Industry 4.0 presents huge opportunities for India: DIPP

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January 22, 2019

India has a huge opportunity in the form of Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution but the country needs to adopt new technologies and provide a facilitative policy framework on a fast-track basis, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Speaking here at a session on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said efforts are being made at the central and state government level to provide necessary policy enablers.

He said that the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have the biggest opportunity to leapfrog to the next technology and benefits can be huge for them.

Abhishek was speaking at a breakfast session on ‘Shaping India’s future with Industry 4.0’, jointly organised by global consultancy giant Deloitte and industry body CII.

At the same session, Deloitte global CEO Punit Renjen said India has a great potential and its businesses are all geared for the the Industry 4.0.

He also said that Deloitte is committed to work towards contributing to society and India would be a major part of this initiative with an estimated one crore people expected to benefit. Renjen said he would be travelling to India next month.

Commerce Min seeks stakeholders’ views on report to revive SEZs

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January 22, 2019

The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday said that it has sought stakeholders’ views on a report submitted by a panel to revive special economic zones (SEZs).

A committee headed by Bharat Forge Chairman Baba Kalyani on promoting SEZs submitted its recommendations in November 2018.

The panel, which was appointed by the commerce ministry, has suggested continuation of tax incentives and an array of other measures to revamp SEZs.

SEZs, which once contributed significantly in the country’s exports, started losing sheen after the government decided to roll back tax incentives and imposed minimum alternate tax and dividend distribution tax.

“The suggestions (of stakeholders) on the report are required to be sent latest by January 30,” the ministry said in a statement.

Other suggestions of the panel include renaming of SEZs to employment and economic enclaves (EECs), extension of sunset clause, incentives linked with investments, employment, technology and value addition, simplification of processes and tax benefits to services sector.

Swift resolution of disputes through arbitration, flexibility in the dual-usage norms for non-processing areas in SEZs and extension of MSME schemes to these zones are some other recommendations of the panel.

The SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ rules, came into effect on February 10, 2006.

Exports from SEZs grew about 15 per cent to Rs 5.52 lakh crore in 2017-18 as compared to the previous fiscal.

PM to invest Rs 3,100 crore in Tamil Nadu

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January 22, 2019

The Coimbatore chapter of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for setting up the defence industrial corridor envisaging a total investment of Rs 3,100 crore in Tamil Nadu.

The Prime Minister’s vision will pave the way for Tamil Nadu’s development and facilitate further investment in the defence corridor and create enormous scope for scaling up production of defence equipment through MSMEs, Chamber president V Lakshminarayanasamy said.

The initiative of the Centre will also boost indigenous production of defence equipment and ensure connectivity among various defence industrial units, he said in a statement here.

The chamber also thanked the government for sanctioning the country’s first Defence Innovation Hub to CODISSIA (Coimbatore District Small Industries Association) here and appealed for sourcing of components from Coimbatore MSMEs, since they have huge spare capacity.

He also thanked the Tamil Nadu government for the support in bringing this project to the state and requested to form defence clusters in nodal cities for attracting investments in the corridor

PM attacks at Congress, says BJP has stopped loot and leakage

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January 22, 2019

Taking on the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the party that ruled for so long made no effort to plug corruption despite a former prime minister identifying the malady, while the BJP ended “85 per cent of the loot” in four-and-a-half years. Without naming Rajiv Gandhi, he alluded to the former prime minister’s remark that only 15 paise of Re 1 reaches the masses and the Congress governments over the years did nothing to stop the leakage.

Modi said his government gave about Rs 5,80,000 crore to the people directly through various schemes. Addressing NRIs and Indian-origin people at the inauguration of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, Modi described NRIs as India’s brand ambassadors and said that they were the symbols of the country’s capabilities.

The government has changed the mindset that India cannot change, he said in the presence of chief guest Mauritian Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, UP Governor Ram Naik, and Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, among others.

Modi said that India’s contribution was being recognized at the international level, especially its role with regard to environment. Taking a swipe at the Congress, Modi said it got to know about the disease, acknowledged the disease, but neither thought about it, nor did anything in the direction of curing the ailment. The party that ruled the country for so many years had given the system to the country, a truth that was accepted by the then prime minister. But what is regrettable is that later in its rule of 10-15 years, there was no effort made to end this loot and leakage. The country’s middle class kept giving tax honestly and this loot of 85 per cent also continued. I also want to tell you today’s truth as well. We used technology to end this loot of 85 per cent completely.

Modi also said that in the last four-and-a-half years about Rs 5,80,000 crore, about USD 80 billion, our government, through various schemes, has directly given to the people, transferring it in their bank accounts. The money has been given out for various purposes such as for a home to someone, for education, for scholarship, for gas cylinder and to other such ends this amount has been given. Now just consider that if the country was being run through the old system, then even today from this 5,80,000 crore, about 4,50000 crore would have disappeared or leaked. If we would not have brought a change in the system then this amount would have been looted like the former prime minister had accepted that it was looted. This corrective measure could have been taken earlier also, but there was no intention or will. He further added that his government also identified about 7 crore fake people who existed only on paper, taking advantage of government schemes. Just think about it, more than the population of many countries such as Britain, France, Italy, we had people who just existed on paper to take advantage of government schemes.

Mauritian Premier Jugnauth, who is the chief guest for the three-day event, also spoke on the occasion. He hailed the prime minister for India’s transformation through initiatives such as the Skill India and the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao schemes also praised Modi’s global stewardship in promoting clean energy and for setting up the International Solar Alliance. Jugnauth announced that his country will hold a Bhagwad Gita Mahotsav next month and a Bhojpuri Festival next year.

For the first time, the three-day convention is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad and attend the Republic Day parade in the national capital. The theme of this year’s convention is ‘Role of Indian diaspora in building new India’.

Be on facebook or not, your privacy may be at risk

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January 22, 2019

Your privacy on Facebook and Twitter may be at risk even if you have never been on social media or have deleted your account, a study suggests.

Individual choice has long been considered a bedrock principle of online privacy, said scientists from the University of Vermont in the US and the University of Adelaide in Australia. However, the study shows that if a person leaves a social media platform or never joined the online posts and words of their friends still provide about 95 per cent of the “potential predictive accuracy,” even without any of that person’s data.

Published in the journal Nature Human Behavior, the study gathered more than thirty million public posts on Twitter from 13,905 users. With this data, the researchers showed that the information within the Twitter messages from eight or nine of a person’s contacts make it possible to predict that person’s later tweets as accurately as if they were looking directly at that person’s own Twitter feed.

The study shows that, at least in theory, a company, government or other actor can accurately profile a person, think political party, favourite products, religious commitments from their friends, even if they have never been on social media or have deleted their account. There’s no place to hide in a social network, said Lewis Mitchell, formerly a researcher at the University of Vermont and now senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide in Australia.

How information moves on social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, has become a powerful factor in protest movements, national elections, and the rise and fall of commercial brands. People on these platforms reveal massive amounts of information about themselves and their friends, researchers said. However, scientists have not known if there is a fundamental limit to how much predictability is contained within this tidal wave of data. The scientists used their analysis of Twitter writings to show that there is a mathematical upper limit on how much predictive information a social network can hold.

However, they further added that it makes little difference that if the person being profiled, or whose behaviour is being predicted, is on or off that network when their friends are on the network.

Looked at from the other direction, when you sign up for Facebook or another social media platform, you think you’re giving up your information, but you’re giving up your friends’ information too, said James Bagrow from the University of Vermont.

The research raises profound questions about the fundamental nature of privacy and how, in a highly networked society, a person’s choices and identity are embedded in that network.

Maha Cabinet gives 100 crore for Thackeray Memorial

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January 22, 2019

The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday approved Rs 100 crore for the construction of a memorial for late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

After the Cabinet meeting, state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told reporters here that the relations between the BJP and its ally Shiv Sena “were and will remain sweet”. There are “high chances” of a tie-up between both the parties (for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections) because the BJP has always been in favour of an alliance.

Late Balasaheb Thackeray was not just leader of the Sena but a leader of this alliance. Balasaheb will remain a person of high importance for all political parties. Therefore, in today’s Cabinet, Rs 100 crore has been approved for his memorial, which will inspire the youth, the senior BJP leader said. He further added that the funds for the memorial will be provided by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the BJP-led state government will ensure its availability.

Mungantiwar also expressed confidence that both the parties will be able to forge an alliance ahead of the polls. The BJP has observed that there is an exceptionally good response from Sena ministers in the Cabinet meetings adding that they congratulate the chief minister on various issues and firmly back the BJP on issues of farmers. However, the Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, has been often critical of the two governments. Last year, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had announced to go solo in future elections.

The memorial is set to come up at a location in Shivaji Park area where earlier Mumbai mayor’s bungalow was located. The prime sea-facing property, measuring around 11,500 sqm, was handed over to the ‘Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Nyas’ (trust) last year, clearing the decks for the memorial.

Gold extends gains on jewellers’ buying in wedding season

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January 22, 2019

Gold firmed up by Rs 125 to Rs 33,325 per 10 grams on Tuesday, largely on the back of sustained wedding season buying by jewellers even as it weakened to near three-week lows overseas. However, silver turned weak due to reduced off take by coin makers and consuming industries and lost Rs 250 to Rs 39,850 per kg.

Persistent buying by local jewellers, triggered by the ongoing wedding season, kept gold prices higher. Globally, gold fell 0.13 per cent to USD 1,278.90 an ounce in New York as a firmer dollar made bullion more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Silver also eased by 0.46 per cent to USD 15.26 an ounce, bullion traders said.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity advanced by Rs 125 each to Rs 33,325 and Rs 32,175 per 10 grams, respectively. The yellow metal had gained Rs 40 on Monday.

Sovereign, however, remained unaltered at Rs 25,500 per piece of eight grams on scattered enquiries. In contrast, silver ready prices dropped by Rs 250 to Rs 39,850 per kg and weekly-based delivery slipped by Rs 264 to Rs 38,876 per kg. However, silver coins were unchanged at Rs 77,000 for buying and Rs 78,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

2014 general election was rigged; EVM can be hacked: Union Minister Prasad

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January 22, 2019

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday alleged that the Congress had organised the EVM hackathon in London in which a cyber expert claimed that the 2014 general elections were rigged.

An Indian cyber expert, seeking political asylum in the US, Monday claimed the 2014 general election was “rigged” through the electronic voting machines, which, he said can be hacked. “We will expose this claim,” Prasad said, adding that the Congress was insulting the 2014 mandate.

Addressing a press conference in London via Skype, the man, identified as Syed Shuja, said that he fled India in 2014 because he felt threatened in the country after the killing of some of his team members. The event was sponsored by the Congress, the minister of Electronics and IT.

Horror anthology show ‘Folklore’ to premier on HBO

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January 22, 2019

HBO’s new horror anthology show called “Folklore” will premiere on February 1. The show will air on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming platforms, reported Entertainment Weekly.

“Folklore”, a six-episode, hour-long series, takes place across six Asian countries Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Each episode is based on the respective country’s myths and folklore which feature supernatural beings and occult beliefs. Helmed by different directors, each story was also filmed in the local language of the country.

Episodes include the Indonesia-set “A Mother’s Love” about a single mother and her young son who discover a group of dirty and underfed children living in a mansion’s attic and a tale from Malaysia called “Toyol” in which a Member of Parliament turns to a mysterious woman who possesses shamanistic powers in order to salvage his town’s dire economic situation.

Kumbh Mela: Swachhta Doot work late night to keep the premises clean

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January 22, 2019

Going beyond the call of duty seems to be the mantra for ‘Swachhta Doot’ (messengers of cleanliness) who works late into the night to ensure ‘Bhavya Kumbh, Divya Kumbh’ (Grand Kumbh, Divine Kumbh) is reflected both in letter and spirit.

For the last one month or so, I along with 11 others are engaged in keeping the premises of Kumbh Mela clean. We ensure cleanliness in and around few eateries set up in Arail area of the city. Our main job is to ensure that there is no littering in the Mela area. On an average, a Swachhta Doot works for nearly 10-12 hours every day, going beyond their 8-hour shift. The job pressure is more on the major bathing days when there is a heavy influx of devotees who throngs the place from far and wide. A few days back, I was sleeping when my phone rang and I was asked to immediately report to work, Ravi Kumar, a Swachhta Doot, who hails from Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh, said. He further added that the Swachhta Doot like him feel happy when visitors praise the cleanliness of Kumbh.

According to the official website of the 2019 Kumb, More than 15,000 sanitation workers, 40 compactors and 120 tippers have been pressed into service for disposal of waste. Apart from this, more than 2,000 ‘Ganga Praharis’ or ‘Swacchagrahis’ have been engaged as foot soldiers for keeping the Kumbh Mela area clean.

Shyam Lal, who has also been deployed as a Swachhta Doot, said that they have been given individual identity cards. Generally we are on 8 hour shift, but the work goes beyond 10 hours, and sometimes it touches 12 hours. Lal was of the opinion that the installation of LED lights at the Kumbh has proved to be quite handy as they can spot the garbage from a distance.

At times we hear from visitors that the Kumbh Mela this year is cleaner than those in previous years. It makes us happy and satisfied that people are liking our work, Raj Karan, another Swachhta Doot, said. While he further added that the people have become more aware about cleanliness and that makes our work relatively easy.

More than one lakh toilets have been installed this time for maintaining cleanliness and ensuring open defecation-free Kumbh. Solid waste is to be collected in 20,000 dustbins and transported out of the Mela area.