Wipro to provide engineering services support for Intel's solution

 

Wipro announced to offer engineering services support for commercialization of solutions built on Intel’s OpenNESS toolkit. Developed by Intel, Open Network Edge Services (OpenNESS) software is a multi-access edge computing (MEC) toolkit that helps developers to create and deploy applications on-premise edge or at the network locations.

The engineering services for OpenNESS uses Intel’s FlexRAN software reference architecture and OpenNESS and is built upon an ongoing collaboration between Wipro and Intel on innovative 5G and edge solutions.

Wipro to leverage its long legacy of engineering services for the deployment of commercial solutions based on the OpenNESS platform, said the company.

Mr K R Sanjiv, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro, stated that the collaboration with Intel will help build 5G solutions enabled by edge computing, that would power industry applications, deliver superior experiences and drive business efficiencies.

Ms Renu Navale, General Manager, Edge Computing and Ecosystem Enabling, Intel stated that the successful commercialization of open source innovations requires partners who can expertly integrate technology components as well as provide engineering services and Wipro’s collaboration with Intel on OpenNESS and several other Intel technologies makes them a valuable partner.

Medical education of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy to get revolutionary revamp

 

With the passage of two important bills of the Ministry of AYUSH by the Parliament, the country is all set to bring revolutionary reforms in the medical education of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy.

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2020 and the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill 2020 were passed in Lok Sabha on 14th September 2020. These twin bills seek to replace the existing Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 and the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973.

Rajya Sabha had already passed both the bills on 18th March, 2020. Getting the approval  of the Parliament for these bills is a landmark achievement in the history of AYUSH. The enactment of the said Bills will revamp the existing Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) and Central Council of Homoeopathy.

It is expected that the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine and the National Commission for Homoeopathy shall aim at bringing reforms in the medical education of Indian System of Medicine and Homoeopathy respectively.

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019 and National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019 were introduced in Rajya Sabha on 7th January, 2019. Both the bills were subsequently referred to the Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare.

The Committee examined the Bills and suggested certain amendments in alignment with the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. Accordingly, the Ministry considered the key suggestions and introduced Official amendments to the said Bills after which they were passed in Rajya Sabha on 18th March, 2020 as ‘the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine, Bill, 2020’ and ‘the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill 2020’.

Cabinet approves Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project from Palwal to Sonipat via Sohna-Manesar- Kharkhauda

 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project from Palwal to Sonipat via Sohna-Manesar-Kharkhauda.

This Rail Line will start from Palwal and end at existing Harsana Kalan station (On Delhi-Ambala section).  This will also give connectivity enroute to existing Patli Station (On Delhi-Rewari line), Sultanpur station (On Garhi Harsaru-Farukhnagar Line) and Asaudha Station (On Delhi Rohtak Line).

Implementation

The project will be implemented by Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HRIDC), a Joint Venture company set up by Ministry of Railways with Government of Haryana. The project will have joint participation of Ministry of Railways, Government of Haryana and private stakeholders.

Estimated completion cost of the project is Rs. 5,617 crore (US$ 0.8 bn). The project is likely to be completed in 5 years.

Benefits

The districts of Palwal, Nuh, Gurugram, Jhajjar and Sonipat districts of Haryana will be benefitted through this rail line.

This will facilitate diversion of traffic not meant for Delhi thus decongesting NCR and will help in developing multimodal logistics hubs in Haryana State sub-region of NCR. It will provide high-speed seamless connectivity of this region to Dedicated Freight Corridor network resulting in reduction of cost and time of transportation for EXIM traffic from NCR to ports of India, making exports of goods more competitive. This efficient transport corridor along with other initiatives will provide enabling infrastructure to attract multinational industries to set up manufacturing units to fulfil the 'Make in India' mission. The project will connect unserved areas of the state of Haryana, thereby boosting economic and social activities in Haryana State. This multipurpose transport project will also facilitate affordable and faster commuter travel, long distance travel in different directions from Gurugram and the industrial regions of Manesar, Sohna, Farukhnagar, Kharkhauda and Sonipat.

Approximately 20,000 passengers each day will be travelling through this line and 50 Million Tonnes goods traffic would also be carried out every year.

Background

The Orbital Rail Corridor from Palwal to Sonipat by passing Delhi is a crucial infrastructure project for sustainable development of the National Capital Region and to decongest existing Indian Railway network in Delhi area. The alignment of this project is adjacent to the western peripheral (Kundli-Manesar-Palwal) Expressway and has been under consideration for some time. The project will have connectivity with all the existing Railway routes originating from Delhi and passing through Haryana State as well as with the Dedicated Freight Corridor network.

Cabinet approves establishment of new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Darbhanga, Bihar

 

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Darbhanga, Bihar.This will be established under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).The Cabinet also approved creation of one post of Director in the basic pay of Rs 2,25,000/- (US$ 3,082.5) (fixed) plus NPA (however pay + NPA would not exceed Rs 2,37,500/-) (US$ 3,253.8) for the above AIIMS.

The total cost will be Rs.1264 crore (US$ 0.4 bn) and is likely to be completed within a period of 48 months from the date of the approval of Government of India.

Benefits to the common man/highlights

• New AIIMS will add 100 UG (MBBS) seats and 60 B.Sc (Nursing) seats.
• New AIIMS will have 15-20 Super Specialty Departments.
• New AIIMS will add 750 hospital beds.
• As per data of current functional AIIMS, it is expected that each new AIIMS will cater to around 2000 OPD patients per day and around 1000 IPD patients per month.
• PG and DM/ M.Ch Super-specialty courses will also be started in due course.

Details of project:

Establishment of new AIIMS involves creation of Hospital, Teaching Block for medical & nursing courses, residential complex and allied facilities/services, broadly on the pattern of AIIMS, New Delhi and other six new AIIMS taken up under Phase-I of PMSSY. The objective is to establish the new AIIMS as Institution of National Importance for providing quality tertiary healthcare, medical education, nursing education and research in the Region.

The proposed institution shall have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency / Trauma beds, ICU beds, AYUSH beds, Private beds and Specialty & Super Specialty beds. In addition, there will be a Medical College, AYUSH Block, Auditorium, Night Shelter, Guest House, Hostels and residential facilities. The establishment of the new AIIMS will create capital assets for which requisite specialized manpower will be created, based on the pattern of the six new AIIMS, for their operations and maintenance. The recurring cost on these Institutions shall be met through Grant-in-Aid to them from Plan Budget Head of PMSSY of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Impact:

Setting up of new AIIMS would not only transform health education and training but also address the shortfall of health care professionals in the region. The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super specialty health care to the population while also help create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions / facilities being created under National Health Mission (NHM). Construction of new AIIMS is fully funded by the Central Government. The Operations & Maintenance expenses on new AIIMS are also fully borne by the Central Government.

Employment Generation:

Setting up new AIIMS in the state will lead to employment generation for nearly 3000 persons in various faculty & non-faculty posts. Further, indirect employment generation will take place due to facilities and services like shopping centre, canteens, etc. coming in the vicinity of the new AIIMS.

The construction activity involved for creation of the physical infrastructure for the AIIMS Darbhanga is also expected to generate substantial employment during the construction phase as well.

This will fill the gaps in tertiary health-care infrastructure as well as facilities for quality medical education in the State and adjoining areas.The AIIMS would not only provide the much needed super specialty / tertiary health care at affordable costs, to the poor and needy, it would also make available trained medical manpower for the National Rural Health Mission / other Health Programmes of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.This institute will also create trained pool of teaching resources / faculty which can impart quality medical education.

India beats China to win crucial election to UN commission on women

 

India has been selected as a member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global body focussed on gender equality and women empowerment.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The 54-member ECOSOC held its first plenary meeting of 2021 session, wherein it contested elections for two seats in the Asia-Pacific States category. The members included Afghanistan, India and China.

Afghanistan, which was led by Ambassador Adela Raz at the UN, garnered 39 votes and India received 38 votes of the 54 ballots cast.

China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, got only 27 votes and could not even cross the half-way mark and failed to get the required majority of 28 votes.

India and Afghanistan will join Argentina, Austria, Dominican Republic, Israel, Latvia, Nigeria, Turkey and Zambia, which were elected by acclamation, to the Commission on the Status of Women for a four-year term beginning from 2021–2025.

Former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women Lakshmi Puri congratulated the Indian Mission and Ambassador Tirumurti on the election win.

"Victory Earned! #CSW is an important normsetting organ for #Gender #Equality & #WomenEmpowerment & #India has made a significant contribution to evolving global women's human rights standards in UN including #SDG5 in Agenda 2030!," she tweeted, referring to the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Indian fantasy sports app Dream11's parent firm raises US$ 225 mn at over US$ 2.5 bn valuation

Tiger Global Management, TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD), ChrysCapital and Footpath Ventures financed $225 million in Dream Sports, the parent firm of fantasy sports app Dream11 through primary and secondary investments, the 12-year-old Indian firm said, taking the valuation of Dream Sports at over $2.5 billion.

Dream11 has cashed in on cricket 's success — a game that has drawn considerable attention from many big companies including Disney and Facebook. Dream11 explores the fantasy aspect thereof, enabling gamers to choose their preference of the best players for an upcoming match. Depending on how their chosen team performs they will win cash prizes.

Dream11 is also the title sponsor for the 2020 season of Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The startup acquired the rights previously owned by Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo by bidding for it $30 million.

Dream Sports has expanded in recent years into new areas, such as merchandising. Dream Sports chief executive and co-founder Harsh Jain said the company had accrued more than 100 million users. (The Dream11 app is not accessible on the Google Play Store, and the company depends either on people using their mobile web or sideloading their Android app to their phones).

Mr Akshay Tanna, Managing Director at TPG said that he is proud to continue adding value to our 10 crore Indian sports fans, advertisers, employees and the overall sports ecosystem in India as a homegrown Indian company. In the last two years, they have expanded to sports entertainment, merchandise, streaming, experiences beyond fantasy sports, and others and their mission is to Make Sports Better for India and Indian fans through sports technology and innovation,”

The financial advisor to Dream Sports on the transaction was by The Avendus Capital.

Edtech leads investments in education sector; US$ 1.1 bn poured in 2020

 

The education sector continues to be one of the leading sectors for investors amid coronavirus pandemic, with edtech leading an investment worth US$ 1.1 billion in 2020, the highest annually and four times higher compared to the last year. Investors stated that they will continue to see the maximum investment in 2020.

Digital education is the only solution to continue learning amid coronavirus pandemic as students across all ages are confined to home. Factors such as high penetration of low-cost internet (4G) in India has made accessibility to digital education possible. With parents confined to home, students can access learning material online through their parents’ phones.

According to Venture Intelligence data, between January 2020 and August 2020, venture capital (‘VC’ - defined as investments in companies less than ten years old) investors pumped in US$ 1.19 billion amount across 36 deals, against US$ 409 million across 43 deals between January 2019 and August 2019.

From January 2020 to September 2020, Byju Classes leads the sector with raised capital of ~US$ 1.12 billion in four branches from investors including Silver Lake, Tiger Global, General Atlantic, Owl Ventures and DST Global.

Education is the most important solution to alleviate poverty. India has a large English-speaking population with technology architecture that can make Indians to become global tutors. This can be like Indian IT industry outsourcing for low-cost course delivery and doubt-solving offerings for the global population.

Mr Vaibhav Tamrakar, Vice President of PGA Labs stated that low digital penetration of online education at 1% ceiling is high (US$ 100 billion market size). Large untapped opportunity. With nearly 260 million student enrolments (from 345 million relevant population), spending on education as a percentage of family income is high in India.

He also added that government is gradually reopening school for 9-12 classes to help the student clear doubts in rotational interactions with teachers. As the pandemic continues, the schools will continue to push online as a medium of instruction for primary and secondary levels.

EdTech may also jump from chalkboard to whiteboard directly, in areas like professional courses and higher education. The parent’s involvement in student education will increase with the work from home situation and constraints on travel and expenses. Thus, home-schooling as a concept also has potential for growth in India.

Government schools and colleges also modernising the traditional education system and will continue to do so even after physical classes resume post pandemic. Learning Management System (LMS) integration, digital exams, faster results will become the norm, making a potential ground for technology companies to maintain and develop the efficient systems in institutions across India and globally. Parents are increasingly adapting to digital tools and e-learning, which has boosted the penetration and demand for e-learning.

Mr Sandeep Singhal, MD and co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners stated that, private education is a huge sector and forms the backbone of aspirational India. The next generation online education platforms have increased access to cutting edge content, new learning methodologies and more cost-effective delivery. However, online education solutions have struggled with high costs of customer acquisition.

He added that even after schools reopen, supplemental and remedial learning will continue to grow online. New formats will emerge - AR/VR is making entry into educational content. Local language support is another area for growth. New teaching pedagogies are also emerging across subjects like math, language learning, interest-based learning, professional training programs, etc.

Large players in the space are - Byjus, Unacademy, Jio Embibe, Vedantu, Toppr. They have become popular brands and thereby lowered the CAC. These brands will continue to see the maximum investment in 2020. There has been a huge demand during Covid-19 period which has also helped customers adapt faster. Investors expect that the trend will continue as users get comfortable with digital learning.

After Reliance, TCS becomes second Indian firm to cross Rs 9 lakh crore market valuation

 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) becomes the second leading Indian firm to achieve a market valuation of INR 9 trillion, after Reliance Industries. The market valuation of the company reached INR 9 trillion in in early trade helped by a rally in its share price.

The stock of the software services firms also reached its record high on the BSE — gained 2.91% to INR 2,442.80, while on the NSE, it achieved its lifetime high — jumped 2.76% to INR 2,439.80.

The company’s market valuation increased to INR 9,14,606.25 crore on the BSE in early trade, due to surge in its share price. In terms of market capitalisation, it is the second most-valuable domestic firm.

Reliance Industries Limited is the first Indian firm to have crossed the market valuation mark of INR 9 trillion.

In October last year, the country’s most valued firm achieved this milestone. Currently, its market valuation stands at INR 15,78,732.92 crore — the highest of any listed company in the country.

Dues of MSMEs: Ministry of MSME takes the efforts even deeper to realise these payments

 In another major step towards payment of MSME dues by different sectors, Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has now impressed upon the private sector enterprises of the country to take measures for release of payment of MSME dues on priority.

During the announcement of AatmNirbhar Package, it was desired that the MSME receivables and dues should be paid in 45 days. Accordingly, Ministry of MSME took up the matter aggressively with Central Ministries, their Departments and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs). In addition to writing and following up with them, Ministry has also devised an online system for reporting. Hundreds of CPSEs have been reporting on this system about the monthly dues and payments since last four months. Around Rs. 10000 crores have been reported to have been paid by the Ministries and CPSEs. Similarly, Ministry has also taken up the issue with States and motivated them to monitor and see that such payments are made expeditiously.

Taking the efforts now further deeper, Ministry has directly taken up the issue with top 500 corporates groups of the country.  Ministry has written e-letters to the owners, CMDs or top executives of these five hundred corporates. While conveying its support and solidarity in these difficult times, Ministry has strongly taken up the issue of pending payments of MSMEs. It has said that many of the MSMEs are doing business with big corporate groups. However, the payments are not coming from buyers and users of their goods and services. Ministry has added that Direct and indirect dependence of households, professionals and workers on MSME sector is all-pervasive. While thanking those who made payments in recent months, Ministry has said that a lot remains to be done. To tackle the situation, Ministry has given three specific suggestions to the corporate world.

• Ministry has said that these payments are very important for MSME operations and sustenance of jobs and other economic activities at the grass-root level. This will ultimately benefit the entire economy including the corporate world. Ministry has therefore requested the corporates to examine whether any such payments are pending and to release the same at the earliest.

• Towards another solution of the issue of cash flows of MSMEs, it has been emphasised that it was made mandatory by the Ministry of MSME in 2018, for all CPSEs and corporate entities with more than Rs. 500 Crore turnovers to on-board on the TReDS platforms. However, many corporates are yet to join it or transact thereon. They have been requested to onboard their companies on the TReDS and start transacting.

• Ministry has also reminded the corporates that it has been made mandatory for the corporate entities to file half-yearly returns with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on their dues to MSMEs. Corporates have been requested to file returns if not doing so already.

While appealing to the Corporate India for their good gesture towards smaller units, Ministry of MSME has also reminded them of the legal provisions under the MSME Development Act, 2006 which mandate that the payment of MSME receivables are made within 45 days. Ministry has also said that this would be a great contribution for the economy of the Nation. Ministry also feels that these payments will bring smile on millions of faces whose only source of livelihood is the enterprises in the MSME sector.

Ministry of MSME has also indicated that going further, it will be taking up the matter with other corporates through social media outreach also.

Government to infuse Rs 20,000 crore in India's state-run banks

 In April, the government had assured state banks that it is ready to provide capital support as the pandemic may lead to a surge in bad loans as economic growth slows and provided Rs 3.5 lakh crore since the last five years to rescue its banks.

The government sought Parliament's approval for infusing Rs 20,000 crore in public sector banks in the current financial year to meet regulatory requirements and is a part of the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2020-21 moved by Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha.

In all, the government has sought Parliament's nod for additional spending of Rs 2.35 lakh crore, which includes a cash outgo of Rs 1.66 lakh crore, primarily to meet expenses for combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In all, the government has sought the nod from Parliament for additional expenditure of Rs 2.35 lakh crore, which includes a cash outgoing of Rs 1.66 lakh crore, mainly to cover expenditure to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

In order to meet the expenditure on recapitalization of public sector banks through issue of Government Securities, the government has requested the authorization of Rs 20,000 crore by the Parliament, as per

infusion into the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to boost credit for a strong impetus to the economy.

The government proposed to infuse Rs 70,000 crore capital into the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in 2019-20 to raise credit for a significant stimulus to the economy.

In the last financial year, Punjab National Bank got Rs 16,091 crore, Union Bank of India received Rs 11,768 crore while Canara Bank and Indian Bank got Rs 6,571 crore and Rs 2,534 crore, respectively.
Allahabad Bank received Rs 2,153 crore, United Bank of India got 1,666 crore and Andhra Bank received Rs 200 crore. These three lenders have been merged with various PSBs.

Besides, Bank of Baroda got a capital infusion of Rs 7,000 crore, Indian Overseas Bank received Rs 4,360 crore and UCO Bank got Rs 2,142 crore. Punjab & Sind Bank received Rs 787 crore and Central Bank of India got Rs 3,353 crore. In addition, LIC-controlled IDBI Bank received additional capital of Rs 4,557 crore through the supplementary demands for grants.

The government also sought Rs 1,232 crore as a subsidy to India's Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI) at a 2 per cent interest on prompt repayment of Shishu loans provided under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).

In addition, Sitharaman has sought Parliament 's approval of Rs 4,000 crore to meet additional expenditure on qualifying MSME borrowers against grants-in-aid general to National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for the Emergency Credit Line (GECL) guarantee facility.