SPO June 2018

www.spoindia.org Vol. III | Issue 08 | June 2018 | Rs. 50

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2 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

COVER STORY | 29 Editor-in-Chief: Deepak Kumar Sahu Executive Editor: S Mohini Ratna Assistant Editor: Samrita Baruah Copy Editor: C. M. Dutta Art Director: Rakesh Kumar Network Administrator: Ashok Kumar Singh Manager-IT: Subhash Mohanta Manager-SEO: Bidyadhar Behera BUSINESS: Vice President: Prasanna Rout General Manager: Ashok Ranjan Dash Marketing Manager: Dipendra Kumar

CORPORATE OFFICE: A-84A/3 Rose Apartment, Paryavaran complex IGNOU Road, New Delhi - 110 030 Tel: 011-41656383, 46061809 Email: edit@spoindia.org

Bangalore: Bureau office Marketing Manager: S. Kamala Kar D-103 G.F., Ashish JK Apartments Thubarahalli Extended Road Bangaluru - 560066, Tel: 080-49530399 Mobile: 08904205750/9916134482

CSR spending sees a 28% surge in 2016-17

Mumbai: Bureau office

NEWS 6 - 17

Regional Manager (West): Anil Kumar Anurag Residency, 203 - “B” Wing, Plot No-5, Sector-9, Kamothe, Navi Mumbai - 410 209 Tel: 022-65561292, Mobile: 08108017479

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OPEN YOUR EYES It is high time we talk about mental health

19

SPOI ANALYSIS US China trade war continues

Chennai: Bureau office Branch Manager: Mr.Parthiban K A2, R.C.Residency, Cholambedu Road, Thiruvenkada nagar, Ambathur, Chennai - 600 053 Mobile: 09840055626

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Kolkata: Bureau office Marketing Officer: Kiran Kumar 67 Sarada Park, Garia, Kolkata - 700 084 Mobile: 09903088480 Printed by Deepak Kumar Sahu and Published by Deepak Kumar Sahu on behalf of Deepak Kumar Sahu and Printed at Pushpak Press Pvt. Ltd. Shed No. 203 - 204, DSIDC Complex, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110 020 and Published at A-84A/3 Rose Apartment, Paryavaran complex, IGNOU Road, New Delhi - 110 030 Editor - Deepak Kumar Sahu

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20

SPOI CORPORATE Cisco to impact 50 million Beneficiaries by 2025 through partnerships and initiatives

22

INTERVIEW Dell committed to building a green, pollution-free world

24 INTERVIEW

BreatheEasy contributing to clean indoor air

26

SPOI SPECIAL STORY LG India pays homage to Korean War Veterans of India

28

COVER STORY CSR spending sees a 28% surge in 2016-17

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India retains its Technology Leadership position for Inclusive Growth India, being the fastest growing economy with the second largest population in the world, has a significant stake in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution and is poised to disrupt the world. With intelligent machines enabling high-level cognitive processes like thinking, perceiving, learning, problem solving and decision making, coupled with advances in data collection and aggregation, analytics and computer processing power, AI presents opportunities to complement and supplement human intelligence and enrich the way people live and work.

AI’s potential to transform economies and the need for India to strategize its approach increasingly disrupts the nature of jobs and shifts the benchmarks of technological aptitude, and right adoption of AI. Data is one of the primary drivers of AI solutions, and thus appropriate handling of data, ensuring privacy and security is of prime importance. Challenges include data usage without consent, risk of identification of individuals through data, data selection bias and the resulting discrimination of AI models, and asymmetry in data aggregation.

As we head towards digitisation and simplification, primarily 90 percent of the individual and organisations are just getting into social media or making them on-line by making the website ready. Every organisation is in a process to develop their own database, either to give services or they try to monetize with the collected database with various banks, insurance companies and marketing agencies and also to the candidates who are the job seekers. This becomes a pain point for the organizations to handle the unnecessary calls and enquiries, for this data privacy policy would be the right answer.

When we look into the e-Governance support in India, it has steadily evolved from computerization of Government Departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency. With this a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is evolving, and large-scale digitization of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. The ultimate objective is to bring public services closer home to citizens, as articulated in the Vision Statement of NeGP. The growth is really commendable.

In India, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand physical retail is restricted and there are concerns that Walmart is bypassing the Indian FDI laws by taking over an online retail company which has thousands of vendors on Flipkart. It is also expressed concerns that Walmart will bring its own labels to India via Flipkart. The deal is more about Walmart than necessarily about Flipkart because Flipkart solved their problems a couple of years ago when SoftBank and Tencent invested in the company. Walmart needs to bulk up their e-commerce business and India is the last great prize out there. The deal makes a lot of sense from Walmart’s perspective. Indeed, with the acquisition of the leading home-grown player, e-commerce in India will now be dominated by two foreign players—Amazon and Walmart. In another instance, the discussion on OLA and UBER merger is on the discussion stage where the common investor is Softbank, where NCLT has raised their concern.

With all good things happening, by 2022, the Government as part of the Prime Minister's plan, is ensuring that every citizen will have shelter on his head, 24x7 electricity, good toilet, clean drinking water, access by road to his house and internet connectivity.

Deepak Kumar Sahu Publisher & Editor-in-Chief 4 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

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NEWS/GOVT.

Sanitation Action Plans prepared Rs 340.4 crore flood relief for 10 New Swachh Iconic Places released for Assam

Ten new heritage sites of the country firmed up action plans for raising their sanitation standards to exemplary levels. These Places are Sri Raghavendra Swami Mutt Mantralayam (Andhra Pradesh), Hazarduari Palace (West Bengal), Shri Brahma Sarovar Temple (Haryana), VidurKuti Temple (Uttar Pradesh), Mana village (Uttarakhand), Pangong Tso (Jammu and Kashmir), Shri Nag Vasuki Temple (Uttar Pradesh), NupiKeithel (Manipur), Sree Dharma Sastha Temple (Kerala) and Kanvashram (Uttarakhand), which constitute PhaseIII of the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative of the Swachh Bharat Mission, coordinated by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

The plans were formulated at a two-day consultation in Hyderabad held between Central and State Government agencies, local administrations and the Trusts/ Boards of the iconic places.

In all, over 100 delegates from across the country attended the consultation. All the thirty Swachh Iconic Places selected so far under the initiative resolved to make their sites completely free of plastic at the event.

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh disclosed in Guwahati (Assam) today that an amount of Rs. 340.4 crore has been released for flood relief work in Assam.

This amount includes Rs.239.40 crore by way of the first installment of central share of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Rs.101 crore as the contribution from the Ministry of Northeast (DoNER).

Dr Jitendra Singh was presiding over a high-level meeting between the Union Ministry of Northeast (DoNER) and the State Government of Assam to assess the current situation of flood in Assam and the relief measures undertaken so far. Among others, the meeting was attended by Assam Minister for Water Resources Shri KeshabMahanta, Assam Minister for Revenue Shri BhabeshKalita, Secretary DoNER Shri Naveen Verma, Chief Secretary of Assam Ms T.Y. Das and other senior officers from the Ministry of DoNER and the State Government of Assam.

Discovery of a Sub-Saturn like Planet around a Sun-like star

Government decides not to extend the suspension of operations in J&K

A Team of scientists and engineers led by Prof. Abhijit Chakraborty of Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, discovered a sub-Saturn or super-Neptune size planet (mass of about 27 Earth Mass and size of 6 Earth Radii) around a Sun-like star. The planet will be known as EPIC 211945201b or K2-236b.

T h e Research work has appeared online in Astronomical Journal of the American Astronomical Society and published by IOP publishing (the DOI of the article is 10.3847/1538-3881 / aac436).

The discovery was made by measuring the mass of the planet using the indigenously designed “PRL Advance Radial-velocity Abu-sky Search� (PARAS) spectrograph integrated with 1.2m Telescope at PRL's Gurushikhar Observatory in Mount Abu, India. Only 23 such planetary systems (including this discovery) are known to this date with masses between 10 and 70 Earth mass and size of 4 to 8 Earth radii with such precise measurement of mass.

6 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

On 17th May, 2018, the Government of India took the decision that Security Forces will not conduct offensive operations in Jammu & Kashmir during the holy month of Ramazan. This decision was taken in the interests of the peace loving people of J&K, in order to provide them a conducive atmosphere to observe Ramazan.

Government commends the role of Security Forces for having implemented the decision in letter and spirit in the face of grave provocation, to enable the Muslim brothers and sisters to observe Ramazan in a peaceful manner. This has been widely appreciated by the people all over the country, including J&K, and has brought relief to the common citizens.

While the Security Forces have displayed exemplary restraint during this period, the terrorists have continued with their attacks, on civilians and Security Forces, resulting in deaths and injuries.

NEWS/GOVT.

Maneka Gandhi launches handbook on legal processes of Crime against children

NMCG Instructs officials to expedite work on projects under Namami Gange Programme

Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD), Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has launched the “Handbook on legal processes for Police in respect of Crime against Children” at a function here.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi urged all stakeholders to unite in preventing and combating crimes against children.

She highlighted that the Government is committed to create a nation free of violence against Women & Children. The WCD Ministry will work closely with identified stakeholders to ensure that this Handbook is available in every Police Station, preferably in local languages, she added.

The Minister emphasized that the Government has decided to take every step in addressing this issue in the best possible manner. One of the important requirements is to empower and skill the police agencies and other responders in addressing the crimes against children professionally and diligently, she added.

Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra held a review meeting in New Delhi about projects in Bihar under Namami Gange programme and urged the officials of the state government, executing agencies and contractors to expedite the work.

In Bihar, presently, a total of 29 projects are sanctioned which are at various stages of implementation at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 4942.13 crore. In the meeting, it was decided that tenders will be called on sewerage projects in Munger, Hajipur, Begusarai and Bhagalpur by the end of this month.

DG, NMCG also reviewed in detail the progress of 8 projects for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone in Mokama and Motihari on 14th October 2017 and 10th April 2018 respectively. While in Mokama foundation stone was laid for 4 projects in Beur and Karmalichak sewerage zones of Patna, in Motihari, PM laid the foundation stone for 4 projects in Pahari and Saidpur zones of Patna.

KVIC adopts Jagatpur village in Delhi for Swachhata Abhiyaan

India & Tajikistan to enhance mutual cooperation for sustainable water development

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has adopted Jagatpur village in Delhi for its Swachhata Abhiyaan. The sanitation drive by KVIC began with a plantation drive and ended with cleanliness drive along the bank of the Yamuna river.

Speaking to the villagers, KVIC Chairman, Vinai Kumar

Saxena said that he was enthused with their response. He said that with such enthusiastic participation of the public, Jagatpur is destined to be one of the most beautiful villages in Delhi and NCR. KVIC is also installing 20 park benches on the bank on Yamuna river. Under KVIC’s Swachhata Mission, the next cleanliness drive will bein Mumbai's Juhu Beach.

India and Tajikistan have reaffirmed their commitment to promote bilateral relations and agreed to enhance economic cooperation, particularly in sustainable water development.

Shri Nitin Gadkari,the Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, held wideranging talks with Shri Sirodjidin Muhridin, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

The two leadersunderlined the need to give further impetus to the ongoing bilateral cooperation in various fields and agreed to enhancemutual cooperation in the area of sustainable water development.

Shri Gadkari also conveyedto the Tajikistan leader, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's commitment towards expanding economic cooperation between the two countries, and said that potential for trade in commodities like sugar and milk powder may be explored. www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 7

CSR/CORPORATE

Tech Mahindra comes together with UN on International Yoga Day

Tech Mahindra has announced its collaboration with the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the United Nations (UN) to support the International Day of Yoga.

As a testimony of their commitment towards wellness through Yoga, Tech Mahindra and PMI to the UN organized an event in Geneva. Dr Francis Gurry, Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was the chief guest and will inaugurate the event. “ W e are happy to partner on the occasion of the United Nations International Day of Yoga through this transformational journey from ‘wellness of business’ to ‘wellness of being’. We strongly believe that these two can be combined and the digital technologies can enable the growth of Yoga and bring true well-being to humanity,” said CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra.

Procter & Gamble empowers women entrepreneurs in India

Procter & Gamble (P&G) India along with its partner WEConnect International has recently concluded the Women Business Empowerment Program in India. 20 women entrepreneurs, who were selected via an application process graduated from the four-week program aimed at developing c a p a b i l i t y of women e n t r e p r e n e u r s.

As part of the program, P&G conducted training and workshops with real-time case studies covering various aspects of building a sustainable business including professional skills like consumer engagement, digital marketing, legal and tax system, effective communication etc.

Taking this a step further, the holistic program also provided women entrepreneurs access to business opportunities with P&G and its partners. Through the holistic Women Business Empowerment program, 25% of participants secured business opportunities with P&G and its partners.

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Facebook to set up over 2,000 blood donation events

On the occasion of World Blood Donor Day, Facebook has launched Blood Donations on Facebook, a new centre where people in India can find opportunities to donate nearby. It also announced that it is partnering with organizations across India, including the National Blood Transfusion Council, a division of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Giants Welfare Foundation, to set up over 2,000 blood donation events on Facebook this month, which will be featured in the new Blood Donation center.

Dr Shobhini Rajan, Assistant Director General at Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India said, “Creating blood donation events on Facebook can enable voluntary blood donors by giving them easy access to information and also help raise awareness for regular blood donations, especially in our country which faces blood shortage.

Our own efforts to ensure adequate and safe blood transfusion services in the country will receive a boost from these events.

Additionally, this will also help us retain and engage regular donors.”

M-tech Mobile’s ‘SUIT’ to provide education to 1000 underprivileged children

M-tech Mobile’s CSR arm, SUIT has embarked on a mission to provide basic education to 1000 underprivileged children in the next 2 years. To achieve this goal, it plans to open 30 sanskarshalas or informal education centres and expand its footprint to more states in addition to the current states of UP, Bihar and Odisha.

SUIT which stands for – Societal Upliftment Initiative Trust, was established in the year 2010 with the objective of playing a constructive role in the upliftment of society through basic education which is an effective catalyst for betterment of underprivileged families. Over the years, it has witnessed enormous success with 720 underprivileged children educated and empowered, 22 sanskarshalas initiated and 150 programs conducted on education, health and hygiene. Some of the programs conducted include – Community Mobilization, Speeches and Drawing, Learn While Playing, Intellectual Test, Sports Equipment Distribution, School Uniform Sponsorship, Running Evening Centres, Rural Workshops on Hygiene and many more among others.

CSR/CORPORATE

Nippon Paint forms the largest human recycling logo

MakeMyTrip installs plastic crushing machine in Gurgaon

Nippon Paint (India) has received the Guinness World record for forming the largest human recycling logo, consisting of 1726 people. The occasion was marked at an Award Ceremony at Radisson Blu, Egmore on June 5, 2018 – that commemorates the conclave on World Environment Day. The record attempt was the initiative of “Nippon Paint India” in association with B.S Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology and The New Indian Express to create awareness on the 3R’s of Water conservation message (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse) on the occasion of World Water Day – March 22, 2018. Justice Dr. Jyothimani, former National Green Tribunal and Adjudicator of Guinness Record handed over the Certificate to Mahesh Anand, President – Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division), in the presence of Environment activists, FICCI delegates and Panel Speakers, at the Award Ceremony held today at Radisson Blu, Egmore.

MakeMyTrip has installed the first plastic crushing machine at DLF Cyber Hub, Gurgaon, as part of its ongoing campaign to beat plastic pollution especially focusing on single-use plastic.

The first such machine was placed at Gurgaon’s popular hub and will be fast followed by placements in Andamans, Ladakh and Bangalore next. The maintenance of this machine will be taken care by the DLF team on day to day basis. The team will also take care of the recycled waste.

Deep Kalra, Founder & Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said, “Today the world is suffering from the menace of plastic pollution. It is not just a problem plaguing the sea, but also affecting us by suffocating our environment and the future of humans and animals alike. Our efforts to partner with World Wide Fund for Nature and join their #GiveUp challenge to raise awareness against single-use plastic, as well as installing plastic crushing machine at DLF Cyber Hub to #beatplasticpollution, reaffirm our commitment to strive towards a greener cleaner, plastic free planet.”

Detel pledges to turn Tobacco Sellers into Entrepreneurs

NetRack organizes 2 day health check-up program for employees

Detel has announced the launch of its new campaign- ‘Tobaccofree India’. The company in association with e-distribution platform B2BAdda.com has pledged to turn Tobacco sellers (Tobbaconists) who have been selling Tobacco to earn a livelihood into entrepreneurs. With the launch of this campaign, the company aims at bringing a change in the lives of Tobacco sellers.

It aims at encouraging them to move towards creating Tobacco-free India by extending to them an opportunity to become Entrepreneurs with Detel.

Tobacco is one of the most common and preferred forms of addiction. Even though scientific evidences have revealed its harmful health effects, the use of tobacco in different forms has seen a dramatic increase, especially in the developing countries.

With India among the top four users of Tobacco, Detel aims to create a ‘Tobacco Free India’ by reaching out to people who sell tobacco to earn a living. The company aims to identify the innovation and entrepreneurial potential of the Tobacco sellers and transform them into entrepreneurs.

With an intention to promote staff health and encourage fitness among its employees, NetRack has successfully concluded 2 day health check-up program. The check-up consisted of Physical Examination, Blood Pressure monitoring, Lipid Profile, FBS, HBA1C, TSH, Complete Hemogram, ECG, Serum Creatinine and Urine analysis.

On this occasion, Nagaraj U, Director – Technical at NetRack said, “The health of our workers and staff is of prime importance to us and therefore, we constantly strive to provide our employees with health screening facilities. Through such health camps, we seek to provide necessary medical attention to our employees. We ensure that we take care of all the fundamental provisions of our workers. Good health is the most important requirement of a human being and we believe that everyone should have access to all means to secure good health.” www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 9

CSR/PSU

GAIL Gas and Uber to catalyse CNG ecosystem in India In a major fillip to the development of clean fuel ecosystem in India, GAIL Gas Limited and Uber have entered into a strategic partnership to promote the usage of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) across various cities in India. In the first leg, the initiative is being rolled out in Bengaluru and will subsequently be extended panIndia including several other cities like Hyderabad and Kolkata.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today between the two companies during the inauguration of a GAIL Gas CNG Station at Hardware Technology Park, near Bengaluru airport in the presence of Shri B.C. Tripathi, Chairman & Managing Director, GAIL (India) Limited and Chairman GAIL Gas Limited; Shri A.K. Jana, Chief Executive Officer, GAIL Gas Limited and Shri MadhuKannan, Chief Business Officer –Emerging Markets, Uber.

PDIL celebrates International Yoga Day Projects and Development India Limited has celebrated the 4th International Yoga Day at PDIL Bhawan, Noida, Vadodara and Sindri. Shri D S SudhakarRamaiah, D (F) and CMD PDIL, thanked the PM, Narendra Modi for getting recognition for Yoga at the International platform.

He also advised all PDIL employees to do Yoga daily for leading a healthy life.

The event was conducted as per the Common Yoga Protocol, issued by Ministry of Ayush, wherein a brief introduction about Yoga was given.

Prayers along with asanas with standing and sitting postures were also performed.

At the end, all PDIL officials and other participants took the oath of committing to make themselves into a healthy, peaceful, joyful and a loving human being by making yoga a part of their life.

NTPC organizes Foreign Lenders Meet

Union Minister releases book on ‘Renewable Energy Technology’

NTPC held its 16th Foreign Lenders Meet in Mumbai on 22nd June 2018. The meet was aimed to update the foreign banks and financial institutions about the company's Operational and Financial performance during the financial year 2017-18, growth plans and funding requirement etc for the future.

A detailed presentation was made by Shri K Sreekant, Director (Finance) covering various aspects of NTPC’s performance and future growth plans.

International credit rating agencies S&P, Fitch and Moody’s presented their perspective on the company credit quality, trends in the power sector in the APAC region, prospects and developments in the Indian Power Sector etc.

Shri Rajesh Kumar, RED (West-1), Shri Sudhir Arya, CFO were present during the meet.

Union Minister of State (I/c) for Power, New and Renewable Energy, Shri R. K. Singh has released a book titled 'Renewable Energy Technology' co-authored by Shri I.S. Jha, CMD (POWERGRID); Dr. SubirSen, COO (CTU Planning & Smart Grid) POWERGRID; Shri Manish Kumar Tiwari, Asst. GM (Smart Grid) POWERGRID and Prof. D.P. Kothari in the august presence of CMD, POWERGRID, senior officials of Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, CERC, CEA and POWERGRID. The book covers in depth about the renewable energy generation resources, the technologies related to renewable energy systems such as; solar, wind, hydro, biomass, geothermal, tidal, wave energy etc., grid integration & balancing technologies, Energy Storage Systems, Electric Vehicles, Smart Grid and enabling framework for renewable energy in India.

Detailed mathematical derivation, wherever needed, is presented for better understanding of the reader.

10 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

CSR/PSU

NRDC organizes International Yoga Day on 21st June

International Yoga Day celebrated at KIOCL

National Research Development Corporation has organized Yoga workshop on International Yoga Day. The workshop was addressed by Yog Specialist of Indian Institute of Yoga, Shri Devendra Gupta; Sarita and Shri Sunil Nagpalji. Almost all the officials and employees of the corporation enthusiastically participated in this yoga workshop.

Shri Devendra Gupta apprised the participants of the detailed definition of Yoga described by Maharishi Patanjali. Putting the light on all aspects of Ashtanga Yoga, detailed topics related to Yama, Rama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, meditation and Samadhi presented in detail.

In addition to presenting information about food, behaviour and behaviour needed for a healthy life, also motivating participants to live a modest life.

KIOCL employees have participated in celebrating the spirit of yoga joining millions across the globe for the 4th International Yoga Day at its units. The mass demonstration organized at KIOCL corporate office got the enthusiastic response from the employees and the inmates of township, performing different yoga postures. Demonstrating prominent asanas of the yoga, the instructor explained the importance of these asana and how it helps in curing and healing the ailment.

On the occasion of mass yoga demonstration, Shri MV Subba Rao opined that Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action, restraint and fulfilment, harmony between man and nature, a holistic approach to health and well-being. A lecture on 'Life Style with Yoga' by Shri Vasant Rathod, Life Spirit Yoga Foundation was organized at Pellet Auditorium and it was pointed out that yoga is a healthy way to beat stress and other health-related problems.

International Yoga Day celebrated at RINL-VSP

MCL celebrates International Yoga Day with 5-day yoga Programme

The 4th International Yoga Day was celebrated at RINL-VSP at M.P Hall, Ukkunagaram Club.

Shri Kishore Chandra Das, Director (Personnel), RINL inaugurated the Yoga session. Over 400 persons including RINL employees and their family members, members from Art of living, Brahmakumaris, Chinmaya Mission and Junior Chamber of India (JCI) participated.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Kishore Chandra Das emphasised the need for everyone to practice Yoga regularly to keep themselves physically and mentally fit, reduce stress and toxins in the body. He also mentioned that RINL has been conducting Yoga classes from the year 2002-03 and thousands of employees and family members have benefited.

Shri. MS Kumar, AGM (Sports) welcomed the gathering. Dr. BG Reddy DGM (IT); Shri Sanjay Garg, DGM (Marketing); Shri Chiranjeevi, Vice-President, SC & ST Welfare Association; Yoga teachers Shri A Kanaka Rao and Smt AV Syamala, Executives of Sports Dept. Shri T. Kasivisweswara Rao, Shri M.Anvesh, Sri MV Murali Mohan, Shri R.Sridhar and Shri NJ George participated.

Beginning of the five-day Yoga programme on workplace happiness marked the International Yoga Day celebrations at Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), an Odisha-based subsidiary of Coal India Limited.

Coal miners in MCL joined for yoga sessions across the company units being organised on the theme 'Yoga for Good Health and Happiness at Work Place' as the company joined the international yoga day celebrations.

The yoga camp at MCL headquarters was inaugurated

by JP Singh, Director (Technical/Operations) and LN Mishra, Director (Personnel) at Rajanigandha Hall-JagritiVihar and Nishigandha hall-Anand Vihar respectively in the presence of MunawarKhursheed, IRPF, Chief Vigilance Officer; OP Singh, Director (Technical/ Projects & Planning) and KR Vasudevan, Director (Finance).

Vice-presidents of Jagriti Manila Mandal, Madhoo Mishra, Padmaja Singh and PadaminiVasudevan also participated in the session. www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 11

NEWS/URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Shillong selected as the 100th 'Smart City' MoU between India and Singapore for cooperation in The Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) ministry said on June 20 that the 100th city to receive funding under the Centre's urban planning gets approval flagship Smart Cities Mission has been decided after evaluating the proposal submitted by the Scotland of the East, Shillong.

This was the final empty slot of the mission, which is given for

the Meghalaya capital.

The ministry had, till now, kept the final, i.e., the 100th slot for the Smart Cities Mission on hold for the Meghalaya capital.

Often known as Scotland of the East, the potential smart city was selected for inclusion in the scheme, but couldn't submit its proposal on time due to state elections on February 27.

According to the ministry's release, with the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs 2,05,018 crore.

Gujarat CM promises to finalise 425 town planning schemes soon Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has presided over a high-level urgent meeting in Gandhinagar to launch a special drive to expeditiously finalise 425 Town Planning (TP) Schemes and simplify complicated procedures.

Ever since Rupani decided to keep the Urban Development Department’s portfolio with himself, he has undertaken several steps to lend speed to decision making process through transparent and corruption-free ways.

With fast urbanization, the meeting decided to complete recruitment of 70 Junior Town Planners and immediate posting of 20 Junior Town Planners. It also decided to appoint Senior Town Planners in Municipal Corporations like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot, empowering them to take quick decisions, and convert the Regional Offices at Ahmedabad, Vadodadra, Rajkot and Mehsana into State offices.

12 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

The Union Cabinet has given its nod to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Singapore for cooperation in urban planning and development. The agreement will facilitate government agencies to tap into expertise offered by Singaporean agencies in urban development and management.

Under the MoU, capacity building programmes in the field of planning, focusing on areas of urban planning, water and waste water management, solid waste management, intelligent transport system and public financing (public private partnerships) would be undertaken.

The MoU would also disseminate knowledge of best practices, build capacities and hand hold various government agencies on intelligent transport systems and public financing, the statement added.

NITI Aayog launches course on 'Urban Analytics Evaluating and Measuring Sustainability of Cities' NITI Aayog has launched a Global Initiative on Academic Network (GIAN) course on 'Urban Analytics - Evaluating and Measuring Sustainability of Cities' at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. The course will discuss the challenges faced by cities, according to a release issued by the institute.

The course will provide an understanding and analysis on the urbanisation and its impacts that would help in evaluating the conditions of sustainability in Indian cities.

"I am concerned about smaller cities and towns which are growing fast and they have no idea of growth process. Planners need to urgently look into both the mega cities and smaller cities,� said RP Watal, Principal Adviser, NITI Aayog.

This course is being conducted under the GIAN Program of the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

NEWS/EGOVERNANCE

Goa’s e-government initiative gets national recognition

E-jagrata to be launched in 250 more schools in Ernakulam

The revenue department of the state of Goa intends to bring more government services online through the Goa e-District portal over the next six months, said revenue minister Rohan Khaunte.

Speaking at the ministerial block in the Assembly complex, Khaunte announced that nearly 1.5 lakh certificates had been issued online, while 5321 partition applications had been issued.

The minister was speaking after announcing that the North Goa collectorate had received the Skoch order of Merit award 2018 and the Skoch Gold Award 2018 for the E-Revenue e-governance platform which serves as a single window system for citizens.

This is the third national level award won by the North Goa collectorate.

Officials with the district administration in Ernakulam, Kerala said that they were planning to extend the e-jagrata programme to around 250 government and aided schools in Ernakulam by the academic year 2018-19.

E-jagrata, the programme launched by the district administration, aims at digitally empowering school students and to create awareness regarding the pitfalls in the cyber world.

The first and second phase of the programme focused on basic IT and safe and responsible usage of internet. The third phase, which is currently underway, trains students in cloud computing, android development, ethical hacking, internet payment methods and robotics. Students of Class VIII and IX from 100 government schools and 30 aided schools are part of the third phase.

Taxes worth Rs 10,000 Crore collected online: Road Ministry

NMC to appoint 3 consultants for e-governance

States have collected taxes to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore online since the rollout of Transport Mission Mode Project (MMP), which has also automated regional transport operations (RTOs), under the Centre's ambitious e-Gover nance initiative.

T h e government has set up a consolidated nation-wise transport database and launched citizens and trade-centric applications under the e-Governance initiative, according to a Road Transport and Highways Ministry's document.

Two flagship applications under Transport MMP - Vahan and Sarathi Vahan - deal with vehicle registration, taxation, permit, fitness and associated services; while Sarathi is related to driving licence, learner licence, driving schools and related activities.

Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to appoint a team of consultants to manage its e-governance system. The total salary of the team comprising three members will be Rs 8 lakh. As the team would have to travel to other cities, the members will have to be paid travel allowance (TA), lodging and boarding charges, etc.

The proposal by e-governance department will be tabled before the standing c o m m i t t e e meeting on June 25.

The project management unit (PMU) will comprise one principal consultant, senior consultant and consultant each. As per state government directives, these consultants will have to be hired from six agencies: Deloitte, Ernst and Young, Grant Thornton, PwC, KPMG and Wipro.

www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 13

NEWS/NGO

Vodafone Foundation and Girl Rising address genderdiscriminatory practices Recognizing the urgent need to address behaviours and mindsets that lead to perpetuation of gender-discriminatory practices, Vodafone Foundation and Girl Rising come together to connect with adolescents and youth using the power of storytelling. This led to the development of Girl Rising Game, a unique android-based game that leverages popular Match-3 puzzle game genre to create awareness about such practices and empower users to lead change. The game was developed under Vodafone Foundation’s ‘Solutions for Good’ initiative that develops technology solutions for addressing social issues and creating large scale social impact.

Tomorrow’s India launches #LetsStartWithI Campaign Tomorrow’s India, an initiative of the Global Social (India) Foundation has launched a nationwide campaign – #LetsStartWithI at the heart of Gurugram, Cyber Hub. The major motive of this ongoing campaign is to inspire every individual to contribute to its future by taking a pledge for a better India ahead.

T h e onset of this campaign was initiated during the initial days of January 2018; however the activation went on-ground from 25th May, 2018 at Cyber Hub, Gurugram with an exclusive Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) experience. The activation was ideated to reach out to masses, primarily youth that promoted awareness of three precise concerns in India, also focused on the key issues which the organization is closely working around –Child Labour, Child Education and Health & Sanitation.

14 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

Narayana Superspeciality Hospital becomes a medical partner at Raahgiri With the aim of supporting people of all walks of life Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, Gurugram provided onground medical support at Raahgiri organized by Police & Distt.

Administration Rewari.

About eight thousand people including 10 schools, NGO’s , Social Club like Lions & Rotary came together to be part of Raahgiri and participated in various activities like Yoga, aerobics, zumba, cross fit, cycling etc.

Raahgiri Day is India’s first sustained car-free citizen initiative that began in Gurgaon in November 2013, which later became a weekly event and extended to other parts like Delhi, Noida and became a hub for people in Delhi NCR. Narayana Superspeciality Gurugram not only encouraged the participations but also provided with medical support and offered services like doctor Consultation, BP, Blood Sugar,SPO2, Pulse, Ambulance Backup.

Foodpanda lends support to the Mid-Day Meal scheme with The Akshaya Patra Foundation On World Hunger Day, Foodpanda has announced its partnership with The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the leading

not-for-profit organization that implements the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in government and government-aided schools in the country. As part of this association, Foodpanda users will be able to donate raw materials to the foundation and contribute in their mission of eliminating hunger. Through this initiative, Foodpanda aims to create an impact of 1 million meals in the next 6 months.

As the next steps to this partnership, Foodpanda will register with The Akshaya Patra Foundation approved partners through which users will be able to buy and donate raw materials such as pulses and spices. The platform will be open for donations in the next couple of weeks.

www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 15

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Government to team up with Google for flood forecasting

Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari has expressed hope that collaboration with Google will help in effective flood management in India. Central Water Commission (CWC), India’s apex technical organization in the field of Water Resources, has entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Google. CWC would use state-of-the-art advances made by Google in the in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and geo spatial mapping for effective management of water resources particularly in the field of flood forecasting and dissemination of flood related information to the masses widely using the dissemination platforms developed by Google.

Under this Agreement, CWC and Google will share technical expertise in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, geospatial mapping and analysis of hydrological observation data to collaborate on (i) improving flood prediction systems, which will help provide location-targeted, actionable flood warnings, (ii) high priority research project utilizing Google Earth Engine to help visualize and improve flood management and (iii) a cultural project to build online exhibitions on the Rivers of India.

Narayana Group to provide "nSlate" with Iris Global

Hyderabad-based Narayana Group has chosen Iris Global Services (IGS) as its technology integration partner to provide “nSlate”, an e-Education platform for its chain of schools across India. As a part of the Digital India drive, Narayana Group has pioneered as the first Indian e-learning institute for setting up 128 AV-based Digital Classroom in the academic year 201718 and plans for an additional expansion with 86 Digital Classrooms and 131 Computer labs this 2018-19.

Iris Global Services is the technology integration arm of Iris Computers, with focus on Mobility, Productivity and Cloud, that has been recently been acquired by its original founder Sanjiv Krishen from Singapore-based Inflexion Point. Since its comeback with revamped vision, newer ideas, it has been showcasing cutting-edge technologies that’s inspiring a large number of partners and clients.

Ericsson to build efficiencies in the Public Distribution System in Odisha

Ericsson has announced its support to the WFP Trust for India to further their work on developing customized ICT solutions that will bring efficiencies across the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in Odisha. TPDS scheme involves procurement, allocation, and transportation of food-grains as well as distribution amongst eligible beneficiaries. Operated jointly by Central and the State governments, it also includes issuance of ration cards and monitoring of Fair Price Shops. The main aim of this partnership is to improve efficiencies in food-based safety nets for nearly 30 million food insecure people in Odisha who are the beneficiaries of this project.

According to Amitabh Ray, Head of Ericsson Global Services Center in India, “Ericsson is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals such as achieving zero hunger by 2030. This association with the WFP is in line with the Government’s plan of having a robust ICT solution to manage the TPDS for achieving food security.

The partnership has been designed to address critical issues like efficient utilization of resources including access to food and reduced food wastage. It will enhance farmers access to government’s system for selling their produce, while enabling more transparency and better governance. This project will benefit nearly 30 million people across 6200 Gram-Panchayats in Odisha.”

16 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

NEWS/DIGITAL INDIA

Airtel, in association with BharatNet, to boost Broadband penetration

Bharti Airtel has partnered with the Department of Telecom to boost broadband penetration in rural India by piloting Broadband Experience Centres riding on BharatNet infrastructure.

Under the partnership, Airtel has set up three Broadband Experience Centres in three villages pertaining to Ghazipur, Gorakhpur and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh. Airtel has already committed to partner with BharatNet in up to 30,500 Gram Panchayats.

These modern centres will enable citizens and local entrepreneurs to experience high-speed broadband connectivity as well as get access to use-cases relating to e-governance, e-health and e-banking and e-commerce and much more. Going forward, these centres will also demonstrate advanced technologies and use-cases around Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things.

CISF launches mobile app to report items left behind at airport

The CISF, in collaboration with the UMANG team of National e-Governance Division, has developed a mobile app of “Lost and Found” items that passengers leave behind at the airport.

“The main advantage of this app is that passengers can directly register complaints and get status of the complaint immediately.

Using this app, the user can also request for technical consultancy,” the CISF said in a statement.

In 2015, the CISF had launched a website to track and trace lost items, but it does not have a facility to raise a complaint/request.

Passengers have to wait for the airport to upload information on items they had found, locate it on the website and then begin the process of claiming it. Despite this, the website was successfully used by several flyers, said the CISF. “In 2017, property worth over Rs 50 crore, and in 2018, till date, property worth Rs 5.5 crore were returned to passengers with the assistance of the website,” said the statement.

InstaCash launches its mobile e-waste kiosk in Jaipur

InstaCash has launched its first mobile e-waste kiosk in collaboration with Pollution Control Board on world environment day, 5th June 2018. A three-day campaign was inaugurated by Minister of environment and forest, Shri Gajendra Khinsver at 7:00 AM at IOC petrol pump, Jaipur. As a part of the drive, mobile e-waste collection kiosks are placed across prominent petrol pumps of Jaipur.

India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market and the mobile usage keeps on increasing. According to study done by IIM Bangalore & research form Counterpoint Research, India will be have more than 50 crore smartphone users in next 5 years.

Also the local mobile phones manufactures have also increased from 14% in 2014 to 67% in 2014. This figure will hit 95% by 2020. With increasing affordable phone options consumer tends to replace & discard their phones sooner.

Government earns Rs 1,400 crore revenue from e-tourist visa

The government has earned Rs 1,400 crore as revenue from the highly successful e-Visa scheme, offered to citizens of 163 countries visiting India as tourists, since its launch in 2014.

U n i o n Home Ministry officials said the popular e-Visa scheme was availed by 19 lakh tourists in 2017 and it is expected that more than 25 lakh tourists will avail the facility in 2018.

Since its launch in 2014, the e-Visa scheme has earned revenue of more than Rs 1,400 crore, a senior home ministry official said.

The e-Visa fees are divided into four slabs of zero, $25, $50 and $75 which were fixed on reciprocity and depending on nationality.

The e-Visa scheme has been implemented by the foreigners division of the home ministry with a view to improve the efficiency and transparency of various services being provided to foreign nationals. www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 17

OPEN YOUR EYES

It is high time we talk about mental health “The greatest need of our time is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds” - A famous saying by Thomas Merton, holds true for the past, present and the future.

Mental health is a major concern worldwide and also in India. Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1954, had declared, “Without mental health there can be no true physical health.”

Even after sixty years later, the scenario has not altered much.

Psychological counselling: A critical need

According to a recent report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), over 26,000 students across institutions in India, including schools and colleges, killed themselves in three years -- from 2014 to 2016. This data and other findings from a study conducted across various Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

by IIT Kharagpur form the basis of the release of the manual by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for higher education institutions to curb student suicide.

The study says that it is very hard to detect early signs of depression in students and only 4 to 5 percent of those who are troubled come for major psychological counselling.

Not just in higher education institutes, psychological counselling is a critical need of our times. Life is a fight for perfection and one grows, evolves, and gains experiences through life’s struggles. Mental well-being is crucial to ably confront and overcome the life’s challenges.

Community radio promoting mental well-being

While the government and the international bodies are identifying the serious need to work on improving the mental health condition of its citizen, amidst a community radio in the interiors of villages in Nuh district in Haryana, already broadcasting shows around the 18 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

theme of mental health for its listeners.

In their attempt to work on the theme of mental health and build an atmosphere to initiate conversations around these topics, community radio Alfaz-e-Mewat FM 107.8 is working with a Gurgaonbased psychologist and entrepreneur by training and profession on a radio series titled ‘Uljhan’ or confusion. The program started in January 2018 is based on a liveshow format goes on air every first and third Saturday at 1 pm-2 pm on Alfaze-Mewat and people tune in asking their questions about anxiety, fear, depression, and other issues. Community radio Alfaze-Mewat is an initiative of S M Sehgal Foundation, a rural development NGO. According to Pooja O. Murada, director, Communications, “When we were approached by our expert for the show, Satish Kaushik to start a program on radio that talks about such issues, we were ready in principle because we knew that the community needs such types of programs. Just a small announcement done for the program two days before the first show had to go on air, translated into calls from listeners who posed questions to the psychologist and sought advice.”

“If in the first episode, a listener is calling up the station and sharing about one of his relative’s problem who is suffering from depression and not being able to meet his family’s expectations properly, we know the need and the extent of help

people need. I think my effort is going in the right direction and community radios can help us reach places where we can’t even think of going,” says Kaushik.

“The general observed culture of most of the places especially in our broadcast area is to seal the topics related to mental health of people, emotional and psychological needs especially of adolescents. During my visit to a school a few months back, and while interacting with students of grade 10-12; I sensed that kids do not have anyone with whom they could share their fears, emotions, and changes that they feel in their body and thoughts. That visit gave the idea that a program around the psychological needs with an outside expert who could address their problems without revealing their identity would help many kids get an answer to the questions they go through often. Uljhan is a step towards that,” says Pooja.

“The first time we met him, he said that there is need for psychological advice and counselling. In Gurgaon, however, people have resources and service providers are in abundance, but at the grassroots things are different, people do not have much resources and there are no facilities,” recalls Pooja.

Besides the program Uljhan, Kaushik, also does a live show on entrepreneurship and the how and why of business.

SPOI ANALYSIS

US China trade war continues US imposes 25% tariff of $50 billion on Chinese goods With the announcement of China reducing its annual trade surplus with the U.S. by at least $200 billion, Asian economies are likely to be significantly impacted in a full-blown trade war.

The Trump administration has taken a hard line against China since the president took office. The United States has made a series of moves focused on trade, including threatening tariffs on Chinese products and restrictions on Chinese investment flowing into the country. There is another claim from the United States that Beijing has unfairly stolen intellectual property, especially as China pushes ahead in developing the next generation of wireless technology known as 5G. A $200 billion reduction in the U.S. trade gap with China by 2020 was on a list of demands the U.S. made earlier this month as Steve Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury Secretary led a delegation to Beijing. That mission left with little common ground with China and reports emerging of infighting among the U.S. officials. The U.S. merchandise trade deficit with China hit a record $375 billion last year this type of imbalance that has drawn the ire of President Trump. Companies with global operations, have warned that a US-China trade war would ripple around the globe.

Trump’s administration has threatened to impose tariffs of as much as $150 billion of Chinese imports to the U.S. as tensions over trade have escalated. Trump expressed doubt before his meeting with Liu that China and the U.S. would come to an agreement to avoid a damaging trade war.

China will increase its purchase of American goods and services in order to reduce the multibillion-dollar trade imbalance with the United States, the two countries said in a joint statement. How to balance the trade deficit and how much the imbalance will be reduced remains to be seen.

The White House said that China had committed to buying more agriculture and energy exports, but noted that American officials would at some point go to China

to work out the details of their agreement.

China agreed to “meaningful increases in US agriculture and energy exports”, the White House said, adding that the United States will send a team to China to work out the details. “There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China,” the White House said in a statement.

What is the hidden fact?

The US trade deficit with China was $ 375 billion in 2017.The trade deficit exists because U.S. Exports to China were only $ 130 billion while imports from China were $506 billion. The US imports consumer electronics, clothing and machinery from China. A lot of the imports are from U.S. manufacturers that send raw materials to China for low-cost assembly. Once shipped back to United States, they are considered imports.

The White House joint statement did not mention additional US demands, including a halt to subsidies and other government support for the Made in China 2025 plan that targets strategic industries from robotics to newenergy vehicles. China had made its own demands, including giving equal treatment to its investment, and warned

that US companies may be excluded from measures to open its economy.

America’s main imports from China–the phones and gadgets that go under official classifications like “electrical machinery” ($129 billion) and “machinery” ($97 billion)–are often produced only in China. It has been suggested that the iPhone 7 alone may account for 4.4% of the U.S. trade deficit with China. A stronger yuan just makes these imports more expensive in dollar terms. It is the probable reason for the trade tensions that leads to a significant fall in US imports from China would have a sizable impact, not just on China, but on other countries such as Taiwan and Malaysia which export a lot of intermediate goods to China,” economists at Capital Economics wrote in a research note.

China can produce many consumer goods at lower costs than other countries can. Americans of course want these goods for the lowest prices. If the United States implemented trade protectionism, U.S. consumers would have to pay high prices for their “Made in America” goods. It’s unlikely that the trade deficit will change. Most people would rather pay as little as possible for computers, electronics, and clothing, even if it means other Americans lose their jobs. www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 19

SPOI CORPORATE

Cisco to impact 50 million Beneficiaries by 2025 through partnerships and initiatives Cisco uses its technology and expertise to accelerate global problem solving and positively impact people, society, and the planet At the Cisco India Summit 2018, the company highlighted its various initiatives and programs to positively impact 50 million beneficiaries in India by 2025. This goal is aligned to Cisco’s global vision of impacting 1 billion lives worldwide by 2025 through digital solutions. As part of its philanthropic and Corporate Social Responsibility efforts, Cisco highlighted the critical role information and communication technology (ICT) and public-private partnerships play to accelerate global problem solving and positively impact people, society, and the planet. Cisco is also using its strength in connecting people and things to the Internet and working to create a robust ecosystem including government and community organizations in India to effect real change in the areas of critical human needs, education, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability.

Creating Global Problem Solvers & Fostering Entrepreneurship Cisco is setting up a network of “Cisco thingQbator” IoT makerspaces or innovation labs in five academic institutions in India with the objective of digital skills development and entrepreneurship enablement among student communities.

Cisco is collaborating with the NASSCOM Foundation for the implementation of the

20 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

program. The makerspaces will enable students to get hands on with technology and conceive digital solutions to local problems. The five academic institutions that have been chosen for establishment of ‘thingQbator’ makerspaces are Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, (IIITMK), Kerala, IIT-BHU Varanasi, Amrita University Coimbatore, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women- Delhi and Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar.

Cisco is also supporting N/Core, an incubator for social sector start-ups, to launch N/Core tech - an exclusive track focused on incubating early-stage nonprofits that leverage digital technology to positively impact society and solve some of India’s most pressing social challenges. N/Core tech will primarily focus on incubating companies that are developing solutions in the areas of critical human needs, education, and economic empowerment. Cisco will support up to 20 organizations during the first year in two cohorts. Each selected start-up will receive an innovation grant of INR 10 Lakhs. In addition, the start-up will have access to a set of mentors and technology experts from Cisco along with N/Core partners.

With the help of Cisco’s CSR grant, N/Core will invest in early-stage, techled ideas partnering with high-impact social sector start-ups to create scalable and sustainable solutions. In addition

to providing cash grants, Cisco will also support these start-ups with mentoring, employee volunteering, and capacity building.

Skills Development & Building Workforce Capacity As part of its efforts to accelerate India’s digital transformation, Cisco is scaling up its Cisco Networking Academy program to create a pool of highly-skilled technology professionals. Through this program schools, colleges, universities and other non-profit educational institutions are provided Cisco-developed curriculum in computer networking, security and IoT that can be integrated with the institution’s own educational offering. Cisco also supports public sector organizations like The Telangana Academy for Skills and Knowledge, and the ICT Academy of Kerala, to provide training on networking and cybersecurity skills aimed at improving employability of engineering graduates in those states. By 2020 Cisco aims to create a pipeline of 250,000 skilled students in India as well as a marketplace for highvalue technology-based careers. Already over 155,000 students have successfully picked up essentials skills from over 306 academies across the country.

Talent Outreach Program is a sixmonth program to provide high school students an early exposure to technical

basics of robotics through structured yearlong programs leveraging the expertise and mentorship of Cisco volunteers.

120+ students from Parikrama Humanity Foundation benefitted from the program last year.

Critical Human Needs

V C Gopalratnam

Trustee, Cisco Foundation & Senior Vice President, IT & CIO – International

skills to better prepare them as global problem solvers. In its second year, 70 students from 12 schools have been enrolled for this program. The students of this program use technologies like HTML, JavaScript, AngularJS, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL, Python, IoT (raspberry pi) to create platforms and apps to address real life challenges faced by schools and students. Some of the projects include a school-wide book sharing app through which students can upload books to share, read and learn with other students; and an RFID-based attendance system for class students. The latter solution eliminates the tedious time- consuming task of manually tracking attendance and minimizes risk of error.

Cisco also launched the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Internet of Things (IoT) at R V College of Engineering, Bengaluru to give the next generation of students the digital skills and training necessary for jobs in the digital economy.

On completion of the course, students and working professionals receive credential certificates jointly given by RVCE and Cisco. In the last one year, 1000 students have benefitted from this CoE. ‘Step Up for India – Spoken English Program’ is in its fourth year and has benefitted over 300+ students from three government schools in Bangalore.

The program delivers structured spoken English classes to students in grade 4 and 5 studying in government schools where the medium of instruction is the local language. These structured interventions are also executed in the space of STEM learning such as in the case of ‘Project Smiles Through Science’ which endeavours to provide an experiential learning platform for students on the

Cisco is also supporting the Akshaya Patra Foundation to help feed children across the country and digitize their kitchens across seven locations in India.

While employee giving, volunteering and company matching grants help feed 35,000 children every day, Cisco’s enterprisegrade network and collaboration suite is connecting Akshaya Patra kitchens and their offices to efficiently track their kitchen production, distribution, supply chain and logistics. This digitisation effort is expected to increase Akshaya Patra's operational efficiency by about five percent which will help them extend the mid-day meal program to over 28,500 students every day and one step closer to their goal of feeding 5 million children by 2020.

Environmental Sustainability Cisco is also committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adopting renewable energy. It recently signed two solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) that will collectively deliver 85,000 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable electricity every year to the local electric grid near its Bangalore campus. These agreements will provide nearly 40 percent of the electricity that is needed to power Cisco’s Bangalore campus.

Cisco has also installed one megawatt of solar panels across all of its rooftops at the Bangalore campus. Collectively, these onsite solar installations and two new solar PPAs will reduce Cisco's Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions at its Bangalore campus by over 70,000 metric tonnes per year, which is equivalent to taking 15,000 cars off roads or planting 1.8 million trees V C Gopalratnam, Trustee, Cisco Foundation & Senior Vice President, IT & CIO – International said, “According to a Cisco research, by 2030 there will more than 500 billion devices connected to the Internet. This will have a profound effect

Harish Krishnan

MD, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagements, Cisco India & SAARC

on not just businesses but our everyday lives too. In order to make the most of the plethora of opportunities that lie ahead of us, we will need to harness the power of technology to create an inclusive digital economy. With our philanthropic and CSR efforts, we are committed to positively impact 50 million beneficiaries in India the next seven years. We work with some of the most forward thinking partners, not-for-profit organizations, collaborative governments and scores of passionate employees to really make a different to the world that we inhabit.”

Harish Krishnan, Managing Director, Public Affairs & Strategic Engagements, Cisco India & SAARC said, “For India to compete in the global economy, strategic collaboration between businesses, governments and non-governmental organizations is critical. At Cisco, our collaborations and programs are focused on harnessing the power of technology to support and launch a generation of problem solvers who will innovate like technologists, think like entrepreneurs and act as social change agents.”

Sudha Srinivasan, CEO - N/Core said, “Our aim is to empower a new generation of innovators who are imagining solutions to some of the biggest social challenges.

Technology is a powerful means to deliver innovative solutions to age old problems, at scale. The collaboration with Cisco brings in the required support for early stage non-profits in this sector. When innovators apply technology to a higher purpose of improving human lives, and visionary CSR leaders like Cisco step up to support their aspirations, it becomes possible to re-imagine a future of inclusive development, where no Indian is left behind." www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 21

INTERVIEW

Dell committed to building a green, pollution-free world On World Environment Day, SPOI caught up with Rajeev Kapoor, India Vice President and CSR Champion – Dell and he told us of how Dell employees around the world support the company’s commitment to the environment by participating in clean-up activities and do their bit to raise awareness.

How is Dell committed to the environment?

As I look at it, CSR is something that is in the DNA of Dell. I am really proud of the fact that we have at Dell put across a 2020 Goal across various areas, right from sustainability, to education.

We feel that it is our responsibility of how we create our products & solutions and sell them as well as how our team members contribute towards the environment. It was 2008 when Dell started using recycled plastics in our products. Again in 2013, we started using plastics from e-waste recovered via Dell’s recycling programs into new products and we scaled it across 90 products.

We are on track to meet our goal of 2020 for about 100 million pounds of recycled products. In 2016 we again got motivated by the ocean plastic issue. In fact, Dell created a virtual reality experience called ‘Cry Out – The Lonely Whale Experience’ to connect more people with the cause and the issue that the oceans face. Again this year at CES in January, we have demonstrated our flagship award-winning product XPS 13 that is going to be shipped in ocean plastic packaging, the result of an innovative, commercial-scale pilot program. So there are lots of areas where Dell as a company demonstrate that the environment is at the center of a lot of things that we do.

Last year itself, our team had organized close to 50 ocean, river, and beach clean-up activities across the world. Then at our Dell Technologies World event this year, where we demonstrate our products and solutions, we decided to go plastic bottle free and so did away with 65,000 of plastic water bottles. As a next step, we also announced the convening of a consortium of companies that would come together in December this year to create a global supply chain and discuss the commercial usage

of plastics. So these are some of the gestures that speak of our commitment towards the environment. This is a message given by Michael Dell that percolates down to every team member.

How do you mobilize the support of your employees to be a part of this drive?

We have got multiple employee resource groups (ERG) and one of the popular one is called Planet which is around environment and sustainability. A lot of our team members are connected to it and they keep on working on a lot of initiatives around it. There is one group around hiring differently-abled people and another one on women, called Women in Action. The Gen Next group is focused on exploring the younger generation workforce. These groups are voluntary but they are led by and sponsored by senior leaders and it is these groups that keep organizing events, activities and drive engagements across all the other groups.

Sustainability initiatives taken up by Dell • 2008 -Dell started using post-consumer recycled plastics in its products • 2013 -Dell started putting plastics from e-waste recovered via Dell’s recycling programs back into new products. Dell since scaled the initiative across 90 products on track to meet the 2020 goal of using 100 million pounds of recycled materials in products • 2016 -Motivated by the ocean plastic issue, Dell produced a virtual reality experience called “Cry Out: The Lonely Whale Experience” to connect people more deeply with the oceans and the issues that it faces. You can download the mobile version here • Over the last year, Dell teams organized more than 50 ocean and river clean ups around the world to support the company’s commitment • In December, Dell announced the convening of NextWave, a consortium of companies coming together to create a global supply chain and commercial use-cases for plastic material bound for the ocean.

22 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

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S E T T H E PA G E F R E E www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 23

INTERVIEW

BreatheEasy contributing to clean indoor air Air pollution is a yearround problem which needs immediate attention. It continues to be a big concern in cities like Delhi and many other metros in the country.

The levels of contaminants or the pollutants are at an all-time high and the latest addition to the list is ozone which is the most dangerous of all in our atmosphere. Barun Aggarwal, CEO - BreatheEasy Consultants tells SPOI of how his company is in the market to make a difference in the lives of people, to give them the quality air that they deserve When was the company formed and what was the idea behind it?

It all started when Kamal Meattle, Chairman of Paharpur Business Centre got severely ill due to Delhi’s toxic air and was requested by doctors to move out of Delhi. However, instead of leaving the city, he converted his entire office buildinginto a fresh air sanctuary by using high quality air purifiers and air filtration solutions. As a result, Paharpur Business Centre is now rated as one of the healthiest buildings of Delhi by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Govt. Of India and has been tested to have very high air quality by Lawrence Berkeley National Labs (LBNL), California.

Carrying forward his vision of transforming the indoor spaces into safe environments for people of all age groups to breathe in,Breathe Easy was founded in 2013. BreatheEasy over the years has helped innumerable families, schools and businesses in Delhi-NCR Region by helping them breathe clean indoor air. BE’s centralised solutions transform entire homes and buildings into fresh-air sanctuaries. For smaller budgets as well 24 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

Barun Aggarwal CEO - BreatheEasy Consultants

as spaces without central air conditioning systems, we provide easy-to-install portable solutions including air purifiers and detoxifying indoor plants. We also offer face masks, nasal filters, car filters and air quality testing.

Air pollution continues to be a big concern in cities like Delhi and many

other metros in the country. How do you try to build a strategy that also helps to sensitize customers about this issue?

We are extremely aware of the crisis that has hit our cities. We work through various Not For Profit organisations to fix the outdoor air quality issues in India

through “Awareness, Advocacy and Change”. The long-term goal is to fix outdoor issues. However, we must protect ourselves first in the interim till we are able to fix the outdoor issues.

We are also working on building India’s first environmentally friendly filter disposal system to ensure that the filters do not get to the landfill and back into the air.

How has the consumer perspective changed over time on this issue?

Consumers are directly responsible for 20% of all carbon impact, which is a direct result of vehicular pollution. Yet reducing air pollution from cars and industries has not been enough to meet state regulated air quality standards. Last year Delhi saw a dramatic surge of 999 as AQI which is equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day.

This directly upped the sales of masks specifically N-95 and N-99. There was also a spike in the sales of air purifiers as consumers resort to panic buying with air pollution in Delhi-NCR breaching critical limits. Today, a consumer is much more aware about his changing surroundings

the pollutants are at an all-time high and the latest addition to the list is ozone which is the most dangerous of all in our atmosphere. The city is choking on ozone and if the problem persists, Delhi-NCR might just have a public health crisis.

Amidst all of this, IQAir comes with a sigh of relief and the swiss technology that is not only efficient in bringing down the levels of PM, VOCs, CO, and various other toxic gases but its super advanced technology takes down ozone as well.

The Indian market is flooded with various brands and our Research and Development team has ingeniously been working and testing all the different brands available, thus we only recommend the best of the lot. Breathe Easy is in the market to make a difference in the lives of people, to give them the quality air that they deserve.

And in that spirit, we partnered with IQAir to bring the bestselling technology from Switzerland which has already made a place in the international market to India, thereby changing the face of Indian market. Since more than 90% of all airborne particulates are smaller than

A general misconception that goes around air pollution is that it occurs only during winters. Just because it is prominently visible and it affects majorly during that time, which by the way is prompted by certain seasonal factors, lets people believe that “that” air is toxic. On the contrary, air pollution is a year-roundproblem which needs our immediate attention. The levels of contaminants or the pollutants are at an all-time high and the latest addition to the list is ozone which is the most dangerous of all in our atmosphere. and willing to actively do something about it than he was five years back.

All of this shows that consumers are concerned for their health and the wellness of their loved ones. And we aim to deliver our best to their interests.

What is the need of the hour according to you under such circumstances?

A general misconception that goes around air pollution is that it occurs only during winters. Just because it is prominently visible and it affects majorly during that time, which by the way is prompted by certain seasonal factors, lets people believe that “that” air is toxic.

On the contrary, air pollution is a yearroundproblem which needs our immediate attention. The levels of contaminants or

0.3 of a micron, its 99.5% efficiency in the HealthPro range takes them to the top of the class.

Could you share a brief of how you have helped your customers solve the air problem with your solutions?

We believe that a “one-size-fits-all” strategy does not work well with indoor air cleaning. We provide customised air purifying solutions for clean air indoors.

Air in any given enclosed space can be purified to the matching quality of that in the mountains. Ranging from research and testing to coming up with the best of solutions keeping in mind the needs of the client, we offer portable solutions as well as centralised custom solutions. And supplementing them with indoor plants that are deemed best as natural air purifiers.

What are your plans for next two years? What is the scope of innovation in this space?

Although the Indian Air Purifier market is still in its nascent stage, the market has a vast scope as people are getting aware and conscious about the effects of air pollution on their health, their family and especially on young children& elderly people. Innovations in air purifiers need to be holistically devised to kill excessive bacteria and virus, remove odours, and remove dust, pollen, and other pollutants from the atmosphere. This has spurred the overall market especially in tier 1 cities across India, wherein Delhi contributes more than half of the total market. From smart purifiers that can be controlled via mobile apps to those that can be installed in your cars, the market is breaking the monotony of basic air filtration techniques and bringing in advanced features along with eye pleasing body to the customer.

Breathe Easy is focused on growing top line and expanding its services across a wider geography as awareness is starting to build across other cities in India.

Geographical expansion and even better customer service is going to be the focus for us over the next 2 years.

How do you try to reflect the sustainability efforts of your brand in the products and solutions you bring out in the market?

Clean Air is a birth right. Unfortunately, in order to achieve this, one must invest in technology and spend thousands of rupees if not more to achieve somewhat clean air in some of the most polluted cities of the world. However, our approach to clean air ensures that the investment made by our customers is not wasted and the clean air being generated by the systems is reaching the customers and not getting wasted. We monitor our customers locations at all times to ensure accurate results.

Also, we have for the first time introduced ZERO Ozone electronic filters in the Indian market that can change the filtration industry. The market is seeing large numbers of electronic filters that produce Ozone hit the market. However, it is very important that one does not introduce a different pollutant when trying to remove a different one. www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 25

SPOI SPECIAL STORY

LG India pays homage to Korean War Veterans of India In an endeavor to showcase its gratitude towards Korean war veterans, LG Electronics India gratified the brave Indian soldiers who participated in the Korean war from 1950 to 1953. An event was organised at India Habitat center to facilitate the war veterans.

With an increased focus on well-being and good health, LG India presented the brave Indian soldiers and their families with LG air purifiers and LG water purifiers. It is also a reflection of the company’s core values to positively impact the lives of the people by doing good to the society.

Ki- Wan - Kim, Managing Director, LG Electronics India, said, “We at LG believe in building a responsible ecosystem that directly impacts the society as well as the business. The Korean War was one such incident that had an enormous effect on the lives of the people. It’s an honor for us to present a token of appreciation to the war veterans for their bravery and sacrifice during the Korean War. We must not forget their losses and contribute to their wellbeing in whichever way possible. Through 26 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

such initiatives, LG wants to provide its innovative technology offerings to the consumers to build a sustainable world.

Once again I would like to say that words are not enough to express our gratitude towards India and its brave soldiers who participated in Korean war which lead to restoration of democracy.

SHIN Bongkil, Korean Ambassador to India, who was also present at the event said, “India and Korea share a special relationship since beginning and have been each other’s support. The brave Indian soldiers played a pivotal role in restoring peace in the region during Korean war and we thank them for their contribution. And today, we welcome this initiative by LG India to gratify the brave Indian souls who stood by the Korean Forces during hard times.”

Lft Genral M.L Tuli, who is a Korea war vetran said, “I on behalf of the Korean War Veterans Association, India thank Ki Wan Kim, MD, LG Electronics India for arranging this special program to honor the efforts of our Indian soldiers.

This kind of appreciation of the soldiers is very electrifying in the world. Also,in a short period of time Korea has become a great economy and growing in the field of automobiles, electronic, manufacturing and steel. It is almost three generations that South Korea has continued inviting the soldiers and seeing the overall development that veterans have made.”

However this is not the first time that the South Korean electronic giant has shown such a gesture. The company leaves no stone unturned to extend their support and solidarity to the soldiers of the country who play a great role in ensuring that we citizens lead a fearless and good life in this country.

LG Electronics India had in January this year celebrated the 69th Republic Year of the country, with the launch of the #KarSalaam initiative, dedicated to the Indian soldiers. Kar Salaam is a platform to bring together the citizens of India to express their gratitude to the Indian soldiers. The selfless devotion our armed forces calls for salutation and there could

Pictures from LG's Kar Salaam Event not have been a better occasion than this year’s Republic Day to celebrate their galour, according to LG. The campaign invited the whole nation to come forward and send their wishes to the Indian Armed Forces. In 2017 also, LG Electronics India launched this campaign and contributed Rs.1 crore to the CRPF Welfare Fund. A Guinness record was also made for "the longest line of sticky notes".

These sticky notes were collected from across India where people wrote messages for the Armed Forces.

Through this initiave, LG saluted the soldiers’ spirit of selfless contribution and service towards the nation.

LG reached out to the citizens through radio, on ground and digital communication to capture the video wishes of the citizens of India for the soldiers. The company also planned to invite people through

With an increased focus on well-being and good health, LG India presented the brave Indian soldiers and their families with LG air purifiers and LG water purifiers. It is also a reflection of the company’s core values to positively impact the lives of the people by doing good to the society

social media platforms and encourage them to #KarSalaam (express their gratitude to the soldiers). All the citizens were invited to post their wishes for soldiers on www.lg.com/in/karsalaam. LG also sought participation from the families of the soldiers to send their heartwarming messages to their near and dear ones, who brave all odds to protect our country.

As a part of this nationwide campaign, LG Electronics also contributed a range of products to the martyrs’ families.

According to LG’s executives, these small gestures are a small step on behalf of LG for all those brave souls who are working extremely hard to keep the country and its citizens safe and secure.

The #KarSalaam initiative also won the best social and digital integrated campaign of the year award at the 2017 CMO Asia Awards. www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 27

COVER STORY

CSR spending sees a 28% surge in 2016-17

Private sector accounts for more CSR expenditure

As per the mandates of the Companies Act, 2013, companies in India, including CPSEs fulfilling threshold limits with a net profit of more than US$750,000 (Rs 5 crores) in a single financial year are required to spend a minimum of two percent of their average net profits of the last three years (before tax) for social causes in the

country. This is listed in the Schedule-VII to the Companies Act, 2013.

This spending comes under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, and can apply to small and medium-sized (SMEs) companies as well – if they fall into the profit-linked criteria. A company undertaking CSR

The top performing states in India in CSR spending areMaharashtra Delhi

Madhya Pradesh Karnataka Odisha Gujarat West Bengal Uttar Pradesh Haryana

Rs 702Cr Rs 229Cr Rs 213Cr Rs 202Cr Rs 191Cr Rs 152Cr Rs 121Cr Rs 120Cr Rs 107Cr

The seven North-east states together received just 2% of the CSR fund, while Odisha has seen a substantial rise in CSR fund with jumping up to the 3rd largest CSR fund receiver in FY 2016-17, when it was in the 8th place in FY 2015-16.

28 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

projects does not receive any additional tax exemptions. But exemptions may be granted for agricultural, health, rural, and skill development projects, among others, under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

As far as Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) are concerned, selection of activities/ projects and the area for undertaking CSR activities along with activity/project-wise allocation of funds is done on the recommendations of CSR Committee constituted in CPSEs, with the approval of respective Boards of CPSEs. Besides, the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has been regularly holding workshops/conclaves with CPSEs for sensitizing the concerned executives for ensuring proper selection of CSR activities/ projects and utilization of CSR funds as per the CSR provisions of Companies Act, 2013, CSR Rules and Schedule-VII of the Act. While the total amount spent on CSR in 2016-17 is 4719 crore, out of which Rs 3,393.17 crore was spent by private sector

companies while Rs 1,325.83 crore came from public sector undertakings. This amount was shelled out in the first eight months of the current fiscal, with private sector entities accounting for major chunk of the expenditure, according to the government.

The prescribed CSR budget of Indian corporate has increased by 28% in FY 2016-17 since FY 2014-15 while the actual CSR spend has gone up by 47% during the same time, another report said.

This substantial increase in CSR funding in the last financial year has given a further push to quality education initiatives along with intensifying Skilling India Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission of the Government of India. Urban slum development and welfare for army veterans received little attention from businesses with Rs 34Cr spent in both of these areas, while technology incubation for start-ups is gradually gaining the pitch with Rs 20 cr. Healthcare projects received 17% of the CSR fund.

The total number of CSR projects undertaken was 11597 in 29 different development sectors. In 2015-16, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure was Rs 13,827.86 crore, higher than Rs 9,564.77 crore recorded in 2014-15.

However, the report also points out that 1/3rd of the companies could not meet the mandatory CSR while 1/3rd of the companies spend more than the prescribed CSR.

Company Name HDFC Bank Limited

305.42

NTPC Limited

277.81

ICICI Bank Limited

182.37

Power Finance Corporation Limited

168.11

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited

166.61

Power Grid Corporation Of India Limited

147.33

Housing Development Finance Corporation

146.54

Axis Bank Limited

135.41

Maruti Suzuki India Limited

89.50

Northern Coalfields Limited

77.31

NHPC Limited

75.81

Nuclear Power Corporation Of India Limited

71.68

Rural Electrification Corporation Limited

69.79

Persistent Systems Limited

67.46

Yes Bank Limited

37.22

SJVN Limited

37.16

Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited

36.75

IndusInd Bank Ltd.

33.81

Reliance Infrastructure Limited

32.78

Bajaj Finance Limited

30.76

CSR spend by top 10 Companies As per the data received, Bilaspur-based South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a miniratna PSU, failed to spend even the fifty percent of the budgeted amounts the

Total CSR Projects

4719

11597

Total Amount spent

States & UTs Covered

1325

Amount (INR Cr.) 2016-17

36

CSR spend by Govt. Companies

company has earmarked under the CSR in the FY 2016-17. This was stated in the organisation’s annual report. The total prescribed CSR budget allocated for the FY 2016-17 was Rs 120.24crore, against which SECL has spent Rs 42.50 Crore.

The unspent CSR amount is Rs 77.74 Crore.

On the other hand, by spending Rs 277.81 Crore on CSR and sustainable development during the financial year 2016-17, NTPC Limited has surpassed the prescribed two percent amount of Rs 227.85 Crore by Rs 49.96 Crore, thus achieving a CSR spend of 2.96 %. This was revealed in its Annual Report for 2016-17. The average net profit of the Company for the previous 3 financial years was Rs 11392.68Crore, and accordingly the prescribed CSR Expenditure (2%) was Rs. 227.85 Crore.

INR Cr.

CSR spend by other than Govt. companies

3393

Next Page: Stae wise CSR Spend in different sectors

INR Cr.

www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 29

COVER STORY

Gender Equality, Women Empowerment, Old Age Homes, Reducing Inequalities S. No. State

Amount Spent(INR Lakh)

1

Andhra Pradesh

55.00

2

Arunachal Pradesh

1.00

3 Assam

14.00

4 Bihar

86.00

5 Chandigarh

1.00

6 Chhattisgarh

29.00

7

12.00

Dadra And Nagar Haveli

8 Delhi

995.00

9 Goa

95.00

10 Gujarat

582.00

11 Haryana

112.00

12

Himachal Pradesh

23.00

13

Jammu And Kashmir

44.00

14 Jharkhand

7.00

15 Karnataka

1167.00

16 Kerala

153.00

17

405.00

Madhya Pradesh

18 Maharashtra

2077.00

19 Mizoram

2.00

20 Odisha

77.00

21 Puducherry

8.00

22 Punjab

72.00

23 Rajasthan

328.00

24 Sikkim

17.00

25

1222.00

Tamil Nadu

26 Telangana

391.00

27

371.00

Uttar Pradesh

28 Uttarakhand

35.00

29

West Bengal

424.00

30

PAN India

3455.00 Grand Total (in Lakh) 12,260.00

Swachh Bharat Kosh S. No. State

Amount Spent(INR Lakh)

1

13.00

Andhra Pradesh

2 Bihar

50.00

3

1.00

Dadra And Nagar Haveli

4 Delhi 30 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

1548.00

5 Gujarat

22.00

6 Haryana

11.00

7 Jharkhand

2.00

8 Karnataka

13.00

9 Kerala

143.00

10

3410.00

Madhya Pradesh

11 Maharashtra

868.00

12 Odisha

1.00

13 Punjab

16.00

14 Rajasthan

8.00

15

40.00

Tamil Nadu

16 Telangana

2.00

17

11.00

Uttar Pradesh

18 Uttarakhand

2.00

19

West Bengal

8.00

20

PAN India

2766.00 Grand Total (in Lakh) 8,935.00

Clean Ganga Fund S. No. State

Amount Spent(INR Lakh)

1 Delhi

28.00

2 Karnataka

19.00

3

Uttar Pradesh

50.00

4

PAN India

2200.00 Grand Total (in Lakh) 2,297.00

Rural Development S. No. State

Amount Spent(INR Lakh)

1

Andhra Pradesh

487.00

2

Arunachal Pradesh

8.00

3 Assam

14.00

4 Bihar

1108.00

5 Chandigarh

3.00

6 Chhattisgarh

33.00

7 Delhi

109.00

8 Goa

32.00

9 Gujarat

704.00

10 Haryana

1725.00

11

Himachal Pradesh

9.00

12

Jammu And Kashmir

34.00

13 Jharkhand

451.00

14 Karnataka

614.00 www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 31

COVER STORY 15 Kerala

345.00

16

1520.00

Madhya Pradesh

17 Maharashtra

5816.00

18 Meghalaya

39.00

19 Odisha

1770.00

20 Puducherry

1.00

21 Punjab

290.00

22 Rajasthan

406.00

23

791.00

Tamil Nadu

24 Telangana

523.00

25

867.00

Uttar Pradesh

26 Uttarakhand

514.00

27

West Bengal

693.00

28

PAN India

43950.00 Grand Total (in Lakh) 62,856.00

Slum Area Development S. No. State

Amount Spent(INR Lakh)

1

18.00

Andhra Pradesh

2 Bihar

29.00

3 Delhi

10.00

4 Gujarat

31.00

5 Haryana

1.00

6 Karnataka

4.00

7

16.00

Madhya Pradesh

8 Maharashtra

14.00

9 Rajasthan

41.00

10

3.00

Tamil Nadu

11 Telangana

13.00

12

17.00

West Bengal

Grand Total (in Lakh) 197.00

Prime Minister's National Relief Fund S. No. State

Amount Spent(INR Lakh)

1 Delhi

1401

2 Goa

13

3 Gujarat

140

4 Haryana

203

5

Himachal Pradesh

60

6

Jammu And Kashmir

15

7 Karnataka

342

8 Kerala

8

32 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

9 Maharashtra

1511

10 Punjab

27

11 Rajasthan

47

12

23

Tamil Nadu

13 Telangana

71

14

40

Uttar Pradesh

15 Uttarakhand

1

16

West Bengal

81

17

PAN India

6998 Grand Total 10,981.00

Encouraging Sports S. No. State

Amount Spent(INR Lakh)

1

32.00

Andhra Pradesh

2 Assam

50.00

3 Bihar

17.00

4 Delhi

220.00

5 Goa

58.00

6 Gujarat

32.00

7 Haryana

28.00

8

Himachal Pradesh

11.00

9

Jammu And Kashmir

2.00

10 Jharkhand

1.00

11 Karnataka

210.00

12 Kerala

67.00

13

31.00

Madhya Pradesh

14 Maharashtra

471.00

15 Manipur

100.00

16 Meghalaya

2.00

17 Odisha

467.00

18 Punjab

2.00

19 Rajasthan

87.00

20 Sikkim

18.00

21

516.00

Tamil Nadu

22 Telangana

15.00

23

8.00

Uttar Pradesh

24 Uttarakhand

36.00

25

West Bengal

50.00

26

PAN India

2642.00 Grand Total (in Lakh) 5,173.00

The above data for FY 2016-17 is provisional and is collected from National CSR Data Portal www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 33

How do you know if your WhatsApp is hacked?

In light of many recent cases of WhatsApp “hacking”,if someone on your contact list has or is asking for your WhatsApp account verification code – BEWARE!! You should understand that it could be a scammer that is using your contact's WhatsApp account to make that request.

After getting many requests to investigate Whatsapp hacking cases and along with several associates, we have spent time researching and have analyzed how criminals are possibly hacking WhatsApp. There is no technology used, however the victims are not managing to identify the criminals who are hiding using the name of the victim’s friend in most cases.

This explanation should assist and may help in creating more awareness on how to prevent WhatsApp hacking.

There are variants in the scam.

The scammers get hold of the WhatsApp account of the victim through an SMS verification code and make the victim lose access to their account.

The technique in this scam can be described as seen below First, the criminal creates a whatsapp verification code and sends it to the victim’s number, by hiding using a name of the victim’s friend or even a family member.

When the criminal gets the verification code, he/she instantly hacks the victim’s whatsapp and activates a two-step verification by entering his/her email and possibly changes the language settings as well.

It is at this phase that the victim’s account is completely hacked.

The victim may have to wait for at least 7 days to retrieve his/her account back before activating again.

Is Ola-Uber merger on the cards?

The Ola-Uber merger is just like bringing another leader into the existing market, with loads of marketing development fund to groom the market to mature it, and getting investments into both the leaders.

It is like creating chaos in the industry, so that it will be very difficult for another player to enter into this segment. In simple words, it is a clear monopoly. However, over the last one year, both firms have tactically cut incentives and discounts. Yet they are still burning cash. But it is expected that after the merger they will make a substantial amount of money.

Softbank has acquired 15 per cent stake in Uber with around $8 billion investment in January. The Masayoshi fund group already owns 33 per cent in Ola. The Masayoshi Son-founded Japanese conglomerate had played a pivotal role in consolidating the two in the SEA region.

It is however not clear whether Softbank would pursue a merger between Ola and Uber;a similar thing has happened in China, on how Didi Chuxing acquired local stake of Uber in China.The plan looks similar and will be ‘copy-pasted’ in India, The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has expressed concern over the compromise of ridehailing competition by common investors in India.

The Commission also added that it will not hesitate to take action, suo-motu or otherwise, if concern arising out of horizontal shareholdings prima facie seem to exist at any point of time in future wherein the opposing parties (Ola and Uber) are found competing less vigorously because of any interference by the common investors in the management decisions. The statutory body will also keep a vigil if the two companies or its investors violate regulations.

Bhavish Agarwal of Ola claims to have its presence in over 110 cities, covering around two million rides a day, while Uber with presence in 25 cities does around one million daily rides and is expected to raise big-ticket funds. Ola projected 2019 as the year to turn profitable. It's targeting to generate cash profits of over $1 billion by 2021.

SoftBank has been aiming to recover losses through the merger. Both ride-hailing firms are currently in losses. Ola saw its losses widening to Rs 4,897.8 crore during FY 2016-17. The loss incurred by Uber is not available. Till December last year, Ola’s market share was 56.2 per cent. Whereas Uber’s market share decreased by about 2.4 per cent from 42 to 39.6 per cent.

34 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

Naveen writes to Modi forCSR fund to state CMRF

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek an amendment in the Companies Act, 2013, so as to make it easier for public and private companies to make contribution to the Chief Minister’s Relief Funds (CMRFs) as part of their CSR activity.

The letter summarizesthat there is need for augmentation of CMRF resources through contribution of CSR fund of the corporates. The chief minister relief Fund (CMRF), like that of other states, uses it fund for various pro-poor activities.

“Some such examples are relief to eligible indigent persons for their medical treatment, ex-gratia to the next of the kin of the poor deceased in case of their unnatural and untimely death, compensation to the victims of road/ rail accident and assistance to the family of poor deceased for performance of his last rites,” Naveen said.

The CMRF fund is also utilized for providing dead body carriers (hearse) to the government health institutions for easy transportation of dead body form the place of death to the house of the deceased or place of cremation or burial ground under the Mahaprayan scheme.

Section-135 of the Companies Act, 2013 and CSR Policy Rules, 2014 mandate that from April 1, 2014 every company with a net worth of Rs. 500 crore or turnover of Rs 1000 crore or net profit of Rs. 5 crore has to spend at least two per cent of its average net profit on CSR activities.

Item (IX) of Schedule-VII of the act mentions contribution to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund as an eligible activity under CSR. However, contribution to State CMRFs as an eligible activity is not included in the Schedule.

The chief minister said though contribution to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) is considered as an eligible activity under the CSR fund under the Company’s Act, there is no provision for contribution to state CMRFs. Keeping in view the range of activities carried out by the Odisha government there is an urgent need to increase the funds for CMRF, as an eligible activity under CSR. “This will also bring parity with the existing provision of contribution to PMNRF,” Naveen said.

Judgement passed for ATM failure

Can a Bank be held deficient in services if its ATM does not dispense Cash for the reason “Cash not available”? A consumer Court in Raipur has recently imposed a penalty of Rs.2500.00 on SBI for exactly the same reason overruling the arguments of SBI that • •

The complainant was not its customer Failure of internet connectivity is not within its ambit, rather it is upon the internet service provider against whom, any complaint if any, should lie.

The Form countered SBI by saying that when Banks are charging for usage of ATMs for a whole year in advance and a client is free to use any ATM he automatically becomes a customer.

The second point was countered with the reasoning that when the ATM itself was showing “No Cash Available” on 3 different dates and times how it can be a case of internet failure?

Moreover, when customers are penalised for no balance or less than minimum balance in their accounts, how can a Bank get away with no cash in the ATM? The incident being the first such judgement for ATM failure, is expected to generate a lot of interest in the matter. The incident happened in May 2017,and the complaint was filed in June 2017 and the verdict was passed recently.

It’s a reminder to our banker friends here to be more careful in loading Cash in ATMs, especially before consecutive holidays to escape such penalty as well as customer dissatisfaction. www.spoindia.org June 2018 | 35

ROUND ABOUT

Stages of Growth in Digital Economy It seems the Internet-based companies are passing through a difficult patch of time.

How does one explain such trajectories of uncertainties? A few months back or so, they were doing pretty well. Every other day, there were takeovers, mergers, new ventures, expansions, exalted profits, massive recruitment drives, commitments to work for the society et al. Now what we hear is only about data theft, investigations, deposition before various committees, admissions of omissions and commissions and even passing on the bucks.

I tried to reflect what could be the reasons for such a drastic change in the fortunes of these companies all of a sudden. I remember of one economist called Rostov, who propounded the theory of stages of growth. His hypothesis is that an economy would pass through five trajectories of growth. They are traditional economy characterized by subsistence farming, low- growth stage, precondition for takeoff, takeoff, and age of mass consumption. Each stage has its own special characteristics.

The flip side of his growth theory is that there is no static stage for the economy, which tries to move from one stage to the other. Once it reaches the ultimate stage of mass consumption, it can slip back to the traditional stage. Of course, on the applicability of the Rostov’s stages of growth in the present world, I really do not know how it will be applied to the digital world, where companies are always in a growing mode. But recent developments of data theft, reported loss of business by IT giants, erosion in their credibility, etc are pointers, that it may have an indirect or symbolic application in the Internet-based companies also.

That is what, I believe, is happening to the industry players like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram. All of them are on the defensive for one reason or 36 | June 2018 www.spoindia.org

the other. After a period of quick profit, size, name, fame and influence, now the landscape is changing. These companies, particularly Facebook, have to defend against a plethora of allegations levelled against them. That way, there is an emotional sync with what Rostov had propagated. Economy including netbased economy, will have to undergo the stages of growth in one way or the other.

One good thing in the entire drama unfolding is the global debate on the future of technology, particularly on Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is now the frontier of all technologies. Techies are polarized: one supporting AI and others holding a diametrically opposite view. Let us take two prominent techies, who are crossing swords in the ongoing debate. One is now Mark Zuckerberg, who has nursed fledgling Facebook into a multibillion enterprise and the other Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk. Musk, for the uninitiated, has created SpaceX and Tesla. Zuckerberg is propagating AI to the masses and advocates how it can bring people together and how fast people can communicate. Musk, however, is the person who in the highest decibel started warning people about the ill effect of AI and foretells how destructive it could be when machines become super-intelligent than men.

Is there any widespread fear among techies about the future of AI? I feel there is a strong feeling among them about the pernicious effect of AI. Otherwise, why 4,000 Google techies raised their voice against the company’s contract with NASA for developing more weapons and ammunitions fitted with AI. They wanted Google to come out of the project on ethical grounds, and the company had to succumb to their demand. Once the present project gets over, Google has decided not to renew the contract with NASA for developing weapons of mass destruction which are fitted with Artificial

Intelligence.

Not to be left far behind, China has made it clear that it is going to develop technologies that can operate on AI, particularly weapons. There are elite labs, according to reports, in China that are working exclusively on these projects and they share the optimism that it would emerge as the most powerful country in the application of AI. We all know that China means business.

Can we keep technology neutral from ethics or completely shut off from the normative side? The essence of the debate between Zuckerberg and Musk hinges on this conundrum. I am sure this is not the last and final debate on that. This debate will continue in the times to come and, more often, it will elude a resolution.

It means that there are people who hold the diametric opposite views. That will balance the approach of policy makers.

That perhaps is the difference between a democratic regime and not-so-democratic ones. For instance, Google employees have shown the red flag to the company’s approach to help NASA’s research project on AI. The pertinent point is whether the employees of Chinese technology company ZTE’s have the guts to say no to their management for undertaking such projects, which they feel may not be in the right interest of the mankind.

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MOVEMENT

Bhushan Kumar Sinha appointed as Joint Secretary in Department of Financial Services Senior bureaucrat Bhushan Kumar Sinha has been appointed as Joint Secretary in Department of Financial Services (DFS) as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the government.Sinha, a 1993 batch officer of Indian Economic Service (IES) has been appointed to the post for five years, an order issued by Personnel Ministry said.

Rajiv Yaduvanshi posted as principal secretary of urban development Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Rajiv Yaduvanshi was transferred and posted as principal secretary of urban development, an official statement said. Yaduvanshi will relieve Principal Secretary (Home) Manoj Parida from additional charge of urban development.

J P Agrawal posted as director of higher education J P Agrawal, special secretary, general administration department, was transferred, and posted as director of higher education. He is replacing Garima Gupta, the official statement added.

Sunil Porwal named as the Home Secretary of Maharashtra Senior bureaucrat Sunil Porwal (a 1983-batch IAS officer) has been named as the Home Secretary of the State of Maharashtra. He has replaced Sudhir Shrivastava who has been transferred as the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board Chairman.

B Sriram steps down from the position of MD, SBI As per a news source, B. Sriram has stepped down from the position of Managing Director of SBI, following his appointment as Chief Executive of IDBI Bank. Last week, the government appointed B. Sriram as Managing Director and CEO of IDBI Bank for a temporary period of three months.

Anil Diggikarappointed as the Prinicipal Secretary of the Environment department of Maharashtra Anil Diggikar, IAS officer of 1990 batch has been appointed as the Prinicipal Secretary of the Environment department of Maharashtra. He is currently serving as the Officer on Special Duty and Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Devender Fadnavis.

Sitaram Kunte posted as additional chief secretary of the general administration department of Maharashtra 1985-batch officer Sitaram Kunte, who had been additional chief secretary of the higher and technical education department, has now been posted as additional chief secretary (personnel) of the general administration department of Maharashtra.

Shrikant Jadhav, IPS appointed IGP- South Range, Rewari, Haryana Shri Shrikant Jadhav IPS (Haryana 1994), presently Inspector General of Police, State Crime Record Bureau, Madhuban with additional charge of Secretary, Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog and additional charge of Director, Forensic Science Laboratory, Madhuban has been appointed as Inspector General of Police (IGP), South Range, Rewari with additional charge of Secretary, Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog.

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