Observer Dawn-Eng-Jun-2019 by OBSERVER DAWN

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Briefing

14 08

International News Nepalese Economy...

Business Outlook Eros Group Launches...

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

Success Story Legendry Shahnaz Husain...

30 41 Ecology Biosphere Facing Nastiest...

Business Focus Prayag Associates with...

Technology 3D-Printed Device...

20 24

38 19

Top Women World’s Top 10 Gorgeous...

Book Review A Book On Battulga...

Cover Story India’s Realty Leader...

Briefing

64 Achievers Observer Dawn Talks With...

Spotlight Stalwarts and Icons of Industry...

Real Estate

WeWork Contributes...

Hyundai Stepped up...

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Launch Pad Apple to Produce ‘Green Torch’...

68 54

Automobile

Big Story Dara Khosrowshahi Pushes...

Special Story Woes of ‘Surrogacy’...

Achievers Sandalwood Society of India...

Letter From the Editor

TASKS FOR MODI 2.0

BOOSTING ECONOMY TO BRIDGING DIVIDE

arendra Modi has been chosen as the Prime Minister of India for the second time. BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) shone out as a preferred choice of citizens. The new government of Asia's third-largest economy is all set, and it is time for Modi to shift gears and concentrate on vital issues that need serious consideration. Modiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first duty is to unite the country. He has to confront many rifts- between political parties, communities, and geographical regions. He must reach out to the opposition and construct a cooperative relationship with them.

Another task would be to choose the cabinet. Cabinet ministers should be picked based on talent and not purely on political considerations. Having a set of ministers who know their fields well will add up to the caliber of the government and help Modi avoid slip-ups. Ministers should perceive that while they will be answerable to the PM, they need not look at the PMO for every decision.

There is a rising accord among policymakers and economists that the country's economy is facing a deceleration in consumer demand both in urban and rural areas and slow exports growth amid global trade wars. The immediate factors responsible for the slowdown of the economy include declining growth of private consumption, an increase in fixed investment, and subdued exports. Modi needs to direct his attention on this issue. GDP

growth could be revived by the resolution of the corruption that exists in the debt capital markets following evasion by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) group. Ensuring liquidity for Non-Banking Financial Corporations (NBFCs) should be the primary concern for the new government. The budget is likely to be presented in early July and could possibly slash personal taxes to make more money available to the middle class, thus influence people to spend more and drive up demand. Irresolute consumption growth and a reduction in sales and volume growth for FMCG companies will be a remarkable task for the new government. In the wake of election results, FMCG majors have faith that consumer demand would witness a revival.

The government seeks to promote the Make in India manufacturing initiative as well as the development of industrial infrastructure. Other measures could include a big thrust to public investment in infrastructure. It should also focus on stimulating consumer demand through job creation in sectors like construction that are major job creators.

task.Additionally, there are many decisions to be taken about foreign policy. Modi will have to make his mind as to what he wishes to do with the Pakistan issue. The Kashmir situation continues to be harsh. There is a political void in the state, and evidently, the Governor cannot run it forever. The state needs a politically authentic government. Modi has to fight terrorism, triumph hearts and minds, value the Kashmiri political voice, and secure peace and safety in the valley â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all concurrently.

Very few Prime Ministers have enjoyed the degree of fame that Narendra Modi has. Modi and NDA government should utilize this and pay back the debt owed to the Indian people. nnn

The real estate sector is also one of the highest employment generators. Those jobs will guide the way to income, which, on the other hand, will increase consumption in the economy and will set industries like consumer durables in motion. The government will also have to deal with the consolidating global crude oil prices. Nothing is more vital than the country's economy, and Modi must devote all his energy and put the best minds at the

Connect with Hariom Tyagi Hariom Tyagi

Editor in chief Observer Dawn

@harityagi2003 @harityagi2003 @harityagi2003 @harityagi June 2019

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International News

China Opens World’s Highest Highway Tunnel

he Republic of China has opened the world's highest highway tunnel in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Situated on Chola Mountain, the tunnel is at an altitude of over 4,750 meters (15,583 feet) above the sea level. The name Chola in Tibetan means 'mountains so high that eagles cannot fly over them'. Its peak stands at 6,168m above sea level and is covered with snow for eight months of the year. According to Xinhua agency, the twoway 5.7 km (3.5 miles) long Mila Mountain

Malaria Kills Approx 30 Children Every Hour

he topnotch international public health agency, World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that approximately one child dies of Malaria every two minutes, despite it is preventable and treatable. The statement was given by the WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who cleared that the death toll of children due to Malaria was estimated at least 30 every hour. The WHO is supporting a grassroots campaign to emphasize country ownership and community empowerment to improve malaria prevention and care. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. According to the UN health agency’s latest World Malaria

Report, the estimated number of malaria cases remained virtually unchanged from 2015 to 2017. Moreover, there are approximately 219 million cases globally and an estimated 435,000 deaths. In his video message on Thursday, the WHO chief said, the campaign “Zero malaria starts with me”, calls on political leaders, the private sector and affected communities to take action to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment, stressing: “We all have a role to play”. Commemorated every 25 April, World Malaria Day highlights the need for sustained investment and political commitment for malaria prevention, control and elimination. Tracking data and trends, the goal of WHO’s Global Technical Strategy to reduce malaria cases and deaths by at least 40 per cent by nnn 2020 is off track.

he Nepal's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has said that the country’s economy is likely to grow by 6.81 per cent in the current fiscal year ending in midJuly 2019. The country’s economy had grown up by 7.74 percent in fiscal year 2016-17, though it was considered as the highest growth since fiscal year 199394. In the last fiscal year 2017-18, the Nepali economy grew by 6.3 percent as per the revised estimate, according to CBS, the main government body that deals with country's vital statistics. The CBS produces country's national account projecting economic forecasts every year. Ganesh Acharya, the director

at CBS told Xinhua that the projected growth rate for this fiscal is still impressive despite failing to meet the set target which stands at eight percent. "Rarely in the past has Nepal seen growth over six percent three years in row," he said. Economic growth in the last three years coincides with the improved political and economic situation as the Himalayan country achieved political stability after a prolonged political transition. The projected strong growth in the current fiscal year is due to good agriculture production aided by favorable climate, good performance of the energy and industrial sector and equally impressive growth in the service sector, according to CBS.

Nepalese Economy to Grow By 6.81% in 2019

Tunnel is a part of the 400 km (248.5 miles) highway and is linking Lhasa (regional capital) with Nyingchi in the southeast of Tibet. The agency also stressed that the construction of the tunnel started back in 2015 on the 5,018 meter high Mila Mountain and was aimed to help shorten the 18 km distance over the mountain to 5.7 km. According to Gong Bin, project manager of Mila Mountain Tunnel of the China Railway No. 2 Bureau, quoted by Global Times, more than 10 technological breakthroughs were during the construction, including improvement of survey accuracy of mountain tunnels in extremely cold weather and at high altitudes. Gong also added that the highway would help enhance tourism and industrial development, as well as facilitate traffic in the region. nnn

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

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Mummies Discovered During Excavation in Egyptian City

he Archaeologists in the city of Aswan in Egypt have revealed at least 34 mummies. These are said to have preserved since Pharaonic and Greco-Roman period, between the 6th century B.C. and the 4th century A.D. The archaeologists found artifacts including pottery, painted funerary masks and wooden statuettes around the mummies. M e d i a reports suggest that Vases of bitumen, used in mummification, as well as a stretcher likely used to carry the bodies into the tomb were also discovered. An intact hieroglyphic text indicated that the tomb, hidden under sand, was owned by a trade leader named Tjt. Khaled El-Enany, Egypt's Minister

of Antiquities, invited Patrizia Piacentini, a professor. Approximately 30 mummified bodies were found in the primary chamber that included the bodies of men, women and children. Besides, four others were found in a side chamber. Two of the mummies, found overlapping, were believed to be the bodies of a mother and her child. Further studies are required to determine the precise number of bodies found. Some of the vases still contained food, while two statuettes depicted Ba, the Egyptian bird god that represents an aspect of the soul. During the process, the archaeologists mapped approximately 300 tombs across the region. As a part of the broader excavation mission, the tomb was discovered. nnn

India Puts on USâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PWL For Violating IPR

or its failure to protect Intellectual Property Rights and posing new challenges that had been affecting American Right holders for the past few years, the United States has put India under the "Priority Watch List (PWL)". The Office of the United States Trade Representative on Thursday released its annual Special 301 Report that identifies

trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce intellectual property rights or otherwise deny market access to US innovators and creators that rely on protection of their IP rights. Trading partners that currently present the most significant concerns regarding IP rights are nnn placed on the Priority Watch List.

We Should Grow, Rise and Shine Together : Bhavana Yadav Limelight

Observer Dawn engaged in a detailed discussion with Dr. Bhavana Yadav (M.A. English, M.A. Education, B.Ed. and Ph.D. English Literature), the Principal of Ghaziabad Public School take into account the changing state of education in India. Here is an excerpt: Welcome to Observer Dawn! In the last decade, there has been a significant change in the traditional concepts of education in society, including student-teacher relationship, educational purposes, and attitudes towards knowledge. OD: How has the commercialization of education affected the education sector? Dr. Bhavana: Our institute was established in 1978. The USP of our institution has beendiscipline and academics from its very start. We do not believe in the commercialization of education. There were changes in curriculum, methodologies and technology and we adapted accordingly. We believe in giving controlled technology access to students so that they can inculcate it and relate to their curriculum.We provide resources and techniques to children so that they can gain a good quality education. Discipline and moral education are given equal importance. If a child is growing intellectually, but if he/she doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have moral values, there is no use of intellect. We believe in a balanced education. We have increased sports activity andinitiated interschool and zonal competitions. We have also increased the amount of

co-curricular activities. The credit of good academic results goes to the coordinated teamwork of our dedicated teachers, supportive parents and the meticulous policies made by the school management. OD: The increased syllabus load badly affects the students of higher classes. How does your institution cope with this problem? Dr. Bhavana: We adopt different techniques so that studies do not become monotonous. We believe in teaching using practical methods. We conduct many training sessions, lab orientations, field visits and workshops. We also use smart classes, educational videos and e-learning methods. We have tied up with Brainsoft â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a software company that uses practical study approaches, which help students to understand difficult concepts in a trouble-free manner. OD: You are leading an educational organization today. How did your educational experiences help you in reaching where you are today? Dr. Bhavana: My educational experiences really helped me a lot. They taught me a lot about the importance of balanced education in real life. I grew up in a disciplined and ethical environment and these qualities definitely helped me throughout my journey. Investing in basic education of a child is really important. These are the values that I want to be ingrained in my students also. I want them to lead their life in a happy, healthy and successful manner.

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

Dr. Bhavana Yadav Principal, Ghaziabad Public School

OD: What is the future vision of Ghaziabad Public School? Dr. Bhavana: Since last 38 years,we are continuously trying to inculcate in the students, a focus towardsacademics, positive approach towards life, making their life more healthy and happy, making them global citizens of the country and helping them to lead their lives in a planned manner. This year, we have started with the hostel facility for boys and girls along with day- boardingservice. Evening sports academy is another ambitious project in order to keep students healthy and fit throughout the year. We are also starting competitive classes for concentrating on competitive examinations. For middle age classes, we are starting with creative writing and cursive writing classes. Robotics lab is also another awaited mission for students interested in robotics. Many projects are coming up this year and work is being dutifully done by everyone for the betterment of students. OD: What would be a message that you would want to convey to the students, teachers and parents? Dr. Bhavana: Ghaziabad Public School is a family. It is teamwork of teachers, students, parents and management and I believe we will grow, rise and shine together, and achieve our goals. We are optimistic for the betterment of quality and excellence in the field of education, and I believe that collectively, we would be able to accomplish our goals. nnn

National News

‘Smart E-Learning’ Offers Unprecedented Benefits

yanodaya Smart e-Learning Project and Utthan of Adani Foundation has brought unbelievable changes in schools of Jharkhand and Gujarat. More than 40,000 children from the tribal districts of Godda (Jharkhand) are currently reaping the benefits and going forward through the Gyanodaya smart e-learning project. This project will reach out approxe one lakh students enrolled in almost 600 High Schools across the region. The main motive is to bridge the gaps in quality education and complement the traditional teaching methodologies. The Project, which began in 2018, engages and interacts with students through e-learning classes including audio and videos.

“By applying technology we are ensuring quality education like smart classes in schools to remote tribal areas, thereby helping students to improve comprehension and building enthusiasm in attending school. “This will lead in students excelling in education and becoming better citizens,” said Dr. Priti Adani, the Chairperson, Adani Foundation. In the Kutch region of Gujarat, Adani Foundation has undertaken a major drive in 17 Primary Government Schools to instill confidence in students who are weak in academics. These PriyaVidyarthi (name given by the Government for students who are academically weak), are supported under project Utthan initiated by Adani Foundation. nnn

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

Center Alleges Assam Government of Misinterpreting MHA Order

he Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, vehemently denied that it had directed the Assam Government to take action against the Editors opposing Citizenship Bill. “This is nothing but misinterpretation of the facts. It is completely baseless to say that the union Government has asked Government of Assam to initiate action against any Editor or any media person in the state”, the MHA sources said in a statement. “This is to clarify that Union Home Ministry has not asked the State Government of Assam to initiate any enquiry against any Editor or any member of the press and media”, the statement reads. “The factual position is that

one, Vinay Joshi, of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, sent a public grievance petition to the MHA through the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) on February 14, 2019 in this regard. The grievance paper stated that the issue was being exploited by the different militant groups like: ULFA or others. But the media propagated militant ideology giving a boost to the militant groups”, a senior official privy to this issue said. “A very large number of such petitions and grievances on a host of issues were received in the Ministry on a daily basis on CPGRAMS”, he added. However, Joshi’s petition was routinely forwarded to the Government of Assam. But the Ministry did not order any kind of enquiry in this regard. nnn

Ex-Army Chief Appointed as New Envoy to Seychelles

ormer army chief, Dalbir Singh Suhag, has been appointed as India’s next high commissioner to the Republic of Seychelles. Suhag is expected to take up the assignment shortly. Gen Suhag was the chief of army staff from July 2014 to December 2016. Under his military leadership, Indian Army conducted surgical strike in 2016 in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. Currently, the post is vacant. Earlier, Ausaf Sayeed was the envoy to Seychelles. Gen Suhag was commissioned in 5 Gorkha Rifles, an infantry unit of the Indian Army on June 16, 1974. He held numerous important posts throughout his Army career. He had

also served as a Company commander during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka. This is not the first time, when a former defense personnel is being appointed as envoys to countries. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government had also named former Indian Navy chief, Nirmal Kumar Verma, as the High Commissioner to Canada, Verma’s predecessor Suresh Mehta as high commissioner to New Zealand and former air Chief N.A.K. Browne as ambassador to Norway. Noticeably, India is looking to build a coast guard facility in Seychelles’ Assumption Island in a bid to increase its presence in the Indian Ocean region given the increasing footprint of the China in the region. nnn

Genetically Modified Brinjal Poses Threat to Regular Brinjal Crops in India mong other major discrepancies, the Genetically Modified (GM) brinjal has reportedly entered into the Indian markets, illegally. The experts believe that it is not only biohazardous but it would pose contamination threat to the regular brinjal crops across the nation. This is the first GM food crop to enter India's food chain despite an indefinite moratorium since 2010 on the commercial release of Btbrinjal for lack of independent studies on bio-safety, long-term impact on human health, biodiversity and environment. Concerned civil society groups have complained to the government seeking strict action against the seed developer and seller who have surreptitiously sold the Btbrinjal variety of GM crop saplings to farmers in Haryana. They want GM brinjal fields to be destroyed and farmers who were duped, to be

compensated. Apart from lack of biosafety tests on Btbrinjal, there are more than 2500 varieties of brinjal in India, which is the center of diversity for this crop, both domesticated and wild varieties are likely to be irreversibly contaminated. “Based on a tip-off, we picked up samples from the field of a Fatehabad farmer and tested it using the lateral flow strip method. The samples were tested positive for Bt Cry1Ac protein”, said a senior representative of the Coalition for a GM-Free India. nnn

Indian Army to Recruit Women in PBOR Category he Indian Army has invited applications for recruitment of women into the military police. This is the first time when the Indian Army took such a creative step. Recently, the union government had announced regarding induction of women into the "Personnel Below Officer Rank" (PBOR) category of Indian Army. The application window for recruitment of "soldier general duty (Women Military Police)" would be opened till the June 8, 2019. "Taking a serious note of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s announcements, which were made on August 15, 2018, and on Jan 18, 2019

Saudi Arabia Government Increases India's Haj Quota to 2 Lakh

audi Arabia has decided to increase India’s Haj quota to 2 lakh from 2019 onwards. With this, all the Haj applicants from big states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar would be able to go to Haj without delay. This is first such development since Independence. The Saudi Arabia government has issued a formal order in this regard. Noticeably, in a meeting in February 2019, which was attended by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Saudi Arabia had declared regarding

increment in the India’s Haj quota. ''Due to the significant increase in India’s Haj quota, all the applicants from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Goa, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Odisha, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Tripura will go to Haj 2019,'' sources from the concerned ministry said. All these applicants are happy over the increase in Haj quota. A record number of 2 lakh Indian Muslims will perform Haj this year without Haj subsidy. As many as 2,340 Muslim women from India will also go for Haj without 'Mehram' or male companion nnn this year.

respectively, the MoD took the decision to induct the women for the first time in PBOR role in Corps of Military Police. However, the first advertisement has been issued in this regard," the defense ministry said. The Corps of Military Police is responsible for preserving good order and discipline and to prevent breaches of the same by persons serving in or attached to the regular Army. The responsibilities of those appointed in PBOR include investigation of offences such as rape, molestation and theft; military operations where the Army needs police assistance; assistance in evacuation of villages during cross-border hostilities; crowd control of refugees comprising women and children; frisking of women during cordon-and-search operations (mostly in Jammu and Kashmir); and ceremonial as well as policing duties. nnn

June 2019

OBSERVER DAWN

World’s Top Top Women

Gorgeous

Women

eepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra Jonas are among the top 50 most beautiful women in the world. The definition of ‘beauty’ varies time to time, place to place and mind to mind, but there are certain parameters that define it on global perspective. In other words, we can say that the ‘beauty’ is such a word that has kept evolving since time immemorial. The experts believe that there may be different criteria or factors set to define this word in world context, but still there are some inner or out qualities that ultimately create an ‘aura’ of beautifulness. As such, 15, out of the list of 50, most beautiful women in the world, who have created a magic history either through their works or other qualities, have been presented here.

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

But we must not forget that there is definitely more to beauty than just the physical attributes of a person. It’s something that comes from within your soul. It’s the light that shines through you and your personality.

1. Deepika Padukone Recently, the world fame actress, Deepika Padukone, has emerged as one of the highest paid actresses in the world. Undoubtedly, she has done some wonderful work in the movies like Bajirao Mastani, Piku and others. Apart from various others films in India and abroad, first Hollywood project was in the action film xXx: Return of Xander Cage in 2017. She also has her own clothing line and has started a foundation called Live Laugh Love to create awareness about mental health in India.

Padukone, however, is being termed as the most beautiful women in the world. She has received several awards including three Filmfare Awards. Profile: Deepika Padukone • Date of Birth: January 5, 1986 • Place of Birth: Copenhagen, Denmark • Height: 1.74 m • Profession: Actress

3. Blake Lively Often recalled for her unique style and astonishing figure, Lively is best known for her role as Serena Van Der Woodsen in the hit TV series Gossip Girl. She has also worked in movies like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Green Lantern, The Age of Adeline and The Shallows. She is married to the actor Ryan Reynolds. The Teen Choice Award for Best Breakthrough Performance are among various other awards that Lively has received as of now.

2. Scarlett Johansson One of the most sought after American women, Scarlett Johansson is an actress, model and singer. She started career in acting right from her childhood. The film ‘Lost in Translation’ alongside Bill Murray was her break-out role. ScarJo convincingly played a 25 year old’s character at the age of 18. Some of her other popular films include – Vicki Cristina Barcelona, Lucy, Don Jon and others. About her achievement, Scarlett won the BAFTA award and was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Lost in Translation.

Profile: Blake Lively • Date of Birth: August 25, 1987 • Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, U.S • Height: 1.78 m

Profile: Scarlett Johansson • Date of Birth: November 22, 1984 • Place of Birth: Manhattan, New York, U.S • Height: 1.6 m

June 2019

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Top Women

4. Angelina Jolie

have been awarded an Oscar for a leading role, which she won for her role in the 2002 film Monster’s Ball. Profile: Halle Berry • Date of Birth: August 14, 1966 • Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, USA • Height: 1.65 m

6. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Aishwarya Rai is on almost every “most beautiful women” list that exists on the planet. She was crowned Miss World in 1994.

Angelina Jolie is cited as Hollywood’s highest paid actress. She became popular after playing the lead role in the Lara Croft blockbuster movies. She also actively works on child rights, human and women’s rights issues. She founded the Jolie-Pitt Foundation that contributes towards humanitarian causes all around the world. She has received an Oscar, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. Profile: Angelina Jolie • Date of Birth: June 4, 1975 • Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States • Height: 1.69 m

5. Halle Berry The multi-talented Halle Berry began her career as a model and went on to become one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses. As of 2019, Halle remains the only African-American actress to

She made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam’s 1997 Tamil film – Iruvar and Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, her Hindi film also released in the same year. She has acted in over a forty films in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali. Apart from various other small and big achievements, Aishwarya was conferred Padma Shri award by the Government of India. Profile: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan • Date of Birth: November 1, 1973 • Place of Birth: Mangalore, India • Height: 1.7 m

7. Beyonce Knowles Often termed as ‘Queen B’ by her fans, well-wishers and friends, Beyonce is one of the biggest and most successful musicians in the world. Her thrilling vocals and her dancing skills are something nobody has matched up to. She in herself is a global brand.

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

She’s married to the successful hip-hop artist Jay-Z. Beyonce is the most nominated and the second most-awarded woman in the history of Grammy. Apart from receiving 22 awards, she has got 62 nominations from the Grammys for her music (as a solo artist and with Destiny’s Child). Profile: Beyonce Knowles • Date of Birth: September 4, 1981 • Place of Birth: Houstan, Texas, U.S • Height: 1.69 m • Profession: Singer-songwriter, Actress

8. Priyanka Chopra Jonas In 2000, the actress, Priyanka Chopra, won the title of Miss World.

film a HUGE hit across the world. She says she wants both boys and girls to look up to Wonder Woman. Profile: Gal Gadot • Date of Birth: April 30, 1985 • Place of Birth: Israel • Height: 1.78 m

10. Emma Watson Emma Watson is considered as the star of the Harry Potter franchise, blossomed into a much-talented and respectable actress. She is one of the most influential celebrities in the world. She went to Brown University. She has also acted in movies like Perks of Being a Wallflower, Noah and The Beauty and the Beast. Emma Waston has won over a dozen awards for her performance in The Harry Potter movies and her other works.

She is one of the most famous Indian actresses. Initially, she wanted to study aeronautical engineering but she moved to the film industry after some great opportunities came knocking at her door. Some of her noteworthy works include Barfi, Bajirao Mastani, Fashion and Mary Kom. She has received several awards including the National Film Award and five Filmfare Awards. Profile: Priyanka Chopra • Date of Birth: July 18, 1982 • Place of birth: Jamshedpur, India • Height: 1.69 m

9. Gal Gadot Actress, Gal Gadot, is primarily known for her role as Wonder Woman in the new Wonder Woman movie. She was five months pregnant during reshoots and yet she slayed the part to make the

Profile: Emma Waston • Date of Birth: April 15, 1990 • Place of Birth: Paris, France • Height: 1.65 m In peroration, it can be said that despite numerous distinguishing features and qualities of these beautiful women, there is one thing in common – they have been so passionate, determined and hardworking in order to excel in their respective fields. They have all left their mark through their talent and beauty and each one of them is special in their own way. It is hoped that references, apart from her qualities and achievements as described in the above story, would certainly inspire our valuable readers, especially the women and the growing girls, who want to achieve world-level fame through their work.

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June 2019

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Business Focus

CBRE Announces IFSQD – Q 2019

ndia’s leading real estate consulting firm, CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd, announced the findings of its latest report titled ‘INDIA FLEXIBLE SPACE QUARTERLY DIGEST (IFSQD) – Q1 2019. “Overall flexible space took up in India has increased by 27 percent y-o-y to reach about 2.9 million sq. ft. in the first quarter of 2019. This represented 70 percent increase on a q-o-q basis in flexible space takeup. Besides, Bangalore and Delhi-NCR were the largest markets for flexible spaces in India, accounting for more than half of flexible space leasing in the country”, the report reads. Anshuman Managing Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE said, “Given that the Indian flexible space market is one of the biggest across APAC, we anticipate that this segment will remain high on the investor radar as well. We expect that the leasing quantum of this segment would marginally rise from about 7.1 million sq. ft. in 2018 to about 10 million sq. ft. by 2020 and will remain high on the investor radar going forward”. Hybrid and managed spaces drove flexible space take up, commanding a share of 46 percent and 36 percent respectively in Q1 2019. It also witnessed flexible space operators shifting focus towards leasing medium to large-sized spaces across cities with both commanding the 47 percent share in the total leasing activity. The Managing Director, Advisory and Transaction Services India, CBRE, said, “Technology gave birth to the concept of ‘a liquid workforce’ and flexible space operators are anticipated to embrace it even further for the benefit of their actual customers and end users – employees of the various corporates occupiers. We expect corporates to focus more on tech-related aspects of flexible spaces for optimizing/monitoring space usage along with improving productivity and collaboration. Employees at the same time would be more interested in digitizing nnn amenities and value-add services”.

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

CSSOS Ropes in Indian restler W ic p m ly O l a n io t a n r e t In

he Central Secretariat Services Society (CSSOS) has signed up the Olympic gold medalist and star wrestler, Sushil Kumar, as its brand ambassador. Coming on the heels of its maiden foray into the real estate sector, the CSSOS, has ventured into the construction and development of affordable housing, clubs and schools for working and retired officials of central and state governments, PSUs and Banks in L Zone, Dwarka. The CSSOS is a non-profit working government officers’ welfare society. Signing up Sushil Kumar and Guru Randhawa are as our brand ambassador. They are in consonance with CSSOS’s philosophy that appreciates authenticity more than anything else. We believe in creating value for our members and our choices of ambassadors are a reflection of that. In their personal capacity too, they have been instrumental in creating awareness about many important social issues in India. Their name is synonymous with sincerity, hard work and dedication. “These are values that are completely in sync with CSSOS’s ethos of trust, security and reliability. Therefore, we felt that Sushil and Guru are the perfect brand ambassadors for our company. We are very happy that they have agreed to get associated with us. Going forward, we will try to build on this relationship”, said NehSrivastava, Under Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs & the President, CSSOS. “I am excited to be a part of CSSOS’s growth's journey as its Brand Ambassador and looking forward to a long and mutually successful association”, said Bollywood singing sensation, Guru Randhawa. Sushil Kumar, too, expressed his happiness at the development. He said “I am really excited to be a part of this. This is my first association with a not-for profit organization and that too run by officials under CSR initiative, who make our country run. CSS Officers Society (CSSOS) is a symbol of service unity and epitome of solidarity, the passion and energy that the CSSOS team brings to the table has been a key driver in forging this partnership. I hope that this relationship works out nnn well for both parties.

ime t e if L C IH d e r r fe n o C r a Mew 018 Achievement Award – 2

Prayag Associates with L C Chennai Swaggers for B

The International Hospitality Council (IHC) has conferred its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award – 2018 to Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, the Chairman and Managing Director, HRH Group of Hotels, Udaipur. While, Abdullah Ahmed, Director, International Institute of Hospitality Management (IIHM) Delhi, along with a team of senior personnel and students, conferred the honor, Professor D Ghosh of IIHM, presented a shawl, certificate and the Award to Shriji. "I am delighted to receive the prestigious IHC Lifetime Achievement Award today and I consider it a responsibility that has been bestowed upon me," said Shri. He added further, "I am delighted to hear about the continuing success of IIHM and I congratulate each member of its Council and faculty for having brought hospitality and education together in their ten campuses in India and overseas”. Meanwhile, Ahmad briefed Shriji about IIHM activities and programs, especially the Young Chef Olympiad, which has become one of South Asia's trend-setting competitions in the domain of culinary practices. Through a video call, DrSuborno Bose, founder-International Hospitality Council in Kolkata, and Dr. David Foskett, Emeritus Professor London School of Hospitality and Tourism, University of West London expressed their gratitude to Shriji for accepting the IHC Award and continuing to inspire the hospitality industry in India and throughout the world. Shriji said, "The real credit for the growth of the hospitality industry, especially heritage hospitality, goes to my father, MaharanaBhagwat Singh, who converted our Jag Niwas Palace into Lake Palace Hotel in the early 1960s. He faced considerable opposition from within the family and community. Many said he was putting good money after bad. But look at the success of the venture! My father also began the association with Taj Group in the early 1970s which has lasted till date. Lake Palace Hotel remains a jewel in the crown of Taj Group. nnn

rayag, a leading brand in Bath Assets &Sanitary ware has announced its proud association with Team ‘Chennai Swaggers’ in the upcoming Season 4 of the most exciting luminaries cricket extravaganza. On the back of the huge popularity of the Team ‘Chennai Swaggers’ among the youths, Prayag looks forward to gain even deeper market penetration and capture major market share. The association of Prayag with ‘Chennai Swaggers’ in Box Cricket League (BCL) is here to boost brand Prayag on multiplatform media which include On-ground, Digital and Television. Apart from bringing the who’s who of the Indian Television industry under one roof, BCL season 4 will witness six celebrity teams, including ‘Chennai Swaggers’ competing with each other for the grand trophy. Owned by the popular Bollywood actress, Sunny Leone, the team ‘Chennai Swaggers’ comprises a host of popular television stars like HimanshooMalhotra (Captain), ParasArora, ShobhitAttray, AbhishekVerma, Tanya Sharma, Mansi Sharma, Pooja Banerjee, Vishal Singh, MohitMalhotra, KapilArya, DillzanWadia, AsgarKanPathan and Ishani Sharma, among others. Announcing their proud association with the team Chennai Swaggers, Mr. NitinAggarwal, CEO, Prayag said, “We are truly ecstatic about joining hands with the team Chennai Swaggers which is full of youthful energy, and it’s one of the strongest contenders in this most popular sports reality show. I’m sure our partnership with this vibrant team will help us connecting better with the youth of the country. At Prayag, we aim to contribute significantly nnn towards making sports events.

June 2019

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Business Outlook

AEPL Launches Video Bio-Data Matrimonial Portal

ndia’s first video bio-data matrimonial portal, 'Dil Ke Rishte', has been promoted by Jaipur-based Adidev Entertainment Private Limited (AEPL). “This online matrimonial market size was INR 1000 crores and we are expected to grab 10 per cent on the total market sized by the end of this financial year. We have master franchises across 8 states”, said the founder, Dil Ke Rishte, Suresh Nair, adding that they were eyeing on 10-11 franchises in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in days to come. As per KPMG and Google reports, approximately 43 million users use matrimonial services to find their soul mate, he said the National average of matrimonial sites is that nearly 69 percent males and 31 percent fe-

males use matrimonial sites to find their perfect life partner, while in Metro cities the numbers are approximately 60 per cent males and 40 per cent females. "Out of the total marriages, almost 6 per cent are via matrimonial sites, thus proving that there is a huge potential for our business," Nair said. Further he claimed that the unique video bio-data matrimonial portal would help to connect the two individuals and families better than ever. The company will charge INR 6000 for short videos, there would be varying charges different package.

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OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

Eros Group, Launches NextGen Affordable Housing

After grand success in delivering of houses under the ‘Eros Sampoornam’ project in Greater Noida (West), the Eros Group has now launched the second phase of the project, ‘Sampoornam – I’. Spread over about 12 acres land, the project is connected with ‘Sampoornam’. The company is investing a sum of about INR 125 crore in the ‘Sampoornam – I’. This phase of the project will have four towers, comprising 258 units, including the set of 2 BHK and 3 BHK ranging between 835 Sq.Ft. to 1560 Sq.Ft. Currently, only tower B3, G5, Y13 and Y14 has been opened for bookings with completion deadline of Dec 2023 as per UPRERA. The apartments will be designed similar to the first and second phase of Sampoornam, but will also include additional features like wooden flooring, modular kitchens, luxury bathroom fittings, video door phones and even free open parking. The new project

will be built in a 25 acre plot, alongside the first two phases of the ‘Sampoornam’ project. The first two phases consisted of 10 and 11 towers each including a total of 1768 apartments. EROS has sold almost all these apartments and as many as 1200 families have moved in.The Director, Avneesh Sood, said, “With more than 70 years of our existence, the Eros Group has a record of offering high quality. Our experience and expertise, especially in the Delhi and NCR area is well known. This new ‘Sampoornam – I’ project is a testament to that legacy. We are committed to providing the best for our customers. We have always believed that our customers deserve a little more and that’s what we have put in Sampoornam I. While delivery is expected in 2023, we expect that we will start much earlier nnn

n order to upgrade the skills of realtors and enhance their knowledge, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) India has planned to introduce Real Estate courses and Certifications. The NAR members would be imparted training through learning and development. Speaking at an informal function organized to start the registration process for the forthcoming Real Estate event - “11th NAR India Convention”, scheduled to be held at Hyderabad HICC on August 24 and 24, the NAR National President and the incumbent Hyderabad Realtors Association (HRA) Chairman, Sumath Reddy said that all activities would be developed by the NAR educating wing, Indian Institute of Real Estate (IIRE). Reddy was accompanied by the

Chairman, NAR-India Convention, Shailender Singh. The function will be graced by office bearers of HRA Manas Sahu, Sarith Kumarr Jonnala, Jeelani Basha and Saleem Mawani and others. About 2000 delegates from various Realtors’ Associations such as Association of Bhopal Realtors, Association of Certified Realtors of India, Delhi, Association of Property Professional from Delhi and others are expected to participate in the convention. “The objective of this mega Convention is to streamline and promote the profession of real estate brokerage in India so that we achieve transparency, accountability, fair dealing and ethical practices for overall good governance in the industry”, Singh said.

IIRE to Develop Real Estate Course for Realtors

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Fitso Making Fitness Accessible Through Sports

or years, experts have stressed the need for India to have a strong sports culture but hardly anyone has had an answer to two of the biggest deterrents - lack of quality coaching and infrastructure. There is one startup however, that has brought swimming to the forefront of recreational sports in Delhi-NCR. Fitso, a tech-oriented fitness company started by three IITians is making fitness accessible through sports. Saurabh Aggarwal, Fitso's cofounder, knew from personal experience that learning swimming in Delhi/NCR is not easy since the region has only a few good coaches and facilities. In addition, the climate allows swimming only in summer as the weather gets too cold during winter and there are hardly any temperature controlled pools around. Fitso brought competent people onboard for pool acquisition: engineers who understand pool operations, heat-

ing technology to run pools round the year and internationally certified coaches most of whom have an athletic background. Fitso has grown from a team of 10 in 2016 to a team of 250+ in 2019 and is currently operating 22 swimming pools across NCR. They’ve trained over 20,000 people along with Praveen Chaudhary who won 2 Gold medals at Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. Even though swimming is the current area of focus for Fitso, it has a well-established brand name in running coaching - Fitso Flash and Nutrition coaching - Fitso care. A new division called Fitso Sports has been recently launched that is making top-class facilities accessible in sports such as Badminton, Squash and Self defense to name a few. Fitso is re-defining the landscape of recreational sports, and we can look forward to a fitter, sports crazy nation that plays sports beyond cricket. nnn

Zero Cancellation Charges on Flight Tickets

n a view to provide its customers with a unique proposition of Zero Cancellation charges on flight tickets, the EaseMyTrip, a leading online travel aggregator, has tied up with Liberty General Insurance (LGI) Ltd, a fast growing general insurance company. When a customer cancels a flight ticket, a significant portion of the ticket amount is deducted as penalty by the airlines. The refund is usually meager in comparison to the overall ticket price. As such, the EaseMyTrip has tied up with Liberty General Insurance as group policyholders for its customers to provide zero cancellation penalties to its customers. The Co-Founder & COO, EaseMyTrip, Rikant Pitti said, “With the

skyrocketing ticket prices, customers book their tickets well-in-advance and sometimes even 2-3 months prior to their date of journey. Also, many customers look for various offers and discounts following which they book their tickets. Many-a-times these tickets are subjected to last-minute cancellations in the wake of change in their plans. It is then that the customer realizes that they hardly get anything in refund. With this partnership, we plan to ease out all those worries for our customers and offer them seamless refund”. Customers will have to pay a nominal amount to get their flight cancellation fees (up to Rs 5000) from LGI.

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Zomato Plans 20 Warehouses As Part of ‘Hyper Pure’ s a part of its ‘HyperPure’ program, India’s one of the leading online food ordering platforms, Zomato, has planned to enhance 20 warehouses by 2020. It will spread over 7 lakh Sq. ft across the country. Zomato’s HyperPure presently operates one warehouse each in Bengaluru and Delhi. The 40,000 sq. ft., Delhi warehouse was launched on April 29, 2019. The HyperPure provides restaurants with fresh and highquality ingredients, including vegetables and fruits, poultry, groceries, meats, seafood, and dairy, the company said in a statement.

Zomato co-founder and COO, Gaurav Gupta, said “We have been able to dis-intermediate the supply chain, providing restaurateurs access to fresh, clean, fully-traceable food ingredients with HyperPure by Zomato”. The Delhi warehouse is designed to supply 5,000 metric tonne (MT) capacity per month and equipped to serve 3,000 restaurants every day. Dhruv Sawhney, founder, Hyperpure, said, “Our restaurant partners in Delhi will benefit from Hyperpure’s offer of fresh and quality food products.” By the year 2020, the company plans to open 20 more warehouses across 18 cities, targeting a combined capacity of 90,000 MT and 7 lakh sq. ft., Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Lucknow, Vadodara, Coimbatore, Kochi, Agra, Goa and Surat are among the most prominent cities where the company would lay more emphasis.

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June 2019

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Technology

3D-Printed Device to Create Electricity from Falling Snow mong other major inventions, the scientists have designed a 3D-printed device that can produce electricity from falling snow. This is first of its kind. It has been designed by the research scholars at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in the US. Sources said, this device is inexpensive, small, thin and flexible. “The device can work in remote areas because it provides its own power and does not need batteries,” said UCLA’s Richard Kaner, who is senior author of the research. The research was first published in the journal, Nano Energy. “It’s a very clever device — a weather station that can tell you how much snow is falling, the direction the snow is falling, and the direction

AI to Help Develop Safe, Clean & Limitless Fusion Energy

cientists from Princeton and Harvard Universities have found that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) may prove helpful in developing safe, clean and virtually limitless fusion energy for generating electricity. The teams of researchers in the both the institutions are applying deep learning to forecast sudden disruptions that can halt fusion reactions and damage the doughnut-shaped tokamaks or apparatus that house the reactions. According to the findings published in the journal, Nature Magazine, the Deep Learning is a powerful new version of the Machine Learning form of AI. The director of US Department of Energy’s (DOE), Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Steven Cowley said, “This research will open a promising

new chapter in the effort to bring unlimited energy to Earth”. “Artificial intelligence is exploding across the sciences and now it’s beginning to contribute to the worldwide quest for fusion power,” Cowley said in a statement. Fusion, which drives the Sun and stars, is the fusing of light elements in the form of plasma — the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei — that generates energy.A principal research physicist at PPPL, William Tang, has said AI is the most intriguing area of scientific growth right now, and to marry it to fusion science is very exciting. For an abundant supply of power and production of electricity, the scientists have sought to replicate fusion on the Earth surface. nnn

Crew Members Repair Leakage in Russian Spacecraft: NASA

and speed of the wind,” Kaner said in a statement. The device called snow-based tri-bioelectric Nano-generator or snow TENG that generates charge through static electricity and produces energy from the exchange of electrons. “Static electricity occurs from the interaction of one material that captures electrons and another that gives up electrons”, Kaner said. Snow is positively charged and gives up electrons. Silicone — a synthetic rubber-like material that is composed of silicon atoms and oxygen atoms, combined with carbon, hydrogen and other elements — is negatively charged. When falling snow contacts the surface of silicone, it produces a charge that the nnn device captures, creating electricity.

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

he United States (US) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has said that the crew members, at the International Space Station, repaired the leakage found in a Russian spacecraft that had caused a slight reduction of station pressure. The experts had found a tiny hole in the Russian spacecraft, Soyuz was one of two attached to the station, the US space agency revealed. "All systems are stable and the crew is in no danger," Nasa tweeted last evening. A Russian commander "used epoxy on a gauze wipe to plug the hole identified as the leak source," NASA said in one its blog published in May first week.

"As the teams were discussing options, flight controllers in Moscow performed a partial increase of the station's atmosphere using the ISS Progress 70 cargo ship's oxygen supply. Flight controllers in Houston are continuing to monitor station's cabin pressure in the wake of the repair”. “The astronauts at the station were not at all in ‘any danger’ during the day and that they were "planning to return to the regular schedule of work on Friday”, NASA said in a statement. In a Tweet, NASA cleared that – • All systems were stable and the crew was not at all in danger, •A tiny hole in Russian spacecraft caused 'minor reduction of station pressure. nnn

Faecal Pollution Reduces Groundwater in North India he research scholars in Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur has found that the economic growth is reducing faecal pollution in groundwater in major portions of North India. Faecal pollution is considered as the key factor behind increasing water-born diseases in the densely populated Indo-GangesBrahmaputra river basin and the adjacent areas. The researchers claims that over 1 lakh children in India die every year due to waterborne enteric diseases including diarrhea and others. According to the International Journal of Information Management, it was the first-time observation on significant reduction of faecal coliform pathogen concentration in the spatially variable groundwater from 2002 to 2017. Professor Abhijit Mukherjee, the De-

partment of Geology and Geophysics, IIT Kharagpur, said, “Looking beyond the country globally, more than two billion people, mostly living in economically stressed areas of Africa and South Asia still do not have access to basic sanitation, and more than one billion still opt for open defecation”. “The resulting unsafe disposal of faecal waste to nearby drinking water sources poses an extremely serio u s environmental crisis and public health concern,” said Mukherjee, who led the research project. The researchers studied data for the densely populated Indo-Ganges-Brahmaputra river basin, across 234 districts in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam and also Delhi and NCR. nnn

Itokowa Asteroids Contain Water: Scientists

xperts comprising scientists and research scholars from USA and Japan, including one of Indian origin, have found water in the samples from the surface of asteroid Itokawa. These were collected by the Japanese space probe Hayabusa. Itokawa is a peanutshaped asteroid about 1,800 feet long and 700 to 1,000 feet wide. It circles the Sun every 18 months at an average distance of 1.3 times the Earth-Sun distance. The first-ever measurements of water, contained in the samples from Itokawa, suggest that impacts early in Earth’s history by similar asteroids could have delivered as much as half of our planet’s ocean

water, said researchers from the Arizona State University (ASU) in the US. Part of Itokawa’s path brings it inside Earth’s orbit and at farthest, it sweeps out a little beyond that of Mars. Ziliang Jin, a postdoctoral scholar in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, said that they had found the samples and examined them. “These were enriched in water compared to the average for inner solar system objects”, Jin said. The team’s idea of looking for water in the Itokawa samples came as a surprise for the Hayabusa project. “No one could have thought to look for water, until we witness the fact” said Maitrayee Bose, an assistant nnn professor at ASU.

Fire-extinguisher Sucks That Flame and Combustioin in Space fire extinguisher that sucks flame as well as combustion products in the space. This unique device has been created and designed by the research scientists in Japan. This unique device, Vacuum Extinguish Method (VEM) is based on the completely “reverse” operation of widely-used fire extinguisher, namely, spraying extinguisher agents into the firing point. VEM can suck flames as well as combustion products, even fire source, by vacuum into the vacuum chamber to remove the firing elements from the space of interest.

This reverse concept shall be suitable for the special environments that are highly enclosed — such as space vehicles and submarines — to prevent or suppress spreading the harmful combustion products such as fume, particulate matters, toxic gas component across the entire enclosed cabin. This is especially advantageous for space use, preferable in an extreme vacuum environment. The fire extinguishers that are used in spacecraft or space stations in the US, Japan, Europe and Russia are mainly Carbon dioxide (CO2)gas extinguishers. Spraying type of extinguisher is not the best choice for space-environment because of the limited volume inside the cabin and the increase of CO2 concentration. And hence, it is necessary to wear an Oxygen (O2) mask before the device’s extinguisher process is executed, which causes a delay of nnn action and allow the fire to grow.

June 2019

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Success Story

Legendry Shahnaz Husain Leading Woman Entrepreneur

She dared to dream. She made a strong strategy. And finally conquered the world of fashion and beautifications. Meet septuagenarian legendary woman and India’s leading entrepreneur, Shahnaz Husain, who pioneered of the Ayurvedic beauty care movement. She redefined the beauty and revolutionized the entire scene of cosmetic care. here is no doubt that herbal beauty care in India is fashioned after the Shahnaz Husain innovations, products and treatments. Indeed, Shahnaz Husain, pioneer, visionary and innovator, has dedicated her life to crusading the cause of herbal healing, taking it to every corner of the globe. To quote the Washington Post, “To her exclusively goes the credit of bringing out the therapeutic value of herbs from the mists of antiquity and legend, combining then with scientific research and practice.” Before she took on Ayurveda and made it immensely popular, it had no takers in the mainstream modern culture. Therefore, to her goes the

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credit of embracing India’s traditional herbal healing science, popularising it all over the world and starting an international trend for Ayurvedic beauty care. Holding press conferences worldwide and speaking from every rostrum, Shahnaz Husain has fought for the recognition of holistic beauty care, making herbal healing and Ayurveda relevant worldwide. Washington Post goes on to say, “Shahnaz Husain has done so much for India’s image abroad that she truly deserves the sobriquet of India's Beauty Ambassador”. Shahnaz never planned it this way. Her life was on a very different course, having got married at the age of 15 and becoming a mother at 16. Life seemed perfect, but she was bored with the drudgery of endless routine. Then the mental upheaval began. She was interested in beauty and decided on beauty as a career. Determined to get the best training possible, she worked her way to prized institutions of the West, like Helena Rubinstein, Christine Valmy, Swarzkopf, Lancome, Arnould Taylor and Lean of

Copenhagen, learning cosmetology and cosmetic therapy. While training in London, she came across instances of damage caused by chemical treatments. This changed the course of her life and career. She began to search for a natural alternative. Her study of Ayurveda convinced her that it could offer the ideal answers to modern cosmetic-care. She returned to India and started her first herbal salon in the verandah of her home in New Delhi, in 1971, in a very small way. Translating her dreams and ideas into reality inspired her to become an entrepreneur. She adopted the concept of “herbal care and cures” and established customized beauty care, based on individual needs and problems. It was a unique, path-breaking concept. She rejected the existing salon treatments and devised her own. She also began to formulate her own products using plant ingredients and natural substances, based on the Ayurvedic system. Her first hurdle was to make people aware of herbal beauty care. Four decades ago, there was no social networking. Communication was not what it is today. So, she started by replying personally to each and every letter seeking solutions for skin and hair problems. Even now, she still maintains this practice, this personal touch. She also started contributing articles and writing for regular columns, in which she provided home remedies as solutions for beauty problems. In the minds of the readers, this reinforced her philosophy that “nature is the best cosmetologist.” Thus, her faith in herbal healing not only influenced markets and minds, but has become an integral part of her brand image.

Over the last four decades, her specialized salon treatments and products have become breakthroughs in natural beauty care. Shahnaz Herbal has become known for therapeutic products and treatments for problems like acne, hyper-pigmentation, scars, premature ageing, dandruff, hair damage, hair loss, etc. Her journey, from one herbal salon to a worldwide chain of franchise ventures, is one of unprecedented success. Her unique franchise system is at the core of the success of the Shahnaz Husain brand. The clinics have extended on a franchise system and a personal style of growth. It was all based on a personal interaction, where she met people, listened to their problems and provided the solutions. Thus, she was answering a human need. Within the first year, 80 franchise clinics opened in India. The method proved so successful that later she adopted it for the openings of franchise clinics and other ventures abroad. The word was spreading and unknowingly, a brand was born. Today, the Shahnaz Herbal franchise has become a successful business model, with tremendous international goodwill and demand. Entering the international market was the biggest challenge. She participated in the Festival of India in London in 1980 and was given a counter in the Perfumery Section at Selfridges. In the face of fierce competition, to stand up alone and sell India’s ancient civilization in a jar was not easy. To everyone’s surprise, the entire consignment sold out in 3 days, breaking the store’s existing cosmetic sales records. From there, she went on to Har-

June 2019

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Success Story

rods in London, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, the Seibu chain in Japan, Bloomingdales in New York, La Rinascente in Milan and El Corte Inglis in Spain. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I sold a 5000-year old civilization in a jar,â&#x20AC;? says Shahnaz. Today, the Shahnaz Husain Group experiences a worldwide demand for Indian Ayurvedic products. Currently, it operates in more than 100 countries, where it has franchise salons, direct product distributors and beauty academies. Today, the Shahnaz Husain Group is the largest organization of its kind in the world, with four factories and a global network of franchise ventures, spreading Ayurveda among the citizens of tomorrow. Dedicated to innovation, Shahnaz has created over 375 organic formulations for beauty and health care, using 1500 different plant ingredients, essential oils, even precious metals and gems. The ingredients comprise of herb,

flower and fruit extracts, essential oils and other natural substances. State-ofthe-art manufacturing and R&D units, as well as long expertise have given the Shahnaz Husain Group an edge over others in the sophisticated formulation of products. She has always been the first to launch revolutionary products, like her 24 Carat Gold Range, Pearl products, Diamond Collection, Plant Stem Cells and Flower Botanics. Advanced therapeutic products called Chemoline have also been introduced to alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation on the skin and hair. They are given free of cost to Cancer Hospitals worldwide, as part of her CSR activities. Today, in the global sphere, Shahnaz Ayurvedics stands as a formidable competitor to every international brand that enters India. It is not only her franchise-based enterprise but also her truly unique marketing strategies. Even at a time, when the demand for the product is sustained through advertising, she does not rely on commercial advertisements. She was invited by Harvard Business School to speak on how she established an international brand without commercial advertising, becoming a Harvard Case

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Shanaz Husain and RK Puri Walks the Red Carpet At Cannes Film Festival French Riviera Study. Today she is a Harvard Subject for “Emerging Markets” in Business History. She has also spoken at Oxford University and London School of Economics on India’s rising global economic influence. She also lectured at MIT on brand India and innovative entrepreneurship. Shahnaz has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival twice and also achieved the rare honour of representing India at U.S. President Barack Obama’s “Summit for Entrepreneurs” in Washington DC. The summit was also significant for woman empowerment. In fact, Shahnaz spoke on “Unleashing Woman Power” and received a standing ovation. Woman empowerment and social causes have been close to her heart. Early in her career, Shahnaz introduced a unique system of networking, by encouraging ordinary housewives to open salons in their own homes, so that they could achieve financial independence and yet, be close at hand to care for home and family. She trained them and gave them the opportunity to pursue a career. She also pioneered professional vocational training in beauty. Her social causes include free beauty training courses for the speech, hearing and visually impaired, as well as acid attack survivors. Shahnaz Husain has also contributed significantly to Government Skill Development projects, creating a sustainable model of livelihood for 40,000 underprivileged women in Beauty & Wellness. Says Shahnaz, “My philanthropic work has remained the nerve centre of my entrepreneurial success.” Shahnaz Husain has received several prestigious international awards, including the Padma Shri Award and became the first

woman in 107 years to receive the World’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur Award from the New York based Success magazine. She recently received three prestigious international awards in London, including “Pioneering Ayurveda Worldwide” Award and the Excellence Award in the British Parliament. She was honoured with an Award for Excellence for her Chemoline Range for cancer patients. The unique factor that has contributed to the success of her enterprise is that “Shahnaz Husain” is not a faceless brand name or corporate. The image that is foremost in the minds of people is that of a real, person, who is herself trained in cosmetology and cosmetic therapy. Every label has become a symbol, not only of her own understanding of herbal beauty care but of her vision, philosophy and charisma. Today, her name has become the brand and she, herself, is the brand ambassador. Indeed, there is no doubt that it is Shahnaz Husain who singlehandedly put India on the world beauty map and has had the Indian flag flying high at the cosmetic capitals of the world. She opened the windows of the world to nature and thanks to her relentless efforts, people all over the world are looking at Ayurvedic Beauty Care with enlightened eyes. Her profound knowledge of natural care, her rare energy and vitality, as well as her faith in her own abilities, make it a story of a woman who dared to dream and succeeded beyond success. She fashioned a global network out of just a dream, starting in a very small way. Today, she has become an international beauty icon, while her organization is a magnificent expression of her dreams, hopes and aspirations. nnn

June 2019

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INDIA’S Cover Story

REALTY LEADER

Parveen Jain is the Vice – Chairman Naredco (National Real Estate Development Council) and the Chairman and Managing Director Tulip Infratech, a leading real Estate development organization. His role has been outstanding in the development of housing, commercial and infrastructure projects.Within a short period, he has made Tulip Infratech a major force to reckon with in the real estate world. It's tangible, it's solid, and it’s beautiful.

It's artistic, from my standpoint, and I just love real estate. -Donald Trump By Yogesh Sood

his is what has been said by one of the most successful businessmen that hold even today. Likewise, Parveen Jain, CMD Tulip Infratech and Vice Chairman, Naredco just followed his dreams and carved a future – eloquently told through high energy, real estate projects.Today, the minds are ruled by those who are

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raising imposing structures. Property has come to redefine power and it leaves behind a legacy too.There is no idea that can’t be shaped up into a big plan. There is nothing called impossible in the lexicon of those who dream big and who achieve it with sheer determination, perseverance and over some time. Champions inevitably find a way and their path is scripted in high performance and excellence. Similar is the story of Tulip Infratech, a shimmering business entity that has been built up

Mr. PARVEEN JAIN

VICE- CHAIRMAN NAREDCO AND CMD, TULIP INFRATECH

June 2019

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Cover Story

on the reputation brick- by brick and thus has created people’s trust. Scripting glory in tiles, marbles, cement, paint, steel and mortar in a modern and futuristic way has become a lifelong mission for the champion builder and the real estate developer Parveen Jain, the CMD of Tulip Infratech. All credit goes to his vision and mission, Tulip was started by Parveen Jain (CMD) in the year 2005 and since then there was no looking back. Tulip is mainly into Group Housing and commercial projects. The main group ofhousing projects are on Sohna Road Badshahpur Gurgaon which are Tulip Ivory, Tulip Purple, Tulip White, Tulip Violet and Tulip Lemon, comprising of around 5000 condominiums. Tulip Grand an another group housing project is in Sonipat, Tulip Ace & Petals, the huge group housing project is at Pataudi road in Gurgaon. The company has been known for its innovative approach, transparent dealing and customer-friendly policies. These are the strong traits that have helped Tulip Infratech become India’s leading real estate firm. It is the innate ability of Parveen Jain to look ahead of time that made him visualize and execute magnificent projects. It helped barren tracts of land into landscaped greens that are hosting world-class commercial, residential, villas and recreational properties. It is building a better world which perhaps matches the world-class facilities in India to say the least. Parveen Jain is the Chairman and Managing Director of Tulip Infratech, one of the leading Real Estate development organization brand names in the Indian Real Estate sector. He is also the Vice Chairman of NAREDCO (National Real Estate Development Council). His role has been outstanding towards the development of housing, commercial projects and infrastructure in the fields of construction and Real Estate sector. He started Tulip Infratech in the year 2005 and within a short period, he made a major force to reckon with in the Real Estate world. Parveen Jain has in-depth knowledge about the Real Estate industry and all its related fields like the construction industry and other aspects. He is a very dynamic person and go-getter. Due

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to his positive approach, farsighted, correct analysis, correct judgments and right decisions, his role has been major towards the development of group housing, commercial projects and infrastructure in Gurgaon NCR region. Due to his dexterous organizational skills, his client-centric time-bound strategy has proved to be a boon for the end-users who are the proud owners of the delivered condominiums. Mr. Jain has also delved into infrastructure development by Tulip’s joint venture with CCTEB (China Construction Third Engineering Bureau), one of the largest Chinese construction global company. Parveen Jain has bagged several National and International awards in the Real Estate sector. A few years ago, he had accompanied the President of India as a delegate to South Korea. Parveen Jain has also attended the BRICS Summit in 2017, held in China.The Summit was attended by the Prime Minister with several other hands of

TULIP VIOLET READY TO MOVE IN APARTMENTS

Nations. He keeps himself breifed with the latest technologies and developments in the Real estate world.

TULIP INFRATECH A Major Force to Reckon with in Real Estate Sector Tulip Infratech is a Real Estate Development Organization in Delhi Gurgaon NCR (National Capital Region) in India with its corporate office in Gurgaon and registered office in Connaught place in Delhi. Tulip has successfully become one of the topmost leading Real Estate development organizations in the NCR (National Capital Region) in India, a major force to reckon within the Real estate sector.

After having successfully delivered many Group housing projects to its clients like Tulip Ace & Petals, Tulip Grand, Tulip Ivory, Tulip Purple, Tulip White where clients have taken possession and are cherishing their stay, Tulip Infratech – one of the leading Real estate development organizations in NCR Gurgaon under the aegis of its CMD Parveen Jain has again come up successfully with its brand new Group Housing project- Tulip Violet which has handed over its 1st phase of 660 ‘Ready to Move in’ 4BHK & 3BHK apartments in eleven fifteen storied towers and phase-2 is ready for possession. Tulip Violet is located at Sohna Road Bahawalpur in < sector-69 Gurgaon. Tulip Violet is one of the biggest housing projects & has two types of towers – A and B type presently. These towers are fifteen storied. The A-type towers have 4BHK units and the B-type has 3BHK units. A few towers have penthouses. Tulip’s CMD Parveen Jain says that ‘Tulip Violet is at an ideal location adjacent to Sohna Road in sector-69 Gurgaon and it is a ‘Green Building’ in the making. Country side pollution free green environment away from tensions of hectic life and easy accessibility to all important destinations, equipped with all the amenities, exquisite landscaping, sports facilities, club, swimming pool, golf course and what not has made Tulip Violet as one of the most sought after group housing projects and the ideal choice of buyers and investors’. Tulip Violet is the Group

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Housing Residential project which is one of the most prestigious proffers by Tulip. These multistoried apartments have been designed in consonance with the high-end contemporary lifestyle. The main emphasis of this project is to provide a pollution free natural green environment so that its residents can experience a peacefull time, living away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Tulip Violet is a Green Building in the making and has been pre-certified as Gold rated Green Building by IGBC (Indian Green Building Council). Tulip Violet is spread across over an extensive land area of around thirty-nine acres at Sohna Road Badshahpur in sector-69 Gurgaon. Although Violet is cocooned inside the tranquil green natural habitat away from the noise, pollution and congestion of the metro city, yet it enjoys all the location advantages which are easy accessibility to all the amenities and advantages provided by the metro city. Violet is located on the 60 meters wide proposed sector approach road. Also Violet is at a distance of only about half a kilometers from the proposed metro and southern

RERA Has Brought Transparency And Discipline : Parveen Jain

NAREDCO Vice - Chairman speaks to Observer Dawn’s Business Editor, Yogesh Sood on key issues in the Real Estate sector “RERA is buyer- friendly and helps bring transparency”

What are your views on RERA (Real Estate Regulation Act) which will be completing 2nd Anniversary this month? RERA has brought an ample amount of semblance, transparency and discipline in the last two years since its inception in the Real estate sector. With the advent of RERA, the ground realities, issues, problems and challenges facing the Real estate sector have been addressed in a dexterous manner. RERA is buyers’ friendly and the major problem of delay in projects has been looked into and taken care of, where otherwise earlier the buyers used to feel helpless. Due to the implementation of RERA, the Real estate sector is becoming more structured, stream lined, organized and moving forward on the positive right way.

What are your views about Aﬀordable Housing and ‘Housing for All by 2022’? ‘Housing for all by 2022’ is a great initiative of the government to provide Housing for the masses. This mission can be accomplished only if more and more emphasis is given to providing Affordable Housing which masses can go for as it is Affordable as the name suggests. There is a new enthusiasm in the air for delving into Affordable Housing segment as it has acquired ‘Infrastructure status’ and there are so many advantages as-

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sociated with it both for the buyers and the developers. Affordable Housing is the main tool of accomplishing the mission of ‘Housing for All by 2022’ and it is most suitable to cater to the demand for housing for the masses.

What would you like to suggest to the buyers and investors about the right time for buying and investment? The right time for buying and investment is always the ‘present’. In this matter, there should not be any procrastination and if someone has got the budget to buy then go for it instead of delaying the decision for the future because you never know whether in future the circumstances shall be favourable or not, price escalation may take place etc. It is always to buy in the present and reap the good results in the future with property price appreciation.

What are the advantages for buyers if they go for ‘Ready to Move- in’ Properties? The biggest advantage as the name suggests is ‘Ready to move in’, which means you are spared all the problems of constructing a House, waiting period, the

peripheral road. National Highway NH-8, International and domestic airports are also easily approachable from here. Tulip Violet shall be well equipped with the state of the art facilities like 24x7 three-tier security, fully fenced boundaries, dedicated car parking facilities, earthquake resistant RCC framed structures, fire safety compliant, modular kitchens, high speed elevators, swimming pool, club, community centre, shopping arcade, kids play area, golf range with putting greens, lawn tennis and badminton courts, jogging track, tree-lined roads and walkways, exotic landscaped green lawns with beautiful bollards and lighting poles, ergonomic street furniture and other desired paraphernalia.The vast green Golf course has been delineated in the site where people can enjoy playing golf in sunny winters. Tulip Violet has huge double level and single level interconnected basements.

final enhanced buying price you may encounter at the completion of House etc. In Ready to move in you know the final price to be paid, see and satisfy yourself with the Finished Home and then you can move in. So these are the major advantages of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ready to move inâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; properties.

What is the Current scenario & Future of the Indian Real Estate Sector? The current scenario of the Indian Real estate sector is good in comparison to the last two years and improving gradually. Now policies like RERA have stood on firm ground and making the Real Estate sector more structured, organized, transparent and streamlined. The things have normalized and the interest of buyers and investors has been rekindled. There is great demand for Affordable Housing and Ready to move in properties. The positive future of the Indian Real estate sector beckons us and the Indian Real estate sector is moving forward on a brighter note providing Homes for the masses, generating employment and improving the economy of the nation. nnn

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Cover Story

Both Non-Tower area and tower area basements have been provided to give ample space for car parking along with surface car parking on a ground surface level. All the desired amenities and sports facilities will be provided in the commercial block and club within the Violet premises and in the vicinity of the site which is surrounded by five other Tulip projects and are at a walking distance from Violet. Tulip Violet is one of the best deals for buyers and investors due to the above described factors which throw light upon the plethora of advantages which Tulip Violet is proffering. Countryside pollution free green environment away from tensions of a hectic life and easy accessibility to all important destinations, equipped with all the amenities

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and sports facilities and what not has made Tulip Violet the ideal choice of buyers and investors. Tulip Violet is creating a micro green environment in the macro environment of the Gurgaon NCR area and this is unique and advantageous in every aspect. Buying a Tulip Violet apartment can be considered as one of the best deals in this scenario.

TULIP LEMON Tulip has completed its latest Affordable Housing project â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tulip Lemonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which is located in sector-69, Gurgaon. Tulip Lemon comprises of six towers of 2BHK & one tower of 1BHK units providing a total of around 754 units. Tulip Infratech CMD

Parveen Jain says, ‘You will be glad to know that our prestigious Tulip Lemon project is one of the earliest starters in Affordable Housing projects’ wave which has gripped the nation ever since the Prime Minister embarked upon his mission of ‘Housing for All by 2022’. There has always been a great demand for Tulip Lemon affordable housing project because of its affordable pricing and excellent quality construction using the latest Mivan construction technology. Tulip Lemon had received the award of ‘Scroll of Honour for Exceptional Contribution in Residential – Affordable Housing Segment’. Mr. Jain elaborates, ‘The special feature of Tulip Lemon project is that it has used the latest ‘Mivan’ construction shuttering technology. This is an Aluminium formwork technology where the whole structure is of RCC ( Reinforced Cement concrete ) and brick walls are not used. This gives a very strong earthquake resistant structure, easy to make typical floors with cement concrete pouring at one go for a large area with pipes & conduits embedded in it. The construction time taken is reduced to a great extent and also it results in a smooth finish. Also ‘Mivan’ technology reduces the need for skilled labour, masonry and rendering work. These are a few major advantages of Mivan technology over normal brick wall construction methods and it has added the best quality value to the Tulip Lemon project.’

NEW TULIP PROJECTS Tulip Infratech has launched many new projects this year. The first is Tulip Leaf which is a single Premium 20 storied tower with double Basement which is a Group Housing project having 3BHK apartments. The Ground floor of Tulip Leaf is dedicated to Club and Community area with multiple facilities and a swimming pool. Tulip Leaf is located above Tulip Purple in sector-69 Gurgaon and below Southern Peripheral road. Tulip Leaf shall be much sought after Group Housing project at the prime location. The second new upcoming project is TOD-1 (Transit Oriented development). This shall be 1st in a series of four upcoming Tulip Group Housing projects. This is located adjacent to Tulip Violet. Besides these a grand temple is coming up adjacent to Tulip Ivory which shall be the cynosure of all eyes and where the Residents can celebrate festivals and perform Puja and Religious activities. Adjacent to this Grand temple, Tulip Club project is coming up which shall be near to Tulip Violet. In totality a sort of Tulip mini city is being created where all Tulip projects are adjacent to each other in sector-69, 70 creating a serene, ambiance and aura with a pollution free green atmosphere coupled with exquisite landscaping in all Tulip projects. nnn

June 2019

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Biosphere Facing Nastiest Ecology

Phase: UN Report on Biodiversity

he Bio-diversity is now facing nastier phase than it was over the past decades. If reports are to be believed, over 1 million species including plants, animals and other species have disappeared from the scene. These reports were revealed during the first comprehensive report on biodiversity. A couple walks through a forest with the Frankfurt skyline in background near Frankfurt, Germany. Development thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s led to loss of habitat, climate change, overfishing, pollution and invasive species is causing a biodiversity crisis, scientists say in a new United Nations science report released Monday, May 6, 2019. It's all because of humans, but it's not too late to fix the problem, the report said. Species loss is accelerating to a rate tens or hundreds of times faster than in the past, the report said. More than half a million species on land "have insufficient habitat for long-term survival" and are likely to go extinct, many within

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decades, unless their habitats are restored. The oceans are not any better off. "Humanity unwittingly is attempting to throttle the living planet and humanity's own future," said George Mason University biologist Thomas Lovejoy, who has been called the godfather of biodiversity for his research. He was not part of the report. "The biological diversity of this planet has been really hammered, and this is really our last chance to address all of that," Lovejoy said. Conservation scientists from around the world convened in Paris to issue the report, which exceeded 1,000 pages. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) included more than 450 researchers who used 15,000 scientific and government reports. The report's summary had to be approved by representatives of all 109 nations. Some nations hit harder by the losses, like small land countries, wanted more in the report. Others, such as the United States,

were cautious in the language they sought, but they agreed "we're in trouble," said Rebecca Shaw, chief scientist for the World Wildlife Fund, who observed the final negotiations. "This is the strongest call we've seen for reversing the trends on the loss of nature," Shaw said. The findings are not just about saving plants and animals, but about preserving a world that's becoming harder for humans to live in, said Robert Watson, a former top NASA and British scientist who headed the report. "We are threatening the potential food security, water security, human health and social fabric" of humanity, Watson told The Associated Press. He further said that the poor in less developed countries bear the greatest burden. Report of 39-page summary highlighted as how people are reducing biodiversity: —Turning forests, grasslands and other areas into farms, cities and other developments. The loss of habitat leaveplants and anials homeless.About three-quarters of Earth's land, two-thirds of its oceans and 85% of crucial wetlands have been severely altered or lost, making it harder for species to survive, the report said. — Overfishing the world's oceans. A third of the world's fish stocks are overfished. — Permitting climate change from the burning of fossil fuels to make it too hot, wet or dry for some species to survive. Almost half of the world's land mammals — not including bats — and nearly a quarter of the birds have already had their habitats hit hard by global warming. — Polluting land and water. Every year, 300 to 400 million tons of heavy metals, solvents and toxic sludge are dumped into the world's waters. — Allowing invasive species to crowd out native plants and animals. The number of invasive alien species per country has risen 70% since 1970, with one species of bacteria threatening nearly 400 amphibian species. Fighting climate change and saving species are equally important, the report said, and working on both environmental problems should go hand in hand. Both problems exacerbate each other because a warmer world means fewer species, and a less biodiverse world means fewer trees and plants to remove heat-

trapping carbon dioxide from the air, Lovejoy said. The world's coral reefs are a perfect example of where climate change and species loss intersect. If the world warms another 0.9 degrees (0.5 degrees Celsius), which other reports say is likely, coral reefs will probably dwindle by 70% to 90%, the report said. At 1.8 degrees (1 degree Celsius), the report said, 99% of the world's coral will be in trouble. "Business as usual is a disaster," Watson said. At least 680 species with backbones have already gone extinct since 1600. The report said 559 domesticated breeds of mammals used for food have disappeared. More than 40% of the world's amphibian species, more than one-third of the marine mammals and nearly one-third of sharks and fish are threatened with extinction. The report relies heavily on research by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, which is composed of biologists who maintain a list of threatened species. The IUCN

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Ecology calculated in March that 27,159 species are threatened, endangered or extinct in the wild out of nearly 100,000 species biologists examined in depth. That includes 1,223 mammal species, 1,492 bird species and 2,341 fish species. Nearly half the threatened species are plants. Scientists have only examined a small fraction of the estimated 8 million species on Earth. The report comes up with 1 million species in trouble by extrapolating the IUCN's 25% threatened rate to the rest of the world's species and using a lower rate for the estimated 5.5 million species of insects, Watson said. Outside scientists, such as Lovejoy and others, said that's a reasonable assessment. The report gives only a generic "within decades" time frame for species loss because it is dependent on many variables, including taking the problem seriously, which can reduce the severity of the projections, Watson said. "We're in the middle of the sixth great extinction crisis, but it's happening in slow motion," said Conservation International and University of California Santa Barbara ecologist Lee Hannah, who was not part of the report. Five times in the past, Earth has undergone mass extinctions where much of life on Earth blinked out, like the one that killed the dinosaurs. Watson said the report was careful not to call what's going on now as a sixth big die-off because current levels don't come close to the 75% level in past mass extinctions. The report goes beyond species. Of the 18 measured ways nature helps humans, the report said

14 are declining, with food and energy production noticeable exceptions. The report found downward trends in nature's ability to provide clean air and water, good soil and other essentials. Habitat loss is one of the biggest threats, and it's happening worldwide, Watson said. The report projects 15.5 million miles (25 million kilometers) of new roads will be paved over nature between now and 2050, most in the developing world. Many of the worst effects can be prevented by changing the way we grow food, produce energy, deal with climate change and dispose of waste, the report said. That involves concerted action by governments, companies and people. Individuals can help with simple changes to the way they eat and use energy, said the co-chairman of the report, ecological scientist Josef Settele of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Germany. That doesn't mean becoming a vegetarian or vegan, but balancing meat, vegetables and fruit, and walking and biking more, Watson said. "We can actually feed all the coming billions of people without destroying another inch of nature," Lovejoy said. Much of that can be done by eliminating food waste and being more efficient, he said. nnn

(Courtesy Los Angel Times)

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A Book On Battulga,

The President of Mongolia, Released The book is about the businessman turned politician, Battulga, from the era of Socialism, where the author studied together with Battulga at School of Fine Arts Book Review By Yogesh Sood n July 2017, the Hero of the book Battulga was elected as the President of Mongolia. The book interestingly starts with the phrase “Probably, I am the only, who knows Battulga the Best”! The book is about the businessman turned politician, Battulga, from the era of Socialism, where the author studied together with Battulga at School of Fine Arts. This book was written about three years, prior Mr. Turmunkh Dorjkhand to the presidential election, he was elected Renowned Journalist as the President of Mongolia. The Author of the book is a renowned Battulga looking back at his early life, journalist and perhaps, one who knows after his mother got ill because of depresthe President closely, right from his aca- sion caused by the repression and harassdemic years. Turmunkh Dorjkhand is also ment of people surrounding him. Battulga an Essay - Novel Screenwriter and Direc- started his business sewing trousers and tor of the Film, ‘Country of Dogs’ that re- selling them. In order to go abroad, he ceived almost 23 awards of the world film also started learning Judo and wrestling, festival. He often writes - “we, the Mon- which also enabled him to go abroad to golians, are just a few’. He goes saying do his first border business. that – ‘however we are homogeneous and The book is a fantastic description of the intelligent nation, free from inter- reli- businessmen and politician Battulga and gious conflict’. Nomads are smart and inthe struggle that he had untelligent people with dergone. His philosophy of guts, capable of adlife can be understood from justing to any situahis Facebook excerpts stattion. Even though, ing “Since all of us will go to there are books such sleep forever, we give preferas: Annals of Historence for a short nap. My ical figures and teleYoung friends wake up and vision programs like: go to work". The book also the 100 Geniuses of talks about the trail and Mangolia. With this tribulations undergone by book, we are launchthe hero of this book Bating a series of portulga, who had been subjutraits of ordinary gate to fabricated criminal heroes, those who investigation in the name of live among us and seventeen tankers of spirit often showers love struggling. However, owing Name of Book and care for each to his sharp intellect and THE PRESIDENT OF MONGOLIA other. Though, we business acumen Kh Batulga Name Of Writer are still alive". has grown up as a self- proTurmunkh Dorjkhand The book starts with pelled tycoon in a free mar-

ket of Mongolia. He had always kept intact bonds with the ordinary folks and never lost the pulse of the society. Despite naming the company " Genco" Battulga never conspired with vested interests and he firmly stood for upholding the public interest .He had always nurtured his own vision for economic growth and holistic development of the nation as a whole. He had always believed that this goal can be realized only through politics. Thus, he entered politics thereby becoming the Member of Parliament three times and two times as the Cabinet Minister i.e. Minister for Transportation in 2008-2012 and the Minister for Industry and Agriculture in 2012. Today , as President of Mongolia , people have high hope from him - both in terms of accelerating the economic growth as well as strengthening the political sovereignty .Also some feel that will President Battulga encourage infusion of FDI and adopt modern technology ? Will he pursue a fine balance between two traditional neighbors - Russia and China along with the third neighbor policy with other democracies of the world. The credit of translating the book in English goes to HE GONCHIG GANBOLD, Mangolia's Ambassador in India. He has done a splendid job of bringing the spectacular and bold journey of a humble politician and the President of Mongolia, who had suffered several challenges in life like the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One thing that perhaps is similar to both these visionary leaders is that they had come up from bottom of the pyramid yet always had connection with the ordinary people. In the words of HE GONCHIG GONBOLD, the book would help understand the President Kh. Battulga 's vision and Mongolia fascinating but weary path of past two and a half decades.

June 2019

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Stalwarts and Icons of Industry Spotlight

Honoured at Times Business Awards

or their extraordinary contribution to the growth of the economy, leading lights of the industry were recognized and honoured at ‘Times Business Awards’ held in New Delhi recently. Sought to applaud excellence in different segments of the industry, the event was organised by India’s largest media conglomerate, “The Times Group”— just after it concluded Delhi Times Fashion Week—a three-day event thronged by topmost fashion designers. Times Business Awards reached its grand crescendo with the announcement of the winners who walked the ramp holding the trophies in their hands amid the presence of a host of celebrities like Divya Khosla and Miss India Gayatri Bhardwaj. The gala occasion also witnessed who’s who of the industry deliberating over the key issues in the evening full of glitz and glamour. Among the awardees included India’s leading manufacturer of condoms, surgical and household gloves, “Anondita Healthcare” which won Emerging Healthcare Company Award. On being honoured with such a prestigious award, Anupam Ghosh, Director, Anondita Healthcare said, “It is an extremely proud moment for

us and we are delighted and humbled to receive this award. I take this moment to extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to our valued customers.” The well-known real estate developer KW Group was honoured with Best Upcoming Commercial Project Of the Year Award for its high-street luxury shopping destination KW Delhi-6 at the event. Adding to the celebratory occasion, Pankaj Kumar Jain, Managing Director, KW Group said, “We are honoured to have won this prestigious award for our project ‘KW Delhi-6’ which has already garnered sizable attention of the investors. We are happy that the customers have already started coming to buy commercial properties in ‘KW Delhi-6’ from all the nearby cities of Delhi-NCR including Meerut, Modi Nagar and Murad Nagar.” At this most prestigious platform, “Sanfort Group Of Schools” was bestowed upon Outstanding Contribution In School Education Award. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. S.K. Rathor, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Sanfort Group of Schools said, “I’m pleased, honoured and humbled to receive this award. At Sanfort our mission is to cultivate in students a life long passion for learning and bestow them with an enriching learning experience that allows every child to achieve their optimum potential.” At the occasion, Hans Infomatic was honoured with the award for Outstanding Contribution in Software Development. While receiving the award, Parvinder Singh, MD, Hans Infomatic said, “This award has boosted up our morale to deliver high quality software products. Hans Infomatic remains passionate about delivering innovation without compromising on quality.” A highly credible jury, experts from different industries and other stakeholders were also present at the occasion. The participating brands were uniquely judged on various parameters and all these brands won awards in their respective categories. nnn

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Nasaka Unveils ‘MaXsure’ RO water

Purifier Equipped with Mega Tank Capacity Designed exclusively for the big Indian family, Nasaka ‘MaXsure’ has a jumbo tank and it boasts multiple purification stages: RO+UV+UF+ OrpH++ Biomag, making it 100% health oriented

asaka, the leading water purifiers manufacturing brand from the house of Okaya & Microtek, launched yet another revolutionary RO water purifier model ‘MaXsure’ in an inspiring dealers and distributors meet held in The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi. Amid the presence of Nasaka/Okaya Group Director Mr. Arush Gupta unveiled meticulously crafted Nasaka ‘MaXsure’ that made the beholders literally stand out from the crowd due to its many embellishments. More than 200 Nasaka dealers and distributors thronged the venue and witnessed the launch of the much-awaited Nasaka ‘MaXsure’ RO water purifier that is set to surpass the expectations of consumers. Designed exclusively for the big Indian family, Nasaka ‘MaXsure,’ equipped with an extra-large tank of 13 litres, boasts multiple purification stages (RO+UV+ UF+LED+OrpH++Biomag). Unlike other RO-based water purifiers, it is percent health-oriented which is one of the major USPs of this one-of-its-kind product. The major USPs and benefits of Nasaka ‘MaXsure’ are as following: • Effective Biomag technology with OrpH+ • Rapid Purification capacity of 15 litres/hour • Advance color LED indication • Combination of Reverse Osmosis, Ultraviolet & Ultra-filtration technology • Smart filter change alert

•

Automatic flushing of impurities to enhance the life of the membrane • Suitable for the purification of brackish, tap & municipal water supply • Wall-mountable and aesthetically designed with water level indicator • 5 years (1+4 years extended) warranty • 400+ service points Nasaka ‘MaXsure’ Water Purifier is available all across India. In particular, Nasaka ‘MaXsure’ is studded with futuristic OrpH+ technology that adds the vital minerals and maintains ORP and pH level of water, thereby assuring good health and better immunity for users. In a similar manner, its Biomag technology breaks down the water molecules into fine micro-cluster that helps the body quickly absorb essential minerals present in the water. Speaking on the occasion, Arush Gupta, Director, Nasaka said, “Nasaka ‘MaXsure’ is truly an immunity boosting water purifier with its world-class four-stage water purification technology. After passing through minute purification, you get to drink water that is fortified with all essential minerals and tastes good too. Besides the high quality of water that helps you stay healthy, creative design and exceptional customer service are the other hallmarks of brand Nasaka which provide it an edge in the market.” nnn

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Confederation to Organize Conference On ‘Smart Cities’ Spotlight

he Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Uttar Pradesh going to organize a conference on ‘Smart Cities’ in the premises of Gyan Convention Centre, CII Office, Vibhuti Khand, at Lucknow. The theme of the conference is “Smart & Sustainable Cities for the Future”. By providing the renowned industrialists with an opportunity to interact with the government and the related bodies together, the conference will act as a platform for industry as well as the innovators across the region. “We have also written to the concerned Government authorities of the Uttar Pradesh to be on the board and support us in our important initiative”, said the CII, UP, Divjot Singh Anand. “As you are aware, only 30 percent of India’s population lives in urban areas. By 2030 it is expected to reach 40 precent, approximately 600 million people are expected

to live in urban region thereby contributing 70 precent of India’s GDP. Towards this, Government of India announced its intention to develop 100 Smart Cities thereby creating business opportunities, job opportunities and contribute to the economic growth of the country”, Singh said. With 12 cities of Uttar Pradesh earmarked to be developed as Smart Cities as per the Smart Cities Mission, it is crucial to deliberate on important aspects & technologies that can further contribute to make our cities citizen friendly as well as sustainable. Furthermore, to advantage UP is amongst the top when it comes to Ease of Doing Business. A business venture can aim at new heights as the UP state market is magnanimous. Moreover, the state Government has shown its interest in a conference and business houses have got their verbal consensus to come on board to take full advantage of this platform. Renowned CEOs, Directors, Senior Managers and business tycoons, apart from Government delegates, comprising senior officials of various Government departments and ministers, are expected to participate in the conference. As the State Government is also very keen to interact with players from the Mechanized Cleaning Sector, it may be termed as a fantastic opportunity for the government. This conference has an important session related to Mechanized Industrial Cleaning, for which I feel your organi-

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zation is a key stakeholder in the market. The UP Government is interested in meeting players who have state of the art technology and innovative products and services in this sector. The main strategic components of area-based development in the mission are city improvements (retrofitting), renewals (redevelopment) and extensions (Greenfield development) plus a pan-city initiative in which smart solutions are applied covering larger parts of the city. The accrued benefits of this mission are to its citizens, businesses, the government and the environment by way of enabling a better life with services, mobility, environment, e-governance, economy, sustainability and inclusiveness as the pillars for success. The main points of discussions are as follows:

Smart Technology for Smart Cities Adoption of technology to connect the various components of the city, it’s impact on every level of a city, from underneath the streets to the air that citizens are breathing and more. This session aims to uncover smart technology solutions to enable the smart in smart cities. Key discussion points to revolve around: • Importance of Command Control Center for communicating with other city systems such as emergency response forces, utilities (water, energy and sewage SCADA systems), transportation, city surveillance, citizen engagement platform, early warning systems, public security and safety etc. • E-Governance: Place people first through user-oriented experience, adjust services to meet needs and benefit the planet, create new profit through the delivery of community benefit, operational savings and build community partnerships to drive new investment and employment in the digital economy.

Sanitation, Waste Management and Smart Environment The ‘dramatic’ rate of urbanization in India is bound to put pressure on the design, infrastructure and governance systems of the city. While the criticality of finding ways to improve sanitation and waste management has been identified and acknowledged by the government, building smart sanitation solutions to build a clean and disease-free environment in India is the need of the hour. Here is a session that aims to discuss new and innovative ways of tackling the issue. Key discussion points to revolve around.

Urban Housing Solutions Going by the basic definition of a smart city, housing solutions in such cities are to be developed with efficient allocation and utilization of resources which in turn should enable tangible solutions towards creating quality housing for all. Here’s a session that discusses innovative solutions to ensure housing for all in smart cities. nnn

Core Net Global to Organize 6th Indian Annual Conference

he world’s largest professional association for the corporate real estate profession, CoreNet Global, has announced its 6th national annual conference at the premises of ITC Gardenia in Bengaluru on June 2019. The theme for this year’s conference is “Corporate Real Estate: Strategic Planning in A Dynamic World.” The conference will deal with the transformation being brought about by corporate real estate (CRE) in the structuring and execution of India’s overall corporate strategy. The ability to deliver a comprehensive realestate portfolio and effective workplace solutions will be used to highlight CRE’s delivery of a flexible, risk-free work ecosystem. The conference will also deal with the potential contribution that can be made by corporate real estate professionals towards India’s positioning as a global business and financial hub. The keynote address will be given by Antony Slumbers, Co-founder, PropAI, who will share his perspective on the topic “A Dynamic World requires Dynamic Corporate Real Estate.” Some of the other major sessions at the conference include: • The Changing World of CRE – How the Environment Around Corporate Real Estate is Evolving Workplace 360 Degrees – Dynamism of the Gender Diversity and Strategic Management of Workplace • Exploring the Trend of Data

Centres in India - A Boon for Real Estate! • Intelligent Workplace - Engaging Occupants with a Higher Quality of Life “The growth of the real estate industry is conditioned by the ability to adapt to corporate demands on a dynamic basis. CoreNet Global leaders in India are constantly engaged in helping organizations build these competencies through successful knowledge sharing on a collaborative basis,” said Sathish Rajendren- Chief Operating Officer- Knight Frank India Pvt. Ltd. & Co-Chair – CoreNet Global India Chapter. “In today’s CRE space, the need of the hour is for balance between physical spaces, people, and performance. Global trends will come to play an important part in the growth of local ecosystems and it is here that the real estate players in the industry must concentrate their efforts. The CoreNet Global India Conference is a conducive platform to exchange ideas regarding the initiatives that will enable this growth and we look forward to insightful conversations over the course of the event”, said Arunabh Mukherjee - Synopsys India Pvt. Ltd & CoChair – CoreNet Global India Chapter. CoreNet Global is the world’s leading professional association for corporate real estate (CRE) and workplace executives, service providers and economic developers. CoreNet Global’s more than 11,000 members, who include 70 percent of the top 100 U.S. companies and nearly half of the Global 2000, meet locally, globally and virtually to develop networks, share knowledge, learn and thrive professionally. nnn

June 2019

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Big Story

Dara Khosrowshahi Pushes Travis Kalanick’s Company Public Undoubtedly, there was nothing new. When Khosrowshahi took over as chief executive of Uber in 2017, he became the best-compensated janitor in Silicon Valley, with a mandate to clean up the mess left by the company’s exiled founder. But this time, in mid-April, Khosrowshahi faced a Travis headache that lay in the future.

ber was just weeks away from its initial public offering. After years of scandal, infighting and user revolt, this was supposed to be a USD 91 billion moment of triumph, when employees would become wealthy and the public could buy a piece of an indisputably world-changing company. The problem for Khosrowshahi, according to two people briefed on the matter, was that he wanted to be there. As a former CEO and current board member, Kalanick had

OBSERVER DAWN June 2019

asked to take part in the hallowed New York Stock Exchange tradition of ringing the opening bell on May 10, the day Uber shares are slated to begin trading. He also wanted to bring his father, Donald Kalanick. It would be close to the second anniversary of the accidental death of Travis Kalanick’s mother and of the dramatic boardroom coup that ousted him as boss. His presence on the exchange’s iconic balcony could make both, Kalanick and the corporation, appear resilient. Khosrowshahi was not having it. The original plan was to fill

the rafters with Uber’s earliest employees and longest tenured drivers. Moreover, some people at the top of the company felt that Kalanick was still a toxic liability and that Uber should keep him at maximum distance as it tried to convince constituents that employees truly abided by a new motto: “Do the right thing”. Kalanick’s appearance would certainly renew public memories of how much disastrous his final year was. Besides, Khosrowshahi had bigger things to worry about than Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) pageantry. Uber is losing billions of dollars annually, and he needs to convince investors that it is a promising, long-term company — even if it won’t be turning a profit anytime soon. He didn’t need the distraction at Uber’s financial coming-out party. On May 3, shortly after this article was first published online, Khosrowshahi decided Kalanick was not welcome on the balcony, according to an Uber executive briefed on the plans. The CEO wants to prove that the start-up has evolved past Kalanick’s raucous, tech-bro culture — and his strategy of setting barrels of money aflame in the pursuit of growth above all else. But Uber’s past, to state the obvious about a company that is only a decade old, is simply not that far gone. Almost every instance of Kalanick’s bare-knuckled approach to capitalism illuminates something about Uber’s viability as a business today. (Citing the quiet period before an IPO representative for Uber, Khosrowshahi and Kalanick all declined to comment). The company has little good will with consumers or regulators in multiple jurisdictions. And Uber still loses money on nearly every fare, using venture capital to subsidize rides, invest in new areas and beat back a set

of global competitors that offer an essentially identical service. Kalanick’s heavy reliance on venture funding could be problematic for a public Uber in at least two ways. Arguably, it instilled habits of indiscipline, because executives could simply ask for more money whenever they wanted it, like rich kids with no cap on their allowance. Second, that is more troubling for the retail investor is that the bulk of investment returns might have already been realized. Uber acknowledged, in a recent filing, that its growth is slowing, fueling concern that venture firms, private equity shops, sovereign-wealth funds and other elite insiders have not left much upside for momand-pop investors. The last big beneficiary of Uber’s private-market gains might have been Soft Bank. The Japanese mega-conglomerate bought existing shares from Uber investors at a nadir, when the company was valued at roughly USD 42 billion. Just months later, as Uber recovered from its string of scandals, those shares had nearly doubled in value. All IPOs are by nature unpredictable, but with Uber the possible outcomes seem especially extreme. Is it a juggernaut that, like Amazon before it, will someday flip the switch to profitability? Or is it something more like eBay, a well-known but puttering giant with its best growth long since behind it? For now, Khosrowshahi’s job is to execute a drama-free public offering. He was able to use the chaotic events of Kalanick’s departure and his own hiring to secure a lucrative incentive. If he is able to attain a valuation of more than USD120 billion for Uber over a period of 90 consecutive days, according to two people familiar with the matter and language included in Uber’s IPO

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Big Story prospectus, Khosrowshahi will personally net stock bonuses of more than USD 100 million. Going public comes with additional scrutiny and financial reporting requirements — something Uber may have a tough time adjusting to. In the beginning, investors poured billions into the company while asking for little in return, trusting that the charismatic Mr. Kalanick knew what he was doing. When the start-up was founded in 2009, venture capitalists were looking everywhere to fund the next Larry Page of Google or Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook — the newest brilliant mind who might put a multibillion-dollar dent in the universe. Investors valued an entrepreneur’s zeal almost as much as the business plan he or she was selling. And nobody was more zealous than Kalanick. In his mind, historians would one day mention Uber in the same breath as titans like Apple and Google, world-changing corporations that shaped the way billions of people used technology in their daily lives. Investors liked the idea of disrupting the taxi industry and public transportation, but they liked Kalanick even more. Despite a little salt and pepper in his hair — born in 1976, he was practically middle-aged for Silicon Valley — Kalanick was trim and boyish, with an excess of kinetic energy. When he was dangling a chance at Uber equity in front of VCs, he was a force of nature, combining the oracular skills of Steve Jobs with the aggression of Alec Baldwin’s salesman character in “Glengarry Glen Ross”.

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Typically, start-ups go to venture firms’ offices to make their pitches. At its peak, Uber was in such demand that it flipped the power dynamic, making investors come to its San Francisco headquarters. Kalanick created a system based on scarcity. For one week, he would hold just three meetings per day with potential backers, forcing them to compete for slots. He called the method the “home show,” in contrast with the traveling “roadshow” that pre- IPO companies conduct. Venture capitalists didn’t care that Uber was awash in red ink, as long as the user numbers kept climbing. By the end of 2016, Uber was valued at nearly USD 70 billion. But abruptly, by the middle of 2017, investors started to worry in earnest that their stakes were in jeopardy of shrinking to zero. A pileup of scandals among Uber employees — from sexual harassment charges to systematically evading law enforcement — all seemed to reflect Kalanick’s personality and disregard for outsiders, and they cast his business choices in a new light. Uber’s billions in losses could be interpreted as savvy investments, keeping competitors at bay in what would evolve into a winnertake-all market. Or they could be the heedless spending of someone who cared more about winning in the moment than building a long-term company. One way Uber got to a position of dominance in cities was by throwing incentives at drivers and lowering barriers to entry — so low that people who might have been prevented from driving in

the official taxi industry could easily work for Uber. That included predators. Over time, the company received such a volume of sexual misconduct allegations that to keep track of them, it had to create its own taxonomy of 21 different kinds of misbehavior and assault. The taxonomy was developed and made public in an ‘open source’ approach (a move the company has said is an effort to improve safety across the ride-hailing industry). All of a sudden, Uber’s sense of ubiquity and inevitability seemed to be much less of a sure thing. Over a whirlwind weekend in August 2017, Khosrowshahi was elected to replace Kalanick as CEO He was a relative outsider to the Bay Area — Expedia, the company he’d been running, was based in Seattle — and he was not a household name. But he had a good reputation, a warm appearance and, to some, one more big advantage: He wasn’t Travis Kalanick. In the fall of 2017, not long after Khosrowshahi started his new job, six of Uber’s board members received calls from Barry Diller, the chairman and senior executive of Interactive Corporation and a longtime mentor of Khosrowshahi. Mr. Diller was being protective of his protégé, and wanted to know how, exactly, he had secured one of the most formidable CEO positions in all of tech. Later, Diller called Khosrowshahi with his findings – He had been elected almost accidentally, the result of warring factions on the board vying for two different candidates and finally settling on a third. That ended up being Khosrowshahi. “I really don’t know how you got this job”, Diller told Khosrowshahi, describing the level of chaos and utter dysfunction at the very top of Uber. “No one even voted for you”. Some 20 months later, many of Uber’s

most important stakeholders consider Khosrowshahi’s appointment a stroke of luck. After parachuting into a profoundly fractured board, the CEO has managed to make a kind of peace among the company’s directors, a group that includes Kalanick. Leaks about internal issues have largely stopped flowing to the press. Backbiting among executives has subsided. And Khosrowshahi has refrained from extravagances like booking Beyoncé to perform at private company functions, as Kalanick did in 2015, at a cost of USD 6 million in restricted stock units. Khosrowshahi’s admirers say the calm is a result of his long experience with corporate distress. After years of running interactive Corporation’s mergers, acquisitions and finance divisions, Khosrowshahi was tapped to lead Expedia as chief executive in 2012 — a time of intense political drama inside the online travel company. Khosrowshahi stabilized some of the internal tumult, according to Neha Parikh, the president of Hotwire, who worked alongside Khosrowshahi at the time. “No matter who you are,” she said, “Dara makes you feel heard”. (From May 2015 until September 2017, Khosrowshahi was on The New York Times board). At Uber, Khosrowshahi hired a slew of lawyers to plumb and correct years of the company’s legal deficiencies. He also edited Kalanick’s list of 14 cultural values. Ranging from “Always Be Hustlin’” to “Super Pumped,” they read like Amazon’s leadership principles run through a bro-speak translation engine; now they have been made into a blander set of eight platitudes. Investors,

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Big Story

who had billions riding, on Uber’s success have been happy to see a constant stream of negative headlines shrink to a trickle. While Khosrowshahi has seemed to successfully reform many of Uber’s cultural issues, skeptics note that the company’s business fundamentals remain much the same. Uber lost nearly USD 2 billion in 2018, the first full year under Khosrowshahi’s leadership. That comes even after a retreat from a number of costly battles with ride-hailing competitors in China, Russia and Southeast Asia. On Uber’s roadshow to pitch itself to institutional investors (there’s no “home show” this time around), Khosrowshahi has broken with Kalanick’s worldview that Uber is competing in a winner-take-all market. Ride-sharing will be a “winner-take-most” game, as Khosrowshahi puts it, according to people familiar with his presentation. He has also embraced the idea that his company is like Amazon — a logistics giant in the making. His pitch casts Uber’s sustained losses as both an attempt to defend its existing market share from competitors while simultaneously investing in Uber’s future growth. That story seeks to frame Uber as a technology “platform.” Ridehailing, the thinking goes, is a mere jumping-off point for other markets, like bikes and scooters, food delivery, long-haul trucking — even flying cars. “Just like Amazon sells third-party goods, we are going to also offer third-party transportation services,” Khosrowshahi said in an interview last year. Still, Uber has no clear path to turning a profit in the next few years, and the risks section of its registration statement runs to 48 pages, out of 285 total. Shares of Lyft, its nearest competitor, have fallen some 26 percent since their March debut. Uber’s bankers seem to have internalized the doubts. After initially

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targeting an IPO opening range of roughly USD 48 to USD 55 per share, Uber reduced expectations to roughly $44 to $50 per share at a valuation of USD 80 billion to USD1 billion — significantly lower than the USD 90 billion to USD 100 billion range it originally sought. Despite all Khosrowshahi has done to distance Uber from its founder, Kalanick remains intimately connected to the company he built. He remains on Uber’s board, and Khosrowshahi has shown no signs of agitating for a shake-up of the group in the months following an IPO, as some had expected he would. Friends of Kalanick say that he feels unfairly targeted by Uber’s IPO paperwork, and its implicit criticisms of his leadership. And every time Khosrowshahi uses the word “culture,” Kalanick considers it a thinly veiled synonym for his reign, according to people familiar with his thinking. They add that Kalanick hopes that his successor will use the IPO to bury the hatchet between the two men, and mark a new chapter in Uber’s history. Even former enemies on the board, like Matt Cohler of Benchmark, have spoken in favor of Kalanick’s involvement, according to a report from Axios. No matter where he stands when Uber shares begin to trade — Kalanick could watch from the stock exchange floor, or skip the event entirely — he will have the consolation of making on paper several billion dollars. That is 600 times what Khosrowshahi’s stake will be worth. Not that he’s one to let that bother him. “He’s like Teflon. You can’t scratch him,” said Avid Larizadeh Duggan, Khosrowshahi’s cousin and the chief operating officer of Kobalt, a music start-up. “But it’s a positive way, not robotic. That’s why he’s such a good choice for this role, because you have to be — especially from where he started”. nnn

By courtesy NYT)

Ramagya School, Dadri organized Kids Talent Hunt Show “Bhavishya Bharat – Ek Khoj” The most exciting event witnessed the presence of the who’s who of the city and the proud parents of the kids also participated in this one-of-a-kind kids talent hunt show

adri, Greater Noida, 3rd May 2019: With aim to nurture the intrinsic qualities of the kids and to cultivate and discover the hidden talents in them, Ramagya School, Dadri organized one of the biggest Talent Hunt Show christened “Bhavishya Bharat – Ek Khoj”, The Kids Talent Hunt 2019 at the school campus. Over 300 students of the age group 2 to 12 years participated in this mega talent hunt show inaugurated by the Guest of Honour at the occasion Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Chairman, Ramagya Group. The other esteemed dignitaries present at the occasion included Mr. Utkarsh Gupta, Director, Ramagya Group; Mr. Sanjay Kumar Bensla, National Head, Ramagya Group; Ms. Taruna Kapoor, Principal, Ramagya School, Dadri; Dr. Gopal, Sports Director, Ramagya Group.The most exciting event witnessed the presence of the who’s who of the city and the proud parents of the kids also participated in this one-of-a-kind kids talent hunt show. The activities organized exclusively for the kids at the occasion included Quiz@Thon, Poetic Magic (English Recitation), Hindi Story Narration, Tap your Feet (Folk Dance), Fashion Fiesta, among others.For the parents as well, the event had a large number of activities such as Rangoli Competition, Pasand – E – Zaika (Cooking without Fire), Ramagya Summer Queen Dadri. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Chairman, Ram-

agya Group said,“At Ramagya, we believe in discovering the hidden talents of the kids and nurture them to help them become the stars of tomorrow. With this vision, we organized this exclusive talent hunt show and it gives me immense pleasure to announce that we have decided to give 100% scholarship to the toppers of each of the activities held today.” At the event, the students exhibited their best of the talents in various activities. The eventkick-started with a quiz competition, “Quiz@thon” that offered thekids an exclusive opportunity to display their general knowledge skills. Later the students also rocked the stage with their spectacular folk dance performance as well as the Fashion Fiesta in which the students participated in different attires using fascinating props supporting different themes. These activities were followed by wonderful Poetic Magic (English Recitation) as well as Hindi Story Narration— just to name a few among others. Mrs. Bhawana was crowned ‘Ramagya Summer Queen Dadri’ in the ceremony. The most exciting event concluded with prize distribution ceremony while each and every participant was given a complimentary Goodie Bag and Cap along with participation certificates from Ramagya Group. The first, second and third prize winners of each categories were given away Gold, Silver & Bronze medals respectively. nnn

June 2019

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Launch Pad

3-D Print Technology Way of Improvement In Wearable Devices

cientists have developed a process to 3D-print transparent and flexible electronic circuits, paving the way for improved wearable devices in the future. The electronics consist of a mesh of silver nanowires that can be printed in suspension and embedded in various flexible and transparent plastics, according to the researchers. This technology would enable new applications, like: printable light-emitting diodes, solar cells or tools with integrated circuits. The researchers are demonstrating the potential of their process with a flexible capacitor, among other things. The aim of this study was to functionalize 3D printable polymers for different applications said Michael Rubhausen from the Center For free - Electron Laser Science (CEFL). Rubhausen added further "With our novel approach, we want to integrate electronics into existing structural units and improve components in terms of space and weight". The silver wires are typical, several tens of

nanometers thick and 10-20 micrometers long. From other scientific sources it has been stated that At the heart of the technology are silver nanowires, which form a conductive mesh.The detailed X-ray analysis shows that the structure of the nanowires in the polymer is not changed, but the conductivity of the mesh even improves, as the polymer contracts during the curing process and the silver nanowires are applied to substrate in suspension and dried. nnn

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Apple to Produce ‘Green Torch’ Facility for iPhone Users

pple always tends on the point to feature new things to its iPhones and every new launch has a new aspect attached to it. Apple is working on a new app that’s going to replace the Find My Friends and Find My iPhone apps. With codename “GreenTorch”, the app is currently being tested by engineers at the company. A tilelike product is being developed that would allow users to tag them and tie them to their i-Cloud account according to a new report. The feature will be available on both iOS and on macOS, as a Marzi-

pan app. The new unified app includes an improved ability to find a user’s devices. Called “Find Network”, the feature allows devices to be tracked even when not connected to Wi-Fi or to a cellular network. This new product will be a tag that can be attached to any item – similar to other products like Tile. The tag will be paired to a user’s iCloud account by proximity to an iPhone, like AirPods. Users will be able to receive notifications when their device gets too far away from the tag, preventing them from forgetting the item the tag is attached. nnn

China’s OnePlus Launches New Smartphones

ack when smartphone brands like Samsung and Apple were ruling the market, a new Chinese brand called ‘OnePlus’ took a daring step by launching a smartphone of its own. OnePlus has always been known for its flagship killers, a term that stuck since the launch of the OnePlus, One – the original flagship killer. The motto of the company was to design flagship level smartphones that came with affordable price tags. After seeing the journey of OnePlus smartphones, it is safe to say that company has managed to live up to its words. True to their tagline, ‘Never Settle’. The wait is finally over One Plus community is coming up with a new version of OnePlus 7 and One Plus 7 Pro on May 14 in Bengaluru at the Bangalore International Convention Centre. The cost of OnePlus 7 model is likely to be more than OnePlus 6T, and OnePlus 7 Pro will likely cost even more, at par with flagships from Apple and Samsung. Sources, have been found that during the launch event of OnePlus 7 series launch attendees will

get the chance to meet the One Plus community. Significant features OnePlus 7 Display- 6.4'' 2340*1080p Camera- 48 MP F1.7 + 5MP Depth (Rear) Battery - 3700 mAH 20 W Processer - Snapdragon 855, 6 + 128 GB, 8+256 OnePlus 7 Pro Display-6.7" 3120*1440p Camera - 48MP F1.6 + 8MP 3x * Zoom F2.4 Battery -4000mAH 30 W Warp Charge Processer-Snapdragon 855, 6+ 128 GB , 8/12 + 256 GB. nnn

Steps To Save Storage On Your Smartphones

hatsApp has become an essential part of most of the mobile user's life, as it offers simple feature to communicate others. While, the Facebook application is one of the most widely used messaging platforms, WhatsApp keeps on adding new features to improve user experience, apart from enabling all to share videos, images and audio files. One can even see YouTube videos, while chatting with their contacts. The messaging service also automatically saves all your images and videos in your phone's gallery. However, there are times when

you share temporary files with your friends, occupying a lot of space out of the defined storage. So, to save storage space from a bunch of WhatsApp images and videos, one can change the settings by following simple steps: First; you need to open your WhatsApp app. Then at the top right corner, you will notice a three-dot icon, which you need to tap on. Second; once you tap on the three-dot icon, select the settings option and tap on “Chats”. Third; look for media visibility option, which is the second option after “Enter is sent.” You need to turn off that media visibility option to save your storage.

(Wishpolicy's) site, provided by Bharti AXA General Insurance”, a press release issued by the company reads. This is an instant and additional customer service option for the policy holders, apart from the company's multiple channels, including its vast network of branches, robust customer care and contact center, dynamic portal and intelligent chat bot. The insurer claimed that it is the first company in the domestic non-life insurance industry to provide the option of buying two-wheeler insurance on WhatsApp. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bharti AXA General Insurance, SanjeevSrinivasan, said, "With mobile instant messaging platform likeWhatsApp, we are making it easier for customers to get their two-wheeler policies through an effortless communication channel”. nnn

Two-Wheeler Insurance Policies to be Sold Through WhatsApp

he recent joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Global Insurance firms AXA, Bharti AXA General Insurance, is all set to sell the policies on the website of Wishfin's insurance arm Wish policy. “It will basically sell policies through social media messaging platform, WhatsApp, and has tied up with web aggregator Wishfin Insurance for speedy delivery of twowheeler cover”, said a representative officials, Bharti AXA General Insurance. Bharti AXA General Insurance, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and global insurance firm AXA, will sell the policies on the website of Wishfin's insurance arm Wishpolicy. "Wishfin has launched 'Buy Two-Wheeler Insurance on WhatsApp' through web aggregator Wishfin Insurance, which is available on

Tech Mahindra & UiPath Offer Cognitive Operations Automation Solution

ndia’s leading transformation provider, Tech Mahindra, and UiPath have decided come up with their first joint solution offerings. This is an end-to-end cognitive operations automation solution, in the area of Service Desk Operations. This ready-to-use cognitive operations solution is said to help in accelerating the automation journey of an enterprise. The service desks, due to ongoing digital transformation efforts, have become more accessible to customers, and need to support a wider and complex range of offerings. The cost of manual service desk support increases

nnn

by 3X with every escalation. Further, the high volume of customer requests and limited service desk capacity leads to a high average wait and response time, which then translates into an average customer experience. As such, taking a serious of the relevant points, they, together, have developed a solution to enhance operational efficiency, business agility and provide better customer experience. “With Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation at the core of the digital transformation journey of an enterprise, Tech Mahindra is happy to partner with UiPath to introduce a comprehensive cognitive automation solution to our customers in the area of Service Desk Operations. TACTiX, our AI powered IT Operations Platform, powered with UiPath’s superior enterprise Robotic Process Automation capabilities will provide deeper automation across the Service Management activities leading to increased operational efficiencies and business agility”, said Sameer Dania, the global head, business development platforms, nnn Tech Mahindra.

June 2019

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Special Story

Woes of ‘Surrogacy’ or a Saga of ‘Surrogate Mothers’? Parenthood is a process that produces endless love, emotions and affection between parents and children.

By Pravin Kumar Mishra f truly said- “no woman in the world wishes to live their life without experiencing the love and the bond from a mother and a child,” thinks Jessica Allen, a 32 – year old woman and mother of two sons. Allen, who decided to help a couple in need of a baby through the process of surrogacy, later turned to be a surrogate. The surrogacy went off without a hitch. But it wasn’t until after delivery that thing got messy. “I would never do it again. I’m not the only one with a

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nightmare story, but I am the only one with a story like this”, says Allen. Jessica Allen, a California based woman, thought that she was doing a nice work by signing on surrogacy agreement for a Chinese couple. As surrogacy is illegal in China, the couple came all the way to the United States in search of a surrogate so that they could have their baby. Anyone who has struggled to conceive is likely familiar with the emotional and physical trauma that the Chinese couple must have had gone through to resort to surrogacy. There’s no doubt

that what Allen was doing for them was, of course, a wonderful job. Following all the rules and regulations, Allen paired her with the hopeful couple. As the time passed, she had the couple’s single male embryo implanted in her uterus through in-vitro fertilization process. She followed the IVF doctor’s instructions before and after implantation so that the pregnancy would be a success. Six weeks into the pregnancy, however, the doctor found something that would make Allen pretty concerned. At her six-week scan, the doctors told Allen that she was carrying two babies in her womb. The doctor explained that the chances of a splitting embryo were rare, but that it does happen. Everyone assumed that that was the case and Allen was relieved to know that the couple was excited to be getting twins. Allen was paid $30,000 plus expenses for volunteering herself as a surrogate. When it was discovered she would be having two babies, her monthly paychecks increased by $5,000. Things were going along just fine until it was time to deliver. But at her 38 weeks’ gestation, Allen delivered the two babies via C-section. Because the operation was performed behind an opaque screen, Allen didn’t get the chance to see the babies as they were immediately taken from the operating room. Later that night while she was recovering, Allen received a visit from the intended mother, who showed her a picture of the babies on her phone. “One looked full Chinese, the other didn’t look full Chinese. It was clear that they were not identical… but I didn’t ask questions,” Allen spoke while narrating her story of surrogacy. Soon after the delivery, everyone went their respective ways and Allen returned home to recover.

Almost a month later, they were getting ready for move-in day when Allen received a text from the intended mother. The mother sent Allen a picture of the babies and expressed doubt that one of them belonged to her. The intended mother, however asked that the kids were not the same and why they were different? The situation turned to be a subject of DNA test with unexpected results. As it turned out, one of the babies wasn’t the twin of the implanted embryo. Instead, it was actually the biological son of Allen and her husband! Both embryos even had differing gestational ages. A medical phenomenon like this is called superfetation, in which a woman continues to ovulate during pregnancy. This means that Allen conceived another child in her womb while she had the implanted embryo of the couple growing inside her. For their part, Allen and her husband were shocked that this happened. The couple was dumbfounded to discover that one of the babies she delivered was theirs. Per the IVF doctor’s instructions, they waited to get intimate again until Allen herself was confirmed pregnant with the implanted embryo for several weeks. “As per my contract, Wardell [Allen’s husband] and I did not have intercourse until we were given permission by the IVF doctor, who recommended the use of condoms,” Allen said adding that it was also believed that his phenomenon happened as a result of contraceptive failure. The couple was hit with the news that they had a third baby. They were shocked, to say the least. With the new knowledge that one of the babies was theirs, Allen and her husband did what they could to bring him home. At this point, however, things started to get a little messy and bringing

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Special Story

home their son wasn’t going to happen without a catch. Shortly after they found out one of the babies wasn’t theirs, the Chinese couple allegedly wanted nothing to do with him. Allen was told someone from the surrogate agency was looking after her son and that the Chinese couple demanded up to $22,000 in compensation! Soon Allen was placed in a situation where she thought she’d lose her own child for good. The Outrageous Demands That Came Their Ways really haunted the couple and changed their lives in moments. In addition to the USD 22,000 compensation the intended parents demanded, the agency also demanded several thousand dollars for the caseworker who was looking after their son. Having just moved into a brand new home, Allen and her husband were in no position to pay the money they supposedly owed to the couple and to the agency. Allen was then told her baby was going to be put up for adoption. “To my disgust, a caseworker from the agency lined up parents to adopt him and

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‘absorb’ the money we owed. If that didn’t work out, the couple would were ready to put my son up for adoption, as they were still his legal parents of the kid”. Allen and her husband were truly in a messed up situation. It should have been as simple as handing her son over to her, but the agency and the couple apparently wouldn’t let that happen without getting what they believed was owed to them. After hearing the news that the intended mom wanted to put the other baby up for adoption, Allen and her husband started to lose hope.

Battle Begins

It was then that the real battle began. Allen and her husband put themselves in debt trying to get their son back, but after hiring an attorney they were left to negotiate with the surrogate agency. There was question over whether anyone was in the wrong in this situation. Some believe that Allen and her husband should

have abstained completely, while others believe the IVF doctor is to blame for giving the go-ahead. Others believe the intended parents were in the wrong, but at the same time, they were forced to pay more on the notion that they were expecting twins. Allen and her husband hired an attorney to get their son back from the surrogacy agency. She doesn’t blame the Chinese couple for the drama and believes that the agency was manipulating them. After a lengthy legal battle with the Omega Family Global, Allen says they finally owed nothing. Still, physically gaining custody of her son was like a game of cat and mouse. “We tried to get him on numerous occasions, but one excuse they gave us was the intended parents didn’t want to sign over the power of attorney, so we didn’t get him… We got another call and we were supposed to get him, then we didn’t because they were thinking about giving him up for adoption,” Allen narrated. On being questioned, the Surrogacy Agency though remained Tightlipped. It’s a wonder why Omega Family Global put Allen

through a painstaking process to get her son back, when all parties knew that he was biologically hers. Not only did Omega Family Global refute some of the claims Allen made, they issued their own statement. However, it took almost two months to meet her son. Now, after a dreadful battle and arguments, Allen wants other to learn from her story. She has expressed that she will never become a surrogate again after what has happened to her but doesn’t regret this particular moment. In similar another story, a woman carries baby for her friend, then unexpected news changed entire scenario. As a matter of fact, if surrogacy is money fetching pious work, possibilities of worst consequences, as Allen faced, cannot be ruled out. This apart, surrogacy kills the emotion of a mother more than giving an ecstasy of being mother to an intended mother.

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Surrogacy: Legal Implications & Constraints

The very word â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Surrogacyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is an arrangement that allows carrying pregnancy for interested parents. It can be classified into two ways - Gestational and Traditional. In case of gestational surrogacy, pregnancy occurs due to the transfer of an embryo created by in vitro fertilization such that the resulting child is genetically unrelated to the surrogate. But in case of Traditional surrogacy, the woman gets artificially inseminated with the father's sperm.

By Nikita Rangrajan

he surrogate woman carries the baby and delivers it. In other words, we can say that a traditional surrogate is the baby's biological mother, this is just because it was her egg that eventually fertilized by the father's sperm. Traditional surrogacy involves impregnation of the surrogate naturally or artificially and the resulting child is genetically related to the surrogate. Surrogacy is often sought by the interested parents when pregnancy is either medically impossible or it is considered very risky for the mother's health. These agreements may or may not include monetary compensation. The arrangement is termed commercial surrogacy when the surrogate is given compensation higher than the medical reimbursement and other reasonable expenses, else it is referred as non-commercial surrogacy. Surrogacy laws and costs can differ significantly across jurisdictions in various nations.

Antiquities of Surrogacy

Antiquity is Babylonian law and custom that followed such practices since decades or centuries. A couple could arrange for another woman to be impregnated by the male half of the couple. The child thus borne would be raised by the couple. A barren woman could use this practice to prevent a divorce. Several advances in medicine, social customs and legalities have led to the development of modern commercial surrogacy. The U S pharmaceutical companies, in 1930s, started a mass production of estrogen. Consequently, in 1944 the Harvard Medical Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Professor, John Rock, fertilized the human ova outside the uterus, for the first time. In 1953, the first cryopreservation of sperm was performed successfully. A commercial sperm bank was first opened in New York in 1971, which turned this into a highly profitable business throughout the world. Louise Brown, the first test-tube baby and product of the IVF procedure, was born in England in 1978. In 1980, Noel Keane, a lawyer from Michigan prepared the first surrogacy contract. The first successful gestational surrogate pregnancy in a woman was carried out in 1985.In 1986,surrogate and biological mother, Mary Beth Whitehead of the United States, refused to give custody of the child (Baby M) to the couple against the surrogacy agreement. However, the courts

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of New Jersey awarded custody of the child to the biological father and not the surrogate mother. Similarly, in 1990,the surrogate mother Anna Johnson in California refused to yield custody of the baby to the intended parents. The court upheld the parental rights of the couple. This verdict legally defined the true mother as the woman who intends to create and raise a child. A convention was held in Chile in 1994 by Latin American fertility specialists to discuss assisted reproduction and its ethical and legal status. So, the concept of surrogacy is not new and has existed in the world since ages.

Legal Constraints

Legal constraints and ethics have been a deterrent for its acceptance across the world. In France, Germany, Sweden and Spain, majorities of people have voted against surrogacy. In France, commercial surrogacy is banned. The apex court of Franc in 1991 announced that - the human body can neither be borrowed nor rented. Even it cannot be sold to other. In the United Kingdom, South Africa and Argentina, where surrogacy is allowed, surrogacy requests are decided by independent surrogacy committees. In the United States, rules and regulations on surrogacy differ among states. California has legalized commercial surrogacy, while it is illegal in some states and in some others, regulations are introduced. In such a scenario, couples in these countries where legalities involved in commercial surrogacy are complicated, would rather opt for other countries where the legal procedure in this issue is much simpler. In the United States and few other countries, the embryo implantation attempts, surrogacy contracts and post-birth rights of the surrogate mother are all governed by laws; while such contracts and laws in India are still under developed. Surrogate mothers give up their rights to the children with just a signature, and most often with a thumbprint if they are illiterate. The birth certificate does not carry the name of the surrogate. Thus, taking the baby out of the country becomes easy, but legal and ethical uncertainties over surrogacy remain. In some countries, producing evidence (such as DNA test results) of at least one parent of the child having a genetic relationship with the child is mandatory, whereas in other countries, legal release of the child by the husband of any married surrogate is required. Obtaining citizenship and travel document is tough in most countries for such a child. In Belgium, altruistic surrogacy is legal, while

commercial surrogacy is illegal. In France, Article 17/6 of the Civil Code nullifies any agreement with a third party relating to procreation or gestation and disobeying the law may lead to judicial problems. However, the Conseil d'Etat, the highest administrative court in France has declared that overseas surrogacy agreement is lawful. In Germany, Article 1 of the Constitution, which states that human dignity is inviolable, disallows surrogacy. German law does not permit a human to be made the subject of a contract; including the use of a third party's body for reproduction. In the United Kingdom, commercial surrogacy is not considered legal. It is prohibited by the Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985. Paying more than expenses for a surrogacy is considered illegal. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 1990 allow interested parents to acquire legal parenthood of their children and the surrogate is excluded by an adoption order.

Surrogacy Arrangement Across the Glob

Traditional surrogacy involves the union of the egg of a surrogate mother and, usually, the sperm of the commissioning father. The commissioning father would be the child’s legal father, and the surrogate mother the child’s legal mother, in the home country of both the parents. Generally, the sperm donor is regarded as the father of the child, so legislation had to be enacted such that the husband of the woman who is inseminated by artificial insemination-donor would be the legal father of the child. This legislation does not encourage surrogacy arrangements. Advances in medical technology such as gestational surrogacy enable an embryo to be created from a donor egg and sperm and then implanted into a surrogate mother. In this case, the “mother” has to be legally defined.

Surrogacy in India: Implications and Related Issues

At a time when majorities of nation did not allow surrogacy agreements, India turned to be one of the most sought-after destinations for fertility tourism. Myriads of ‘infertile’ couple from all across the world travel to India the portions in India or few defined destinations in the country where commercial surrogacy is legal. This arrangement may seem to be beneficial for all concerned parties. However, there are certain issues that have to be addressed through carefully framed laws in order to protect the rights of the surrogate mother and the intended parents. An added attraction is the low cost of the whole procedure in India which is much less compared to other countries. The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART, Regulation) Bill 2010 is an act which aims to provide a national framework for the accreditations, regulation and supervision of assisted reproductive technology clinics, for prevention of misuse of assisted reproductive technology, for safe and ethical practice of assisted reproductive technology services and for matters connected therewith or

incidental thereto. However, this bill does not address many important issues of surrogacy. There is no limit on the frequency of use of surrogacy by an intending couple. A government body is yet to be appointed to look into the family background or status of the concerned couples. The ART Bill prohibits sex-selective surrogacy in accordance with the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act. However, there are no means monitor their operation of the clinics. Commercial surrogacy was made legal in India with the landmark Supreme Court judgment and later, the Indian Council of Medical Research Guidelines 2005 which prescribed conduct and use of ART procedures or treatment by fertility clinics. The ART Bill legalized commercial surrogacy by prescribing monetary compensation to the surrogate mother by the intending couple. Law Commission Report No. 228 (2009) recommends legalization of altruistic or non-commercial surrogacy arrangements in India in order to protect the surrogate mother from exploitation. The Home Ministry guidelines apply only to foreign couples and limit the choice of surrogacy to heterosexual couples. However, the ART Bill allows surrogacy by all (including single or unmarried) and there is no restriction on sexual orientation or nationality.

Surrogacy Bill 2016

The much awaited ‘Surrogacy Bill’ was passed amid huge noise and protests by the oppositions in the Lok Sabha on December 19, 2018. The Bill was first introduced in 2016. The Bill allows only allows surrogacy only among the close relatives and it bans the commercial utilization of surrogacy. As per the law, the surrogacy is allowed to the couples that cannot have children. Few significant points of surrogacy Bills are as follows: 1. The Bill ensures regulation of surrogacy in India. It prohibits commercial surrogacy. It allows altruistic surrogacy to Indian married couple who cannot bear children. 2. The bill says the surrogate mother and the couple who wants to have her child must be close relatives. 3. It provides for the formation of a National Surrogacy Board, State Surrogacy Boards and appointment of appropriate authorities for the regulation of the practice of surrogacy. 4. The surrogate mother and the intending couple need eligibility certificates from the appropriate authority. 5. The bill allows only Indian citizens to avail of surrogacy. Foreigners, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin are banned from seeking surrogate mothers in the country. 6. Homosexuals, single parents and live-in couples are also not allowed to have children via surrogacy in India. 7. Couples that already have children will not be allowed to go for surrogacy, though they would be free to adopt children under a separate law. nnn (Reference: http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1817/Surrogacy-Its-Legal-Implications.html, ND TV and other sources)

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Health & Diets

FOOD THAT KEEPS YOU YOUNG FOREVER Although, aging is a natural phenomenon and of course a lovely part of life, but there are some effects of aging that deter our confidence and drag us towards a feeling of inferiority complex, especially when it comes to our skin. Years of free radical damage and life stressors wreak havoc on the skin. At the same time, the good news is that we can prevent some of these damages by adding healthful foods to our diet chart. In fact, research has found that a diet consisting of fruit and vegetables consumption may be the most healthy and safe method to maintain younger appearance. These foods help us glorify our skins and make us younger.

Some of the healthy foods that we should add in our diet chart are as follows:

Carrots

his is an inexpensive and easily found vegetable that we often eat as salad or like a rabbit. Carrots are often available in massive quantities in markets. Like rabbits that contain fluffy, energetic and non-wrinkly materials, carrots are full of vitamins including one all-important, beta carotene. Beta carotene is the wellknow of the carotenoids. It gives carrots their orange color. The research and study reveals that Beta carotene is metabolized in many organs including the skin, which is a large reason it is so beneficial for the skin. It was also found that ‘Beta carotene’ is a supplementation that protects us against sunburn. nnn

Oranges and Other Citrus fruits

ranges contain lots of Vitamin C — 85% of your daily value in one small orange, to be exact. Vitamin C has been well-known to fight the common cold. Why? Well, not only is this vitamin a vitamin, but it also acts an antioxidant that fights disease, illness and even skin-harming free radicals. Conversely, a lack of Vitamin C has been a well-known reason for scurvy, which is a condition that causes skin lesions, makes your skin more susceptible to bruising and slower to heal. A study actually found that Vitamin C has what researchers called, “antiscurvy properties” that boost collagen in the skin. So, peel an orange, squeeze some lemon in that water or add a lime to that salad if you want your skin to be healthy.

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Blackberries

lackberries are among those plants that adequately contain skin protectants polyphenols. Normally, we use blackberries just because these are tasty and full of various useful materials like: Vitamin C, fiber, Vitamin K, Vitamin A and a great number of antioxidants. This apart, it also blends awesomely well. Polyphenols are the substance that basically protects us against the ultra violet rays of sun. Research suggests that polyphenols as found in blackberries, not only provide protection from UV rays, but it also show significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-DNA damaging effects, which may, in other words, causes anti-aging. And hence, it is said that eat your blackberries to keep your skin young and healthy. nnn

Sunflower Seeds

he sunflower seeds have some pretty awesome nutrients that help us gain multi-dimensional growth. These tiny seeds are loaded with copper, Vitamin B1, Manganese, Selenium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin B6, Foliate and Niacin. But the most critical skin-saving component is Vitamin E, which is said to have healing properties when applied to the skin. While these accounts are mostly anecdotal with little research behind the claims, there is research that backs up the consumption of Vitamin E rich foods like sunflower seeds. In fact, research has found that Vitamin E may protect both animal and plant cell membranes from light-induced damage to the eyes and skin. nnn

Sweet Potatoes

weet potatoes contain beta-carotene, another antioxidant, which finally converted into Vitamin A. It may help restore skin elasticity, promote skin cell turnover and finally contribute to soft, youthful-looking skin. This delicious root vegetable is also a great source of vitamins C and E â&#x20AC;&#x201D; both of which may protect our skin from harmful free radicals and keep our complexion radiant. nnn

Nuts

uts, especially almonds, are a big source of vitamin E that help repair skin tissue, retain skin moisture and protect skin from possible damages caused by the ultra violet (UV) rays. Walnuts even contain anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids that may help us in many ways: by strengthening our skin cell membranes, protecting against sun damage and giving skin a beautiful glow by preserving its natural oil barrier.

June 2019

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Sandalwood Society of India Achievers

Dinesh Gaur he Sandalwood Society of India conducted a regional conference in Chennai at M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. The other special guests included were senior officers of various departments in Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala Govts & IWST, Govt. of India. The key theme of this event was to create a platform for all stakeholders in sandalwood. The event discussed various key issues about sandalwood growth, including current status & future priorities. The sandalwood society of India aims to develop and cultivate more area of sandalwood in Tamil Nadu in the farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patta land to get more revenue. The sandalwood society is interested to develop more area of sandalwood cultivation in Co-ordination with the Forest Department, Horticulture Department and Indian medicine Department. This conference was organized by Dr. Muruga Selvam, Regional Director, of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Kerala. Tamil Nadu Sandalwood Chapter will act as a representative office in promoting Sandalwood growth locally and will also enable connecting sandalwood growers with the market and other agencies. This regional event also created a perfect platform for all regional directors of Sandalwood Society of India to meet and share knowledge from different states. Sandalwood history dates back to 1792 where Tipu Sultan, Ruler of Mysore state declared it as Royal Tree. At that time the sandalwood source is the significant income to his government. He has classified the sandalwood old category into 19 classes is followed till date, however considering the welfare of the growers the sandalwood in patta land, the sandalwood society proposed to categories only three classes. Sandalwood cultivation which was confined mainly to the forests of Tamil Nadu has been witnessing an increasing interest among private landowners, who are cashing in on the 17-year-old government policy that permits them to raise the tree and sell the wood."The policy was changed in 2002, but not many were aware of it. We are now slowly witnessing an increase in plantations on private lands, â&#x20AC;&#x153;said P V Somashekar, director of the Sandalwood Society of India. The non-profit organization, headquartered in Bengaluru, focuses on educational research and development activities related to sandalwood and allied species. Earlier the tree was found only on forest lands. Members of the society pointed out that in the past two years, the state has

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recorded a growth in cultivation. In 2018, sandalwood was being cultivated on 500 acres of patta land across the state, while this year, until last month, 800 acres are being used for its cultivation. Members said they are expecting the total acreage to touch around 2,000 by the end of 2019. "We work with at least ten nurseries in the state, who have noticed a 40 percent increase in sales of sandalwood saplings this year. Going by the demand we are hoping that the acreage will increase," said Mallesh Lingachar, another director of the society.While the Tamil Nadu Forests Act, 1882, was amended in 2002 to allow cultivation of sandalwood trees on patta lands, the government still regulates its sales. The Tamil Nadu Sandalwood Trees on Patta Land Rules, 2008, has details on extraction and sale of these trees. D. Murugaselvam, who grows sandalwood on his 20-acre plot near Kolli Hills, pointed out that traditionally sandalwood cultivation was not given impetus in Tamil Nadu. Now, cultivators face issues because of lack of insurance for the highly valuable wood and are in talks with authorities regarding it. "If the tree is stolen, which happens frequently, it is a loss for the cultivator. The fear of theft

has deterred many from growing it," he said. Another deterrent is the period before which the tree can be harvested. "It takes at least 15 years to get a healthy tree, while the income generated at the end is huge not many want to wait that long," he said."This is our ancient and golden tree, we want more people to come forward and grow it. We have to revive it and we hope we succeed," said Somashekar.

AREA OF CULTIVATION: After the liberalization of the sandalwood act, farmers are very much interested and cultivating sandalwood in their farm and barren lands, along with horticulture/agriculture crops with different agroforestry models. Total of 65500 acres plantation has been done in India. All southern states, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, etc are potential areas to increase sandalwood plantation.

GROWTH STORY: Three hundred trees can grow in one acre with an elevation of 200meters above MSL.Though best suited to red soil with gravel, it can grow in all kind of soilExcept for black loamy and acidic soil.It takes at least 15 years to be ready for harvest or Tree should have 50-60cm girth.As a value-added income to farmers seeds starts after three years.Farmers can also grow medicinal plants for Indian medicine requirement as intercrop for short term income.

KNOWLEDGE PARK: The govt has granted acceptance to create two sandalwood knowledge parks in the rural district of Bangalore & north Karnataka where it becomes a center of innovation/excellence for all sandalwood related matters.

LEGAL STATUS: Most of the state government liberalized sandalwood act, the grower himself as the owner of the tree. To encourage farmers and to take elevate the cultivation of sandalwood on the commercial scale. Sandalwood boards in every state will act as nodal agencies to provide and simplify the licensing needs of sandalwood growers. These boards will have our regional director as the board of directors (respective boards). While farmers were given permission to grow privately, farmers started asking suitable protection mechanisms against illegal tree felling, theft and unauthorized entry, etc. Recently the government of India relaxed the rules( Public notice No 74/ 2015-20 dated 18/02/2019 ) by Ministry of Com-

merce, Industrial department & Directorate General of Foreign Trade for the patta land Red sandalwood by farmers. This system may also be permitted for the sandalwood growers.

MARKET VALUE (Demand & Supply): Indian sandalwood is highly prized due to its fragrant wood and oil which is used as a fixative in world class perfumes, aromatherapy, various pharmaceutical preparations and cosmetics. Sandalwood is next to ivory and used for carving. It is a highly valuable medicinal plant encouraging governments to pay more attention. The demand for sandalwood in the tune of 20,000 Metric tons and oil is estimated to and 1000 tons in the international markets. Australia government supported sandalwood growth in a big way and became an international hub for sandalwood market. Govt. of India need to promote our sandalwood in a much bigger way by liberalizing markets. Min price fixed by govt for 1kg sandalwood Rs12000.

USES: Sandalwood oil for cosmetic and therapeutic purposesUsed to carve sculptures and this will create a lot of employment to the public and those group of people who were already affected.The Sandalwood Society of India has already opened several offices across India and driving sandalwood growth in a very big way. After completing 4 more regional conferences in different parts of India, society has plans to hold an International Conference in 2020. The society is all set to become a Sandalwood Board in Karnataka with two planned Sandalwood Knowledge Parks in Karnataka. Govt of Karnataka which is pioneering in sandalwood is highly committed to creating dedicated Sandalwood Board shortly. Both State Governments & Central Governments will earn thousands of crores GST revenue just by making value-added products from Sandalwood and Red sandalwood Seeds. Sandalwood also will become a chief source of natural Indian medicine and can replace allopathic medicines coming from various international companies.

CONCLUSION: Based on the opinion of the technical expertise and other participants in the seminar, the Director and Regional directors of the sandalwood society of India concluded to recommend Government of India for the relaxation of certain hurdles in the growth and marketing of sandalwood. And red sandalwood by the farmers to get good income and by the export of materials and value-added products will fetch good revenue to the Government of India. nnn

June 2019

OBSERVER DAWN

Observer Dawn talks with Achievers

Vakilsearch’s CEO Hrishikesh Datar

“Vakilsearch has been and is the only legal tech company to offer customers legal services at very reasonable prices without compromising on the quality. Owing to which, Vakilsearch has grown exponentially and has created ripples in the Indian start-up scenario and is soon aiming to emerge as a unicorn player in this market,” said Hrishikesh Datar, CEO, Vakilsearch in conversation with Observer Dawn. Here goes the text of the conversation: Observer Dawn : What was the idea behind the inception of Vakilsearch? Hrishikesh Datar : The idea behind the inception of Vakilsearch was to provide one-click access to individuals and businesses for all their legal & professional needs. Further, we're are looking to simplify legal for our 150,000+ customers by offering full selfservice platforms for major legal services. Observer Dawn: As a lawyer and then as an entrepreneur par excellence what made you to take a path less travelled by and establish yourself in Legal services industry? Hrishikesh Datar : Being in a family of lawyers I have always known the pros and cons of the industry. Moreover, being a lawyer myself, it only made sense to pioneer and bridge the gaps I observed in the legal scenario. Initially, I wanted to create a search engine just for lawyers but later, that idea evolved as time went by and gave birth to Vakilsearch. Observer Dawn : How has your journey been so far? What major problems and bottlenecks you faced during the course of your journey towards achieving excellence? Hrishikesh Datar : Starting in 2012 until today, Vakilsearchhas evolved as a strong technology-driven platform covering all the legal needs of businesses, such as incorporation, government registrations & filings, accounting, documentation and annual compliances. Our journey’s mission to provide one-click access to individuals and businesses for all their legal & professional needs has come true within a span of 7 years. Observer Dawn : How was the response initially and then how the concept of Vakilsearch got gradually embraced by one and all? Hrishikesh Datar : The response to Vakilsearch when it was launched in the market was good. I knew right from the beginning Vakilsearch definitely has something unique to offer and will help our target audience to a great extent. Also, its good run and acceptance is a testament to the large database of customers we have garnered under a span of a decade. Observer Dawn : Please also apprise us of the major milestones achieved by you since your inception? Hrishikesh Datar : Some of the few milestones achieved by

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Vakilsearch since its inception are, the launch of Libra-the Advocate’s App, the launch of Mysteno-The Virtual Stenographer and the series A funding along with successfully servicing more than 1.5 lakh clients. Observer Dawn : Please provide us with details of the major products and services categories under which you are present? Hrishikesh Datar: Company & Trademark registration and Compliance are one of the major services that we cater to in the legal industry. However, we also offer 200+ services including Accounting, FSSAI registration, Tax registration, GST filing, NGO registration, Copyright, Property Registration, legal documentation just to name a few. Observer Dawn : Where do you see yourself five years down the line? Hrishikesh Datar : I see Vakilsearch emerging as a unicorn business player and as a leading legal tech company catering to an array of businesses as well as personal legal requirements and offering more tech support for lawyers and advocates in the next five years. Observer Dawn : What are your efforts and initiatives towards increasing awareness about your products and services among the masses? Hrishikesh Datar : We have been focusing on a full-on 360-degree marketing strategy. The concentration has especially been on brand building, PR, Social media, brand partnerships along with traditional media. As a result, we have seen a significant jump in our traffic in the last year. Our consistent effort in building a legal brand has helped us reach maximum users in the past year. Two of our major focus has been community development and delivering quality content. Observer Dawn : What is your roadmap and marketing strategy to increase revenue in your business? Hrishikesh Datar : We have a dedicated marketing team which is responsible for consumer experience and brand building. The primary objective of the team is to consistently deliver on all touch points ensuring the user is able to reach us with ease and have a better brand experience. We also work on a quarterly mar-

Hrishikesh Datar, CEO, Vakilsearch keting plan ensuring the brand reaches maximum targeted users thereby helping them get their legal requirements sorted. Off late we have shifted our focus to brand building more than just doing transactional marketing. Besides, we have also introduced marketing automation tool for better user experience. Observer Dawn : Your overall marketing budget in percentage term of your total revenue? Please also let us know about your major marketing campaigns? Hrishikesh Datar : We work on 10-12% of the marketing budget of our total revenue. A huge chunk of the budget goes into transactional marketing while we have also begun building our brand actively, especially in the past quarter. To name few of the major marketing campaigns we have pioneered at Vakilsearch are, #startupgear, #AskaLawyer, #Legallegends etc. Observer Dawn : Let us also know your revenue target for the current FY 20? Hrishikesh Datar : We are looking to achieve a 100 cr turnover at the end of this FY. We are also consistently working towards growing month on month in order to achieve our annual financial goals. Observer Dawn : Which are the cities you are currently present and let us also know about your immediate expansion plans? Hrishikesh Datar : We are headquartered in Chennai and have offices in Mumbai, Delhi & Hyderabad. As we are in the brink of our next growth phase, we are planning to expand to the top tier 2 cities

in India as we see a lot of untapped potential in these markets. Observer Dawn : Let us know about any particular case (s) which instantly brought you to the limelight? Hrishikesh Datar : Scenarios and situations that instantly brought us to limelight were on the occasion of the launches of both our in-house legal tech products Libra-The Advocateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s App and MySteno- The Virtual Stenographer. The acceptance of both products has been extremely warm. Vakilsearch is also proudly the only legal tech team in the legal industry who has consistently added technology products to its wagon and has revolutionised the legal ecosystem merging with technology and making life easy for lawyers. Libra and Mysteno have consecutively made news in the past couple of months. Observer Dawn : Gulf countries and Dubai, in particular, has an abundance of opportunities in the Legal domain thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we experienced when we expanded ourselves in Dubai and opened our international office in this city. Do you have any plans to cash in on the emerging opportunities in Dubai or any other country(s) of the Gulf region? Hrishikesh Datar : I am always looking for opportunities to expand Vakilsearch to other cities and the possibilities are just endless. Of course, I see the huge potential in the Gulf countries which is amazing and because of which we are in talks with major leading countries in the gulf to explore the many different opportunities. I am sure, you will get to hear from us on these developments very soon.

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Asha Prabhakar, Principal, Bal Bharti Public School Achievers

This is an initiative of the ‘Observer Dawn’, one of the leading media houses in NCR, to create awareness among the masses so that a strong bond among the parents, teacher and School management could be established. The great philosopher and founding father of united states Benjamin Franklin has said that an investment in education always pays the best interest. But in the 21st Centuries, education has changed in many ways. As such, to understand the real essence of education in the present context and the factors affecting it, the Observer Dawn team initiated multiple steps and tried to reach out the renowned educationists, school management and related agencies so that the ground level realities of education could be brought forth. The OD Team, visited some renowned schools across the NCR and interacted the school authorities. OD team visited the Bal Bharti Public School, one of the premium schools and talked to the Principal, Asha Prabhakar. Madam, before going ahead, I would like to oﬀer you a plethora of thanks for spending a few minutes, out of your tight schedule, with the Observer Dawn! Asha Prabhakar : Most Welcome…! What kind of challenges and opportunities you have marked concerning the changing scenarios and your experiences in the ﬁeld? A Prabhakar : At the outset, I would like to thank the OD team for considering our school as one of the premium institutions. See, we have a legacy of more than 27 years and now, we have entered into the 28th. Of course, we have seen various ups and downs in such a long period of almost 28 years. But truly speaking, everything appeared like a shared joy, especially when it comes to contributing to the field of education. Initially, I joined this school as a Vice Principal about 27 years ago and further, I have been promoted as the Principal of this school. There are lot of challenges in the field of education because the system of education is still evolving and developing day-byday. And, hence, possible growth in the number of challenges and new opportunities are obvious. How we introduce all these into our system primarily seems to be big challenges for us. Finding good quality teacher, imparting them proper training so that they could devote their quality time with the students here in are among a few other emerging challenges before the school management. Though all around success in our mission to make it, as you said, a ‘premier institute’ now seems to be a big opportunity for us.

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OD: It’s really a matter of big pride. The students, as well as the parents, must be thankful to the teachers for their unconditional contributions to society. Can you please throw light on the job of a teacher, which is not lucrative or glamorous? A Prabhakar: Simply speaking, nobody wants to opt for their career in the field of education. Either one wishes to become an engineer, doctor, IAS or corporate but he or she never aims to become a teacher. Another point is that more than 90 percent of teaching staffs are female as if God has created women to become teachers. Besides, there are certain fields where we find many male teachers for math, physics or other such subjects. These are considered as man's domain. Here in India, the teachers hardly, get incentives or any perks as the teachers in Finland or European nations get. Of course, with the introduction of the 7th pay commission, the youths are being motivated to join a teaching job and the best of the salaries are being paid. But at the same, it’s also the fact that the younger generations are yet to get the motivation to join this area. If everything goes well, there would be no dearth of trained or quality teachers by 2025. When we talk about rural India, I think the government should focus on offering quality education to the kids. The government must emphasize the offering training to the teachers in the rural areas as more than 90% populations come from those areas. OD: It’s really very exciting that your organization follows the salary structure of 7th pay commission. Can you please exemplify the way your organization uses to pay the salary under 7th pay commission? A Prabhakar : Although salaries of teachers, as well as other staffs, very concerning their quality, experience and education one can anticipate with the fact that even a 20Yr- Old teacher in our school is drawing a salary of Rs1.25 Lakh per month. OD: What is the impact of technology on the students? What kind of application do you apply to enrich the quality of your students? A Prabhakar : Although technology entered about 20 years ago in our school only when we had launched smart classes. But at the same, the fact can never be ignored that the ‘teacher’ is the only and the most vibrant tool in a school that can train the students. Now even this technology has become obsolete. If a teacher is teaches a topic like photo-

synthesis or respiration, the 3d module of the particular is shown to demonstrate that how green leafs preparefood which is shown to the child. OD: With growing technological advancements and modernity, where would you like to see your institution in the next 2-3 years? A Prabhakar: Besides, giving full attention on all around development of the school, we will focus on the studies of artificial intelligence & machine learning. Astronomy club,robotics, mental mathematics and, ofcourse, good communication skills are among other areas. Because in order to survive you need only two things one is communication & other is skill if I have provided these two things to a child

you know a skill of his choice of her choice and if i provide my child a good communication obviously my child will never be a failure in life. OD: Do you think there is a communication gap between societies? A Prabhakar: Right from the beginning we, the teachers, have been playing dual roles in the society. But in modern time, our role has become tougher than what it was years ago, now we are also supposed to educate the parents, apart from teaching the students so that the students can get academic environments in their home as they spent most of their time with the parents. nnn

V. K Chopra, the principal of DAV Public School, Sahibabad, one of the premium branches of DAV, throws light on the present situation of education with respect to the changing scenario. During an exclusive interview with the Observer Dawn, Chopra says: OD: The School management has maintained an excellent infrastructure apart from making perfect equilibrium of knowledge, power and discipline. What are the main success mantras behind all these? V. K. Chopra : We are charging very nominal fee and our motto is to provide best infrastructure to students. Our infrastructure include swimming pool, lawn tennis ground with international standard. Out of the entire school premises, we have also constructed stadium within the campus. All these have been just provide the students with everything they expect with respect to the international standard. If we fulfill all requirements of the students, they would, of course, understand our motive behind all these. As such, maintain their discipline and accordingly focus on their studies. OD: What, according to you, are the side effects of technological advancements among the students, especially when they incessantly use equipment like smartphones, tabs etc? V. K. Chopra : Excess of everything is bad. Likewise, over use of technology is always dangerous. But, at the same time itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s equally true that as we entered into the modern era, we cannot keep ourselves away from the growing use or the emerging effects of technology. At this stage what we can do it is nothing but confine the usage of such equipment among the students. When the students control the use of technology or keep on using limited devices, they would certainly use these for right purpose. Here in our intuition, the students carrying mobile phone are talk to their parents or the legal guardian as the case may be. In case, we fail to keep a check on these activities, it would certainly cast a negative impact on them. Wasting of time, indulging chatting with friends or other such futile activities may spoil their career. OD: Values are core concern when it comes to the

society. So how you are defining the students regarding value system? V. K. Chopra : See, India is best known for its concept and moral values. But in depth, as we all know that education is as much importance as it should have been. Moral values are being taught to the students in India but now days we need to teach them the practical aspects of education including- entrepreneurship or other such vital issues so that they could choose a career earlier than usually get. As such, we need to teach the students the practical aspects of education, only then they can improvement themselves. OD: When it comes to communication, normally we see that there is a communication gap between parents, society and the school management? V. K. Chopra : In schools, the teachers should be trained so that they could teach the students and make them learn the academic lessons or normal discipline properly. Teaching with excellence and hard work always helps one teach other people properly. Beyond Engineering and medical stream we also have other streams and future career like photography, painting, art and others these are also a good profession, but the students class hardly know about their career in such a lucrative job. The main reason behind it is nothing but the lake of communication between the students, parents, school managements. nnn

V K Chopra, Principal, DAV Public School

June 2019

OBSERVER DAWN

Real Estate

WeWork Contributes INR 6,788 Crores of GDP in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai & Bangalore OD Bureau ollaborative spaces, WeWorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expansion in India, have cast multiple impacts on the concept of workspaces and the economy. A new report, assessing economic impact, has outlined interesting insights that point that Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work-life is gradually moving in a new direction.

Democratization of Neighborhoods Intensive urbanization and growing populations in few areas have made the CBDs of metropolitan India, practically inaccessible over the past two decades. Cities like: Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore are among the worst affected. The NITI Aayog foresees the growth of the Indian real estate sector to jump over fivefold to USD 650 billion by 2040. As commercial real estate become more expensive, flexible workspaces are democratizing access by reducing the prohibitive barrier of price. This is re-injecting vibrancy to these locations and enabling businesses and individuals to benefit from proximity to business areas. In fact, the report found that 76 precent of WeWork members in Mumbai, 74 precent in Bangalore, and 67 precent in Delhi and did not work in the neighborhood prior to joining WeWork. This has also had an impact on associated activities in these areas. About 9-15 precent of WeWork members have moved closer to the WeWork locations. Since joining, especially in Bangalore, where 1 in 4 (37 precent) members visit neighborhood restaurants, cafes and businesses daily. In Bangalore, the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,957 crore and in total supports INR 2,002 crore (INR 44 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city. Mumbai comes next in terms of impact, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 1,692 crore of GDP and in total supports INR 1,737 crore (INR 45 crore indirectly) of GDP in the city. Economic contribution of WeWork in Delhi is the

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highest, where the WeWork economy directly contributed INR 2,986 crore of GDP and INR 62.7 crore indirectly, resulting in a whopping INR 3,049 crore GDP impact. Knowledge workers and the entrepreneurs are the biggest beneficiaries of co-working revolution Growing automation is driving a shift towards knowledge work and these are the biggest beneficiaries of the growth of collaborative workspaces. Flexibility and low capital commitment helps encourage entrepreneurship, with 17 precent of Mumbai WeWork entrepreneur-members, for instance, pursuing their first startup project at WeWork. Likewise, over 77 precent of WeWork members in Bangalore are in the innovation economy, and a fifth of WeWork member-entrepreneurs are taking the plunge to self-employment for the first time. In Delhi, 53 precent of members are in the innovation economy while 11precent of entrepreneur-members are first-timers.

Flexibility in Work Motivates Women For Leadership Roles The flexibility, access and convenience that collaborative workspaces offer have an impact on women rising to leadership positions and Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s WeWork members are ahead of the curve. In Mumbai, the roles of almost 41precent seniors, including executives, senior managers, managers and sole proprietors, are held or managed by the women. Similarly the city is followed by Delhi (29 precent) and Bangalore (26 precent). India is far ahead of the rest of Asia, where the percentage is at 23 precent.

Better Collaboration Makes the Companies Grow Faster Than Ever Across cities, collaborative working has had a direct impact on

company growth, with 65 precent members in Bangalore and 58 precent in Delhi stating that WeWork has helped accelerate growth. This is especially true among small and medium companies, who benefit from the national and international network of member companies, ease of collaboration and world-class infrastructure access. In fact, the average growth rate across SMB WeWork members in Bangalore is 25 precent compared to 4 precent for all companies in the city. The difference is even starker in Mumbai, where SMB WeWork members have grown at 37 precent on average compared to 2 precent for all companies in the financial capital.

Global Impact Report WeWork has published its Global Impact Report by partnering with HR&A Advisors, an industry-leading economic development and public policy consulting firm, to track and delineate the effects its community has had on various stakeholders. The HR&A focused on the impact of WeWork on People and Businesses, Neighborhoods, Entire Cities and the overall Greater Impact on its member community as well as the local communities it is currently engaged in.

WeWork is All About Flexible Workspaces More Eﬃcient and Sustainable Easier access to flexible workspace has also increased the viability of sustainable forms of commute, including walking, biking or public transport. In Bangalore and Mumbai, over half of WeWork members use sustainable public transit modes. Members also tend to switch from self-driving to sustainable public transit, with 15 precent in Bangalore and 25 precent in Mumbai reporting that they’ve done so since joining WeWork. In Delhi, over 60 precent of members use sustainable transit options and about 29 precent have given up polluting cars since joining WeWork. Karan Wirwani, Co CWeO,WeWork India says, “WeWork, as a community enables its members to collaborate with each other, which has led to the creation of efficiencies in terms of increased creativity, productivity at the workplace and innovation. This process has effects that go far beyond individual considerations asit also sparks the development and support of local communities, neighborhoods and businesses, a culture that we, as an organization, look to imbibe, encourage and promote. This is true for WeWork across countries around the world and in India”.

WeWork is a platform for creators, providing more than 400,000 members around the world with space, community, and services through both physical and virtual offerings. Its mission is to create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living. WeWork currently has 425 physical locations in 100 cities and 27 countries around the world. Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York, the company now employs more than 8,000 globally. WeWork seeks ‘creators’ from all industries and companies big and small to become members, with a suite of WeWork-specific membership benefits in each country and a local staff in each city. Over 45,000 companies and more than 400,000 members are now based at a WeWork, with member companies ranging from startups to household names including Dell, KPMG, GE, Microsoft and Samsung. More than 70 precent of WeWork’s members collaborate with each other and its international locations serve as convenient bases for business travel, enabling a great degree of work flexibility for both multinationals and small-to-medium-sized businesses alike, as well as options for easy expansion into new markets.

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Hyundai Stepped up Competition in the Mini Automobile

VENUE

SUV Segment with

n May 21, Hyundai launched its much-awaited sub-compact SUV â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Venueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in India, at an unbelievable starting price of just INR 6.5 lakhs. The highly-awaited sub-compact SUV created quite the buzz ever since it was first announced. The Venue is going to lock its horns with segment leaders such as the Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra XUV 300 and of course, the segment-leader - Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Hyundai Venue has been launched in three engines and five variant options- E, S, SX, SX+ and SX (0). The sub-4 metre SUV is priced from INR 6.5 lakh to INR 11.10 lakh (ex-showroom panIndia). This is the first sub-compact SUV of Hyundai. At the same time, it is the first car in India that is available with Bluelink Technologies.

Hyundai Venue Engine Options: The Hyundai Venue is available with a choice of three engine options. The 1.2-litre petrol comes mated to a 5-speed manual while the 1.4-litre diesel engine is coupled to a 6-speed manual. The Venue is also occupied with a brand new 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol motor with an output of 120PS/172Nm. It is offered with a choice of a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed dualclutch automatic transmission.

Hyundai Venue Features: The Venue is packed with features like any other Hyundai. Its specifications include six airbags, wireless mobile charging, cruise control, auto climate control, rear AC vents, push start and stop, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a sunroof in the top variant. It also introduces Hyundai's Blue Link

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connected car technology that uses internet connectivity via an eSIM (from Vodafone Idea). This lets you track various vehicle telematics and remote control of features via the Blue Link mobile app.

Hyundai Venue Colours: The Venue will be available in seven monotone exterior colours - Star Dust, Fiery Red, Polar White, Typhoon Silver, Deep Forest, Lava Orange and Denim Blue. It will also be offered in three dual-tone exterior colour options - blue with white roof, white with black roof and orange with a black roof (available only in the SX variant). The compact SUV segment is growing rapidly in India. As per a recent study, the compact SUV segment is growing at 75% annually that makes it the biggest segment of recent years.

With all the cars updated in recent times, we take a look at the top 10 compact SUVs in India Tata Nexon (INR 6.49 - 10.9 Lakh) Tata Nexon has become the first car manufactured by an Indian carmaker to accomplish a fivestar rating for adult occupant protection in Global NCAP crash tests. The appearance of Tata Nexon has been derived from the brand’s Impact Design 2.0 philosophy. Available in a petrol or diesel engine and mated to either a manual or AMT gearbox, the Tata Nexon offers just enough to be a practical and fun, while also being a dailyuse vehicle.

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza (INR 7.68 10.65 Lakh) The Maruti Brezza is without any doubt, the most popular compact-SUV in India. It also received a 4-star safety rating in Global NCAP crash tests making it the fifth made-inIndia car to receive that. The Maruti Vitara Brezzahaving

only a diesel engine on offer is aimed to be just one thing – an ideal, affordable and adept vehicle just for Indians. Even while being under just four metres of length, the Maruti Brezza hasabundant amounts of space and seat support on the inside. In addition to this, Vitara Brezza has also got good resale value, alongside the brand’s excellent sales and service network.

Hyundai i20 Active (INR 7.72 - 9.91 Lakh) Hyundai i20 Active is a spunky car laden with splendid design, anti-lock braking system,brightcoloured, compact in size and big in performance. Hyundai i20 Active is a sport styled vehicle is what Hyundai calls its new hatchback. The Hyundai i20 Active is occupied with dual front airbags and ABS with EBD as standard across the range. The top variant offer side and curtain airbags and ISOFIX child seat anchors. In terms of features, like the Elite i20, the active also packs a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, rear parking camera with sensors,automatic projector headlamps with LED DRLs and auto climate control with rear AC vents.

June 2019

OBSERVER DAWN

Automobile

Ford Ecosport (INR 7.83 - 11.89 Lakh) The Ford EcoSport is available in a powerful diesel engine, a refined petrol engine and a more fun turbocharged petrol unit. The latest generation of the EcoSport comes with a lot of new features, packaged well in a premium interior. The Ford EcoSport offers excellent build quality too that is something unmatchable by its competitors. The crossover also gets class-leading safety features such as Ford’s Emergency Assistance – a system that uses the paired smartphone to contact emergency services in case of an accident.

Mahindra XUV300 (INR 7.9 - 12.14 Lakh) Mahindra’s XUV300 is easily the brand’s best sub-4 metre SUV yet. It’s got the style and the substance to make your heart want it. The XUV300 comes equipped with various segment-first features including seven airbags, dual-zone climate control and heated ORVMs. Other features in its expansive list are a sunroof, front and rear parking sensors with camera, LED tail lamps, DRLs, a tyre-pressure monitoring system, and a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple

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CarPlay and Android Auto. The XUV300 gets dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, all four disc brakes, power windows and steering modes as standard.

Renault Duster (INR 8.0 - 13.1 Lakh) The Renault Duster is available in both petrol and diesel formats. Although not being less than four metres of length, the Renault Duster is one of the first SUVs that started the compact-SUV trend in the country. The Duster’s diesel engine is offered in two states of tune: 85bhp and 110bhp. The 85bhp unit showcases good low-end torque while the 110bhp performs well on the highways, thanks to its 6-speed gearbox. There is also an allwheel-drive and an AMT variant of the Renault Duster.

Volkswagen Taigun (INR 9.0 Lakh) The Volkswagen Taigun is a subcompact crossover SUV by the Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen introduced the Taigun compact SUV concept at Auto Expo 2014. It is based on PQ12, the new small family platform structure. With spacious and

deluxe interiors, it sports a 1.2-litre engine producing a maximum output of 74bhp.

Hyundai Creta (INR 9.6 - 15.65 Lakh) The top-selling compact SUV Hyundai Creta has 2 Diesel Engine and 1 Petrol Engine on offer. The Diesel engine is 1396 cc and 1582 cc while the Petrol engine is 1591 cc. It is offered with the manual and automatic transmission. Depending upon the variant and fuel type the Creta has a mileage of 14.8 to 22.1 kmpl. The Creta is a 5 seater SUV and has a length of 4270mm, a width of 1780mm and a wheelbase of 2590mm.

Nissan Terrano (INR 10.0 - 14.65 Lakh) The Nissan Terrano is a midsize SUV launched with bold, stylish looks, robust quality and dynamic performance. Nissan Terrano is a quality

compact SUV thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s designed to dominate life. The features of the Nissan Terrano consist of electrically folding and adjustable ORVMs, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, cruise control, leather upholstery, standard driver airbag and 16-inch machine-cut wheels.

Tata Harrier (INR 12.7 - 16.26 Lakh) Tata has packed the Harrier with a host of features though most of them are offered on the top-end variant only, especially safety features like 6 airbags, traction control, ISOFIX child seat anchors, rollover mitigation control and electronic stability control. An 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto takes centre stage while a 7-inch multi-info display in the instrument cluster works in tandem with the infotainment system and displays navigation info, music, tripmeter and tachometer. Apart from these, a cooled storage compartment is also present underneath the front armrest and passengers in the rear get individual spaces to stow away their mobile phones. LED elements and projector headlamps are also on offer. nnn

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RNI Reg. No. DELENG/2013/50357