Seasonal Magazine - February 2016

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2016

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Managing Editor Jason D Pavorattikaran Editor John Antony Director (Finance) Ceena Senior Editorial Coordinator Jacob Deva Senior Correspondent Bina Menon Creative Visualizer Bijohns Varghese Photographer Anish Aloysious Correspondents Bombay: Rashmi Prakash Hyderabad: Iqbal Siddiqui Delhi: Anurag Dixit Director (Technical) John Antony Publisher Jason D Pavorattikaran

The latest hero to hit the headlines is Prashant Kishor, the man who is said to have single-handedly defeated BJP, and won the battle for Nitish Kumar.

For long a Modi strategist – starting from the 2012 Gujarat assembly elections – Prashant Kishor shot to limelight after Modi’s thumping victory last year.

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let us give ourselves some credit...

But not as famous as he has ended up now, as unlike Modi, Nitish Kumar was quite generous in his appreciation of Kishor, as his public hug with the strategist soon after the election shows.

that has no qualms in missing BJP’s best-in-breed like Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, even while including Arun Jaitley who lost the elections and obedient people like Smriti Irani?

The folklore surrounding Prashant Kishor is increasing day by day.

Everything carefully leaked to a crazyfor-heroes press to create the expanding aura. The chemistr y between Nitish and Kishor is described as such – Kishor got Nitish’s glasses changed, while Nitish got Kishor’s attire changed from jeans and t-shirt to that of a politician.

If you are in doubt whether the real kingmaker Lalu is also in approval of Prashant Kishor’s role, look no further – media folklore has already reported that Lalu is calling Kishor as Panditji, and that the veteran leader has asked his sons to turn to him for advice, when Papa is not around.

Maybe true too, as one of Kishor’s basic requirements has been that the strategist will live only in the palace of the king that he is advising. So it was with Modi, and so it was with Nitish.

There is no limit to media’s need for hero worship. But only one hero at a time. The rise of Kishor and the decline of the men who took all the credit until now, Modi and his right-hand, Amit Shah, occurred in one simple stroke.

He is a good strategist, as his strategy to remove Manjhi from Chief Ministership, well before the election reveals. Even Nitish was reluctant to do it, but Kishor put it as a first necessity to win the election, and it was probably true too.

Though nobody will ever come to know what transpired between Modi, Kishor, & Shah after the Lok Sabha polls, media has already chronicled a postelection meeting between Kishor and Shah, in which Kishor asked “What after June?” and Shah quipping “After June, there is July.”

The reference obviously is to Kishor’s ministerial ambitions, and Shah’s absolute opposition to this, probably with Modi’s approval.

How can a rank outsider like Prashant Kishor be accommodated in a cabinet

There is no doubt that Prashant Kishor played a significant role in Nitish’s success and BJP’s failure in Bihar.

Kishor is also good at social media promotions, especially Twitter, and it goes to his credit that he forced Nitish – who had once mocked Modi’s Twitter as just a chidiya – to get an account there, and have a reasonable digital presence through that.

Kishor is also good at PR, OOH, design, colour sense, 3D holography, commonsense, and the list gets elongated day by day. And all these qualities are probably true too.

But, what is the exact role that such a strategist played in the win of

Mahagatabandhan and the rout of BJP? Can anyone put a number or percentage on Prashant Kishor’s role?

Is it 70%, or 60%, or 50%, or 40%, or 30%, or much much below that?

Media’s need-for-heroes seems to put the numbers upward of 70%. But commonsense says that though he played a significant role, it is downward of 30%.

Because, if we are attributing such a high percentage for Kishor’s abilities, we are in fact putting a very low percentage on the intelligence of the people of Bihar, and by extension, of the whole Indian people.

What about the negative energy unleashed throughout India, in the runup to the Bihar election, by extreme right-wing elements against everything from beef-eating to SRK, and Modi’s total silence on it? Do you think the Indian electorate is not intelligent enough to repay for it?

What about Modi’s glossy projections

of ‘Acche Din’ and his failure to live up to that, so far? Didn’t the Bihar electorate judge him for that?

What about Nitish Kumar’s aboveaverage governance that almost everyone – except those in NDA – endorses? Let us give credit where it is due, as in any election in the world, anti-incumbency wave is the most potent. Nitish has survived that.

At the end of the day, Kishor’s abilities can be summarized into two words – public relations – or may be even to a single word – marketing.

He is a professional at that, but with no value system preventing him from strategizing for anyone who compensates for it. The easy renaming of his NGO, when he shifted camps, from BJP to Nitish, is ample proof for that.

Further proof comes from his reported comments that even Congress Party’s fortunes can be revived, as the party still enjoys 20% vote share in this

country. There is no untouchability even towards the Congress who was systematically decimated in the online space by Kishor’s sophisticated cyber-henchmen and trolls, citing mammoth corruption, during the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

Are we saying that the wide and deep Indian electorate can be swayed by the strategies and public relation tactics of such a person?

It seems so, as ever yone from Karunanidhi to Rahul Gandhi is understood to have met Prashant Kishor in recent days to explore youknow-what.

Which all assignments will Kishor take up? The best guess is that only those assignments where the numbers are stacked in his client’s favour. Apart from self-promotion, this guy is pretty good at maths.

It is no secret that what accelerated BJP’s fall apart from its right-wing jingoism was the fact that three of the strongest parties were united this time.

Let us not forget that Arvind Kejriwal had an even more rocking win against the BJP a few months back, with no strategic help from Prashant Kishor.

Let us give ourselves some credit, even if media is not willing to give us.

John Antony

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VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2016

KARNATAKA SET TO EMERGE AS INVESTMENT LEADER OF INDIA THROUGH INVEST KARNATAKA 2016

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Industries Minister RV Deshpande, and the whole political and bureaucratic leadership of Karnataka are well prepared to make the best use of Bengaluru’s natural strengths, by making huge advancements in infrastructure like uninterrupted power, to attract massive global investments, even while the state is not losing its focus on ensuring inclusive development by planning to deliver windfall returns to farmers and small landowners.

Rupees Five Lakh Crore is not the largest goal when it comes to an Indian state’s ambition for an annual global investor meet. But when Karnataka says it, not only India, but the whole world is likely to take notice.

Because, the South Indian state, especially its capital Bengaluru has been both an innovation hub as well as a technological hub on a global scale, in various studies, comparable to Silicon Valley, London, Singapore, or Tel Aviv.

Once known as a laidback Garden City known for attracting retirees, the city transformed itself admirably to become Asia’s first outsourcing hub, starting from the late SEASONAL MAGAZINE

80s. The city leveraged its leading position in India for having the maximum number of scientists and engineers, including the largest contingent of doctorate holders, to attract outsourcing pioneers like Texas Instruments, Infosys, & Wipro.

In fact, Bengaluru had outpaced mightier economic hubs like Mumbai and Chennai, and newer aspirants like Gurgaon and Hyderabad, to emerge as the leader in outsourcing, by a large measure.

If anyone thought that this development in the late 80s and early 90s was a fluke, Bengaluru has done it again

INVEST KARNATAKA AIMS TO REACH OUT TO WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

The government plans to encourage the participation of women entrepreneurs, whose numbers have steadily increased over the years, as 'Invest Karnataka 2016' anticipates a resounding boost to the state's attractiveness in the eyes of global investors. Claiming to be the first instance where an event session will seek to address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, the state is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to

‘LAKES GOBBLED UP BY DEVELOPERS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES’ Prominent developers in the city are major encroachers of tanks and tankbeds in Bangalore Urban and Rural districts. This was revealed by a physical survey by a 11-member committee of the Legislative Assembly, headed by K.B. Koliwad.

The encroachment is reportedly to the extent of 10,472 acres, valued in the market at a mind-boggling Rs 1.50 lakh crore.

The committee will be sending out show-cause notices to all developers

Why Does Vladimir Putin Walk That Way? HOW GOOD IS HILLARY CLINTON'S PLAN TO TAKE ON ISIS? US Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton on 15 December outlined a multi-point plan for how she would work to defeat Islamic State (Isis) in the United States and overseas. During a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the former secretary of state also addressed the issue of homegrown terrorist attacks, such as the San Bernardino, California massacre that left 14 people dead earlier this month.

Putin’s ‘peculiar walk’ is linked to KGB weapons training, says a study published in the British Medical Journal connecting Russian president’s ‘gunslinger gait’ with his time in the Soviet security agency.

KARNATAKA GOVT CREATE AN ADVISORY BODY ON STATE INVESTMENT R V Deshpande, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and Tourism said the group has been formed to share their suggestions on attracting investors and improving infrastructure in addition to strengthening Udyog Mitra – single window agency to clear projects. The small group of captains are also expected to play a role as Karnataka's ambassadors to outside investors.

Karnataka has formed a group of industrialists to advise Large and Medium Industries Minister R.V.Deshpande on how the state could step up industrial investments. The small group of captains are also expected to play a role as Karnataka's ambassadors to outside investors.

The Minister's action comes ahead of the global investors' meet, Invest Karnataka,

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VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 FEBRUARY 2016

MANGALURU WISHES FOR A PLASTIC PARK IN INVEST KARNTAKA 2016

IIM BANGALORE'S COURSES GETS TOP RANKS Three post-graduate courses of the state-run Indian Institute of Management have been ranked top in Central Asia by Paris-based international agency Eduniversal, which specialises in higher education, the B-school said recently.

The three courses of the IIM-Bangalore are the two-year post-graduate programme in management, one-year

BANGALORE IMPROVES ITS POSITION AS TOP REALTY INVESTMENT DESTINATION IN ASIA PACIFIC The Indian foreign investment policy for the real estate sector through introduction of various liberalisation measures has reinforced the confidence of foreign investors and has helped India and Bengaluru which witnessed the highest rise in ranking - regain favour to be one of the preferred investment destinations in the Asia Pacific region, says a recent PwC study. According to Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2016 report, jointly published by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), respondents ranked Bangalore, Mumbai

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This coastal city is a step closer to getting the much touted plastic park at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore.

While the union government will provide Rs 40 crore as grant-in-aid for this project, the plastic park per se is estimated to cost Rs 300 crore and expectations are that it will be cleared in the 'Invest Karnataka 2016.

Similar Park has been sanctioned in Chennai and project there is expected to be implemented shortly, said Gokuldas Nayak, joint director, district

KARNATAKA GOVT JOIN HANDS WITH POLISH FIRM FOR CLEAN TECH INVESTMENT As part of this MOU, EKOLOG will establish a special high technology equipment factory to create a market in India for export purposes. Ekolog also declared that it would create a research and training centre of environmental technologies for local engineers and students. Smt. K. Rathna Prabha mentioned that the project would be actioned at the earliest to solve issues concerning waste management in Bengaluru City. Ekolog is active in Poland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and EU and implements contracts financed by international funds and organizations like EU, IBRD etc.

In the wake of the upcoming ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’, a MoU was signed on Thursday between Karnataka

BENGALURU'S PERIPHERAL RING ROAD GETS PAST DIFFICULT SIGNAL Unable to raise funds by itself to construct the peripheral ring road (PRR) project connecting major highways around the city from Tumkur Road to Hosur Road to provide easier access to the inner areas of the city, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has finally called for international competitive bidding to ensure that the project sees the light of day. This marks the resurrection of the dream project which was proposed in 2005.

WHITEFIELD TO WITNESS START OF METRO WORK The New Year is ringing in hope for one of the most congested and polluted areas, with BMRCL authorities declaring mid-June 2016 for the commencement of Metro work at Whitefield. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) MD Pradeep Singh Kharola made this assurance to representatives from Whitefield Area Commerce and Industries Association (WACIA) who met him recently.

COVER STORY

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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Industries Minister RV Deshpande, and the whole political and bureaucratic leadership of Karnataka are well prepared to make the best use of Bengaluru’s natural strengths, by making huge advancements in infrastructure like uninterrupted power, to attract massive global investments, even while the state is not losing its focus on ensuring inclusive development by planning to deliver windfall returns to farmers and small landowners.

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Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister

upees Five Lakh Crore is not the largest goal when it comes to an Indian state’s ambition for an annual global investor meet. But when Karnataka says it, not only India, but the whole world is likely to take notice.

Because, the South Indian state, especially its capital Bengaluru has been both an innovation hub as well as a technological hub on a global scale, in various studies, comparable to Silicon Valley, London, Singapore, or Tel Aviv.

Once known as a laidback Garden City known for attracting retirees, the city transformed itself admirably to become Asia’s first outsourcing hub, starting from the late 80s. The city leveraged its leading position in India SEASONAL MAGAZINE

for having the maximum number of scientists and engineers, including the largest contingent of doctorate holders, to attract outsourcing pioneers like Texas Instruments, Infosys, & Wipro.

In fact, Bengaluru had outpaced mightier economic hubs like Mumbai and Chennai, and newer aspirants like Gurgaon and Hyderabad, to emerge as the leader in outsourcing, by a large measure.

Such proactive attitude is already showing results with several global and domestic industries already lining up for agreements, even before this GIM begins on February 3rd.

If anyone thought that this development in the late 80s and early 90s was a fluke, Bengaluru has done it again recently by playing host to almost all the leading e-commerce startups including Flipkart and Amazon. Not only is this continuing leadership of Bengaluru evident in ecommerce, but across almost all the startup categories.

The whole of Karnataka is, in fact, in huge emerging momentum due to its capital city’s leadership across India and most of Asia. For example, today over 360 MNCs have their R&D and innovation centers in Karnataka across various sectors.These include heavyweights like Airbus, Rolls Royce, Huawei, GE, Texas Instruments General Motors, AstraZeneca, Intel, Yahoo, Microsoft, Samsung, Bell, ABB, Cisco,

R. V. Deshapande, industries minister

R. Roshan Baig, Minister of Home, Tourism, Medium & Small Scale Industries

Shri S.R. PATIL Minister for Planning and Statistics, IT, BT, Science & Technology

Accenture, and Continental.

to its kitty, so that any industry – however demanding in its requirements – would have uninterrupted power by June 2016, just in time to enable the expected investors in Invest Karnataka to start their work on ground.

Resettlement Act, 2013’ in the state.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been very keen on taking these natural strengths of Karnataka to the next level, by having a well-planned and perfectly-executed Global Investor Meet. That is why Invest Karnataka was postponed from late 2015 to February 2016, as the state wanted to cover some key groundwork before attracting global investors on a scale that will be unprecedented even for Karnataka or Bengaluru.

Assisted ably by State Industries Minister RV Deshpande, the CM and all the top political and bureaucratic leaders of Karnataka are working overtime to ensure that Invest Karnataka 2016 is not just high on MoUs, but a landmark event that will take Karnataka to the next orbit of growth and prosperity for all.

Such proactive attitude is already showing results with several global and domestic industries already lining up for agreements, even before this GIM begins on February 3rd. This has happened after the various international and domestic roadshows done by the Invest Karnataka team led by Minister RV Deshpande.

The state is rapidly adding 2000 MW of power generation and distribution

The added beauty of this GIM is that CM Siddaramaiah has personally seen to it that this GIM is coinciding with the implementation of the landmark law ‘The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and

K. Rathnaprabha

Gaurav Gupta

Farmers and landholders in Bengaluru and Karnataka are overjoyed as they would get four times or more of the current land value.

By giving such generous compensation, the state is planning to acquire 25,000 acres around Bengaulru, especially close to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for various projects including the 10,000 acre Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR).

Under the new rule, an acre here is expected to be compensated by Rs. 40 crore, which will bring a windfall to many farmers and small landowners here. That is how this CM is promoting inclusive development too, even when it facilitates land acquisition for the Rs. 5 lakh crore worth of projects expected in Invest Karnataka 2016.

Vandita Sharma SEASONAL MAGAZINE

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

“INVESTORS COME TO KARNATAKA FOR THE TOTAL BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM WE OFFER”

Seven times MLA and Minister. Thrice Industries Minister. A cumulative experience of a decade as Industries Minister under noted Chief Ministers like Deve Gowda, SM Krishna, and now Siddaramaiah. Karnataka state’s longest serving Industries Minister. That is RV Deshpande for you.

When Seasonal Magazine met him in Bengaluru for this interview, it was a Sunday. But for RV Deshpande and his whole office comprising of IAS officers to regular staff at Karnataka Udyog Mitra, it was like any other day.

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RV DESHPANDE, MINISTER FOR LARGE & MEDIUM SCALE INDUSTRIES

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“ INVESTORS COME TO KARNATAKA FOR THE TOTAL e have met politicians across India and expect all of them to be unpunctual. But you would miss your appointment if you are late for a meeting with him. Because RV Deshpande keeps his time, irrespective of whether he is coming from his nearby official home or from across the world.

Expect meetings with him to be preponed rather than postponed. Our meeting too was preponed by a sharp 45 minutes, and sharp it remained.

India’s first Global Investor Meet by any state happened in 2000 when he was the Industries Minister. And this is the second time a GIM is happening under his tenure, and he is working hard to ensure that it leaves a mark.

Even if his officers are too busy, he is not busy enough not to return a call or text. To call this 68-year old veteran leader proactive would be an understatement.

He crisscrosses the world as easily as he travels Karnataka in his helicopters and light aircraft. He was recently in Silicon Valley evangelizing the business community there about why they should set shop in Karnataka.

But don’t expect him to dole out incentives like free land and decade-long VAT exemptions to attract investments, like his peers in Andhra, Telangana, & Tamil Nadu are doing. He knows the strengths of Karnataka too much to invite investments at any cost.

In fact, he becomes most vocal when he starts speaking about Karnataka’s long love with industries. According to RV Deshpande it started even before Indian Independence with the Maharajah himself proactive in attracting entrepreneurs who went on to establish pioneering successes like Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. If you are a harsh critic of Bengaluru’s SEASONAL MAGAZINE

traffic situation, the Minister would gently remind you of the traffic situation in New York, where he was just weeks earlier. But he is candid enough to admit that much more needs to be done in the capital city to ease traffic.

According to him jargons like Single Window Clearance don’t mean much if it does not ease the process of approvals. He prefers actual approvals to mere signing of MOUs. RV Deshpande is so experienced and so confident of his experience that he had some tips for India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Central Government’s programs like Make in India and Digital India. The Karnataka minister is reported to have suggested to Jaitley that he needs to create welldefined industrial policies for these programs to succeed.

Indeed this Industries Minister sure has the capability to advice as he had a pioneering role in promulgating Karnataka’s IT Policy and BT Policy, as well as in updating these policies during his long tenure. Today, Karnataka has well-defined industrial policies for each sector, including a new Startup Policy, that is sure to be emulated by other states as they have done before with Karnataka’s famed IT & BT policies.

At his age and experience, Deshpande is so frank to express his preference for listening more to industrialists rather than his officers, due to their deep industry knowledge. He has recently made a 19-member team of industry captains to advise him which includes such stalwarts like Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, TVS Chairman Venu Srinivasan, JSW Founder Sajjan Jindal, Manipal Global Education Services Chairman TV Mohandas Pai etc.

No challenge is too big for him, and he has been advocating

manufacturing industries to move out of Bengaluru to Karnataka’s Tier-II and Tier-III cities where cluster development for specific industries are followed. He counts UB Group’s moving out of Bengaluru as a productive one for the company, which happened after he advised Vijay Mallya on the same.

When speaking about Make in India he is quick to point out that Karnataka has been doing this for decades with examples like Bosch, ABB, and all the telecom giants in the electronic city.

More than anything else, he wants investors to choose Karnataka for the Government’s attitude to industries, quickness in decision-making, transparency, good infrastructure, high ease-of-doing-business, and incomparable talent pool, all of which creates an excellent business ecosystem.

Seasonal Magazine in conversation with RV Deshpande, Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka: Karnataka’s first Global Investor Meet happened in 2000 while you were the Industries Minister, and this is the second time the GIM is happening under your leadership.

How do you plan to address the newer challenges facing a GIM in 2016, like increased competition among states, infrastructure bottlenecks etc?

First of all, Invest Karnataka 2016 is not happening under my leadership, but under the leadership of our Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah. But yes, this is the second time this Global Investor Meet is happening while I am the Industries Minister. Regarding challenges, please understand, these problems are everywhere, in every state, and we are addressing it. You should realize that Karnataka was the first state in India to host a GIM, in 2000. And gradually, almost every

BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM WE OFFER other state followed. So we have shown the way even in hosting investor meets, and so we are pretty confident about this year’s outcome too. Karnataka’s industry-friendliness, in fact goes back to much more than the GIM, the IT boom of the 80s and 90s, and it even predates Indian

”

Independence. I was recently at a function where Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s second helicopter facility. HAL was founded as Hindustan Aircraft Company 7 years before Independence by a private sector industrialist to whom the

Maharajah of Mysore gave 700 acres of land free. Last year was HAL’s Platinum Jubilee. So, Karnataka has a long track-record in industry friendliness.

You are Karnataka’s longest serving Industries Minister who has worked with 3 CMs and two different parties. How do you assess the strengths of Congress and CM Siddaramaiah when it comes to promoting industrial growth?

I have worked with 7 Chief Ministers as Minister or MLA, right from the days of Ramakrishna Hegde. I have handled Industries portfolio for more than 10 years now, under Deve Gowda, SM Krishna, and now Siddaramaiah. One thing I can say is that successive governments in Karnataka have all been investor friendly. That is why today if you take a look at all the leading industrial houses of India, they are all here in Karnataka – Tata, Ambani, Birla, Mahindra, Godrej, any big group for that matter. When it comes to MNCs too, many of the largest such companies, across different sectors, are well-established in the state. The state has also spawned many great companies like Infosys. All this has happened because successive governments in Karnataka have been industry-friendly. This culture cuts across party lines. Our Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too is very proactive in industry promotion.

So, according to you, what has resulted in attracting such investments into Karnataka, irrespective of politics?

Karnataka people are very friendly and cultured. Most politicians and bureaucrats too are friendly and proactive. Our human resource pool is second to none, and workers are available for everything from research activities to skilled work. Our labour strike rate is the lowest in the country.

The law & order situation is excellent.

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“ INVESTORS COME TO KARNATAKA FOR THE TOTAL Lastly, Karnataka has been blessed by God with pleasant weather all through the year.

You have only taken up the Industries portfolio in this cabinet only very recently and you have been moving at a hectic pace.

What do you identify as Karnataka’s greatest challenge in attracting investments these days?

Is it lack of ease-of-doing-business, lack of infrastructure growth, or something else?

Please understand that both infrastructure development and easeof-doing-business are works-inprogress. For conducting roadshows in America for Invest Karnataka 2016, I was in New York recently. Do you know at what speed cars move in New York during peak hours? At ant’s speed! So these issues are everywhere.

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But don’t think I am defending Bengaluru’s traffic congestion. We are working overtime to address such issues. But infrastructure growth will always lag because the industrial growth here is at a higher pace. That is why I said it is an ongoing process.

Similar is the case with ease-of-doing business. We have progressed much in this regard. Now we have the second place in ease-of-doing-business among all Indian states. We have moved up significantly. But there is still significant room for improvement, and we are attempting it systematically.

You deserve appreciation for your non-partisan stand on development issues and you have openly praised CMs of Andhra and Telengana for their investor friendly policies. But at the same time you don’t believe in attracting investments through

offering incentives like how they are doing. Why is it so?

Incentive is not a prerequisite for an industry to succeed. What matters more is the whole industrial ecosystem, especially Government’s attitude to industry. Other factors in this ecosystem are the available HR pool, labour laws, presence of other related industries etc. This entire ecosystem is present in Karnataka. This is not to say that we don’t offer incentives. We are open to offer them, but before that an industry should approach us based on this state’s ecosystem. The fact at the ground level is that this is what is happening; I don’t see many industries choosing a place only on incentives. They are smart and understand the importance of the whole business ecosystem. Otherwise, how so much investments would have

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flown to this state?

Don’t you think Karnataka lost major projects like that of Foxconn, Xiaomi, & Hero MotoCorp due to lack of incentives on both land price and tax exemptions? These projects could prove to be game changers for Maharashtra, Andhra, & Telengana?

All that is mere propaganda. I don’t believe it at all. I know each of these cases, and none of these companies overlooked Karnataka based on incentives. To cite a specific example that you mentioned, I had a recent discussion with Pawan Munjal, Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, and he informed me that they didn’t choose another state over Karnataka due to the incentives there. There are other considerations too for a business house. Hero Group is in fact actively considering Karnataka for their aerospace venture.

On the ease-of-doing-business front, you are now strengthening Karnataka Udyog Mitra. How do you address investor concern that

”

this is still not a single-window facility?

country-specific desks at Udyog Mitra?

Single-window concept has been there for more than 10 years now. But what is the use if one window opens to ten other windows? In practice, it is very difficult to implement what is ideal, as there are numerous laws and protocols that should be dealt with, that should be removed for such efficiency to arrive. That is why we are strengthening Udyog Mitra with features like country-specific desks, and one of our key plans now is to empower Commissioner of Industrial Development much more so that many decisions can be taken at his level itself in a rapid manner. Ease-ofdoing-business also can’t be the responsibility of a single agency like Udyog Mitra, as it involves many policy aspects, for instance labour reforms. We have done it recently with our new Labour Policy, and the efforts will continue. That is why I said earlier that ease-of-doing-business too is a work-in-progress.

You see, investor proposals and project approvals are complex affairs. An industrialised state like Karnataka has to deal with a lot of proposals on an ongoing basis. The complexity is compounded when the investors come from different countries with their own different culture and expectations. So to reduce the complexity and speedup follow-up action, we have created country-specific desks like USA Desk, Japan Desk etc at Udyog Mitra. This ensures that investors from a specific country will be served by a unique set of officers that will make follow-up actions more effective.

Can you explain the concept of

You have recently set up a 19member committee of industry captains to advise you. How do you view their feedback on various issues? Are you planning to change track on any issue due to their advice?

Frankly speaking, I value the advice of industrialists much more than the advice of my officers, when it comes SEASONAL MAGAZINE

“ INVESTORS COME TO KARNATAKA FOR THE TOTAL to the matter of how to attract more investments. This is because as industrialists they have immense experience, and they would be knowing what other industrialists who are considering Karnataka, are looking for. They will be able to guide me on what to do and what not to do, while seeking investments. This committee has been formed only recently, and I hope it will make productive change in the near future itself.

You have played a pivotal role in formulating the state’s pioneering IT Policy, BT Policy etc which helped these industries to thrive. But if you look at recent successes like ecommerce or startups, this has happened even in the absence of any government policy. In this context do you think that the government should focus only on aspects like infrastructure growth and ease-of-doing-business?

No, that view is not correct.

Government’s sector-wise policies will indeed make a positive difference. I

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agree that startups and e-commerce have arrived on its own in Bengaluru, but to take it forward, and to take it to more aspiring entrepreneurs, government policy is critical. Recently we have made a Startup Policy and are planning to set up a Startup Council.

Earlier, the startup movement was confined only to the information technology sector. But with government assistance and encouragement, startups are now appearing in almost every sector. If you see the emergence of industry in Karnataka, especially the emergence of knowledge industries like IT & BT, it was driven by very effective sectorspecific policies that were also updated every few years. Karnataka was the first state to have an IT Policy, first state to have a BT Policy, and now the first state to have a Startup Policy. Today, we are the only state with relevant policy for each sector be it tourism, infrastructure, textiles, agriculture etc, with some of them amended recently.

This strategy has made a difference in

the past, and it will make a difference in the future too. Youngsters today are much more innovation-driven, and given proper encouragement there is no limit to what they can achieve. Our plan for a Startup Council includes the participation from the state’s vast university/college system so that encouragement starts from the young age itself.

You are a strong proponent of industries moving to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Do you really see this happening on the ground on a massive scale?

We have been requesting manufacturing industries to move from Bengaluru to Tier-II and Tier-III cities for a long time now. Many of them have done that and reaped the benefits too. I remember suggesting this idea to Vijay Mallya and he did that successfully some time back. Even more, he could use the vacated land in Bengaluru to build UB City. We are also requesting new investors to

BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM WE OFFER

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actively look at the opportunities provided by our Tier-II/Tier-III cities like lower cost of manpower, lower living costs etc. Many of them are setting shop in these smaller cities because we follow the cluster development model and it makes sense for them to be where their competitors and ancillary industries are. Since many of these smaller cities and regions are well-developed now with even the presence of MNCs, I see this momentum picking up.

What about connectivity issues between these regions?

Apart from excellent road and rail connectivity, we are very aggressively promoting air connectivity. Bengaluru airport is already the nation’s third largest. Two cities have international airports and four other cities have domestic airports. And there are concrete plans to develop smaller airports or airstrips in around 15 TierII/Tier-III cities, many of them by the private sector for faster completion.

Are you concerned about the power situation in the state?

You see, not too long back, we were power surplus. But now we are a bit power deficient due to the poor monsoons in 2015. The situation would change again, as we are adding 2000 to 3000 MW of new generation, including from wind and solar, by this coming June or July.

Karnataka is changing land acquisition rules for providing sharply higher compensations to farmers and landholders. While the idea behind this is equitable development, don’t you think higher land costs will be a dampener to the industry?

The government’s policy is that no fertile land should be acquired. Only barren land would be acquired on a

consent basis. The government is committed to provide more than fair compensation to landholders. I strongly feel that ensuring equitable development in such a manner won’t be a dampener to industrial growth.

You led roadshows in USA and Europe for Invest Karnataka 2016.

How has been the follow-up from these meets? Are you bullish on investor sentiment?

I could sense strong investor sentiment favouring Karnataka from these road shows. Not that there aren’t any concerns. With regard to Bengaluru there are concerns like the traffic bottleneck, the efficiency of the garbage disposal and so on. But we are assuring that all of them are being attended to with full vigour. New flyovers are being planned and constructed to create signal-free corridors, and the work of the Peripheral Ring Road is also ongoing.

And we are in agreement with investors that a lot more needs to be done.

Are you concerned about the increasing competition from other states, especially your neighbours?

Also, why should an investor choose Karnataka over other states?

There are several reasons to choose Karnataka to set up a business.

Government’s attitude to industries, quickness in decision-making, transparency, good infrastructure, high ease-of-doing-business, incomparable talent pool, excellent business ecosystem etc are some of these reasons.

Regarding competition, I can only say that every state has a right to attract investments.

They would get it or not based on their own strengths.

What would be your strategy in a nutshell for Invest Karnataka 2016?

There is a great feeling among our people and our leaders that the state’s prosperity is linked to continuous inflow of investments. Only investments into the state can create more jobs, create revenue, create infrastructure, and thus ensure development. So, in Invest Karnataka 2016 we want to attract investments from all over the world. For that we need to showcase our strengths. We want to explain where we stand on ease-of-doing-business, infrastructure etc. Signing of MoUs is not the real objective. What matters is only how much is implemented. Our focus will be on what can be implemented.

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“KARNATAKA IS BUILDING NEW ADVANTAGES UPON ITS TRADITIONAL STRENGTHS” Seasonal Magazine interviewed Gaurav Gupta, IAS, Commissioner for Industrial Development, and Director of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka, to know more about the state’s new plans for industrial development, in the wake of the upcoming ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’, a Global Investor Meet scheduled for 3rd to 5th February 2016.

or Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Industries Minister RV Deshpande, and the whole of Karnataka Government, ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’ is destined to be an acid test on whether they can take the traditionally industrialised state to the next orbit of growth and prosperity.

The responsibility for ensuring the success of this Global Investor Meet sits heavily on the shoulders of a few key senior bureaucrats led by new Chief Secretary, Arvind Jadhav; Additional Chief Secretary to Commerce & Industries Department, K Ratna Prabha; Commissioner for Industrial Development, Gaurav Gupta; and other senior officers at the helm.

Gaurav Gupta, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, is an IAS officer who has SEASONAL MAGAZINE

made Karnataka his home for decades now. A Karnataka cadre officer, he was appointed as Commissioner for Industrial Development, and Director of Industries & Commerce, barely 16 months back.

When we met him for this interview, we couldn’t help but notice some of his distinguishing abilities. The first among these include his ability to admit shortfalls if any in the state, be it Bengaluru’s traffic congestion, Karnataka’s power shortage, or any such challenges. But he is also a solutions man, who can detail within seconds step-by-step plans for overcoming each of these challenges.

Gaurav Gupta’s next impressive ability is his realistic views on even high-voltage events like ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’. He prefers to admit that investor interest is sluggish in commodity sectors like steel and

cement. But he is quick to add that the high investor interest in various sunrise sectors is more than enough to offset this sluggishness in a few large traditional sectors.

He is also fully in sync with CM Siddaramaiah’s and Industries Minister RV Deshpande’s unique view that Karnataka shouldn’t compete for investments by offering huge incentives. For someone taking up the huge responsibility of attracting investments in face of stiff competition from incentive-driven models like Andhra, Telengana, & Tamilnadu states, this is certainly not an easy position to take.

Gaurav Gupta would rather educate investors on how his state is rapidly building new advantages for investors based on its traditional strengths like its engineering talent pool, its pleasant weather, its stable socioeconomics etc. When he talks about the state’s new advantages like its R&D prowess, its start-up ecosystem, and its headstart in various sunrise sectors, one can easily realize that this seemingly softspoken bureaucrat is in fact a very effective evangelist for brand Karnataka.

When we met Industries Minister RV Deshpande for an interview later in the week, the minister was candid

enough to admit that he consults industrialists more than his officers. But this same minister was of the view that ease-of-doing-business in the state would be much better if more powers at both the political and senior bureaucratic level is concentrated with the Commissioner for Industrial Development.

While Minister Deshpande was technically referring to the post of Commissioner, it is easy to make out that he is planning to empower Commissioners like Gaurav Gupta who are fast and passionate in their jobs.

The Commissioner also has the additional responsibility of heading Karnataka Udyog Mitra as its Chairman, which is a modern organization set up to ensure ease-of-

doing-business and single-window clearance to projects. Empowering and perfecting Udyog Mitra ranks high in the agenda of Minister Deshpande.

Another ability of Gaurav Gupta that is playing out well for Karnataka is that he is an officer who knows the state inside out.

Joining Indian Administrative Service in 1990, he started out as Assistant Commissioner of Kundapur Sub Division in Karnataka two years later.

Fourteen assignments and promotions later, as Commissioner for Industrial Development, he has a wealth of experience across sectors and geographies in the state. Gaurav Gupta has worked directly in Bengaluru, Raichur, Shimoga, Udupi, Mangalore, Dharward, and more regions in various senior assignments.

This experience really showed itself in our interview with him, as he had the details of all cluster-based industrial developments across this vast state, on his fingertips.

His experience across sectors too is impressive with he heading state level operations in revenue, transport, water supply, employment/training, and electricity distribution, besides heading Bengaluru and various districts and zilla panchayats as its Commissioner.

His awareness on all major companies present in the state, as well as those

Gaurav Gupta, IAS, Commissioner for Industrial Development, and Director of Industries & Commerce,

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KARNATAKA IS BUILDING NEW ADVANTAGES

presently considering investments in the state, is also impressive, and seems to be a pleasant side-effect of having worked in various core service sectors during his 25 year old career.

head-start in IT outsourcing since the late 80s are well-known, what are the relatively newer advantages that Karnataka is projecting through this investor meet?

This multiple award-winning officer for stellar performance in his career, also has an impressive track-record in higher education and specialized training. He took his BTech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and his MTech in Power Apparatus & Systems from IIT Delhi.

Yes, the talent pool has been the traditional advantage since a few decades now. But in recent years, this advantage has progressed to something very interesting, which is that today Karnataka is home to more than 360 R&D centres of leading MNCs in different sectors. For example, GE has the John F. Welch Technology Centre here, and other leading R&D Centres are by Cisco, Airbus, Boeing, UTC Aerospace etc to name just a few. Another relatively newer advantage is that Karnataka leads the country in start-up ventures, with almost all majors in e-commerce headquartered in Bengaluru, and the state being home to more than half of all new start-ups. There is a buzzing entrepreneurial ecosystem here in Karnataka now. Yet another newer

His academic background and specialized training in multiple fields make him a rapid learner of new concepts and technologies, and he speaks Kannada as fluently as his English or Hindi.

Seasonal Magazine in conversation with Gaurav Gupta, IAS, Commissioner for Industrial Development , Government of Karnataka.

While the traditional advantages of Karnataka like its largest engineering talent pool and its

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advantage is that the state is once again pioneering investments in almost all the sunrise sectors.

Can you mention some of these newer sectors?

A lot of innovation is coming in material science, and Karnataka was thankfully ready for it due to our R&D advantages. Other emerging areas where we have an edge include machine tools, aerospace, pharma, biotech, audio visual technologies, gaming, animation films, movie post production etc. Many Hollywood studios outsource their animation or post production works to firms in Karnataka. In pharmaceuticals, we have attracted a big investment from UK based Glaxo SmithKline which is setting up its first production unit anywhere in the world in the last 15 years. This is coming up at Vemgal Industrial Area in Kolar and will be GSK’s largest greenfield facility worldwide, with Rs. 1000 crore investment, and producing 9 billion

UPON ITS TRADITIONAL STRENGTHS

” Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ). Tumkur is also a planned Smart City by the Central Government. The size and scope of Tumkur NIMZ is huge in that it is more than 40 times the size of Bengaluru’s Electronic City which has been India’s largest electronics park.

It will also have a Japanese Village which is an industrial park by Japan, and a dedicated park for Machine Tools manufacturing. The new HAL facility for manufacturing helicopters is also at Tumkur, for which the PM recently laid the foundation stone. The state has also acquired 3300 acres at Yadgir, near Hyderabad, of which 500 acres has been earmarked for a Pharma Park, and a Textile Park is also being planned there.

Are you following cluster based development in these districts?

tablets and capsules annually. The Government has provided them a 50acre land to develop this large production unit.

Bengaluru has been the stronghold of Karnataka industry. While this will continue, what are your plans for bringing up investments in other cities and districts of Karnataka?

This is already happening since the last many years now. For example, India’s largest steel plant at a single location is in Karnataka, which is JSW Steel’s Vijayanagar plant at the Bellary-Hospet area which was traditionally an underdeveloped region. It is also the country’s first 10 MTPA steel plant.

Similarly in Belgaum, which has traditionally been the foundry and automotive castings hub of Karnataka, a new aerospace SEZ has come up which is promoted by a private company Quest Global in joint venture with Canada’s Magellan

Aerospace. The 300 acre SEZ is already home to Boeing, Airbus, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies and Lockheed Martin.

When it comes to Mangalore, the region has one of the largest greenfield petrochemicals complex in the country, the ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd. Still, Karnataka being a relatively large state, are you confident that most districts are getting similar projects?

Yes, industrial development is happening in other districts too. In Tumkur, we have approved acquisition of 12,000 acres of land for a National Investment &

A lot of innovation is coming in material science, and Karnataka was thankfully ready for it due to our R&D advantages.

Cluster based development has been happening naturally in Karnataka, as well as by design in recent years. For instance, in Chamarajnagar, which is near Coimbatore, we have notified 1362 acres of land for an industrial hub, which will have specialized parks for textiles, foods, spices, granite, power, and renewable energy. This has been designed so by taking it account the region’s natural industries as well as proximity to neighboring industrial hubs of Coimbatore, Erode, & Salem. Similarly, at Narasapur in Kolar, which we are developing as a new automobiles hub we have attracted the largest two-wheeler plant

by Honda, and a unit by Swedish bus and truck maker Scania. This development at Kolar will complement the state's other auto hubs like Hoskote, Bidadi, Bommasandra, Nanjagud, Dharward etc, that already host plants by auto majors like Toyota, Volvo, Mahindra, TVS, Tata, BEML etc.

Karnataka has been a traditional powerhouse in some sectors like mining, horticulture, food processing, floriculture etc. What SEASONAL MAGAZINE

“ are the new initiatives in these traditional sectors?

Mining as you know is highly dependent on policies of the Central Government, and lately it has also been directed by Supreme Court.

Thankfully, after the new auction based licenses, things are once again looking up. If the commodity prices too improve, Karnataka stands to gain much in items like iron ore. When it comes to gold mining, the state still has the leading position due to the state PSU, Hutti Gold Mines. We are still strong in floriculture, horticulture, food processing etc, and in Mysore and Hassan we have major food processing industries. Recently Reitzel Group of France has agreed to put up a gherkin processing plant at Kunigal.

Power shortage has been a challenge for many Indian states including Karnataka. How far has the state progressed recently in this regard to allay investors’ concern?

Power shortage in Karnataka has been a temporary setback during this year, which was due to the extremely poor monsoon rains. The state has the largest contribution by way of hydroelectric power, which stands at around 40%. So the bad monsoon could really affect us. But we have moved quickly to ensure that this is a

KARNATAKA IS BUILDING NEW ADVANTAGES

temporary setback, and we have been rapidly augmenting not only our thermal power production, but also our wind and solar power programs, which will together provide the state with over 2000 MW more of generation, within this year itself. Over the longer term, we have visionary projects like the 2000 MW solar park being planned at Pavagada in Tumkur, which would be one of the world’s largest solar parks spread over 10,000 acres and being developed with Central Government’s assistance.

Already, NTPC has committed to develop 600 MW solar power in this park.

Is the state planning any new tax incentives like VAT exemption to large industries so that they will be setting up new plants in the state?

Karnataka has been one of the most industrialised states in the country for many decades now, due to the state’s natural strengths as well as the industry-friendly policies the state has always followed. We have been very successful in attracting investments, in both the traditional manufacturing sectors as well as in the modern knowledge-based sectors. Our advantages are significant and continuing, like for instance our easeof-doing-business and our industryready land bank of over 30,000 acres.

As such, our view on incentives is that it alone shouldn’t decide whether a company invests in Karnataka or not.

Having said that, we do have incentives like tax exemptions for attracting investments in our Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

While Bangalore has done a lot of projects like Metro and elevated road to ease traffic, the situation on road remains a challenging one.

What are the state’s new plans to ease traffic flow in the capital city?

The current traffic situation, despite many significant infrastructure projects, reveals only one thing, which is Bengaluru’s more than expected growth, which is a good thing in fact.

Our efforts to ease the traffic in Bengaluru would continue, but we are not sure whether it would be enough to catch up with the way the city is growing! Anyway the completion of Namma Metro Phase I within the next 4 to 6 months is sure to make a difference. Another major project for easing congestion in the city is the signal-free corridors planned for the Outer Ring Road as well for certain key arterial roads. Then we have the Peripheral Ring Road development which is going on. The fleet of airconditioned buses, which already includes 500 to 600 buses to Whitefield area, is also getting augmented. We are also encouraging carpooling and similar new transportation concepts.

Karnataka is changing land acquisition rules for providing sharply higher compensations to farmers and landholders. While the idea behind this is equitable development, don’t you think higher land costs will be a dampener to the industry?

The state has been traditionally following consent based land acquisition. What you said is true, land rates have gone up significantly,

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UPON ITS TRADITIONAL STRENGTHS

especially around Bengaluru. We are tackling this on a two-pronged approach.

One is to encourage heavy industries to set shop outside of Bengaluru, and the second one is to encourage knowledge based industries to go for vertical development. In high-tech zones, we allow an FAR of even 3.

As an experienced top bureaucrat, you have worked with many Ministers and Chief Ministers. How are the visions of CM Siddaramaiah and Minister RV Deshpande different, from your earlier experiences?

Both Chief Minister and Industries Minister are fully committed to growth.

Unlike in earlier days, there is a realization among people as well as leaders, across India, that growth and employment generation need investments. Karnataka’s new industrial policy correctly reflects this awareness, and has put a target of attracting 5 lakh crore of investments so that 15 lakh new jobs are created.

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How do you view the heightened competition from neighbouring states like Tamilnadu and Andhra?

generation, and as such, these kinds of incentives are damaging to the larger public cause.

I think each state has its own strong points that would help them in attracting investments. These strengths can even be mutually beneficial for the neighbouring states, and to that extent it is a healthy competition.

Having said that, I strongly feel that attracting investments solely on too much incentive like free land and full tax exemption is very unhealthy. A state should be attracting investments also for the public good like larger tax income and land compensation for farmers, apart from employment

You participated in various roadshows across India and abroad for this upcoming Global Investors Meet. How satisfied are you with the response so far from investors towards Invest Karnataka 2016? Is it up to your expectations or above it?

Karnataka has been one of the most industrialised states in the country for many decades now, due to the state’s natural strengths as well as the industry-friendly policies the state has always followed.

We are largely satisfied with the response so far to Invest Karnataka 2016. There is very high investor interest, especially in some areas like pharma, biotech, aerospace, high-tech manufacturing, R&D centres etc.

However, investor interest has been moderate in some traditional sectors like steel and cement, which is due to the poor global sentiment in such commodities now. Such industries are cyclical in nature, and we are sure that investor interest in such sectors would bounce back when the global sentiment improves.

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KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

Invest Karnataka aims to reach out to

women entrepreneurs The government plans to encourage the participation of women entrepreneurs, whose numbers have steadily increased over the years, as 'Invest Karnataka 2016' anticipates a resounding boost to the state's attractiveness in the eyes of global investors. Claiming to be the first instance where an event session will seek to address the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, the state is leaving no stone unturned in its bid to promote innovative start-ups. he government has also announced a host of concessions and incentives through the Industrial Policy 2014-19 in order to provide the muchneeded impetus for women entrepreneurs to expand their initiatives.

Women entrepreneurs of the country may rejoice, as the Karnataka

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government’s flagship event, Invest Karnataka 2016, will for the first time, witness a focused session for women in business and entrepreneurs, besides offering them a forum for B2B connect and networking.

In a bid to boost women entrepreneurs, the global investors meet 0- scheduled during February 3-5, 2016 - will hold technical, thematic, and country

session on various subjects, along with an industrial exhibition for three days, for which, women entrepresneurs are being encouraged to participate. The Thematic session on ‘Promoting Women Entrepreneurship in Karnataka’ will be held on February 4.

Accordingly, Karnataka Additional Chief Secretary (Department of Commerce and Industries) K Ratna Prabha held a meeting on Monday with various women associations to discuss the thematic session, and initiate preparations of Invest Karnataka 2016.

Meanhwile, the state, as part of efforts to encourage women entrepreneurs, has aimed at offering the much needed impetus to women entrepreneurs through the Industrial Policy 2014-19, even dedicating an exclusive chapter for them.

Apart from a host of incentives and concessions, women entrepreneurs will also be given an investment promotion subsidy based on the size of their units.

Meanwhile, as an outcome of the letter of intent signed between sisters cities Bengaluru and San Francisco recently, a delegation of women entrepreneurs from San Francisco is expected to participate in Invest Karnataka 2016.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

Karnataka govt create an

advisory council on

investment V Deshpande, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and Tourism said the group has been formed to share their suggestions on attracting investors and improving infrastructure in addition to strengthening Udyog Mitra – single window agency to clear projects. The small group of captains are also expected to play a role as Karnataka's ambassadors to outside investors.

Karnataka has formed a group of industrialists to advise Large and Medium Industries Minister R.V.Deshpande on how the state could step up industrial investments. The small group of captains are also expected to play a role as Karnataka's ambassadors to outside investors.

Venu Srinivasan

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

The Minister's action comes ahead of the global investors' meet, Invest Karnataka, scheduled for February. This step, the government believes, will strengthen the state's single window agency, Karnataka Udyog Mitra.

Sajjan Jindal companies from different countries, the Udyog Mitra has also set up country-specific pavilions, which is a single point of contact for investment in the State, according to Industries department officials.

The 19-member committee, headed by the Industries Minister, also consists of Biocon founder Kiran MazumdarShaw, TVS Chairman Venu Srinivasan, JSW group founder Sajjan Jindal, Manipal Global Education Services Chairman T.V.Mohandas Pai. Last week, the Minister held a joint meeting with the working group of industry captains and officials at Udyog Mitra to share their suggestions on attracting investors and improving infrastructure.

To further enhance speedy clearance of investment projects and handhold SEASONAL MAGAZINE

TV Mohandas Pai

The government has been pursuing the idea of strengthening the Udyog Mitra to speed up clearances. The single window agency has often come under attack from investors, who have said they still have to approach other smaller windows to get several approvals even after the high level committee headed by the Chief Minister clearing their investments.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

KARNATAKA GOVT JOIN HANDS WITH POLISH FIRM FOR CLEAN TECH INVESTMENT

As part of this MOU, EKOLOG will establish a special high technology equipment factory to create a market in India for export purposes. Ekolog also declared that it would create a research and training centre of environmental technologies for local engineers and students. Smt. K. Rathna Prabha mentioned that the project would be actioned at the earliest to solve issues concerning waste management in Bengaluru City. Ekolog is active in Poland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan

and EU and implements contracts financed by international funds and organizations like EU, IBRD etc.

In the wake of the upcoming ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’, a MoU was signed on Thursday between Karnataka Department of Commerce and Industries and Ekolog of Poland with the initiative budget of $50 million as private investments in clean technologies sector, cutting edge solutions for ecology related investments.

The innovative product portfolio of Ekolog consists of ELA reactors for wastewater treatment plants, technologies for biological and chemical phosphorus removal, denitrification and nitrification, separate bioreactors at municipal waste water treatment plant and a cogeneration system with supply of electricity to the national grid.

The MoU was signed between Robest Jans, Director, Eklog and K Rathna SEASONAL MAGAZINE

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

Bangalore Improves Its Position as Top Realty Investment Destination in Asia Pacific

The Indian foreign investment policy for the real estate sector through introduction of various liberalisation measures has reinforced the confidence of foreign investors and has helped India and Bengaluru - which witnessed the highest rise in ranking - regain favour to be one of the preferred investment destinations in the Asia Pacific region, says a recent PwC study. ccording to Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2016 report, jointly published by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), respondents ranked Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi at 12th, 13th and 16th positions for investment prospects and at 15th, 13th and 11th positions for development prospects respectively, in the list of the 22 markets covered in the report.

While there has been a marginal drop in rankings of Mumbai and New Delhi from an investment prospects perspective (they were ranked 11th and 14th, respectively in Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2015 report), Bangalore has shown a

remarkable improvement as it has moved up 5 positions over its last year’s ranking (17th).

The report attributes the surge in Bangalore’s rankings to its technology industry and the availability of a large pool of skilled labour necessary to ramp up the venture capital backed startups.

The report highlights that Mumbai is on a recovery path on the commercial real estate side and, down-town is on stable ground. Delhi and nearby industrial zones have one of the biggest pipelines of new supply in Asia and on the ground, occupancy problems are focused on B-grade or secondary assets rather than the

higher-quality buildings, for which the demand remains high. The story in Bangalore is however different than that in Mumbai and Delhi, where even the huge amount of upcoming supply of commercial office inventory is not perceived to be a cause of concern, as it is expected to be matched by an equally high absorption rate.

Overall, the outlook seems to be positive; this is evidenced by the fact that the 80 per cent of the foreign capital inflows have been all-equity buyouts by big institutional players.

Even those investors who had burnt their fingers in the first round of investments in 2006-07, are not wary of Indian markets anymore, and are willing to bet their money once again on the Indian real estate story.

Abhishek Goenka, Partner, PwC India, said, “While Mumbai and New Delhi have marginally dropped in rankings, from an investment prospect perspective, New Delhi ranks second and Mumbai ranks fifth in the buy recommendation rankings for industrial / distribution properties among the 22 cities covered.

Furthermore, Mumbai ranks 8th and 9th, respectively, for office and residential buy recommendations.

These numbers, in a way, indicate that the investment prospect rankings of these cities could move up and push into the “Top-10” bracket in the years to come.

From a deal structure perspective, while mezzanine financing continues, a shift in the favour of equity structures has occurred, especially in big ticket transactions in commercial assets such as business parks and IT parks,” he added.

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INDIA LAUNCH

Bengaluru's Peripheral Ring Road Gets Past Difficult Signal Unable to raise funds by itself to construct the peripheral ring road (PRR) project connecting major highways around the city from Tumkur Road to Hosur Road to provide easier access to the inner areas of the city, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has finally called for international competitive bidding to ensure that the project sees the light of day. This marks the resurrection of the dream project which was proposed in 2005. elay in acquiring land and cost escalations forced the BDA to postpone it.

It would cost Rs 11,950 crore including land acquisition to build the project in three years.

The eight-lane road extending over a stretch of 65 km starts from Tumkur Road and ends at Hosur Road, but between the two the PRR gets connected with other prominent highways like Bellary Road, Old Madras Road and Sarjapur Road.

The idea is to decongest the outer ring road (ORR) as Bengaluru's explosive growth has reached beyond the ORR which is seeing increasing volume of traffic on this road. The PRR would bring relief by providing the muchneeded easy access to the city's inner areas from different points on the city's periphery even as it achieves its prime objective of offering smoother movement around the city by decongesting the ORR. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

BDA commissioner T Sham Bhat opined that, "The peripheral ring road project requires a huge of amount of investment. The BDA is not in a position to invest thousands of crores.

So we have called for tenders seeking investment even from global players.

We are hoping that as the Karnataka Investment is nearing even foreign players would show interest investing in the project."

He said BDA would acquire the land and the project will be implemented through public private partnership on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis. "It would take two to three years to complete the project.

The eight-lane road will connect major highways. At present, the city has grown even beyond the ring roads and getting congested day by day.

Once the peripheral ring road project gets implemented it will ease the traffic to a great extent."

Bhat said people have to pay toll to use the eight-lane road; and service

roads will also be built on the stretch.

Commenting on the present situation of land acquisition, Bhat said, "There are no difficulties in acquiring the land and if the property owners are paid compensation they are ready to hand over the land."

It may be noted here that BDA had identified 1,810 acres of land for the purpose of building the road over 10 years ago. The properties have been identified in 51 villages.

Delay in acquisition of the land over the years and cost escalations involving acquisition had forced the BDA to repeatedly postpone implementing project.

Last year, the BDA re-surveyed properties required for the project and intimated the owners about the acquisition again. It is estimated that the total compensation package would cost over Rs 5,000 crore.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

KARNATAKA PLANS LIMITING FARES OF

UBER, OL A, & PEERS OLA

The Karnataka government will release draft rules to regulate app-based taxi aggregators such as Uber and Ola by next week. The move comes ahead of Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick's visit to the country to attend PM Modi's 'Start-up India' event on January 16.

"We have already sent the draft rules

to the law department and it is in the pipeline. It will come out in another two or three days. After the draft is finalised, we will make it as a rule and not a scheme," said Dr Ramegowda, commissioner for transport and road safety, Karnataka.

A Union government advisory last year on taxi aggregators gives states the freedom to frame their own rules.

Kalanick, who has disrupted the taxi business globally with the asset light model of Uber, is visiting India at a time when Uber has come under attack from the BJP in Maharashtra and the Congress party in Karnataka.

The Delhi government, which suspended the company's service following the rape of a woman by a driver in December 2014, is now seen as being more welcoming on the back of its agenda to get more cars off the city's roads.

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Homegrown Ola, which is modelled after Uber, continues to dominate the app-based taxi aggregator space with a claimed 350,000 drivers on its platform. Uber on the other hand says it controls 40 per cent of the market with 250,000 drivers.

An Uber spokesperson declined to comment on the development, saying that the company would only do so once the draft rules were announced publicly by the Karnataka government.

Ola did not respond to queries at the time of reporting.

Karnataka has indicated that taxi

An Uber spokesperson declined to comment on the development, saying that the company would only do so once the draft rules were announced publicly by the Karnataka government.

aggregators would be mandated to install digital meters in cars, stick to state prescribed fares and have provisions for providing printed receipts to riders. It is was seen as following in the footsteps of the Maharashtra government which had proposed similar 'restrictive' rules for players.

"We have prescribed installing GPS and other thing. Those rules and norms will come into effect, but aggregators should be registered with the motor vehicle act," added Ramegowda.

Bengaluru and Mumbai, the capitals of Karnataka and Maharashtra respectively, are among the largest markets for app-based taxi aggregators given the cosmopolitan crowd and higher penetration of smartphones. Moreover, both cities suffer from congestion, incentivising cities to use services such as Uber and Ola, and deterring them from purchasing new cars.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

BENGALURU PL ANS TO PLANS MAKE MONEY From

WASTE

Garbage and its inefficient disposal have always been a mounting worry for Bengalureans. Realizing the yet-to-be-tapped potential of the 'newage gold', the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is now looking at ways to ensure no money is wasted, literally. The plan is to turn heaps of waste into a money-minting source.

With technology advancements to convert waste into energy and bio-methanization a natural process of decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms waste is today more valuable than any other commodity which municipalities own. However, very few corporations or city administrations have utilized it for revenue generation.

The Palike spends a whopping Rs 450 crore per year to dispose of waste. This includes contracts which have been awarded to garbage contractors, bills by waste-segregating units, pourakarmikas, expenses for transportation of waste to dumping yards and rents/leases for using private land for landfills. With fresh tenders for 98 packages to be announced in a few days, the expenditure is set to increase. The total expenditure on garbage disposal is expected to go up from Rs 450 crore to Rs 600cr- Rs 650cr a year from 2015-16.

BBMP special commissioner for solid waste management Subodh Yadav said a proposal is being considered to convert the garbagedisposal system into a selling point. "As a first step, we have thought of stopping the tipping fee or waste disposal fee which is paid to private waste-disposal companies and other waste-to-energy projects," he said.

As per present rates, BBMP pays approximately Rs 165 per tonne of waste which is dumped in private landfills and segregating units.

The rates also vary from one company to another, with rates likely to be more for firms which will be generating energy from waste.

At present, there are three waste-to-energy plants being constructed in and around Bengaluru, utilizing the city's refuse for generating power and selling it back to the state-owned electricity supply companies. This apart, seven to eight biomass plants have also started using the city's waste to generate power and supply it to the grid.

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IIM BANGAL ORE'S BANGALORE'S COURSES GE TS TOP GETS RANK S RANKS Three post-graduate courses of the state-run Indian Institute of Management have been ranked top in Central Asia by Paris-based international agency Eduniversal, which specialises in higher education, the B-school said recently.

The three courses of the IIM-Bangalore are the two-year post-graduate programme in management, one-year post-graduate programme in public policy and management and one-year full-time residential executive postgraduate programme.

"Ranking is part of the agency's study of best masters and master of business administration (MBA) in 30 fields," the statement noted.

"We have renewed our presence as the top management school in Central Asia, having been recognised as the number one business school in the zone, for three of our long-duration programmes," said Ishwar Murthy, dean faculty, IIM Bangalore, in a statement.

Eduniversal evaluation system rates an institution on three criteria - Reputation of the programme, first salary post graduation and student satisfaction, the statement added.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

CM SIDDARAMAIAH LAUNCHES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS IN CHAMUNDESHWARI, MANDYA

Chamundeshwari, CM Siddaramaiah visited Nanjangud village to inaugurate Kapila drinking water project, and addressed the gathering after launching various development programmes in Belagola village and laid the foundation stone for the government hospital.

And in Mandya Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state government is committed to completing irrigation projects. “I have already spent Rs 33,000 crore for the projects and will spend Rs 36,000 crore more in the next two years to complete a majority of works in the Cauvery and Krishna basin,” he added.

After launching the modernisation of 300-year-old 104-km Chikkadevaraja SEASONAL MAGAZINE

irrigation canal in Pandavapaura, he said the government is keen on promoting judicious use of water and utilising its share in the Cauvery and Krishna basin. He said Rs 18-crore worth modernisation works have been completed in Bannur region. Recalling that he had promised to spend Rs 10,000 crore per year on irrigation projects, he said the people should give him a second term to complete

CM Siddaramaiah on Saturday took the audience by surprise by putting the ball in basket not just once but twice while inaugurating the 66th Senior National Basketball Championship at Chamundi Vihar Indoor Stadium in the city.

the modernisation of 2,200-km irrigation canals in Cauvery, Kabini, Harangi and Hemavathi achukats.

CM Siddaramaiah on Saturday took the audience by surprise by putting the ball in basket not just once but twice while inaugurating the 66th Senior National Basketball Championship at Chamundi Vihar Indoor Stadium in the city. A Kabaddi player and cricket fan, 64-year-old Siddaramaiah succeeded in reaching the target in his second and third attempts in his three attempts.

Siddaramaiah clarified that he will present three more budgets and will come back to power with the people’s support after the Assembly elections.

Sending a strong signal to his detractors in the party that it will go to the next polls under his leadership, he said they will come back to power.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

CM Siddaramaiah Projects Karnataka's

Aerospace Potential American plane maker Boeing is expected to quadruple its current spend on sourcing components from India to about $ 2 billion over the next four years, according to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Karnataka is expected to be a major beneficiary of this spend. s of now, Airbus is sourcing components and subsystems worth $ 500 million from India for its A330, A350 and A380 class of aircraft.

Karnataka-based firms make up more than 90% of this business, Siddaramaiah said at an interaction with CEOs at a dinner on Wednesday as a precursor to the three-day Invest Karnataka beginning February 3 in Bengaluru.

In March 2009, Boeing launched a research & technology centre for sustained collaboration with Indian R&D organizations, both government and private, universities and companies. Since 2007, Boeing has been working together with the Indian Institute of Science and Wipro and HCL, as part of the Aerospace Network Research Consortium. This is India's first public-private aerospace research consortium.

The plane maker also runs subsidiaries Jeppesen and Continental Data Graphics in Hyderabad and Chennai, respectively. According to the Boeing website, the company continues to increase its footprint as tier 1, tier 2 suppliers and sourcing activities continue to grow rapidly.

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While the Japanese auto firm, Honda has set up the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturing plant at Narsapura, Asian Paints is putting up world's largest paint unit in Mysuru. The pharma firm, GSK is starting manufacturing unit, a first in the last decade to GSK, while Himatsingka Siede is expanding operations in Hassan district.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

Meet Ugly Indian, the Anonymous Group Beautifying Bengaluru

workers — since BBMP personnel work along with them, this is, in a way, a public-private partnership.

There may be something to what they’re painting onto the pillars too.

The 3-D pyramid design seems to work wonders at dissuading advertisers from using them as notice boards.

In contrast to their previous bedraggled condition, the painted pillars remain spotless. It’s clear that a single move in the right direction can lead to sustained positive change.

Clean, beautiful public spaces can make even the make living in cities a joy. The Ugly Indian, whose motto is “kaam chalu, mooh bandh” (“stop

THE UGLY INDIAN, THE ANONYMOUS COLLECTIVE THAT IS WORKING A SLOW REVOLUTION IN INDIAN STREETS (AND MINDSETS), HAS DONE IT AGAIN. fter cleaning up the streets of Bangalore with a vengeance, they have found their next target: flyover pillars. These massive structures are common targets for promotional posters and the accumulated dust and filth on our streets, and can (and do) easily become public eyesores.

The Ugly Indian has till date cleaned and painted over 250 of these pillars.

Their latest target was area under the flyover (what is called the UFO area) of the Bhadrappa Layout flyover in Bangalore. Over a 100 civic-minded citizen volunteers and BBMP personnel came together to reclaim this public space. The drive saw people of SEASONAL MAGAZINE

all ages turn up and work, from young children to senior citizens.

They didn’t just paint the pillars, either; they also fixed up walls, footpaths, and road medians in the area.

The local government is clearly thrilled with these enthusiastic and dedicated

talking, start doing”), is showing us that moralising, debating, and blaming will lead us nowhere till we pick up broomsticks and paintbrushes in our own hands — and get to work.

Because our cities belong to us.

KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

MANGALURU WISHES FOR A PL ASTIC PARK IN INVEST PLASTIC KARNT AK A 2016 KARNTAK AKA

This coastal city is a step closer to getting the much touted plastic park at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore. While the union government will provide Rs 40 crore as grant-in-aid for this project, the plastic park per se is estimated to cost Rs 300 crore and expectations are that it will be cleared in the 'Invest Karnataka 2016. imilar Park has been sanctioned in Chennai and project there is expected to be implemented shortly, said Gokuldas Nayak, joint director, district industries centre.

BASF, MSEZ; petrochemical complex has given scope for development of industries. According to a survey, city is the fastest growing non-metro in South India and been selected for development as smart city.

Incidentally, B A Nazeer, president of CPMTA along with office bearers visited Chennai and had detailed discussions about the project. After identification of land, government will submit a proposal to department of chemicals and petrochemicals of the union government.

With MRPL commissioning polypropylene petrochemical complex and proposing polyethylene project, opportunities for plastic industries is big.

Canara Plastic Manufacturers and Traders Association urged union minister for chemicals and petrochemicals to set up Plastic Park here. Based on ministers' acceptance, state government sent a proposal and also initiated the process to identify land for this purpose, Gokuldas Nayak stated.

Gokuldas said the city is important from the point of view of trade, industry and commerce. Functioning of all weather New Mangalore Port and Mangaluru International Airport, industries such as KIOCL, MCF MRPL

Land was identified at Kanara Industrial Area, Mudipu, Bantwal and Shibaroor

in Mangaluru taluk. Deputy Commissioner has already agreed to the proposal in the Invest Karnataka preliminary meeting. Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has formulated this scheme with a view to synergise and consolidate the capacities through cluster development for the Indian Plastics industry that is large but highly fragmented, he said.

The scheme aims to increase competitiveness, polymer absorption capacity and value addition in domestic downstream plastic processing industry through adoption of modern, research and development led measures. It also strives to increase investments in the sector through additions in capacity and production, creating quality infrastructure and other facilitation to ensure value addition and increase in exports.

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KARNATAKA! GLOBAL INVESTORS' FAVOURITE DESTINATION?

WHITEFIELD TO WITNESS START OF METRO WORK

The New Year is ringing in hope for one of the most congested and polluted areas, with BMRCL authorities declaring mid-June 2016 for the commencement of Metro work at Whitefield. angalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) MD Pradeep Singh Kharola made this assurance to representatives from Whitefield Area Commerce and Industries Association (WACIA) who met him recently.

Kharola said BMRCL was in the process of acquiring properties and disbursement of compensation would start from mid-January. He said they had already identified over 240 properties for partial or full acquisition for the project, which will stretch across15.50

km, from Whitefield.

Baiyappanahalli

to

Kharola said, "It will take a couple of months to take possession of land on the entire stretch as we have to complete various formalities. We have fixed a target of June to start work in the Whitefield stretch."

As per the proposed plan, the BMRCL will extend the Metro from the existing Baiyapanahalli station and cover busy junctions like K R Puram, Mahadevapura, Garudacharyapalya, Vaidehi Hospital, Kadugodi and others.

A WACIA office-bearer said the MD informed them that compensation would be paid between January 15 and January 20, and the tender process would be initiated in the same month.

"We met him to express our concerns about the traffic situation once the Metro work starts. We are hoping widening of roads will ease out the traffic. The MD has informed us that the proposed metro stations will have more space to accommodate both parking and bus bays."

Whitefield is currently the most polluted area in the city with Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) levels being the highest as compared to other areas. While the national RSPM average has been set at 60 mg/m3, the level was 230 mg/m3 in Whitefield in 2014-2015. Poor road conditions and the absence of a mass public transport system have only compounded citizens' woes and made commuting hell.

"Nearly three years ago, IISc had done a comprehensive study on providing a dedicated lane from Majestic to Whitefield for BMTC buses. But it could not be implemented due to the un-willingness of certain agencies.

Now, there are reports that they are reviving it, but it would have helped in a big way if it had been implemented then," said Ashish Verma, president of Trans-port Research Group of India.

He said in the absence of bulk carriers, people depend on private transport which adds to the congestion. Call-ing for time-bound and spee-dy implementation of the project, besides planned traffic management and pollution control, Verma said, "During Phase I, people went through all kinds of miserable experiences and it was just a pathetic state of affairs."

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INNOVATION

UBERPOOL EYES DELHI AFTER BENGALURU Cab hailing app Uber is now looking at enabling private car owners in the city to car pool through its platform in order to meet the heavy demand expected if the state government comes back with its odd-even formula.

ber will roll out its ride sharing initiative to commercial as well as private vehicles in Delhi in the next few days, according to sources close to the company.

By offering private vehicles to register on its platform for ride sharing in Delhi, Uber will tap into over 27 lakh private car owners in the capital.

The sources also said the company will put in place checks to ensure safety of both the driver and passengers.

When contacted, Uber India spokesperson declined to comment.

In October, Uber had inked an agreement with the Punjab government to run a pilot to test peerto-peer ride-sharing.

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While ride sharing in private cars is an evolved concept in the US market for cab hailing companies, the trend

In October, Uber had inked an agreement with the Punjab government to run a pilot to test peer-to-peer ride-sharing.

is yet to pick up in India.

Currently, Uber only has drivers with commercial licences on board in India.

Uber, which was in the midst of controversy over alleged misbehaviour of one of its driver partners in the country, has over 2.5 lakh registered driver partners on its platform in India.

It is present in 22 cities in India, the highest in any country outside the US. The company, which competes with Ola and other cab companies like Meru, is also expected to roll out UberPool to other Indian cities that will allow multiple passengers to share a taxi.

UberPool has been rolled out in Bangalore as well as other international cities like San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Austin, and Paris.

POLITICS

Is Modi Planning for Sonia-style Social Programs in the Upcoming Budget?

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI WILL RECALIBRATE BUDGET PRIORITIES IN 2016 TO FOCUS ON SOCIAL INITIATIVES, SUCH AS THE COUNTRY'S FIRST MAJOR CROP INSURANCE SCHEME, WHILE CAPPING PREVIOUSLY PRIORITISED INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING, OFFICIALS SAY. odi splurged on roads and railways this year in a strategy to spur economic growth. But it came partly at the expense of federal programmes for farmers and the poor, suffering through back-to-back drought years.

prosperous farmers who use higher quality seeds, fertilizers and equipment.

In the first confirmation of a shift in strategy, a senior government source with knowledge of deliberations for Modi's second full budget said New Delhi would focus more on the social sector following what he described as a "shocking" defeat in last month's state elections in largely rural Bihar.

To attract more growers, the government could lower the share of the premium farmers pay to up to 30 percent from 50 percent earlier, the agriculture ministry source said. The proposed plan would also limit government support to insurers so that the overall hit to the budget stays low.

It was unlikely more money would be freed up for infrastructure when the budget is unveiled in February, he said, because the government is trying to keep spending on track to lower the fiscal deficit.

Commitments to raise government salaries, military pensions and to infuse capital into state banks reeling under bad loans have left little room for additional spending. What money is left, sources say, will be earmarked for the social sector - especially rural districts that house three-fifths of voters.

The renewed focus on social-welfare programmes precedes crucial state elections in heartland farming states such as West Bengal next year and Uttar Pradesh in 2017.

In what could be the first major scheme for farmers since Modi took office in 2014, the government is planning to launch a fresh version of the national crop insurance programme next summer. It would cover the majority

Under the plan being considered, a portion of premiums to be paid by farmers would be linked to their capacity to pay, the first source said.

of India's 263 million farmers, a farm ministry source said on condition of anonymity.

Indian farmers rarely take out crop insurance unless it's needed to secure a bank loan. Existing insurance plans, based mainly on crop yields, cover 10 percent of farmers. Many farmers barely make a living from small and marginal plots and cannot afford the premiums. The premiums tend to be based on the crop yields of more

The renewed focus on socialwelfare programmes precedes crucial state elections in heartland farming states such as West Bengal next year and Uttar Pradesh in 2017.

State and federal governments spend about $373 million a year on premiums, while total payouts have been less than $700 million in recent years. The farm ministry source expects only a marginal increase in the total premiums the government pays.

"The prime minister is constantly trying to find new schemes and formulate policies to help the villagers," said a Modi aide who declined to be named.

"But the truth is that we are still trying to identify the right strategy ... it's a work in progress."

Funding for roads and bridges more than doubled in this year's budget and is now higher than the sum allocated to education. At the same time, funding was halved for a scheme that gives millions of poor children free food, and allocations to make clean water available in rural areas were drastically cut.

(Credit: Reuters) SEASONAL MAGAZINE

TECHNOLOGY

5 POINTS ABOUT APPLE IPAD PRO LAUNCHED IN India,

supports Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) with dual channel (2.4GHz and 5GHz), MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2 and LTE in the Cellular+WiFi version.

5. Apple iPad Pro has 10 hours of battery life.

IPAD AIR 3 TO LAUNCH IN US IN 2016

Meanwhile, the tech giant is all set to launch iPad Air 3 in US in 2016.

Apple iPad Pro was launched in India at a starting price of Rs 67,000. Touted as Apple’s biggest iPad in India so far, iPad Pro is available to buy from all official retail stores. Apple has also launched a stylus called the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard which can fold up to become the iPad Pro cover. Both are sold separately at the cost of Rs 8,600 and Rs 14,900, respectively.

Apple didn't refresh its iPad Air lineup this year, and instead it launched the iPad Pro, the largest tablet it has made till date. But the company intends to launch the iPad Air 3, claims reliable KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a research note, Kuo mentioned that Apple is likely to launch the tablet in the first half of 2016.

Kuo believes that Apple will launch the iPad Air 3 in the first half of 2016.

While a firm date is not known, the company could launch it alongside the rumoured iPhone 6c. A report also said that Apple had plans to launch the Apple Watch 2 around the same period.

Multiple reports claim that Apple will launch the iPhone 6c with a 4-inch display and hardware capability largely similar to 2013's iPhone 5s.

The company is also expected to launch the second-generation Apple Watch in March.

ere are 5 key points to know about Apple iPad Pro 1. The iPad Pro comes in 3 versions which are priced as: 32GB WiFi for Rs 67,900, 128 GB iPad Pro with just WiFi at Rs 79,900 and the 128GB WiFi Plus Cellular connectivity at Rs 91,900.

2. Apple iPad Pro features 12.9-inch screen LED-backlit Retina display (2732 x 2048 resolution at 264 ppi).

The screen has a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating and is fullySEASONAL MAGAZINE

laminated with anti-reflective coating.

3. Apple iPad Pro runs the latest 64-bit A9X chip and also has the M9 motion co-processor. It has a 1.2 mp FaceTime HD camera and and an eight megapixel rear camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture, autofocus, HDR, Panorama mode, etc supported. The iPad Pro supports Slo-Mo video and can record at 1080 p resolution.

4. The Apple iPad Pro also comes with Touch ID, which is Apple’s fingerprint sensor, built in the home button. In terms of connectivity, iPad Pro

The iPad Air 3 might not have all the features you would want from it, however. KGI's Kuo said that the tablet is "unlikely" to have 3D Touch, a feature seen in the new iPhone models that allows the display to gauge different pressure levels and offer contextual options. Kuo attributes this to the shortage in supply of 3D Touch components. According to him, "3D Touch supply chain capacity utilisation is currently lower than peak level of 30 percent" and this will last through the first quarter of 2016.

For the iPad Air 2, the company introduced a better processor and trimmed the overall thickness of the tablet. If the past few iPad refreshes are considered, the new iPad Air 3 could come with an improved processor and a thinner body as well.

REGULATION

PAN MEETS AADHAAR TO GET MORE TEETH

While the new and expanded PAN mandate is another step towards creating an audit trail, linking PAN with Aadhaar will expose instances where one person uses multiple PANs.

hose who want to keep highvalue transactions under the radar will soon have few places to hide.

Mandating permanent account number (PAN) for all transactions above Rs. 2 lakh, linking PAN with Aadhaar, and the introduction of a goods and services tax (GST) are expected to together create an audit trail of every high-value transaction conducted by an individual.

While mandatory quoting of PAN will profile all transactions, linking PAN with Aadhaar will expose instances where one person uses multiple PANs. With GST also envisaged as an online system where all invoices will be uploaded, various tax agencies will be to get all details of sales, purchases, income and taxes paid by one individual.

The tax department has recently said that quoting PAN will be mandatory for all transactions above Rs.2 lakh irrespective of the mode of payment.

It also stipulated that cash payments of hotel bills exceeding Rs.50,000 and purchase of cash/prepaid instruments aggregating to more than Rs.50,000 a year will have to quote PAN as part of its crackdown on cash transactions where there is no audit trail.

This is in line with the series of steps taken by the tax department over the last couple of years to check black money and tax evasion. The income tax department has launched a nationwide PAN campaign to get more people to apply for PAN. It has also started the process of seeding Aadhaar with PAN number to weed out multiple PANs. The

government had also initiated a 360degree profiling of taxpayers by matching their direct and indirect tax payments to check for tax evasion.

It also started tracking high-value transactions like credit card payments, cash deposits in banks, purchase of taxsaving instruments using PAN and checking if these individuals were filing tax returns every year.

The government is hoping that all these steps will help in checking black money, especially domestically. It has already enacted the Black Money (Undisclosed foreign income and assets) and Imposition of Tax act to look into unaccounted income stashed in overseas bank accounts. It has also introduced the Benami Transactions (Amendment) Bill 2015 to check domestic black money.

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DOES VEG FOOD CAUSE MORE CLIMATE CHANGE?

Eating specific vegetarian diet may contribute more to climate change than consuming non-vegetarian foods, claims a study. he Carnegie Mellon University study found fruits, vegetables, dairy and seafood have relatively high resource uses and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per calorie.

Researchers studied the food supply chain to find out how growing, processing, transportation and consumption affects resources in the form of energy use, water use and GHG emissions.

Eating fewer calories has a positive effect on the environment, but eating recommended foods like a mix of fruits, vegetables, dairy and seafood led to an increase in energy use by 38%, water use by 10% and GHG emissions by 6%. The findings were published in the journal Environment Systems and Decisions.

WHICH IS THE BEST AGE FOR WOMEN TO HAVE KIDS? There may be some wisdom in letting the biological clock tick on a little longer for the sake of a better midlife, according to a new study. hile teenage pregnancy is known to be a complete no-no, childbearing in early 20s is no more as advisable than previously thought, according to a new study. The researchers found that women’s health at midlife is connected to when they had their first child and to their marital history.

“We have had all this focus on the bad effects of teen childbearing and never really asked what happens if these teens waited to early adulthood,” said study’s lead author Kristi Williams from The Ohio State University in the US. “The assumption has been that ‘of course, it is better to wait.’ But at least when it comes to the later health of the mother, that is not necessarily true,” Williams added.

The study used data from 3,348 women who had a first childbirth between the ages of 15 and 35 and rated their own health at age 40 on a scale from poor to excellent.

The researchers compared women SEASONAL MAGAZINE

who had their first birth as teenagers (ages 15-19), during early adulthood (ages 20-24) and when they were older (ages 25-35).

The results showed that women who were aged 25-35 tended to report better health at age 40 than the two younger groups.

But there was no significant difference in midlife health for those with teen births compared to those who waited until they were age 20-24.

“Ours is the first US study to find that having your first child in young adulthood is associated with worse self-assessed health decades later for white and black women, when compared to those who wait until they are over 24,” Williams explained.

“We still need to be concerned that women who are having births in their early 20s may face more health challenges as they reach middle age than those who wait longer,” she concluded.

The study appeared in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour.

STRATEGY

Chinese President Calls for Each Country's Right to Control "its Own Internet" Every nation should have independent authority over its own Internet, Chinese President Xi Jinping said recently, telling a government-organised conference that "freedom and order" are both necessary in cyberspace. for freedom," Xi said.

"We should allow users to express their ideas, and we should also build a good order in cyberspace in accordance with law, as it will help protect the legitimate rights and interests of all internet users."

The policy is one facet of Beijing's strict limits on freedom of expression, and rights groups say it uses state security as a pretence to crack down on political dissent.

The conference was attended by a handful of high-profile figures from nations that have been criticised for their records on freedom of speech, including Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev.

ights campaigners have condemned the World Internet Conference, part of China's push to sell its idea of "internet sovereignty", a concept that stands at odds with a vision of the Internet as an open global commons.

"We should respect the rights of individual countries to govern their own cyberspace," Xi said in a speech opening the second forum, whose version 1.0 last year was greeted with derision by activists who questioned China's motives.

"No country should pursue cyber hegemony or interfere in other country's internal affairs," he added.

China censors online content it deems to be politically sensitive, while blocking some Western websites and the services of Internet giants including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google.

Xi made no reference to the case of Pu Zhiqiang, China's most celebrated human rights lawyer who was tried on Monday over seven microblog posts critical of the ruling Communist Party.

"Like in the real world, freedom and order are both necessary in cyberspace: Freedom is what order is meant for, and order is the guarantee

"No country should pursue cyber hegemony or interfere in other country's internal affairs,"

Amnesty International has condemned the use of vaguely worded laws by Chinese authorities to "arbitrarily target individuals for solely exercising their right to freedom of expression online."

"Under the guise of sovereignty and security, the Chinese authorities are trying to rewrite the rules of the internet so censorship and surveillance become the norm everywhere," said Roseann Rife, East Asia Research Director at Amnesty International.

"This is an all-out assault on internet freedoms," she said.

An October report by the American pro-democracy think tank Freedom House found that China has the most restrictive Internet policies of 65 countries studied, ranking below Iran and Syria.

China has nearly 700 million internet users - twice the population of the entire United States.

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STRANGE

Why Does Vladimir Putin Walk That Way? Putin’s ‘peculiar walk’ is linked to KGB weapons training, says a study published in the British Medical Journal connecting Russian president’s ‘gunslinger gait’ with his time in the Soviet security agency.

team of European neurologists says in a new study that Russian president Vladimir Putin walks with a peculiar “gunslinger’s gait”.

The study, published on Tuesday by the British Medical Journal, notes that Putin has shown a “clearly reduced rightsided arm swing”, possibly related to weapons training he received when he was part of the Soviet KGB. Citing a KGB training manual they obtained, the researchers suggest that his style of walking is linked to training he underwent in the feared security agency, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring at the twilight of the Soviet Union.

“According to this manual, KGB operatives were instructed to keep their weapon in their right hand close to their chest and to move forward with one side, usually the left, presumably allowing subjects to draw the gun as quickly as possible when confronted with a foe,” the researchers, based in Portugal, Italy, and the Netherlands, wrote.

To test their hypothesis, the neurologists studied YouTube videos of other SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Russian officials.

Bastiaan Bloem, a professor of movement disorder neurology at Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, who led the study, said his team was “stunned” by what they saw.

They found the same characteristic walk in Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in former Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Sergei Ivanov, and in senior Russian military commander Anatoly Sidorov.

Like Putin, Ivanov is a former KGB officer who served in Europe during the Cold War. Serdyukov and Sidorov both received military training, the researchers claim.

The outlier in this group is Medvedev, a lawyer by training who has no clear ties to the KGB and did not serve in the military, though he is thought to have undergone brief reservist training during his university years.

Since Putin handpicked him to serve as president from 2008-12 – between Putin’s second and third terms – Medvedev’s body language has often resembled that of his mentor, as has the

cadence of his speech.

Citing western media reports, the researchers write that “substantial evidence suggests that Medvedev is being coached to sound, look, and importantly, walk like the president.”

The study asserts that Putin’s asymmetrical arm swing is likely “a behavioural adaptation resulting from military or intelligence training.”

Bloem conceded that his researchers do not have access to Putin’s medical records or his doctors. But he said Putin’s unusual walk is the subject of a small but growing debate among medical specialists.

“It is an unusual study, but there is a very serious message to it” about neurological observation, he told AFP in a telephone interview.

Bloem added that Putin’s “abnormal gait has been noted before.”

“What we are putting forward, but very cautiously, is a new hypothesis,” he said.

AUTO

Honda Cars India Launches New Information Platform

divided into three sections: convenience, utility, and safety/ security.

In a decidedly tech-savvy move, Honda Cars India has introduced a new information platform for customers called the ‘Honda Connect.’ The wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Japan has developed a platform for advanced connectivity for customers with the car, their family, and Honda. ith the Honda Connect platform customers will reportedly be able to make their ownership experience more safe, convenient and enjoyable. The Honda Connect platform comprises of an app for smartphones and a physical device developed by Minda i-connect that will be available for new customers of Honda Jazz, Honda City and Honda CR-V. Speaking at the launch, Katsushi Inoue, President and CEO, Honda Cars India, said, “Today technology has become

an integrated part of our lives. The development of Honda Connect is part of our mission to create innovations that best suit our customers’ digitalbased life styles. This platform offers a value added communications channel that bonds Honda even more closely with our customers.”

The launch of Honda Connect marks the celebration of HCIL’s 20th anniversary of incorporation in which the company has achieved cumulative sales of more than 1 million units.

Honda Connect provides owners with connectivity services which has been

Convenience to the owners will comprise of service booking, notifications and feedback.

The utility option will have various options to maintain records of their car with a manual SOS feature which when enabled will provide the user’s location to friends and family.

Lastly the safety and security option which is available only after installation of the physical device – will allow the smartphone to be linked to the computer of the car thus providing vital information on the health of vehicle, current vehicle location.

Moreover, an impact alert function embedded in the device will signal HCIL’s 24x7 call centre with an assistance call to the customer on sensing a sudden impact.

The Honda Connect application is available for free download from the Apple App Store and Google Play for everyone in the country.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

INTERNATIONAL

How Good is Hillar Hillaryy Clinton's Plan to TTake ake on ISIS?

US Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on 15 December outlined a multi-point plan for how she would work to defeat Islamic State (Isis) in the United States and overseas.

During a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the former secretary of state also addressed the issue of homegrown terrorist attacks, such as the San Bernardino, California massacre that left 14 people dead earlier this month.

er proposals include a broader target for air strikes in Syria; more in-depth visa application reviews for all individuals who have spent time in areas where IS is active; and tighter gun-control laws, including reinstating a ban on the sale of assault weapons.

Its essential that we also make sure jihadists dont get the tools they need to carry out attacks. It defies common sense that Republicans in Congress refuse to make it harder for potential

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terrorists to buy guns. If you are too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to buy a gun. Period. And we should insist. We should insist on comprehensive background checks and close loopholes that allow potential terrorists to buy weapons online or at gun shows. And I think its time to restore the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, Clinton said.

Clinton said the US should expect more terrorist attacks and must enlist

the help of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to identify potentially radicalised individuals on social media platforms. The married couple who shot 14 people to death in the San Bernardino rampage on 2 December have been described by authorities as inspired by IS. We also should just dispatch more homeland security agents to high-risk countries to better investigate these applicants. For many years, America has waived visa requirements for travellers from countries with reliable security procedures, including key allies in Europe and Asia. That makes sense but we also have to be smart.

Except for limited exceptions, like diplomats and aid workers, anyone who has travelled in the past five years to a country facing serious problems with terrorism and foreign fighters should have to go through a full investigation no matter where theyre from, Clinton said.

Clinton said Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are a powerful force the country can use to defeat IS and that the tech sector and the government have to stop seeing each other as enemies and work together.

AUTO

WHY MERC AND M&M ARE THE BIGGEST 'VICTIMS' OF DIESEL BAN

MAHINDRA'S NEW COMPACT SUV TO ARRIVE SOON, TO HAVE A PETROL VERSION TOO

Mercedes Benz will take the biggest setback amongst luxury car makers in the country following the Supreme Court order that recently imposed a temporary ban on sale of diesel luxury cars with engine capacity more than 2000 cc in Delhi and its surroundings.

Mahindra has released first pictures of the new compact SUV that will be introduced into the market very soon. The new SUV, codenamed S101 will be priced as low as Rs 4 lakh for the entry level variant and could be named the KUV100. The new Mahindra S101/KUV100 will slot right into the middle of the mass market hatchback segment where the likes of the Maruti Wagon R dominate and will eventually go right up against the Maruti Suzuki Ignis which will most probably be launched later next year.

his is as its entire portfolio – from the A-Class hatchback to the S-Class sedans, as well as its entire range of SUVs will be impacted by the ban. Diesel cars account for around 80% of Merc’s sales in India, and the NCR contributes nearly 22% of its national sales.

Its competitors like BMW and Audi however will be less impacted as only some vehicles from its total portfolio fall into the defined category. The three German car makers are the main contenders in the Indian luxury car space.

Mercedes had become the clear leader in India in this segment with sales of over 10,000 units in the 9-month period ending September 30, 2015. The order will give a clear breather to Audi and BMW. According to Bharat Gianani, senior research analyst at Angel Broking, the news is likely to have negative impact on M&M as about 95% of its passenger vehicle portfolio is above the 2,000 cc range, but would not affect Maruti Suzuki which hardly has any product above the 2,000 cc segment, or Tata Motors as its earnings are driven largely

by JLR which is a global player.

Delhi contributes about 7% of the overall passenger vehicle sales and the contribution of diesel vehicles is about 2-3% of the overall industry volumes which would further limit the impact of the ban, he added.

rom the look of it the new Mahindra S101/ KUV100 is quite well proportioned and different from Mahindra’s latest compact SUV, the TUV300. The new Mahindra S101/KUV100 will feature Ford Ecosport like styling and in fact does look heavily inspired by the same. The Mahindra S101/KUV100 will feature daytime running lights in the top of the line version and will also feature sporty characteristics that are more in tune with a soft roader as compared to an off-road ready SUV. On the interior front, expect great styling is the TUV300 is anything to go by. The Mahindra S101/ KUV100 will also get a good level of infotainment options and will come well equipped. The Mahindra S101/KUV100 will be a 5-seater and will be a sub 4-meter compact SUV to avail of the excise benefits.

The Mahindra S101/KUV100 will also be the car that sees the return of the petrol engine to Mahindra products in India. The petrol will be a 1.2-litre motor that will make about 80PS of peak power whereas the diesel will be a 1.5-litre mill that will make about 75PS of peak power. Both engines will get both a 5-speed manual and a 5-speed AMT gearbox. Expect prices to start at Rs 4 lakh for the base model and go to about Rs 7 lakh for the top of the line automatic diesel variant.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

INNOVATION

Google Wants to Launch Internet-on-Balloons in India, Central Government Skeptical and Wary

Technology giant Google hopes to bring its Project Loon to India, which will offer affordable Internet access to millions soon, even as the government holds the view that the project will interfere with cellular transmissions of mobile operators in the country. peaking at the Google for India event, the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai said: “Project Loon will launch balloons in the sky to help reach out to rural areas.”

Elaborating the same, Google vicepresident (Access Strategy and Emerging Markets) Marian Croak said the company is “passionate” about building and deploying new Internet infrastructure around the world.

“One of the technologies that we have in our portfolio is Project Loon. It’s a project that we are working on with local telcos all across the world.

“And we are testing these high altitude balloons which literally act as almost like floating cell towers… to connect people in hard to reach regions that are scarcely populated and we are working to hopefully bring Project Loon to India in rural communities that have very few people connected to the Internet,” she said.

The statement assumes importance as Communications and IT Minister Ravi SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Shankar Prasad had recently told Parliament that Google’s Project Loon will interfere with cellular transmissions of mobile operators in India.

“The proposed frequency band to be used in the Loon Project of Google is being used for cellular operations in India and it will lead to interference with cellular transmissions,” Prasad had said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on December 11.

Croak said the company is working across the world with local carriers, operators and suppliers and does not carry out the project on its own.

“Think of the enormity of bringing billions of people to the Internet and doing it in a way that is affordable and giving them abundant access and the scope of that is too much for any one entity to tackle on its own.

“So I always tell my team don’t think of us as having competitors, think of us as only having partners in this arena.

We have to work together to solve this problem,” she said.

“The core element of Google’s mission

is universal access and we drive our conviction and vision from that mission. And its that everyone in the world should have affordable and abundant access to the full and open Internet,” she added.

Google, under its Project Loon, is using big balloons floating at a height of 20 kilometers above earth surface for transmission of Internet services. It has already tested this technology in New Zealand, California (the US) and Brazil.

As per Google, each balloon can provide connectivity to a ground area about 40 kms in diameter using a wireless communications technology called LTE or 4G. To use LTE or 4G, Project Loon partners with telecom companies to share cellular spectrum so that people will be able to access the Internet everywhere directly from their phones and other LTE-enabled devices.

Google uses solar panel and wind to power electronic equipment in the balloon throughout the day.

HEALTH

Why Diesel is Bad for Humans

A 2013 study by the International Council on Clean Transportation, titled “Impact of standards on premature mortality and emissions: India in global context”, found approximately 10 per cent of all years of life lost from exposure to vehicle emissions around the world occur in India. hough there are no Indiaspecific studies yet to show the association between diesel fumes and cancer, the international alarm bells have been blaring. In 2012, WHO moved diesel up from its position for 25 years in the risk category of “probable carcinogen” (Group 2A) to “known carcinogen” (Group 1) for lung cancers.

The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer under WHO based this decision on two epidemiological studies published by the National Cancer Institute in the US. Dr Christopher Portier, chairman of the IARC working group, said in a statement in June 2012, “The scientific

evidence was compelling and the working group’s conclusion was unanimous: diesel engine exhaust causes lung cancer in humans.”

A recent study fromt Zuyd University in the Netherlands has shown that inhalation of diesel fumes causes stress responses in the brain, which in turn causes cellular damage in the long term. Such oxidative stress in the long

term has been associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Several studies have also indicated adverse effects on foetal development when pregnant women are exposed to diesel fumes.

Scientists from the Danish National Research Centre for the Working Environment have shown in trials with mice that inhalation of the fumes can damage foetal DNA. SEASONAL MAGAZINE

HEALTH

Why

Diesel is

Bad for Delhi THE SPIKE IN DIESEL CAR SALES HAS BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY THE MUSHROOMING OF MOBILE TOWERS AND MALLS, ALL OF WHICH USE GENERATOR SET, WHICH RUN ON DIESEL.

elhi had guzzled 11.32 lakh tonnes of diesel in 2013-14 alone, 39.6 per cent more than the 8.11 lakh tonnes it consumed just four years ago.

The Supreme Court’s ban on the registration of new diesel vehicles just on Wednesday morning has already set off a massive debate on two fronts: just how bad diesel is, and why should vehicles take the blame for the impact of diesel on Delhi’s air quality?

First the facts. Delhi had guzzled 11.32 lakh tonnes of diesel in 2013-14 alone, 39.6 per cent more than the 8.11 lakh tonnes it consumed just four years ago.

Policy experts and scientists, including the SC appointed EPCA have repeatedly pointed out that the spike in the use of diesel from 2007-08 actually mitigated the gains made in Delhi’s air quality when it converted public transport to CNG. In the late SEASONAL MAGAZINE

1990s, diesel-fuelled vehicles constituted only four per cent of the total car sales in Delhi, the EPCA recorded in a 2007 report, adding that the number had reached 24 per cent in 2006. Today, diesel cars account for almost half of total sales in Delhi and NCR. The reason for this was the sharply diminishing gap between the cost of CNG and diesel. In June 2010, the cost of a litre of diesel was Rs 40.10, and CNG Rs 27.50 per kg. Today, diesel costs Rs 48.26 a litre and CNG Rs 37.55 per kg. The EPCA told the SC in a report last year, “In 2002-03, CNG was cheaper than diesel by about 46.71 per cent. Between 2004 and 2009 the difference widened further to more than 50 per cent as diesel prices increased… In December 2013, the price differential (had) plummeted to 7.35 per cent,” the report said.

“High CNG costs hurt public transport and undermine (the) clean fuel program,” it added.

As reported by The Indian Express in the `Death By Breath’ series, in 2007, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit wrote to the Centre, seeking approval for proposed ban on the registration of diesel cars in the capital and requested separate emission norms for vehicles in the National Capital Region (NCR), including the satellite cities of Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad. Here she said the increase in diesel cars was depleting the gains of CNG. In March 2008, the request was turned down, the government couldn’t impose a ban on vehicles plying on a certain type of fuel was the argument. That was the same year when particulate matter 10, the bigger particles in Delhi witnessed a sharp spike from 161 μg/m3 in 2007, drying

up the gains of the CNG move.

That said, the spike in diesel car sales has been accompanied by the mushrooming of mobile towers and malls, all of which use generator set, which run on diesel. A 2013 pollution inventory prepared by Dr Sarath Guttikunda found that diesel combustion from generators contributed 6 per cent of PM2.5 and 10 per cent of PM10 levels in Delhi and satellite towns.

“Though the overall percentage is small, when spatially segregated these emissions are substantial,” says the study.

So why then has the onus of pollution from diesel fallen only on cars?

According to a January 2014 report from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on the distribution of the sources of diesel, at 28 percent, goods vehicles accounted for the highest. Second to this were private vehicles, which according to the government, contributed to 13 percent. Use of diesel in agriculture was

also 13 percent, followed by buses at 10 percent. Industry and commercial diesel vehicles were each contributing nine percent in the diesel use.

Mobile towers at two percent were contributing the least to diesel use, according to this government report. Scientists, however, say this number appears to be grossly underestimated. A telecom-specific emission inventory was published in 2011

by Dr Saroj Kumar Sahu, a post-doctoral fellow at Forschungszentrum Julich, Germany, and Dr Gufran Beig, project director of SAFAR under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It puts the emission from the sector nationwide at three times all emissions in Delhi, where 14,326 towers generated 2,123 tonnes PM10 per year. Dr Beig said, “We found that after vehicles, the telecommunication sector was the second most common user of diesel.’’ In Delhi, the problem was compounded particularly in NCR, where power supply is erratic.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

HEALTHCARE

INSIDE INDIA'S MEGA COMBO DRUGS SCAM

Inconsistent enforcement of drug laws means that hundreds of combination drugs are being sold in India without the approval of the central government, in what is a multi-billion dollar drug scam that affects patients' health.

rabhu Dayal arrived at a clinic on the outskirts of Mumbai on a muggy afternoon in July to see the doctor about a cold and cough. The 75-year-old had been feeling unwell for a few days and hoped to get something to treat his symptoms.

manufacturers have obtained permission from a single state to make new fixed-dose combination drugs, or FDCs, like the Abbott one—and are selling them in other parts of the country without the approval of the central government. FDCs combine two or more drugs in a single pill.

He did. But the prescription Dayal left with that day wasn’t for any regular cold medicine.

India’s top drug regulator is trying to shut down this avenue. “The first clearance of new drugs which anyone wants to market in India, that has to be given by the national regulatory authority,” G.N. Singh, the Drugs Controller General of India, told Reuters.

It was for a powerful antibiotic cocktail marketed in India by a unit of US pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories. It is not approved for sale in major markets such as the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan and Australia.

Medical experts say it doesn’t make sense to prescribe the cocktail for cold symptoms. And a governmentappointed panel in India recommended to the health ministry last year that it not be approved for sale here, citing lack of safety and efficacy data and a high potential for “misuse.”

In fact, the drug has not been approved by the central government, as required by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the regulator responsible for approving new drugs.

Under India’s complex drug-approval regime, many pharmaceutical SEASONAL MAGAZINE

But inconsistent enforcement of the drug laws means that hundreds of FDC drugs are being sold in India without the approval of the central government. Policymakers have also now given pharmaceutical companies a chance to retroactively prove the safety and efficacy of these drugs, including the Abbott one. They are currently under review in New Delhi.

Doctors and public health experts both in India and abroad say the proliferation and misuse of antibiotic combinations here may be contributing to antibiotic resistance, making India a potent incubator of socalled superbugs. Some of these superbugs have been found in patients

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who travelled from India to the US, Britain and other countries.

The drug prescribed to Dayal was Zimnic AZ, which combines two antibiotics in a single pill. Last year, the Illinois-based Abbott’s India units had sales of more than $1 billion. Its revenue in India from combination drugs in 2014 was Rs.2,462 crore, according to IMS Health, a Connecticut-based firm that provides data on the healthcare industry.

Risk of Drug Resistance In interviews, former and current medical representatives for Abbott said Zimnic AZ has been promoted and administered as a treatment for a wide variety of illnesses, including colds, fevers, urinary tract infections, drugresistant typhoid and sexually transmitted diseases. Reuters visited chemists who were also selling the drug for respiratory ailments and to prevent post-operative infection. The doctor who prescribed Zimnic AZ for Dayal said the elderly patient seemed to be suffering from a respiratory tract infection.

Combining cefixime and azithromycin—the two antibiotics that make up Zimnic AZ—is risky, said Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy, a think tank with offices in Washington and New Delhi. By administering these two drugs in a single dose, “you’d be creating strains (of bacteria) resistant to both these antibiotics,” said Laxminarayan, who lectures on public health at Princeton University.

“Drug resistant strains spread globally,” he said. “They already have.

It’s very hard to regulate the movement of people.”

The fact that Abbott and hundreds of other companies in India are able to sell drugs like Zimnic AZ without the central government’s approval is evidence of a health system in disarray.

This year, Reuters has documented how the training of doctors in India—the world’s largest exporter of physicians— SEASONAL MAGAZINE

was riddled with fraud and unprofessional teaching practices. A second article revealed how an Indian doctor facing corruption charges is next in line to head the World Medical Association, the leading international medical ethics body.

Nearly half the drugs on the market in India last year were combinations.

These include medications consisting of three different drugs apiece, doctors said. In the US, combinations made up 13.9% of drugs on the market, while in China the number was 14.4%, according to IMS Health. Last year, about 78% of combination drugs in India were sold by local firms, with multinationals making up the rest, the health data provider said.

Abbott declined to answer questions from Reuters about why it was selling a drug in India without the approval of the central government.

The manufacture and marketing of Zimnic AZ in India “is aligned with local regulations,” said Varsha Chainani, director of public affairs for Abbott in India. Chainani noted that more than 15 other companies in India are also manufacturing and marketing the same combination under different brand names.

Abbott didn’t respond to questions about whether it was appropriate to prescribe Zimnic AZ for patients like Dayal with cold symptoms. The company wouldn’t say for which specific indications the drug had been approved in India and what marketing instructions have been given to its medical representatives. Abbott

Abbott declined to answer questions from Reuters about why it was selling a drug in India without the approval of the central government.

declined to say what it was doing to address concerns that combinations like Zimnic AZ may be contributing to antibiotic resistance.

“It would be inappropriate to comment in view of the pending evaluation,” said Chainani, referring to the drug review currently being conducted by the Drugs Controller General of India. “Abbott will abide by the final outcome of the proceedings in this regard.”

Combination Fever Fixed-dose combination drugs like Zimnic AZ aren’t unique to India. They are used worldwide to improve patients’ compliance in complicated courses of treatment for such conditions as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. It’s easier to get patients to take one drug than a number of different pills.

Combination drugs are also useful in increasing compliance among the many Indian patients who can’t read, said Sanjay Sikaria, director of drug maker Suncare Formulations Private Ltd in Uttarakhand. “FDCs are not bad,” he said. “Rampant misuse of these drugs is bad.”

That’s the problem in India, where there has been an explosion of combination drugs. They have become a way to boost sales and increase market share: More and more companies have tacked on ingredients to existing drugs so they can peddle a new product to doctors and chemists, say people in the country’s highly competitive pharmaceutical sector.

Combination drugs are profitable because of high demand from doctors, who see them as a way to ensure patient compliance, say people in the pharmaceutical industry.

Many doctors also see them as providing “quick-fix solutions” that cover multiple possible symptoms with a single pill, said a physician employed by a pharmaceutical company. “The market needs it and demands it,” he said.

Between 2011 and 2014, India’s fixed-dose combination market grew more than 40% in rupee terms, according to IMS Health.

A study published in the journal of Public Library of Science (PLOS) in May found that over 70% of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) combinations, which are used as painkillers, were being marketed in India without central government approval. The authors recommended that unapproved drug combinations be banned immediately.

“We have fixed-dose combinations in every category of drug,” said Anurag Bhargava, professor of medicine at Yenepoya Medical College in the southern state of Karnataka. “The single ingredient versions are harder to find.”

Delhi Takes ‘Longer’ FDCs have grown rapidly in India, in part because over the years pharmaceutical companies have procured licences from a state to manufacture new drugs, without obtaining central government approval.

The Abbott combination won approval this way, according to Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which manufactures Zimnic AZ in Uttarakhand. In 2010, Uttarakhand’s state drug licensing authority granted approval to Akums to manufacture the combination of cefixime and azithromycin, the components of Zimnic AZ, according to the company.

Each of those drugs is individually approved by the government. Akums said it also makes the combination for an Indian drug company.

Asked why Akums was manufacturing a drug without the approval of the central government, former company chairman D.C. Jain said state authorities were as qualified as the central government to assess a drug, and that the process of applying for approval from a state and the central government was similar.

Since getting a state license, Akums said it has filed an application to New Delhi for the combination.

Getting a green light from New Delhi takes “a little longer,” said Jain, who is now a consultant at Akums.

Akums did not respond to a request SEASONAL MAGAZINE

from Reuters for a copy of the document showing that the combination of cefixime and azithromycin had been approved by the state. When Reuters visited the state drug controller’s office in Uttarakhand, staff could not find a record of the license.

One of several committees convened by the drug controller to review drug cocktails in 2014 recommended that the combination of these two antibiotics should not be approved.

The panel found that the drug was “not a standard antibiotic combination” and that “the misuse potential is very high,” according to the committee’s recommendation, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters through a freedom of information request.

After years of intermittent efforts to limit the sale of state-licensed FDC drugs, the government is making another attempt to weed out those it considers “irrational.” More than 3,000 different brands of combination drugs are currently under review in New Delhi, a drug regulatory official said.

Asked about the status of the cefiximeazithromycin combination, G.N. Singh, the drugs controller general, said he could not comment on a specific case. But the drug regulatory official said the combination was “under the scanner” because pairing the two drugs that make up Zimnic AZ “is not appropriate.”

‘It doesn’t make sense’ Pharmaceutical companies in India employ armies of medical representatives to pitch a drug to doctors.

“We promoted it for typhoid and urinary tract infection mainly,” Jessy Prashanth, a former rep for Abbott in Andhra Pradesh, said of Zimnic AZ. “But we also asked doctors to use it in cases of persistent cough, cold and fever.” Prashanth now works for Alkem Laboratories Ltd, an Indian company that sells the same combination under a different brand name.

A medical representative working for SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Abbott in Maharashtra, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he only promoted the drug for respiratory tract infections and typhoid. But from visits to chemists and doctors, he was aware it was being prescribed for “everything from soft skin tissue infections, pneumonia, respiratory tract infection, to (urinary tract infection), severe fever, typhoid fever and sexually transmitted

After years of intermittent efforts to limit the sale of state-licensed FDC drugs, the government is making another attempt to weed out those it considers “irrational.” More than 3,000 different brands of combination drugs are currently under review in New Delhi

diseases,” he said. “It covers most things people go to a general practitioner for.”

The two antibiotics that make up Zimnic AZ attack similar bugs in the body and have the same potential side effects, said Jonathan Zenilman, chief of the infectious diseases division at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. By coupling cefixime and azithromycin in one dose, he said, patients face a heightened risk of gastrointestinal side effects, like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The toxicity is duplicative.”

Akums, the manufacturer of Zimnic AZ, said no adverse drug reactions have been reported since the combination has been on the market.

For four years after a new medication is approved by the central government in India, drugmakers are required to

ndia’s system for collecting data on problematic drug reactions is weak. The country reported about 37,800 suspected cases of adverse drug reactions to the World Health Organization’s global database last year. fills Zimnic AZ prescriptions for throat infections and tonsillitis.

“Many doctors prescribe it,” Negi said, pointing reassuringly to the Abbott logo on the back of the blister pack.

“It’s a big company.”

Cefixime and azithromycin have been administered together before—but usually as two separate drugs, and to treat very specific problems. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the two drugs may be used together as an alternative treatment for gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease.

submit a Periodic Safety Update Report to New Delhi, which should include adverse reactions.

Akums said Abbott regularly submitted update reports for Zimnic AZ. Neither Akums nor Abbott responded to a Reuters request to see the findings.

India’s system for collecting data on problematic drug reactions is weak.

The country reported about 37,800 suspected cases of adverse drug reactions to the World Health Organization’s global database last year. China, with a comparable population, submitted close to 214,000 reports for the same period, while the US reported some 785,000 cases.

Drug-resistant Typhoid Standing in his chemist shop in the Uttarakhand capital of Dehradun, pharmacist Varat Negi said he usually

Results from a study sponsored by the Center of Geographic Medicine and Tropical Disease at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel also suggest a combined therapy of the two drugs was effective in treating drug-resistant typhoid, said Eli Schwartz, the doctor who conducted the research. Israeli doctors started to look into the treatment because travellers were bringing drug-resistant typhoid back to Israel from India and Nepal, he said.

Still, growing drug resistance is a key risk of the widespread misuse of antibiotic fixed-dose combinations, especially in a country like India where prescription drugs are frequently sold over the counter. Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics when repeatedly exposed to the same drugs over time.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), the regulatory office headed by the drug controller, has tried several times to tame the fixed-dose combination market in the past decade. In 2007, the government ordered states to withdraw 294 combinations that were on the market without the approval of the central government.

It didn’t go well. In southern India, drug companies and industry associations took the government to court over the order. The court stayed the withdrawal order, and eight years on, the cases are still pending in the Madras high court.

Now the drug controller is trying again.

In a review of some 6,200 drugs completed earlier this year, only about 40% were considered ready for approval by a government-appointed committee. Some 15-20% percent were deemed “irrational,” according to the drug regulatory official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The government has yet to demand that the irrational drugs be removed from the market. Instead, it has issued the equivalent of a show-cause notice to drugmakers, giving them another opportunity to justify these products.

Drugs Controller General Singh told Reuters his office is committed to ensuring patient safety and that he was confident states were no longer granting manufacturing licenses for new drugs. But he said the government was giving drugmakers another chance to make a case for their products.

Akums, the drugmaker that manufactures Zimnic AZ for Abbott, received a government notice in September saying Akums needed to provide regulators with more information, said former company chairman Jain. Otherwise, the combination of cefixime and azithromycin would be considered irrational. Akums provided additional data to the government, and in late November the combination was still under review, Jain said.

Abbott declined to say whether it was informed of the notice sent to Akums.

For Prabhu Dayal, the patient with a cold and cough, Zimnic AZ wasn’t a quick fix. Contacted two weeks after he was prescribed the drug, Dayal said he had completed the course but still wasn’t feeling well.

So, he went to get another round of Zimnic AZ from the chemist, he said.

It was sold to him again-this time without a new prescription.

(Credit: Reuters) SEASONAL MAGAZINE

POLLUTION

'IN CHINA, BOTTLED FRESH AIR IS IN DEMAND!' Sales of Vitality Air from Canada soared since Beijing's smog red alert Last week authorities issued highest ever pollution warning in China Canisters of air are being sold for up to £42 each, depending on the size Company spokesman said Chinese customers have emptied their stock.

S ince China's capital city Beijing issued its first ever air pollution red alert last week, sales of bottled Canadian fresh mountain air to Chinese customers have soared.

Two entrepreneurs from Alberta have been selling Vitality Air for just over a year, but over the last two weeks their sales to China have increased dramatically, reports The People's Daily Online.

The red alert over air pollution was issued by Beijing authorities on December 7, lasting three days, amid the second bout of bad air this month. During this time PM2.5 levels - tiny hazardous airborne particles - exceeded 900 micrograms per cubic metre.

A Chinese man shows how a canister is used. The demand for bottled air by Vitality has soared in China+7.

A Chinese man shows how a canister is used. The demand for bottled air by Vitality has soared in China.

Vitality Air was co-founded by Moses Lam and Troy Paquette in 2014. They SEASONAL MAGAZINE

travel to high rocky mountains in Alberta, western Canada for the fresh air, which is home to over 600 lakes.

In the mountains, massive cans are filled through clean compression with pure revitalising air, something that is not found in Beijing during the harshest days.

On their website Vitalityair.com it says: 'We strive to provide a premium quality necessity that isn't always available.

'The best and the freshest necessity of life - fresh clean air and oxygen.'

Harrison Wang, Vitality Air's China representative, said: 'It's been a pretty wild ride for us as we only started to market the product a month and a half ago.

We got the website up and running, then put Vitality Air on Taobao – a Chinese website similar to eBay for online shopping – and we sold out almost instantly.'

Their first shipment to China was a little over 500 bottles of air, their next shipment in two weeks will be around 700.

'We have sold everything, and we now

have a bunch of customers and a people wanting to be our distributors,' said Harrison.

It's an exciting time for the company, putting their product on the market in China has been a fast learning curve, especially when it comes to the country's e-commerce industry.

'Consumer spending power is like something we have never seen before and we are pleasantly surprised.

'We know the demand is big so we are being reactive instead of proactive, and doing our best to accommodate for the market needs and demands,' he said.

Moses and Troy from Vitality Air have spent time in China, and they are fully aware of the current pollution crisis.

Tourists donned masks in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square as smog levels reached a red alert warning for the first time ever on December 8 last week Tourists donned masks in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square as smog levels reached a red alert warning for the first time ever on December 8 last week Sales of pollution masks increased

massively last week when Beijing was hit with a red alert pollution warning Sales of pollution masks increased massively last week when Beijing was hit with a red alert pollution warning 'The pollution is certainly a problem and the government is taking aim to sort it, we see it has an issue and we want to give people the opportunity to inject a little bit of fresh into their daily lives,' said Harrison.

They initially put the fresh mountain air into sealed plastic bags and sold it on eBay for 99 cents (65p) per bag.

Now they are selling one canister of compressed air for up to $46 dollars (ÂŁ42) depending on the size.

That's around 400 Yuan to Chinese residents for a can of air, which is 200 times the price of a bottle of mineral water - usually around two Yuan (20p).

As well as China, the company has had sales in countries including Iran and Afghanistan.

Selling 'fresh air' in a bag or a bottle is

not a new commodity in China.

Entrepreneurs from both home and abroad have been trying to capitalize on the country's pollution problem for a while.

In 2014 China planned to offer tourists affected by the smog, bottles of 'oxygen'.

The bottles were to be manufactured as part of a tourism scheme by authorities in China's south-west Guizhou Province.

In 2013 one lucky Chinese businessmen made millions selling soda pop-sized cans of air at 80 cents (53p) a can. Chen Guangbiao told reporters he sold 10 million cans in 10 days.

When the red alert was issued in China, the authorities announced plans to close schools, temporarily shut factories and take half of the city's cars off the roads.

The country's high pollution levels has been described as an environmental crisis by the World Health Organisation.

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OUTBOUND 5 CREATIVE ECO RESORTS AROUND THE WORLD

'FEEL ONE WITH NATURE AT THESE 5 ECO RESORTS' 1. Cayo Espanto, in Belize.

Who wouldn't love to have a holiday at a swanky resort located in an exotic location? Luxury resorts around the world are built to cater to the luxury and comfort demands of their guests, guaranteeing personalised service, aesthetic settings and haute cuisine. Following the path of sustainable homes, luxury resorts are now taking the step towards going green. They are investing in new technology and sustainable development to decrease their carbon footprints, even using recycled material to create avant garde interior decorations.

An eco resort is a luxury holiday destination, that has invested in improving its infrastructure to minimize its impact on the environment. These resorts are certified green by a third-party or the relevant state authority. Eco resorts are attracting a lot of interest the world over, with celebrity patrons and an avid following of tourists.

1.Longitude 131째, Australia Located near the Ayer Rocks, the resort is built on huge sand dunes. It has 15 luxury tents that stand on stilts. This resort is built in such a way that it does not disturb the environment.

The entire resort is said to run on solar power.

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3.Bardessono Yountville, California

2.Whitepod Eco Resort, Swiss Alps Whitepod Eco Resort is situated at an altitude of 5, 577 ft. in the Swiss Alps. The 15 geodesic dome-shaped pods are located next to the chalet where guests can socialize. The domes are built in such a manner that they have a very minimal adverse impact on the environment, and they are comfortable. They are assembled on wooden platforms, and blend with the surroundings and leave no trace behind if they are removed. To keep the domes warm, the latest insulation technology is used for the stoves that use less firewood. The furniture is mostly made of recycled material or Swiss wood.

The waste generated is recycled as per the guidelines of the authority of Swiss Alps.

Bardessono, located in Yountville, California, is LEED Platinum Certified -which means that everything here, from the infrastructure to the furniture, provisions of water and electricity, are all environmental friendly. Bardessono is said to have a renewable power system, with 947 solar panels and 82 geothermal wells that are used to heat water. The buildings are made of stone and the furniture is made of reused wood and redwood trees that were first made into old wine barrels. The paint used here has low volatile organic compound (VOC), and all construction materials used are stated to be allergen free and non-toxic. In fact, the artworks displayed here are made of recycled materials.

Motion sensors, low-flow toilets, large windows for natural light, ventilation and temperature control are the minor details that make this eco resort a great place to stay.

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4.Blackadore Caye Resort, Belize A resort with 68 villas for guests has been proposed to be built on an exotic island, Blackadore Caye, on the coast of Belize, by Jason F. McLennan. Situated in the north of Mexico and south of Guatemala, the island is unpopulated and covers an area of 104 acres. This beautiful island is patronized by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who bought it for $1.75 million, along with Jeff Gram, the owner of Cayo Espanto Island Resort. Blackadore Caye is known for its coral reefs and marine biodiversity. Unfortunately, the island is suffering from coastline erosion, overfishing and deforestation of mangrove trees. By restoring it and turning it into a celebrity eco resort will not only make the island ecologically safe but also make it a great place for tourists looking for beautiful sunsets, great villas and infinity pools.

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5. Adrere Amellal Oasis Eco Lodge, Egypt Siwa Oasis in Egypt is located near a lake, and the resort is built amidst old ruins of Egyptian history. The place is known for its sand dunes, ancient olive and palm groves, mineral springs and an exquisite cuisine that includes traditional dishes cooked in honey-glazed clay pots. This lodge does not provide Wi-Fi, phone facilities or electricity. The USP of this resort is to give guests a break from the fast-paced civilization. The infrastructure is renovated by Environmental Quality International (EQI) that wants to preserve keshaf a mixture of salt, mud, rock and stone masonry. The thick walls of the resort absorb heat and keep the insides of the building cool. Since there is no electricity, beeswax candles are used to light up the rooms and this creates a romantic environment.

PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

SUNEEL GALGOTIA AND DHRUV GALGOTIA SEASONAL MAGAZINE

GALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY

THE POWER OF TWO ONE IS THE FOUNDER, AND THE OTHER IS THE HEIR. ONE IS THE DREAMER AND THE OTHER IS THE EXECUTION SPECIALIST. NOW, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BOTH OF THEM PURSUE THE SAME VISION FOR CREATING A WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITY IN INDIA? WHAT HAPPENS IS GALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY.

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or someone who arrived in Delhi with all of 500 bucks, nobody can argue this Chancellor’s credentials in dreaming. Suneel Galgotia had just graduated and had more ideas than joining his family’s bookstore business.

Delhi gave him his first job. But he had more plans for himself as well as for his new city. For someone who came from a book vending family, he decided to run up the stairs, two steps at a time, and became a successful book publisher in the academic world.

The new millennium was arriving, and Suneel Galgotia knew that it would transform Delhi from a laidback bureaucratic city to a buzzing metropolis with plenty of jobs for the youngsters, especially the new engineers and MBAs. This time around Suneel Galgotia took a high-speed elevator, and got into the then nascent private higher education space. That was the start of Galgotias Educational Institutions (GEI), which today also includes the sprawling Galgotias University of Greater Noida.

Anyone who has visited the two campuses, however, would be quick to realize that this is not a university or professional college that has been designed only by a veteran edupreneur like Suneel Galgotia.

Because, the campus has the fragrance of youth right from the inviting gates to every nook and corner of the green campus where boys and girls feel equally at home.

That young brain is Dhruv Galgotia, the Chancellor’s son, and for long GEI’s Chief Executive Officer.

Unlike his father who came to Delhi in search of a job and a dream, Dhruv was born and brought up in Delhi, and as such somebody who could readily stand up for the fresh values and soaring aspirations of the new millennial kids of India’s capital city and its surrounding NCR. Success at the scale of Galgotias is never an accident, and has been the conscious efforts by the concerted actions of this father-son duo that complements each other with their SEASONAL MAGAZINE

unique experiences and new-age thinking.

To illustrate, Founder and Chancellor Suneel Galgotia has played the seminal role in leveraging Galgotia's unique academic heritage, as well as in ensuring better faculty standards and in developing own pedagogies.

That Galgotias University is by one of India’s most reputed academic publishing houses, Galgotia Publications, has been a strength that Suneel rightly leveraged. That makes GU one of the rare private universities that is really born from an understanding of higher education, for decades, in diverse subjects.

Interacting with higher educational institutions and universities of all types, the Galgotias had amassed a unique handle on university education in this country. This is precisely the kind of pedigree that is lacking in quite a few new generation private universities.

From the ground up, Suneel has also recognized that any university is only as good as its faculty. That is why GU has been proactive in attracting one of the most impressive academic teams in any Indian university, let alone any private university.

Creating own pedagogies has been another area where Suneel's personal

Founder and Chancellor Suneel Galgotia has played the seminal role in leveraging Galgotia's unique academic heritage, as well as in ensuring better faculty standards and in developing own pedagogies.

country. But the learning environment at GU, which has been a brainchild of this young CEO, goes much above this, in fact, even beyond academics.

This has been facilitated through a multi-pronged approach that complements the academics. These include Co-Curricular Activities, Industry Interactions, Exchange Programs, Seminars/Workshops, Guest Lectures, Educational Trips, and Social Responsibility Programs.

Dhruv Galgotia has also played a pivotal role in ensuring that GU students and faculty benefit through wide-ranging international tie-ups.

These include Purdue University, Goethe Universitat, University of North America, Anglia Ruskin University, Georgia Tech, University of Maryland, Northern Illinois University, and University of Arkansas, to name a few.

Such complementary strengths of this Chancellor-CEO duo – the power of two - have in fact ensured explosive growth for the institution, making it a place for crafting all-round winners.

There is no dearth of competition among private universities especially when it comes to dimensions like academics and placements. But in a country that is fast becoming the startup capital of the world, academics and placements don’t tell the whole story.

touch has been evident. The top academic management as well as department heads at GU bring in diverse pedagogical inputs that shape up this private university’s integrated approach.

Similarly, CEO Dhruv Galgotia has brought in quite a few lasting changes at GU that has made it one of the leading higher educational institutions in the country. These include forging international tie-ups, as well as in creating a powerful learning environment and ensuring quality of peer group.

While faculty quality is important, young Dhruv Galgotia was quick to

realize that what matters most at a university is the kind of peer group available for students.

To ensure this, Dhruv created a framework by which admission is given only to meritorious and outstanding students as the minimum eligibility criteria set by Galgotias University is among the highest in the country among private universities and allows only the better students to have the privilege of taking admission in the University.

The youthful touch of Dhruv is also evident in the campus as GU has undoubtedly one of the better and well-equipped campuses in the

Next generation leaders would be those excelling equally in extracurricular and co-curricular activities, apart from academics. Here is where the value of this new generation private university comes into focus.

The Greater Noida based institution as well as its older sibling, are making great strides in the overall development of their students.

There are examples galore for this unique approach. Recently, a student team from Galgotias could visit NASA in USA, the cradle of cutting-edge space research in this globe. They also participated in NASA’s Human Explorer Rover Challenge 2015.

On the other hand, GU’s Finance & Commerce students could visit a facility of Bombay Stock Exchange SEASONAL MAGAZINE

(BSE), India’s largest as well as one of the world’s oldest equity exchanges, to understand its complex day-to-day working.

MBA students from Galgotias’ School of Business, on the other hand had somebody important visiting them for a guest lecture. Nationally and internationally renowned management expert, Dinesh Kumar Khare conducted a guest lecture on the topic of “Emerging Trends in Indian Economy”.

Khare is a business leader with 35 years of experience and has worked with India’s largest organizations and MNCs in both public & private sectors such as L&T, NTPC, and SAIL. His experience also spans countries and regions like South Africa and the Middle East. An engineer cum management expert Khare taught students on how to bridge the vital gap between theoretical knowledge and practical applications in industry.

Galgotians have also proven their mettle in various sports, ranging from badminton to auto racing, apart from achievements in dance for which the university dance club is quite famous.

A beauty of GU’s achievements in cocurricular and extra-curricular activities is that, the university and its students achieve this without sacrificing academic performance.

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Galgotia students have come as toppers in GATE 2015, and its placement performance this year too has been exemplary. Almost complete batches (98% to be precise) of its five CS-IBM programs were placed with over 120 top global corporates including Cognizant, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra, with many receiving multiple offers.

IT giant IBM has partnered Galgotias University's CS programs in the

CEO Dhruv Galgotia has brought in quite a few lasting changes at GU that has made it one of the leading higher educational institutions in the country. These include forging international tie-ups, as well as in creating a powerful learning environment and ensuring quality of peer group.

domains of Cloud Computing & Virtualization, Open Source Software & Open Standards, Business Analytics, Telecom Informatics, and in Mainframe Technology. IBM has set up labs at Galgotias University and has co-created syllabi and pedagogies in addition to contributing to teaching processes and faculty training.

But placements at Galgotias are not too much of the same type, with a recent example being a GU student getting absorbed by a top NGO based in United States. GU is also a model to follow for other private universities in that it organizes numerous events and competitions for students from all over the country.

Recent examples include the National Seminar on Energy, Economy, & Environment, and the National Legal Essay Competition. GU is also offering the best amenities for students who come from all over India and abroad, with a noted feature being its excellent canteen facilities that dishes out healthy and tasty food.

Indeed, Galgotia’s University has become a perfect example of the power of two - what can happen when two leaders with complementary strengths come together for the better prospects of all under their care.

PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

Nitte University’s Research Activities Bearing Rich Fruits

Mangalore based Nitte University, long known for its research initiatives in various fields is receiving many recognitions and accolades for its meticulous planning and hard work. This leading private university has been a winner of the prestigious Sakura Exchange Program of Japan, and has attracted visitors from the famed Ivy League institution, University of Pennsylvania. Presiding over its convocation, Dr. MC Mishra, Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi was all praise for Chancellor N VinayaHegde, and he also awarded doctorates to 15 research students.

Recently, students of the School of Social Policy, University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), led by its Professor, Femida Handy, interacted with the MBA students of Justice K.S. Hegde Institute of Management, a constituent of Nitte University on topics such as higher education and related areas, at Nitte in Udupi district.

The visit was an outcome of a memorandum of understanding between the institute and UPenn, which is an Ivy League institution. The faculty of Nitte impressed the visitors through their lectures on various topics Delivering a special lecture on ‘Indian thinking and social science scholarship’, K. Sankaran, director of the institute, compared the way knowledge was viewed in social sciences from a Western scientific tradition vis-a-vis the Indian tradition.

He said the former generally required one clear definition-oriented truth to be established by arguments.

Sudhir Raj K., Professor at the institute, delivered a lecture on ‘Mindfulness for outstanding performance’. He said mindfulness could be easily cultivated if one was oriented in the present.

Mindfulness taught an individual to focus on ‘here and now.’ A mindful SEASONAL MAGAZINE

employee was oriented in the present, he said.

When it comes to promotion of science and technology research in the world, Japan ranks at the very top. Japan Science and Technology (JST) Agency runs innovative programs under the framework of Japan-Asia Youth Exchange Program in Science, of which the Sakura Exchange Program is the most coveted.

N. VINAYA HEGDE, Chancellor

Nitte University had bagged this prestigious Sakura Exchange Program Award for 2015 through a joint project proposal submitted by Harish Kumar Madhyastha from University of Miyazaki, Japan and AnirbanChakraborty from biomedical science, Centre for Science Education and Research, Nitte University.

The advantage of the program was that both students and faculty were benefited from this exchange program.

Anirban, Indian coordinator for the program, with team of 11 from Nitte University which included four faculty members and seven students from biomedical science, Nitte University visited University of Miyazaki, Japan in October and underwent extensive training in cutting edge techniques such as flow cytometry and fluorescence activated cell sorting, neuronal cell culture, MALDI-TOF, advances in electron microscopy and bio-implants.

They also participated in an international conference on arsenic pollution during the visit. In addition to learning science, participants also got a glimpse of Japanese culture and tradition through various activities included in the program. They also got a chance to learn about leading Japanese technologies at Japanese universities, research institutions and private companies.

Such student exchange programmes broaden the horizons of students on how the world of education has expanded.

This recognition to Nitte University was the culmination of a series of discussions that started between University of Miyazaki coordinator and primary awardee Harish Kumar Madhyastha, and IndraniKarunasagar, director of research and development, Nitte University, during the former’s visit to Mangaluru in January and a subsequent visit of the Indian coordinator AnirbanChakraborty to University of Miyazaki, Japan during April 2015.

Discussions on initiation of joint research programs in health science were also a part of the agenda during this trip. As a follow-up, the vicechancellor of Nitte University and the rector, University of Miyazaki will sign a memorandum of agreement between the two Universities in January 2016.

Nitte University’s covocation ceremony in 2015 was a memorable one with the Chief Guest being Dr MC Mishra, Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. Reflecting Nitte’s research accumen, the degree winners included

15 PhDs. Lauding Nitte University, he said, “What had started only as a high school at Nitte village in 1979 has now become a university providing higher education to more than 20 thousand students.Nitte University has the honour of providing medical, technological, dental, nursing, physiotherapy, management affairs, banking, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, architecture, and journalism courses under one institute. It is commendable that it has reached these milestones within a short span of time.

The efforts of K S Hegde and VinayHegde are praiseworthy. So, the contribution of Nitte university to higher education and research is immense,” he said.

“This is my first visit to Nitte University. But I have enquired and come to know about it during the last several years. Nitte Group of Institutes is the result of the far-sightedness of Justice K S Hegde,” added Prof Mishra.

Nitte University’s research initiatives are spearheaded by its 5 Centres of Excellence.

The private university headed by its Chancellor N VinayaHegde is broadly sticking to its roots as a health sciences university, when it comes to furthering its research initiatives too. Four out of its five Centres of Excellence are in the fields of healthcare and associated fields. They bring together collaborations with renowned universities like Oxford and Cambridge, and specialized institutes and researchers from developed nations like Japan, Korea, & United Kingdom. The focus of research at Nitte is on how to benefit the Indian population by leveraging international expertise.

Nitte University’s research initiatives in the health sciences field are in cutting-edge areas like Neurology, Genetics, Animal Experimentation, and Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine. Additionally, it also has a research initiative in Science Education & Research, with a special emphasis on various factors affecting human health.

Nitte University, owned and run by Nitte Education Trust, has been the brainchild of one of India’s foremost leaders in Judiciary and Legislature, Justice KS Hegde. A former Chief Justice of India’s Supreme Court, he also served the nation as the LokSabha Speaker. Making his mark in both these key estates of the Indian administration, Justice Hegde would later focus more on his Mangalore headquartered Nitte Education Trust, which would later give birth to Nitte University.

This deemed-to-be university recognized by both MHRD and NAAC at A Grade, has been focusing more on teaching various health science courses, from its inception. Under the leadership of its Chancellor N VinayaHegde, a noted entrepreneur and multifaceted leader of Karnataka, the university has made great progress in grooming health sciences graduates, postgraduates, and PhD researchers of great acumen.

Nitte University’s popular health science courses include MBBS, MD/ MS, B.Sc (Medical Imaging Technology), B.Sc (Operation Theatre Technology), B.Sc (Bio-Medical Science), M.Sc (Bio-Medical Science), M. Sc. Food Safety & Biotechnology, M. Sc. Marine Biotechnology (MMB), MPH (Master of Public Health), Medical Lab Technology , BDS, MDS, Ph.D, GNM, Post Basic B.Sc Nursing, B.Sc (Nursing), Post Basic Diploma in Critical Care Nursing, Post Basic Diploma in Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Nursing, Post Basic Diploma in Operation Room Nursing, Post Graduate Diploma in Dialysis Nursing, M.Sc Nursing, B.Pharm, Pharm.D, M.Pharm, BPT and M.PT. In the field of health sciences research, Nitte University offers PhD programs in various streams including in dentistry and pharmacy.

But Nitte University is also more than a health sciences university, as it has been successful in crafting highly sought after courses in non-medical fields like Journalism and Architecture.

Nitte has been running its BA and MA programs in Journalism & Mass SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Oxford University, and Bombay Hospital of Medical Sciences.

Genetics Research Laboratory

Communication for some years now, and it has recently launched Nitte Institute of Architecture (NIA).

However, Nitte University’s greatest claim to fame in the near future is likely to be from its 5 Centres of Excellence in health sciences and science education. These are Centre for Advanced Neurological Research (CANR), Genetics Research Laboratory, Nitte University Centre for Animal Research and Experimentation (NUCARE), Nitte University Centre for Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine (NUCSReM), , and Nitte University Center for Science Education and Research (NUCSER).

Centre for Advanced Neurological Research (CANR) CANR is a centre set up exclusively to research complex neurological disorders in 2006. The centre has stateof-the-art facilities for neurological research and is supported both by Nitte University and External Funding agencies including Indian council of medical research (ICMR), Department of Science and Technology(DST) and Department of BioTechnology (DBT).

The primary focus is on demyelinating central nervous system disorders including multiple sclerosis, Neuromyelitisoptica and atypical demyelinating disorders. Focus of research has been to understand the genetic and environmental factors contributing to disease susceptibility SEASONAL MAGAZINE

for these disorders in India. The major histocompatability complex (MHC) associated alleles and single nucleotide variations (SNV) associated with these autoimmune disorders have been evaluated in the largest cohort of patients from southern India.

Environmental factors particularly the role of childhood infections, nutritional status and sun exposure have been evaluated through in house and validated questionnaire. Vitamin D levels and remote infection with Epstein Barr virus and Helicobacter pylori have been studied. Currently the focus has enlarged to include development of cell based assays for sensitive biomarkers that help to diagnose some of these disorders.

These research outputs have supported high impact publications in premier scientific journals and have contributed new knowledge to the understanding of these complex disorders in the Indian context. The center is supported in all its endeavors by the Mangalore demyelinating disease registry, established in 2007, in the department of Neurology, KSHEMA. It is the largest in the country and has currently nearly 750 patients from southern India, who are under dedicated follow up and subsidized medications. Since inception, the centre has had collaborations with International and National research centres including Cambridge University, Imperial College London,

The objective of this department is to provide qualitative Molecular DNA diagnostic services to this region at an ethical price. We hope to grow from providing diagnostics for simple and common diseases to rare and complex ones as time progresses.

Several diseases and syndromes can now be diagnosed with the aid of molecular genetics as these have their etiology in the DNA that we inherit.

This becomes a valuable tool to determine the course of treatment and prognostication, not only for the individual concerned but for the family at large. DNA diagnostics is now the gold standard to determine the diagnosis of certain hereditary diseases and their implications.

There is a wealth of knowledge that is being generated every single day in the field of molecular genetics. To use this knowledge for the service of society is the ultimate aim of science and one to which this set up is aimed towards.

Apart from this, this Centre also has major research initiatives in Clinical and Molecular Cytogenetics.

Nitte University Centre for Animal Research and Experimentation (NUCARE) NUCARE provides quality service for drug evaluation and testing on laboratory animals by abiding the principles and concept of 4R’s – Refinement, Reduction, Replacement and Rehabilitation of laboratory animals. Facility is designed as per the guidelines to maintain clean and dirty corridor separately. Other facilities include - automatic light and

dark control facility, air cycle change with HEPA-filter, animal rooms with controlled temperature and humidity, quarantine room, Surgery room etc.

NUCARE is capable to cater the needs of pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries by drug evaluation, testing, and report preparation as per the guidelines.

NUCARE facility has been approved

by Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) for breading and conducting experiments on small animals. The Centre is capable of conducting toxicological profiling of a drug molecule. NUCARE is also capable of screening and evaluation of drugs in small animal models.

Nitte University Centre for Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine (NUCSReM) Stem cells and cell-based therapies have tremendous potential in curing the millions of adults and children suffering from incurable diseases and medical conditions. With the objective of harnessing the immense potential of stem cells in regenerative medicine, Nitte University started the Centre for Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine (NUCSReM), in 2013.

NUCSReM has been set up by using the experience and expertise of biomedical engineers belonging to BenC-ChangJo Engineering Company, Republic of Korea. With state-of-theart equipment and facilities, the NUCSReM envisaged not only to further advance the understanding of basic stem cell biology but also to facilitate the clinical application of stem cells to treat patients with various disorders or injuries. The centre is presently headed by Prof. (Dr.) M. ShantharamShetty, renowned Orthopedic Surgeon of the country with four other internal members comprising of stem cell researchers and orthopedic surgeons, and two adjunct professors, Prof. (Dr.) A. AnanthramShetty, Chair of Orthopedics and Director of Research from Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, United Kingdom and

Prof. (Dr.) Seok Jung Kim, Director of Cell Therapy Centre, Orthopaedic Surgeon from The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

The primary focus of the centre revolves around isolation, in-vitro culture, differentiation and autologous transplantation of patient specific stem cells, specifically for orthopedic applications. Further expansion of research aims to develop and utilise the patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) based regenerative medicine technologies for the better treatment of various disorders and diseases. The centre also offers Doctoral programme (PhD) under the faculty of Allied Health Sciences. The research activities in the centre adheres to the National Guidelines for Stem Cell Research-2013 jointly formulated

by ICMR and DBT, Govt. of India and it strictly follows the national and international standards of good manufacturing practice [GMP & current GMP (cGMP)] for production of cells under the highest assurance of sterility, quality and documentation.

NUCSReM’s academic and research collaborations include those with Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, United Kingdom; The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea; GyeongSang National University (GNU), Jinju, Republic of Korea; National Research Centre for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan; and DiponEdBioIntelligence LLP, Bengaluru.

Nitte University Center for Science Education and Research (NUCSER) NUCSER is an interdisciplinary teaching and research centre established in 2013. The centre at present has 14 scientists with expertise in diverse areas of biological sciences and is led by Dr. (Mrs) IndraniKarunasagar, an internationally renowned scientist in the field of Medical and Marine Microbiology.

The activities of the centre are divided into two arms; teaching and

research. Under the teaching program, the centre is offering niche degrees keeping in tune with the emerging trends on career in research. At present it has four programs, namely: B.Sc. and M.Sc. Biomedical science, M.Sc. Food Safety and Biotechnology, and M.Sc. Marine Microbiology and Biotechnology. All these programs are first of its kind in Karnataka and are designed keeping in mind the job opportunities in the field of research.

The centre also offers PhD in specific areas of biological science. The students develop skills in various high end molecular techniques and tools used in research and development.

The research activities in NUCSER focus on issues related to human health and disease, be it genetic, food, or environmental.

Understanding human health through an interdisciplinary approach with focus on diagnosis, molecular mechanisms, and treatment strategies is the vision of the centre. The research activities in the centre are classified into six groups, namely Division of Infectious Diseases, Division of Cancer Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Division of Food Safety and Nutrition, Division of Bioresource and Biotechnology, Division of Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics and Division of Environmental Health and Toxicology.

The thrust areas include study of human pathogens, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, role of bacteriophages as therapeutics, molecular study of rare bone marrow failure diseases and cancers such as lung and breast cancers, small molecule screening of anti-cancer drugs, in silico and bioinformatics based approaches for drug designing, aspects of food safety, and study of environmental pollutants and toxicants. The centre has several ongoing externally funded research projects from premiere funding agencies such as DBT, DST, ICMR, and SERB.

PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

“WE CREATE INNOVATORS, NOT JUST EMPLOYEES” MS Ramaiah was a visionary who created one of the largest group of professional higher education institutes in the country. His son, MR Jayaram, current Chairman of Bangalore’s MS Ramaiah Group of Institutions has taken the organization to a new level through his holistic policies. One of his innovations was the MS Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies that was founded in 1997-98 under the leadership of Prof. SR Shankapal. Soon the School of Advanced Studies would tie up with UK’s Coventry University to launch industry-oriented postgraduate programs. Today, many years later, this School of Advanced Studies has become one of the most promising private universities in the whole of India. Under the leadership of Chancellor MR Jayaram and Vice-Chancellor Prof. Shankapal, MS Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences (MSRUAS) has rapidly evolved as a model to follow for other universities, for pioneering best practices like its multidisciplinary approach, its user oriented courses, its applied research initiatives, its employability training, and its stress on grooming innovators and problem solvers, rather than entry-level employees. MSRUAS develops cognitive skills in its students, makes them employable in high-paying jobs, and has partnered with industries to design courses.

Seasonal Magazine in conversation with Prof. SR Shankapal, ViceChancellor, MS Ramaiah University of Appled Sciences: MSRUAS from the beginning onward had a high focus on postgraduate programs. Is it continuing, or do you have equal focus on undergraduate and postgraduate programs now?

Yes, in the beginning the focus was more on postgraduate programs. Even now that focus remains, with around 60% of our seats being for PG courses.

The reason for this seeming anomaly with other universities is that we want to create more problem solvers or innovators. While there are different kinds of university models like teaching university, research university, open university etc., we

want to be an innovation university.

We define innovation university as an institution that is always interactive with the society around it – and not just with the industry – to come up with solutions for the society.

Undergraduate degree holders tend to be more of a human resource for the industry, while it is the postgraduate students who are likely to be the problem solvers in industry as well as society. But the gap between UG and PG courses in MSRUAS has come down recently, due to a couple of reasons. One is that undergraduate students bring in more vigour and vitality into the campus, and also because they are inputs to our PG courses and we want better quality students for the higher degrees.

MSRUAS has shared a unique relationship with UK’s Coventry

University. Is that comprehensive partnership continuing? Have you tied up with any other overseas institutions?

We tied up with Coventry University for some specific reasons. In 1997, after MR Jayaram took over the leadership of Ramaiah Group of Institutions, he wanted to start something very different and very promising in the long run. That is how MS Ramaiah School of Advanced Studies came into being under my leadership. We were not a university back then. But we wanted to do something world-class, and Jayaram, me, and Prabhakar went scouting for a very innovative university to tie up with. That is how we came across Coventry University. They had excellent industry interactions, and some professors there of Indian and Pakistani origin were willing to help us. Coventry, as a city had been

famous for its automotive industry, spawning companies like Rover (now Jaguar Land Rover), Standard Motors, Triumph Motorcycles, and even the original Royal Enfield facility was within 55 kms of Coventry. So the place and the university have industryacademic interaction in their blood, and so we too started with a specialized course in the automotive domain. While the relationship with Coventry University is unique and still continuing, we have also tied up with a few other universities abroad.

MSRUAS had started an MTech course in Cyber Security and Information Assurance, designed by Paladion Networks. How has been the response and progress of the batch, and are you planning more such specialized courses designed by the industry in fields where you foresee a demand-supply mismatch of trained professionals?

The response has been very good, and we have started more such courses in collaboration with the industry. We call it user oriented PG courses, and eight companies are collaborating with MSRUAS to run these types of courses.

In some such programs, all the students are given by the specific company, whereas in some others a percentage of students are from outside, but they also get absorbed by the industry, as these are courses designed by the end user which is the specific industry itself.

You have been a great proponent of advancing students’ cognitive skills as opposed to other conventional skills that are knowledge-based or transferable. What drives this vision?

The pace of technological and industrial change is accelerating, and today we have reached a stage where every 3 to 4 years most things change.

So a new graduate needs to have cognitive skills like analytical abilities, problem solving skills, critical thinking abilities etc to learn new knowledgebased skills. If he has developed such cognitive skills, he can master any new or emerging field of knowledge.

Towards that we need to make each student highly independent. How we do this is by lots of assignments, selfdirected studies etc. so that he becomes a true self-learner.

From its inception onward, MSRUAS has advocated the employability of your graduates and postgraduates.

What are the specific strategies that you have adopted to ensure this?

The primary strategy is to keep the industry needs in mind, and for that we need to keep the industry involved.

After all, an automotive engineering student should be able to do automotive engineering jobs at the end of his studies. We are capable of grooming our students to industry readiness due to another reason too.

Today, MSRUAS is one of the leading private universities in India for conducting training programs for various industries. We are doing training programs for around 25 leading companies in India, in various sectors. We also keep ourselves updated as per world-class standards

“We Create Innovators, Not Just Employees” with our tie-ups with overseas universities. In Russia, we have tie-ups with six universities while in UK we have relations with three institutions.

As a private university, you may not be fully satisfied by the student input that you get each year. How do you bring up even such students to high academic and employable levels?

It is true, we always don’t get the kind of students we may prefer, especially at the undergraduate level. But at the end, we want to make every one of them truly productive in their chosen domain. How we go about doing this is simple enough – motivate without causing stress. Make them enjoy studies. You will be surprised to know the kind of transformation MSRUAS can cause in even average students.

Very ordinary students from Diploma and ITI backgrounds, after doing our course in Product Design, are employed in top automakers’ facilities like the GM Design Centre in Bangalore, with salaries they couldn’t have imagined a few years back.

Can you outline what are the salient features of your research initiatives in various fields?

Firstly, our focus is mainly on applied research. Secondly, while our faculty and researchers are currently publishing in national and international journals, we are always motivating them to publish in the very good journals, because that is the acid test and that is the kind of research achievement that brings exposure and makes a difference. We are very particular about the academic quality of our research students, and from

around 150 applications only 25 students are taken in. We provide the best students with financial support even, from what our faculty gets for their research work with institutions like the DRDO. Do you think our faculty standards in higher education would improve vastly if our professors and lecturers are trained abroad, in reputed institutions in the developed world?

It is very true and we are already doing that in a big way. Every year, we sent at least 15 of our lecturers for overseas training at good institutions, and at least 6 professors from abroad come here for training our faculty every year.

We do that because, many mistakenly think that infrastructure makes a great university, while the truth is that it is

great faculty that makes a great university. Great faculty can teach their students even under the shade of a tree.

Certain MS Ramaiah Group of Institutions, including MSRUAS, recently led a program in which several foreign students obtained a feel of Indian village life in Kaiwara.

Can we know what this program and its objectives were all about?

Such initiatives spring from the leadership of our Chairman MR Jayaram. He is a very spiritual person who spends weekends in the village, meditating and doing social work like distribution of free food, conducting mass marriages etc. Our doctors and dentists go there and do free camps too. In fact, we have a rule that every student should do at least a minimum of two days of social work an year.

Even foreign students come on exchange programs to experience Indian rural life through MS Ramaiah Group of Institutions.

You are a veteran of MS Ramaiah Group having worked with Founder MS Ramaiah as well as his son and Chancellor MR Jayaram. How do you describe the unique leadership capabilities of both leaders? Also, how do they differ in their styles?

I joined this great organization in 1984, and was working as a lecturer at our engineering college, but in a very lowkey manner. MS Ramaiah was a visionary who built this great

institution, but I didn’t get enough opportunities to interact with him.

When MR Jayaram took over and was considering a new institution for advanced studies, the then Principal suggested me for heading it. As I told just now MR Jayaram is a person who is very spiritual and very holistic, and he ploughs back everything back to the development of the institution, so that we can build this up as a great university like in the West. He doesn’t interfere in day-to-day affairs, and has built up a culture of transparency with no capitation and reasonable fees.

MSRUAS is fast progressing as a young but integrated university that brings together several institutes of longer heritage. What all are the USPs of this university that you would like to highlight before students and their parents?

We are following a multi-disciplinary approach to higher education. We have the Open Elective system where even someone doing a dental degree can opt for an engineering course, if he or she desires. When it comes to research, we follow an interdisciplinary approach whereby doctors can approach engineers and ask them to invent a device to solve a medical problem. We have something called the Engineering Medical Centre to facilitate such interactions and come up with solutions. Nowadays knowledge creation through research is happening at the intersections of various domains, and MSRUAS is in

tune with this world-class trend set by the best universities in the West.

As a veteran educator in the private sector, what all would be your broad suggestions for the state and central governments in the field of higher education? Do you think that this nation as well as its industry have still not learned to utilize the knowledge and skillsets of its reputed academicians in higher education?

I think in recent years, governments at both the central and state levels are beginning to understand what really needs to be done for furthering higher education. Earlier, the sector was too much regulated, and while it has come down now, it can be bettered still.

Interactions between the academic world and industries have significant room for improvement in India. For example, Munich headquartered BMW has a long tradition of interactions with Technical University of Munich (TUM). They are loyal to each other. Such interactions should be aimed at. At MSRUAS, our prime objective is to set a good example for other universities to follow in everything that we do well like our multidisciplinary approach, our user oriented courses, our applied research initiatives, our employability training, and our stress on grooming innovators and problem solvers.

IN-FOCUS

SMC Global Securities

AN HONEST SUPERMARKET FOR ALL FINANCIAL SERVICES

Chartered Accountant turned financial services entrepreneur DK Aggarwal has built up SMC Global Securities based on his personal and professional values like honesty and client-centric approach. hich are the most aggressive tele marketing calls that you receive every day? No one would disagree that financial services is that aggressive sector – you get offers for everything from business loans to personal loans to loan against property to credit card to stock/commodity trading tips to life insurance to mutual funds to what not. Now close your eyes, and imagine the most misleading or misrepresentative or untruthful marketing promises that you have ever got. It would be again from the sprawling financial services sector. Cutthroat competition in the sector has unfortunately made more than a few players to resort to mis-selling at all available opportunities. This is not just in personal communications, but in SEASONAL MAGAZINE

media interviews, public appearances, and professional articles. Aggression coupled with mis-selling has become the hallmark of this broad sector of the economy. This is where the life and times of DK Aggarwal, Chairman & Managing Director of SMC Global Securities come across as a refreshing change. Anyone discerning who has watched this Chartered Accountant turned Entrepreneur in action – be it in live media or in person in conferences, interviews etc – would attest to this difference. In fact, he has built up SMC Global Securities as a shopping mall for all financial services, solely on this value – of honest talk, honest services. Today, SMC Global Securities, which is on the verge of going for its public issue is a one-stop shop where you can

get all financial services under one roof. These include equity trading, commodity trading, currency trading, investment banking, wealth management, financial products distribution, research, NBFC services, depository services, insurance broking, clearing services, and real estate advisory services. SMC Global has also built up a commendable customer base for these various services, spanning corporate, institutional, high net worth individuals (HNIs), and retail clients. Success on that scale doesn’t come without values, and DK Aggarwal’s most commendable value has been his straightforwardness. Even when his opinion can apparently hurt some of his businesses, or show some of his sectors in poor health, such issues don’t colour his opinion. For instance, even when it is clear as daylight that the newfound emergence of mutual funds is

DK Aggarwal

hurtful to the classic equity brokerage business, Aggarwal is of the opinion that retail investors are better off by investing through mutual funds. Even when it is obvious that most brokerages thrive by promoting activities reserved for experts like day trading or shortterm trading, this CMD is of the opinion that retail investors should desist from the urge to do day trades or short-term trades. Even when the success of a brokerage is directly proportional to the size of the exposures that its clients take

in one go, SMC Global’s Chief is of the unwavering opinion that exposure should be only through the monthly Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). DK Aggarwal also knows too much about the market to be swayed by the negative analyst coverage and negative press that most IPOs attract these days for alleged overpricing.

Instead, Aggarwal feels that most, if not all, IPOs still leave reasonable value on the table for investors.

Indeed, the performances of several IPOs in recent months bear witness

to Aggarwal’s conviction. Having started out in 1994, the Captain of the SMC ship has seen enough storms to stick to his conviction that historically most retail investors have gained the maximum by investing in the best companies through their IPOs and doing nothing, but hold, hold, and hold. At the heart of this honesty is Aggarwal’s, and therefore SMC’s, firm conviction that as financial service providers, nothing else should matter other than their clients’ interests.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

INDIA LAUNCH

10 Buzzing Indian Cities Where Houses Still Come Within Rs 30-50 lakhs The JLL India report lists Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Kochi, and Surat among the 10 affordable property markets in the country where flats can be bought within the budget of Rs 30-50 lakhs. By now we all know that real estate sector has been witnessing a slump. t is thus crucial for investors to know about affordable housing and cities where one can invest in for good deals in a sluggish market condition. According to realty experts, the sector is set for a rebound and may see an uptick in sales this year.

According to property consultant JLL India’s chairman and country head Anuj Puri, 2016 may well bring the kind of investment activities that were seen in 2007 – the previous peak year which saw investments of more than $8 billion into Indian real estate.

With government’s ‘Housing for All by 2022’ being rigorously advocated, JLL India has come out with a list of 10 cities that offer lower-budget investment prospects over medium to long term.

The JLL India report lists Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, and Surat among 10 cities in the country where flats can be bought within the budget of Rs 30-50 lakh.

“These towns and cities offer a wide spectrum of investable options in real estate with relatively lower property price levels, providing the incentives for future capital appreciation and healthy returns, ” Puri said.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

Below are the 10 cities and the reasons that make them 10 affordable property markets

HYDERABAD, TELANGANA “Hyderabad, with its buoyant and thriving economy and a dynamic workforce, is once again trending as a buyer’s market. The thriving IT/ITeS industry has given further impetus to

the real estate consumer trend, which is evident from the growing demand for residential, commercial and retail spaces, ” JLL report said. Hyderabad is perhaps one of the most affordable cities among all tier 1 cities of India.

Even the well-developed residential localities in Hyderabad, such as Manikonda, Kukatpally, Miyapur and Sainikpuri offer residential properties in the budget range of Rs 30-50 lakh.

PUNE, MAHARASHTRA Over the last couple of years, Pune has recorded good growth in the affordable housing segment. Such projects are located on the periphery of the city and offer small 1–2 BHK flats with basic, no-frills amenities.

Although there has been compelling growth in the high-end segment with luxurious 3-4 BHK homes, the budget housing story is far more attractive to investors. One of the best Indian city to live in and with more promising infrastructure development in place, Pune offers better standards of living than any most other metros.

NAVI MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA Over the last few years, the real estate

market in Navi Mumbai and surrounding areas have shown impressive growth, largely because of the planned approach taken towards development. While property prices have increasingly become unaffordable in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai still provides numerous options for residential housing within the budget of Rs 30-50 lakh. The proposed SEZs at Dronagiri, Ulwe and

Kalamboli, and the upcoming international airport at Panvel. Both these factors are expected to generate a massive amount of employment, providing a further impetus to the demand for commercial and residential developments.

JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN

Jaipur is a fast-developing city with many influencing growth drivers in place. It has progressed tremendously on the residential as well as the retail fronts, and is considered one of the most important real estate destinations of North India. Some localities in Jaipur such as Malviya Nagar, Tonk Road and Ajmer Road are among the best emerging investment destinations in

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the country. The government is taking keen interest in developing the infrastructure of this region. The announcement of the Metro has triggered faster infrastructure development, and property prices are expected to witness an upward surge in the next few years. However, the development is still in its nascent stage.

With yearly capital appreciation to the tune of 12-17%, Jaipur holds great potential and promises good returns on investment.

SURAT, GUJARAT Rated as one of the fastest growing cities of the world and also recently conferred with ‘Best Urban City of India’ award, Surat has also gained prominence and recognition for being the Cleanest City in India by INTACH. Micro-markets in New Surat such as an entire stretch of Dumas Road are dotted

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with variety of malls, multiplexes and top-notch residential apartment projects. Even though Surat is not as populated as Ahmedabad, the excellent road network within the city – defined by several flyovers and wide roads – mean that this city will see rapid transition in times to come, with many more influencing drivers in place.

GHAZIABAD, NCR Ghaziabad is an emerging residential neighbourhood of NCR which has a very high supply of residential properties in the budget of Rs 30-50 lakh. Well connected via Metro and roads to the job markets of Delhi-NCR region, the city caters largely to the mid-segment home buyers.

Infrastructural developments such as the extension of the Metro Rail and the widening of the NH 24 will further boost Ghaziabad’s realty market.

NAGPUR, MAHARASHTRA Although a city with extreme climatic conditions, Nagpur is one of the fastestgrowing cities in India. Nagpur’s main claims to fame include its MIHAN and SEZ projects. However, with the Fadnavis-led BJP government taking keen interest in turning Nagpur into the next IT hub of Maharashtra, the city is set for a major transition in its real estate profile.

KOCHI, KERALA Gone are the days when the city’s builders focussed only on affluent buyers. Today, the Kochi residential real estate market is dominated by affordable housing segment, which accounts to about 60% of the total housing projects in the city. The

soaring land prices have made it difficult to own or build independent houses, and there is increasing demand from the emerging midincome segment that wants homes packed with amenities at affordable prices. The demand for affordable housing is so strong that it has made its way through the poshest of areas.

COIMBATORE, TAMIL NADU Coimbatore is a market where 40% of real estate investments come from investors living in cities such as Bangalore, Cochin and Chennai. Apart from the demand from professionals engaged in IT/ITeS, Coimbatore is emerging as a retirement destination, and demand for 2 BHK homes is high from senior citizens. Demand for smaller apartments is primarily from young IT professionals, while villas and row houses see demand from NRIs, retirees and IT professionals with a preference for such properties.

AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT Ahmedabad may be the last one in the list, but it is in no way the least. With the city being a prime example of organised and fast-paced development for the rest of the cities in India, Ahmedabad has come a long way.

With huge investments pouring into the state, rapid infrastructural development in the form of bullet trains, GIFT Smart City, the entrepreneurial nature of the population and a supportive, stable government, everything is going right for Ahmedabad. The oil, gas and energy industries, petro-chemical industries and automobile manufacturing industries are some of the major factors driving perennial demand for real estate in the city. The maximum supply of properties within the range of Rs 30-50 lakh is evident along the SG Highway and in areas such as Gota, Bopal and Satellite.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

INDIA LAUNCH

ISN'T IT ODD THAT EVEN CNG CAUSES CANCER?

The Arvind Kejriwal led government in Delhi on Saturday informed the Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) that almost 60,000 cars have converted to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) after the odd-even scheme was implemented in Delhi from January 1

t was the Sheila Dixit-led Congress government (19982013) which had introduced CNG for vehicles in Delhi. It all started in 1998 after the Supreme Court of India issued a directive which specified a deadline of April 2001 for converting all buses, three-wheelers and taxis to CNG in Delhi.

The results of the Supreme Court directive were instant as by December 1, 2002 the last diesel bus had vanished from the roads of Delhi. Although the automobile industry has always been against CNG, but CNG according to the apex court seemed to be the miracle fuel, which had all the answers for achieving clean air in the capital.

But, the fact is that in spite of total conversion of public transportation to CNG, the air quality in Delhi has continued to deteriorate. But what about CNG emissions? Do they have any adverse effects on people's health?

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) conducted a study in Delhi and concluded that CNG-run buses emit "nanocarbon" particles, which are harmful and may cause cancer.

According to CSIR's Director General, Dr MO Garg this study can change the perception that CNG is a clean fuel as it does not emit any visible smoke, in contrast to the black smoke emitted by SEASONAL MAGAZINE

diesel run vehicles.

At the Global Green Energy Conclave held in Ahmedabad last year Dr Garg had said, "Natural gas is supposed to be a clean fuel when used in internal combustion engines, right? But, I don't think people realize that what you see (smoke) is perhaps better than what you don't see (no smoke from CNG vehicles)."

"We did a study with a professor of Alberta University, who have developed a device to measure and analyze particles emitted by vehicles.

We have installed this machine on the exhaust of a natural gas-run DTC bus in Delhi," he said.

"Can you imagine that we found nanocarbon particles coming out of natural gas combustion. These particles are moving around in the atmosphere and going straight into your lungs through your nose. It then enters into your blood through membranes," said Dr Garg.

According to Dr Garg nanocarbons are carcinogenic and he has already alerted the government about its ill effects.

Dr Garg said, "These nanocarbons are rich in polynuclear aromatic, having huge surface area. They are also carcinogenic (cause cancer). I have been telling the government that we need to look at the situation more seriously."

He further added, "Imagine what will be its effect when all commercial vehicles, such as buses, run on natural gas in Delhi. You can see smoke coming out from diesel engine and tell that it is dangerous. But, nanocarbon particles coming out from vehicles is something we need to look at."

Dr Garg also said, "About 15 years ago, when Supreme Court ordered the implementation of CNG, diesel had 500ppm (part per million) of sulphur content. Now there are catalytic convertors and particulate filters (that make diesel engines cleaner)."

Another advocacy group Embarq has done a study on emissions from buses running on different fuels in Mexico, Brazil and India and concluded that CNG buses emit more micro particles.

Amit Bhatt, strategy head, urban transport, Embarq said, "The lowsulphur diesel particles were found to be slightly bigger than those from CNG. We also found that overloaded CNG vehicles emit more and more micro particles."

He further added, "We can say that Euro V and Euro VI diesel is as good as CNG in terms of other pollutants, and superior if you consider particulate emissions."

The results of the Supreme Court directive were instant as by December 1, 2002 the last diesel bus had vanished from the roads of Delhi.

Bharat Stage (BS) norms were introduced in India in 2000, based on European emission norms to control air pollution. Each stage specifies a certain limit on the pollutants released in the air. In India BS III was enforced in October 2010 and currently only parts of Northern India including Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and parts of Rajasthan and western UP are BS IV, while rest of the country still has BS III. Now, if you take a look around the

the city. Different studies say different things, so it's difficult to pin-point the exact source. Delhi government's surveys say that pollution has declined after odd-even but many other surveys contradict it by saying that pollution has risen even more.

The fact is that the PR team of the Aam Aadmi Party has been spot-on and has taken Delhiites for a ride. The Delhi government has managed to attract maximum attention and publicity with radio, television and newspaper ads on the odd-even formula. If at all odd-even has been more of a political success for the Aam Aadmi Party. world, China adopted BS V norms in 2013, and we lag behind European emission norms by at least five years.

However in our country BS V norms are not expected to be adopted before April 1, 2020. It is true that upgrading to BS V or BS VI would require massive investments on equipments and technology, but then don't desperate situations require desperate measures?

In my opinion the Arvind Kejriwal government after being rebuked by the Delhi High Court on the alarming rise in pollution levels and acting in haste has without any scientific validation pulled out a half-baked odd-even plan from the bag.

In a city like Delhi, which has distantly located places and lacks a robust public transport infrastructure, it is extremely difficult to survive without a car.

Besides, no one is sure whether cars are actually the real cause of pollution in

The scheme succeeded initially as schools were closed and many people were out on holidays. Delhi Metro increased its service by 50 per cent to accommodate more commuters.

As per a recent survey almost 43 per cent of car owners in Delhi have said that if this odd-even formula is implemented permanently, they would have no other choice but to buy a second car. Delhi already has around 20 lakh cars, and if 43 per cent people decide to buy a second car, the total number of cars would become almost 30 lakh, and traffic jams would become permanent fixtures.

So, in conclusion I don't see odd-even working on a permanent basis and the Arvind Kejriwal government will have to find other alternative solutions for solving the problem of rising air pollution, but whatever should be done, should be done with proper scientific validation.

SEASONAL MAGAZINE

ALLIANCE UNIVERSITY HOSTS PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON INNOVATIVENESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP The exclusive corporate event had participants from Bangalore’s new generation business leadership as well as from Alliance University’s advisory board members from across the world.

Alliance University, South India’s first private university organized and hosted a corporate event through panel discussions on the theme “Innovativeness and Entrepreneurship” on 13th January 2016, Wednesday at Vivanta by Taj, MG Road, Bangalore. The event was formally inaugurated by Dr. Madhukar Angur, Chancellor, Alliance University. He stated the need for universities and educational entities to work closely in educating and consulting with new as well as established enterprises.

The exclusive event had members of the Advisory Board, Alliance University; Dr. Jagdish N Sheth, Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Goizueta Business School, Emory University, USA; Dr. Robert A. Easter, President Emeritus, University of lllinois, USA; Dr. Tan Chin Tiong, Senior Advisor to President and Professor of Marketing, Singapore Management University, Singapore; Dr. Howard Hunter, Professor of Law, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, School of Law, Emory University, USA; Mr. Pratik Kumar, CEO, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering; Dr. W. Ken Harmon, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Kennesaw State University, USA as the panellists.

The voice of Bangalore INC was represented by, Mr. Harish Bijoor, Brandexpert and Founder Harish Bijoor Consults Inc; Ms. Mangal Karnad, Cofounder- Aneckdote; Mr. Manjunath Talwar, Co-founder and CEO- Hiree.com; Ms. Vandana Sharma, Chief People Officer- Holiday IQ; Mr. Lux Rao, Country Leader HP Future Cities, CTOTechnology Services HP India Sales; Ms. AbhaSaxena, Founder, Social Equity Advisory Services; Mr. DilipThakore, Publisher/ Editor, EducationWorld.

The event consisted of two Panel discussions and the moderatorswere, Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Head of Learning & Development, ITC Infotech India Ltd. and Prof. Ray Titus, ProfessorMarketing and Strategy, Alliance University.

The firstpanel discussion focused on Entrepreneurship and the second was titled on Sustainability and Social Innovation.The discussions brought in some valuable insights on the ongoing start-up era and its impact on society.

The Panel Discussion tried to bridge current thought and perspective in management and its practice on entrepreneurship and innovation at large.

Panellists spoke on entrepreneurship about the current trends, opportunities and challenges. The academicians on the panel shared their thoughts on the contribution by world class universities to build an ecosystem for new enterprises.

Corporate panellists stressed on the importance of having the right people resources with the right kind of experience to build up strong enterprises.

The second panel concentrated on social sustainability and innovation.

Panellists brought up perspectives around what large organizations are doing to sustain and leverage from their societal exchange of ideas.

The event was attended by 180 odd senior industry leaders representing close to 120 diverse organizations.

INDIA LAUNCH

BATTLE DIABETES WITH SMARTPHONE

Boris Kovatchev

Diabetics may soon be able to ditch constant finger pricks and insulin injections, thanks to a new smartphone-based system that can automatically control blood-sugar levels. smartphone, combined with a tiny sensor and wearable insulin pump, can stand in for pancreas, monitoring blood-sugar levels and delivering insulin as needed, researchers said.

The system will enter two final phases of international trials this year.

"We've been working on this specific artificial pancreas as it's called since 2006," said lead researcher Boris Kovatchev, director of the University

of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology.

The system works with a readily available blood-glucose sensor - about the size of a flash drive - that can be worn in a variety of places on the body, such as an arm, leg, or the abdomen, 'Ars Technica' reported.

The sensor reads blood-glucose levels every five minutes and wirelessly reports the results to a specially designed app on a nearby android smartphone.

The app's algorithm analyses the data and wirelessly controls a discreet, wearable insulin pump, which can be hooked to a belt or other piece of clothing. The pump has a very fine needle that delivers insulin into the blood stream.

For traditional management strategies and for Kovatchev's original version of the smartphone app, the goal is to keep blood-glucose levels at a specific target number.

This makes it easy to under- or overshoot that specific target during manual blood-sugar management, and it means an automatic system has to frequently tweak levels.

Researchers have come up with an improved version of the smartphone app algorithm that does not aim for a specific blood-glucose number, but rather a "zone."

These patient-specific short ranges of healthy blood-glucose levels are easier targets that can be stably maintained, avoiding constant adjustments that can lead to swings, Francis Doyle III, dean of Harvard's Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences said.

The new algorithm will be able to adapt to each patient's sugar shifts and

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A WHALE SIZED TRAGEDY IN TAMILNADU Around 120 short-finned pilot whales have washed ashore in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin district, with rescuers taking at least 36 of the mammals back to sea on Tuesday.

Thirty-one whales, however, died despite the rescue efforts, a rescue official said.

The whales began washing up on beaches around 600km from Chennai during night, according to the member of a combined rescue team of the Tamil Nadu departments of fisheries, forest and civil administration and police.

Local fishermen have also been roped in to help the whales – each weighing between 1 tonne and 1.5 tonne and measuring between 8 feet and 10 feet. The whales came ashore during a low tide and could not return to deep sea owing to a high tide, the official said.

Ten fishing boats and one mechanised boat are making sorties, each ferrying one whale at a time, to deep sea.

“We have saved some 60 animals so far,” another rescue official said.

Short-finned pilot whales travel in groups and the absence of a leader confuses them. The rescue official said the whales kept returning to the sea shore even after they were dragged into deep sea. The rescue

operation will continue till all the whales are sent back to the sea, he added.

Locals recall a similar incident from 1973 when 140 whales had washed ashore and many of them died.

Collector M Ravi Kumar was present at the rescue site and overseeing operations.

Electronics Set for a Quantum Jump, Thanks to MesoGlue

A team led by Prof. Hanchen Huang of Northeastern University has discovered a new way to merge metals at room temperature, without heat by developing a new material called 'MesoGlue'.

Soldering techniques have improved a lot and in large scale circuit board production, most parts of it have been automated. But one thing has remained unchanged throughout the evolution of circuit boards; the hot solder.

There has never been another way to attach electronic components to a PCB without melting iron. Not until now.

MesoGlue is a combination of metal and glue. The creators have used metallic nanorods with cores coated with elements Indium and Galium on either side of the two surfaces that need to be joined. When the two surfaces come in contact, the nanorods are interlocked, and form a liquid which is solidified by the core of the rods.

The resulting bond acts like both, a conductor and a glue.

The technology has been patented through Northeastern University.

The bond formed by the MesoGlue is matchless as it provides thermal and electrical conductivity like metal bonds, resistant to high temperature and air leaks. The applications are as wide as attaching miniature components to circuit boards, and attaching metal pipes without welding.

Small circuit components like processors, capacitors and resistors tend to lose their intended potential when heated to attach them to the circuit board. That is why soldering should be done very quickly, and with the smallest drop of iron as possible. This MesoGlue allows fusion of metals without having to heat them.

Though in its early stages, a company founded by Prof.

Hanchen, Paul Elliot and Prof. Stephen Stagon has begun mass-producing this glue for commercial applications. By eliminating the need for heat, this metallic glue could improve the performance of every device that has circuit boards in them.

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INDIA LAUNCH

HOW AUTOMATION IS THREATENING INDIA'S IT BUSINESS

ndia is the world's biggest outsourcing destination in terms of financial attractiveness and business environment, according to a study by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. A.T. Kearney's 2016 Global Services Location Index (GSLI) rated India as number one out of the total 55 countries analysed. China, Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Mexico, Chile and Poland respectively made up the top 10 list. However, the study cited automation as potential threat to India's dominance in the outsourcing sector.

"Even though the top six or seven countries are landing in the same order this year as 2014, looking forward, this could all change radically because the very nature of what's being outsourced is changing," said Arjun Sethi, global leader of A. T. Kearney's strategic IT practice.

"For the first time, we have a trend automation - that could displace the leadership of the likes of India and China in outsourcing. Technology's relentless progress continues to SEASONAL MAGAZINE

transform in unanticipated and fundamentally different ways not only where work is moving to, but how and by whom - or by what - it is being done," Sethi said.

He said the new business model associated with this automation threatens established concepts of offshoring, while expanding the market. India's undisputed industry leadership is facing a challenge from China which has become attractive with its recent devaluation of Renminbi and gains in educational skills and cultural adaptability.

"The implications on accessibility of services and employment in these countries are massive. On the client or receiver end, Business Process as a Service (BPaaS) dramatically lowers the entry barriers to business data management, opening the floodgates to smaller and newer companies," said Sethi, principal author of the study.

Offshoring to India remains a high attractive proposition for many companies, said the study which also takes a deeper dive into optimal cities for offshoring

within the ranked countries.

"While India and the Philippines are still top of mind when it comes to offshoring, the hunt for new talent is now taking companies beyond these countries' capitals and major cites to tier 3 locations such as Surat, Nagpur, and Lucknow in India and Bacolod and Iloilo City in the Philippines," said Nikolai Dobberstien, partner with A. T. Kearney's Communications, Media and Technology practice.

One advantage of tier 3 cities is the relative affordability of real estate as facilities in Nagpur and Ahmedabad are 25 per cent to 30 per cent cheaper than Kolkata and Delhi, the report said.

Another advantage is the relative availability of labour, its lower cost and lower attrition rates. Many of these cities have highly developed educational infrastructure, ensuring fresh crops of qualified graduates for the foreseeable future, the study said.

The GSLI, launched in 2004, helps companies make key location decisions for offshoring and industry development projects with objective guidance.

INDIA LAUNCH

Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 AMG Coupe Comes at Rs 86.4 lakh ercedes-Benz India's most successful year was 2015.

The carmaker launched 15 new models and went on to sell nearly 15,000 units in a financial year. Its 2016 now and MercedesBenz has rolled out its first launch, the GLE 450 AMG Coupe - the first of the 12 new models that will roll out this year. The new Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 AMG Coupe is priced at Rs 86.4 lakh, ex-Mumbai.

The Coupe name sticks because it's an SUV that gets Coupe-inspired styling. In fact, Mercedes-Benz India calls it a Coupe and claims that it offers the largest boot in such a bodystyle.

Mercedes-Benz has rolled out its first launch, the GLE 450 AMG Coupe the first of the 12 new models that will roll out this year.

This version of the Mercedes-Benz GLE is quite striking. The face is very GLE-like and thanks to the AMG style bumper, looks more aggressive too.

Move to the side though and the sloping roofline is reminiscent of a coupe while the height and huge wheel arches are very SUV-ish.

The 21-inch wheels fit in well and look stunning. The signature quad-pipes give the rear a lot of character. The rear LED lamps and chrome strip

reminds one of the beautiful SL 63 AMG Coupe.

If you've seen the new GLE inside, you will feel at home in the Coupe as well.

The same interior has been carried over here but with a few AMG addons. Like the standard GLE, it gets a revised dashboard with a new display and the new Comand controller you will see in most new Mercedes-Benz models. There are also mode buttons that allow you to adjust the suspension firmness or engine set-up.

The seats in the GLE 450 are wide and plush but with good support; a nice middle ground between the sporty but firm AMG seats and soft and cushy standard SUV seats. In fact this SUV sits in between the regular GLE and the top of the line GLE 63 AMG that’s available in international markets.

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INDIA LAUNCH

HOMEOPATHY AND ASTROLOGY NOT SCIENTIFIC,

Says Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

India-born Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan who is also the President of the Royal Society has refused to attend the Indian Science Congress ever in future. Ramakrishnan is the first Indian-born president of the Royal Society since it was founded in 1660. His study of the structure and function of ribosomes earned him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009 with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath.

He was knighted in 2012. Calling homeopathy and astrology useless and harmful practices, Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan came down heavily on the two, saying real science is far more interesting than “bogus” fields. ointing out that India is the only country where a constitution asks for promoting scientific temper, the chemistry scientist said India needs a more rational outlook on such practices.

Explaining that astrology evolved from the human tendency to look for “patterns, generalise and believe”, Ramakrishnan said, “There is no scientific basis for how movement of planets and stars can influence our fate.

There is no reason for time of birth to influence events years later. The predictions made are either obvious or shown to be random.”

“Once beliefs take root, they are hard to eradicate,” he commented, adding, “A culture based on superstitions will do worse than one based on scientific knowledge and rational thoughts.”

“They (homoeopaths) take arsenic compounds and dilute it to such an extent that just a molecule is left. It will not make any effect on you. Your tap water has more arsenic. No one in chemistry believes in homoeopathy.

It works because of placebo effect.”

Ramakrishna was however appreciative of modern day astronomy considering the more specific scientific advancements made.

“Alchemy is based on beliefs but accumulated huge amount of data about properties of substances and led to modern chemistry. Astrology was SEASONAL MAGAZINE

struck in past but modern astronomy has made huge exciting discoveries like the black hole, pulsars etc.”

The onus ultimately lies on humans, for science to be accurate. “Scientists are humans. We have egos, superstitions etc. What is required is to test our ideas by experiments which protect us from false beliefs.”

To elaborate, he cited the cold fusion theory. Initially claimed by Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, the much-hyped theory was later proved to be unfounded. “In 2011, it was claimed from CERN experiments that neutrinos travel faster than light. Later, it came out that it was a measurement error,” Ramakrishnan said and added that sometimes scientists propose ideas well outside their area of expertise and make mistakes.

So did planes really exist in ancient India, as claimed at the Indian Science Congress in Mumbai last year?

“It was surprising for me that Indian science academies did not condemn it. Science has to be based on data.

You have to show that you did it and others should be able to verify it. It is impossible that India had plane technology 2000 years ago.”

Science in India has nevertheless become more exact over time. “In the last century alone, life expectancy has doubled. It is because medicine has become scientific and evidence based.

There is better understanding of

physiology and biochemistry and many diseases have been eradicated.”

Ramakrishnan, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2009, was speaking at the Panjab University at Chandigarh to deliver the Har Gobind Khorana lecture on ‘On Nobody’s Word: Evidence and Modern Science’.

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, in an interview, spoke about the importance of science for a country’s economic health, the challenges faced by science and scientists today, India’s need for more first-rate institutions, and more.

Edited excerpts: You are now leading the Royal Society, a 350-year-old institution which has had eminent scientists like Isaac Newton and Ernest Rutherford at the helm. What does it mean to be president of the organization today and how are you working on keeping it relevant?

There are several things that the Royal Society is involved in. If you look at its broad goals, it is the recognition and promotion of science and promotion of science for the benefit of humanity.

Those are very broad goals. The way you need to implement this is, you need to improve general public understanding of science and get support for science both from government and public. It involves trying to improve science education, involves exchange programmes with other countries, because many aspects of science are international in nature.

So I am interested essentially in all these things. Ultimately, I would like to mould a more rational and evidence-based policy from governments as well as a rational outlook from people.

What are the major challenges that science faces across the world?

In terms of support, science has to make a case for why it is important to support science, and that is for us scientists to make. That innovation and science are really the basis of the longterm economic health for any country.

If you look at countries which are rich in natural resources but poor in innovation, you will find that those countries are not really doing so well.

Conversely, you will find that countries which have almost no resources, but are innovative with technology, for instance, are doing well. So it is clear that the basis of public well-being is innovation and a knowledge-based society. This is something that is very important to be able to communicate.

One thing I forgot is that science is a part of human culture. As human

beings, we have discovered all sorts of things about the universe, about ourselves. For instance, how heredity has a molecular base, is something 200 years ago you couldn’t imagine was possible and this is a triumph of human achievement. Science is about exploring the universe and the natural world and discovering things about it.

It is really the most interesting occupation you can have.

You think Indian institutes are able to promote this spirit?

I think some of the institutes are doing that. That shows that certainly in many places the system is working. But of course it is highly variable and India is a big country and needs many more first-rate places. That will take investment and also time because it is not enough to build a building, you have to find the right people to work there and that often takes more time than just putting up a building.

You have also talked about how science is not being taken seriously at the Indian Science Congress...

I think there is a need to have a meeting where the Prime Minister can address a nation-wide group of scientists and talk about his or her plans for the next year or future plans for science. I also think it is important for scientists and government to get together and talk about policy. I also think that the function of the Indian Science Congress is very broad-based and most scientific meetings are in narrow disciplines, very specialized. But if they are broad-based then scientists learn about what is going on in completely different fields, so that is also good. But the way the Indian Science Congress is... it is very large and chaotic. After this year’s congress, I met a Nobel laureate who said that he had to wait two hours just to get registered. This simply creates a very bad impression of India. They also go through enormous expense to bring these famous scientists to the congress and they just come and give a talk and leave. That is not a very good use of money and I think there are much better ways to do this and my feeling is that the government should look into possibly finding alternative ways of doing this.

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An important private collection of English watches to be auctioned at Sotheby's London An important private collection of English watches is to be offered at Sotheby’s London over the course of four sales between December 2015 and December 2016. Entitled “The Celebration of the English Watch”, this collection provides a snapshot of British history through the pocket watch. It also traces the evolution of watchmaking from the 17th century to modern day and the supremacy of England at pivotal moments of horology history. The English watchmakers represented read as a Who’s Who of British Horological giants, including David Ramsay, Edward East, Thomas Tompion, John Ellicott, Thomas Mudge, John Arnold, George Margetts, The Vuillamy’s, Thomas Cummins, Victor Kullberg, Charles Frodsham and George Daniels.

Each is world renowned for their ground-breaking advancements.

Equally, extraordinary watches with exquisite decoration are found in the collection and pay tribute to the finest engravers, chasers, and enamellers working in England.

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L uxury Joyalukkas launches the Arabelle collection crafted with Forevermark diamonds Jewelry brands Joyalukkas has launched the contemporary Arabelle Collection, designed with Forevermark diamonds.

This collection captures the magnificent plumage of the white peacock.

Encapsulating the vivid grandeur of this majestic bird, the Arabelle Collection includes ear-cuffs, earrings, pendants and rings with a minimalist elegance to the designs. Intricately set in white and rose gold, the peacock motif symbolises integrity and beauty.

GIFT GUIDE: MAKE IT COUNT FOR THE LOVE OF LUXURY For the woman who loves her clothes, indulge her with fashion that weaves modern contemporary art in clothing inspired by linear structures and geometry. An eGift card of Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna is one present you can lay your bet on to let the lady amp up her wardrobe and channelise her effortless style.

ST. REGIS HOTELS & RESORTS INTRODUCES JAMIE CULLUM AS A ST. REGIS CONNOISSEUR St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has announced Jamie Cullum, the award-winning jazz-pop singer-songwriter, as its newest St. Regis Connoisseur. As a brand ambassador, Mr Cullum will continue to lead the much buzzed about Jazz Legends at St. Regis series, which to date has brought intimate yet electric jazz performances to New York, Washington, DC, Istanbul, San Francisco, Mexico City and Bangkok. Launching January 2016, the celebrated artist has lent his ear to curate jazz music for the public spaces of all St. Regis hotels and resorts globally.

He has also compiled his favorite tunes, capturing a variety of moods, for a playlist

MONARCH CRUISE ANNOUNCES LUXURY CRUISE IN INDIA FEATURING CRICKET AND BOLLYWOOD STARS Monarch Cruise has announced the launch of a cruise experience that will bring together the cream of Bollywood and Cricket. The cruise will allow passengers to get close and personal with their favourite cricket icons, Bollywood stars, world-class DJs and celebrated chefs.

Departing from Singapore March 6, 2017, the ship will course through Kuala Lumpur,

Phuket, Penang, Colombo and Cochin before reaching Mumbai and retracing the route back to Singapore. The faces of this spectacular cruise are brand ambassadors Sachin Tendulkar, Brett Lee and Shane Warne.

The three legendary cricketers join hands with a host of sports and Bollywood icons including former Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara, stand-up comic Vir Das, DJ

Khushi, singers Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Neha Kakkar, actress Neha Dhupia, rapper Badshah and famed chef Sanjeev Kapoor with many more to be added to the amazing line up of entertainment to appear throughout the cruise itinerary either on-ship or at gala events.

Sachin Tendulkar, who will appear at the Mumbai gala event, said, “I’m looking forward to joining with many of my

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L uxury 50s-Inspired Harry Winston Limited Edition Watch Harry Winston timepieces spell opulence and style with every model. In 2001, the brand started the Opus collection, wherein it collaborated with a range of different independent watchmakers every year. This year, the Opus 14 is here to change the face of horology.

Luxury fashion brand Tod’s is making Christmas more brilliant as it launches special editions of its Gommino and Flower Bag for the 2015 holiday season. The Tod’s Gommino and the Flower bag have been embellished with pale silver balls in various sizes that, reminding the trick of the Christmas tree, give a festive touch to two iconic Tod’s pieces. Surely, they will look splendid under the Christmas

The idea behind the Opus collection was to challenge the conventions of traditional horology. It was introduced in 2001 and 14 years later this new model was created by Franck Orny and Johnny Girardin for the brand. These two visionary watchmakers have pushed the brand to great heights.

The Opus 14 timepiece is inspired by 1950s rock‘n'roll culture. It has elements of vintage automobiles and jukeboxes on its blue and red American dial. Crafted from 18-karat gold casing, it has a jukebox-style mechanism. At nine o'clock there is a small sub-dial with the minutes displayed, a larger dial showing

Tod's sparkles its creations for Christmas 2015

hour runs from three to six o'clock. It also has a Harry Winston signature star referencing the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Opus 14 from Harry Winston is limited to only 50 pieces and can be purchased via an appointment with the brand's stores.

Ulysse Nardin showcases Les Métiers d’Art Timepieces It was Ulysse Nardin who introduced the art of enamelling on exquisite timepieces over 25 years ago. Now, reviving this fine art in horology, the brand offers a special limited edition Les Métiers d'Art collection.

Ulysse Nardin is known for its nauticaltheme chronographs, and now, the brand has introduced an artistic collection where tradition meets innovation. The

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in-house experts from the brand have added the rare, centuries-old art of enamelling to contemporary styling.

These timepieces define glory in the form of details. The watch faces have a realistic look and feel, accented by a burst of colour and striking finishes.

Handcrafted, the timepieces have been segregated into four collections; the Kruzenshtern collection is a dedication

MONTEGRAPPA LAUNCHES THE CA$H WATCH

Talk about putting your heart on your sleeve. If you can afford a Montegrappa watch, you might as well announce it, in a very apparent way!

Montegrappa has launched the Ca$h watch. Ca$h – Montegrappa’s wry look at ‘Bling-Bling’ culture – arrived last year with the Ca$h Pen and matching cufflinks. These in-your-face accessories found resonance in this era of devil-may-care, if-you’ve-got-itflaunt-it excess. Now adding another touch of glitz, the Ca$h watch has

L uxury French luxury home brand Roche Bobois launches its first store in Bengaluru, India.

Roche Bobois India has launched its first exclusive store in Bengaluru, which spreads across 7500 sq ft, located at the up market Ulsoor road. At its store in Bengaluru, Roche Bobois showcases two collections Les Contemporains and Nouveaux Classiques that reflect the brand’s values and fine European craftsmanship. The Contemporains collection features sleek, refreshing contemporary pieces while the Nouveaux Classiques focuses on updating traditional designs with original prints and textures. Customization is available in any detail, choice of dimensions, colors, leathers, woods and

finishes. Roche Bobois regularly collaborates with some of the world’s finest high-fashion houses, such as Missoni, Sonia Rykiel, Jean Paul Gaultier and Ungaro to ensure it is at the forefront of design trends. The store features exquisite furniture and accessories for living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and outdoor spaces.

The collection comprises of luxurious sofas, arm chairs, coffee tables, dining tables, cabinets, bookshelves, and occasional furniture. Stunning mirrors, sophisticated lighting and beautiful accessories complete the luxurious collection.

Konstantin Chaykin launches the Computus Easter clock Konstantin Chaykin Manufacture, known for its fine watches, unusual movements and functions, and clocks for fine interiors with gorgeous cases made of precious and rare materials, has introduced the Computus Easter clock. For Mr Chaykin, the Russian inventor and watchmaker behind his namesake brand, religion, in all forms is one of his passions, particularly the different calendars and symbolism. He is always looking for new ways to connect religious meanings with telling time. Therefore, the new Computus Easter clock identifies the moving date of Eastern Orthodox Easter, a date that is calculated based on numerous rules and limitations. To fully appreciate the complexity of this movement, one needs to try and calculate the date of Easter oneself.

The factors include lunar cycles, solar cycles, the indict, the epact, the solar correction and more. Mr Chaykin learned how to use all of these factors, created his own method for doing the computations, and ‘taught’ his clock how to compute the dates for Eastern Orthodox Easter.

Jaeger-LeCoultre organises 'Two Worlds' exhibition in New York Watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre organized a private viewing of the photographic exhibition by Caitlin Cronenberg entitled “Two Worlds”, at its New York Flagship, with actress Sarah Gadon as a special guest. “Two Worlds” captures the elegance, free-spirit and spontaneous personality of Ms Gadon wearing a Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous watch. The Canadian screen award-winning actress oscillates between two diametrically opposed universes of her old and new life in New York. She gravitates between Brooklyn and Manhattan, alternatively enjoying her home or exploring the city.

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L uxury The Leela expands with third luxury hotel in National Capital Region, India The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts have announced a new addition to the group’s luxury portfolio with the reflagging of Ambience Group’s five-star deluxe hotel in East Delhi. Renamed ‘The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi,” the 480-room property offers large conference and event space in India. With the newest addition, The Leela group now operates three unique properties in the Delhi-NCR. Commenting on the development, Rajiv Kaul, president, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts said, “The hotel is designed to offer a seamless experience for large conferences, weddings, exhibitions, product launches to guests from here and overseas. As India emerges as a significant destination for world-class banqueting, conventions and events, this property shall further assist in making Delhi a preferred upscale MICE destination.”

Montegrappa introduces Sophia Silver Fountain Pen Montegrappa Sophia PenDecember 24, 2015: Montegrappa’s new Sophia pen has quite an archeological twist on it. The cap of the pen features an image of the Rosetta Stone, an archaeological discovery of immeasurable importance. On it appears a single text written in three different language systems (hieroglyphics, demotic and classical Greek). Other symbols of Egyptian civilization complete the decoration of the cap: samples of hieroglyphics and demotic writing, the sphinx, the pyramids and a representation of Thot, the god of knowledge to whom

Breitling launches its first connected watch: Exospace B55 Breitling Exospace B55 Connected watch Introducing its first connected watch, Breitling has made it a perfect companion for aviation experts as well. The new Exospace B55 is not an extension dependent on a smartphone. The chronograph, in fact, remains the absolute master and the connection is primarily designed to improve its functionality.

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Gemfields celebrates the debut of Mozambican rubies and Bergdorf Goodman's new Jewellery Salon

Gemfields X Bergdorf Goodman collection by Federica RettoreDecember 21, 2015: Gemfields, a leading supplier of coloured gemstones, has debuted an extraordinary collection of one-of-a-kind and limited edition jewellery to unveil Bergdorf Goodman's new Jewellery Salon.

The collection, created by a curated group of Bergdorf Goodman jewellery designers, highlights Gemfields' new cache of rare Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds.

Created for the opening of the new Jewellery Salon, the Gemfields x Bergdorf Goodman collection features more than 50 pieces of jewellery set with rubies and emeralds. Gemfields gave designers unprecedented access to its gemstones, enabling them to create a bracelet, ring, necklace, earrings or jewellery suite of their choice.

L uxury IWC Schaffhausen extends the Aquatimer family of watches IWC Schaffhausen Aquatimer watch 2015 black red dialDecember 21, 2015: Watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen has added three new members to its diver’s watch family. The Aquatimer Chronograph Edition “La Cumbre Volcano”, limited to 500 pieces, is dedicated to the eponymous volcano in the Galapagos Islands. The Aquatimer Automatic 2000 will now be available in an eye-catching black-and-yellow combination. Finally, the Aquatimer Automatic Edition “Expedition JacquesYves Cousteau” is the latest special edition produced in honour of the French scuba-diving pioneer.

Kering to sell Italian shoe brand Sergio Rossi to private equity firm French luxury goods group Kering said on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to sell the Italian shoemaker Sergio Rossi to the private equity firm Investindustrial, concluding months of negotiations. The terms of the agreement were not announced. The deal includes Sergio Rossi’s factories, the rights to the brand name, and the shoemaker’s distribution network, according to Kering, the group formerly known as PPR. The transaction was expected to close in the coming weeks, Kering said. Andrea C. Bonomi, senior

La Martina introduces a new line of handbags La Martina Polo Luxury HandbagDecember 29, 2015: La Martina, the polo luxury brand from Argentina, has introduced a new line of handbags to accentuate the polo style quotient.

Offering a diverse range of sling, shoulder bag and handbags with vibrant colors and embellishments adding glitz to the wardrobe, the bags are versatile and certainly functional.

Available in midnight blues, vibrant yellow, pristine white and tan brown, this collection is the new arm candy. The collection epitomizes aplomb, sophistication and innovative styles.

Price: On Request Available at: Exclusive Motors Pvt Ltd, Plot No #573 H & I, Road No-1, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

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L uxury Ermenegildo Zegna and Maserati unveil the 'Silk meets Steel' capsule collection

Ermenegildo Zegna and Maserati have created a special capsule collection of fine leatherwear and accessories to honor the release of the Ermenegildo Zegna trim package available on all Maserati Ghibli and Quattroporte models. Zegna’s master craftsmen have created a pure silk fabric with an extremely high visual impact for the cockpit and seats. The automotivegrade fabric combines an incredibly soft feel with an elegantly technical look to deliver dynamism and a contemporary feel that is worthy of one of Maserati’s most iconic models. The dual-color, dual-material composition of leather tones and Zegna anthracite silk has inspired a special capsule collection that is available in key Ermenegildo Zegna global stores. The collection includes bi-material outerwear in leather and technical silk, special-edition sneakers, scarves in 100% anthracite silk, fine leather goods and exclusive foldable sunglasses.

Six Senses Residences Courchevel to open in December 2015 Opening Six Senses Residences Courchevel this December, it is the hotel and spa group’s first residential project in Europe. It features 53 apartments, a Six Senses Spa, an exclusive private ski-in-ski-out concierge service plus all the usual Six Senses services. Six Senses Residences includes one- to three-bedroom apartments and up to five-bedroom duplex penthouse suites with private treatment rooms. The interiors blend contemporary styles with traditional mountain influences. Timber walls and robust beams, stone and clay flooring are complemented by custom-made furniture and local art. For the ultimate ski residences, 10 spacious penthouses cover 1,076 square feet, offering panoramic mountain views, up to five exquisitely appointed bedrooms, specially configured wine cellars and triple aspect balconies overlooking the slopes. Smaller apartments are also available with balconies, terraces, guest rooms and their own parking spaces, ski lockers and caves. The Six Senses Spa Courchevel has an open-plan reception and lounge area. A range of signature massages, restorative therapies, facials and body treatments will be offered across five treatment rooms. The spa will also feature an indoor swimming pool, saunas, steam room, a relaxation lounge, a gym and a studio for wellness classes.

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Gadget Review: Audeze LCD-X Headphones Audeze LCD-X is a luxury gadget for audiophiles looking for the ultimate in sound quality. It is meant to extract the maximum power out of low-powered amplifiers and portable devices. So we tried the LCD-X on our computer and portable music player to review it.

Like most other magnetic headphones, the LCD-X is heavy. It has an all-metal body covered with leather casings for your comfort. For the ears too it has a snug fit leather covering. It has an open back, which means it leaks sound while listening and isn't ideal for noise cancellation. We found it particularly huge and stressing the neck with the weight. So it would be ideal for a short

L uxury

Montegrappa’s Batman-Inspired Limited Edition Box Set Superhero memorabilia have been a collectors’ pride for decades. To offer unique items to their customers, Montegrappa offers a special, limited edition box set with pens, cufflinks and watch.

The Italian luxury goods company, Montegrappa is renowned for its luxe writing instruments. The Batman Fountain Pen has only 1939 pieces, of which 500 will be available as part of this set. The numbered writing instruments are made of aluminium with a black anodised finish. The clip and decorative rings are fashioned from ruthenium-plated brass. The pen has a

two-tone rhodium plated 18k gold nib bearing the celebrated bat logo.

Along with the writing instrument, there also are cufflinks in jet-black hue.

It showcases the bat logo in three dimensions, with the bat shape cut out to expose a surface of carbon fibre. In addition, there is an exquisite Batman Watch based on the brand’s NeroUno timepieces. It is powered by a Swissmade Ronda quartz movement, contained in a 42mm stainless steel case with six screws securing the back.

Furthermore, the timepiece offers details such as the flying bats pattern on the bezel and the dial. The all black dial is protected by a sapphire crystal metal and the back has the bat symbol and the relevant serial

CHANEL MAKES JEWELRY SPACE IN ITS FAUBOURG SAINT-HONORE BOUTIQUE BOOKMARK Luxury brand Chanel has pushed open the doors of its fashion boutique for a preview presentation of pieces from its “Comète Rock” jewelry collection. For the occasion, the Chanel boutique on the Faubourg SaintHonoré is transforming its ground floor into a veritable ephemeral jewellery box. This space, with its satiny pink lacquered walls and floor carpeted in feather designs, accommodates a deconstructed bird cage: here and there parts of this cage set the scene within a world of infinite femininity. This original installation sits amidst cascades of white leather camellias, floating mannequins and champagne-hued ceruse-finished wood furniture. To illustrate the avant-garde concepts of the jewellery, parts

Why We Like It: Move over iPhone 6, Turing offers a luxury phone with incredible features designed for contemporary users. The Dark Wyvern and the limited edition Dark Wyvern Glaedr are all set to change the future of mobile communication.

Opulent and Smart Turing Phones: Dark Wyvern and Dark Wyvern Glaedr

One of the most interesting things about Turing phones is the Liquidmorphium chassis. The use

of liquid metal makes it stronger than titanium too. The Dark Wyvern comes in a grey, black metal casing while the Dark Wyvern Glaedr has a beautiful gold, red and blue combination.

The other features of this luxury phone include a customised version of Android 5.1, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor and a 5.5-inch HD display. The rear camera has 13 megapixels, while the front has eight. In addition, the phone comes with NFC and sensors for temperature and humidity. Turing smartphones are also immune to hacking thanks to their end-to-end encryption.

The Dark Wyvern as well as the limited edition Dark Wyvern Glaedr are available for pre-order, and will be delivered by first half of December, 2015. Prices start at $610 (approx. INR 40,330) for 16 GB.

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