November SPOINDIA 2018

www.spoindia.org Vol. III | Issue 06 | November 2018 | Rs. 50

17th VARINDIA STAR NITE AWARDS

8

DNA of Channel

DIGITAL DISRUPTION & TRANSFORMATION RULE THE ROOST AT

THE 17TH STAR NITE AWARDS 2018 SPEAKERS

HURSH CHETAN

HARSHA BENNUR

SHYAM JAJU

A N RAI

22pg

SHAILENDRA MANDRAWADKAR

C P GURNANI

IT TRENDS 2019

32 pg

AI, 5G, IoT, Supply Chain and PRIVACY TO DOMINATE 2019

SUNIL SHARMA

SPOI REVIEW

28 pg

PM launches 59 programmes for the MSME sector www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 1

2 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

EVENT | 30 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

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

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DIGITAL DISRUPTION & TRANSFORMATION RULE THE ROOST

AT THE 17TH STAR NITE AWARDS 2018

Mumbai: Bureau office 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

NEWS 6 - 17

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IT TRENDS 2019

Chennai: Bureau office

18

LEAD STORY

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

EMERGING START-UP ECOSYSTEM IN INDIA

AI, 5G, IoT, Supply Chain and PRIVACY TO DOMINATE 2019

34

OPEN YOUR EYES

PM LAUNCHES 59 PROGRAMMES FOR THE MSME SECTOR

Design for disabilities, empower everyone

35

SPOI ANALYSIS

30

SPOI NEWS

Suresh Prabhu launches the brochure of Logix India in New Delhi

Use of technology can minimize the need for agriculture loan waivers

36

ROUND ABOUT US BY-ELECTION: What will be the fallout?

Hyderabad: Bureau office Branch Manager: Sunil Kumar 32-161/3, 202 Neha Paradise, Nr. Maissamma Temple, Venketeswara colony, Ramakrishna Puram Hyderabad - 500056, Telangana, Tel: 040-32989844/ Cell No. 08100298033

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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SPOI REVIEW

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31

SPOI ANALYSIS

All payments favouring:

Tackling diabetes in children – a guide for the parents

38 MOVEMENT

Kalinga Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. © All rights are reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. (2015) * All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi only.

www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 3

Dynamic shift in Technology and Culture Understanding the limitation is idle The ad industry is constantly gathering user data, incessantly targeting, and paying the sites they use as little as possible. Users hate ads. While surfing online, it can be infuriating to see ads.

The digital advertising industry enjoyed years of lucrative and successful ad campaigns that were produced from the droves of user data made available by internet platforms. With internet majors like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, everything a person views, likes, follows, shares, and searches can be monetised and packaged into effective advertising campaigns. However, user data and digital platforms have been the bread and butter for advertising agencies for the better part of a decade, and that’s unlikely to change in the next year.

The time is approaching, the latest stages of the online advertising bubble, as available high-quality ad space is shrinking, leading to a decline ad space quality and a decline of ad efficiency. Awareness for fraud is growing since all the digital medium of advertising gathers all your data and habits and consumption patterns and many more.Hardly anyone respects the privacy issues and soon clients will cut their online ad spending and demand higher accountability. This will destroy the high-margin market of automated reselling worthless ad space and will force advertisers to focus only on prime publishers with premium ad space.

The government is stepping in to address privacy through laws and regulations - particularly with new data privacy laws. The one left in the middle are the websites who are using the ads to help monetize their site and keep it free.

Everyone is raving about the blockchain’s potential to disrupt practically every industry imaginable, and the advertising industry is no different. Blockchain is seen very expensive and specially the Banks have felt that if everything is on the record, it may help to watch the record but when there are any legal issue, compliance will become an issue and the data keeping becomes very expensive, so the blockchain technology will die soon.

With all good things are happening, last month Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a portal for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and volunteering at a town hall with technology, start-up and telecom chieftains in an ambitious bid to consolidate such efforts to maximise their effect and help boost the government’s initiatives. The idea is to create a resource pool and find a way to “harmonise efforts,” not just across companies, but also to “align” them with the priorities of the government in areas such as the Skill India, Digital Literacy, Financial Inclusion and Swachh Bharat campaigns. Companies already have a lot of initiatives underway in the social sector — the concept is just to work out a way to work together.

Lastly, complete relying on digital and social medium is very much dangerous and foolishness, like the data of your’s account information, names, email addresses, IP addresses, user IDs, encrypted passwords, user account settings, personalization data, public actions and content (including drafts) such as questions, answers, comments, blog posts, even the voice calls been recorded and upvotes, can be stored and taken by the online companies and hackers found it easy to hack and blackmail. They can use at any point of time.

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

www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 5

CSR/CORPORATE

Nippon Paint unveils its KIDZ Paint for child wellness

Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division) has launched the KIDZ Paint, a child wellness paint, developed for the Generation Z Kids. The paint, developed with a firm resolve to champion indoor safety and child wellness, is designed to meet the unique demands of one’s entire childhood.

The first-of-its-kind paint was unveiled today by S Mahesh Anand, President – Decorative Paint, Nippon Paint India.

Based on rigorous tests and years of industry research, Nippon Paint’s R&D team has arrived at three key findings and corresponding solutions to counter them, all under one product – The KIDZ paint.

Newborns have up to 3 times the respiratory rate of adults – so safe air quality is extremely important for their developing lungs.

Anti-formaldehyde technology for Clean Air- enables airpurification by absorbing harmful formaldehyde present in the air as well as formaldehyde emitted by other household articles like wooden furniture, carpets bedding etc, leaving just fresh air that is child-safe.

LG Water Purifier certified by Heart Care Foundation of India

LG Electronics India has introduced PuriCare range of water purifiers in India, featuring stainless steel storage tank that provides purest form of drinking water. The advanced range of water purifiers which come in seven variants are equipped with innovative hygiene-enhancing features such as the Dual Protection Stainless Steel Tank and Digital Sterilizing Care that ultimately yields safe and clean drinking water.

Recently, LG water purifier was certified by Heart care foundation of India as the water purifier which meets the criteria for health friendly drinkable water (filtration, preservation & maintenance). LG water purifier has unique stainless steel storage which ensures that water remains safe by reducing the growth of bacteria and algae.

Kim-Ki-Wan-MD-LG Electronics India said “We have been launching products based on Indian insights & water purifier is an extension of the same. As clean drinking water is one of the basic requirements& LG water purifier provides the same through robust filtration, preservation & maintenance. Certification by Heart care foundation of India reconfirms LG water purifier as a source of Health Friendly Drinkable Water.”

6 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

Cerebra Green recovers 10 metric tonnes of e-waste during ‘Cleanup Week’

Cerebra Green has announced the conclusion of its ‘India Clean-up Week’, conducted in association with Manufacturers Association of Information and Technology (MAIT), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC) and Digital India, with the aim of raising awareness around the proper and safe disposal of e-waste. The drive succeeded in recovering over 10 metric tonnes of e-waste across 7 cities between 13th – 19th October.

City -wise, the Clean-up Week was able to recover around 5 metric tonnes of e-waste from Bangalore, 2 metric tonnes from Delhi and 1 metric ton each from Mumbai, Pune, Chennai & Hyderabad. People mostly including female & males in the age group between 20 to 50 years participated from Bangalore, 20 to 80 years participated from Delhi, 25 to 60 years from Mumbai, 25 to 50 years from Chennai, 15 to 60 years from Hyderabad and 10 to 70 years from Pune.

IFAD to save adolescent girls from malnutrition and prevent early deaths

By 2030 there will be 129 million children with stunted growth due to malnutrition, mostly born of young mothers. The intergenerational cycle of malnutrition is as a result of various factors, which must be addressed in an integrated manner – poverty, socio-cultural norms, low education levels, lack of safe drinking water, limited access to health systems, access to resources, all of which are necessary to make young girls economically independent and aware, thereby protecting them from early marriages.

Every year in the world, about 12 million girls get married prematurely and 16 million adolescents become mothers. While girls play an essential role in the economic and human development of their families and communities, they are strongly threatened by varying experiences of exclusion and discrimination, such as early marriages and/or early pregnancies, violence, all kind of abuses, and poor access to essential services.

CSR/CORPORATE

Publicis.Sapient launches campaign to drive awareness about trans people

Publicis.Sapient has launched a short film, #PeopleNotLabels in partnership with The Humsafar Trust, India’s oldest LGBTQ organization. The film aims at building awareness of the constant obstacles encountered by trans people in Indian society.

Set in the city of Bengaluru, the film gives a brief view into the life of Sowmya Shri, a transwoman and Christy Raj, a transman,

uncovering commonalities in which people, irrespective of their gender, love and care about each other.

“At Publicis.Sapient, we have always believed in equal opportunities and have been a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion. Our efforts to enable transformation through this philosophy also extends beyond our own organization into the work we do as part of our corporate social responsibility initiatives,” said Sanjay Menon, Managing Director – Publicis.

Sapient, India.

Accenture to build a more data literate world

Qlik has welcomed Accenture to be a part of the Data Literacy Project. Accenture joins as a founding partner, committing to the Project’s mission to build a data literate culture across the world.

Data literacy is an essential skill in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, empowering people to ask questions of data and machines, build knowledge, make decisions and communicate its meaning with others. Yet, only 24 percent of business decision makers are fully confident in their ability to read, work with, analyze and argue with data.

The Data Literacy Project, launched this October, is a community dedicated to making society fluent in the language of data, and places data literacy at the heart of individual and organizational success.

MAIT with Dell & Microsoft launches EduVision 2018 Report MAIT in association with Dell and Microsoft has launched a report “EduVision 2018 – Transforming Education Through Technology Adoption”. The report discusses in-depth on how to deploy technology in Indian schools, colleges and universities with the goal of making education more inclusive by reducing access and cost barriers; ensuring quality curriculum delivery; effectively monitoring learning outcomes; and empowering teachers to deploy corrective measures when needed.

India’s rapid economic growth has powered the ambition and rise of its 1.3 billion citizens with a renewed focus on developing a world-class education system. More than 50 percent of India's population is under the age of 25 and government officials recognise that sustained investment in education is vital to promote long-term growth and equip students with 21st century skills. Furthermore, India has one of the largest education systems in the world, with an estimated 285.5 million students enrolled in more than 1.6 million primary and secondary schools, and over 29.6 million enrolled in more than 48,000 institutes of higher education.

British Standards Institution assures Dalmia Bharat Group for ISO 26000

Dalmia Bharat Group is a leading Indian conglomerate with a strong presence in Cement, Sugar and Refractories. The Group has a turnover of over Rs. 10,000 crore.

The company’s CSR initiatives have been identified with a multi-stakeholder approach and taking into account the material issues to the company and the community. The company is implementing its CSR through an independent foundation, Dalmia Bharat Foundation, focusing on Soil and Water Conservation, Access to Clean Energy and Livelihood Skill Training. The company is reaching out to 1300 villages and approximately 10 Lakh people. The company’s CSR is very closely aligned to the UN SDG’s and also national campaigns.

Bharal Dalmia Ltd. has been following the ISO 26000, the international standard for Social responsibility guidelines and has become the first India cement company and globally one of the first few to have imbibed CSR in a holistic manner. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 7

CSR/PSU

SBI to sell 3 NPA accounts to recover Rs 21 bn dues

The country's largest bank SBI has put up for sale of three of its non-performing loan accounts to recover dues of Rs 21.1071 billion.

An e-auction will take place on December 13 for the sale of these three accounts -- Sona Alloys Pvt Ltd, MCL Global Steel Pvt Ltd and Jayaswal Neco Industries.

SBI said the interested banks/asset reconstruction companies

(ARCs)/non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) or financial institutions (FIs) can conduct due diligence of these assets with immediate effect, after submitting expression of interest and executing a non-disclosure agreement with the bank.

Earlier on November 22, SBI held e-auction of 11 NPA accounts that had outstanding dues of Rs 10.19 billion towards the bank. The gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank rose to 9.95 per cent of the gross advances as on September 30, 2018, from 9.83 per cent a year ago.

Children’s Day celebrated at MCL’s Anand Vihar Club

On the occasion of the '130th birth anniversary of Pt. JL Nehru', Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) celebrated Children's day at Anand Vihar Club on 14th November.

D P Patnaik, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anand Vihar Club, attended the event as a guest. Patnaik emphasized on Pt. J L Nehru Ji's dream for the country and his personality. He said that today's children are the future captain of the country.

Various programs were organised for class LKG to children of Class XII, such as fancy dress, illustration, patriotic music and dance competition. A cultural program was organized by the children. Patnaik encouraged children by giving away prizes to the victorious participants. The program got underway under the able guidance of the club secretary, Madhusudan Swaini.

8 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

Junior trainee induction programme held at RINL-VSP

The Induction & Orientation programme for the recently recruited Junior Trainees (JTs November 2018 batch) was inaugurated in RINL-VSP by KC Das, Director (Personnel), RINL-VSP in Ukkunagaram on 23rd November.

Addressing the trainees, Das called upon them to understand the processes in the plant and attach utmost importance to safety standards while working in their respective zones. He mentioned that RINL-VSP is an environmentfriendly steel plant and stressed the need to work with commitment and dedication to enhancing the image of the organization. He advised the trainees to learn the skills and develop inter-personal relations to grow in their career. He also exhorted them to lay focus on the job training and get acquainted with the latest technology incorporated in various production units.

OR Ramani, Executive Director (Works) I/c RINL explained the overview of the organization and highlighted the production facilities that are available in the plant and the need to develop the safety consciousness while discharging the duties.

MDL observes Vigilance Awareness Week - 2018

Cmde Rakesh Anand, IN (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) inaugurated the Vigilance Awareness Week-2018 on 29th October 2018 by administering pledge to Senior Executives of MDL. He also released In-house vigilance magazine ‘SUCHARITA’- Vol. XXI. Satish Pendharkar, IDAS, CVO/MDL and his team organized a number of events such as Essay C o m p e t i t i o n s, Slogan, Poster and Online Quiz for MDL employees.

Various other V i g i l a n c e Awareness competitions like Extempore, Essay and Slogan writing were also organized for school children and college students at Gram Sabha, Anandwan, Chandrapur.

One of the eminent speakers, Prateek Goswami, IRSS/ Chief Material Manager, Central Railways, addressed the MDL Personnel and threw light on the importance of corruption-free India during Vigilance Awareness Week.

CSR/PSU

NHPC celebrates 44th Raising Day

Secretary Defence, Ministry of Defence visits GSL

NHPC Limited celebrated its 44th Raising Day on 12th November 2018 at its Corporate Office in Faridabad with great enthusiasm and fervour. R K Singh, Union Minister of State (I/C), Power and New & Renewable Energy, graced the occasion.

Singh extended his warmest greeting to everyone present on the occasion of NHPC Raising Day. Singh lauded NHPC for its performance, efficiency and profitability and highlighted that hydropower is a clean and green source of power.

Singh also laid the foundation stone of a 1000 KW rooftop solar plant installed at NHPC Residential Colony, Faridabad. Balraj Joshi, CMD, gave a presentation on the recent achievements of NHPC including its installed capacity, achievements in capacity addition, CSR initiatives etc.

N K Jain, Director (Personnel) acknowledged the contributions of all employees towards taking NHPC to great heights.

During the celebrations, winners of NHPC Awards Scheme (2018-19) under various categories as Best Power Station, Best Construction Project, Exemplary Commitment, Star of NHPC and Star student for Class X and Class XII were awarded.

Dr. Ajay Kumar, IAS, Secretary (Defence Production) Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India visited GSL on 10th-11th Nov 2018.

During the visit, Secretary (DP) laid the keel for the 4th Coast Guard OPV under construction at GSL and inaugurated the Foreign Specialist Accommodation at Chicalim for the MCMV Project & Advanced Missile Frigate Project. He was briefed by RAdm Shekhar Mital, CMD GSL on the progress of the ongoing 5 CGOPV Project being undertaken by GSL for Indian Coast Guard as well as the ambitious ongoing Shipyard Modernisation Program at GSL. Secretary (DP) was conducted around the shipyard and was taken to the upcoming Infrastructure sites under various phases of the modernization program. He was apprised of the various world-class infrastructures coming up in the yard in the next 2-3 years, which will provide GSL indigenous capability to build weapon intensive high tech Ships for Defence and for Exports.

Secretary (DP) took the keen interest in the ongoing construction of ships, R&D, innovation & 3D design being done by shipyard and urged GSL to use increasingly more and more Artificial Intelligence-based technologies.

DFCCIL celebrates its 13th Foundation Day

NCL shines at Coal India Foundation Day

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) celebrated its 13th Foundation Day on 10th of Novemberat the Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park, New Delhi. The glittering function was hosted by Anurag Sachan, Managing Director - DFCCIL amid the august presence of chief guest Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Railways & Coal, and the

gracious presence of Ashwani Lohani, Chairman, Railway Board.

Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Railways & Coal extolled the rapid strides made by DFCCIL in the recent past and expressed confidence of completion of the project within the defined timeline of March, 2020.He also added that the creation of more dedicated Freight Corridors are on future roadmap to enhance freight carrying capacity of Indian Railway to higher pedestal.

Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) bagged three awards in different categories at the 44th CIL Foundation Day. The awards were presented by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Coal & Railways in a grand ceremony held in Kolkata.

The company bagged 'Best Achievement Award' for splendid performance in FY 2017-18.

The Director (Technical/ Operations) NCL Gunadhar Pandey and Director (Finance) NCL, N N Thakur received the award on behalf of the company.

In individual categories, Ajit Kumar Chowdhary, General Manager, NCL Nigahi Area was awarded the 'Best Area General Manager' and Sanjay Mishra, General Manager (CMC/Production) was honoured with the 'Best Corporate General Manager' award.

www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 9

NEWS/URBAN DEVELOPMENT

NITI Aayog organizes South Asian Conference on urban infrastructure

IIT wins battle against FIITJEE, signage removed from metro station

NITI Aayog has partnered with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to host a South Asian regional conference at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in the capital.

The two day conference on “Urban Infrastructure: New Approaches to Public & Private Partnerships and Municipal Finance Innovations”, being held on November 15-16, was inaugurated by CEO, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant;and Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance Subhash Chandra Garg. UN Resident Coordinator in India,YuriAfanasiev; Country Director, ADB India Kenichi Yokoyama; and Director & Head, UNESCAP S&SW Office, Dr Nagesh Kumar were present on this occasion.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs), Hardeep Singh Puri addressed the closing session on Day One of the Conference and received the rapporteurs' presentations, summarising best practices related to new approaches to PPP & Municipal Financing.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has won its battle against the coaching centre FIITJEE over the signage outside its campus on the Delhi metro station gates.

The coaching institute had bought branding rights on the station opposite the IIT and had its name coupled with that of the IIT on the signages displayed on the gates of the Hauz Khas metro station.

Displaying both names together gave the impression of collaboration between the IIT and the coaching centre, the IIT claimed.

The new signage displays only the institute’s name along with that of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

“We never wanted the IIT’s name to be associated with any coaching institute holding commercial interests. We are happy the issue has been settled,” said V Ramgopal Rao, director of IITDelhi.

RERA: Delhi gets full-time real estate regulator

Mumbai to get India’s first parking authority

Delhi has finally got a full-time real estate regulator under RERA with Lt Governor Anil Baijal appointing retired IAS officer Vijay S Madan to the post.

Until now, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) vice-chair man was the interim regulator under the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA), 2016.

Speaking at a workshop on RERA, organised by the Housing and Urban Affairs ministry here, Baijal said, "I am glad to inform the ministry and the minister that yesterday, we have appointed a whole-time regulator."

According to a Delhi government's notification, Madan, a former director general in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has been appointed as the chairperson of the Delhi Real Estate Regulatory Authority for a term of five years.

10 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

The residents of space-starved Mumbai may have a reason to rejoice soon. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is expected to soon appoint urban development experts to create a Geographic Information System (GIS) map and a comprehensive database of all parking slots in the city. This will be a step forward towards creating the country's first special parking authority.

The move comes over six months after the development plan 2034 — the blueprint for the megapolis' development — was unveiled. The development plan had envisaged the setting up of an independent parking authority.

After the development plan was unveiled, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had spoken of the possibility of setting up such an authority in a written answer to the Legislative Assembly. The BMC had also subsequently told the Bombay High Court that a special authority to regulate parking would be set up. This was as per the decision of a committee to address issues of traffic congestion in the city.

NEWS/DIGITAL INDIA

ECI announces its newly designed website

Suresh Prabhu launches AirSewa 2.0

The Election Commission of India has announced the launch of its newly designed website at https://eci.gov.in . The completely revamped website features a streamlined and simplified design, improved functionality, and enriched content areas which will help visitors to make well-informed decisions regarding their election-related matters.

The new website has been built keeping users in mind. The streamlined user interface provides a more interactive experience, allowing users to easily find the information they are looking for. Visitors can browse the website based on their own interests and learn more about Election Process in a more engaging way.

With a fresh look and feel, the new site offers users the opportunity to navigate through Election Commission of India extensive resource and service offering with ease. Delivering a fully responsive experience, the new website gives users a seamless transition from desktop to mobile browsing, and intelligently pulls the latest content from all the relevant space for users to access information, quickly and easily.

The Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Commerce & Industry, Suresh Prabhu, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha have launched the upgraded version of AirSewa 2.0 web portal and mobile app in New Delhi.

Speaking on this occasion the Civil Aviation Minister said that a need was felt for development of an upgraded version of AirSewa to provide a superior user experience with enhanced functionalities.

Major improvements include features such as secure sign-up and log-in with social media, chatbot for travellers support,improved grievance management including social media grievances, real-time flight status and details flight schedule. The upgrade and improved version of AirSewa operates through an interactive web portal as well as through a mobile app for both android and iOS platforms and will offer passengers a convenient and hassle-free air travel experience. The web portal and application will help to capture air travellers’ feedback for policy interventions.

Aadhaar holder can only lock biometrics but cannot opt out

SBI Mutual Fund launches AIpowered voice assistant with Google

An Aadhaar number holder can lock his biometrics but may not opt out, as suggested by the Supreme Court, according to a latest response to a RTI response.

The Authority may enable Aadhaar holder to permanently lock his biometrics or it can be locked by visiting its website, said UIDAI in a response to a query filed by Mahedihasan Aliarajak Patel, a Gujarat resident.

In the RTI query, he asked last month, giving reference to the Apex Court judgement in this regard, that how can he exit from the Aadhaar scheme and sought detail process for the same.

On Sept 26, 2018, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had ruled that people who have enrolled before the Act, two years ago, can opt out of Aadhaar. Those who specifically refuse to give consent would be able to exit and children enrolled under parent consent shall be given the right to exit after attaining the age of maturity.

SBI Mutual Fund has launched its first AI-powered voice assistant with Google. The company said that the voice assistant can be currently accessed through any smart phone having Google Assistant or where the Google Assistant app has been downloaded, or any of the Google Home devices. The bot is designed to assist investors with information across different areas which includes getting basic product related information, locate the nearest branch, check their KYC status, use SIP calculator, receive a call back from customer care and retrieve account statements using a basic, user friendly voice interface.

Further, the voice assistant in due course will be developed and trained to help investors with transactions, portfolio valuations and other value-added services. The voice assistant was developed in partnership with AllinCall Research and Solutions Private Limited, a Mumbai based start-up firm. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 11

SPOI NEWS

Youth with Disabilities honoured at ‘Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities 2018’ The three day event of the “Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities, 2018” concluded in the presence of Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment. It was organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in association with Rehabilitation International Korea and their associated partner LG Electronics from 9th to 11th November, 2018. Thaawarchand Gehlot, and other dignitaries from Korea, India and ESCAP presented the awards.

“Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities, 2018”.

While concluding the ceremony, Thaawarchand Gehlot expressed his deep satisfaction over the successful completion of the event and called upon the participating nations to take all steps for enhancing IT skill of youth with disabilities so that they live an independent life with dignity equally with others.

The event comprised of 55 awards in various categories including awards for best volunteer. Three awards namely, “Best, Excellent and Good” in individual and group events in each category i.e. visual, hearing, physical and developmental/ intellectual disability.

This year 96 youth with disabilities (visual disability, hearing disability, locomotor disability and intellectual disability/ developmental disorder) from 18 countries namely, India, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, UK and UAE participated in the

Thailand won maximum i.e. six awards followed by Philippines with five awards. India bagged three awards including Super Challenger awards. Manjot Singh from India won two awards in e-tool challenge and e-life map challenge under visual disability category whereasSaurav Kumar Sinha from India won the Super Challenger award.

The individual competition on e-tool and e-life mapping was held on 9th November, 2018 and the group competition event was completed on 10th November, 2018. Alongside the IT challenge competitions another parallel programme namely IT Forum was also organised to showcase the best practices followed by various participating countries regarding use of ICT for enhancing empowerment of persons with disabilities.

EPFO celebrates its 66th Foundation Day

Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State (I/C) for Labour & Employment praised the efforts of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for having digitalized the services to accelerate the claims settlement of EPFO beneficiaries in Provident Fund, Pension & Insurance, while inaugurating the 66th foundation day celebrations of EPFO in New Delhi. He said that the government is sincerely working to bring unorganized sector workers within the social security net. On this occasion, the Minister also inaugurated the online facility of “Claim Receipt Entry” at 117 District Offices of EPFO by integrating them digitally. It will help members to cut down upon long distance travels for claim submission. It will further help in checking the progress online.

The Government is giving 12 percent employer’s contribution (8.33% EPS+3.67% 12 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

EPF) for three years on new employees. More than one crore members have been added in the fold of EPFO & ESIC in last two years. He further said that he has asked officials to implement Grievance Redressal mechanism effectively and complete all the complaints and enquiry cases regarding employees in a time bound manner.

Heeralal Samariya, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment informed that now employees are getting all the claims online.

Employers are paying their contributions online and pensioners are getting life certificates digitally. He said that EPFO has also contributed in improving country’s ranking in ‘Ease of Doing Business’. He further said that EPFO has taken a long jump since its inception in 1952 and achieved various milestones in last 66 years.

www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 13

SPOI NEWS

Dharmendra Pradhan invites investors to participate in India's oil & gas growth story The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan has invited the private investors to participate and make the most of the India growth story. Speaking at the roadshow for Discovered Small Field-II bids in Abu Dhabi, he said that in the last four years, India has made giant strides in oil and gas sector, however the best is yet to come.

No country, international organization or company alone can go far without partnership and collaboration.

Pradhan said that India is presently the 3rd largest energy consumer in the world.

Energy consumption in India in the past decade has increased at a compound annual growth rate of more than 5%. In future too, energy consumption in India is expected to rise by more than 4% annually.

Globally, majority of the growth in energy demand is going to come from India.

“Our oil & gas demand is expected to increase nearly 3 fold from 229 Million Metric Tons currently to 607 Million Metric Tons in 2040. There are several bright prospects in upstream oil and gas sector in India,” he said.

The Minister said that the Government of India has undertaken measures to overhaul the policy framework encompassing the entire energy value chain

to ensure energy security for the country. One of the most important area of focus to ensure energy security is towards the E&P sector.

Both Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy and Discovered Small Fields Policy are progressive measures aimed at facilitating investment for exploration in Indian acreages.55 blocks spread across 10 sedimentary basins under maiden Bid Round of Open Acreages Licensing Policy wererecently awarded after a gap of 6 years.

Earlier in 2016, the Government had launched Discovered Small Fields Bid Round-I which was a sterling success with 30 contract areas being awarded to 20 companies. The successful completion of DSF Round-I and OALP-I has given immense confidence, and the second round of DSF and OALP are being launched. Describing this as an unparalleled opportunity, Pradhan said DSF II includes

NPCC is now recognised as Miniratna National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC) has been conferred with the status of Miniratna: Category –I by the Government of India. The empowerment of Miniratna Status to NPCC will help the company in taking speedy decisions by enhancing the delegation of powers to the Board.

NPCC, a schedule ‘B’ CPSE under the administrative control of Ministry of Water Resources RD & GR, has also been awarded ISO 9001:2015 Certification. The Corporation, incorporated in 1957, is a premier construction company having mandate with creation of infrastructure to provide impetus for economic development of the country. The Corporation is making continuous profit since 2009-10, having positive net worth for the last six years and has ambitious business plan with enhanced order book position of Rs. 1,1833 crore.

14 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

60 discoveries with an estimated in-place reserve of over 195 Million Metric Tons of Oil and Oil Equivalent Gas. OALP Bid Round II includes 14 Blocks with a total area of 29,233 Square Kilometer.

Pradhan said that the Government has also brought out various others policy reforms including such as Coal Bed Methane policy, incentivize Enhanced Recovery for augmenting production of oil and gas from matured fields, exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbon from all fields. He said that a state of the art National Data Repository has been set up which is a database of all the geo-scientific data of hydrocarbon resources in the country. National Data Repository is equipped with cutting edge technology and provides ready access to interested companies.

The Minister said that India accords high priority to promoting a gas based and clean economy. “Currently natural gas forms a relatively small share of our energy mix. Gas infrastructure projects of over 8 billion US dollars are under implementation across the country. We aim to increase share of natural gas in energy mix from current 6.5% to 15% by 2022. Going forward, we intend to create a robust natural gas trading hub. The process to formalise the concept has already been initiated by our Government,” he said.

SPOI NEWS

Advertising Bubble - Digital vs. Print The ad industry is constantly gathering user data, incessantly targeting, and paying the sites they use as little as possible. Users hate ads. While surfing online, it can be infuriating to see ads.

The digital advertising industry enjoyed years of lucrative and successful ad campaigns that were produced from the droves of user data made available by internet platforms. With internet majors like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, everything a person views, likes, follows, shares, and searches can be monetised and packaged into effective advertising campaigns. However, user data and digital platforms have been the bread and butter for advertising agencies for the better part of a decade, and that’s unlikely to change in the next year.

The time is approaching for the latest stages of the online advertising bubble, as available high-quality ad space is shrinking, leading to a decline ad space quality, and a decline of ad efficiency.

Awareness for fraud is growing, and soon clients will cut their online ad spending, and demand higher accountability. This will destroy the high-margin market of automated reselling worthless ad space, and will force advertisers to focus only on prime publishers, with expensive ad space.

Everyone has at least one ad blocker; browsers are building in anti-tracking features, and the government is stepping in to address

privacy through laws and regulations - particularly with new data privacy laws. The one left in the middle are the websites who are using the ads to help monetize their site and keep it free. Is there a relatively easy solution to satisfy the consumer and the sites?

The Wall Street Journal reported in March that the Senate vote allows “wireless and internet service providers such as Verizon, Comcast, and AT&T to share customers” online data with advertisers without consent. Everyone is raving about the blockchain’s potential to disrupt practically every industry imaginable, and the advertising industry is no different.

I do not think it will burst. A period of decline is likely. My biggest fear is that even good quality small sites will lose out, as it becomes simpler for advertisers to only deal with known quantities.

NALCO registers strong performance as H1 net profit jumps up by four-fold National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has once again repeated its strong performance by posting a turnover of Rs 5,952 crore in the first half of FY 2018-19, i.e. 42% growth over H1 of FY 2017-18. The net profit of the company has gone up from Rs.364 crore in H1 of the previous fiscal (2017-18) to Rs 1197 crore during the first half of 2018-19, registering a growth of 229%.

While the net profit of NALCO in the H1 of current fiscal has increased around three-fold, operating Profit of the company has increased more than four-fold, registering Rs.1624 crore in 2018-19 compared to Rs. 334 crore in H1 of FY 2017-18. EBITDA margin of the company during the period has doubled from 17 % to 34%.

Despite high volatility in alumina and aluminium markets due

to US Trade Sanctions etc., NALCO has been able to significantly improve its performance due to the new business model introduced by the company one and a half year back, which has helped in doubling its net profit during the last financial year 201718 and significant improvement further in Q1 of 2018-19, wherein NALCO registered a net profit of Rs.687 crore over Rs. 129 crore in Q1 2017-18. The performance of NALCO continued to be upbeat in Q2 of this fiscal. Under the New Business Model, the focus has been on reducing the specific consumption, cost reduction, production augmentation, strategic marketing in spot market etc.

The dedicated and determined Team NALCO, under the leadership of Dr. T.K. Chand, CMD is confident to post a record turnover and profit in FY 2018-19. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 15

SPOI NEWS

Prime Minister launches Ease of Doing Business Grand challenge Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has launched a Grand Challenge on resolving seven identified Ease of Doing Business problems with the use of cutting edge technologies. The objective of this Challenge is to tap the potential of young

Indians, start-ups and other private enterprises to provide solutions to complex problems using current technology.

Narendra Modi, at a programme organized at his residence, interacted with select CEOs from Indian & foreign companies. The Prime Minister apprised

CEOs of the efforts being made by the Government to ensure that India consistently improves its business environment. The Prime Minister reiterated his resolve to make India one of the easiest places to conduct business in the world. He congratulated all government officials from the reforming Ministries and Departments as well as states & municipal corporations for their achievements in the last 4 years and exhorted them to work towards reforms with greater zeal and energy.

Hartwig Schafer, Vice President, South Asia of the World Bank Group, also addressed the gathering and appreciated the enormity of India's achievement. He also stressed that it gets tougher to improve ranks as a country moves higher up in the ranking and expressed his belief that India will continue to maintain the momentum it has gained over the last four years in its efforts in improving Ease of Doing Business.

In the World Bank's Doing Business Report (DBR, 2019) released on 31st October 2018 India has recorded a jump of 23 positions against its rank of 100 in 2017 to be placed at 77th rank among 190 countries assessed by the World Bank.

As a result of continued efforts by the Government, India has improved its rank by 53 positions in the last two years and 65 positions in the last four years [2014-18].

Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley; Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu; Environment Minister, Harshvardhan and Housing & Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri were also present on this occasion

Conference on ‘Modernization of Police Communication and Challenges’ held The two-day Conference on ‘Modernization of Police Communication and Challenges’ happened in New Delhi, which was inaugurated by the Minister of State (IC), Ministry of Communication, Manoj Sinha. Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (DCPW), a nodal advisory body to the Ministry of Home Affairs for the Police Telecommunication in the country was organizing this Conference.

The conference is meant to provide a forum for deliberating various issues of Police communication in the Country and also to update with the technological developments.

Deliberations and presentations by eminent personalities of telecommunication field and also leading telecom manufacturers which include discussion on the Communication Challenges faced by State Police/UTs/CAPFs, Frequency Spectrum related issues for Police Communication, Encryption in Police Communication, Next Generation/Futuristic technology for Police Security, Induction of next generations of Software Defined Radio for different application in Police communication was held during the two day Conference.

The conference was attended by Heads of Police Communication of all States/UTs and CAPFs. The Senior Officers from Ministry of Home Affairs, Wireless Planning Commission, Department of Telecommunication, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Bharat Electronics Limited, Defence Electronics and Applied Laboratory and other reputed Organizations were also attending it.

Beside this, a number of Public Sector Undertakings, reputed OEM/Vendors presented exhibits on the topic and developments in the field of indigenous Police Communication Equipments.

16 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

SPOI NEWS

CSC to play a crucial role in shaping new India “Common Service Centers (CSC) are well placed to play umbilical cord role in the process of shaping new India where all services and incentives are available to the last man in the line at his door step” Union Minister of Electronics & IT and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad said while honouring VLEs who have topped in transacting.

Prasad added that there can be no other model which can ensure empowering of the rural people while protecting economic viability. He said CSC moment has reached a point of no return and it is bound to be a subject of research in the near future.

Prasad assured the participating VLEs that every effort was been made to find a way for further strengthening their engagement in the process of reaching masses through the use of Aadhar. They are the access points for delivery of various digital services to villages and rural areas across the country and contribute towards fulfilling the Government’s mandate of a digitally and financially inclusive society.

CSCs offer assisted access of e-services to citizens with a focus on enhancing governance. CSCs also deliver a range of social welfare schemes, financial

services, education and skill development courses, healthcare, agriculture services and digital literacy. He said CSC SPV as a Corporate Banking Correspondent has signed agreement with 26 Banks (Public Sector Banks, Regional Rural and Private Sector Banks) for enabling CSCs to become Banking Correspondent Agents / Customer Service Points.

CSC SPV has partnered with the

country's retail payment platform NPCI to launch Aadhaar-enabled payment system in January 2016. This service facilitates disbursement of government entitlements like payment under MGNREGA, social security pension, handicapped and old age pensions of any central or state government bodies, using Aadhaar authentication.

At present, withdrawal as well as deposit facilities are available through CSCs under

this system.CSC SPV has been granted license by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to market specific insurance products and services through Rural Authorised Persons (VLEs).

The services include - Life Insurance, Motor Insurance, Crop Insurance, Health Insurance, Cattle Insurance, and Personal Accident Insurance from 37 Insurance companies.

With the aim to provide grass root level access points for health consultation among the communities and effect a behaviour change among communities to seek preventive healthcare, CSC offers a range of healthcare services tele-consultations, diagnostic services and affordable generic medicines through Jan Aushadhi Stores. CSC is offering video based tele-consultation service in allopathy, Ayurvedic and homeopathy systems throughout India at affordable rates, through the platform of Digital Seva Portal. They also partnered with BPPI to set up generic medicine stores under the Jan Aushadhi Scheme at CSCs, with an aim to improve access to affordable and quality medicines for citizens in rural and remote areas.

550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Devji celebrated The Government of India has commemorated the 550th Birth Anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji from November, 2018 at national as well as international level in a befitting manner. The year-long celebration starting November 23rd this year will include a number of commemorative as well as constructive activities will be taken up during the commemoration period.

A number of religious activities like kirtan, katha, prabhat pheri, langar and educational activities such as seminars, workshops, lectures etc. will be organised.

SGPC, Amritsar will be the knowledge partner of the Government of India.

Commemorative coin and postage stamp will also be released.

Chairs in the name of Sh. Guru Nanak Dev Ji will be set up in UK and Canada.

An international seminar will also be organised. A National Institute of Inter Faith Studies will be set up in Punjab. Doordarshan, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha TVs will do the live telecast programmes on Sh. Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Gurubani in different Indian and world languages will be published.

www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 17

LEAD STORY

EMERGING START-UP ECOSYSTEM IN INDIA The start-up ecosystem in India has finally picked up pace, now that it is the 2rd largest in the world and is expected to witness YoY growth of 10-12%. As per the figures of the Govt. of India, there are 20,000 start-ups in India, with around 4,750 of them being technology led startups. 1,400 new tech startups were born in 2016 alone, implying that there are 3-4 tech startups born every day.

Bangalore has also been listed within the world’s 20 leading startup cities in the 2015 Startup Genome Project ranking. It is also ranked as one of the world’s five fastest growing startup cities.

Along with start-ups, venture capital investments have also picked up in India. As per KPMG, the start-up ecosystem saw over $2.5 billion investment in the third quarter of 2018, which was almost double from over $1 billion invested in the second quarter. Despite the increase, this is half of the $5 billion invested in the third quarter of 2017. The report says that India saw a quarter on quarter increase in VC investment buoyed by $1 billion raised by hotel booking company Oyo Rooms to finance its expansion into China.

As per another report by Innoven Capital, leading factors that make India appealing as a startup nation are- Cost of doing business, Proximity to customers/vendors, and Size of domestic market. While 7 million college students graduate come out every year, 55% of the youth prefer working in startups over corporates.

It has also seen that online marketplaces continued to gain a lot of traction in India. The country is witnessing a rapid rise in the B2B tech startup landscape, focused on verticals like health-tech, fintech, and ecommerce/aggregators. Investments in startups across segments such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Fintech, Logistics and Software as a Service (SaaS) touched $6.1 billion, with investment in 575 firms since 2016. Till now fintech topped the chart in terms of funding with $4.4 billion, followed by logistics at $838 million.

We have seen some interesting start-ups come up in Kerala, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and Pune and present a list of a few start-up companies from each of these places-

COMPANY

PROMOTER

SOLUTION OFFERINGS

HYDERABAD

H-Bots Robotics

Syntizen

Ayasta

18 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org STICHIO

Kisshhan Psv, Founder & CEO

H-Bots helps enterprises reimagine their businesses for the digital age, offers an integrated portfolio of products, solutions , services and Research space built around Digital, IoT, Automation, Analytics, Hardware prototyping amongst others website: h-bots.com

Vamsi Kotte, CEO

Syntizen’s solutions are being used by various clients and huge numbers of e-KYC, Authentications and SMS’s are being used for their business purposes. Syntizen provides a Network Operations Centre (NOC) for smooth operations of Aadhaar & NSDL’s transactions website: syntizen.com

Ravi Teja Avasarala, Founder

Ayasta is an enterprise focused IoT startup working on Digitising Electrical building a proprietary platform called CEGMA, a culmination of sensors, Machine Learning and Computer VIsion to monitor, analyse and detect anomalies in the electrical systems both inside a given facility and outside in the electrical grid website: ayasta.com

Vivek Aalok, Co-founder

STICHIO is a first-of-its-kind social network that offers a large assortment of readily available ideas in the form of DARES or challenges. These challenges can range from fun, talent,

Ayasta

COMPANY

Ravi Teja Avasarala, Founder

PROMOTER HYDERABAD

STICHIO

Vivek Aalok, Co-founder

H-Bots Robotics

Kisshhan Psv, Founder & CEO

Digitising Electrical building a proprietary platform called CEGMA, a culmination of sensors, Machine Learning and Computer VIsion to monitor, analyse and detect anomalies in the electrical systems both inside a given facility and outside in the electrical grid website: ayasta.com

SOLUTION OFFERINGS

STICHIO is a first-of-its-kind social network that offers a large assortment of readily available ideas intheir the businesses form of DARES H-Bots helps enterprises reimagine for or challenges.

These challenges can range fromoffun, talent, the digital age, offers an integrated portfolio products, fitness, and puzzles totally outrageous solutions services andto Research space builtones around website: stichio.co.in Digital, IoT, Automation, Analytics, Hardware prototyping amongst others website: h-bots.com

Wozart Technologies Syntizen

COMPANY

Nikhil Mandalika, Vice President and co-founder Vamsi Kotte, CEO

PROMOTER GURGAON

Wozart Technologies is an IoT startup that has built a wireless home automation and Apple Homekit licensed product.

It solutions provides OS integration with smart devices Syntizen’s arelevel being used by various clients and providing future proof home automation product absolute huge numbers of e-KYC, Authentications andand SMS’s are data privacy andtheir military grade encrypted communication being used for business purposes.

Syntizen provides protocol through the usage of iCloud communication a Network Operations Centre (NOC)for fordata smooth operations website: wozart.com OFFERINGS ofSOLUTION Aadhaar & NSDL’s transactions website: syntizen.com

Joe Hukum Ayasta

Arihant Jain (Co-founder) Ravi Teja Avasarala, Founder

Ayasta is an enterprise focused IoT startup working on Joe HukumElectrical sets out with a vision of buildingplatform the mostcalled cutting Digitising building a proprietary edge technology aroundofchat automation, platformand that CEGMA, a culmination sensors, MachineaLearning helps businesses build their own Computer VIsion to monitor, analyse andchatbots detect anomalies in the electricalwebsite: systems joehukum.com both inside a given facility and outside in the electrical grid website: ayasta.com

One Labs STICHIO

Rahul Gupta, CEOAalok, and Co-founder Vivek Co-founder

One Labs flagship product ‘inOne’ is a services STICHIO is a first-of-its-kind social network that offers a large conglomerate and transaction engine app to get Movies, assortment of readily available ideas in the form of DARES or Shop, Groceries, Cabs, Home Services and more within challenges. These challenges can range from fun, talent, a single app fitness and puzzles to totally outrageous ones website: onelabs.com website: stichio.co.in

GAMOOZ Wozart Technologies

Nikhil Mandalika, Vice President and Gaurav Wadhwa, Founder & CEO co-founder

GAMOOZ is an Interactive Books Platform based Wozart Technologies is an IoT startup that has builton a Augmented Reality.

Studentsand canApple scan pages inlicensed a book to wireless home automation Homekit reveal hidden content, which helps them in learning more product.

It provides OS level integration with smart devices from thefuture bookproof and allows Book Publishers to add fun and providing home automation product and absolute interactivity to their books communication data privacy and military grade encrypted website: gamooz.com protocol through the usage of iCloud for data communication website: wozart.com

NIKSUN

Parag Pruthi, Founder, Chairman & CEO

NIKSUN is a provider of real-time, forensics-based cyber security and network monitoring solutions to secure critical infrastructure, optimize service delivery and reduce compliance risks website: niksun.com

Ashish Kashyap, Founder

INDwealth is an AI and machine learning-based wealth management and advisory platform that aims to provide solutions to investors ranging from wealth management, investments, micro-savings, taxation, lending, expense management, and portfolio management website: indwealth.net

INDwealth

KERALA

CAT CyberLabs

Aspirantz InfoSec

Amarnath Sankar, Co-Founder & CEO

CAT CyberLabs is a provider of training programmes which cover public lectures, presentations and seminars on Cyber Security & Ethical Hacking

Suraj Kumar, Founder

Aspirantz InfoSec is a provider of intensive, immersion security services that cover ethical Hacking, Penetration Testing, Information Security, Network Security, Web Security and range of certifications in different security domains Website: aspirantz.in

www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 19

LEAD STORY

Aspirantz InfoSec

COMPANY

Suraj Kumar, Founder

Aspirantz InfoSec is a provider of intensive, immersion security services that cover ethical Hacking, Penetration Testing, Information Security, Network Security, Web Security and range of certifications in different security domains Website: aspirantz.in

PROMOTER

SOLUTION OFFERINGS

HYDERABAD Mirox Cyber Security

Rajesh Babu, Founder

H-Bots Robotics

Kisshhan Psv, Founder & CEO

EyeROV

Syntizen

Johns T Mathai, CEO

Vamsi Kotte, CEO

Qwave

Gopakumar Parameswaran, Founder & CEO

Ayasta

Ravi Teja Avasarala, Founder

COMPANY

PROMOTER

CHANDIGARH

iNVERTEDI STICHIO

ActiFend Wozart Technologies

Ketan Sharma CEO & Co-founder Vivek Aalok, Co-founder

Sastry Tumuluri, CEO Nikhil Mandalika, Vice President and co-founder

Mirox Cyber Security is a provider of IT Security and Networking Solutions which also cover training and development H-Bots helps enterprises reimagine their businesses for services to Banking, Insurance, Healthcare, Research center, the digital age, offers an integrated portfolio of products, IT, Government and other key sectors solutions , services and Research space built around Website: miroxindia.com Digital, IoT, Automation, Analytics, Hardware prototyping amongst others website: h-bots.com EyeROV is a cost-effective underwater rover that works up to a depth of 100m. It can be easily controlled Syntizen’s solutions are being A used by various and using a laptop or a joystick. camera fitted clients on to the huge numbers of e-KYC, and SMS’s are underwater drone (ROV),Authentications gives a live video feed of the being used for their businessenvironment purposes. Syntizen provides underwater a Network Operations Centre (NOC) for smooth operations Website: eyerov.com of Aadhaar & NSDL’s transactions website: syntizen.com Qwave works with Silicon Vendors, Product Companies, End Ayasta is an enterprise focused IoT startup working on Users and Start-up companies dealing with Architecture, Digitising Electrical building a proprietary platform called Design and Development of innovative hardware systems CEGMA, a culmination of sensors, Machine Learning and Website: qwaveinc.com Computer VIsion to monitor, analyse and detect anomalies in the electrical systems both inside a given facility and SOLUTION OFFERINGS outside in the electrical grid website: ayasta.com

iNVERTEDI is a mobile application development domain STICHIOon is adeveloping first-of-its-kind social network that varied offers atype large working customized apps and of assortment of readily available ideas in the form resources of DARES or software for enterprises to manage businesses challenges.

These challenges canetc. range from fun, talent, accounts and inventory efficiently fitness and Website: puzzles toinverted.com totally outrageous ones website: stichio.co.in

Wozart Technologies is an IoT startup that has built a ActiFnd is an enterprise class web security – deployed in the wireless home automation and Apple Homekit licensed cloud as a shared resource combines thewith power of a full SIEM product.

It provides OS level integration smart devices tool alongfuture with proof Incident Response collaboration capabilities providing home automation product and absolute thatprivacy will helpand defenses relevant well into the future data militarystay grade encrypted communication protocol through the usage of iCloud for data communication website: wozart.com

Aseem Ghavri, Co-founder & CEO

Code Brew Labs is an award winning mobile app development company that excels in working with alien computing technology. Build identities and experiences to elevate and empower organizations with computing technology Website: code-brew.com

Click Labs

Samar Singla, Founder

Click Labs provides mobile strategists, designs and develops, dedicated to help companies of all sizes leverage the exciting and dynamic world of application development and solution consultation Website: click-labs.com

MobiProbe

Manish Kumar, Founder and Technical Architect

MobiProbe is a space grade, malleable, realtime, performance and engagement measurement workbench for connected devices, systems and applications Website: mobiprobe.com

Code Brew Labs

PUNE 20 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org Delta Proactive Risk Management is a provider of

INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Russia, India and China hold Trilateral Meet Prime Minister Modi, President Vladimir V Putin of Russian Federation and President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China held a Trilateral Meeting in Buenos Aires.

The three leaders exchanged views on expanding mutual cooperation in international forums, and to encourage greater interaction among the three countries. They agreed on the importance of reform and strengthening of multilateral institutions which have benefitted the world, including the United Nations, WTO and well-established as well as new global financial institutions. They underscored the benefits of a multilateral trading system and an open world economy for global growth and prosperity.

The three leaders also agreed to have regular consultations at all levels to jointly promote international and regional peace and stability, to strengthen cooperation through BRICS, SCO and EAS mechanisms, to address global challenges such as terrorism and climate change, and to encourage peaceful resolution of all differences.

The three leaders acknowledged the importance of cooperation in RIC format and have agreed to hold further such trilateral meetings on multilateral occasions.

Trump administration's H1-B proposal may hurt US firms: NASSCOM US government's latest proposal that will require H1-B visa seeking firms to electronically register their petitions in advance will lead to "uncertainties" and could put US jobs at risk, according to NASSCOM that has raised concerns over this new policy.

It will have strong implications for US companies and the economy, NASSCOM said.

The Trump administration had proposed major changes to the H-1B application process, including a new rule requiring companies to electronically register their petitions in advance, aimed at awarding this popular American work visa to the most skilled and highest paid foreign workers.

"There is not much time between now and when the next H-1B lottery season opens in April 2019. Companies have already begun assessing their needs and planning their submissions for next year, so we are concerned about the uncertainties that could arise as the government seeks to implement another major change in the H-1B process during that timeframe," NASSCOM said in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security said public comments on the proposed rule may be submitted starting December 3, when the proposed rule publishes in the Federal Register, and must be received on or before January 2.

"To the extent US policy makes it more difficult and costlier for global IT service companies to provide their expertise in the US, it will weaken the US companies that depend on them to help fill their skills gaps. Contrary to what is intended, this action could

put US jobs at risk and create pressure to send more IT work abroad, rather than performing it in the US," NASSCOM said. It would affect all companies employing H-1B workers.

NASSCOM said its members are already investing billions of dollars in the US, employing more than 1.5 lakh people, and spending millions of dollars on up skilling programmes. It is important that they and others continue to have access to the necessary talent.

The H1-B visa, a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise has numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the US Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the cap.

Under the new rule, the USCIS would also reverse the order by which it selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption.

According to DHS, the proposed process would result in an estimated increase of up to 16 per cent (or 5,340 workers) in the number of selected H-1B beneficiaries with a master's degree or higher from a US institution of higher education.

The USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) said it expects that shifting to electronic registration would reduce overall costs for petitioners and create a more efficient and costeffective H-1B cap petition process for the agency. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 21

EVENT

DIGITAL DISRUPTION & TRANSFORMATION RULE THE ROOST

AT THE 17TH STAR NITE AWARDS 2018 {From L to R): S N Tripathi, Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs - Govt. of India; Manjit Nayak, Addl. Director - STPI; C P Gurnani, MD & Chief Executive - Tech Mahindra; Dr. Deepak Kr. Sahu, Publisher - VARINDIA; Shyam Jaju, Vice President - BJP; S Mohini Ratna, Editor - VARINDIA; Vipin Tyagi, Executive Director - C Dot; A N Rai, Advisor to Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Railways, Govt. of India; Deepak Chanduka, Deputy Director General - DoT, Govt. of India and Alok Gupta, Managing Director - Unistal

The most coveted IT Awards Nite – the 17th edition of VARINDIA Star Nite Awards 2018 concluded in the capital city of New Delhi amidst the presence of the who’s who of the ICT industry. The event provided a platform for all to discuss latest technological disruptions that are going on in the Information Technology industry, technical presentations and also business networking The evening commenced with the lamp lighting ceremony that was graced by dignitaries including S N Tripathi, Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs - Govt. of India; Manjit Nayak, Addl.

Director - STPI; C P Gurnani, MD & Chief Executive - Tech Mahindra; Dr. Deepak Kr. Sahu, Publisher - VARINDIA; Shyam Jaju, Vice President - BJP; S Mohini Ratna, Editor - VARINDIA; Vipin Tyagi, Executive Director - C Dot; A N Rai, Advisor to Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Railways, Govt. of India; Deepak Chanduka, Deputy Director General - DoT, Govt. of India and Alok Gupta, Managing Director - Unistal. The presence of all these dignitaries raised the 22 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

bar to a different level never witnessed earlier.

Dr. Deepak Sahu, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Kalinga Digital Media in his evening welcome speech highlighted that India is becoming the global hub for manufacturing, the measures taken by the government will surely grow confidence amongst the manufacturers which will eventually create business opportunities. “Unique IDs for companies will definitely go a long way in contributing towards interest of the nation and increasing transparency by corporate. The iconic BharatNet project, where the government’s announcement to promote digitization through greater connectivity will fuel uptake for collaboration and remote

IT MAN OF THE YEAR C P Gurnani, CEO & Managing Director-Tech Mahindra receiving the IT Man of The Year award from S. N. Tripathy, Secretary,Parliamentary Affairs, GoI; Shyam Jaju, Vice President-BJP;

A N Rai, Advisor-Minister of Communications and MoS RailwaysGoI and Dr. Deepak Sahu, Publisher & Chief Editor-VARINDIA

“So what does Digital India means to India? I would ask everyone to reflect on what has actually changed – it is a fact that the world has changed as digital transformation started taking shape. Along with this the type of leadership that is required will also change, as it has changed like what it was in 1960's. The reality is that the fundamentals of leadership is going to remain the same - the fundamentals of leadership has always been about having a mission, a vision and having the capabilities of harnessing the resources that are available to you and deliver extraordinary results, beyond the expectations of a normal individual. But now words like digital, information technology, communication have come in and they all got converged.

And we have seen this convergence reflected in the initiatives of the PM – be it his ‘Mann ki Baat’ or his portal.”

working solutions resulting in a more productive and connected India.”

In her keynote address, S Mohini Ratna, Editor – VARINDIA said that India will remain the top-most offshoring destination for IT companies across the world. “In order to prove capabilities in delivering both on-shore and off-shore services to global clients, leading IT firms like Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Accenture are diversifying their offerings and showcasing leading ideas in blockchain, artificial intelligence to clients using innovation hubs, research and development centres, in order to create differentiated offerings.”

C P Gurnani, MD & Chief Executive – Tech Mahindra, who was the special guest at this year’s event was honoured as the IT Man of the Year by VARINDIA. In his speech, Gurnani while lauding VARINDIA’s contribution in propagating the PM’s vision of Digital India explained how this ambitious initiative can be turned into a reality.

S N Tripathi, Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs – Govt. of India in his speech said that today is the age of ‘Dataway’, or like PM Modi calls it as the ‘Infoway’, which can literally take anyone literally anywhere if it is able to be managed.

A N Rai, Advisor to Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Railways, Govt. of India while addressing the guests said that he belongs to a profession that is related to connectivity and that this connectivity is not always visible to the

people as they are in the background.

Shyam Jaju, Vice President – BJP while highlighting the special initiatives of the BJP govt. said that he came to Delhi at that time when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the PM of India, when trunk or STD calls used to be made to call relatives and friends staying far-off, but a lot of revolution has taken place in the telecommunication field post that.

In the corporate presentation Hursh Chetan, Consultant – Solutions Presales Group, HPE spoke about various initiatives of Hewlett Packard Enterprises.

In the Tech Talk session, Shailendra Mandrawadkar, VP – Enterprise Sales – Happay; Sunil Sharma, MD (Sales) – Sophos and Harsha Bennur, Enterprise and Government Marketing Lead – India, NetApp presented their respective company’s transformation process and its key growth and success factors.

Like every year, Star Nite Awards took the opportunity to recognize the Chief Marketing Officers (CMO), and the top performing IT Vendors (Corporates) serving the Indian ICT Industry. The Awards Nite saw 11 CMOs being recognised.

The top CMOs felicitated during the event ceremony are from NetApp, Adobe, Lenovo, NVIDIA, Suse, HPE, Barco, Netmagic, Seagate, UiPath and Veeam.

In the vendor award ceremony, close to 40 vendors have been recognized in various categories, based on the feedback received through an online voting from channel partners and VARs. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 23

EVENT S N Tripathi Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs – Govt. of India “I always believe in one simple philosophy - One mile of road can lead you to cover only one mile. But one mile of runway can take you anywhere.

Today is the age of ‘Dataway’ or ‘Infoway’ as our PM calls it. Data is involved with anything and everything today. Our work is to manage the state but that too involves data – how will citizens react to certain policies, laws & rules, what kind of policies should be made by the govt. and so on. My Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has come up with an e-Vidhan application where we are going to give you instant access to all the 31 assemblies in India, both Houses of Parliament and 7 councils.”

A N Rai Advisor to Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Railways, Govt. of India “For citizens to know what initiatives the govt. is taking it is very important to understand what projects are being undertaken. One just lucrative project is the BharatNet. The project will help the industry to serve the people in remotest of areas. We have achieved good success and have reached more than 1 lakh villages. We plan to cover roughly 2 lakh Gram Panchayats by March next year.

The moment we expand our activities, the maintenance too becomes very critical.

Once people are used to making payments through their smartphones, they want that service to be available 24 hours. For that maintenance capabilities have to increase and I request the industry to come up with better methods, technologies for keeping the maintenance at a much higher level than it is today.”

Shyam Jaju Vice President BJP “This was in 2001, when STD calls or Trunk calls used to be made to keep in touch with friends and relatives staying far-off. There has been so much revolution after that in the field of telecommunication. STD booths are not visible anymore but you will find a mobile phone in everyone’s palm today. The mobile industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India and no industry has seen such a pace as this industry. And the biggest contribution has been of our PM Modi, who in his words has said, ‘it is not just sufficient to run a country but it is also our responsibility to take this nation ahead. And the initiatives that helped in spurring this revolution go endless - the Jan-Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar unification number, penetration of smartphones that has further helped the world to come closer and so on.”

24 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

Harsha Bennur Enterprise and Government Marketing Lead – India, NetApp “The industry is transforming and the IT landscape is changing. Customers want to leverage the power of hybrid and multi cloud while continuing to utilize the current infrastructure they have in their environment. 65% of the businesses are adopting a cloud-first model and in that 80% are using a multi-cloud environment. So customers will have an Azure or AWS or Google Cloud and have data in multiple places. So how would you move your data from one place to another given data security is a major concern nowadays? Netapp with its Data Fabric architecture enables customers to move their data seamlessly from one cloud to another. It’s just at the click of a button that you can move your data from AWS to Google Cloud.”

Sunil Sharma MD (Sales) – Sophos “Sophos is the name that has made cyber security simple and we truly believe in this theory. We as a company are into the cyber security business, based out of more than 130 countries headquartered at Abingdon, UK. As of today we provide end-to-end security and our revenue is roughly $800 million as per last audited report. We have so many OEM partners who buy from us and then they sell to partners like you and you sell to customers. Everyone is talking about security, but until you have your network and endpoint security talking to each other and you have one dashboard which a customer can control it from his mobile app, you cannot call yourself to be providing security.”

Shailendra Mandrawadkar VP – Enterprise Sales – Happay “Happay is leading the technological revolution in India. And it is true that financial technology has grown as an industry today. Just recently PM Modi had been to Singapore attending a Fintech event and he hinted at why and how the fintech is the next big thing.

And Happay as a company is doing a lot of innovative work in the fintech area. Companies going forward are going to spend a lot of money in the fintech domain. So if you want to get a big share of the pie in the revolution happening, you must look at partnering with fintech companies. Today a lot of the start-ups that are coming up in the fintech space.

There are also companies that are spending a lot to automate & digitize their travel and expense management. So as partners you too can explore this space.”

Hursh Chetan Consultant – Solutions Presales Group, HPE “The need for data has always been there. People have been using data to collect information and use it for different purpose. With the advent of multiple technologies, it is feasible today to collect data at more regular intervals and people can now slice, dice and look at this data and use it more beneficially at a faster, better reach and pace.

When such information is available for people, they start thinking and start using that information to transform the way they work. The transformational forces when they run on the foundation of digital technologies can be called as digital transformation.

There are 3 parts to HPE’s digital transformation – people transformation, talent pool transformation and IT transformation.” www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 25

EVENT

8

From Left-to-Right: Krishna Raj Sharma, Director & CEO - iValue InfoSolutions; Rajesh Kaul, Senior Director - Tech Data India; Amalendu Mukherjee, Managing Director - Fourth Dimension Solutions; Alok Gupta, President - PCAIT; Champak Raj Gurjar, President - FAAITA; S Mohini Ratna, Editor - VARINDIA; Dr. Deepak Kr. Sahu, Publisher - VARINDIA; N K Mehta, MD & CEO - Secure Network Solutions; Rajiv Kapoor, Vice President, India & SAARC - Cambium Networks; Bharat Sharma, Director, Presales - India & SAAC - Cambium Networks; and Pradeep Suri - Partner Business Manager - VMware India

VARINDIA'S 17TH ANNUAL STAR NITE AWARDS WITNESSES VAR SYMPOSIUM This year’s VAR Symposium provides opportunities for India’s Top 100 VARs to learn about RPA, Virtualisation, opportunities in Wi-Fi and its implications on the channel growth and newer business opportunities The VAR Symposium 2018 that concluded at Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi on 23rd November has been specially designed to create a conducive platform for discerning industry folks to converse, learn, and disseminate knowledge & ideas. The daylong session included discussions on new business strategies to discover how to capitalize emerging customer needs. The main attraction of this year’s event was the presence of the 110+ CEOs from the VAR community including system integrators, solution partners, IT service providers, VADs and VARs from across the country, who converged under one roof to share ideas and drive discussion on the topic of Digital Disruption that is already shaping the industry. The event witnessed 4 Corporates giving their presentations on their service offerings that includes VMware, Schneider Electric, UiPath and Cambium Networks.

The theme for this year’s event was "Accelerating Digital Transformation”, around which most of the discussions revolved.

The event started with the lamp lighting in the presence of guests Rajiv Kapoor, Vice President, India & SAARC – Cambium Networks; Bharat Sharma, Director, Presales – India & SAAC – Cambium Networks; Ranjan Kumar, GM – Schneider Electric IT Business India; Champak Raj Gurjar, President – FAAITA; Alok Gupta, President – PCAIT; Pradeep Suri – Partner Business Manager – VMware India; Krishna Raj Sharma, Director & CEO – iValue InfoSolutions ; Dr. Deepak Kr. Sahu, Publisher – VARINDIA and S Mohini Ratna, Editor – VARINDIA. The event commenced with the welcome speech given by Deepak Sahu, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Kalinga Digital Media. He has highlighted the fact of how technology companies are rapidly expanding their portfolios through R&D or acquisition to provide new services to their clients. “Facebook is developing Messenger to become its search platform. Google is architecting a fiber connectivity network. Dell bought EMC to create an end-to-end hardware and software powerhouse. Similarly, convergence is driving the VAR industry as telecom companies incorporate leading routing and security services into their connectivity offerings. Now even cloud service providers are providing the market solutions directly to the end client. This brings newer opportunity to the VARs and Partners.”

In the corporate presentations, Pradeep Suri, Partner Business Manager – VMware India spoke about how technology is transforming every industry and businesses are slowly going digital and how as a channel-friendly company is VMWare helping partners achieve this.

Ashutosh Kapoor, VP – Partnership, UiPath Inc. introduced RPA (Robotic Process Automation) to the partners and that a common enterprise RPA starting point is Finance and Accounting.

Bharat Sharma, Director – Presales (India & SAARC) – Cambium Networks in his presentation said that LTE, 5G can be a very good backhaul option for wi-fi indoor and outdoor coverage, but the second option for partners and wireless service providers is to offer wi-fi-as-a-service or connectivity-as-a-service Ranjan Kumar GM – Schneider Electric IT Business India said that Schneider always talks about IT being on and everything on real time, while also ensuring that customers and their infrastructure always remains on.

A total of 100 awards were given in different categories of Best Wi-Fi Partner, Best Smart City Solution Partner, Best Networking Partner, Best System Integrators, Best Solution Partner, Best Retailer, Best IT Service Provider, Best Sub Distributor, Best VADs, and Best Security Partner.

While 7 partners were awarded as the Best Wi-Fi Partners, 2 as the Best Smart City Solution Partners, 2 as the Best Networking Partners, 23 partners were awarded as the Best System Integrators, 26 as the Best Solution Partners, 3 Best Retailers, 14 Best IT Service Providers, 14 Best Sub-Distributors, 6 Best Value Added Distributors and 11 Best Security Partners.

26 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

BHARAT SHARMA

Director – Presales (India & SAARC) – Cambium Networks Our motive at Cambium is to connect the unconnected. Our idea is to build smart cities and smart villages. A total of 3.5 billion people are already connected through one or other medium but at the same time there are 4 billion people who are unconnected and that’s the addressable market for us. So we have a solution for them – either wi-fi or RF to connect them to the network.

There are lots of initiatives taken by the govt. of India as alone one technology cannot do it. There are a mix of different technologies that people are using - LTE, wi-fi and fixed broadband are a few of them. The govt. is also bullish about 5G now, and is ready to install hotspots in villages.

ASHUTOSH KAPOOR

VP – Partnership, UiPath Inc. I call RPA (Robotic Process Automation) as the ‘new age’ of software enterprise business. 2 years from now, this is what customers would want to know. Its idea is simple - anything that can be repeatedly done, why should a human do it and why can’t we put a robot. UiPath is all about software robots. Every time you come across terms like AI, financial & accounting (F&A), or payroll processing, or any other automated jobs, normally you employ full time employees. But people are increasingly putting software bots now that has an intelligence at the back-end.

Most companies have deployed F&A, because that’s the place where maximum automation takes place. But its scope is there in every department and not just confined to F&A.

MOHIT GUPTA

AGM, Sales – Schneider Electric Business India At Schneider I drive a program called ‘Digital Channel Transformation’, through which we are digitally transforming the channel eco-system. Our partner portal has different offerings for every channel partner that helps in increasing profitability, and business. We have 4 categories of partners and have 4000 partners listed, with around 12,000 partner contacts registered on our portal. First is the Registered Partner for which no certification is required; second is the Select Partner from which we start launching the profitability programs (we have close to 500+ Select Partners; next comes the Premier Partners and finally the Elite Partners (we have 25 of them in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh put together). The last two category of partners are directly managed by the Schneider Electric.

RANJAN KUMAR

GM – Schneider Electric IT Business India Schneider always talks about IT being on and accessing everything real-time. We ensure that the customers’ IT infrastructure is on, and so provide the fiscal layer in IT to insure all the IT infrastructures are on. Technology changes is fueling innovations. Nowadays everything is accessible through a mobility device on our palm, cloud is the buzzword and whatever we are accessing we are doing it through cloud most of the time. Then we also have sensing which is an important aspect because we are talking about a lot of IoT products. Schneider is one of the leaders in terms of IoT connectivity in the industry. We also have a lot of sensors.

While sensing we also generate a lot of data and then we analyse it and then we talk about securing that data.

PRADEEP SURI

Partner Business Manager – VMware India Digital transformation is all about creating the newer possibilities for our own respective businesses. It is driven by the desire for innovation, better ways of productivity, improved business models which leads to greater revenues and new customer experiences and interesting ways of engaging with the customers. According to a recent report, India stood at 88th position about 18 months back in terms of internet data usage globally. Thanks to Reliance Jio, we are today at No. 1 position; this is how we have completely transformed in terms of how we consume data today.

Technology is transforming every industry, whether it has to do with media, banking, telecom, healthcare, IT-ITeS, etc. Take for example in banking, with help of technology it has become very convenient to do any banking transactions online without any hassle.

www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 27

SPOI REVIEW

PM launches 59 programmes for the MSME sector Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled 12 key initiatives and outreach programme for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, which will help the growth, expansion and facilitation of MSMEs across the country. It will mark a new chapter for the MSME sector. Noting that MSMEs are one of the principal employment generators in India, the Prime Minister recalled the glorious Indian traditions of small scale industry, including Ludhiana’s hosiery and Varanasi’s sarees.

The Prime Minister said that the success of economic reforms launched by the Union Government, can be gauged from the rise in India's “Ease of Doing Business Rankings,” from 142 to 77 in four years. There are five key aspects for facilitating the MSME sector, which include access to credit, access to market, technology upgradation, ease of doing business, and a sense of security for employees. He said that as a Diwali gift for the sector, the 12 announcements he is making will address each of these five categories.

Access to Credit As the first announcement, the Prime Minister announced the launch of the 59 minute loan portal to enable easy access to credit for MSMEs. He said that loans up to Rs. 1 crore can be granted inprinciple approval through this portal, in just 59 minutes. He said a link to this portal will be made available through the GST portal.

The Prime Minister asserted that in New India, no one should be compelled to visit a bank branch repeatedly.

The Prime Minister mentioned the second announcement as a 2 percent interest subvention for all GST registered MSMEs, on fresh or incremental loans. For exporters who receive loans in the pre-shipment and post-shipment period, the Prime Minister announced an increase in interest rebate from 3 percent to 5 percent.

28 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

The third announcement made by the Prime Minister was that all companies with a turnover more than Rs. 500 crore, must now compulsorily be brought on the Trade Receivables e-Discounting System (TReDS). He said that joining this portal will enable entrepreneurs to access credit from banks, based on their upcoming receivables. This will resolve their problems of cash cycle.

According to Pawan Gupta - founder & CEO, Connect2India,“This was much required for the MSMEs, so it's indeed a welcome step from the Government. Easy access to Capital would allow SMEs not only to sustain and scale their businesses, but will also aid them to embrace innovation and actively collaborate in global value chains.”

Access to Markets The Prime Minister said that on access to markets for entrepreneurs, the Union Government has taken a number of steps already. In this context, he made his fourth announcement that public sector companies have now been asked to compulsorily procure 25 percent, instead of 20 percent of their total purchases, from MSMEs. The Prime Minister said his fifth announcement is related to women entrepreneurs. He said that out of the 25 percent procurement mandated from MSMEs, 3 percent must now be reserved for women entrepreneurs.

The Prime Minister said that more than 1.5 lakh suppliers have now registered with GeM, out of which 40,000 are MSMEs. He said transactions worth more than Rs. 14,000 crore have been made so far through GeM. He said the sixth announcement is that all public sector undertakings of the Union Government must now compulsorily be a part of GeM. He said they should also get all their vendors registered on GeM.

Technology Upgradation Coming to technological upgradation, the Prime Minister said that tool rooms across the country are a vital part of product design. His seventh announcement was that 20 hubs will be formed across the country, and 100 spokes in the form of tool rooms will be established.

Ease of Doing Business On Ease of Doing Business, the Prime Minister said his eighth announcement is related to pharma companies. He said clusters will be formed of pharma MSMEs. He said 70 percent cost of establishing these clusters will be borne by the Union Government.

The Prime Minister said that the ninth announcement is on simplification of government procedures, return under 8 labour laws and that 10 Union regulations must now be filed only once a year.

The Prime Minister said that the tenth announcement is that now the establishments to be visited by an Inspector will be decided through a computerised random allotment.

The Prime Minister noted that as part of establishing a unit, an entrepreneur needs two clearances namely, environmental clearance and consent to establish. He said that the eleventh announcement is that under air pollution and water pollution laws, now both these have been merged as a single consent. He further said that the return will be accepted through self-certification.

As the twelfth announcement, the Prime Minister mentioned that an Ordinance has been brought, under which for minor violations under the Companies Act, the entrepreneur will no longer have to approach the Courts, but can correct them through simple procedures.

Pawan Gupta Founder & CEO Connect2India

Social Security for MSME Sector Employees The Prime Minister also spoke of social security for the MSME sector employees. He said that a mission will be launched to ensure that they have Jan Dhan Accounts, provident fund and insurance.

The Prime Minister said that these decisions would go a long way in strengthening the MSME sector in India and said that the implementation of this outreach programme will be intensively monitored over the next 100 days.

ISOC and Digital Empowerment Foundation to connect the Unconnected

ACT Fibernet with Tamil Nadu Govt. to empower visually challenged students

With a view to explore synergies between community radios and community networks, Internet Society (ISOC) and Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) have highlighted the importance of Community Networks in the growth and development of Internet connectivity in India, especially in rural areas. This needs supportive policy framework such as availability of TV White Space and Liberalization of Internet Service Providers License at Village Council level, which will help in providing internet access to rural masses.

Community Networks are communications infrastructure built, managed and used by local communities. They provide a sustainable solution to address the connectivity gaps that exist in underserved urban, remote, and rural areas around the world.

In India, where these gaps are more prevalent, DEF started pilot programs six months back called – ‘Internet in a Box’ which were deployed in Tain village of Haryana and Asoor village of Tamil Nadu.

ACT Fibernet (Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd.) has joined hands with the Government of Tamil Nadu to introduce Digital accessible information system (DAISY) for the visually impaired students of 11th and 12th Standards for both CBSE and State board syllabus in partnership with Karna Vidya foundation for the first time in India.

Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Chief Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, “Government of Tamil Nadu has always furthered the cause for education of students across society using technology. It's for first time the 11th and 12th std. syllabus of State Board and CBSE is converted in this format and is a welcome initiative by ACT Fibernet. With their support, we are extremely happy to bring advanced digital learning technology to our visually challenged students. This will certainly enable them to study effortlessly, nourish their knowledge, help them keep pace with the present-day advancement and overall make them selfreliable.” www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 29

SPOI NEWS

Suresh Prabhu launches the brochure of Logix India in New Delhi Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu has launched the logo and brochure of Logix India 2019 in New Delhi. Speaking on this occasion the Commerce Minister said that India is now one of the fastest growing economies of the world and is seeking superior logistics linkages with nations all over the world.

Suresh Prabhu said that Logix India will enable effective international trade logistics and help provide efficient and cost-effective flow of goods on which other commercial sectors depend. The Minister called for diversification of not only India’s export basket but also of products and countries. He further stated that there was urgent need for India to have more robust trade relations with countries in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, Middle East and ASEAN. The Minister pointed out that logistics is the backbone of EXIM trade and it also creates business opportunities and

employment. In order to strengthen the logistic sector, the Ministry is working on an integrated logistics strategy.

The need for integrated Logistics sector development has been felt for quite some

time in view of the fact that the logistics cost in India is very high compared to developed countries. High logistics cost reduces the competitiveness of Indian goods both in domestic as well as export

November GST collection drops to Rs 976 bn Goods and services tax (GST) collection is at Rs 976 billion in November, falling short of Rs. 24 billion, whereas, the government’s average monthly target was Rs 1 trillion.

To mobilise Rs 12.3 trillion to reach the annual target, the government needed an average of Rs 1.107 trillion in each month from November to March. Taking this into account, the collection shortfall in November was around Rs 130 billion.

If the trend continues, shortfall estimates by finance ministry officials as well as independent experts to the tune of Rs 500 billion could turn out to be true.

It might force the government to loosen the pressure on spending in key ministries and take back the unspent amount, officials indicated. “As we approach a general election, no new projects are launched, no new work orders are given, and the expenditure slows down. This will come as a relief in terms of balancing the fiscal.”

The total collection in the first eight months of 2018-19, or two-thirds of the financial year, stands at Rs 7.8 trillion, or 63 per cent of the annual target.

The monthly collections have now stabilised between Rs 950 billion and 1,000 billion. Given that it is short of expectations, the government will have to work on measures to enhance the revenues such as more granular use of data analytics further tightening of tax administration.

30and | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

market. Logistics sector is expected to grow to USD 360 billion by 2032 from the current USD 115 billion. Increasing globalization of Indian economy, along with renewed manufacturing vigour attributed to Make in India Campaign and growth of e-commerce business all forecast rapid growth in Indian logistics sector. The Minister said Logix India is a signature event and should be held annually.

Logix India 2019 is scheduled to take place in New Delhi from 31stJanuary to 2ndFebruary 2019.The mega logistics event is being organized by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) as a major initiative to improve logistics cost effectiveness and operational efficiencies for India’s global trade. Over 20 countries are sending delegations to explore logistics partnerships with India and FIEO is focusing on logistical solutions for difficult to reach markets. Over 100 international delegates are expected to attend Logix India 2019.FIEO will also focus on investment opportunities in infrastructure development, warehouse consolidation, technology integration and IT enablement and skilling of manpower at the three-day meet.

India ranked 44 in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index 2018. As per the Economic Survey 2017-18, India’s logistics industry which is worth around USD 160 billion is likely to touch USD 215 billion in the next two years. This sector provides employment to more than 22 million people and is expected to grow at the rate of 10.5 per cent over the next 5 years.

N. Sivasailam, Special Secretary, Logistics, Department of Commerce; Ganesh Gupta, President FIEO and Dr. Ajay Sahai, Director General & CEO, FIEO were also present on the occasion.

SPOI ANALYSIS

Tackling diabetes in children – a guide for the parents

By Dr. Suruchi Goyal Agarwal, Consultant - Paediatrics and Paediatric Endocrinology, Columbia Asia Hospital Whitefield Diabetes in children is increasingly becoming a cause for concern. Type 1 diabetes is a type of diabetes that affects children in which the body is no longer able to produce an adequate amount of insulin that is required for healthy hormonal function. It can be a little challenging at the start for both parents and the kids to get used to injections and adjusting to a particular lifestyle to accommodate the diagnosis of diabetes, however, proper care and treatment is crucial to both mental and physical wellbeing of the child and parents.

makes it difficult for the child to focus his eyesight on a particular point.

• Fatigue – Low sugar level in the body tends to make the child feel lethargic and tired.

• Yeast infection – type 1 diabetes is known to cause yeast infections in the genital areas of children. Toddlers are prone to catch infection and rashes in the diaper wearing areas.

When a child is suffering from Type 1 diabetes, he/she shows some of the belowmentioned symptoms.

• Feeling thirsty all the time – Due to the excess sugar level in the blood, all the fluid from the tissues is pulled. Thus, the kid feels more thirsty than usual.

• Frequent urination – Due to the increased consumption of water, the kid tends to make frequent bathroom visits.

• Increased appetite – Due to a lack of insulin, the child’s muscles and organs are low on energy as a result of which the child feels the urge to eat more often.

• Weight loss – In many cases, despite an increased appetite, the child tends to lose weight drastically in a matter of few days. Due to abnormal sugar levels in the body, the fat reserve and the muscle build shrinks. Rapid and sudden weight loss is the most prominent and earliest of symptoms seen in children with type 1 diabetes.

• Blurry vision – Due to increased sugar levels in the blood, fluids from the eye lenses are pulled back which

• Behavioural changes – Mood swings, inability to concentrate, irritation and weak performance in studies and activities may all be signs of a child with type 1 diabetes.

The immune system of the body which is responsible to fight any foreign bacteria and infections mistakenly starts destroying the islet cells in the pancreas. The islet cells are responsible for producing insulin in the body. Environment and genes are a causal factor for this problem.

Both parents and the child need to formulate a new routine and care-taking plan in order to tackle the problem of diabetes.

Managing Type 1 diabetes in a child requires a good diet plan although with the new insulin regimes available now the diet is flexible and children have no restriction on the meals other than eating healthy.

Your endocrinologist will help you with catering the regime to the activity levels of the child and no sport is restricted.

Monitoring blood sugars with meal and activity and injecting insulin adequately (as per carbohydrate count + activity) is the key to successful management of diabetes. It is advisable that you always carry a snack again as recommended by your endocrinologist at times when blood sugar may fall especially with vigorous activity.

The child with t1d must to be made aware of their health condition. However, the awareness should not come at the cost of stress for the child suffering from diabetes. For the parents too, it is important that they deal with stress and reduce the pressure of the condition on the child as it is only going to do more harm than good otherwise.

A healthy diet, monitored blood sugar levels and timely check-ups are all that is required in order to efficiently provide the best medical care for the child. Successful management of Type 1 Diabetes in a child involves a healthy partnership between the child, the parents and the Diabetes team.

The initial phase which involves the diagnosis and the steep learning curve to its management especially the insulin administration-can be stressful and both parents and child need support to tide over this. Our diabetes team is available 24/7 and round the clock to help families and support them. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 31

IT TRENDS 2019

AI, 5G, IoT, Supply Chain and

PRIVACY TO DOMINATE 2019 In a recently released Symantec Cyber Security Predictions 2019, the company said that attacks on the AI, 5G, IoT, Supply Chain, data in transit and Privacy will dominate in 2019 In anticipating the major cyber security and privacy trends for the coming year, you can find plenty of clues in the events of the past 12 months. “Many wellknown organizations around the world suffered significant breaches this year.

The single largest potential data leak, affecting marketing and data aggregation firm Exactis, involved the exposure of a database that contained nearly 340 million personal information records,” as per Symantec.

According to Symantec, beyond alltoo-common corporate attacks, 2018 saw accelerated threat activity across a diverse range of targets and victims. In the social networking realm, Facebook estimated that hackers stole user information from nearly 30 million people.

Attackers will exploit AI Systems and Use AI to aid assaults The long-awaited commercial promise of AI has begun to materialize in recent years, with AI-powered systems already in use in many areas of business operations.

Even as these systems helpfully automate manual tasks and enhance decision making and other human activities, they also emerge as promising attack targets, as many AI systems are home to massive amounts of data.

AI technologies will become a growing concern in 2019. In some ways, the emergence of critical AI systems as attack targets will start to mirror the sequence seen 20 years ago with the internet, which rapidly drew the attention of cyber criminals and hackers, especially following the explosion of internet-based eCommerce.

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Attackers won’t just target AI systems, they will enlist AI techniques themselves to supercharge their own criminal activities.

Automated systems powered by AI could probe networks and systems searching for undiscovered vulnerabilities that could be exploited. AI could also be used to make phishing and other social engineering attacks even more sophisticated by creating extremely realistic video and audio or wellcrafted emails designed to fool targeted individuals. AI could also be used to launch realistic disinformation campaigns.

Defenders will depend on AI to counter attacks and identify vulnerabilities The AI security story also has a bright side. Threat identification systems already use machine learning techniques to identify entirely new threats. And, it isn’t just attackers that can use AI systems to probe for open vulnerabilities; defenders can use AI to better harden their environments from attacks.

Closer to home, AI and other technologies are also likely to start helping individuals better protect their own digital security and privacy. AI could be embedded into mobile phones

to help warn users if certain actions are risky. For example, when you set up a new email account your phone might automatically warn you to set up twofactor authentication. Over time, such security-based AI could also help people better understand the trade-offs involved when they give up personal information in exchange for the use of an application or other ancillary benefit.

5G deployment and adoption will expand attack surface area A number of 5G network infrastructure deployments kicked off this year, and 2019 is shaping up to be a year of accelerating 5G activity. While it will take time for 5G networks and 5G-capable phones and other devices to become broadly deployed, growth will occur rapidly. IDG, for example, calls 2019 “a seminal year” on the 5G front, and predicts that the market for 5G and 5G-related network infrastructure will grow from approximately $528 million in 2018 to $26 billion in 2022, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 118 percent.

IoT-based devices, will have massive DDoS assaults In recent years, massive botnet-

powered distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have exploited tens of thousands of infected IoT devices to send crippling volumes of traffic to victims’ websites. Such attacks haven’t received much media attention of late, but they continue to occur and will remain threats in coming years. At the same time, we can expect to see poorly secured IoT devices targeted for other harmful purposes.

Among the most troubling will be attacks against IoT devices that bridge the digital and physical worlds. Some of these IoT enabled objects are kinetic, such as cars and other vehicles, while others control critical systems. We expect to see growing numbers of attacks against IoT devices that control critical infrastructure such as power distribution and communications networks. And as home-based IoT devices become more ubiquitous, there will likely be future attempts to weaponize them– say, by one nation shutting down home thermostats in an enemy state during a

harsh winter.

Attackers will capture data in transit We’re likely to see attackers exploit home-based Wi-Fi routers and other poorly secured consumer IoT devices in new ways. One exploit already occurring is marshalling IoT devices to launch massive cryptojacking efforts to mine cryptocurrencies.

In 2019 and beyond, we can expect increasing attempts to gain access to home routers and other IoT hubs to capture some of the data passing through them. Malware inserted into such a router could, for example, steal banking credentials, capture credit card numbers, or display spoofed, malicious web pages to the user to compromise confidential information. Such sensitive data tends to be better secured when it is at rest today.

We expect that attackers will continue to focus on network-based enterprise attacks in 2019, as they provide unique visibility into a victim’s operations and infrastructure.

Attacks on supply chain will grow in frequency and impact An increasingly common target of attackers is the software supply chain, with attackers implanting malware into otherwise legitimate software packages at its usual distribution location. Such attacks could occur during production at the software vendor or at a thirdparty supplier. The typical attack scenario involves the attacker replacing a legitimate software update with a malicious version in order to distribute it quickly and surreptitiously to intended targets. Any user receiving the software update will automatically have their computerinfected, giving the attacker a foothold in their environment.

ITR filing for 2018-19 sees 50% rise: CBDT chairman Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra Monday manifested confidently in exceeding Rs 11.5 trillion direct tax collection target in current fiscal. In 2018-19 budget, the government had projected a 14.3 per cent rise in direct tax collections to Rs 11.5 trillion. Income tax return filing for assessment year 2018-19 has so far seen a 50 per cent rise since last year, a top finance ministry official said.

“We certainly hope to cross the Rs 11.5 trillion direct tax collection target for the current fiscal. So far 70 countries are sharing information with India under Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI). Due to demonetization, the number of corporate taxpayers have gone to 800,000 from 700,000 last year. CBDT, which is the apex policy making body for direct taxes, will in one year start giving e-PAN within four hours,” Chandra said.

However, Controller General of Accounts data shows that the direct tax collections grew a paltry 4.2 per cent on year to Rs 1.54 trillion in April-June. Chandra said total tax refund so far in the current financial year stands at about Rs 950 billion.

"This is the effect of demonetization," Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra said on the sidelines of a CII event. "Demonetization has been very good for increasing the tax base of the country. This year, we have already got around 60.8 million income tax returns, which is 50 per cent higher than last year by this particular date," he said.

He further added that the revenue department will achieve direct tax collection target, which is Rs 11.5 trillion, for the current financial year. He said that the department had sent 20 million SMSes to people who had not filed returns or those whose income did not match with their filings.

"Our gross direct tax growth rate is 16.5 per cent and net direct tax growth rate is 14.5 per cent, which itself shows that demonetization really helped in widening and deepening the tax base. As on date, total direct tax mopup stood at 48 per cent of the Budget estimate," the CBDT chief repeated. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 33

OPEN YOUR EYES

Design for disabilities, empower everyone 2008, a decade ago was a watershed year for me to step up my understanding of disability and how much more needs to be done to support people. I was afflicted with a severe case of labyrinthitis and vertigo, causing severe challenges in being able to stand, walk, eat, drive, read, and many other human faculties that I used to take for granted. I had to reassess and rebalance all aspects of life: work, social, community, family and dayto-day personal functions. It took a few months to get back to my regular life, but it left behind a life-altering learning experience: any disability can be very limiting, in the absence of a supportive

15% of the world’s population – areestimated to live with some form of disability. Of these, nearly 200 million experience significant difficulties in functioning. Disability is on the rise – ageing populations and chronic health conditions are major factors. It’s an unequal world – people with disabilities experience barriers in accessing services like health, education, transport, employment and information. The challenges are real and enormous.

environment. However, if adequate support is available, we can bring so many more people to contribute to and benefit from the mainstream of our society.

more. Inclusion is at the heart of everything we create at Microsoft. We work at making inclusive interactions that allow everyone to consume, communicate and create. Our design principles seek out exclusions and use them as opportunities to benefit people universally. AI has the potential to improve assistive technologies in many ways.

Indeed, for a long time, disability was understood as the result of an individual’s condition – which put the focus squarely back on the person.

But that’s not how it really manifests.

Disability happens at the points of interaction between the individual and their environment. Being in an environment that does not support you in achieving what you want – that’swhen physical, cognitive and social exclusion happens.

Over a billion people – roughly 34 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

Leaving behind a billion people is contrary to our mission of empowering every person on the planet to achieve

Take the Seeing AI app, which turns the visual world into an audible experience.

Leveraging our AI capabilities in computer vision for the blind and the low vision community, this app uses OCR to read text, scans barcodes and recognizes faces, emotions and objects to describe the world around you.Microsoft Translator is a

brilliant example of technology being designed for one audience and built for many. Its core function is to break the language barrier and have conversations translated across devices for one-on-one chats and interactions in larger groups.

But people who are deaf or hard of hearing derive immense value from the transcriptions and real-time captioning as well.

I see the use of AI at work all the time. Design ideas use AI to suggest formatting and image placement on PowerPoint slides – great for people with limited time, mobility or even design aesthetics.Accessibility checker in Officehelps one to ensure all content is accessible to all, with the use of alternative text for images or videos. Whether at work, or at home, the Windows 10 cloud-based platform provides built-in assistive technology that’s on the move. For people who are hard of hearing or need help focusing, Windows allows to quiet visual distractions, highlight content in Edge and customize visual alerts. With Narrator, Speech Recognition and Skype Translator, people with vision loss or limited mobility can easily surf the web, collaborate and communicate real time.

There’s the amazing story of former NFL athlete Steve Gleason, who has lost the ability to move his limbs and inspired the creation of the Eye Gaze Wheelchair. This is technology that empowers – there are so many people living with ALS and others from around the world who wants to access this technology right away.

Disability isn’t rare, it’s human – almost every person in the world is permanently, temporarily or situationally impaired at one point or another. This is our opportunity and responsibility to invest in the future and support our partners and customers in our shared goal of an inclusive world.We must make disability our stepping stone to success, not “an obstacle to success”.

SPOI ANALYSIS

Use of technology can minimize the need for agriculture loan waivers

By Sonu Agrawal, MD - Weather Risk Management Services Pvt. Ltd Large-scale farmer agitations across the country have made it imperative to look into the mounting agriculture debt in the country. Farmer suicides in India account for 11.2% of all suicides today.

About 40% of the farmers are dependent on farming for their livelihoods. The reasons for their distress can be attributed to many reasons. A major one being the high dependence of Indian farmers on monsoon. Lack of it or an excess has been instrumental causing damages in most of India’s agriculture terrain since decades.

This followed by diseases, pests etc. have also been why crops get destroyed.

Have loan waivers worked? Or is it really a long-term solution to agriculture debt crisis in India? The scale and extent of distress is massive and requires dramatic intervention. Past 3 decades of analysis into farm loan waivers, we can conclude they have only been a temporary relief to the farmers. By the decade the agriculture debt crisis of India has seen a rise, with deteriorating conditions of the farmers.

Besides, being a huge cause of distress for India’s financial sector. It has impacted the credit system due to an enormous amount of money stuck as defaults and has put all banks who are lending to farmers, be it government or private, under stress.

We seem to be in a trap of rising debt followed by loan waivers and then again the cycle repeats. As per a Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch in a report, India could see a massive surge in farm loan waivers by general elections next year. These could be to the tune of INR 2.7 lakh crore ($40 billion).

While this seems demoralizing, even today as a nation we are still dealing with outstanding agriculture loans of about INR 12.3 lakh crores as of September 2016. A Reserve Bank of India data NPAs rose over 23 percent in 2017 to INR 60,200 crore in the agriculture sector. This is 142.74 percent increase from fiscal 2012.

Over INR 89,000 crore worth of farm loan waivers covering about 14-15 million farmers was announced in 2017. This also happens to be a year with maximum loan defaults as per RBI. In the past 3 decades, since 1990, India has announced farm loan waivers of more than INR 2.1 lakh crores. Most of it has come after massive agitations and protests by farmers right before the general elections.

India’s agriculture sector is faced with a lot of uncertainty due to heavy dependence on weather. This forms the major reason for this magnitude of agriculture debt crisis. Those engaged in Agriculture need to cover their risks and be secure of weather calamities which destroy a season’s worth of money and effort have gone into it.

Crop insurance can be instrumental in addressing this massive farmer distress while also reducing the need for loan waivers. Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima

Yojna (PMFBY) is making headways into protecting farmers from these loses.

However, implementation of PMFBY is critical for its success. The loss estimations and disbursements need to be timely and fair. The scheme currently is implemented at the lowest administrative unit with at most 4 crop cutting experiments (CCE’s) at the village/ Panchayat levels. This existing methodology of loss estimations is unable to capture the accurate on ground situations.

The use of technology is important for a more accurate claim assessment and dispute resolution. Use of remote sensing technologies and drones can be instrumental in estimating crop loss or yields. But its success only depends on a widespread adaptation across states.

Not only will this help in bringing about transparency in the whole implementation process, these loss estimations can be done much faster with real-time information becoming handy using this technology. www.spoindia.org November 2018 | 35

ROUND ABOUT

US BY-ELECTION:

What will be the fallout?

I am writing on recent by-elections held in the US. When President Trump was elected in 2016, someone close to me said wryly that he stopped predicting things since his predictions had gone haywire after Trump’s historic win. On the eve of the election day, media, political consultants and major polls predicted that Hillary Clinton would win by landslide.

The only issue debated was the size of victory, and who would be the secretary of state and other high-ranking political appointees. Trump was able to articulate his vision concisely and clearly - Make America Great Again, while Clinton’s message was vague and was changing on a regular basis. She tried to sell her resume in long paragraphs, instead of a clear vision.

Although Trump was criticized by liberal press on his views on immigration, his views were largely distorted by media. He supports legal immigration. His views on immigrants are more conditioned by the belief that the US sacrificed a lot more for other countries than it should have, economically, politically and perhaps emotionally. Trump had not run for political office in the past. He did not cut his teeth in the political cauldron in order to modulate his thoughts and actions to suit each situation, nor did he learn to speak in politically Correct language.

His outlook and mannerisms are that of a businessman and that actions are quick and swift and cannot mask his emotions and behavior, which come spontaneously.

In that sense, when he mimics an Indian, Chinese or Japanese, it should be just wished away and not to be used as a fodder to project him as a dictator or an obsessed man. He has his own rules and borders as to what to do, what to think and he sets his own limits.

Did the by-election result disappoint President? The pitch of the Democrats and pollsters was that there would be a “blue wave” in their electoral prospects.

That did not happen as Republicans still have the upper hand in Senate, which has 36 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

100 seats.

What I am trying to figure out is whether he would be as active as before?

Going by what he had done immediately after the election results were out-firing the Attorney General and replacing office with his own chosen man - does indicate that President Trump cannot be tempered by the vicissitudes of the time.

He is as aggressive as before. The Trump administration on 8th November unveiled tough new rules on the asylum process.

The new rule, announced by the Justice Department and Homeland Security, declares that immigrants who illegally cross the border will be stripped of their eligibility to receive asylum in the U.S. The action is one of the first taken by Matthew Whitaker in his newly appointed role as acting attorney general. Whitaker, who was Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ chief of staff, got the promotion after Trump fired Sessions a day earlier.

Let me come to the brass tacks. Will all these affect the US administration and apply a brake to the heightened pace of growth it is experiencing now? US economy is booming beyond expectations, unemployment rate of 3.5% is lowest during the last fifteen years. As a business man first, President’s apprehensions are more regarding square off of the tax benefits to the tune of US$ 1.5 trillion he had given to the corporations in the next 10 years so. That can work well only when the corporations are given environs to work under a low tax regime.

Yet another issue that is being hotly debated is whether the President can come back into the office in 2020, when the general elections are due. I feel, no one can now write off Trump since he can bounce back. Of course, he has to improve upon his ratings considerably. He has created a good track record in the economics and business side. The unemployment rate is at an all-time low. The immigration card

he played has partly paid off since the wage rate has gone up in the US since the employers have to appoint only the locals and not the illegal migrants for all and sundry jobs. With the judges handpicked by the President, it may not be a big deal to sail through the rough waters in the judiciary as well.

What will be the impact on India?

Hopefully, the US administration would go slow in making granting of H1-B visas less stringent as also in granting green card to begin with for professionals and allowing their spouses to work there. Also, there are talks going on for lifting the additional tariffs on steel and aluminum.

It is pertinent that India did not retaliate against the imposition of higher duties unlike China and other countries. That may weigh odds in favor of India.

Coming back to the question whether there will be any policy change on the part of Trump administration to build bridges with other countries in the changed environs. How can you imagine the US growing in a silo on a sustainable basis?

It no longer can produce and consume for itself. How can it market its products and services, if the rest of the world live in a squeezed ambience? I am sure that President Trump realizes this and perhaps, that is also the key to re-election in 2020. n

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MOVEMENT Vinay Kumar Katyal is the new Director of BEL’s Bangalore Complex

Vinay Kumar Katyal has assumed charge as Director of the Bangalore Complex of Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) with effect from November 27, 2018. He was GM (Military Communication)/BEL-Bangalore before his elevation.

Vinay Kumar Katyal joined BEL at its Panchkula Unit in June 1985 as Deputy Engineer after completing his B.Tech (Electronics & Communication) from IIT-BHU, Varanasi. He was involved in the project execution of the new Unit of BEL being raised at Panchkula, Haryana. He worked as Project Manager for the development of CNR-AFV, the first-of-its-kind Frequency Hopping Tank Radio made in India.

A.M. Naik appointed as Chairman of NSDC

A.M. Naik has been appointed as Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Currently Naik is the Group Chairman of India's biggest engineering and construction conglomerate – Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). He is one of the most respected management professionals in the country. His years of successful stewardship have resulted in building L&T as one of the strongest global businesses.

NSDC is a unique public-private-partnership, working under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. NSDC aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of for-profit vocational institutions.

Arvind Saxena appointed as Chairman of Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey takes over as UPSC Revenue Secretary

The President has appointed Arvind Saxena as Chairman, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The tenure of Arvind Saxena as Chairman, UPSC will commence from the date he enters upon the office of Chairman, UPSC. The term of his appointment will be till 07. 08.2020 when he attains the age of 65 years or till further orders whichever is earlier.

Arvind Saxena joined UPSC as a Member on May 8, 2015, and has been performing duties of the post of Chairman, UPSC since June 20, 2018. Prior to joining UPSC as Member, Saxena was working as Director of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC).

Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey took over as the Union Revenue Secretary upon superannuation of Dr Hasmukh Adhia. Outgoing Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary and a Maharashtra cadre officer, Dr. Pandey will continue to head the Unique Identification authority of India (UIDAI) as its CEO and will also hold his position as the Chairman of GSTN. With over 34 years of experience in State and Central Governments, he had a remarkable stint of more than 8 years in UIDAI where he played a key role in establishing and steering Aadhaar across the country and drafting the historic Aadhaar legislation for providing statutory basis to Aadhaar.

Manipur cadre IAS AN Jha appointed as Vijay Kumar Dev appointed new chief the Union finance secretary for 3 months secretary of Delhi

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved designating ANJha, 1982 batch Manipur cadre lAS and secretary in the department of expenditure, as the new finance secretary. Jha will be the finance secretary for a little less than three months, as he will retire on January 31, 2019. Incumbent Hasmukh Adhia, a 1981 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, retired in the end of the last month. An alumnus of St. Stephens College of Delhi where he did his post-graduation in history before getting selected into IAS, Jha is the senior most IAS among all the five finance ministry secretaries. In fact, finance secretary is more a designation than a post with specific work allocations. Jha will continue to be the in-charge of the department of expenditure.

Vijay Kumar Dev, 1987 batch IAS AGMUT cadre IAS officer, was appointed as the new chief secretary of Delhi. He will succeed Anshu Prakash who was allegedly attacked by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators at a meeting held in chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in February this year, leading to a prolonged tussle between the AAP leaders and the IAS officers.

A 1987 batch AGMUT cadre IAS, Vijay Kumar Dev originally belongs to Himachal Pradesh. He completed his B.Tech from IIT-Delhi before getting into IAS.He was till recently serving as the chief electoral officer in Delhi. Earlier, he also served as the deputy election commissioner in the Election Commission of India, Chandigarh.

15 officers empanelled as union joint secretaries

Sunil Arora elected as the CEC in the Election Commission

As many as 15 officers from various services were empanelled as union joint secretaries or joint secretary equivalent. Whereas six of the officers belong to Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) and three from Indian Statistical Service, there is one officer each from the following services: Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), Indian Forest Service (IFoS), Indian Ordnance Factories Service, Indian Post and Telecom Account and Finance Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service and Indian Ordnance Factories Service.

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The President is pleased to appoint the senior–most Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora as the Chief Election Commissioner in the Election Commission.

Sunil Arora will assume the charge of office of the Chief Election Commissioner with effect from the 2nd December, 2018 vice Om Prakash Rawat consequent upon his demitting the Office of the Chief Election Commissioner on the 1st December, 2018.

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RNI No.: DELENG/2016/69058 Printing Date 27 & 28

40 | November 2018 www.spoindia.org

Reg. No.: DL-SW-1/4197/17-19

40 pages including cover

Date of Posting Date 29 & 30 Every Month