Newscan

Bengaluru is world’s fastest-growing technology hub: Report

NEW DELHI: Bengaluru, the Information Technology (IT) capital of the country with a population of more than 10 million, has been placed at the top in the list of the world’s fastestgrowing mature technology ecosystems since 2016. Bengaluru was followed by European cities of London, Munich, Berlin and Paris. The data analysed by London and Partners (L&P) reveals that Bengaluru grew 5.4 times from $1.3 billion in 2016 to $7.2 billion in 2020. On the other hand, Mumbai ranked sixth in the list and grew 1.7 times from $0.7 billion to $1.2 billion in the same period.

London has also shown a threefold growth from $3.5 billion to $10.5 billion between 2016 and 2020. Hemin Bharucha, Chief Representative of India at L&P, said that it is good to see Bengaluru and London as the world’s two fastest-growing technology hubs. He added that the two cities share the power in entrepreneurship and innovation, which creates many opportunities for investors and companies to do business. Further, he said that the Government of the United Kingdom’s recent Brexit deal with the European Union brings “certainty” for Indian companies and investors looking towards London. He also added that they look forward to welcoming more Indian businesses to the UK capital in the years ahead. The other fast-growing tech hubs that include two German cities of Munich and Berlin, and French capital Paris have doubled their investments in the 2016-2020 period. However, the UK capital cemented its status as Europe’s leading tech hub - with London companies receiving over three times the amount of investment than any other European tech city.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said that London is the global tech capital of Europe. Despite the challenges that emerged due to Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, London’s tech sector continued to prosper in 2020 and has an important role in the city’s economic recovery. London is already home to some of the world’s best technology companies and will remain open to international investment and tech talent from all over the world.

Bengaluru is also at the sixth spot in the world’s technology Venture Capitalist (VC) investments. This global list has been topped by Beijing, San Francisco, New York, Shanghai and London as the top five cities. Skillmine, a new-gen Bengaluru-based IT consulting and service management company which extended to London last year, credits the development of Bengaluru into a hi-tech hub to the easy access to “like-minded tech entrepreneurs alongside a deep-tech talent pool”.

Anant Agarwal, Managing Director, Skillmine, said that it has been thrilled to be part of Bengaluru’s emergence as a world-class hub. The company had grown its business operations to London in May 2019 and the Middle East and American markets. Agarwal added that London is a global tech hub with tickets to a thriving tech talent pool alongside growth capital and a broad customer base. He also expressed his excitement to grow their business in the city.

Mumbai stands at the 21st spot in the ranking, including Boston and Singapore in the high ranking cities. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and various other challenges of 2020, including Britain’s exit from the European Union, London technology firms have raised $10.5 billion in 2020. The number is higher than what was recorded in 2017 ($7 billion) and 2018 ($5.9 billion). Another new research reveals that London is now home to 1252 Venture Capital firms, which is more than any other European city.

India generated 33,000 tonnes of COVID waste in last seven months

NEW DELHI: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recently released data which states that India has generated around 33,000 tonnes of COVID-19 biomedical waste in the last seven months. According to the data, India generated over 5,500 tonnes of COVID-19 waste in October, which was the maximum waste in any month so far. The data added that all states and union territories have generated 32,994 tonnes of COVID-19related biomedical waste since June 2020. This waste gets collected, treated and disposed of by 198 common biomedical waste treatment facilities (CBWTFs) situated across the nation.

The data established that Maharashtra generated the maximum amount of waste, amounting to 5,367 tonnes of it in seven months since July 2020. Kerala generated 3,300 tonnes; Gujarat, 3,086 tonnes; Tamil Nadu, 2,806 tonnes; Uttar Pradesh, 2,502 tonnes; Delhi, 2,471 tonnes; West Bengal, 2,095 tonnes; and Karnataka, 2,026 tonnes. Around 4,530 tonnes of such waste was generated in December alone. In May last year, CPCB had developed a mobile application called ‘COVID19BWM’ to monitor coronavirusrelated biomedical waste. This application has been in use to track COVID-19 waste to ensure that the waste is collected, transported and sent to the registered CBWTFs.

NEW DELHI: A report released by the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti and the World Food Programme (WFP) noted that more than 39 billion in-school meals had been missed globally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to closure of schools. According to the latest estimates, the report cited that 24 million school children are at risk of dropping out of school due to the pandemic, which will reverse the progress made in enrollment in schools in recent decades.

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF, said that despite the clear evidence available that schools are not primary drivers of SARS-CoV-2 infections, millions of children countinue to face school closures worldwide. She added, “Children depending on schools for their daily meals are not only losing out on education but also on a reliable source of nutrition.” According to Fore, the world needs to prioritize the reopening of schools and take appropriate action to make them as safe as possible by making renewed investments in proven preventive measures against the infection like clean water, masks, soap, and social distancing in every school. David Beasley, Executive Director, WFP, said that missing out on nutritious school meals is jeopardizing the future of millions of the world’s poorest children. The world risks losing a whole generation. He said that UNICEF-WFP must support governments to safely reopen schools because, for many children, the nutritious meal they get in school is the only food they receive all day. The report revealed that there had been an overall reduction of 30 per cent in the coverage of essential nutrition services during the pandemic. It also said that in some countries, during nationwide lockdowns, all school feeding programmes were cancelled.

39 billion in school meals missed during COVID: UNICEF-WFP

India needs investment in R&D to strengthen economy: Economic Survey

The recently released Economic Survey 2021 has underscored the significance of private investments in research and development (R&D). The survey revealed that the business sector in India contributes about 37 per cent to gross expenditure on R&D, which is almost half of what businesses in the top ten countries contribute (68 per cent on average), inspite of the fact that tax incentives for R&D are more liberal in India in comparison to those in the top ten economies. The survey added that India needs to ramp up investment in R&D if it aims to emerge as the third-largest economy in the world.

India’s vaccinemanufacturing capability is best aid world has: UN chief

Encouraging India to play an important role in the global vaccination campaign, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), on Thursday, January 28, called India’s vaccine production capacity as the “best asset” that the world has today. Guterres said that he knows that in India, there is a high level of production of Indian developed vaccines. UN is in contact with Indian institutions for that. He said that he strongly hopes that India will have all the necessary instruments to play a major role in ensuring that a global immunisation campaign is made possible.

Karnataka tops NITI Aayog’s Innovation Index

NEW DELHI: Karnataka has captured the top spot among major states in the second edition of Innovation Index announced by the National Institution for Transforming India, also known as NITI Aayog, on January 20. Maharashtra has leapt ahead of Tamil Nadu and grabbed the second spot. Telangana, Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are the other states who have grabbed the Top 10 positions. Delhi and Himachal Pradesh occupied the top positions among union territories (UTs) and north-east/hill states respectively.

The average innovation score in the category of major states is 25.4. Karnataka, which topped the table, scored 42.5 points, credited to the state’s strong number of venture capital deals, registered geographical indications and information and communication technology exports. High inflow of foreign direct investment has helped the state enhance innovation capabilities. Maharashtra scored 38 points and secured the second spot. Bihar, which was placed at the bottom of the table, scored 14.5 points. Southern states have dominated the list with four states in the top 5. North-east and hill states scored an average innovation score of 17.9, with Himachal Pradesh at the top with a score of 25.

The average score of city-states and UTs stands at 26 points with Delhi at the top, followed by Chandigarh with 38.6. Himachal Pradesh topped a separate index carved out for ten north east and hill states, followed by Uttarakhand and Manipur. Delhi has shown superior results due to the high number of trademarks and patent applications and new start-ups and companies in the new fiscal year. The report said it scored best in the field of internet penetration with 202.7 internet subscribers per 100 population.

Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, said that he hopes that the Indian Innovation Index 2020 can help the country recognise

The average score of city states and UTs stands at 26 points with Delhi at the top, followed by Chandigarh with a score of 38.6. Himachal Pradesh topped a separate index carved out for ten North East and Hill States, followed by Uttarakhand and Manipur

the major areas of developmental intervention, with innovation as the central driver for growth.

Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog, said that as the world struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic this year, the significance of innovation is being observed more than ever before. Simultaneously, while innovation has always been essential for higher productivity and economic growth, it is also crucial for bolstering a post-crisis economy. In this circumstance, the central government’s far-sightedness in developing a culture of innovation through initiatives like the Atal Innovation Mission, Start-Up India, etc. is praiseworthy. Further, he added that the second edition of the index would allow states to continue to assess their innovation setting and evaluate their progress. The division of innovation into two dimensions, namely innovation capabilities (Enablers) and innovation outcomes (Performance) will give the states a better perspective for identifying the critical focus areas.

The last edition of the India Innovation Index, released in October 2019, was a first-of-its-kind metric for assessing the innovation capabilities of Indian states and union territories. It was launched to exhibit the government’s initiative to create an innovation-driven economy. The Index will help recognise areas of developmental intervention, with innovation as the central driver for growth.

As per the report, India and the world have undergone a significant shift due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the pandemic triggering an economic shutdown, the role of innovation to rejuvenate the economy has never been more critical. The report also pointed out that the 2020 edition builds on the previous year’s methodology by introducing more metrics to provide a more holistic outlook of the Indian economy. The framework is updated to include globally considered parameters for measuring innovation, such as the percentage of GDP spent on research and development, while keeping them specific to the Indian economy.