--the hours when we get to choose what we do. Studies suggest that spending too much time watching TV or on social media can lead to unhappiness and even depression, whereas activities such as social interaction, exercise, and spending time in nature lead to greater happiness.

With this research in mind, starting a few small habits can have an outsize effect on how you feel. Give a few of them a try, or try all of them together if you want a real happiness boost.

1. FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIPS.

We've all done it. You're out for dinner with a loved one or good friend, but your attention keeps drifting away to the social media messages or work emails popping up on your phone. Our instincts tell us that these important messages require our attention right now, but when we give in to these instincts, our own happiness and well-being suffer because we lose some of the opportunity to interact and bond with the person who's in front of us. Even when we're on our own, a real conversation with someone we care about trumps a social media message.

So Holmes has a stunningly simple suggestion: "Simply close out of that social media app you're in and dial up a friend to actually talk."

2. GIVE YOURSELF MOMENTS OF FLOW.

When you're working on something--at your job, a side hustle, a creative endeavor, or even a hobby--you'll be happiest when you can get into "flow," that state where you're fully engaged in what you're working on to the point that you lose track of time. So give yourself opportunities for flow by scheduling chunks of time for you to focus on your project and work with as little interruption as possible.

Conversely, at moments when you're not focusing on a project or complex task, look for opportunities to interact and have real conversations with your colleagues. Just as stronger relationships make us happier in our personal lives, stronger relationships at work will make us happier on the job.

3.

GET SOME EXERCISE EVERY DAY.

You already know that getting regular exercise will help you feel healthier and live longer, but there's also ample evidence to show that it will make you feel happier and less stressed. That's a very good reason to make time for exercise every day, or as close to every day as you can manage. Not only that, recent research shows that exercise helps you sleep better and feel more refreshed and energetic the following day. So the hour or half-hour you invest in a walk, a run, or a workout pays dividends that make it very worthwhile.

4. "BUNDLE" ONEROUS ACTIVITIES

WITH FUN ONES.

You may already do some of this, for example if you listen to your favorite podcast or watch your favorite show while on the treadmill. Life is full of opportunities for making tedious tasks more fun, for instance listening to dance music while you fold the laundry, or a fun audiobook during your commute. And you can up the happiness quotient by adding relationships to the unpleasant task. For example, have a cooking party with one or more friends where you hang out together in the kitchen, preparing meals for the coming week.

5. MEDITATE, OR JUST BREATHE.

There's a lot of scientific evidence that meditation makes us happy as well as improves our brain function. In fact, the most measurably happy human on the planet is a Tibetan monk who spends most of his time meditating. But not everyone is comfortable meditating. Holmes writes that she's "too fidgety and impatient" to do it. But even focusing on your breathing for a few slow breaths can calm you when you're stressed and improve your mood. And being more mindful in general, by focusing on the present moment and what you're seeing, feeling, and experiencing, reduces stress and improves well-being. These are all elements of meditation and you can use them even for a few moments at a time, no lotus position required.

6. DEFEND YOUR WEEKENDS.

Holmes recommends treating the weekend "like a vacation." That means not filling it up with chores and obligations and making sure to spend time doing something you truly enjoy.

The weekend can also be both more enjoyable and more memorable if you do something you don't usually do, such as going to an exhibit or a concert. You'll come back to the workweek feeling more relaxed and energized than if you spend those two days catching up on paperwork.

7. Find awe.

A fascinating study found that people who experience awe, defined as "the emotion that arises when one encounters something so strikingly vast that it provokes a need to update one's mental schemas," feel less pressed for time as a result. One of the best ways to experience awe is to get out into nature, even in a park, if a forest or beach isn't immediately available. And a 15-minute "awe walk" in nature consciously seeking awe is shown to make people happier. It's well worth taking those 15 minutes to find awe for yourself.

8. Do small acts of kindness.

Another surprising way to feel less time crunched is to perform small acts of kindness for others. I found this very counterintuitive when I first read about it--after all, the acts of kindness in themselves take up time. But an experiment led by Holmes showed that when participants performed a small act of kindness (in this case writing a brief letter to a gravely ill child), their sense of

their own available time expanded. Separate research has shown that spending money on others will make you happier than if you spend it on yourself. So go ahead and do something nice for someone--it's guaranteed to increase your own happiness as well as theirs.

9. Practice gratitude.

Research consistently shows that feeling gratitude will make you happier. And gratitude is one of the few emotions that, at least in my experience, is under our control. Most of us can't will ourselves to feel happy or loving. But we all have plenty in life to be grateful for, and if we stop for a moment and consider some of those things, we will feel grateful, at least for those few moments.

For years, I've started my day by mentally listing three things that I'm grateful for before I get out of bed, and (important) before I pick up my smartphone or tablet. Give it a try and see if gratitude lifts your spirits, as well.

10. Mix it up!

Lots of things that make us happy delight us less over time. I had a striking version of that experience when, after wanting one for years, I finally bought my first electric car. Every time I got behind the wheel, I marveled at how smooth and silent it was, how quickly it responded

to the accelerator, and how it always started the day fully charged so I that never had to worry about rushing to the gas station when I was already late for an appointment. Six months later, I still loved the car--but it didn't fill me with joy the same way it did in those first few weeks.

This is called hedonic adaptation, and it applies to everything that gives us pleasure if we repeat it often enough. So change things around--do something you love in a different setting, with a different person, at a different time, or in a different way. "We stop noticing when the same good thing happens again and again. Change, however, makes us pause and pay attention," Holmes writes.

11. Make happiness part of your schedule.

One of the nicest things you can do for yourself is to make a happiness plan. Holmes recommends looking at your schedule every week and blocking in time to spend with friends or loved ones, time in nature, time for yourself to daydream--any of the 10 suggestions above, and anything else that makes you feel truly fulfilled. When something's written into our calendar, we tend to do it. It's a great tool for making sure that happiness is part of your week.

(By Minda Zetlin for Inc.)

IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR STRESS HAS BEEN NEXT-LEVEL LATELY, YOU MIGHT FIND A TINY BIT OF COMFORT IN THE FACT THAT YOU’RE DEFINITELY NOT ALONE. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION’S 2022 REPORT, CONCERNS ABOUT MONEY AND GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY, TO NAME TWO HUGE FACTORS, HAVE SPIKED PERSONAL STRESS TO SKY-HIGH LEVELS.

art of the reason we’re all so unnerved: 87% of respondents agreed that “it feels like there’s been a constant stream of crises over the last two years” (understatement), and 73% reported that they feel “overwhelmed by the number of crises facing the world right now.” And on top of an ongoing global pandemic, ever-upsetting news cycles, and rising gas and grocery costs, many of us are also still dealing with common daily-life stressors like family, career, and relationship drama.

There’s no quick-fix way to make stress disappear, of course. But there are expertbacked stress-relief activities you can experiment with when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

By drawing from research on

psychology practices including cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and meditation, you might be able to build a kit of coping tools that work for you when life becomes too much. Below, two licensed therapists share their favorite strategies for getting short-term relief from stress and anxiety. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, stress is your body’s reaction to something that’s happening to you or around you. An important presentation at work, a hectic and noisy commute, or even a date with someone you’re excited to meet can all put your body on notice that something big is happening, which can activate your fight-or-flight stress response. A stressor can be a one-time thing (like an upcoming exam or turbulent flight) or a

long-term occurrence (in the case of a chronic health condition, for example, or an overwhelming job).

Stress is a bit different than anxiety, though, which many of us are also familiar with. When you’re stressed out, your physical symptoms will usually naturally resolve once the stressor goes away. Anxiety, on the other hand, which is your body’s internal reaction to stress, might not dissipate so quickly. Even when there isn’t an immediate physical or emotional threat, anxiety is a psychological state that tends to linger. Some physical symptoms of both stress and anxiety include, an elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure, headache, restlessness or insomnia and racing thoughts or worry.

No matter how your stress manifests, if it

starts to feel overwhelming and you’re looking for relief, consider trying some of these expert-backed stress-reduction strategies for relaxing your mind and body.

group Cultured Space. Cold water on your face can calm your autonomic nervous system, decreasing your heart rate and slowing your breathing.

you a sense of control over how much tension you’re holding on to, according to Dr. Murray.

1) Count down to get grounded.

1) Count to grounded.

When your internal pressure is high, tuning into your external environment is one stress-relieving practice that might help you feel a bit more chill. Rhayvan Jackson-Terrell, LCSW, wellness director at NYC Health and Hospitals and a telehealth therapist, tells that she often recommends the “5-4-3-2-1 method” to her clients as a mindfulness activity designed to get you out of your head and into the present moment.

Here’s how to do it, she says: Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Next, take a look around and notice the details of your surroundings. Then, count down from five using your senses: Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you taste. That’s it—by stepping out of your stressful mental narrative and dropping into your environment and sensations, you might be able to relax your mind and body. As Jackson-Terrell puts it, “Being able to stop for a moment and identify how we feel can actually help us calm down. It gives us space and grace for our body to regulate itself.”

2) Activate your “dive reflex.”

2) Activate “dive reflex.” Activate

You know that movie moment when the main character runs away from a stressful situation and into a public bathroom? When they take a deep breath and splash cold water from the sink on their face as a way to show the audience that they really need to calm down?

Melodramatic as it may seem, a version of this grounding technique could actually help you in real life, since splashing cold water on your face is a way to activate the “dive reflex,” your body’s natural way of focusing blood and oxygen to your vital organs when you’re submerged in water.2

“This tool can be helpful when people are starting to kind of panic—they’re going into a presentation or a meeting they’re really nervous about and they’re feeling acute anxiety due to a stressor,” says Nicole Murray, PsyD, clinical director and CEO at telehealth therapy

3) Practice box breathing.

3) Practice breathing.

3) Practice box breathing.

3) Practice breathing.

Breathing techniques are another simple strategy that might help you calm down, and Jackson-Terrell recommends one called box breathing as a go-to stress reliever. She says she likes this coping activity because of its accessibility: “It’s something we can do no matter where we are, no matter what environment we’re in.”

Box breathing is named for its four-step process of four counts each, which is meant to conjure the mental image of a square. It requires breathing in for a count of four, then holding that breath in for a count of four, exhaling for another count of four, and holding your breath out for four more counts. You can continue breathing in this way until you feel your body start to let go of tension, Jackson-Terrell says. And you can do it before, after, or during a nerve-wracking experience, making it a versatile addition to your stress-SOS toolkit.

5) Do a stress rehearsal. 5) Do a rehearsal. There are some instances where stress may be triggered by spending time with a specific person in your life. (Hello, nerve-wracking holiday party with your boss’s boss, or Thanksgiving with your hyper-critical family member who just knows how to get to you.)

When that’s the case, Dr. Murray suggests borrowing a tool from cognitive behavioral therapy called stress inoculation, a coping mechanism in which you imagine yourself in a stressful situation and mentally run through how you’ll handle it.4 Basically, she recommends mentally rehearsing scenarios ahead of time as a way of managing your stress level.

4) Try relaxing your muscles, one

4) Try relaxing your muscles, one relaxing one by one. by

Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique for tension release that’s been shown to provide relief from stress and anxiety.3 Dr. Murray recommends it as an effective activity for times when you need to relax but aren’t feeling acutely anxious (you’re not exactly in a onemuscle-at-a-time place if you’re really revved up, you know?) - maybe at the end of a stressful day or as a calming way to ease into the weekend. All you need is a comfortable place to sit and a few quiet moments.

Start by curling your toes under and tensing the muscles in your foot for a few seconds before slowly un-tensing those same muscles. Do the same with your lower legs, then your upper legs, your torso, your chest and stomach, your shoulders and neck—all the way up to the top of your head. The idea is to invite tension into each muscle group, one by one, before consciously releasing it. This builds the connection between your brain and your body, grounding you in the current moment (so you’re not lost in your stressed-out mind) and giving

“You’re almost preparing yourself to be triggered,” she says. “Walk through possible conversations and imagine how you’ll respond if a loved one says something to offend you, or how you’ll avoid someone who you don’t feel comfortable around. Practice ways to respond, and have a plan B— remembering that it’s always okay to leave a situation if you need to,” Dr. Murray says. This won’t necessarily calm you in a moment when you’re already stressed or anxious, but it can help you keep things in perspective so you don’t go into a dread spiral.

And on days when you know other people are going to activate your stress response, Dr. Murray recommends protecting yourself by removing as many additional stressors as possible. In other words, as an act of self-care, don’t schedule a job interview or medical procedure on the same day you know your in-laws are going to pepper you about your reproductive choices again at dinner.

When to see a professional for help managing stress and anxiety

Jackson-Terrell points out that feeling some amount of stress and anxiety doesn’t mean you have an anxiety disorder or another mental health condition. Some level of stress is just part of being human. Chronic stress, however, can have a negative impact on your long-term physical and mental health.

(Credit: Kathryn Watson for SELF)

G20 SHOULD FOCUS ON INDIA’S UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION IN THE SOCIAL SECTOR

jay Khanna writes about how India’s social sector is transforming rapidly and supporting government schemes and initiatives. Social enterprises are contributing hugely to the economy and society through the massive use of technology and innovation

India’s G20 presidency is a chance to showcase its capabilities to the world, including the work of its thriving and committed social sector. This is crucial because India has established that accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth and progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will also be the priorities for the G20.

The nation’s social sector has been contributing towards the advancement of SDGs by using path-breaking innovation. The social sector — which includes social innovators, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, self-help groups and foundations — has pioneered distinct business models and prioritised equity and societal and environmental benefits. These organisations have explicit social objectives and inclusive governance models and work with groups that face gender, race, ability and economic barriers.

India’s social innovators and entrepreneurs are doing remarkable work at the bottom of the pyramid with extraordinary challenges. Despite the significant contribution of the social economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment, their contribution has not been recognised. They work on shoestring budgets, and one would be amazed at their zeal, tenacity and value system to do what they do with a sewa bhav (sense of service).

With its complex socioeconomicenvironmental challenges, India is a fertile ground for social innovations and offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership. Government initiatives such as Skill India and Digital India have provided social enterprises multiple avenues and support to accelerate their work, impact and reach. However, they need the government’s support and encouragement to showcase them on international platforms to catapult to the next level of global operations.

Under India’s presidency, India’s social sector should be an integral part of the G20 agenda since they are forerunners in some of the priority areas identified by India during its presidency. Some pointers on why India’s social entrepreneurs need a push under India’s G20 presidency are as follows.

First, technology. The use of technology in social innovations has increased multifold in recent years. Social entrepreneurs have been using technology and digital stack to accelerate equality and growth for the marginalised. During Covid-19, they employed innovative digital tools to ensure continuity in services. With digital and technology as the centre of India’s G20 presidency agenda, the experience of these social entrepreneurs could be valuable.

Second, jugaad. The jugaad way of finding solutions to complex problems is unique. It also sums up how some Indian social entrepreneurs work with scarce resources and yet find outstanding solutions to challenges that even large enterprises sometimes fail to address.

Third, firms repose trust in social entrepreneurs. More and more corporate firms are working closely with social entrepreneurs to ensure an impact on the ground. Corporations also choose them as business partners for innovative marketbased solutions, bringing equal value to their businesses, and have set up various foundations to supplement their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Fourth, to boost women-led development. India has shared its focus on women-led development for advancing the G20 priority areas. Social entrepreneurs have been working strategically around the principle of women-led development for years. As a result, many social innovators in India are successfully led by women entrepreneurs.

Fifth, as the government’s impleme ntation partners. Social entrepreneurs play a crucial role as they support and reinforce the government’s efforts to reach the maximum number of people at the bottom of the pyramid. In addition, they ensure that the gap between government schemes and beneficiaries is minimised.

Sixth, they have an active role in advocacy.

Social entrepreneurs are executors and strategists in their areas of work and undertake the advocacy of pressing issues that are broadly around SDGs. Their role in advocacy and feedback helps policymakers develop deeper insights to make an informed decision.

Seventh, they can be role models. Social entrepreneurs play a significant role in advocating a better world for future generations. Today’s young seek fulfilment at work and are eager to be a part of the bigger picture. Social entrepreneurs with the perfect merger of financial success and making a change and impact on society inspire several youngsters to be part of the transformative journey.

Eighth, global linkages with social entrepreneurs. Organisations such as the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship (sister organisation of the World Economic Forum) along with the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation (the CSR arm of the Jubilant Bhartia Group) have been recognising and providing a global platform to social entrepreneurs for over a decade through its annual Social Entrepreneur of the Year India award. Platforms like these offer social entrepreneurs a world view, giving insights to solve global challenges. Recently, the Schwab Foundation organised an India Learning Journey, supported by the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, for a cohort of 35 social entrepreneurs from around the world, including from the G20 countries.

India’s social sector is transforming rapidly and supporting government schemes and initiatives. Social enterprises are contributing hugely to the economy and society through the massive use of technology and innovation.

India must use this unique opportunity to showcase its social entrepreneurs’ experience and capability on international platforms such as the G20. Several engagement groups are identified by India, such as the B20, Civil-20, Startup-20, Women-20, and Youth20. Through their experience and capability, India’s social innovators can provide solutions for some of the challenges facing the G20. Therefore, India needs a “Social Entrepreneurs20” or integration of social entrepreneurs into the B-20.

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN CALLS THIS THE “DECISIVE DECADE”. YET THE LABEL SCARCELY CAPTURES THE MOMENT—THE START OF A POST-POST-COLD-WAR EPOCH IN WHICH THE AMERICAN-SHAPED WORLD ORDER MAY BE VIOLENTLY UNDONE BY RUSSIA AND CHINA. “GREAT-POWER COMPETITION” IS TOO TAME AMID RUSSIA’S DESTRUCTION OF UKRAINE; THE “NEW COLD WAR” TOO REDUCTIVE GIVEN THE WEST’S COMPLEX ECONOMIC INTERDEPENDENCE WITH CHINA.

Russia’s Russia’s Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shattered the norm, established after the second world war, that borders should not be changed by force. It has revived the spectre of nuclear war for the first time since the end of the cold war, with a twist: Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has wielded the threat of nukes not as a last resort but as an opening gambit to shield his war of aggression.

Russia, though, represents only the “acute” problem, as America sees things. The greater threat to the world order—what the Pentagon calls its “pacing” challenge—comes from China, the only country with the potential to dethrone America as the world’s preeminent power. China’s armed forces are expanding rapidly. It already has the largest navy in the world, the thirdlargest air force, a thick array of missiles and the means to wage war in space and cyberspace.

What if the friendship “with no limits” between Russia and China turns into an actual alliance? Right now there is little evidence of China helping Russia’s war. But the Eurasian autocracies regularly hold military exercises, and some senior American officials think the two are bound to draw closer. As China builds up its nuclear arsenal to perhaps 1,500 warheads by 2035—approaching the size of the American and Russian arsenals—the United States will have to learn the novel art of three-way nuclear deterrence. That, in turn, may lead to a

new arms race, particularly if the New start treaty, which limits American and Russian nukes, expires in early 2026 without a follow-on accord.

The transformation is taking place at a time when America’s relative weight in the global economy has declined. Over the past century America’s gdp has been much greater than that of its rivals— Germany and Japan in the second world war, the Soviet Union and China in the cold war. These days, though, China’s gdp is not far behind America’s (and already exceeds it when measured at purchasing-power parity). American defence spending, though gargantuan in absolute terms, has been close to historical lows as a share of gdp. That is starting to change, after Congress voted on December 23rd to approve an increase in defence spending substantially larger than Mr Biden had requested.

Old geopolitical theories are being reexamined. In 1904 the British geostrategist Halford Mackinder argued that whoever controlled the core of Eurasia—roughly between the Arctic Sea and the Himalayas—could command the world. In that analysis, an alliance between Russia and China could pose a grievous threat. In contrast, Mackinder’s American contemporary Alfred Thayer Mahan reckoned that control of commercial sea lanes was the key to global power. Somewhere in

between, Nicholas Spykman, another American, argued in 1942 that what mattered was not Eurasia’s heartland but its rim. He held that the maritime borderlands stretching from the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean, around south Asia to Japan were the vital ground. “Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia,” he wrote. “Who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world.” In seeking to boost its alliances to counterbalance its Eurasian rivals, America seems to be hewing closest to Spykman’s thesis.

At the western end, nato has been revitalised to strengthen Europe and confront Russia. American and other allied forces have been reinforced along the border with Russia. Abandoning the last vestiges of neutrality, Finland and Sweden have applied to join nato. Assuming the final obstacles to ratification, from Turkey and Hungary, can be overcome, the new members ought to join in 2023.

Above all, the Western allies have extensively armed and supported Ukraine to start pushing back the Russian onslaught. Despite grumbling from “America first” devotees of Donald Trump, Mr Biden’s predecessor, Congress agreed to provide $7bn more than the $37.7bn requested by Mr Biden in aid for Ukraine in the fiscal year ending in September 2023. Far from weakening the Western alliance, Mr Putin has invigorated it. Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for

International Peace, an American thinktank, lists two other unintended consequences: “He has created a moment of bipartisanship in America. And he has offered Biden a moment of redemption after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

At the eastern end of the rim, meanwhile, talk of a future war with China over Taiwan has intensified, especially since a controversial visit to the island in August by the speaker of America’s House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. Mr Biden hopes that his recent in-person meeting (his first as president) with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, will have put a “floor” on deteriorating relations. Mr Xi may be preoccupied with troubles at home, not least the slowing economy and the upheavals of his covid policies. But American military officials, in particular, say he wants to develop the military capability to seize Taiwan by 2027.

America has no nato-like alliance in Asia to constrain China. Instead it operates a

hub-and-spokes system of bilateral defence agreements with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand; these countries do not have obligations towards each other. To create greater coherence, America has been working on expanding ad-hoc schemes. The “Five Eyes” (with Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand) share intelligence; aukus (with Australia and Britain) is seeking to develop nuclearpowered submarines and other weapons; and the Quad (with Australia, India and Japan) discusses everything from vaccines to maritime security. South Korea and Japan are setting aside old grievances to conduct joint exercises, amid intense missile launches (and an expected nuclear test) by North Korea.

Japan has announced plans to double defence spending over the next five years, but is still hamstrung by its tradition of pacifism. The self-governing island of Taiwan has no formal diplomatic relations with most countries and is excluded from America’s many regional military exercises. Mr Biden has

repeatedly suggested he would defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion, but much remains unclear. Under the doctrine of “strategic ambiguity” America will not say precisely in which circumstances it might intervene and what it would do, especially in the case of “grey-one” attacks such as a blockade. That makes it hard for Taiwan to heed America’s call to shift more fully to a “porcupine” defensive strategy. Congressional budget appropriators, moreover, have largely ignored a bipartisan bill to provide Taiwan with billions of dollars’ in grants to buy military equipment, akin to the aid given to Ukraine and Israel.

The middle of Spykman’s rimland is tricky. The Biden administration has worked hard to woo members of asean, the South-East Asian regional group. But for the most part they don’t want to be forced to choose between China, their main trading partner, and America, the principal guarantor of regional security.

India remains the big prize for American

strategists. It has a tradition of nonalignment and pro-Soviet leanings, but has drawn closer to America as its relations with China have frayed. The yearly Malabar naval exercises between America and India have grown to include all members of the Quad. Differences persist. India has been coy about directly criticising Mr Putin’s assault on Ukraine. Nevertheless, says Kurt Campbell, a senior White House adviser on Asia, it represents “far and away the most important bilateral relationship for the United States into the 21st century”.

In the Middle East and central Asia, meanwhile, successive American presidents have sought to reduce their military commitments after decades of fruitless war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Expect a new Republican-dominated House of Representatives to harry the Biden administration over the chaotic departure from Afghanistan. But the drone strike in Kabul in July that killed al-Qaeda’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, underlines Mr Biden’s claim to be keeping up an “over-the-horizon” fight against terrorism.

Moreover, the spike earlier this year in oil and gas prices aggravated by the war in Ukraine has reaffirmed the geopolitical importance of the Gulf. Having once declared Saudi Arabia a “pariah”, Mr Biden visited the country in July and fist-bumped Muhammad bin Salman, the country’s crown prince and de-facto ruler. “We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran,” Mr Biden told Arab leaders in Jeddah. He got little in return, either in terms of a reduction in oil prices or Saudi normalisation with Israel. In December Gulf leaders gave Mr Xi a noticeably warmer reception.

America’s relations with Israel may also be tested by the return of Binyamin Netanyahu at the head of a coalition including far-right ministers. Mr Biden’s hope of restraining Iran’s atomic programme by reviving a nuclear deal has come to naught. Any accord to lift sanctions is now impossible given the extensive anti-regime protests in Iran. Yet Iran’s work on uranium enrichment continues apace, presenting a challenge

to Mr Biden’s vow to prevent the mullahs from ever acquiring nuclear weapons.

As for the wider world, America and its allies have mustered a succession of lopsided votes denouncing Russia at the un General Assembly. Yet support for the West in the global south is fragile. Many countries regard themselves as victims of a faraway war in Europe which has increased fuel and food prices, and diverted international attention from other crises. Moreover, they do not want to be caught in the middle of a cold war between America and China.

The West has responded to such concerns in several ways: by pressing for a mechanism to allow Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports; attempting to impose a cap on Russian oil prices; promoting global health initiatives; and creating a Western mechanism to finance infrastructure projects and challenge China’s Belt and Road Initiative. More broadly, Mr Biden has toned down his early effort to divide the world into democracies and autocracies. He has hosted a succession of large regional summits, not least with leaders from Asia, Pacific islands, Latin America and Africa.

The big hole in his strategy is the lack of an appealing economic and trade policy

to bind allies and friends closer together. The us-eu Trade and Technology Council is a useful talking shop for emerging tech. The 14-country IndoPacific Economic Framework promises future initiatives on the digital economy, supply-chain resilience, clean energy and fairness (ie, rules on tax, money laundering and bribery). But these do not amount to substantial trade deals. America will not, for instance, heed Asian allies’ wish for it to join the 11country Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (formerly the tpp).

Indeed, Mr Biden’s “foreign policy for the middle class” features much protectionism and industrial policy. Recent measures include subsidies for green technology and semiconductors, and restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips. These policies are causing tension with European and Asian allies by limiting access to the American market, restricting exports to China and diverting investment. The European Union may respond by subsidising its own green-tech and semiconductor industries. But Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden’s national-security adviser, appears to regard the prospect of a subsidy war as a good outcome. He told the Carnegie Endowment that America was helping middle classes elsewhere by encouraging “a virtuous cycle of investment in other parts of the world”.

The other enduring worry is about democracy in the West—particularly in America, nearly two years after a proTrump mob stormed the Capitol. America appears to be moving away from Mr Trump and his fellow election-deniers, but its politics remain intensely polarised. The health of America’s democracy is essential to its ability to attract friends and assert leadership. Mr Sullivan recounted how in November, when Mr Biden attended an Asian summit in Phnom Penh, other leaders wanted to know the details of midterm elections in places such as Nevada. As Mr Sullivan put it, “it was a reminder that the rest of the world is looking at the state of American democracy…and saying: ‘What does this tell us about America’s staying power on the international stage?’”

THE OTHER ENDURING WORRY IS ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN THE WEST—PARTICULARLY IN AMERICA, NEARLY TWO YEARS AFTER A PRO-TRUMP MOB STORMED THE CAPITOL.

STOP CALORIE COUNTING, START CARB SWITCHING

STUDIES SHOW YOU DON’T NEED TO COUNT CALORIES IF YOU FOCUS ON IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF THE CARBOHYDRATES YOU EAT. THERE IS A SIMPLE DIET SWAP TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT AND LOWER HEALTH RISKS TOO.

or many people, figuring out the best diet for optimal health isn’t easy. But studies show that almost anyone can lose weight and improve their health by making one simple change to their diet.

The trick: Cut out processed carbs and replace them with high-quality carbs. These include fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, quinoa and whole grains like brown rice, barley, farro and steel-cut oats.

According to a large and growing body of research, this one swap could help you lower your risk of cancer and Type 2 diabetes, reduce your likelihood of dying from heart disease or a stroke and help you shed pounds without counting calories.

While it sounds simple, for many people it will be a big change. These highquality carbs make up just 9 percent of all the calories that Americans consume.

For most people, processed, low-quality carbs are dietary staples. They make up

42 percent of all the calories that Americans consume. They include the packaged foods that dominate many supermarket shelves and household dinner tables, like white bread, pastries, pasta, bagels, chips, crackers and foods with added sugars, such as breakfast cereals, flavored yogurts, desserts, juices and soft drinks.

What happens when you swap What happens swap What happens when you swap What happens swap out processed carbs for high- out processed for highquality carbs?

Studies show that the fiber in these foods has multiple benefits. It promotes satiety, which helps you feel full. It nourishes the microbes that make up your gut microbiome, which can lower inflammation and protect against chronic diseases. And it improves your blood sugar control and cholesterol levels

A large meta-analysis in the Lancet examined the health effects of eating different types of carbs. The analysis,

based on data collected from 4,635 people in 58 clinical trials, showed that adults who ate the highest levels of whole grains, vegetables and other fiber-rich carbs had a 15 to 31 percent reduction in diabetes, colorectal cancer and their risk of dying from a stroke or heart disease compared to people who ate the lowest amounts of these foods.

They also lost more weight — “despite not being told to eat less food or do more physical activity,” said Andrew Reynolds, a nutrition epidemiologist at Otago Medical School and co-author of the research.

Why are processed carbs so bad for are processed carbs so bad for processed so you? you? you? you?

On average, Americans eat five servings a day of foods with refined grains, like white bread and pasta, and just one serving a day of foods that are whole grain, like brown rice and barley, said Fang Fang Zhang, a nutrition

epidemiologist at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University and author of a study in JAMA that examined the types of carbs and macronutrients that Americans consume.

In her research, Zhang found that Americans have been cutting back on their intake of sugary sodas and other foods with added sugar, thanks to growing public awareness about the damaging health effects of sugar.

But at the same time, we’ve been eating more and more foods with refined grains, in part because they are so ubiquitous.

“We are seeing an overall trend toward increased consumption of refined grains,” said Zhang. “With refined grains we are missing our target.”

These foods have been stripped of their fiber, vitamins and minerals and industrially converted into flour and sugar. This causes them to be rapidly absorbed by the body, prompting blood sugar and insulin levels to spike and activating reward regions in the brain, all of which can lead to cravings, overeating and a cascade of metabolic changes that lead to poor health.

Healthy carbs are those that haven’t been highly processed and stripped of their natural fiber. Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains are fiber-rich and full of health-promoting nutrients that help protect against heart disease and other leading causes of death.

If your goal is to lose weight and improve your metabolic health, you don’t need to count calories or go on a restrictive diet. Just start by cutting the empty carbs from your diet. Here’s how to do it:

Cut the white foods. Cut back on foods like cereal, pastries, white bread, white pasta, juices, sweetened beverages and other foods with added sugar.

ADD HIGHER QUALITY “NUTRIENT DENSE” FOODS BACK INTO YOUR DIET. THESE FOODS CARRY DIFFERENT LABELS THAT CAN HELP YOU IDENTIFY THEM. LOOK FOR DESCRIPTORS LIKE “MINIMALLY PROCESSED,” “SEASONAL,” “GRASS-FED,” “WHOLE GRAIN” AND “PASTURE-RAISED.”

Add healthy carbs. It’s simple. Eat more vegetables, whole grains, beans and lentils.

Add healthy fats and protein: After getting rid of those empty carbs, some people find that they feel better replacing them with foods higher in fat and protein, like nuts, seeds, avocado, eggs, poultry, yogurt and seafood.

Add healthy grains: Try replacing white and highly-processed carbs with whole grains, whole wheat breads, beans, peas, lentils, legumes, quinoa, fruits, vegetables and other unrefined carbs.

Add higher quality “nutrient dense” foods back into your diet. These foods carry different labels that can help you identify them. Look for descriptors like “minimally processed,” “seasonal,” “grass-fed,” “whole grain” and “pastureraised.”

It may be tough at first to cut back on some of your favorite refined carbs, but you won’t feel as hungry if you replace them with fiber-rich carbs and healthy fats.

In one randomized trial that was published in JAMA, overweight people who were counseled to cut back on added sugar, refined grains and highly processed foods for a year lost weight — without counting calories — and showed improvements in their blood sugar and blood pressure levels. This approach worked whether people

followed a diet that was relatively low in fat or relatively low in carbs. The findings showed that for weight loss, diet quality trumped diet quantity, said Christopher Gardner, the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has studied the effects of different diets on metabolic health and weight loss.

If you want to eat a healthier diet, your first step, he said, should be “to get rid of the empty carb calories that just come with glucose and no fiber, vitamins or minerals.”

He recommends replacing those foods with what he calls a “foundational diet” rich in plant foods that are eaten by cultures around the world, like beans, nuts, seeds and vegetables.

In Latin American cuisine, red, black and pinto beans are staples. In the Middle East, people have been using chickpeas and sesame seeds to make hummus and other dishes for centuries. In India, red and yellow lentils can be found in delicious dal, soups and stews. And in the Mediterranean, many dishes incorporate things like fava beans, cannellini beans and split peas.

“Americans eat a shockingly low number of beans, nuts and seeds,” he said. “We should eat more like these other cultures around the world.”

(Anahad O’Connor for Washington Post)

ou may know that being adequately hydrated is important for day-to-day bodily functions such as regulating temperature and maintaining skin health.

But drinking enough water is also associated with a significantly lower risk of developing chronic diseases, a lower risk of dying early or lower risk of being biologically older than your chronological age, according to a National Institutes of Health study published Monday in the journal eBioMedicine.

“The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life,” said study author Natalia Dmitrieva, a researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of NIH, in a news release.

Learning what preventive measures can slow down the aging process is “a major challenge of preventive medicine,” the

authors said in the study. That’s because an epidemic of “age-dependent chronic diseases” is emerging as the world’s population rapidly ages. And extending a healthy life span can help improve quality of life and decrease health care costs more than just treating diseases can.

The authors thought optimal hydration might slow down the aging process, based on previous similar research in mice. In those studies, lifelong water restriction increased the serum sodium of mice by 5 millimoles per liter and shortened their life span by six months, which equals about 15 years of human life, according to the new study. Serum sodium can be measured in the blood and increases when we drink less fluids.

Using health data collected over 30 years from 11,255 Black and White adults from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, or ARIC, the research team found adults with serum sodium levels at the higher end of the normal range — which is 135 to 146 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L) — had

worse health outcomes than those at the lower end of the range. Data collection began in 1987 when participants were in their 40s or 50s, and the average age of participants at the final assessment during the study period was 76.

Adults with levels above 142 mEq/L had a 10% to 15% higher chance of being biologically older than their chronological age compared with participants in the 137 to 142 mEq/L range. The participants with higher fasteraging risk also had a 64% higher risk for developing chronic diseases such as heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, peripheral artery disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes and dementia.

And people with levels above 144 mEq/ L had a 50% higher risk of being biologically older and a 21% higher risk of dying early. Adults with serum sodium levels between 138 and 140 mEq/L, on the other hand, had the lowest risk of developing chronic disease. The study didn’t have information on how much water participants drank.

HYDRATION CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH, STUDY FINDS.

“This study adds observational evidence that reinforces the potential long-term benefits of improved hydration on reductions in long-term health outcomes, including mortality,” said Dr. Howard Sesso, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, via email. Sesso was not involved in the study. However, “it would have been nice to combine their definition of hydration, based on serum sodium levels only, with actual fluid intake data from the ARIC cohort,” Sesso added.

Biological age was determined by biomarkers that measure the performance of different organ systems and processes, including cardiovascular, renal (relating to the kidneys), respiratory, metabolic, immune and inflammatory biomarkers.

High serum sodium levels weren’t the only factor associated with disease, early death and faster aging risk — risk was also higher among people with low serum sodium levels.

This finding is consistent with previous reports of increased mortality and cardiovascular disease in people with low regular sodium levels, which has been attributed to diseases causing electrolyte issues, the authors said.

The study analyzed participants over a long period of time, but the findings don’t prove a causal relationship between serum sodium levels and these health outcomes, the authors said. Further studies are needed, they added, but the findings can help doctors identify and guide patients at risk.

“People whose serum sodium is 142 mEq/L or higher would benefit from evaluation of their fluid intake,” Dmitrieva said.

Sesso noted that the study did not strongly address accelerated aging, “which is a complicated concept that we are just starting to understand.”

“Two key reasons underlie this,” Sesso said. The study authors “relied on a combination of 15 measures for accelerated aging, but this is one of many definitions out there for which there is no consensus. Second, their data

on hydration and accelerated aging were a ‘snapshot’ in time, so we have no way to understand cause and effect.”

Drink enough fluids every day enough fluids day Drink enough fluids every day enough fluids day

About half of people worldwide don’t meet recommendations for daily total water intake, according to several studies the authors of the new research cited.

“On the global level, this can have a big impact,” Dmitrieva said in a news release. “Decreased body water content is the most common factor that increases serum sodium, which is why the results suggest that staying well hydrated may slow down the aging process and prevent or delay chronic disease.”

Our serum sodium levels are influenced by liquid intake from water, other liquids, and fruits and vegetables with high water content.

“The most impressive finding is that this risk (for chronic diseases and aging) is apparent even in individuals who have serum sodium levels that are on the upper end of the ‘normal range,’” said

Dr. Richard Johnson, professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, via email. He was not involved in the study.

“This challenges the question of what is really normal, and supports the concept that as a population we are probably not drinking enough water.”

More than 50% of your body is made of water, which is also needed for multiple functions, including digesting food, creating hormones and neurotransmitters, and delivering oxygen throughout your body, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine) recommends women consume 2.7 liters (91 ounces) of fluids daily, and that men have 3.7 liters (125 ounces) daily. This recommendation includes all fluids and water-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables and soups. Since the average water intake ratio of fluids to foods is around 80:20, that amounts to a daily amount of 9 cups for women and 12 ½ cups for men.

People with health conditions should talk with their doctor about how much fluid intake is right for them.

It's important to write down not only what your goals are, but also when, where and how you'll accomplish them.

“The goal is to ensure patients are taking in enough fluids, while assessing factors, like medications, that may lead to fluid loss,” said study coauthor Dr. Manfred Boehm, director of the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine, in a news release. “Doctors may also need to defer to a patient’s current treatment plan, such as limiting fluid intake for heart failure.”

If you’re having trouble staying hydrated, you might need help working the habit into your usual routine. Try leaving a glass of water at your bedside to drink when you wake up, or drink water while your morning coffee is brewing. Anchor your hydration habit to a location you’re in a few times per day, says behavioral science expert Dr. B.J. Fogg, founder and director of the Stanford University Behavior Design Lab. (Credt: CNN)

ABOUT HALF OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE DON’T MEET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DAILY TOTAL WATER INTAKE, ACCORDING TO SEVERAL STUDIES THE AUTHORS OF THE NEW RESEARCH CITED.

espite volunteering and working out at the gym several days each week, socializing frequently with friends and family, reading all manner of books and doing daily crossword puzzles, 85-year-old Carol Siegler is restless.

“I’m bored. I feel like a Corvette being used as a grocery cart,” said Siegler, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Palatine.

Siegler is a cognitive “SuperAger,” possessing a brain as sharp as people 20 to 30 years younger. She is part of an elite group enrolled in the Northwestern SuperAging Research Program, which has been studying the elderly with superior memories for 14 years. The program is part of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

“I’ve auditioned twice for ‘Jeopardy!’ and did well enough on it to be invited to the live auditions. Then Covid hit,” said Siegler.

“Who knows how well I would have done,” she added with a chuckle. “What I have told my children and

anybody else who asked me: ‘I may know an awful lot about Beethoven and Liszt, but I know very little about Beyoncé and Lizzo.’”

To be a SuperAger, a term coined by the Northwestern researchers, a person must be over 80 and undergo extensive cognitive testing. Acceptance in the study only occurs if the person’s memory is as good or better than cognitively normal people in their 50s and 60s.

“SuperAgers are required to have outstanding episodic memory — the ability to recall everyday events and past personal experiences — but then SuperAgers just need to have at least average performance on the other cognitive tests,” said cognitive neuroscientist Emily Rogalski, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Feinberg School of Medicine.

Only about 10% of people who apply to the program meet those criteria, said Rogalski, who developed the SuperAger project.

“It’s important to point out when we compare the SuperAgers to the average agers, they have similar levels of IQ, so the differences we’re seeing are not just due to intelligence,” she said.

Once accepted, colorful 3D scans are taken of the brain and cognitive testing and brain scans are repeated every year or so. Analysis of the data over the years have yielded fascinating results.

Bigger, tau-free neurons Bigger, tau-free neurons

Most people’s brains shrink as they grow older. In SuperAgers, however, studies have shown the cortex, responsible for thinking, decision-making and memory, remains much thicker and shrinks more slowly than those of people in their 50s and 60s.

A SuperAger’s brain, usually donated to the research program by participants after death, also has bigger, healthier cells in the entorhinal cortex. It’s “one of the first areas of the brain to get ‘hit’ by Alzheimer’s disease,” said Tamar Gefen, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern, in an email.

The entorhinal cortex has direct connections to another key memory center, the hippocampus, and “is essential for memory and learning,” said Gefen, the lead author of a November study comparing the brains of deceased SuperAgers with those of older and younger cognitively normal people and

HERE ARE THE SECRETS OF ‘SUPERAGERS’ WHO POSSESS BRAINS AS SHARP AS PEOPLE 20 TO 30 YEARS YOUNGER.

people diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s.

SuperAger brains had three times fewer tau tangles, or abnormal formations of protein within nerve cells, than the brains of cognitively healthy controls, the study also found. Tau tangles are a hallmark sign of Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

“We believe that larger neurons in the entorhinal cortex suggest that they are more ‘structurally sound’ and can perhaps withstand neurofibrillary tau tangle formation,” Gefen said.

Gefen also found the brains of SuperAgers had many more von economo neurons, a rare type of brain cell, which so far has been found in humans, great apes, elephants, whales, dolphins and songbirds. The corkscrewlike von economo neurons are thought to allow rapid communication across the brain. Another theory is that the neurons give humans and great apes an intuitive advantage in social situations.

The von economo neurons were found in the anterior cingulate cortex, which forms a collar in the front of the brain linking the cognitive, reasoning side with the emotional, feeling side. The anterior cingulate is thought to be important for regulating emotions and paying attention — another key to good

memory. Taken together, these discoveries appear to point to a genetic link to becoming a SuperAger, Gefen said. However, she added: “The only way to confirm whether SuperAgers are born with larger entorhinal neurons would be to measure these neurons from birth until death. That obviously isn’t possible.”

Can environment play a role? environment play a SuperAgers share similar traits, said Rogalski, who is also the associate director of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer Disease at Feinberg. These folks stay active physically. They tend to be positive. They challenge their brain every day, reading or learning something new — many continue to work into their 80s. SuperAgers are also social butterflies, surrounded by family and friends, and can often be found volunteering in the community.

“When we compare SuperAgers to normal agers we see that they tend to endorse more positive relations with others,” Rogalski said.

“This social connectedness may be a feature of SuperAgers that distinguishes them from those who are still doing well but who are what we would call an average or normal ager,” she said.

Looking back at her life, Carol Siegler recognizes many SuperAger traits. As a young child during the Great Depression, she taught herself to spell and play piano. She learned to read Hebrew at her grandfather’s knee, poring over his weekly Yiddish newspaper.

“I have a great memory. I’ve always had it,” Siegler said. “I was always the kid that you could say, ‘Hey, what’s Sofia’s phone number?’ and I would just know it off the top of my head.”

She graduated from high school at 16 and immediately went to college. Siegler got her pilot’s license at age 23 and later started a family business in her basement that grew to have 100 employees. At 82, she won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for her age group, which she said she entered “as a gag.” After seeing an advertisement for the SuperAger program on television, Siegler thought it too sounded like fun. Being chosen as a SuperAger was a thrill, Siegler said, but she is aware she was born lucky.

“Somebody with the same abilities or talents as a SuperAger who lived in a place where there was very little way to express them, might never know that he or she had them,” she said. “And that is a true shame.”

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

UNHAPPY TO BE SUCCESSFUL

If you make happiness your primary goal, you might miss out on success as well as the challenges that give life meaning.

In 2007, a group of researchers began testing a concept that seems, at first blush, as if it would never need testing: whether more happiness is always better than less. The researchers asked college students to rate their feelings on a scale from “unhappy” to “very happy” and compared the results with academic (GPA, missed classes) and social (number of close friends, time spent dating) outcomes. Though the “very happy” participants had the best social lives, they performed worse in school than those who were merely “happy.”

The researchers then examined a data set from another study that rated incoming college freshmen’s “cheerfulness” and tracked their income

nearly two decades later. They found that the most cheerful in 1976 were not the highest earners in 1995; that distinction once again went to the second-highest group, which rated their cheerfulness as “above average” but not in the highest 10 percent.

As with everything in life, happiness has its trade-offs. Pursuing happiness to the exclusion of other goals–known as psychological hedonism–is not only an exercise in futility. It may also give you a life that you find you don’t want, one in which you don’t reach your full potential, you’re reluctant to take risks, and you choose fleeting pleasures over challenging experiences that give life meaning.

The way to understand the study above is not to deny that happiness is good; rather, it is to remember that a little bit of unhappiness has benefits. For instance, gloom has been found to aid in problemsolving. The author Emmy Gut argued in 1989 that some depressive symptoms can be a functional response to problems in the environment, leading us to pay appropriate attention and come up with solutions. In other words, when we are sad about something, we may be more likely to fix it. Psychologists call this the “analytical rumination hypothesis,” and it is supported by research. Obviously, this is not to argue that clinical depression is good — misery can quickly render people incapable of

solving problems. Nor am I saying that depression passes a cost-benefit analysis. Rather, the analytical-rumination hypothesis is evidence that getting rid of bad feelings does not necessarily make us more effective in our tasks. And if these emotions can help us assess threats, it stands to reason that too much good feeling can lead us to disregard them. The literature on substance use suggests that this is so: In some people, very high degrees of positive emotion have been connected to dangerous behaviors such as alcohol and drug use and binge eating.

An aversion to unhappiness can lead us to forgo a meaningful life. Indeed, as one group of researchers that surveyed college students in 2018 found, fear of failure is positively correlated with meaning derived from romance, friendship, and (to a lesser extent) family. When I talk with people about their fear of negative outcomes in life, their true source of fear in many cases centers on how they will feel about having failed, not about the consequences of the failure itself. This is similar to the way discomfort with uncertainty causes more anxiety than guaranteed bad news. To avoid these bad feelings, people give up all kinds of opportunities that involve the possibility of failure.

But bringing good things into your life, whether love, career success, or something else, usually involves risk. Risk doesn’t necessarily make us happy, and a risky life is going to bring disappointment. But it can also bring bigger rewards than a life played safe, as the study of happiness, academic achievement, and income suggests. Those with the highest performance at work and school made decisions that were probably unpleasant at times, and even scary.

None of this is to say that we should shun good feelings, or that we’re foolish for wanting to be happy. On the contrary, the desire for happiness is natural and normal. However, making the quest for positive feelings—and the fight to banish negative ones—your highest or only goal is a costly life strategy. Unmitigated happiness is impossible to achieve (in this mortal coil

at least), and chasing it can be dangerous and deleterious to our success. But more important, doing so sacrifices many of the elements of a good life. As Paul Bloom, a psychologist and the author of The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning, has written, “It is the suffering that we choose that affords the most opportunity for pleasure, meaning, and personal growth.”

Happiness itself would lose its meaning were it not for the contrast that we inevitably experience with sadness. “Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness,” Carl Jung said in an interview in 1960. “The word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” You can take Jung’s words to heart by committing to a regular practice of gratitude in which you give thanks not only for the things that make you happy but also for the ones that challenge you. It feels unnatural at first, but it will come easier each day.

Some of the most meaningful parts of our lives are a direct result of negative feelings that slipped through, despite our best efforts to block them out. For example, I am the father of three young adults; it was not long ago that my wife

and I were going mano a mano with three teenagers. We lost a lot of sleep then, but I wouldn’t trade away a moment of those experiences (now that they are safely behind us). Some people take these lessons to lengths that might seem unimaginable. One is Andrew Solomon, the author of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression. “If one imagines a soul of iron that weathers with grief and rusts with mild depression, then major depression is the startling collapse of a whole structure,” he wrote. But as he told an interviewer several years ago, he eventually found a way to love his depression. “I love it because it has forced me to find and cling to joy,” he said.

This, in a nutshell, is the paradox of being fully alive. To strive for relentless positivity is to aim for the dimensionality of a Hollywood movie or children’s book. So though suffering should never be anyone’s goal, each of us can strive for a rich life in which we not only seek the sunshine but fully experience the rain that inevitably falls as well.

(By Arthur C. Brooks for The Atlantic Daily)

ACTOR AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATOR ALAN ALDA SHARES HIS THREE RULES OF THREE FOR EFFECTIVE AND EMPATHIC COMMUNICATION.

Whether you are a public speaker or having a heart-to-heart, it can be challenging to express your thoughts clearly. Alan Alda recommends making no more than three points, explaining difficult ideas in three ways, and repeating key points three times. However, these strategies will fall flat if not paired with an honest desire to connect with other people. Maybe this sounds familiar: You’re expressing a difficult idea, thought, or feeling, and at the moment, it seems to be going well. Your audience is nodding at the appropriate beats. Your cadence has an uncharacteristic flow and eloquence. You even snuck in the world profligate and are 90% sure you used it properly. (Well, 80% sure. Definitely going to look it up later.)

You take a deep breath, ask what everyone thinks, and realize that you’re getting the look. You know the one: mouths slightly agape, heads tilted in anticipation, and a squint like everyone just endured the world’s most strenuous eye exam. Everyone is more confused now than before you began talking. Whether from public speaking or just having a heart-to-heart, life is full of these types of conversations. You’ve been there, I’ve been there, and Alan Alda has been there.

Though best known for his role on the 1970s sitcom M*A*S*H, Alda is a public speaker, science enthusiast, and long-time advocate for better science communication. He has interviewed scientists as the host of Scientific

American Frontiers, won the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, and founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. In that time, he has developed a playbook of strategies to help people engage in conversation and voice their ideas clearly. If these tips can help biologists explain genetic drift, physicists Hawking radiation, or linguists anything about Chomskyan linguistics, then chances are they can help us express our thoughts and feelings when we need others to understand them the most.

1. Make no more than three points

1. Make no more points

1. Make no more than three points

1. Make no more than three points

1. Make no more points

The human brain can only store so much information in short-term memory. The oft-repeated number is seven items (or chunks). That number comes from

research in the 1950s and has been reinforced in our collective subconscious by the fact that so many things happen in sevens. Consider that before the advent of cell phones, people spent lots of time memorizing seven-digit phone numbers.

However, follow-up research suggests that short-term memory is far less robust, maxing out at a meager three to five items.

If you’re old enough to recall memorizing phone numbers, you’ll recognize some truth in this. No one digested every digit at once. Instead, they broke the number into smaller chunks which they learned separately — most often, area code (three digits), prefix (three digits), and subscriber number (four digits). Only with time, repetition, and application would a number enter long-term memory as a single entry in someone’s mental Rolodex.

Short-term memory performs no better with ideas or thoughts than telephone numbers. It can only hold so many topics and tangents, and once it’s at capacity, it needs to erase old information to upload anything new.

Alda agrees. He advises you to limit your conversation points to no more than three, allowing you and your partner to focus on the thought at hand while avoiding disruptive additions.

2. EXPLAIN DIFFICULT IDEAS IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS

As Alda said in his interview: “If I have a difficult thing to understand, if there’s something I think is not going to be that easy to get, I try to say it in three different ways. I think if you come in from different angles you have a better chance of getting a three-dimensional view of this difficult idea.”

One way to tap into this strategy is through metaphor. When Barbara Oakley was writing her book A Mind for Numbers, she reached out to professors who were highly ranked for their teaching skills. She discovered that across disciplines, the best professors were metaphor tacticians. They analogized key concepts or difficult ideas to better explain them.

According to Oakley, metaphors work by building on existing neural patterns

established from previous learning. Those existing patterns then help create new neural networks for incorporating the new information. A physics teacher, for example, may explain the mindboggling concept of the expanding Universe by comparing it to how raisin bread expands as it bakes. Such a metaphor helps students connect the cosmologically large with something previously experienced on Earth.

This strategy doesn’t dumb down the concept but instead makes it relatable and therefore easier to understand — getting at that “three-dimensional view” Alda champions. Other useful strategies can include examples, visuals, changing the frame of reference, and providing a this-not-that comparison.

3. MAKE IMPORTANT POINTS THREE

TIMES

Repetition is a powerful communication tool because it helps us identify key information and transfer it from shortterm to long-term memory.

When it comes to learning, the best kind of repetition is spaced out. Whether you’re memorizing a phone number or a complex physics equation, revisiting and applying the information over several weeks cements it in your brain by developing and strengthening the neural patterns where the information is housed. This process explains why flashcards are such an effective studying tool.

In some close-knit relationships, spaced repetition is a phenomenal tool. Teachers, parents, psychiatrists, or team

managers can use it to return to and reinforce difficult ideas across many conversations.

But time is more limited in other relationships. Even so, repetition is still a useful tool. Anytime you repeat something, it signals that this information is important, so pay attention. It’s why song, speech, and soliloquy writers use repetition so liberally. Think Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the many soliloquies of Shakespeare, and, of course, Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.”

Express your thoughts clearly through connection

But Alda warns that tips only take you so far and may harm your efforts if you try to script your conversations like a formula to replicate someone else’s masterwork. Instead, Alda suggests that the true heart of communication is connection. Your goal shouldn’t be to enthrall your audience with a creative metaphor, meaningful pause, or witticism. That’s rhetoric, not communication.

“A tip is just an intellectualization of that, which might be okay to give somebody once they’ve got the grounding in the ability to connect, but it ought to come out of the connection. It shouldn’t be a checkbox that you tick off,” Alda said. Ultimately, we have to build a connection deep enough for communication strategies to work. These connections then help you understand when you need to slow down, repeat a key idea, or explain things from another angle.

(Credit: Big Think)

By Dr. Leif Hass

10 WAYS FOR WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION

WHEN WORK AND LIFE FEEL LIKE THEY'RE IN CONFLICT, WE CAN SET BOUNDARIES AND TAKE STEPS TOWARD BETTER WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION.

“So, “So, “So, “So, Dr. Hass, let me tell you about how it really started,” said an elegant but frighteningly thin 85 year old, Ms. E. “Things really started to fall apart when my husband was diagnosed with cancer a couple of months ago.”

I squirmed in a hospital room chair. “I want to get to the real reason you have lost all this weight and ended up in the hospital, but I can’t give it the time it deserves now,” I said as I got up and hurried to the door. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

People often ask what the hardest part of my job is as a hospital-based doctor. Telling people about a cancer diagnosis? Resuscitations that don’t go well? Honestly, it’s interactions like the

one I had with Ms. E—when I can’t have the conversation that would build our connection and lead to the heart of what ails my patient. Because, often, having those conversations—which are both healing for the patient and meaning-making for me—means missing priceless moments with my family.

That day, I got out of the hospital as soon as I could and jumped into my car. My youngest daughter was graduating from high school that weekend…and I had somehow ended up working through most of it. I had screwed up again, or had I? Perhaps I’d been screwed again by my amazingly rewarding, but at times amazingly painful, job. Driving home to join my

family, I realized I needed to give my work-life balance deeper thought.

I have learned that I am not the only one struggling. A recent study by Tait Shanafelt and his colleagues showed that after a slight dip in 2020, burnout rates in my profession increased by almost 100%, with 62.8% of physicians having at least one symptom of burnout and almost half unhappy with their work-life balance. The data are equally dismal in nursing, teaching, and mental health services. In our alwaysconnected world, even those with a “9 to 5” can’t always “leave it at the office” either. Women, especially those with children at home, and people of color tend to suffer more than others.

This is a good time to ask, yet again:

How can we find ways of balancing the needs of people at work, the needs of those at home, and our own needs for both connection and alone time?

Work-life conflict arises in a couple of ways. We suffer when our tasks (like seeing my patients) and our values (like valuing time with my family) are misaligned. That was me walking away from a patient who wanted to talk and stressing to get to my family party before the end of the day!

I don’t like the word “balance” in this context because it suggests tradeoffs: We must take from life to give to work. With balance, there is the implication that life and work are in opposition and that “life” happens outside of work. But, for many of us, work is an important, generative, meaning-making part of life. The struggle is how to integrate work with our other roles and responsibilities—both those we must do and those we want to do. That’s why I prefer to think in terms of work-life integration, not balance.

Work-life integration suggests there can be a blending of work and life and even possible synergies across aspects of life, such as family, work, community, and personal well-being. In my view, our goal should be an alignment of our personal values and our priorities—the tasks we must complete—in terms of our allocation of time and energy.

Conflict can also arise with loss of control of boundaries. Constructing those boundaries needs to be highly individualized. Reading for work in the evening after coaching your child’s team might be a good form of integration for some—but, for others, evenings might be non-negotiable downtime. The goal is to set clear boundaries so we can be present and productive in the tasks we are engaged with.

How exactly to create these boundaries might be easy in principle but tricky in practice; getting it right requires careful thought and repeated revisions. Not getting it right leads to feeling overwhelmed; the resultant stress leads down the road to burnout. So, how should we work toward a

state of integration?

What’s most important to you?

Cory Pitre and his colleagues at the University of Indiana developed a great program to help their medical staff with this process. I’m going to borrow from their work in order to suggest steps you can take toward better work-life integration.

One of the first steps in their program involved asking participants to sit down and first write down their values. According to the program, these should be more philosophical; they should be about what guiding ideas we want to live by, such as love, time with family, service to community, wisdom, or self-care.

Then we must identify our most important roles and responsibilities in home, work, and our personal life. These should be specific, such as a yoga class, earning money, caring for kids, patient care, the big project at work, time with friends.

It has been said that “the key is not prioritizing your schedule but scheduling your priorities.” Once you have given some thought to your most important responsibilities and values, you can use that information to guide your schedule-making.

When done in small groups, this exercise leads to durable improvements in work-life integration. Similarly, individual coaching on this improves integration and reduces burnout, according to a 2019 study. Not every organization and individual can afford such coaching, of course, but we can answer these questions on our own and even just with friends who are struggling with similar issues.

Many people have offered plans to allocate our time and energies to improve our work-life integration, but they tend to be about efficiency rather than addressing the cognitive conflicts. For example, telling yourself that you are done with work doesn’t necessarily stop your thoughts about work. Nor do they include strategies for coping with

the work-life conflicts that will arise in a busy, purposeful life. This is where a Greater Good-informed work-life integration (WLI) framework can help us, drawing on research that this publication has covered for years. Here are some steps you can take.

1. It starts with self-awareness. Simply recognizing the need for WLI requires awareness; making a habit of noticing where our minds are going and what our body is telling is key to make sure we are on the right path with our plan. Our boundaries are not solid like a stone wall. A defined time frame and locations can help, but in the end the boundaries must be cognitive, too. Our mind is apt to wander to places we would rather not have it go, like back to work! Mindful self-awareness is our best method to investigate why this might be and then work on solutions.

2. Articulate your priorities, plot out your boundaries, and make your schedule. Look at the exercise above and let it inform you as you plan. Weekly or even daily planning is time well spent. As you schedule, plan to take on your important work tasks first when you are at your sharpest. Schedule in time for yourself and those you most care about, too. Put good boundaries around your personal life’s “musthaves.”

3. Hone your time-management skills. Find tech “hacks” to help with planning and coordinating those plans with

others, like using and sharing Google Calendar at home as at work. Turn transition times such as commuting into productive time; reflect on your successes and failures as you review your time-management strategies.

4. Delegate. At home this means hiring things out, if you can afford it, and getting those you live with to do their share. At work this means operating at the top of your skill set while empowering others to take on tasks when appropriate.

5. Maximize your attention by taking breaks and working in bursts. Do the tough work in bursts; avoid disruptions and multitasking. You will be more productive and creative if you take breaks that use other parts of your brain. Also note that being outside and vacations make you more productive!

6. Work fluidly but be mindful of your boundaries. It might be OK to take calls when cooking dinner, but only if it gets you time you really want away from work and the work thoughts don’t stay with you all night. You need to know yourself for your boundaries to hold up.

7. Be your authentic self as you connect with others. Essential to WLI is being “the real you” at work; you will be happier, better at your job, and better able to advocate for changes you need to fine-tune your WLI.

8. Communicate. Try talking with

family, friends, and colleagues about what’s most important to you. Ask them about their own values, needs, and responsibilities. You might discover what you have in common with your coworkers. At home, you can find out from your loved ones if your idea of WLI works for them.

9. Draw strength from your sense of purpose. Finding meaning in our work and personal life helps affirm our values and provide strength to buffer against the stress that arises when we run into inevitable boundary issues.

10. Go easy on yourself. Stuff happens, the best-laid plans go awry, and most of us don’t have the most realistic expectations. Your house might not be as clean as you like, and your kid’s hair might be better brushed, and not all your work products will measure up. Keep an eye on your values, keep making time to organize—and see what might need to change! Also be sure to give yourself a little love and be thankful for your rich and dynamic life.

Work-life integration won’t look the same for every person; it depends on your personality and type of employment. For those on the computer at home, or for “digital nomads,” the challenges will be around “when am I off work?”—and perhaps about meaning and connection when not regularly in the company of others. For those of us in the people professions, the challenges will be around managing the suffering of others while dealing with misaligned incentives and a lack of control.

Personally, I learned that not thoughtfully working on work-life integration is a form of passive acquiescence to work that can take much more than you’re able to give. I can miss some important events—like that weekend of my daughter’s graduation. Addressing this requires some mindful self-reflection and some bigger conversations about what I need from work and what work needs from me. I suspect delving into worklife integration will provoke similar thoughts in just about everyone.

HOW TO FIND YOUR LOST KEY, LIKE HOW A NAVY FINDS A LOST SUBMARINE

EVERYONE HAS MISPLACED SOMETHING FROM TIME TO TIME, BE IT A PHONE, WALLET, OR SET OF KEYS. WHEN SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARILY VALUABLE, LIKE A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE, IS LOST, A MATHEMATICAL SEARCH TECHNIQUE CALLED BAYESIAN SEARCH IS OFTEN USED TO FIND IT. THE TENETS OF THE TECHNIQUE ARE SIMPLE ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND AND DEPLOY IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES.

hen you lose your phone, wallet, or keys, you may resort to a few tricks to relocate them. Maybe you’ll retrace your steps. Maybe you’ll look in each of the locations that you typically put them. Or perhaps you’ll try to remember every unusual place you’ve been lately. Each of these choices makes logical sense. When an entity with vast resources loses something extraordinarily valuable, like a nuclear submarine, they call in the big guns of Bayesian search theory to help. Fortunately for the rest of us, the basic concepts are simple enough to distill for finding those everyday items. Even if your missing item is worth merely hundreds of dollars, this mathematical process can streamline the logic of your search, saving you time and money.

The probability that a lost item is found in one place versus another is an intuitive concept that can be turned into a mathematical object. A simple map, divided into a grid, with each section assigned a probability of containing an item, is a form of probability density function. Let’s say that you left your car in a parking lot with 100 spots, and now you have forgotten where you parked. The most basic parking lot probability density function shows one box for each space, each with a probability of 1/100 (or 0.01).

Let’s further assume that you’re not disabled, and there are ten spaces for disabled people. Now the probability density function looks more like 0.011 in 90 of the spaces and 0.001 in each disabled space. (We are further assuming a 10% chance that you made a mistake parking.)

Let’s bring in some more data. The ten

parking spots furthest from the store are empty. The chances of your car being there are zero. Now your density function looks like 80 squares with a probability of ~0.0125. If you tend to drive around and around the lot to find the space closest to the door, then the spaces nearer the store have somewhat higher probability, and the spots further out have somewhat lower probability. The point is that each time you acquire more information, the probability density function changes. So, in this way, you can narrow down and speed up your search, beginning with the spots with the highest probability of containing your car, and working your way down the probability list, checking the lowest probability spots as a last resort.

The first map is good, but a second map is even better. This second map contains, for each search area, the chance that you would actually find the item if it were in that spot.

To demonstrate, let’s construct a slightly different metaphor. If your homework has disappeared, it would be easier or harder to find in various places you might look. If the homework is on an empty desk, you’re sure to see it there. If you left it on a cluttered desk, covered with piles of paper, your chances are lower. If it could have blown out the window, the chance it might still be in the yard is much smaller because of the wind. If the dog ate it, your probability of finding it goes to zero.

Now, take these two probability distribution maps and multiply them together. Any search area that is both likely to contain the item and has a high likelihood of you finding it if it’s there will be represented by a relatively large number. These are good places to begin your search. Areas where either the item is easy to spot but unlikely to be, or likely to be but hard to spot, have a smaller number. These are a lower search priority. Areas where it isn’t likely to be

and you can’t easily spot it — the dog comes to mind — are relegated to the very last resort.

Finding a fugitive Finding a Finding a fugitive Finding a Finding a fugitive

As you search the areas with the greatest combined likelihood, you should reevaluate your assumptions and update your probability map as you go along. Let’s introduce a third metaphor. Now you’re searching for an escaped convict. Your pack of tracking hounds can smell where he has been recently. Near the prison is a road leading to a bus stop. The probability that he would run up the road to catch a bus is relatively high, and your chances of spotting him if he is near the open road (as opposed to, say, the woods) are high as well. The glass-walled stop where buses only appear sporadically has a similarly high combined probability.

If you are searching the road and the hounds pick up no scent, then the probability that he is at some location further up the road is greatly diminished. The bus stop is now a lower probability location, too. On the other hand, if the dogs do smell something, the bus stop probability has increased.

If this all sounds relatively

straightforward, that’s because it is. The trick to the method is to use intelligent reasoning in your probability distributions, including how you modify them as you go. The probability density function of where the object might be located particularly requires serious thought. The best way to form such a function is not to guess, or presume random chance, but to develop a series of hypotheses about why it disappeared and map out where it is most likely to be as a result. Across the search area, assign a probability to each square for each hypothesis, and then multiply those probabilities together.

In the case of a missing ship, several probability fields could be constructed by starting with a hypothesis and following its probable conclusions. The first hypothesis might be that the most probable location is centered near where the last radio contact was made, and the probability decreases the further you get from that location. Another hypothesis might be that if a hurricane passed through the area, the path of the eyewall of the storm is the most likely place for the ship to have sunk. If a piece of debris is found floating in one area, then the probability the shipwreck lies nearby goes up, and the probability it is far away goes down. If there is a strong current flowing through the area with the debris, then the upstream path of that current acquires a higher probability, extending back as far as it has flowed since the ship was lost. The areas downstream drop in probability. Bayesian search is a distillation of smart common sense, formalized and made more rigorous with relatively simple mathematical concepts. If you’re looking for a billion-dollar lost treasure, you might sit down at a computer to map out many probability distributions and mathematically combine them. If you’re on an hour-long search for your wallet, a quick and dirty mental implementation of the Bayesian search method can save you time and increase your chances of success.

(Credit: Tom Hartsfield, PhD, for Big Think)

ailure is interesting - it's part of making progress. You never learn from success, but you do learn from failure," says James Dyson, British inventor.

Imagine spending five years of your life creating 5,127 versions of a product that failed. That's exactly what the inventor of cyclonic vacuum technology, James Dyson did. Until finally, one magical day, he hit gold - finally succeeding in creating the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner.

In some ways, entrepreneurship can seem like a type of madness - not unlike the obsessiveness that overtakes artists. But in Dyson's case, his patience and persistence eventually led to payoff: a multi-billion dollar company known for its creativity and forward-thinking designs.

Today, the Dyson vacuum cleaner is sold in more than 65 countries worldwide. In an interview with Entrepreneur, the inventor explained how he was able to accept a long series of failures without letting frustration overwhelm him. "We have to embrace failure and almost get a kick out of it," he noted. "Not in a perverse way, but in a problem-solving way. Life is a mountain of solvable problems, and I enjoy that."

We live in a rapid-paced society where we access information with the click and point of our finger - which means we absorb data at an unprecedented velocity. You can ask me a question this instant and I will take out my smartphone and spew out random facts.

But is this...actually learning? Sure, we can access Wikipedia and feel like we've become experts on a topic.

But true, legitimate learning doesn't come with ease. I am not advocating you quit researching things online (reading from reputable sources does expand our mind). What I do want is to rid ourselves of this false notion that learning is separate from discomfort.

Failing is painful, it makes you insecure and doubt everything. I know a little

JAMES DYSON CREATED 5,127 VERSIONS OF A PRODUCT THAT FAILED BEFORE FINALLY SUCCEEDING. HIS TENACITY REVEALS A SECRET OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SAYS AYTEKIN TANK, THE CREATOR OF JOTFORM TABLES, ONE OF THE NOTABLE TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS IN RECENT YEARS.

about this myself, because I've spent 16 years growing a business that has been met with many stumbles along the way. But here's the secret to entrepreneurship few will say: You have to fall in love with failing. You have to fall in love with your hunger for learning, for discovery, for being an inventor.

I am a person who enjoys taking long hikes in nature alone. I've gotten lost on the wrong tracks more times than I can count. But the process of finding the right way out — of learning that there are many paths that can lead us to the right outcome, it's a lesson that stays with me both in my career and in my personal life. I'd like to share some practical tips I've learned from experts and my own experience to help you become a life-long learner unafraid of making a wrong turn.

1. CULTIVATE THE PASSION OF THE EXPLORER

Harvard Business Review contributor

John Hagell III wanted to get to the core of what motivates lifelong learners. What he discovered in his research is that rather than fear being an incentive for learning, it was those individuals who exhibited a "passion of the explorer" who were able to learn and grow.

"Explorers have a long-term commitment to achieving impact in a specific domain that excites them," he writes. "Anything from factory work or financial services to gardening or big wave surfing."

Hagel believes we all have the potential for this form of passion. "Go to a playground and watch children 5-6 years old. They have all of the elements required: curiosity, imagination, creativity, and a willingness to take risks, and connect with others."

Doing this in practice, however, can seem tricky. The fear of making a mistake is so ingrained in us. But it's possible to make these adjustments in our daily lives by making a conscious choice to experiment, test out new possibilities and adapt along the way.

The way of the explorer is to be comfortable with the unknown — because their curiosity surpasses their fears.

2. PRACTICE QUESTIONING THE STATUS QUO

I've offered Dyson as an example of someone taking years to perfect his product - but I should also offer myself as an example. One of our latest products, Jotform Tables, which allows teams to collect, organize, and manage data in an all-in-one workspace - took us a whopping three years to develop. So I am well aware of what it means to relentlessly pursue a vision. But so much of this process started out and evolved by resetting our status quo and in asking

ourselves, What else is possible? How might we make our customer's lives even easier?

HBR co-authors Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis advocate for making learning a part of our daily routine, and part of that involves asking propelling questions to explore different ways of doing things. Here are some examples the researchers recommend asking both of ourselves and our teams: Imagine it's 2030. What three significant changes have happened in your industry? Which of your strengths would be most useful if your organization doubled in size? If you were rebuilding this business tomorrow, what would you do differently?

3. EMBRACE THE GROWING PAINS OF RELEARNING

It isn't only failure that brings discomfort. At times it's being swept up in the changing tides we have no control over. If we've learned anything from this pandemic, it's that we've had to relearn how to do things in nearly every domain of our lives - parenting, communicating over Zoom, managing the endless fatigue of an ongoing crisis. But these growing pains aren't all bad, according to HBR co-authors Tupper and Ellis. "Relearning is recognizing that how we apply our strengths is always changing and that our potential is always a work in progress," they note. "We need to regularly reassess our abilities and how they need to be adapted for our current context."

So, how do we remain nimble in the face of change? A few things that have worked for me: counting every small success at the end of each day (even writing it down as a reminder), maintaining my focus on what's working well and continuously being open to feedback.

For me, spending years on prototypes isn't just about tenacity; it's a question of faith. And it's this faith that gives us the courage, confidence and hope to persevere against all odds.

(Credit: Entrepreneur)

"EXPLORERS HAVE A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO ACHIEVING IMPACT IN A SPECIFIC DOMAIN THAT EXCITES THEM,"

HOW THE JAPANESE ETHOS OF WABI SABI CAN HELP YOU

PERFECTIONISM IS ON THE RISE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR MENTAL HEALTH CAN BE DEVASTATING. THE JAPANESE PHILOSOPHY OF WABI SABI HELPS US APPRECIATE OUR IMPERFECTIONS. BY ACCEPTING OUR FAULTS AS PART OF OUR JOURNEY TOWARD IMPROVEMENT, WE CAN BETTER APPROACH LIFE WITH GREATER HUMILITY AND SELF-WORTH.

I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I plan vacations to a T, my mind replays blunders on loop, and the thought that there might be typos in my articles makes my jaw clench in agitation. Okay, maybe more than a “bit.”

The thing is, I know I shouldn’t be this way. The pursuit of the perfect is not synonymous with the pursuit of excellence or even the worthwhile, and whether that drive is self-motivated or foisted on us by a boss, parent, or partner, its cost far outweighs the goal. Research has shown the potential fallout of perfectionism: anxiety, depression, social aversion, lower life satisfaction, reduced self-worth, and difficulties emotionally self-regulating.

Even knowing this, I have a hard time accepting my shortcomings and embracing my mistakes. And sadly, I’m not alone. Perfectionism has been increasing over time. College students

and workers in a variety of fields have perfectionist impulses. To escape this selflaid trap, I’ve been exploring the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi, which doesn’t just ask us to accept that nothing and no one is perfect; it entreats us to go a step further and find the value of the imperfect.

As is often the case with cross-cultural borrowings, there’s no one-to-one translation for wabi sabi in English. Then again, there’s no clear-cut definition in its native language, either. As Andrew Juniper, author of Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence, notes: “Wabi sabi is an aesthetic philosophy so intangible and so shrouded in centuries of mystery that even the most ambitious Japanese scholars would give it a wide berth and uphold the Japanese tradition of talking about it in only the most poetic terms.” So, in the spirit of wabi sabi, I’ll try my best.

The phrase collects two kanji characters, which you might have guessed: wabi (?) and sabi (?). Wabi has been variously translated as “simplicity,” “melancholy,” or “regard of the serene.” Sabi is translated as “old and elegant,” “peacefulness,” or “the beauty of faded things.” Taken together, they express an appreciation of humility, flawed beauty, and the impermanence of all things. And while I’ve labeled it a philosophy, it’s really more a worldview or aestheticsomething you feel and experience - than a structured and formulated philosophy in the Western tradition.

With that said, its roots do find terra firma in the philosophy of Zen Buddhism. According to Juniper, at various times in Japan’s history, Buddhist temples would be underfunded yet still were required to host guests in the spirit of generosity. Lacking high-quality art or furnishings, the monks would pair their simplistic

belongings with a natural setting to “produce an aesthetically pleasing effect.”

“In doing so, they were focusing on the natural, the impermanent, and the humble, and in these simple and often rustic objects, they discovered the innate beauty to be found in the exquisite random patterns left by the flow of nature,” Juniper writes.

I don’t want to paint with too broad of a cultural brush. At different periods of Japanese history, Buddhist temples could wield sizable political and social power, garnering them the wealth to build fantastically opulent temples. Nor is cultural diffusion unknown to Japan. In the Asuka period (538-710 AD), for example, Buddhist art brandished a distinctive Hellenistic style.

Nonetheless, as Buddhist philosophy seeped throughout Japanese culture, it brought wabi sabi along. While wabi sabi has influenced everything from decor to relationships and even dental surgery, it’s perhaps easiest to perceive in the country’s artistic traditions.

Monochromatic sumi-e paintings leave wide swathes of negative space to emphasize their natural subjects. Bonsai trees and ikebana flower arrangements celebrate the qualities of a single plantfrom its leaves and steams down to the roots - rather than a crowded bouquet. Japanese tea houses are decorated sparingly so every detail heightens the experience of the tea. And Japanese gardens forgo manicured rows in favor of bending and turning paths that defer to the natural landscape.

An antique Japanese kintsugi bowl

But the quintessential artistic application of wabi sabi is kintsugi, a Japanese craft for repairing broken pottery. Rather than trying to hide the fractures and make the pottery look as good as new, kintsugi artisans use a tree sap lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum to accentuate the cracks and repairs. (Kintsugi literally translates to “golden joinery.”) Sometimes they even will take pieces from other broken ceramics and combine them to form a new aesthetic.

By making these imperfections conspicuous, kintsugi celebrates the history of the piece while creating something wholly individual. The

damage is not only heightened to artistic beauty, but it can never be replicated as no ceramic will break in the same manner as another. This makes it more valuable in the eyes of the owner. You can see where this is going: Wabi sabi is about more than art and earthenware. We can bring this philosophy into almost any facet of our lives, and in doing so, it can be a potent inoculant for perfectionism.

As perfectionists, we always strive to achieve masterpieces — the perfect wedding, the perfect test score, the perfect sports record, the perfect article, the perfect look and style. But even if we could achieve that lofty goal, which we can’t, life and impermanence ensure it won’t last. The reception will come to a close. You won’t pass every test. Sports records are broken all the time. The article will become outdated. And the only thing aging faster than our bodies is last year’s fashion.

Rather than waste time and mental energy seeking perfection, we can change our relationship to our endeavors and ourselves. We can accept our failures, appreciate our fault lines, and even cultivate a form of self-worth based in humility and acceptance.

Wabi sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble. It is a beauty of things unconventional. That doesn’t mean wabi sabi eschews self-betterment or the pursuit of excellence. The artistic traditions of Japan are a clear indication that wabi sabi is no excuse for laziness. But like the kintsugi craftsman, we can celebrate and even accentuate the mistakes as part of the history of what makes us singularrather than shoot for a crack-free but mass-produced version of ourselves. And remember that the perfectionist trap

ensnares both ways. When you demand perfectionism from art, vacations, or other people, you limit your ability to appreciate these aspects of your life to the fullest. Wabi sabi can help you open up to others and experiences, as well as celebrate the beauty of them in the moment.

One doesn’t need to become a Zen Buddhist to adopt a wabi sabi worldview. You can find elements of wabi sabi tucked away in the Western tradition, too. An Italian proverbpopularized by Voltaire but predating him - states, “The best is the enemy of the good.” Shakespeare wrote in King Lear that “striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.” And the Book of Ecclesiastes in Bible warns against life’s many vanities in favor of enjoying its simple pleasures.

In an interview, entertainer Nick Offerman expressed a more contemporary take when discussing his approach to life and work: “I often espouse a general philosophy in my life of pursuing a discipline of one sort or another… But it’s not to ever approach any level of perfection.” He added, “Instead, what keeps us living and what keeps me vitally engaged is a constant pursuit of betterment. So I gave up on perfect a long time ago. Now I’m just chasing halfway decent.”

How do you adopt wabi sabi in your life?

As you’ve probably guessed, there’s no methodology. You bring the worldview into your experiences and see if the mindset helps you overcome the many potential ways perfectionism manifests. If your perfectionism leads to procrastination, for example, you may find bringing wabi sabi into the mix helps you get started faster. If you constantly compare yourself to others, it may help you appreciate both your accomplishments alongside failures. And if you feel like you’re never good enough, it may help you move beyond these holdups and see the gold in the cracks.

As Offerman notes: “If you make mistakes, it means you’re out there trying. It means you’re taking a swing at achieving something. And if you’re not making mistakes, it means you’ve given up.”

(Credit: The BigThink)

Experts have linked humming to several health benefitsincluding easing stress, improving mood, detoxifying the body, fighting diseases, and helping with gut issues.

“When a person first hears that the simple act of humming has various benefits, it sounds way too simple, almost ridiculous,” says Brian Lai, a breathwork specialist based in Hong Kong. “But when we take a look under the hood of the human body, we can begin to understand why it has been used for centuries, and why the science is finally beginning to catch up.”

Of course, humming - or exhaling through your nose while creating a vibration that sounds like a buzzing bee in the back of your throat - is not a new practice. According to Philippines-based yoga teacher Joshua David Webb, it’s part of the yogic tradition of pranayama, or the practice of regulating the breath. Humming, in particular, is called bhramari pranayama (“bhramari” is derived from the Sanskrit word for bee), and yogis have long used the practice to wind down and relax the nervous system. As Webb put it, it’s like taking your foot off the gas pedal and telling your body it’s OK - you’re not being chased by a cheetah right now.

It works, Lai explained, because humming causes turbulence in the nasal cavity, which increases the release of a powerful molecule known as nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator, meaning it helps blood flow more easily through the body.

“If there’s better blood flow, you have reduced blood pressure, and because of that, it also relaxes the nervous system.

When you relax the nervous system, your agitated mind is also calmed down,” said Faisal Tabusalla, a functional breathing instructor and movement coach also based in the Philippines.

Nitric oxide is also a bronchodilator, which means it makes breathing easier by relaxing the muscles in the lungs and widening the airways. It also has antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties, so it’s crucial to the body’s immune response.

“There are other ways to increase nitric oxide in the body, such as diet and supplementation, but humming is simple, fast, and accessible to everyone,” said Lai. Regular nose breathing also releases nitric oxide in the body, but one study (albeit from 2002), showed that humming increases the release of the chemical by up to 15 times. Another study (from 2003) showed a 7-time increase. You cannot get nitric oxide as

By Romano Santos

efficiently when you breathe through your mouth, which many people subconsciously do.

Humming affects many other bodily functions because it stimulates the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system. It transmits information to and from the brain to numerous organs in the body, and therefore affects things like sensory and motor functions, mood, digestion, and heart rate.

“Because the vagus nerve travels through the pharynx and larynx in the throat, humming creates a vibration that stimulates it and improves the [function of the vagus nerve],” said Lai.

Humming can also help cleanse and detoxify the body by allowing more airflow in the lymphatic system (aka the body’s sewer system), which is responsible for absorbing fatty acids in the stomach and helping the body

Experts explain why the simple act of humming is so good for the human body.

defend against infection, among other important functions.

Lai said that for healthy individuals, there is hardly any reason not to hum, unless it’s distracting or a person has specific health issues that humming might trigger or exacerbate (in which case they should consult their doctor first). Beyond that, the great thing about humming is that it doesn’t really require any special skill—most people can do it right now.

“You can actually just say the word ‘hum’ and then you can prolong that hum,” said Tabusalla. That means inhaling through your nose, with your mouth closed, and exhaling through your nose while making a sustained hummm sound, feeling the vibration around your nasal and lip area, until the tone naturally runs out.

Tabusalla recommended repeating this for five to 10 minutes, two to four times a day. You can make a mindfulness practice out of it and dedicate the time exclusively to humming, or do it while doing other tasks.

He also reminded people to be gentle with their humming practice, and not push or pull air with force. What’s important, he said, is feeling the physical vibration that humming produces - not necessarily how loud or long that vibration is.

“You’re going to know that it’s working when, first, you’re able to calm down,” said Tabusalla.

For some, that humming is so simple and yet so beneficial can seem too good to be true, maybe even too “woo-woo” to really work. But Webb, the yoga teacher, encouraged people to see (or hum) for themselves. An individual’s personal experience of the practice is ultimately the only way to know if it really works or not.

Lai, the breathwork specialist, agreed. “We as a collective have also lost faith in the strength and power of the human body and its own innate natural abilities to heal itself,” Lai said, “Sometimes the answer to our problems is closer than we think - or literally right under our nose.”

(Credit: Vice)

SOME OF THE RAREST, MOST EXTRAORDINARY DIAMONDS & EMERALDS GO UNDER THE HAMMER AT SOTHEBY’S

PALACE & GUCCI COME TOGETHER FOR A GUCCI VAULT EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION

If you adore exquisite natural If adore exquisite natural

If you adore exquisite natural If adore exquisite natural gemstones, Sotheby’s upcoming gemstones, Sotheby’s upcoming auctions have the coveted Golden auctions have the coveted Golden auctions have the coveted Golden auctions have the coveted Golden have Canary, The De Beers Exceptional The De Beers Exceptional Canary, The De Beers Exceptional The De Beers Exceptional De Beers Blue Collection, and a 6.25-carat Collection, 6.25-carat emerald ring lost in a shipwreck emerald lost in a in in 1622 up for auction. in 1622 up auction. in 1622 up for auction. in 1622 up auction. auction. The market for coloured diamonds and precious gemstones has never been more robust, and Sotheby’s upcoming auctions celebrate these marvels of nature in high spirits.

The extraordinary collaboration converges the DNA of both brands in a single aesthetic expression. Palace Skateboards, the British streetwear brand, has joined hands with Gucci for a major team-up. It’s a meeting point of sensibilities, a synthesis in the street. Gucci’s Alessandro Michele and Palace Skateboards founders Lev Tanju and Gareth Skewis create a dichotomous melding of the distinct personae of a heritage Italian luxury house, and a London streetwear brand born and raised in the 21st century.

MONTBLANC’S NEW COLLECTION CELEBRATES THE ART OF CREATIVE STORYTELLING & THE CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF NARUTO

The luxury brand collaborates with the beloved anime and manga series on a cross-category collection marking the global cultural phenomenon’s 20th anniversary. October 19, 2022: Since it first appeared 20 years ago, the Japanese manga and anime series Naruto has captured the imagination of fans worldwide with its colourful stories about the adventures of young ninja Naruto Uzumaki.

JEFF KOONS AND CHARLES RAY SCULPTURES LEAD CHRISTIE’S 21ST CENTURY EVENING SALE

Both are unusual examples of the artists’ works, challenging typical perceptions of life and childhood.

Auction house Christie’s has announced that this season’s 21st Century Evening Sale is led by a duo of masterpiece sculptures: Jeff Koons’ Jim Beam - J. B. Turner Train (estimate: $15,000,00020,000,000) and Charles Ray’s Revolution Counter-Revolution (estimate: $3,000,000-5,000,000).

OSur minds seem to wander to escape unpleasant emotions. But some studies suggest that mind-wandering isn’t a consequence of our unhappiness; it’s the cause. Learning to strengthen our attentional systems can help us keep our minds in the present moment.

Your mind is a wanderer, and it’s not alone. As many as 96% of Americans claim to experience mind-wandering daily, and studies have shown the habit to be common across cultures. So common that some have theorized it to be the brain’s default process.

If that’s the case, then why is mindwandering so strongly associated with unhappy experiences? Think about it: You flee a boring college lecture by escaping into a favorite daydream. You avoid a stressful project by planning your weekend getaway. And you zone out when a friend raises that all-toofamiliar argument.

Whether the consequence of boredom, stress, anger, or a host of other alienating emotions, our minds seem to wander to escape the unpleasant. Of course, such escapism rarely solves the task or problem at hand, leaving us more despondent when we return from our mental travels.

But according to some research, this understanding of mind-wandering has it backwards. Your mind-wandering isn’t your attempt to sidestep unhappy experiences. It’s the cause of your unhappiness.

In search of wandering minds In search wandering minds In search of wandering minds In search wandering minds

“My research is driven by the idea that happiness may have more to do with the contents of our moment-to-moment experiences than with the major conditions of our lives,” Killingsworth wrote in Greater Good Magazine. “It certainly seems that fleeting aspects of our everyday lives - such as what we’re

doing, who we’re with, and what we’re thinking about - have a big influence on our happiness, and yet these are the very factors that have been most difficult for scientists to study.”

In a 2010 Science paper, psychologist Matthew Killingsworth - then a doctoral student at Daniel Gilbert’s happiness lab at Harvard University - sought to determine the emotional consequences of mind-wandering in everyday life. The study had participants download a phone app that would ping them randomly throughout the day to ask questions like “How are you feeling?” and “What are you doing right now?” Activities included options such as working, walking, eating, praying, talking, playing, and doing nothing special.

To better understand mind-wandering, the researchers assigned 2,250 participants a mindfulness question: “Are you thinking about something other than what you’re doing?” If a participant answered yes, they could also select

whether their task-irrelevant thoughts were pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant. After analyzing the data, Killingsworth and his team came to three conclusions. First, people’s minds wander a lot more than we may think. By the researchers’ estimates, mind-wandering accounts for half of our waking hours, and it made little difference what kinds of activities the participants engaged in.

The second takeaway: People were less happy when their minds wandered, and this mood-depressant held true across the board. Even when performing mindless tasks, like commuting to work or doing the dishes, the participants were happier when they were focused. Pleasant mind-wanderings didn’t improve happiness levels either. Finally, time-lag analyses showed a strong relationship that mind-wandering preceded unhappiness. But there was little evidence for the reverse relationship (unhappiness now followed by a mental getaway).

“Although negative moods are known

PEOPLE THINK THAT UNHAPPINESS CAUSES OUR MINDS TO WANDER, BUT WHAT IF THE CAUSATION GOES THE OTHER WAY?

to cause mind wandering, time-lag analyses strongly suggested that mind wandering in our sample was generally the cause, and not merely the consequence, of unhappiness,” the researchers wrote.

All told, what people were thinking, not what they were doing, had a much greater influence on their happiness. As Matthew Killingsworth & Daniel Gilbert conclude:

A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.

Of course, no one study cements scientific consensus. Since Killingsworth and Gilbert’s study, others have looked at mind-wandering and its effects on mood. Some of those papers have supported Killingsworth and Gilbert’s findings. Other papers have dissented, claiming unhappiness begets mindwandering. Others have even suggested that it’s not a question of whether the mind wanders but where it wanders to. It’s a difficult problem to crack, and we’ll have to wait for more data to determine in what direction the causal chain flows (if any).

Until then, it’s worth considering why evolution paired the cognitive achievements of mind-wandering with such a heavily emotional cost. Because those achievements can be many. Mindwandering has been shown to aid in creativity, learning from past mistakes, playtesting future plans, and building our narrative identities.

For example, in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers scanned participants’ brains with an electroencephalogram (EEG). They found that when participants’ minds wandered from the task at hand - in this case, an arrow-matching game - their brains showed alpha wave activity in the prefrontal cortex.

Alpha waves are linked to the generation of novel ideas, yet they don’t appear when we are focused. In other words, creativity seems to prosper from mindwandering just as falling asleep does. That is, if you focus intently on the task, you make it more difficult.“Being on task

and focused are important qualities. But there are times when a freely wandering mind can also be beneficial,” Julia Kam, a cognitive neuroscientist and study coauthor, told Inverse. “In letting your mind wander, it potentially frees up attentional resources and also the structured way of thinking that limits creative outputs.”

What can we take from these findings? Mind-wandering has its advantages, and we should make time for it. However, when you aim to focus on a specific task and distractions, whether external or internal, pull your mind toward irrelevant thoughts, your mood may sour. Maybe that’s because you feel you’ve let yourself down, or you’ve made the task more difficult, or your ruminations themselves proved depressive and anxiety-inducing. Whatever the case, this is how your mind works. It’s not a question of being weakwilled or prone to distraction. As neuroscientist Amishi Jha writes in her book, Peak Mind:

“No matter how much I tell you about how attention works and why, and no matter how motivated you are, the way your brain pays attention cannot be fundamentally altered by sheer force of will. I don’t care if you’re the most disciplined person alive: it will not work. Instead, we need to train our brains to work differently. And the exciting news is: at long last, we’ve actually figured out how.”

To strengthen our attentional systems, Jha recommends mindfulness training. Her research shows that people who undergo mindfulness training for 12 minutes a day enjoy benefits in objective measures of attention and mood. Those who practiced for less did not.

This suggests that, while we’ll never keep our minds tethered to the objects of our attention, we can improve our ability to keep our minds and task-relevant thoughts. And when it’s appropriate, we can let our minds wander and think freely — making it the relevant task, which research shows people enjoy more than they thought they would. “Minds wander. It’s a natural thing that the brain does,” Jha told us in an interview. “When our mind moves away, gently return it back. Simply begin again.”

PUNJAB RECORDS SEASON'S HIGHEST DAILY FARM FIRES AT 3,634

Punjab witnessed 3,634 farm fires on Wednesday, the highest number of stubble burning incidents so far this season, according to data from Punjab Remote Sensing Centre. Out of total 3,634 farm fire incidents, Sangrur reported 677 cases, the highest number in the state. The cumulative farm fire cases from September 15 to November 2 reached 21,480.

PUTIN CALLS FOR MODERNISATION OF WEAPONS USED BY RUSSIAN MILITARY

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that weapons used by the Russian military should be modernised. "Weapons must constantly, continuously improve and remain effective. To achieve this...it is important to ensure that there is active competition between manufacturers and developers," Putin added. Iran is preparing to send approximately 1,000 additional weapons to Russia, a CNN report said.

NEED TIME TO PROVIDE MINORITY TAG TO HINDUS IN SOME STATES: CENTRE TO SC

The Centre has asked the Supreme Court to grant it more time to complete consultations with states and union territories on the issue of granting minority status to Hindus in some states. Centre has termed the matter "sensitive", adding that it "will have far-reaching ramifications". The Hindu community comprises approximately 80% of the country's population, according to 2011 census data.

IS TOO MUCH SALT, AND TOO LITTLE WATER MAKING PEOPLE OBESE?

SALT CAUSES A DEHYDRATION-LIKE STATE THAT ENCOURAGES THE CONVERSION OF THE STARCH IN THE FRENCH FRY TO FRUCTOSE.

Scientific studies and media coverage are rife with warnings on how sugar, carbohydrates, saturated fat and lack of exercise contribute to obesity. And tens of millions of Americans are still overweight or obese in large part because of the classic Western diet and lifestyle.

As an educator, researcher and professor of medicine, I have spent more than 20 years investigating the causes of obesity, as well as related conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.

Throughout my many years of studying obesity and related health conditions, I’ve observed that relatively little is said about two significant pieces of this very complex puzzle: lack of hydration and excessive salt intake. Both are known to contribute to obesity.

Nature provides a clue to the role these factors play with the desert sand rat Psammomys obesus, a half-pound rodent with a high-pitched squeak that lives in the salty marshes and deserts of Northern Africa. It survives, barely, by eating the stems of Salicornia – the glasswort – a plant that looks a bit like asparagus.

Although low in nutrients, the glasswort’s fleshy, succulent sap is filled with water that’s rich in salt, at concentrations as high as what’s found in seawater.

Recent studies have provided new insights into why the desert sand rat might crave the salty sap of glasswort. Although this has not yet been proven specifically in the sand rat, it is likely that a high-salt diet helps the sand rat convert the relatively low amount of carbohydrates it’s ingesting into fructose,

a type of sugar that occurs naturally in fruits, honey and some vegetables. This helps the animal survive when food and fresh water are sparse. This is because fructose activates a “survival switch” that stimulates foraging, food intake and the storage of fat and carbohydrates that protect the animal from starvation.

However, when the rat is brought into captivity and given the common rodent diet of about 50% carbohydrates, it rapidly develops obesity and diabetes. But if given fresh vegetables low in starchy carbohydrates, the rodent remains lean.

My research, and the research of many other scientists over the decades, shows that many Americans unwittingly behave much like a captive desert sand rat, although few are in settings where food and water are limited. They are constantly activating the survival switch.

As mentioned, fructose, a simple sugar, appears to have a key role in activating this survival switch that leads to fat production.

Small amounts of fructose, like that found in an individual fruit, are not the problem – rather it is excessive amounts of fructose that are problematic for human health. Most of us get our

fructose from table sugar and highfructose corn syrup. Intake of these two sugars totals approximately 15% of calories in the average American diet. These sugars encourage people to eat more, which can lead to weight gain, fat accumulation and prediabetes. Our bodies also make fructose on their own – and experimental studies suggest it may be enough to trigger the development of obesity.

Since fructose is made from glucose, production of fructose increases when blood glucose levels are high. This process happens when we eat a lot of rice, cereal, potatoes and white bread; those are carbs that rapidly release glucose into the blood rapidly.

And notably, fructose production can also be stimulated by dehydration, which drives fat production.

Fat has two major functions. The first one, which is well known, is to store calories for a later time when food is unavailable.

The other major but lesser-known function of fat is to provide water.

To be clear, fat does not contain water. But when fat breaks down, it generates water in the body. The amount produced is substantial, and roughly equivalent to the amount of fat burned. It’s so significant that some animals rely on fat to provide water during times when it’s not available.

Whales are but one example. While they drink some seawater, they get most of their water from the foods they eat. And when they go for extended periods without food, they get their water primarily by metabolizing fat.

The role of dehydration as a contributor to obesity should not be underestimated. It commonly occurs after eating salty foods. Both dehydration and salt consumption lead to the production of fructose and fat. This is why salty french fries are especially fattening. The salt causes a dehydration-like state that encourages the conversion of the starch in the french fry to fructose.

What’s more, studies show most people who are overweight or obese don’t

drink enough water. They are far more likely to be dehydrated than those who are lean. Their salt intake is also very high compared with lean people’s.

Research shows that people with obesity frequently have high levels of vasopressin, a hormone that helps the kidneys hold water to regulate urine volume.

But recent studies suggest vasopressin has another purpose, which is to stimulate fat production.

For someone at risk of dehydration or starvation, vasopressin may have a real survival benefit. But for those not at risk, vasopressin could drive most of the metabolic effects of excess fructose, like weight gain, fat accumulation, fatty liver and prediabetes.

So does this mean drinking more water can help us lose weight? The medical community has often scoffed at the assertion. However, our research team found that giving mice more water slowed weight gain and the development of prediabetes, even when the mice had diets rich in sugar and fat.

There is also increasing evidence that most people drink too little water in general, and increasing water intake may help people who are obese lose weight.

That’s why I encourage drinking eight tall glasses of water a day. And eight is likely enough; don’t assume more is better. There have been cases of people drinking so much that “water intoxication” occurs. This is particularly a problem with people who have heart, kidney or liver conditions, as well as those who have had recent surgery or are long-distance runners. It’s always good to first check with your doctor about water intake.

For the desert sand rat, and for our ancestors who scavenged for food, a high-salt and limited-water diet made sense. But human beings no longer live that way. These simple measures –drinking more water and reducing salt intake – offer cheap, easy and healthy strategies that may prevent or treat obesity.

(Credit: The Conversation)

US FDA POINTS OUT MANUFACTURING LAPSES AT LUPIN'S TARAPUR API PLANT

US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has pointed out various manufacturing lapses at drug maker Lupin's Tarapur plant in Thane, which produces active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). In a warning letter, FDA said the plant failed to establish adequate written procedures for cleaning equipment. The health regulator inspected the plant from March 22 to April 4, 2022.

OUR AIM IS TO KEEP 'ARJUNA'S EYE' ON INFLATION: RBI GOVERNOR DAS

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said the central bank wishes to concentrate on inflation in the same way as Arjuna focussed on hitting the eye of a revolving fish in the epic Mahabharata. "No one can match the prowess of Arjuna, but our constant endeavour is to keep an Arjuna's eye on inflation," Das said.

BLUE TICK ON TWITTER IS SIGNIFIER OF CLOUT: CRED FOUNDER KUNAL SHAH

After Twitter's new owner Elon Musk announced $8/month price for blue tick, CRED Founder Kunal Shah called the tick a "signifier of clout" and said the decision would end in chaos. "Those with clout will lose their clout if they appear to be paying for this vanity badge...Those with no clout will buy...and try to appear important," Shah tweeted.

COMPOUNDING ISN’T JUST USEFUL IN FINANCE. IT IS A PRINCIPLE THAT APPLIES TO ALL OF LIFE. BRAD STULBERG RESEARCHES AND WRITES ON SUSTAINABLE EXCELLENCE AND WELLBEING, EXPLAINS ITS MAGICAL POWERS. HE IS THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE NEW BOOK, THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS: A PATH TO SUCCESS THAT FEEDS - NOT CRUSHES - YOUR SOUL.

Growing up, long before he experienced success and became worth billions of dollars, a young Warren Buffet would tell his family and friends, “Do I really want to spend $300,000 on this haircut?” The haircut he was referring to, of course, wasn’t in the six figure range. It probably would have costed him closer to $20. Buffet’s point was that if he cut his own hair, saved the monthly $20 expense, and invested it, over the course of his life all of those seemingly insignificant $20 investments would have netted him thousands of dollars. Buffet was speaking to the law of compounding gains, which goes something like this: small investments made consistently over time build upon themselves and, eventually, amount to something big.

“Recognizing that every dollar you spend today is $10 or $100 or $1,000 you won’t have in the future doesn’t have to make you a miser. It teaches you to acknowledge the importance of measuring trade-offs. You should always weigh the need or desire that today’s spending fulfills against what you could accomplish with that money after letting it grow for years or decades into the future. And the more often you trade, the more likely you are to disrupt compounding and to have to start all over again,” writes Jason Zweig in the Wall Street Journal.

Compounding isn’t just useful in finance. It is a principle that applies to all of life. Brushing your teeth every day is a small investment. If you skip it, nothing bad happens on that day. But if consistently skip it, those small “not so bad days” add up—and you are left with

a costly, both financially and in terms of human suffering, dental disaster. Some other areas where compounding gains matter a lot:

EATING YOUR VEGETABLES. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. READING.

MAKING TIME FOR INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH YOUR LOVED ONES. SLEEPING.

PRACTICING AN INSTRUMENT. MEDITATION (OR OTHER FORMS OF CONTEMPLATION).

In all of these examples, you build on what you did today, tomorrow. You start the next day just a little bit better, often so little you can’t even measure it, than you were the day before. But if you add up those increments over the course of a lifetime, the result can be massive.

Another important lesson related to consistency and compounding is this: It is harder to make up loses than it is to accrue gains. For simplicity’s sake, imagine that you have $1.00 and it goes down 50 percent. In order to get back to where you started, you must double your 50 cents; or put another way, you must go up by 100 percent. The same goes for so many endeavors beyond finance. If you attempt a heroic effort and it goes

poorly—for example, you go for broke in sport and wind up injured; you go for broke in a relationship and wind up in way over your head; you go for broke in diet and wind up with an eating disorder - getting back to where you started is going to require a lot more effort than the potential gains that you lost.

Put simply, if you go big or go home you often end up home, and with a long journey to get back to where you started. If you go small and steady over a long period of time, however, you often end up with something big. Are there exceptions to this rule? Of course. If you are in the home stretch of an Olympic gold-medal race then taking a huge risk, one that could result in an injury, might be worth it. After all, perhaps you’ll never be in that position again, and the upside is being crowned the best in the world. But these types of exceptions prove the rule.

In the final analysis, the rule of compounding gains says that it is important to resist skipping small good habits or engaging in small bad ones. It’s not just about the benefits or losses you experience on that particular day, it’s about the compounding benefits or losses. Equally important, resist the urge to put forth heroic efforts. Generally speaking, if you fail, the work required to get back to where you started is going to be a lot more than your potential gains.

Don’t think about being consistently great. It’s a trap. It’s impossible. Think about being great at being consistent. It’s a reliable path to growth and achieving one’s potential that makes a lot more sense.

THERE'S SO MUCH YOU CAN DO WITH A CONTAINER OF OATS. YOU CAN ENJOY THEM WARM, SOAK THEM OVERNIGHT, BAKE THEM INTO BARS OR MUFFINS, OR EVEN BLEND THEM INTO A WAFFLE BATTER. YET BESIDES SUCH DELICIOUS VERSATILITY, WHY EXACTLY DO HEALTH EXPERTS RECOMMEND OATMEAL AS A GO-TO MORNING MEAL? HOW DOES A SIMPLE BOWL OF OATS AFFECT YOUR LONG-TERM HEALTH?

HERE'S WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT CONSUMING OATMEAL ON A REGULAR BASIS.

known as your gut microbiome - will benefit your body's immune system, improve your mood and digestion, and help to ward off diseases. A 2021 systematic review published in the Journal of Nutrition found a link between oat consumption and increasing beneficial bacterial groups within one's gut, making it a gut-friendly and hearthealthy breakfast. "Incorporating a wide variety of plant foods like oats is also beneficial for gut diversity, which is another important aspect of gut health," says Michalczyk.

YOU'LL MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT EASIER

YOU WILL FEEL FULLER FOR LONGER

Oats are a great source of fiber, a carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. Because fiber slows down digestion, you won't feel as hungry for a longer period, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eating fiber-rich foods helps avoid spikes and dips in your blood sugar levels while reducing feelings of hunger. "Having oats for breakfast or incorporated into different foods as meals and snacks is a great way to give the meal more staying power and help you feel fuller for longer," says Maggie Michalczyk, RDN. According to the USDA's FoodData Central, 1 cup of cooked oatmeal contains 4 grams of fiber, which is 16% of the recommended daily value.

YOU WILL HAVE AN EASIER TIME IN THE BATHROOM

"Oats contain a special type of soluble fiber called beta-glucan," says Michalczyk. "Beta-glucan forms a gellike consistency in the gut and helps to

keep things moving in your digestive tract and keep you regular." This helps with bulking up your stool, making it easier for your bowel movement later. Plus, pairing your oatmeal with sources of insoluble fiber - like unpeeled sliced apples, nuts or blackberries - can also help keep things moving in your digestive tract and make things easier in the bathroom later.

YOUR RISK OF HEART DISEASE WILL DECREASE

Starting your morning with a bowl of oats can benefit your heart health in more ways than one. Because of the fiber content, oatmeal can help lower your "bad" LDL cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar levels and even lower high blood pressure - all of which play a significant role in minimizing risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

YOUR GUT BACTERIA WILL THRIVE

Oatmeal is also a prebiotic food, which feeds the good bacteria in your gut. Maintaining healthy gut bacteria - also

Along with these positive benefits, research shows this popular breakfast can even support weight-loss and weightmanagement efforts. According to a 2021 review published in Foods, oat beta-glucan has positive effects on hyperglycemia, lowering blood lipid levels and reducing weight. "The fiber content of oatmeal is filling and satiating, which in turn can help with eating fewer calories throughout the day and managing your weight," says Michalczyk. "Beta-glucan may also promote the release of peptide YY, a hormone produced in the gut that helps with satiety."

THE BOTTOM LINE

Oatmeal's high fiber content and prebiotic qualities may benefit your body in more ways than one. Making oatmeal a regular part of your menu can potentially lower your disease risk, help your gut health thrive, make bowel movements easier and keep you feeling fuller for longer.

(Credit: Kiersten Hickman for Eating Well)

HOW TO RAISE STARTUP KIDS

MARGOT MACHOL BISNOW IS A WRITER, MOM AND PARENTING COACH. SHE SPENT 20 YEARS IN GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING AS AN FTC COMMISSIONER AND CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS, AND IS THE AUTHOR OF “RAISING AN ENTREPRENEUR: HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILDREN ACHIEVE THEIR DREAM.” FOR HER BOOK, SHE TALKED TO 70 PARENTS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL ADULTS WHO WENT ON TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS OR CHIEF EXECUTIVES, AND FOUND OUT 5 PHRASES THEY ALWAYS SAID TO THEIR KIDS.

the same messages every day. Some of them were tough love, while others offered positive wisdom.

1. “I CAN’T DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU.”

These parents were the opposite of “helicopter” parents (a.k.a. overprotective and very involved). Instead, they set clear expectations and trusted their kids to take responsibility. More importantly, they allowed natural consequences to occur. If their kid didn’t study and failed a quiz, for example, they used that as an opportunity for reflection and learning. When Robert Stephens, a former executive at Best Buy, was three years old, he took off all the doorknobs in the house. “My parents weren’t angry, they just told me I had to put them all back,” he said.

Stephens became the “fix-it” guy in his family. Then, at 24, he went on to start Geek Squad, a repair company that he later sold for $3 million.

2. “DO YOUR BEST AND BE KIND.”

All of the entrepreneurs learned the importance of kindness when they were young. In 2006, Blake Mycoskie founded TOMS, which has given away over 95 million pairs of shoes. His company introduced the “one-for-one” business model, in which one item is given away to the needy for each item purchased.

Jonathan Neman tried to start a number of businesses in college. None of them took off. But he learned about what did work, and what didn’t. After college, he and his friends co-founded Sweetgreen, which now has over 900 locations across the USA.

“Even if my dad didn’t think something was a good idea, he supported me,” Neman told me. “My entrepreneurship journey is all about resilience. We keep going. We fail, we try and try again, we fail, we try and try and try.”

4. “WHAT’S THE BEST - AND WORST THING - THAT HAPPENED TODAY?”

Different families discussed the day’s events at different times, such as on the ride home from school or on the weekends. But many had great conversations around the dinner table. The kids knew it was a safe space to talk. When VC investor DA Wallach was a junior in high school, he decided there wasn’t enough diversity at his school. He campaigned about it. The headmaster told him to stop.

He discussed the situation and how he felt in great detail with his mom that day. “I said he could pursue it if he wanted. I told him he could handle it, but I never interfered,” she told me. Today, Wallach is still pursuing goals he thinks are important, now in biotech and healthcare as a partner in Time BioVentures.

he things that parents say to their kids can either encourage and give them confidence, or lower their self-esteem and hold them back in life.

So how do we avoid doing the latter? As I researched and wrote my book, “Raising an Entrepreneur,” I talked to 70 parents who raised highly successful adults about how they helped their kids achieve their dreams.

To my surprise, although it was an extremely diverse group - of races, religions, socioeconomic brackets and education - all the parents gave their kids

His mom told me that instilling compassion was an important part of bringing up her children: “We always adopted three or four families at Christmas through our church and bought clothes and toys that we delivered together to the kids.” This was always their family policy - “to help those less fortunate,” she said. “The kids have seen this practiced their entire lives.”

3. “IF SOMETHING DOESN’T WORK OUT, DON’T BE SAD. IT MAY TURN OUT TO BE A GOOD THING LATER ON.”

The future entrepreneurs learned to win and lose gracefully, and to not obsess over mistakes. Pivoting and trying a new approach was also key.

5. “I LOVE YOU.”

Every entrepreneur grew up knowing how much their family loved them, believed in them, and were there for them. As ‘I Am That Girl’ founder Alexis Jones told me, “My mom set this expectation for the household: We love each other unconditionally - these are your people. We always have each other’s back. It made me feel like nothing was impossible.”

The parents of the 70 entrepreneurs all communicated the same message: “We love you. We trust you. We believe in you. We support whatever you want to do. We’ll always be here for you.”

(Credit: CNBC Make It)

SIMPLE BRAIN HACKS FOR BOOSTING YOUR MOOD

YOU CAN BOOST YOUR BRAIN'S 4 HAPPY HORMONES - DOPAMINE, SEROTONIN, ENDORPHIN AND OXYTOCIN. HERE'S HOW TO DO IT NATURALLY.

here's a lot going on in the world that can contribute to high levels of stress: rising gas prices, surging inflation, a potential recession on the horizon, and the plenty of day-to-day stressors that arise between work, school and life. But I'm not here to make you more anxious than you already are. I'm here to tell you there are small practices you can do each day that can make a real difference in improving your mood. For example, there are a few simple rituals that always bring me happiness: cuddles with my puppy, reading before work, getting some exercise and even that first sip of coffee.

Sure, a cup of coffee won't change whether you feel truly fulfilled - but in uncertain times, there's value in boosting your mood when you can.

There are four main natural hormones that trigger feelings of happiness, and each chemical is connected to specific events or rewards. Understanding these chemicals and how they work can help you figure out even small ways to feel better amid such a stressful time.

To explain exactly how these "happiness" chemicals work, I spoke to Loretta Breuning, founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and author of Habits of a Happy Brain. Almost everything that makes you feel "happy" is linked to one of the four happiness hormones: dopamine, serotonin, endorphin and oxytocin. Here are some ways you can boost them naturally.

Dopamine

The hormone dopamine is associated with motivation and reward. It's why you

feel gumption when you set an exciting or important goal, and why it feels good to reach that goal. On the flip side, if you have low dopamine (which experts say can occur with depression), it can explain feelings of low motivation or loss of interest in something you used to enjoy.

"Approaching a reward triggers dopamine. When a lion approaches a gazelle, her dopamine surges and the energy she needs for the hunt is released. Your ancestors released dopamine when they found a water hole," Breuning says. "The expectation of a reward triggers a good feeling in the mammal brain, and releases the energy you need to reach the reward."

There are some not-so-healthy habits that increase dopamine like drinking caffeine, eating sugar or taking certain

recreational drugs. But you can find ways to kick this hormone up without turning to potentially unhealthy or addictive substances.

"Embrace a new goal and take small steps toward it every day. Your brain will reward you with dopamine each time you take a step. The repetition will build a new dopamine pathway until it's big enough to compete with the dopamine habit that you're better off without," Breuning says.

You may already have goals set around your career, work or how much money you'd like to make. But don't forget personal goals. Committing to a rewarding hobby or sport can be just as gratifying as professional goals. Don't just set a few big goals that will take longer to complete -- also adopt shorter-term goals so you stay motivated.

"Set a short-run, long-run, and middleterm goal so you will always be approaching one when another is blocked. Focus on things you have control over and don't wait for others to set your goals for you," Breuning says.

Serotonin

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in mood, but it also helps regulate other functions in your body like digestion, sleep and bone health. When it comes to happiness and how you feel every day, serotonin is important for reducing depression and regulating anxiety.

"Confidence triggers serotonin. Monkeys try to one-up each other because it stimulates their serotonin. People often do the same," Breuning says. You've probably never thought about confidence on a neurochemical level, but according to Breuning, if you don't prioritize confidence, your serotonin levels could take a hit.

If you are trapped in a cycle of low selfesteem or have had others undermine your confidence, it can be hard to build it back up. It may sound strange, but don't ignore your need for respect and status.

"You can develop your belief in your own worth. If you focus on your losses you will depress your serotonin, even if you're a rock star or a CEO. You can build the habit of focusing on your wins. Your serotonin will suffer if you don't," Breuning says.

Besides focusing on what you've achieved in life, you can also build confidence in other ways. One way to do this is by working out or adopting a new exercise routine, which helps bolster your confidence when you stick to it over time. Something else you can try is finding ways to get out of your comfort zone each day. Every day that you challenge yourself to adapt to something new, even if it feels uncomfortable at first, you build more confidence.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is sometimes called the "love" hormone and is associated with how people bond and trust each other. Certain activities like kissing, hugging and having sex can trigger the release of oxytocin in the brain.

It explains why you feel happy when you pet or cuddle with your pets. It's important in childbirth since oxytocin helps the mother's uterus contract to deliver the baby, and oxytocin plays a role in breastfeeding too. It also helps parents bond with a baby after birth.

You can boost oxytocin by being physically intimate with others. But besides the physical aspect, it's important to know that there's an emotional connection to how oxytocin is released. "Social trust is what triggers oxytocin. If you hug someone you don't trust, it doesn't feel good. Trust comes first. You can build social trust by taking small positive steps toward people," Breuning says.

You can reach out to a friend or contact you'd like to get to know better. Send someone a thank you note or a card just to tell them you're thinking about them. "Take a small step toward someone each

day, and they may reciprocate months later, but if you keep doing it you will build trust networks," Breuning says.

Endorphins

Endorphins are notoriously linked with exercise: It's the phenomenon that explains the runner's high or postworkout endorphin "rush." They function as "natural painkillers" that help minimize pain and maximize pleasure. This chemical experience can explain why a runner may be able to push through a race with an injury that they don't notice until it's over. "In the state of nature, it helps an injured animal escape from a predator. It helped our ancestors run for help when injured. Endorphins evolved for survival, not for partying. If you were high on endorphins all the time, you would touch hot stoves and walk on broken legs," Breuning explains.

How to boost endorphins How to boost endorphins How to boost endorphins How to boost endorphins to Laughter is one way to boost endorphins naturally. So is eating dark chocolate, watching your favorite drama, working out and meditating. Endorphins are released in response to pain, but that doesn't mean you should seek out ways to cause yourself harm (like by overexercising or pushing yourself beyond your limits) just to feel good.

"Inflicting harm on yourself to stimulate endorphins is a bad survival strategy. Fortunately, there are better ways: laughing and stretching. Both of these jiggle your innards in irregular ways, causing moderate wear and tear and moderate endorphin flow," she says.

(Credit: Mercey Livingston for CNET)

WHY UNION BANK IS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

A Manimekhalai MD & CEO

THE UNION BANK STOCK WHICH HAD ALREADY BEEN ON AN UPSWING SINCE JULY, RECENTLY SHIFTED TO OVERDRIVE AFTER THE SECOND QUARTER RESULTS WERE ANNOUNCED. THE RECENT VERTICAL CLIMB WAS OF COURSE PROMPTED BY THE OVERALL GOOD NUMBERS RECORDED BY THE BANK IN Q2, BUT THERE IS ALSO MORE TO IT THAN CATCHES THE EYE. FOR INSTANCE, UNDER ITS NEW MD & CEO A MANIMEKHALAI, WHO TOOK CHARGE ONLY IN JUNE THIS YEAR, UNION BANK HAS OUTPERFORMED THE ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM’S CREDIT GROWTH RATE AND DEPOSIT GROWTH RATE IN Q2 BY A SIZABLE MARGIN. THE UNION BANK STOCK, WHICH ALREADY SITS ON AN OVER 63% GAIN DURING THE PAST 12 MONTHS, IS ALL SET TO MAKE IT 100% OR DOUBLE ITS VALUE, AS PER SOME BROKERAGE AND ANALYST ASSESSMENTS. AS A LONG-TERM HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, THE BANK HAS ALSO LAUNCHED TWO INDUSTRY-FIRST COMMITTEES, EMPOWERHER AND EMPOWERHIM, FOR SERVING THE UNIQUE GROWTH AND EMPOWERMENT NEEDS OF FEMALE AND MALE WORKFORCE OF THE BANK.

During the July-September quarter, the results for which were announced recently, the leading PSU lender grew its net profit by 21% on a year-on-year basis or compared with the corresponding quarter of last fiscal. Union Bank’s bottomline increased to Rs. 1,848 crore in Q2 from Rs. 1,526 crore a year ago.

The key driver for this bottomline performance was strong loan growth, especially in retail loans. The market was most impressed with this development as traditionally PSU banks like Union Bank have been relying more on wholesale or corporate loans for their growth requirements.

While total advances in Q2 increased 22% YoY, there was a 15% growth in retail, agriculture and MSME segments, which are generally perceived as safer loans. The bank’s mainstay segments continued their robust performance with a 22% growth in corporate loans led by segments like infrastructure, iron & steel, chemicals and NBFCs. Outstanding advances stood at Rs. 7,73,000 crore as of September 2022.

Why this is an outstanding performance is that Union Bank’s loan book growth of 22% YoY, is a much higher rate than the entire banking system's pace of loan book expansion which came in at just 16.4% in the quarter ended September 2022.

The performance came in as a strong endorsement for the leadership of its MD & CEO A Manimekhalai who had assumed charge on June 3rd this year.

Q2 is the first full quarter under her leadership to report the earnings. Manimekhalai, an MBA holder from Bangalore University and Diploma holder in Human Resource Management from NMIMS, Mumbai, is a veteran PSU banker who excelled in her long stints at Vijaya Bank where she was General Manager and at Canara Bank where she was Executive Director.

A consummate banker, she is well versed in devising and implementing strategic policies, covering core areas like strategic planning, setting organisational goals, growth strategies, action plans, compliance, internal control etc. Such skills helped her play a pivotal role in the complex merger of Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank.

Under her visionary leadership, Union Bank’s credit growth has been strong, and its Net Interest Income (NII) also grew by 22% year-on-year during Q2 to touch Rs 8,305 crore. The Net Interest Margin (NIM), which is the difference between the interest earned and interest paid and a core metric of profitability, expanded by 20 basis points (bps) to 3.15% as of September 30.

In fact, the Mumbai headquartered

lender could have put up a higher growth in its net profit, if not for a fall in non-interest income during this quarter. There was an 18% decline in non-interest income, which fell to Rs 3,276 crore, driven mainly by treasury losses and lower recoveries in writtenoff accounts than expected.

Soon after taking charge of the corner office at Union Bank, MD & CEO A Manimekhalai led the establishment of an industry-first, dedicated and women-focused Committee ‘EmpowerHer’ as part of its flagship HR initiative ‘Prerna’. The program aims to promote women’s career trajectory and improve diversity in the bank by navigating through existing biases and challenges, and will benefit the over 21,000 women who are an integral part of the Union Bank workforce.

With pan India representation, the 40 women Committee members will directly engage with the management to develop effective structural changes that will establish Union Bank of India as the most preferred employer brand for women. The launch event was graced by several women leaders from the industry who provided powerful insights to the Committee members on how to undertake their new responsibility.

This was soon followed up by a complementary Committee for men,

‘EmpowerHim’, which was also an industry-first. The program aims to promote the employees’ career trajectory and improve diversity in the Bank by picking out and resolving individual as well as common existing challenges. As representatives of the male employees who comprise over 70% of the bank's workforce, the Committee will help male employees understand local problems, highlight the importance of gender equity, focus on sensitization at work, and provide sustainable and consensus-based solutions to existing pain-points.

Delving deeper into its sustainable performance, Union Bank has shown a further signal of turning into a more retail focused operation on its deposits

front, during this quarter. The bank’s deposits grew by over 14% YoY in Q2, and a highlight of this growth was the addition of around Rs 40,000 crore in current account and savings account (CASA) deposits, which is the real engine of growth for a bank, especially for pushing retail credit growth. The CASA ratio stood at 35.63% by the end of Q2, and Union Bank is pursuing varied strategies to improve it further in the coming quarters.

On the deposits front too, Union Bank outperformed the entire banking system in Q2. While deposits touched Rs. 10,43,000 crore, growing at a pace of over 14%, the entire banking sector’s deposit growth rate was way below at 9.2%.

On the provisioning and asset quality front, provisions rose by over 4% amounting to Rs 4,077 crore in Q2, dominated mainly by higher provisioning on standard assets. The provision coverage ratio rose to 86.61% for the quarter under review from 81.77% a year ago. The bank made total recoveries worth Rs 5,685 crore in Q2 while fresh slippages stood at Rs 2,913 crore.

The fresh slippages have moderated by 31% sequentially, driven by both lower corporate and retail slippages. This emerging stability along with higher write-offs and healthy recoveries and upgrades, resulted in an improvement in asset quality ratios.

The performance in recoveries and slippages were largely according to the guidance provided earlier by Union Bank. The management had guided for slippages for the whole fiscal at Rs 13,000 crore, of which slippages so far in Q1 & Q2 have been at Rs 6,700 crore. In recoveries, against a full fiscal guidance and target of Rs 15,000 crore, the bank has already made recoveries to the tune of Rs 8,500 crore.

Improving asset quality ratios gave Union Bank another shot in its arm post Q2 numbers. The bank saw an improvement in asset quality as gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio fell by 419 bps YoY to 8.45% in Q2, while the Net NPA ratio (NNPA) declined by 197 bps to 2.64%. The bank has in fact performed better than its own given guidance of 9% for gross NPA and 3% for net NPA for the whole year, so far.

Eyeing strong credit growth ahead, Union Bank is also planning to raise funds via a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), latest by Q4 of this fiscal itself. The bank has already won approval to raise Rs 3,800 crore through this share issue, while the overall fundraising plans for the year is for Rs. 8100 crore. Apart from the QIP, the bank is planning to raise the rest via tier-I bond issues. Of this, Union Bank has already raised Rs 1,320 crore through bond issuances this fiscal. The bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 14.5%

in September 2022, up from 13.64% a year ago.

Apart from the over 63% surge in its share price during the past 12 months, Union Bank is also a high dividend payer for its investors. At current prices, the dividend yield of Union Bank stock stands at a high 3.56%. Coupled with a modest price-earnings multiple of just 6 times and a priceto-book ratio of just 0.56 times, this makes Union Bank an attractive bet for many investors.

However, on its part, Union Bank is continuing to offer a more conservative stance regarding upcoming quarters. MD & CEO A Manimekhalai has guided that the bank continues to maintain a conservative credit growth target of 10% to 12% for the current fiscal year despite the strong growth in the second quarter.

Among its various growth strategies, Union Bank is also pursuing the

establishment of Digital Banking Units (DBUs). It has recently operationalized six such Digital Banking Units. A DBU is envisioned as a specialized hub housing digital infrastructure for delivering as well as servicing existing financial products & services digitally, in both selfservice and assisted modes.

The first six DBUs of Union Bank have come up in Rajahmundry & Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh; Palakkad in Kerala; Sagar in Madhya Pradesh; Nagpur in Maharashtra; and Agartala in Tripura. Around 27 services have been made available at Union Bank DBUs using infrastructure like ATM, CRM (Cash Recycling Machine), Passbook Printing Kiosk, Multifunctional Kiosk, Interactive Tablets, Internet Banking Kiosk / PC, Video KYC and Video Chat Kiosk / PC. These Union DBUs are thus future ready banking outlets and will pave the way for not only growth and financial inclusion but digital financial literacy.

10 PROVEN WAYS TO LEARN FASTER, FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE

MODERN SOCIOECONOMICS IS DEMANDING THAT BOTH CHILDREN AND ADULTS LEARN MORE AND MORE NEW THINGS, FASTER. THANKFULLY, NEUROSCIENCE HAS TAUGHT US A LOT ABOUT HOW OUR BRAINS PROCESS AND HOLD ON TO INFORMATION, IN RECENT YEARS.

earning new things is a huge part of life - we should always be striving to learn and grow. But it takes time, and time is precious. So how can you make the most of your time by speeding up the learning process? Thanks to neuroscience, we now have a better understanding of how we learn and the most effective ways our brains process and hold on to information.

If you want to get a jump start on expanding your knowledge, here are 10 proven ways you can start learning faster today.

1. Take notes with pen and paper 1. notes with pen and paper 1. paper

Though it might seem that typing your notes on a laptop during a conference or lecture will be more thorough, thus helping you learn faster, it doesn't work that way. To speed up your learning, skip the laptop and take notes the oldfashioned way, with pen and paper.

Research has shown that those who type in their lecture notes process and retain the information at a lower level. Those who take notes by hand actually learn more.

While taking notes by hand is slower and more cumbersome than typing, the act of writing out the information fosters comprehension and retention. Reframing the information in your own words helps you retain the information longer, meaning you'll have better recall and will perform better on tests.

2. Have effective note-taking skills 2. Have note-taking

The better your notes are, the faster you'll learn. Knowing how to take thorough and accurate notes will help you remember concepts, gain a deeper understanding of the topic and develop meaningful learning skills. So, before you learn a new topic, make sure you learn different strategies for note taking, such as the Cornell Method, which helps you

organize class notes into easily digestible summaries.

Whatever method you use, some basic tips for note taking include: A) Listen and take notes in your own words. B) Leave spaces and lines between main ideas so you can revisit them later and add information. C) Develop a consistent system of abbreviations and symbols to save time. D) Write in phrases, not complete sentences. E) Learn to pull out important information and ignore trivial information.

3. Distributed practice 3. practice

This method involves distributing multiple practices (or study sessions) on a topic over a period of time. Using short, spaced-out study sessions will encourage meaningful learning, as opposed to long "cram sessions," which promote rote learning. The first step is to take thorough notes while the topic is being discussed. Afterward, take a few minutes to look

over your notes, making any additions or changes to add detail and ensure accuracy. Do this quickly, once or twice following each class or period of instruction. Over time, you can begin to spread the sessions out, starting with once per day and eventually moving to three times a week. Spacing out practice over a longer period of time is highly effective, because it's easier to do small study sessions and you'll stay motivated to keep learning.

4. Study, sleep, study again 4. Study, sleep, study again 4. Study, sleep, study again 4. Study, sleep, study again

You have a big project or a major presentation tomorrow and you're not prepared. If you're like many of us, you stay up too late trying to cram beforehand. Surely your hard work will be rewarded, even if you're exhausted the next day… right? However, that's not the most efficient way for our brains to process information.

Research shows a strong connection between sleep and learning. It seems that getting some shut-eye is an important element in bolstering how our brains remember something. Deep sleep (non rapid eye movement sleep) can strengthen memories if the sleep occurs within 12 hours of learning the new information. And students who both study and get plenty of sleep not only perform better academically; they're also happier.

5. Modify your practice 5. Modify practice 5. Modify your practice 5. Modify practice Modify practice

If you're learning a skill, don't do the same thing over and over. Making slight changes during repeated practice sessions will help you master a skill faster than doing it the same way every time. In one study of people who learned a computer-based motor skill, those who learned a skill and then had a modified practice session where they practiced the skill in a slightly different way performed better than those who repeated the original task over and over.

This only works if the modifications are small -- making big changes in how the skill is performed won't help. So, for instance, if you're practicing a new golf swing or perfecting your tennis game, try adjusting the size or weight of your club or racket.

6. Try a mnemonic device 6. Try a device

One of the best ways to memorize a large amount of information quickly is to use a mnemonic device: a pattern of letters, sounds or other associations that assist in learning something. One of the most popular mnemonic devices is one we learned in kindergarten -- the alphabet song. This song helps children remember their "ABCs," and it remains deeply ingrained in our memory as adults. Another is "i before e except after c" to help us remember a grammar rule. Mnemonics help you simplify, summarize and compress information to make it easier to learn. It can be really handy for students in medical school or law school, or people studying a new language. So, if you need to memorize and store large amounts of new information, try a mnemonic and you'll find you remember the information long past your test.

better than those who didn't.

Dehydration, on the other hand, can seriously affect our mental function. When you fail to drink water, your brain has to work harder than usual.

9. Learn information in 9. Learn multiple ways multiple ways

When you use multiple ways to learn something, you'll use more regions of the brain to store information about that subject. This makes that information more interconnected and embedded in your brain. It basically creates a redundancy of knowledge within your mind, helping you truly learn the information and not just memorize it. You can do this by using different media to stimulate different parts of the brain, such as reading notes, reading the textbook, watching a video and listening to a podcast or audio file on the topic. The more resources you use, the faster you'll learn.

7.

7.

7.

7.

Information overload is a real thing. In order to learn something new, our brains must send signals to our sensory receptors to save the new information, but stress and overload will prevent your brain from effectively processing and storing information.

When we are confused, anxious or feeling overwhelmed, our brains effectively shut down. You can see this happen when students listening to long, detailed lectures "zone out" and stop paying attention to what's being said. They simply aren't able to effectively conduct that information into their memory banks, so learning shuts down. The best way to combat this is by taking a "brain break," or simply shifting your activity to focus on something new. Even a five-minute break can relieve brain fatigue and help you refocus.

8. Stay hydrated 8. Stay hydrated

We know we should drink water because it's good for us - it's good for our skin and our immune system, and it keeps our body functioning optimally. But staying hydrated is also key to our cognitive abilities. Drinking water can actually make us smarter. According to one study, students who took water with them to an examination room performed

10. Connect what you learn with 10. what you with what something you know something you something you know something you

The more you can relate new concepts to ideas that you already understand, the faster you'll learn the new information. According to the book Make It Stick, many common study habits are counterproductive. They may create an illusion of mastery, but the information quickly fades from our minds. Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems we haven't encountered before and drawing inferences from facts already known. By finding ways to fit new information in with preexisting knowledge, you'll find additional layers of meaning in the new material. This will help you fundamentally understand it better, and you'll be able to recall it more accurately.

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, uses this method. He said he views knowledge as a "semantic tree." When learning new things, his advice is to "make sure you understand the principles, i.e., the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/ details or there is nothing for them to hang on to." When you connect the new to the old, you give yourself mental "hooks" on which to hang the new knowledge.

(Credit: Deep Patel for Entrepreneur)

Use brain breaks to restore focus

Use brain focus

Use brain breaks to restore focus

Use brain focus

TWO ANCIENT TRADITIONS IN PARENTING AND HOW IT CAN HELP ADULT RELATIONS TOO

ERIC BARKER IS THE AUTHOR OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER “BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE,” WHICH HAS SOLD OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES AND BEEN TRANSLATED INTO 19 LANGUAGES. ERIC IS ALSO A SOUGHTAFTER SPEAKER, HAVING GIVEN TALKS AT MIT, THE ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL, GOOGLE, THE UNITED STATES MILITARY CENTRAL COMMAND (CENTCOM), AND THE OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER. HERE, ERIC WRITES ABOUT ANCIENT TRADITIONS FROM THE MAYA AND INUIT CIVILIZATIONS THAT REVEAL TWO RITUALS THAT WILL MAKE YOU AN AWESOME PARENT AND EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT ADULT TOO.

We’re often presented with an image of parenting that is a bit too perfect. But all too often parents wake up to realize they were cast in a reality show without their permission. The kids cause more problems in 4 minutes than I could get into in 4 years. You wonder if your genetics have spawned an unholy chimera of you and you partner’s worst traits. It gets to a point where you wake up to the sounds of screams. Not the kid’s screams. Yours.

How are you supposed to teach that little one to be a moral, productive human

being when you can’t even get them to eat breakfast? (It’s much better to consider how you could be a better parent now as opposed to during the sentencing hearing.) You read books but the tips from the Parent Industrial Complex don’t seem to be that helpful.

Christina Hardyment looked at over 650 parenting books dating back to the 1700’s and found the vast majority of the information they contain wasn’t from science or even the hard-won insight of wise moms. Most of it actually came from manuals designed to industrialize the care of kids in eighteenth-century

foundling hospitals. Yes, really. Babies should be fed four times a day… um, unless the nurses in the ward are too busy. Fine, make it twice a day. Whatever.

And, frankly, many modern science studies aren’t dramatically better. As Brian Nosek of UVA points out, parenting research is notoriously “underpowered.” Instead of studying thousands or tens of thousands of kids, they often only look at a couple hundred - leading to the flip-flopping advice we get every few years.

So where is the useful information?

Perhaps it’s time we tried another route. Humans have been raising kids since time immemorial. There must be effective traditions out there that work… And that’s what led Michaeleen Doucleff to travel the world with her three-yearold daughter in search of ancient answers from other cultures. She lived with the Maya in Mexico, the Inuit in the Arctic, and the Hadzabe near the Serengeti. Then she cross checked what she learned with anthropologists, psychologists and neuroscientists. Her wonderful book is “Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans.”

How To Raise Helpful Kids How To Raise Helpful Kids How To Raise Helpful Kids How To Raise Helpful Kids How

Maya children in the Yucatan Peninsula are the most helpful children in the world. Researcher Lucia Alcala found that in this community, three quarters of kids take initiative with housework. What’s their secret? These parents don’t spend time trying to keep their kids entertained – they see their job as teaching children to be part of a team.

Maya culture tells kids they are a working member of a family who is expected to contribute. Engaging in adult tasks is a privilege. Being a “big boy” or “big girl” is the ultimate Xbox achievement. They’re a part of something bigger than themselves and they need to earn their team membership card.

Chore charts and allowances just teach kids to respond to rewards and punishments, killing intrinsic motivation. Instead, the Maya make sure kids understand the value of their tasks to the community. This way they actually enjoy chores because they’re making a real contribution. Connectedness and being a competent, respected member of the group is the reward.

Some parents are making lip farts right now. “My kids would never respond to that. They’d prefer to just watch YouTube.”

And those parents are right. You know why? Because that’s what those kids have been taught. Little ones usually want to be helpful. To be a part of what mom and dad are doing. But often we shoo them away from tasks when they’re young. Eventually they learn that chores

are “mom and dad work” and “my work” is to stare at an iPad until mom comes by to wipe drool from the screen. Of course they don’t want to do chores – how do you feel when someone asks you to do something that “isn’t your job”? When the kid world is so divorced from the adult world, children feel exempt from responsibilities. Instead of getting emotionally rewarded by being a part of the family team, they find reward only in Roblox and Minecraft. But when their primary context is family tasks, they want to be a part of them – both the responsibilities and the benefits. This doesn’t sound as odd if you talk to the older generation. They grew up knowing they were expected to help in the family store or on the farm, not to live in a totally separate child-centered world.

So how do we inch closer to the Maya way of doing things? With young kids it’s not as hard as you think. Children want to mimic adults and help – we train them not to. Young kids want together time and don’t draw strict boundaries on what is “fun”. Invite them into a communal activity you can do with them. “Let’s fold laundry together.”

You can start with simple tasks they can handle: Hold this. Get mommy the bowl. Go grab the washcloth for daddy. Stir this. (Young kids can be surprisingly good sous-chefs.) Yes, it’s minor but you’re building the habit of helping. Then work your way up. Older kids can be given more complex tasks but again, make it communal. It’s about the connection, time together and contribution rather than isolated forced labor.

So why don’t parents do this? They get errands done faster on their own. And they’re right. That 15-minute task is now going to take 45 minutes with a toddler “helping”. But this method isn’t about getting things done efficiently - it’s about teaching kids to be cooperative. That their help is needed. That they’re responsible for things around here. The added time is an investment. Having a tiny incompetent helper now will more than be made up for by having a teenage competent helper later who does dishes without being asked. Don’t micromanage. Children love to say, “I did it all by myself!” Initially, worry

less about the task being done well than about building the skills of collaboration and responsibility. When kids are always told they’re doing things wrong, they lose motivation. Use praise sparingly and focus on celebrating the trait of helpfulness, not the specifics of the task at hand.

Yes, there may be some resistance at first. For young kids, emphasize the issue of being treated like an adult. They can “be a baby” but they don’t get to be a part of what the family is doing together. Young kids don’t want to be excluded. For older children, emphasize reciprocity. They’re going to want things from you, whether it’s money, the car, or help. So respond with: “Did you help me with the dishes?” Teens can be selfish but they’re not stupid. And if they’re really smart, they’ll start volunteering in advance to bank goodwill. Being helpful is a skill to be learned, like reading or math. The benefits are worth it. When the children’s world is a part of the adult world that’s one less world parents have to manage. You don’t need “chore time”, “play event manager for the kids time” and “family time.” They can all collapse into one. And this brings everyone closer.

But what about making kids nicer and calmer? Conflict in family life is inevitable and sadly, sometimes frequent. For answers here we need to go to the arctic…

Teaching Kids Emotional Kids Emotional Teaching Kids Emotional Kids Emotional Teaching Kids Emotional Regulation Regulation Regulation

The Inuit never yell at children. Even if little kids hit their parents, the Inuit remain calm. To the Inuit, emotional control is one of the strongest signs of adulthood. Getting angry with a child is stooping to the same level as them. If your kid misbehaved in the arctic and you yelled at them, the Inuit wouldn’t shame the child – they’d mock you.

Arguing with children is more strenuous that Middle East negotiations and about as productive. So the Inuit don’t do it. They believe that getting angry with kids just reduces communication. The more you shout, the less they listen.

You may think you’re going to change the child’s mind through the magic of screaming but Western scientists agree

with the Inuit: Your example matters more than your words. Behavior is contagious. Kids mirror emotions and so your anger has far more impact than whatever you say. When verbal carnage is unleashed from that hole in your face, you lose it, they lose it, and the whole thing escalates.

During conflict, the goal is to bring the energy level down. Modeling a calm demeanor silently teaches children to reduce anger and control their emotions. Think about it. Your goal is to get the kid to change. Who do you pay to help you change? Therapists. And how often do therapists yell at you? Exactly. We underestimate kids’ helpfulness but overestimate their emotional intelligence. Training them that anger is the way we respond to problems is not good for you in the short run and not good for them in the long run.

When parents ignore anger, kids start to realize this method doesn’t work. And science agrees. Batja Mesquita, a crosscultural psychologist at the University of Leuven in Belgium, says that ignoring misbehavior dampens emotions. Yelling escalates them. Kids often do things to get attention. Anger is the most extreme form of attention. So when you get angry their brain says: This works. Don’t suppress your anger; be less angry. It’s not as hard as you think. The secret? Change the narrative in your head. The Inuit expect kids to misbehave. We, however, are shocked – SHOCKED! –when children aren’t little angels. And so we get angry. Expecting kids to control their temper is like expecting them to know math without being taught. When we get rid of unrealistic expectations, anger is less likely to arise. And stop assuming their tantrums are intentional. When someone is difficult and you tell yourself, “They’re out to get me!” - you’re angry. When you tell yourself, “They must be having a bad day” - you’re compassionate. It’s all about the narrative.

What’s this like in practice? Maybe your little one won’t take a bath and they’re screaming. Quite literally, you are dealing with a dirty bomb. Take a few court-mandated deep breaths and remind yourself they are not out to get you. They are a new employee who needs HR training. Tantrums are a

chance to help them learn to calm down, and the best way to accomplish that is through modeling behavior, not through lectures at the top of your voice while using their middle name.

Speak less when you’re angry. Using fewer words keeps energy levels low and creates less resistance. Speak gently. Calm but confident. Your example is more powerful than your words.

You need to get their “thinky” brain back online without escalating things. How do you do that? Turn criticisms into questions: “Who made this mess?” “What are you doing to your sister?” “Why are your wielding that crossbow?” This gets your point across without a dictatorial power struggle – and it makes them think.

Keep asking questions. Again, what you want here is a thinking adult member of your family team. “Why did you hit me? Do you not like me? Are you a baby?” The more you get them thinking, the less emotional they’ll be. And more importantly, as long as you stay calm you won’t be escalating emotion. Then you want to bring emotion backin a positive way. Touch them. “Physical touch breaks the tension between a child and parent,” says psychologist Dr. Larry Cohen. The Inuit use touch to show kids they are safe and loved. You can hug them, nuzzle them or just put a hand on their shoulder. (Tickling is not out of the question and has incredible tension-relieving ability.)

The initial goal here is not to logically teach them why what they’re doing is wrong – it’s to make them sane again. Then, once you’ve broken the emotional spell of anger, you can rationally explain what better behavior would be in the future.

Okay, we’ve covered a lot. Let’s round it up and learn a much, much bigger

lesson about how these methods can improve your life beyond the realm of parenting.

Summing Up Summing Up

This is how to use ancient traditions to raise awesome kids:

To Raise Helpful Kids: Don’t shoo them away to the world of self-indulgent child distraction. Make them valued members of the team with communal activities that benefit the family.

To Teach Kids Emotional Regulation: Yes, you feel like you need to shout until your soul starts dribbling out your ears but all they’ll learn is that anger is the solution to life’s problems. Change your narrative, model calm behavior, trigger thought with questions, and touch them to let them know they’re loved.

Why This is Good Adult Why This is Adult Advice Too Too Advice Too Too Too

Let’s step away from the ancient traditions and modern science for a second. I’ve read more books on parenting than any childless guy ever. What have I learned? It’s simple: Almost all good parenting advice is good people advice.

Or, to put it bluntly: There are no grownups. None. Nowhere. Ever. We’re all muddling through. Sometimes we’re all selfish, emotional and out of control. It happens. And it’s okay.

If you apply parenting advice to all your relationships, you’ll be better off. Don’t try to control people. Treat them like adults – especially if they’re not acting like one. Bribes and punishments are not as effective as encouraging cooperation and making people feel like part of a team.

Anger usually just makes things worse with people. If they’re angry, you getting angry just escalates things. To stop being angry change the story in your head: they’re usually not evil, they’re just having a bad day. Encourage their thinky brain to take charge again and focus on a warm, positive connection where they feel supported.

When you stop trying to control or win with others you can focus on getting to that thing which is worth more than anything else is the universe - love.

THE INITIAL GOAL HERE IS NOT TO LOGICALLY TEACH THEM WHY WHAT THEY’RE DOING IS WRONG –IT’S TO MAKE THEM SANE AGAIN. THEN, ONCE YOU’VE BROKEN THE EMOTIONAL SPELL OF ANGER, YOU CAN RATIONALLY EXPLAIN WHAT BETTER BEHAVIOR WOULD BE IN THE FUTURE.

STOP OBSESSING OVER YOUR LACK OF WILLPOWER. TWO BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS EXPLAIN WHY ROUTINES OR HABITS MATTER MORE THAN CONSCIOUS CHOICES. ASAF MAZAR IS POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, AND WENDY WOOD IS PROVOST PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF PSYCHOLOGY AND BUSINESS, USC DORNSIFE COLLEGE OF LETTERS, ARTS AND SCIENCES.

f you’re like others, you probably start your day with a cup of coffee – a morning latte, a shot of espresso or maybe a good ol’ drip brew. A common explanation among avid coffee drinkers is that we drink coffee to wake ourselves up and alleviate fatigue.

But that story doesn’t completely hold up. After all, the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee can vary wildly. Even when ordering the same type of coffee from the same coffee shop, caffeine levels can double from one drink to the next. And yet, we coffee drinkers don’t seem to notice.

So what else might be driving us in our quest for that morning brew? That’s one question we set out to answer in our recent research. The answer has farreaching implications for the way we approach major societal challenges such as diet and climate change.

As behavioral scientists, we’ve learned that people often repeat everyday behaviors out of habit. If you regularly drink coffee, you likely do so automatically as part of your habitual routine – not just out of tiredness. But habit just doesn’t feel like a good explanation – it’s unsatisfying to say that we do something just because it’s what we’re used to doing. Instead, we concoct more compelling explanations, like saying we drink coffee to ease our morning fog.

This reluctance means that we fail to

recognize many habits, even as they permeate our daily lives. Habits are formed in specific environments that provide a cue, or trigger, for the behavior.

UNPACKING WHAT LIES BEHIND HABITS

To test whether people underestimate the role that habit plays in their life, we asked more than 100 coffee drinkers what they think drives their coffee consumption. They estimated that tiredness was about twice as important as habit in driving them to drink coffee. To benchmark these assumptions against reality, we then tracked these people’s coffee drinking and fatigue over the course of one week.

The actual results starkly diverged from our research participants’ explanations. Yes, they were somewhat more likely to drink coffee when tired – as would be expected – but we found that habit was an equally strong influence. In other words, people wildly overestimated the role of tiredness and underestimated the role of habit. Habits, it seems, aren’t considered much of an explanation. We then replicated this finding in a second study with a behavior that people might consider a “bad” habit – failing to help in response to a stranger’s request. People still overlooked habit and assumed that their reluctance to proffer help was due to their mood at the time. The gap between the actual and perceived role of habit in our lives

WHY HABITS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN WILLPOWER

WHY HABITS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN WILLPOWER

AS BEHAVIORAL SCIENTISTS, WE’VE LEARNED THAT PEOPLE OFTEN REPEAT EVERYDAY BEHAVIORS OUT OF HABIT. IF YOU REGULARLY DRINK COFFEE, YOU LIKELY DO SO AUTOMATICALLY AS PART OF YOUR HABITUAL ROUTINE –NOT JUST OUT OF TIREDNESS.

matters. And this gap is key to understanding why people often struggle to change repeated behaviors. If you believe that you drink coffee because you are tired, then you might try to reduce coffee drinking by going to bed early. But ultimately you’d be barking up the wrong tree – your habit would still be there in the morning.

WHY HABITS ARE SURPRISINGLY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE

The reason that habits can be so difficult to overcome is that they are not fully under our control. Of course, most of us can control a single instance of a habit, such as by refusing a cup of coffee this time or taking the time to offer directions to a lost tourist. We exert willpower and just push through. But consistently reining in a habit is fiendishly difficult. To illustrate, imagine you had to avoid saying words that contain the letter “I” for the next five seconds. Pretty simple, right? But now imagine if you had to maintain this rule for a whole week. We habitually use many words that contain “I.” Suddenly, the required 24/7 monitoring turns this simple task into a far more onerous one.

We make a similar error when we try to control unwanted habits and form new, desirable ones. Most of us can achieve this in the short run – think about your enthusiasm when starting a new diet or workout regimen. But we inevitably get distracted, tired or just plain busy. When

that happens, your old habit is still there to guide your behavior, and you end up back where you started. And if you fail to recognize the role of habit, then you’ll keep overlooking better strategies that effectively target habits.

The flip side is also true: We don’t recognize the benefits of our good habits. One study found that on days when people strongly intended to exercise, those with weak and strong exercise habits got similar amounts of physical activity. On days when intentions were weaker, however, those with strong habits were more active. Thus, strong habits keep behavior on track even as intentions ebb and flow.

IT’S NOT JUST WILLPOWER

Modern culture is partly responsible for the tendency to overlook habits. We who live in modern culture are more likely to say that they control their success in life.

Accordingly, when asked what stops them from making healthy lifestyle changes, we commonly cite a lack of willpower. Granted, willpower is useful in the short term, as we muster the motivation to, for example, sign up for a gym membership or start a diet.

But research shows that, surprisingly, people who are more successful at achieving long-term goals exert – if anything – less willpower in their dayto-day lives. This makes sense: As explained above, over time, willpower fades and habits prevail.

If the answer isn’t willpower, then what is the key to controlling habits? Changing habits begins with the environments that support them. Research shows that leveraging the cues that trigger habits in the first place can be incredibly effective. For example, reducing the visibility of cigarette packs in stores has curbed cigarette purchases.

Another path to habit change involves friction: in other words, making it difficult to act on undesirable habits and easy to act on desirable ones. For example, one study found that recycling increased after recycle bins were placed right next to trash cans – which people were already using – versus just 12 feet away.

Effectively changing behavior starts with recognizing that a great deal of behavior is habitual. Habits keep us repeating unwanted behaviors but also desirable ones, even if just enjoying a good-tasting morning brew.

(Credit:TheConversation)

MODERN CULTURE IS PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TENDENCY TO OVERLOOK HABITS. WE WHO LIVE IN MODERN CULTURE ARE MORE LIKELY TO SAY THAT THEY CONTROL THEIR SUCCESS IN LIFE.

THE 10 PHRASES TO REPLACE FOR BEING MORE CONFIDENT

KATHY AND ROSS PETRAS ARE THE BROTHER-AND-SISTER CO-AUTHORS OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ”YOU’RE SAYING IT WRONG,” AS WELL AS ”AWKWORD MOMENTS? AND “THAT DOESN’T MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS.” THEY ALSO CO-HOST NPR’S AWARD-WINNING PODCAST ”YOU’RE SAYING IT WRONG.” HERE, THEY TEACH US ALL TO BE MORE CONFIDENT BY REPLACING 11 PHRASES FROM YOUR VOCABULARY.

We all have that little voice in our heads that weighs in on everything we do or say. If we let it, it can make us feel demoralized, belittled or just less capable. The end result is that we wind up not accomplishing what we want. It’s never easy navigating challenging times, but as word experts and hosts of NPR’s awardwinning podcast “You’re Saying It Wrong,” we’ve found ways to reframe our thoughts and change our attitude. Here are 11 negative phrases to ditch if you want to think more positively and feel more confident, according to behavioral scientists, researchers and psychologists.

1. “I CAN’T DO THAT.” WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “I CAN TRY TO DO THAT.”

Don’t admit defeat before you’ve begun! When you tell yourself that you can try, you’re not only giving yourself a chance to accomplish something, you’re also not setting up excessively high expectations, which makes it easier to actually succeed.

2. “I SHOULD DO THAT.” WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “I WILL DO THAT.” (OR “WON’T DO,” DEPENDING ON YOUR MINDSET).

“Should” is a controlling word, and it puts pressure on us. So put yourself back in charge. Drop the “should” and make yourself the decision-maker by choosing whether or not do something on your own terms.

3. “WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?” WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “WHAT AM I LEARNING FROM THIS?”

When you ask yourself what you’re

learning, you turn something that’s bugging or upsetting you into something that can lead you to better things. You’re not complaining; you’re simply finding the good in what might be a difficult time.

4. “I NEVER SHOULD HAVE.”

WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “BECAUSE I DID THAT, I NOW KNOW [X].”

When you rephrase this thought, you begin to think about the good things that happened because you did something that you thought you shouldn’t have. Maybe you met someone you wouldn’t have met, or you discovered something wonderful about yourself.

5. “I FAILED.”

WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “THIS ATTEMPT DIDN’T WORK.”

So maybe something you tried to do didn’t turn out the way you expected. You didn’t get that new client, or you didn’t get the promotion you wanted. But if you tell yourself that you failed, end of story, you’re being unfair to yourself. Remember that there will be other opportunities.

6 . “IF ONLY I HAD DONE [X].”

WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: NOTHING! We’ve all had our “if only” moments. “If only I had spoken up at that meeting withmy idea,” or “If only I hadn’t answered that interview question that

way.” But this is dead-end thinking. You’re not learning from the past, you’re just lamenting and making excuses.

7. “THIS IS TOO COMPLICATED.” WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “I DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS RIGHT NOW.”

When you face a new challenge by immediately telling yourself that you’ll never get your mind around it, you’re making it sound like it’s an unchangeable fact. This means you’re subtly telling yourself that you can’t change or grow, which, of course, is nonsense. We are all works in progress.

8. “IT’S NOT FAIR.” WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “I CAN DEAL WITH IT ANYWAY!”

Sure, life can feel unfair sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep repeating that negative mantra to yourself and feel beaten down. Face that perceived unfairness head on and look for solutions that will get you to where you want to be.

9. “IT’S NEVER GOING TO CHANGE.” WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: “I CAN CHANGE THE WAY I APPROACH THIS.” This is another case of going from passive to active. Put yourself in charge of the situation. You think it can’t change? Then change your approach to it and thoughts about it!

10. “NEVER” (OR “ALWAYS”) WHAT TO SAY INSTEAD: AVOID ABSOLUTES ALTOGETHER!

If you find yourself saying something like, “I’ll never get the promotion I want,” or “I always get overlooked,” take a step back to put things into context. Life isn’t black and white. The most successful people are able to look at things objectively.

GRATITUDE

HOW TO BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR LIFE BY CHANGING JUST ONE WORD

James Clear beat both Obamas in a year, which saw their autobiographies being published, to become the world’s best selling author. This article is an excerpt from this book ‘Atomic Habits’, his New York Times bestselling book. James shows how a simple word switch flips your perspective for the better.

My college strength and conditioning coach, Mark Watts, taught me an important lesson about how to be thankful that applies to life outside of the gym as well as inside it.

As adults, we spend a lot of time talking about all of the things that we have to do. You have to wake up early for work. You have to make another sales call for your business. You have to work out today. You have to write an article. You have to make dinner for your family. You have to go to your son’s game. Now, imagine changing just one word in the sentences above. You don’t “have” to. You “get” to. You get to wake up early for work. You get to make another sales call for your business. You get to cook dinner for your family. By simply changing one word, you shift the way you view each event. You transition from seeing these behaviors as burdens and turn them into

James Clear

opportunities.

The key point is that both versions of reality are true. You have to do those things, and you also get to do them. We can find evidence for whatever mind-set we choose.

I once heard a story about a man who uses a wheelchair. When asked if it was difficult being confined, he responded, “I’m not confined to my wheelchair - I am liberated by it. If it wasn’t for my wheelchair, I would be bed-bound and never able to leave my house.” This shift in perspective completely transformed how he lived each day.

I think it’s important to remind yourself that the things you do each day are not burdens, they are opportunities. So often, the things we view as work are actually the reward.

Embrace your constraints. Fall in love with boredom. Do the work. You don’t have to. You get to.

LODHA VILLA ROYALE, PALAVA IS A RARE CHANCE TO OWN LAND IN MMR: LODHA

Lodha has launched villa plots in Lodha Villa Royale, Palava, sharing that there is an ultimate sense of pride, exclusivity and success in villa ownership. The 250-600 sq yd villa plots lie with a serene lake, tree-lined avenues, wide open spaces, and likeminded neighbourhood of residents who have chosen to live on their own terms, on their own land, it added.

UBER'S CURRENT BUSINESS MODEL ABSOLUTELY UNSUSTAINABLE: WHISTLEBLOWER

Mark MacGann, the whistleblower behind 'The Uber Files' leak, on Wednesday said that the company has taken steps to improve its work culture, but its business model is still "absolutely" unsustainable. In July, MacGann revealed himself as the source who leaked over 124,000 internal files of Uber. Leaked documents showed how Uber secretly lobbied politicians to expand into new markets.

US JUSTICE DEPT PLANS TO PROBE ADOBE'S $20 BN FIGMA DEAL: REPORT

The US Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to launch an investigation into Adobe's $20 billion deal to acquire online design startup Figma. The authorities have been contacting customers and competitors of both companies, Politico reported. "We're engaged in productive discussions with regulators to ensure they have a full understanding of the combination," Adobe said.

CHRISTINE CARTER PhD IS A WRITER, SPEAKER, COACH AND SOCIOLOGIST, AS WELL AS A SENIOR FELLOW AT THE GREATER GOOD SCIENCE CENTER. HERE SHE EXPLAINS A SIMPLE YET PROFOUND IDEA THAT WHY WE NEED TO BE BAD AT ALL GOALS FIRST BEFORE WE CAN BE GOOD AT IT EVENTUALLY. FROM TED’S ‘HOW TO BE A BETTER HUMAN’ SERIES.

When we received the stay-athome order in March 2020I live in California - I came out of the gates pretty darn hot. “Embrace not being so busy,” I wrote. “Take this time at home to get into a new happiness habit.”

That seems hilarious to me now. My prepandemic routines fell apart hard and fast. Some days, I would realize at dinnertime that not only had I not showered or gotten dressed that day, I hadn’t even brushed my teeth. Even though I have coached people for a long time in a very effective, sciencebased method of habit formation, I struggled. Truth be told, for the first few months of the pandemic I more or less refused to follow my own best advice. I think this was because I love to set ambitious goals. Adopting little habits is so much less exciting than embracing a big, juicy goal. Take exercise, for example.

When the pandemic began, I optimistically embraced the idea that I could get back into running outside. I picked a half marathon to train for and spent a week or so meticulously devising a detailed daily training plan. However, I stuck to that plan for only a few weeks - all that planning and preparation led only to a spectacular failure to exercise.

I skipped my training runs despite feeling like the importance of exercise and the good health it brings has never been more bracingly clear. Despite knowing that it would cut my risk of heart disease in half. Despite knowing that exercise radically reduces the probability we’ll get

cancer or diabetes and that it’s as least as effective as prescription medication when it comes to reducing depression and anxiety, that it improves our memory and learning, and that it makes our brains more efficient and more powerful. Why did I skip exercise despite knowing all this?

The truth is our ability to follow through on our intentions - to get into a new habit like exercise or to change our behavior in any way - actually doesn’t depend on the reasons that we might do it or on the depth of our convictions to do it. It also doesn’t depend on our understanding of the benefits of a particular behavior, or even on the strength of our willpower. Instead, it depends on our willingness to be bad at our desired behavior. And I hate being bad at stuff. I’m a “go big or go home” kind of gal. I like being good at things, and I quit exercising because I wasn’t willing to be bad at it.

Here’s why we need to be willing to be bad. Being good requires that our effort and our motivation need to be equivalent. In other words, the harder a thing is for us to do, the more motivation we need to do that thing. And you might have noticed that motivation isn’t something we can always muster on command. Whether we like it or not, motivation comes and motivation goes. When motivation wanes, plenty of research shows that we humans tend to follow the law of the least effort and do the easiest thing.

New behaviors require a lot of effort because change is hard. Change can require a lot of motivation, which we can’t count on having. This is why we often don’t do the things we really intend to do.

To establish an exercise routine, I needed to let myself be bad at it. I needed to stop trying to be an actual athlete. I

CHRISTINE CARTER

started exercising again by running for only one minute at a time - yes, that’s right, 60 seconds. Every morning after I brushed my teeth, I changed out of my pajamas and walked out the door, with my only goal to run for one full minute. These days, I usually run for 15 or 20 minutes at a stretch. But on the days that I’m totally lacking in motivation or time, I still do that one minute. And this minimal effort always turns out to be way better than nothing.

Maybe you relate. Maybe you’ve also failed in one of your attempts to change yourself for the better. Perhaps you want to use less plastic, meditate more or be a better antiracist. Maybe you want to write a book or eat more leafy greens.

I have great news for you: You can do and be those things, starting right now! The sole requirement is that you stop trying to be so good. You’ll need to abandon your grand plans, at least temporarily. You must allow yourself to do something so minuscule that it’s only slightly better than doing nothing at all.

Ask yourself: How can you strip down that thing you’ve been meaning to do into something so easy you could do it every day with barely a thought? So if your big objective is to eat lots of leafy greens, maybe you could start by adding one lettuce leaf to your sandwich at lunch.

Don’t worry: You’ll get to do more. This “better than nothing” behavior isn’t your ultimate goal. But for now, do something ridiculously easy that you can do even when nothing in your life is going as planned.

On those days, doing some wildly unambitious act is better than doing nothing. A one-minute meditation is relaxing and restful. A single leaf of romaine lettuce has a half-gram of fiber and important nutrients. A one-minute walk gets us outside and moving, which our bodies really need. Try doing one better than nothing behavior. See how it goes. Your goal is repetition, not high achievement. Let yourself be mediocre at whatever you are trying to do, but be mediocre every day. Take only one step, but take that step every day.

And if your better than nothing habit doesn’t actually seem better to you than doing nothing, remember that you are getting started at something and that initiating a behavior is often the hardest part.

By getting started, you are establishing a neural pathway in your brain for a new habit. This makes it much more likely that you’ll succeed with something more ambitious down the line. Once you hardwire a habit into your brain, you can do it without thinking and, more importantly, without needing much willpower or effort.

A “better than nothing” habit is easy for you to repeat, again and again, until it’s on autopilot. You can do it even when you aren’t motivated, even when you’re tired, even when you have no time. Once you start acting on autopilot, that’s the golden moment that your habit can begin to expand organically. After a few days of running for one minute, I started feeling a genuine desire to keep running. Not because I felt like I should exercise more or I had to do more to impress people, but because it felt more natural to keep running than it felt to stop.

It can be incredibly tempting, especially for the overachievers, to want to do more than our designated better than nothing habit. So I must warn you: The moment in which you are no longer willing to do something unambitious is the moment in which you risk everything.

The moment you think you should do more is the moment you introduce difficulty. It’s the moment you eliminate the possibility that your activity will be easy and even enjoyable. So it’s also the moment that will require a lot more motivation from you. And if the motivation isn’t there, that’s when you’ll end up checking your phone instead of doing whatever it is you intended to do or you’ll stay on the couch bingewatching TikTok videos or Netflix.

The whole idea behind the better than nothing habit is that it doesn’t depend on motivation. It’s not reliant on having a lot of energy, and you do not have to be good at this. All you need is to be willing to be wildly unambitious - to settle for doing something that’s just a smidge better than nothing.

I’m happy to report that after months of struggle, I am now a runner. I became one by allowing myself to be bad at it. While you couldn’t call me an athletethere are no half marathons in my future - I am consistent.

To paraphrase the Dalai Lama, our goal is not to be better than other people; it’s just to be better than our previous selves. And that I definitely am. It turns out that to grow as people, we need only do something minuscule. When we abandon our grand plans and great ambitions in favor of taking that first teeny-tiny step, we shift. And, paradoxically, it is in that tiny shift that our grand plans and great ambitions are truly born.

PRIVATEUNIVERSITIES

WORLD CLASS FEATURES OF ICFAI FOUNDATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE), the flagship deemed University of ICFAI Group at Hyderabad, and its constituents ICFAI Business School (IBS), IcfaiTech, ICFAI Law School and ICFAI School of Architecture, are all setting world class benchmarks in their own spheres. IBS, which had already emerged as a world leader in the creation of business case studies and the case pedagogy based on it, has pioneered the new micro case studies that are revolutionizing the delivery of its online MBA programs now. WiseViews leadership conversation series has been an innovative strategy to educate online MBA students by interactions with distinguished experts. IFHE has also signed an MoU with Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone (AMTZ) with a mutually fruitful arrangement of furthering PhD programs on one side and business incubation on the other. IFHE is led by renowned leaders in public life and academia. While Dr. C. Rangarajan, renowned economist is the Chancellor of IFHE, Prof. (Dr.) J. Mahender Reddy is its Vice Chancellor and Prof. (Dr.) Bidyut K. Bhattacharyya is the Pro VC. Prof. (Dr.) C.S. Shylajan heads ICFAI Business School as its Dean, Dr KL Narayana is the Director of IcfaiTech, Dr. AVN Rao is the Director of ICFAI Law School and Prof. Ar. Munavar Pasha Mohammad is the Principal of ICFAI School of Architecture.

The ICFAI Group includes 11 Universities, 9 Business Schools, 7 Tech Schools, 7 Law Schools and significant Online and Distance Learning Programs. ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE) comprises of five schools - ICFAI Business School, IcfaiTech, ICFAI Law School, ICFAI School of Architecture and the Centre for Distance & Online Education (CDOE) - and delivers undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral & certificate programs across, management, engineering, science, humanities, law & architecture, by incorporating the latest sunrise specialities in these broad domains, so that its graduates are highly sought after in placements.

The 91 acres of custom built residential campus of IFHE with state-of-the-art classrooms, auditoriums, physical & digital libraries, campus wide wireless broadband connectivity, and 3200 single occupancy rooms for boys and girls separately, is one of the finest campuses in India currently.

ICFAI Business School conducts the IBSAT admission test for all the 9 campuses of IBS across the country. These campuses are at Hyderabad, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur and Dehradun. Among these campuses, MBA is offered at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur and Dehradun, while PGPM is offered at Mumbai, Gurgaon, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

Shortlisted candidates who have cleared the admission test are called for the selection process which includes Group Discussion & Personal Interview. Final selection and allotment of the campus will be made on the basis of overall performance of the candidates throughout the selection process right from the admission test.

The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education has been permitted by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India to start an Off-

Campus Center at Bengaluru, Karnataka, and IBS Bengaluru is a constituent of it. For the Academic Year 2022-23, the following programs are being offered under the aegis of IFHE at IBS Bengaluru, Off-campus centre - MBA, BBA, B.Sc (Data Analytics). Starting from the academic year 2023-24, IBS Bengaluru will also offer a doctoral program in Management, leading to PhD degree.

ICFAI has been an early adopter of emerging technologies that facilitate better delivery of higher education. As such, they are keeping a keen watch on emerging digital environments like metaverses, and their enabling technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality and extended reality. The university has been taking the initial steps in deploying these technologies in industry sessions, symposiums, panel discussions and case studies.

Some of these tech led projects have already been executed. It is now expected to move into the corporate training programs and the regular programs. And eventually these are expected to get in all their programs from science and technology, law, architecture and the business school.

Here are the world class features of ICFAI

that make it stand out from peer universities.

WORLD CLASS LEADERSHIP IN CASE STUDIES

IBS is the third largest contributor of business case studies to The Case Centre, a global repository of case studies, next only to Harvard Business School and INSEAD. Today, IBS Cases are taught in more than 900 B-Schools across 80 countries in the world. In 2021, IBS had bagged the Top 3 positions in The Case Centre’s Top 50 best selling case authors list, and there are 7 IBS case authors among this top 50 list. The central force of IBS Case Research Centre (IBS CRC),

which was set up as a Centre of Excellence, was Dr. Debapratim Purkayastha, who had retained the number one position for the sixth consecutive year in 2021. Unfortunately, this ace young researcher and professor of strategy at IBS, succumbed to Covid in May last year, just before his 45th birthday. However, his legacy in case studies goes on through the hundreds of textbooks that carry the business cases he authored.

WORLD CLASS ONLINE MBA OF ICFAI ONLINE

Apart from the well established incampus MBA, ICFAI Online has been conducting its Online MBA program quite successfully. A notable uniqueness of the Online MBA is Micro Learning with Case Methodology which relies on well prepared micro case studies. ICFAI Online developed this keeping in mind the fact that the attention spans of students are far less today than it was a decade back. There is huge competition for the student’s time and motivation. Hence, ICFAI Online has built learning objectives which require between 2 to 15 minutes of time. Students are presented with a micro case followed by a learning point and an activity, These are made in visual and readable forms for learner convenience. Personalization is another unique feature of ICFAI

ICFAI Law School Hyderabad

Online MBA. If you are a learner, your experience and your aspiration is personal. Your experience is a unique strength to you. But how do you pitch it towards your aspiration? Using unique methodologies, ICFAI Online relates to your work experience and your aspiration through the conceptual framework that the Online MBA program provides. The practicum that the program provides is a landing point to showcase your proposal for your aspiration based on your identity. The course projects in every course, explore these dimensions from the conceptual framework of the course and provide perspectives and insights which inform the practicum. In a manner of speaking this is active learning as well as action learning. The unique faculty team of ICFAI Online MBA drives the innovative support needed for this initiative. This approach has proven to be a re-imagining of the MBA. The program is therefore not comparable with any other. There are 20+ best practices in learning that have been implemented in the Online MBA.

WORLD CLASS INTERNSHIPS & STARTUP INCUBATION AT ICFAITECH

IcfaiTech, which is IFHE's tech school is graded at 'AAAAA' and ranked 13th among Top Private Engineering Institutes in India. Internship is unique to first degree and higher degree programs offered at IcfaiTech. Internship helps students gain real time work experience and prepares them to face the challenges in professional life. The Internship Program ensures that linkages are developed and sustained with real time industrial units, scientific laboratories, public sector undertakings, manufacturing units and other external organizations. Technology Innovation Center (TIC) at IcfaiTech is offering a parking space for start-ups and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) having innovative ideas and which are looking for resources in terms of manpower and infrastructure. It will extend consultancy opportunity for faculty members for mutual benefit of institute and start-up. It is also a platform for students of IcfaiTech to

develop their entrepreneurial skills. Students will have an opportunity to work on real time problems solved by both start-ups and MSMEs.

WORLD CLASS PEDAGOGY IN ARCHITECTURE AT ISARCH

The ICFAI School of Architecture (ISArch), a constituent of IFHE is established in the year 2018. ICFAI School of Architecture offers 5 years (10 semesters) full-time Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) degree Program, approved by the Council of Architecture. ISArch was established with an aim to evolve a center for

Prof. (Dr.) C.S. Shylajan , Dean, IBS, Hyderabad

Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chancellor IFHEProf. (Dr.) J. Mahender Reddy Vice Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Bidyut K. Bhattacharyya Pro VC.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

excellence in Architecture, through a unique and wholesome approach in Architectural pedagogy, which is based on bringing together all the courses of architecture to create an exemplary approach to Design. The curriculum is revised regularly as it shall be beneficial to the students who are up to date with the potentialities of the present & the future. ISArch believes in the constancy of change to which students shall be equipped. The design studio is leading all the other activities in an integrative manner, bringing in the capacities of all the subjects to their maximum benefit.

WORLD CLASS LAW EDUCATION FOR TODAY’S CHALLENGES, AT ICFAI LAW SCHOOL

ICFAI Law School is a constituent unit of IFHE which takes up the responsibility of grooming law professionals that today’s legal profession needs - distinctive, wellqualified, analytical, and with academic excellence and practical exposure to address the complex challenges posed by the ever changing business environment. The ICFAI Law School, with its excellent and continuous teaching / learning processes, student centric and industry friendly dynamic curriculum and real life exposure provides best in class, legal education to the student, thus carving them to be market ready legal

professionals. Unique fatures include diversified teaching methodologies, internships, industrial interface and networking with professionals, excellent placements and career oriented training, modern infrastructure facilities and learning environment. The ICFAI Law School offers UG Programs (Five year integrated campus based full time programs), PG Programs (One Year campus based full time programs) and Doctoral Program (Full time and Parttime programs) and Certificate Programs. All the UG programs offered by the ICFAI Law School are approved by the Bar Council of India and other programs are in accordance with the UGC norms.

WORLD CLASS PHYSICAL & DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Campus infrastructure, both physical and digital, are already facets in which IFHE has always been among the very best in India, if not Asia or the world. The 91 acre custom-built and eco-friendly campus is in the city of Hyderabad itself. All classrooms are networked and fitted with audio visual tools to enhance the teachinglearning experience, with lecture theatres and classrooms designed to facilitate the case pedagogy, which is the key strength of IBS. Seamless internet facility (150 MBPS) is

available across the campus, with the complete campus area covered under the umbrella of Wi-Fi network, on which students get connected to the internal network and internet on their laptop inside and outside the classroom and lab as well as in hostels. Video conferencing facility is available and extensively used by prospective employers for placements. The Campus Central library has a collection of 75,582 books and documents, and there are separate libraries in the Faculty of Science & Technology and the Faculty of Law. Library is fully supported by IT infrastructure, and has subscribed to several renowned online academic databases like EBSCO HOST, Econlit, Emerald Management Xtra, ProQuest, JSTOR, Science Director (Elsevier), Cabell's directory, the World Development Indicators, CMIE

Dr. K L Narayana, Director, IcfaiTech, Hyderabad

databases, Capitaline, business and research oriented databases like Reuters, Business Insights and Marketline. IFHE has subscribed to 46 International Journals and 62 National Journals, and access is also enabled to 5000+ Journals through the databases.

WORLD CLASS RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES

The University is a fully residential campus with 2000 single seated rooms for boys and 1200 single seated rooms for girls. The campus is equipped with all supporting facilities like well equipped dining halls, indoor sports facilities (for Badminton, TT, Squash), outdoor sports grounds (for tennis, football, cricket, basketball, swimming pool), and fitness and recreation facilities (like Gym and cultural clubs). The residential facilities are managed by a dedicated team of full time wardens, estate manager and other staff. The clubs are managed by the students' services department and faculty. The University has its own transport facility, round the clock clinic with

beds and 4 doctors, nurses and 2 ambulances. The auditorium has features like step sitting arrangements, while the hall has a seating capacity of 300 people. There is also an Open Air Quadrilateral which has a stage and seating arrangements for conducting various activities.

WORLD CLASS INTERNSHIPS & MENTORING

IFHE takes industrial internships quite seriously. For instance, the entire student education during the Internship Programs is supervised or mentored by the assigned faculty and forms a part of the students’ total credits toward their degree. The internship programs require that the students undergo the rigors of the professional world in form as well as in substance, and provide them with an opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to live situations. The Internship Program will be of five and a half months duration, implemented in either the VII Semester or the VIII Semester, during the final year. There are several

benefits to the students from these programs which include the opportunity to work on real-life problems in actual working conditions, development of useful work-related skills, enhanced placement opportunities and opportunity to earn while they learn. In recent years, students of the University have interned at Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, General Motors, Polaris, Qualcomm, CDAC, CMC, DRDO, IIT Hyderabad, NCC Urban, NIC, Nuclear Fuel Complex, Ramky, Schneider Electric, Virtusa and many more similar as well as smaller organizations too which are however leaders in their niches.

Dr. AVN Rao, Director, ICFAI Law School, Hyderabad

WORLD CLASS ACHIEVEMENTS, IMPACTFUL SOCIAL OUTREACH

Nitte Deemed University, near Mangaluru, is making its presence felt across the world. While Nitte alumni have already marked their presence on the global stage as renowned doctors and medical researchers, the university itself has been making waves on the international arena. It has recently become one among the only 8 universities in India to be ranked in the Top 300 World Universities Rankings by UK based Times Higher Education, based on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Nitte University students have been winning national level technology competitions in aerospace technologies and creating 3D Printed Robots. MNC and national recruiters from Nitte Campus include Mercedes Benz, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Hitachi, ABB Power Grids, Juniper Networks, Intel, Novo Nordisk, L&T Technology Services, Syngene International, JSW, Prestige Construction, JK Cement etc. N Vinaya Hegde, Chancellor, and Vishal Hegde, Pro Chancellor (Administration) are heading an elite team of academicians and administrators at Nitte Deemed to be University, with a clear vision of shining at not just the national level, but at the international league.

K S Hegde Medical Academy

When this year’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) results were published, Nitte Deemed-to-be University had much to cheer. This leading private sector university headquartered near Mangaluru moved up two ranks, compared to last year, to secure the 75th position on an all India basis. NIRF rankings are released annually by the Ministry of Education based on teaching, learning, research, resources and several such core criteria.

However, some of the constituent colleges of Nitte University fared even better in the NIRF 2022 rankings. For instance, Nitte Gulabi Shetty Memorial Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (NGSMIPS), has obtained 45th rank nationally in NIRF 2022. NGSMIPS, which is recognized by the Pharmacy Council of India and All India Council for Technical Education, has been making rapid strides in delivering world-class pharmacy education in India. Apart from shaping competent pharmacy professionals, empowered to face challenges with integrity, NGSMIPS also takes care to groom them in social responsibilities.

An even brighter limelight was hogged by Nitte's AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, which received the 6th Rank in NIRF 2022, retaining its position as a pre-eminent national level leader like in the previous year. With its unique motto of ‘Service to Humanity’, the dental college excels in not only delivering cutting-edge clinical knowledge in dentistry, but for executing with elan socially impactful outreach programs in the neighbouring communities that it serves. Earlier, the college had also won the Best Dental College Award, certified by the Indian Health Professionals Committee for ‘Outstanding Clinical Work and Contribution towards Research and Scientific Publications’.

Earlier in the year, Nitte University rose to international prominence when it became one among the only

eight Indian Universities to be ranked in the Top 300 of the World's Universities in the 2022 edition of the UK-based Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings. Nitte came out with flying colours in the category of meeting UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and was ranked 92nd in the category of Good Health and Well-Being and placed in the Top 200 in the categories of Quality Education, Gender Equality, and Clean Water & Sanitation. Highly impactful social outreach projects and programs have been a mainstay of Nitte University ever since it was founded. Being a predominantly healthcare university so far, Nitte could also do projects with far reaching and enduring impact across the communities around it. Taking this ethos to a new level, Nitte University has recently started the Nitte Day Care Clinic in Mangaluru.

AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences

The clinic, spread across 20,000 sq ft, will provide modern diagnostic and therapeutic facilities at an affordable cost. The Nitte Day Care Clinic will be run by a key constituent of Nitte University, the Justice KS Hegde Charitable Hospital and has come up at Pumpwell in Mangaluru.

The clinic will provide services of specialised and experienced doctors and offer eight different types of preventive healthcare packages for the benefit of the general public. There will be 12 consultation rooms with facilities that enhance quality of life. Specialized treatments available at the clinic include dental, digital x-ray, foetal anomaly scan centre, day care chemotherapy, physiotherapy, wellequipped pharmacy, endoscopic procedures and minor OT with the capacity to conduct basic surgical procedures. If patients require advanced treatment, a free transportation facility will be arranged from the clinic to the hospital.

Nitte University got a shot in its arm recently, when a major institution so far under the Nitte Group, came under the fold of Nitte University. NMAM Institute of Technology (NMAMIT) has

been the flagship engineering college under Nitte Group for long. The college was affiliated to the Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, and it had received autonomous status in 200708. And now NMAMIT has been made a constituent college of Nitte University, effective from June 2022. This will greatly enhance the prestige and standing of the university overall, which has been until now more

focused on health sciences. For instance, engineering institutions bag the most limelight when it comes to placements, startups and rankings.

As a recent example, one of NMAMIT’s student clubs, AeroClubNitte has secured an All India 2nd Rank under Micro Class Category in SAE AeroDesign Challenge held recently at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai. The team consisted of Deeksha as the team

Nitte Usha Institute of Nursing Sciences

Nitte Gulabi Shetty Memorial Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences

captain and wing designer; Aman Kumar Srivastav as the wing structural designer, aerodynamic analyst and co-pilot; Deekshith Prabhu as pilot and propulsion system designer; Bhat Aditi Dinamani as the wing designer; K Nishmitha Pai as fuselage and aircraft designer; Pai Suchitra Maroor as the structural analyst and empennage designer; and Rathan Raj K as the structural analyst.

The role of engineering faculty and industry mentors were also quite evident in this national level win. Dr Gururaj Upadhyaya, associate professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering, NMAMIT was the technical co-ordinator of the student team. Mentors of the team from the aerospace and IT industries included Ananth Erasappa (UAV Operator United Nations/ Tata Defence and Aerospace/ Skylark Drones), Karthik Badanidiyoor (UAV Operator - United Nations Peacekeeping / Operations OfficerInfinity Drones), Sushmita S Shetty (Technical Support Engineer at VMware) and Ankith Bhandary (Software Developer-1 at Oracle).

Earlier in the year, NMAMIT students at the College Innovators Innovation & Product Development (CIIPD) Center - Nitte, had come up with an innovative 3D printed dancing robot. The robot was developed by a team of four students, from diverse academic backgrounds like Engineering, MCA, BBA etc. The

robot’s development was made possible by the use of a combination of technologies.

The design as well as the robot's body were created using 3D designing and modelling skills, and the robot is operated with the help of microcontrollers, sensors and motors These students at CIIPD Center, Nitte, believed that they not only had the right opportunity, but also mentorship, tools, training, resources, and most importantly, the innovation and maker space at Nitte that helped them not only think about an idea but also bring it into reality.

NMAMIT offers both conventional and advanced engineering branches like Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Biotechnology, Civil, Computer & Communication, Electrical & Electronics, Electronics & Communication, Information Science, Mechanical, Robotics & Artificial

Intelligence etc. The college has a strong placement record with noted companies such as Mercedes Benz, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Hitachi, ABB Power Grids, Juniper Networks, Intel, Novo Nordisk, L&T Technology Services, Syngene International, JSW, Prestige Construction, JK Cement etc. Around 1072 students were successfully placed in 2021, with the highest package being Rs 45.64 Lakh per annum. The institute has also been placed in the 'Platinum' category for having high industry linkages by the AICTE-CII Survey of Industry-Linked Technical Institutes 2020.

Research is another area where Nitte University has been taking giant strides. The university had recently invited applications from eligible candidates to secure admissions for full-time or part time PhD Course in the faculties of Medicine (Pre, Para & Clinical Medicine), Dentistry,

Justice K S Hegde Institute of Management

Nitte institute of Architecture

Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Allied Health Science, Nursing (full-time), Biological Sciences, Speech & Hearing, Engineering, Commerce & Management, Applied Sciences, Business Administration and Humanities. Meritorious full time candidates will receive Nitte PhD Fellowships of Rs 15,000 per month as per University guidelines.

Nitte University has also introduced a new 4-year BSc (Honors) in Hospitality Management at the Nitte Institute of Hospitality Services in Kodakal, Mangaluru. Nitte Education Trust, through its constituent institution, Sarosh Institute of Hotel Administration (SIHA), has been providing quality hotel management education, since 1992. In recent years,

prospects for students of hotel management programs have expanded.

Keeping this requirement in mind, the university is offeing a new 4-year BSc (Honors) in Hospitality Management. Students will be provided with a combination of traditional classroom instruction and opportunities for hands-on experiential learning, to help develop critical thinking and strategies, receive feedback, work with teams and gain confidence through organising micro and megaevents in the college and university. The university is also getting sufficient support from Central and State Governments in recognition of its various initiatives. Recently, Nitte University was selected by

Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, to have a Technology Enabling Centre (TEC), which is one of the 10 such centres established at the national level. The TEC is mandated to assess the technology and service needs of Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) in Karnataka to enable access.

Nitte University is a part of Nitte Group run by Nitte Education Trust, which was founded in 1979 by Justice Kowdoor Sadananda Hegde, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and former Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Offering education in diverse areas of learning, Nitte today offers a total of 130+ programs including medicine, engineering, management, hospitality, allied health sciences, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy, speech and audiology, media & communication and architecture. The Trust has established 40+ institutions spread across three campuses at Nitte, Mangalore and Bangalore and has over 20,000+ students and 4500+ faculty in its campuses.

N.M.A.M. Institute of Technology

Nitte Institute of Hospitality Services

LEADERSHIP ACROSS CURRICULUM, PLACEMENTS, RESEARCH & INCUBATION

Faridabad based Manav Rachna Educational Institutions (MREI), comprising of Manav Rachna International Institute of Research & Studies (MRIIRS), a deemed-to-be university, and Manav Rachna University, are excelling in every facet of higher education be it accreditations, tie-ups, industry-led curriculum, research, startup incubation, internships or placements. A strong player in diverse domains like engineering, management, hospitality and more, Manav Rachna's innovations in its MBA Programs have been truly remarkable, and is a model worth emulating by peer B-Schools in the country. The Manav Rachna Business Incubator is set across more than 5,000 square feet area and has spawned over 80 startups so far, making it one of the most productive of such facilities in the country. In the field of applied research, Manav Rachna scholars, including both faculty and research students, have so far filed for over 535 patents, presented around 7800 research papers in international & national journals as well as in global conferences, and has an impressive 28h index for quality publications as per the SCOPUS database.

Manav Rachna continues to innovate across all facets of higher education and nowhere is it more seen than in its MBA programs. Already, the MBA program has been a forte of Manav Rachna campuses, and it has strengthened it even further by adopting a unique 4-tier mentoring program (peer, industry, faculty & alumni mentors) that the students are bestowed with during the MBA, which prepares them to be both ‘mentees’ and ‘mentors’. To accelerate industry interaction and understanding of the industry dynamics among the students, students are also given an opportunity to work on more than 120+ case studies.

Manav Rachna has a Strategic Mentoring Board, whose members bring their leadership skills, experience and business acumen to the management classrooms. The board comprises of thought leaders of the industry including SY Siddiqui, Executive Advisor, Maruti Suzuki India; Mr. Rajeev Dubey, Advisor, Mahindra & Mahindra; P Dwarkanath, Executive Director – HR, GSK; and many other ace professionals from leading MNCs and Indian companies like Soft Bank India, PwC, Indian Oil, AIMA, Hero Motors, HCL, and many more.

Manav Rachna also has senior management professionals deployed as ‘Professor of Practice’ who bring several years of their industrial experience to impart insights integral to the market readiness of the students. This elite team of professors include Dr. Vikas Singh,

Behavioural Economist, Author & Mentor; and Anil Chopra, Senior Management Executive, among others. Industry veterans also interact with the management students of Manav Rachna under its flagship lecture series ‘Countdown to Corporate Careers’, which has been delivered by several industry stalwarts from both the private and public sectors.

Manav Rachna has been able to source mentors from its alumni base too due to some unique achievements. Over the decades, it has never shied away from building up formidable departments in almost every domain that matters including engineering, business management, economics, computer applications, humanities, education, law, commerce, psychology, interior design and more. This has resulted in a huge and successful alumni base of over 34,000 professionals, who have been well employed with over 500 reputed MNCs and Indian companies.

Thanks to this, Manav Rachna alumni today includes ace engineers, senior managers, country representatives of international firms, judges, lawyers and more. This widespread presence helps Manav Rachna in different ways, one being such mentor roles they play, and the other being that their companies have regularly come to source candidates from Manav Rachna campuses.

Besides this, the Manav Rachna classroom adopts an experiential

learning approach, thereby using different pedagogical means like exercises, case studies, field visits, lab exercises, research projects, and workintegrated activities. Students also get a diverse outlook through the student exchange program.

To provide ample practical exposure, Manav Rachna organizes various leadership building activities for management students that include MBA Roadies, Young Leaders Conclave, MRCON International Conference, HR Round Table, and Outbound Experiential Learning. These programs fine tune the skills of MBA students in leadership, sustainability, technology and entrepreneurship.

Manav Rachna offers MBA Dual Specialization with an industry-specific approach. Some of the specialization options available for students are Finance, Events and Media, Marketing, Human Resource and Organizational Behavior, International Business, Information System, Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Operations Management, Banking and Insurance Management, Aviation Management, Healthcare Management, and Waste Management. Pursuing MBA degree in Business Analytics from Manav Rachna has multiple other advantages like exposure to the state-of-the-art data visualization tools, getting hands-on experience in the industry by learning under the mentorship of the industry experts,

exposure to live projects and internships, a continuous evaluation process that ensures that learning remains intact and much more.

This specialized MBA program is offered in collaboration with IOA (The Institute of Analytics) - The Global Body of Analytics, UK, making Manav Rachna University the first University in NCR to collaborate with IOA for Business Analytics. The Institute of Analytics (IoA) is the Professional Body for Analytics and Data Science professionals in the UK and therefore highly respected across the world.

No wonder then that Manav Rachna's MBA students have achieved remarkable placements across the industry spectrum in companies like KPMG, Fortis, Reliance Jio, Jaro Education, Amazon, Grofers, IBM, Zomato, HT Media, IndiaBulls, PayTM, BYJU’s, Bank of America, Ericsson, Airtel, Indian Oil, American Express, Ernst & Young and many more.

Two other areas in which Manav Rachna has forged ahead of competition is startup incubation and applied research, much like the world's best universities. Day in and day out, Manav Rachna Educational Institutions (MREI) witness a hotbed of activity at its state-of-the-art research labs, research and innovation clusters, innovation and incubation centre, and in its research projects, including funded R&D projects. Altogether, this robust ecosystem helps in grooming students in advanced areas. In a first of its kind international tie-up, global research publications major Springer Nature has launched its first Academic Research Lab in India at Manav Rachna Educational Institutions.

In the field of applied research, Manav Rachna scholars, including both faculty and research students, have so far filed for over 535 patents, with a significant percentage of them being granted. These Manav Rachna research scholars have also presented around 7800 research papers in international & national journals as well as in global conferences with participation from over 13 countries. Manav Rachna boasts of 28-h index for quality publications as per the SCOPUS database.

The Manav Rachna Business Incubator is set across more than 5,000 square feet area and caters 24X7 to the requirements of budding entrepreneurs. Over the years, more than 80 companies have been incubated at Manav Rachna Campus, which have earnestly begun their participation in the global phenomenon of creating job providers rather than job seekers.

Faridabad based Manav Rachna Educational Institutions (MREI) in the field of higher education include Manav Rachna International Institute of Research & Studies (MRIIRS) and Manav Rachna University. Both have the coveted NAAC ‘A’ Grade accreditation, and have also been internationally benchmarked by QS.

Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS) is a Deemed-to-be-University under the UGC Act, and has been awarded QS 5-Star rating for Teaching, Employability, Academic Development, Facilities, Social Responsibility, and Inclusiveness. Manav Rachna University is a private university constituted under an Act of the Haryana State Legislature, and has been bestowed with the QS I-GAUGE Overall DIAMOND rating. It has received a QS I-GAUGE Diamond Rating for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Faculty Quality, Facilities, and Social Responsibility and QS I-GAUGE Platinum Rating for Employability and Academic Development.

MANAV RACHNA ALSO HAS SENIOR MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS DEPLOYED AS ‘PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE’ WHO BRING SEVERAL YEARS OF THEIR INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE TO IMPART INSIGHTS INTEGRAL TO THE MARKET READINESS OF THE STUDENTS.

Admission to these Manav Rachna universities are done competitively, fairly and transparently through the Manav Rachna National Aptitude Test (MRNAT) which is a multiple-choice test of 90 minutes covering questions of general aptitude (arithmetic & logical reasoning, general English, general awareness).

This National Entrance Test is conducted for admission to 100+ UG and PG Programmes across Engineering, Law, Education, Computer Applications, Information Technology, Design, Interior Design, Psychology, Allied Health Sciences, Digital Marketing, Physiotherapy, Nutrition & Dietetics,

Behavioural and Social Sciences, Business Studies, Commerce, Hotel Management, Media Studies among many others.

One of the highlights of Manav Rachna higher education is the industry-oriented specializations in emerging fields. These include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud, DevOps and Fullstack Development, Cyber Security & Threat Intelligence, Smart Manufacturing & Automation, Embedded System & VLSI, Forensics, Business Analytics, Internet of Things, Automation and Robotics, and many more.

Towards this, Manav Rachna has collaborations with several global technology majors including Microsoft, Intel Corporation, Xebia, Mitsubishi Electric, Amazon Web Services, Altair, Daikin, Truechip, and Quick Heal. Experts from these companies help in either academic or curriculum delivery and facilitate internships.

A higher education institution may tick many boxes needed for student success, including infrastructure, faculty, curriculum, pedagogy etc, but the ultimate test remains the kind of high achievers it produces. This is a facet in which Faridabad based Manav Rachna Educational Institutions (MREI) have been excelling for many years now. While almost every university, engineering college or business school would have an alumni association, how many of them would dare to present before the public, a collection of their topmost achievers? Yet, this is what

Manav Rachna did recently when it created a one-of-its-kind book that features the impressive success stories of its Top 25 Alumni.

Perfectly titled as 'Utkrisht - Icons of Manav Rachna', this landmark book was launched by none other than one of India's greatest achievers, Kapil Dev, in the presence of Manav Rachna's top functionaries Dr. Prashant Bhalla and Dr. Amit Bhalla, and other dignitaries. The highlight of the book is the kind of diverse and well-rounded achievers that Manav Rachna has produced so far.

Showcasing this diversity, these high achievers were classified into six major categories - Art & Glamour, Entrepreneur Magnets, Government & Administration, Industry Barons, Social Flag Bearers and Sports - thus spanning almost every sphere of high influence in modern society. How is Manav Rachna able to deliver this kind of performance? The simple answer is the kind of world-class maturity that Manav Rachna has grown into, during the 25 years of its existence.

Recently, a Centre of Excellence for Culinary Art was launched at the Faculty of Hotel Management (FHM), Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS). The Centre has been established in collaboration with Creative Cuisine Inc. Learning (CCi Learning), founded by Virender Handa and co-founded by Chef Kapil Middha. The Centre of Excellence is fully equipped with top-ofthe-line equipment and a comprehensive collection of cooking essentials to prepare students for the industry. To start with, the center is offering B.Sc. in Culinary Arts and will soon be launching an advanced diploma program in the same genre.

Manav Rachna is already an education hub known for its academic excellence and industry exposure through a multitude of Industry Knowledge Partners that facilitate top-notch learning, training and research benefits. With CCi Learning as their new Knowledge Partner for the Culinary Arts Programme, Manav Rachna students are assured of expert knowledge and skill-based training from the Master Chefs of the industry.

The programme offered at Manav Rachna has been designed with the best in the industry along with the state-of-theart infrastructure created especially to support the holistic learning of students. The Centre has top-notch facilities for teaching and training in Culinary Art.

Like all world-class universities, Manav Rachna is also leaving no stone unturned in attracting top-notch student talent by offering 100% scholarship to them. So far, scholarships worth Rs. 8 crores have been availed by Manav Rachna students based on their score in MRNAT.

THE MANAV RACHNA BUSINESS INCUBATOR IS SET ACROSS MORE THAN 5,000 SQUARE FEET AREA AND CATERS 24X7 TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS.

GALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY IS A LEADER IN THE WORLD OF QUALITY EDUCATION

Greater Noida based Galgotias University has swiftly emerged as a leader in the world of quality education by delivering consistently excellent results across academics, research and placements. Galgotias is inspired to carry forward the vision of Hon. PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji of making India a Vishwaguru and the dream of Hon. UP CM Shri Yogi AdityaNath Ji of making Uttar Pradesh a truly Global Knowledge Superpower. It has recently achieved NAAC A+ accreditation with a high score that makes it the second highest among all state private universities in the country. In the NIRF 2022 Rankings too, Galgotias has achieved excellent ranks across several domains, including

engineering, management and pharmacy. In the OBE Rankings 2022, the university is placed in the Platinum Band with Grade A++. Galgotias’ MBA and BPharm programs are also NBA accredited for adhering to world class standards. When it comes to innovation and innovation too, the university has been top ranked, having been placed in the Excellent band under the Union Government’s ARIIA framework. And Galgotias University shot into national limelight recently when it received 3,99,373 applications under the newly introduced CUET exam, thereby becoming one among the topmost 8 preferred universities in the country for admissions. For the academic year 2022-23, the university’s admissions are now open for several career focused UG/PG/PhD degrees across almost every domain including engineering, computer science, business, pharmacy, nursing, medical & allied sciences, law, hospitality & tourism, agriculture, media & communication studies, liberal education, basic & applied sciences, finance & commerce, and more. Under the dynamic leadership of its CEO Dhruv Galgotia, the young university has succeeded in attracting exceptional faculty, forged tie-ups with MNC majors like Infosys, Cognizant & Wipro for the benefit of students, and is also planning a major foray into the healthcare and hospitals sector.

Galgotias University has recently emerged as a national leader in higher education by bagging the highest benchmark in academic excellence - NAAC A+ accreditation - in its first accreditation cycle itself. With a NAAC Score of 3.37 out of 4, Galgotias has also become the only private university in Uttar Pradesh with such a high score, and the second highest among all state private universities in the country.

In the recently released NIRF 2022 Rankings, Galgotias has attained 59th Rank in Pharmacy, 93rd Rank in Management and 147th Rank in Engineering.

With over 96% placements including in some of the world’s largest firms, during the last five years, including the most troubling pandemic years, the Greater Noida based Galgotias University has also achieved the escape velocity needed to climb to an international orbit.

For the 2021-22 batch, there were over 4500 offers from over 450 recruiters, with 32% students getting Dream Offers, and an overall average CTC of 5.25

Lakhs Per Annum. The highest package this year was Rs. 44 LPA from Microsoft, bagged by BTech CSE student Guru Prakash Singh.

In MBA placements too, Galgotias has come out with flying colours with 850+ offers from 300+ recruiters with highest CTC being Rs. 17.55 LPA and Average CTC being Rs. 5.10 LPA.

On the admissions front too, Galgotias has been faring well, coming in as the 8th most preferred university in CUET, after majors like Delhi University and BHU. Almost all Departments of Galgotias have been faring excellently, with School of Hospitality & Tourism getting 2nd Rank in UP in GHRDC Survey; BPharm Program getting NBA accredited; School of Nursing achieving 100% placement; and School of Law getting 3rd Rank in a recent national survey. Three GU students have also been selected for this year’s prestigious Google Summer of Code program. Galgotias University has also been ranked among the top institutions worldwide in teaching and facilities by the QS star rating system.

GALGOTIAS IS INSPIRED TO CARRY FORWARD THE VISION OF HON.

Typically, when universities are assessed by the public or even some of the rating agencies, what counts more is the achievements - like campus placements, highest CTC, research projects, startups incubated etc. But for all such achievements to flow sustainably from an individual, he or she needs to have emotional intelligence first. Otherwise such achievements will just be a one-off event that can’t be replicated for their own benefit and the benefit of the community around.

With this idea in mind, Galgotias University has been trying to inculcate emotional intelligence into its courses, and it achieved a breakthrough recently when it became the first private university in India to conduct a value added course on non-violent communication.

The 30-hour value added course on nonviolent communications involved a series of lectures on the theme ‘Non-Violent Communications’ designed and delivered by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS), Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. The lecture series was an outcome of a collaborative effort of the Department of Humanities, School of Liberal Education, Galgotias University and GSDS.

The course was made available to Galgotias’ undergraduate and postgraduate students for their allround development including academic and personal development. A pre and post survey too was

conducted and presented in the event to map out behavioral change among the youngsters. The survey indicated a positive intervention and held a future prospect of constructive impact in students’ lives. To ensure national standards for its postgraduate programs and to ensure greater transparency, Galgotias University has become one of the eight new universities that have opted for the Common University Entrance Test PG (CUET PG). Earlier, the new test was launched with the participation of 42 participating universities, dominated by 35 Central Universities and prestigious names like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad. With the farsighted vision by Galgotias University to be a pioneer in this new program by the Central Government, it has become one among 50 internationally renowned universities and institutes of India. Administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the CUET PG is an online entrance exam that provides a common platform and equal opportunities for admission to these 50 prestigious universities. It will be a computer based test for admissions to various courses like MA, MSc, MCom and LLM at these participating universities and will be conducted in both English and Hindi.

Galgotias University was recently the host for the Grand Finale of Toycathon 2021-2022 (Physical Edition). Under the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Toycathon 2021 was conceived to challenge India’s innovative minds to conceptualize novel toy and games based on Bharatiya civilization, history, culture, mythology and ethos.

Toycathon is an inter-ministerial initiative organized by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell with support from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Textiles, and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Galgotias University has been attracting top-notch talent to its advisory and faculty panels. The University grabbed national eyeballs when it took in Justice JR Midha who had retired as a Delhi High Court Judge in 2021 to be an Advisor and Professor Emeritus.

The unique reason behind this enrollment was that Justice Midha’s has a vision to reform legal education in India. This renowned scholar and practitioner has been exhorting for an overhaul of professional advocacy skills based on the development of rational thinking, logical processes, legal reasoning and strong communication skills.

Soon enough, Justice Midha’s vision resulted in a first initiative, when Galgotias University recently launched India’s first judicial training programme under his mentorship. Galgotias’ School of Law has collaborated with Universal Institute of Legal Studies & Law Curators for this prestigious “Advanced Course

Galgotias University follows the dream of Hon.

UP CM Shri Yogi

rise despite the emerging challenges across the industry sectors. Overall, Galgotias has placed over 1 lakh students in reputed companies so far.

Galgotias has also emerged as one of the first private universities in India, to attain the prestigious NBA accreditation for several of their programs at an extremely rapid pace. These accredited programmes include Computer Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Communication Engineering. GU has fared well in national rankings like NIRF and global rankings like QS and Times Higher Education. Its overall NIRF ranking is steadily moving up, while its pharmacy and management programs have received attractive positions. Galgotias’ School of Hospitality & Tourism has also recently won a coveted global certification.

Superpower.

on Judicial Service & Professional Advocacy”.

Galgotias University has also won much appreciation for providing this Value Added Course free of cost to the students. The course will prepare students to be updated on recent case laws, and inspire in them the importance of hard work, dedication and perseverance to be an ace legal professional.

In recent years, Galgotias University has also strengthened its flagship engineering programs for which it has been most famous. Industry tie-ups are continually being forged and strengthened so that GU graduates and postgraduates in engineering are industry-ready from day one of their careers in corporates of any size or scale. Such tie-ups include guest lectures from industry experts, internships, joint curriculum development and many more such activities.

These are being pursued on a continuous basis and the major such programs at Galgotias University include Infosys-Campus Connect Programme, Cognizant Digital Nurture and Wipro Talent Next. GU students are already reaping rich dividends by way of internships and placements from such partnerships for which the management has always taken a proactive stance.

Galgotias University, despite being relatively young, has an overall placement status of 96%. Even in the recent pandemic years, when recruitments nosedived at many peer universities, Galgotias has stood its ground. The average CTC has also been on a continual

Dhruv Galgotia, CEO of Galgotias University, is also pursuing a major foray into the healthcare sector with an investment of Rs. 1200 Crores in the next 3 years. The venture, Galgotias Hospitals Pvt. Ltd. plans to establish one 500 bedded hospital in Greater Noida with state of the art equipment imported from Germany and United States of America. A second hospital is also being planned for Gurgaon. The full foray over the next several years will see 10 hospitals pan India each with 500 beds.

Galgotias Hospitals is also working out tie-ups with world class research hospitals and medical centres in Singapore and USA to ensure the latest technologies and know-how are brought to India and offered to the people of India at affordable costs. Medical tourism is also being eyed, with the Greater Noida Hospital being attached to a 5 star super deluxe hotel, having a separate division for international patients and customers wanting to get world class treatments and medical care at affordable costs in India.

Some of the specialities being planned for Galgotias Hospitals are Cardiac Surgery, Electrophysiology and Pacing, Clinical and Preventive Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology, where an integrated team of cardiac surgeons and cardiologists will work together. A fully dedicated wing for cancer patients is also being planned.

Galgotias Hospitals will be backed up with the latest technology including a unique hybrid operating suite, dedicated teams of cardiac / cancer/ laparoscopic surgeons with more than 200 types of Surgeries being performed by specialized doctors. The hospitality foray is poised to make Galgotias Group’s valuation to cross Rs. 5000 crore.

AdityaNath Ji of making Uttar Pradesh a truly Global Knowledge