www.spoindia.org Vol. III | Issue 07 | December 2018 | Rs. 50
VARINDIA Tech Summit sparks discussions on how Emerging Technologies bring newer opportunities
SIITF
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SPEAKERS
HARSHA N
Enterprise Business Development Manager Western Digital
VISHAL DHUPAR
SUNIL SHARMA
MD, South Asia NVIDIA
MD (Sales) Sophos
MURUGAN E
Regional Director ESDS Datacenter
ARUN KUMAR EDR – R&D, ITI Ltd
LEAD STORY | 32pg
SMILE FOUNDATION organizes a week-long
film festival – SIFFCY www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 1
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EVENT | 20 Editor-in-Chief: Deepak Kumar Sahu Executive Editor: S Mohini Ratna Assistant Editor: Samrita Baruah Copy Editor: C. M. Dutta Art Director: Rakesh Kumar Network Administrator: Ashok Kumar Singh Manager-IT: Subhash Mohanta Manager-SEO: Bidyadhar Behera BUSINESS: Vice President: Prasanna Rout General Manager: Ashok Ranjan Dash
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VARINDIA Tech Summit sparks discussions on how Emerging Technologies bring newer opportunities
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Chennai: Bureau office
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TECH TRENDS
TIGHTENED NORMS FOR E-COMMERCE COMPANIES MAKE TRADERS HAPPY
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IS GOOGLE TRACKING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
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VARINDIA TECH SUMMIT SPARKS DISCUSSIONS ON HOW EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES BRING NEWER OPPORTUNITIES
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TECH TRENDS
THE DARK SIDE OF QUORA!
38 MOVEMENT
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TECH TRENDS
INDIA RANKS 3RD IN TERMS OF PORNHUB TRAFFIC IN 2018
26 E-GOVERNANCE
GOVT. INITIATES TO ACCESS & TRACE ALL ‘UNLAWFUL’ CONTENT ONLINE
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SPOI REVIEW
INTERNET ACCESS IN INDIA HAS CROSSED 50 CRORE MILESTONE - TRAI
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LEAD STORY
SMILE FOUNDATION ORGANIZES A WEEK-LONG FILM FESTIVAL – SIFFCY
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ROUND ABOUT TRUMP AND TARIFF: THE PAIRED TS
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Change for Better - New Technologies can be powerful agents for good! Education and access to information can improve the lives of billions of people. Through increasingly powerful computing devices and networks, digital services, and mobile devices, this can become a reality for people around the world, including those in underdeveloped countries. The social media revolution embodied by Facebook, Twitter, and Tencent has given everyone a voice and a way to communicate instantly across the planet. Today, more than 30% of the people in the world use social media services to communicate and stay on top of world events, but 2019 will see the downward movements with hackers coming out with various new techniques. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is expected to change not only what we do but also who we are. It will affect our identity and all the issues associated with it - our sense of privacy, our notions of ownership, our consumption patterns, the time we devote to work and leisure, and how we develop our careers, cultivate our skills, meet people, and nurture relationships. The Fourth Industrial revolution has the power to change the world positively, but we have to be aware that the technologies can have negative results if we don’t think about how they can change us. Here the experts point out that the digital revolution means that more than 3 billion people now have access to the Internet.That still leaves more than 4 billion out of the core aspect of the third industrial revolution. Many experts says that people around the world haven’t yet benefited from previous industrial revolutions. We have to win this race between the growing power of the technology, and the growing wisdom with which we manage it. We don’t want to learn from mistakes. The Government now has realised the issue and taken steps towards e-commerce firms from selling products of the companies in which they have equity stakes or management control. The commerce and industry ministry also prohibited e-commerce companies from entering into an agreement for exclusive sale of products. E-tailers buy inventory from small to large brands and sell them online. A new rule that has come to force in the policy bars any entity related to ecommerce platforms from selling on that site and imposes a limit on how much one vendor can sell on a particular portal. The policy also prohibits ecommerce platforms from giving any preferential treatment to any supplier. Not to forget, when the government introduced rules that restricted large sellers on platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon from contributing more than a quarter of sales, online retailers set up structures to get around those loopholes by mandating other sellers to buy from those large sellers and then in turn sell those products on e-marketplaces. Lastly, the e-commerce sector has impacted business in India, close to 25 million small store owners. Now, it is also high time to regulate cab aggregators like OLA and UBER. With this we wish our readers a happy and prosperous News Year 2019!
Deepak Kumar Sahu Publisher & Editor-in-Chief 4 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 5
CSR/CORPORATE
Vodafone empowers underprivileged children in Kashmir
ACT Fibernet with Tamil Nadu Govt. to empower visually challenged students
Vodafone has donated a sum of Rs 5.4 lakh for education underprivileged children in Kashmir in keeping with the ‘spirit of giving’ associated with this pious month. The annual ‘Giving Initiative’ by Vodafone commemorates Ramzan by giving the gift of education to underprivileged Kashmiri youth for which it has donated more than Rs 35.5 lakh in these six years. Since the inception of this initiative, Vodafone has tied-up with Sakhawat Centre, run by Iqbal Memorial Trust, an NGO in Srinagar to whom it has donated a grand sum of Rs 35.5 lakh over the course of these six years. Every year Vodafone ensures that an adequate amount of money is collected during the month of Ramzan to be utilized for the empowerment of underprivileged children in Kashmir.
ACT Fibernet (Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd.) has joined hands with the Government of Tamil Nadu to introduce Digital accessible information system (DAISY) for the visually impaired students of 11th and 12th Standards for both CBSE and State board syllabus in partnership with Karna Vidya foundation for the first time in India. The collaboration intends to empower students and enable them to overcome challenges through smart technology-oriented education. Commenting on the initiative, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Chief Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, “Government of Tamil Nadu has always furthered the cause for education of students across society using technology. It’s for first time the 11th and 12th std. syllabus of State Board and CBSE is converted in this format and is a welcome initiative by ACT Fibernet. With their support, we are extremely happy to bring advanced digital learning technology to our visually challenged students."
‘Akancha against harassment’ emerges as a social impact initiative against cyber harassment
D-Link extends its support to Self4society platform
‘Akancha Against Harassment’, a social impact initiative of Akancha Srivastava Foundation has emerged as India’s largest social impact initiative against cyber harassment in the short time since its inception in 2017. ‘Akancha Srivastava Foundation’, an 80 G certified, non-profit organization, through this initiative, is focusing on educating the society about prevention of cyber harassment and is empowering the users by providing them right information on laws & rights. The initiative is also bridging the gap between the authorities and victims by securing the support of police across states. Akancha Against Harassment has gained unprecedented credibility & support from various educationists, authorities including the Indian Police, lawyers, law -makers, political leaders & entrepreneur community. 6 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
D-Link has recognized that its actions as a responsible corporate entity can lead to progressive change in the society that it operates in. At D-Link social welfare is an integral part of its value system. D-Link now further pledges its support to
Self4Society – a CSR platform recently launched by our Hon. Prime Minster that encourages employees from IT sector to actively volunteer towards social causes, and help build a New India. The Self4Society platform is a noble initiative by the present government that encourages corporate employees to engage and contribute in social welfare activities. Self4Society is an app based platform that acts as a workspace for Electronics and IT corporates to organize employee engagements (Initiatives) for social work.
CSR/CORPORATE
Mjunction to provide education using mobile phones to visuallyimpaired students
For 50 visually-impaired government school students aged between 14 and 16 years in Chhattisgarh, it marked the beginning of new hopes and a freedom from Braille. With the help of latest mobile technology, these excited children were trained to study their textbooks, helping them overcome their physical challenge in a way they did not think was possible before this. Each of them got a phone which had preloaded accessible textbooks, and they were taught to study these textbooks using latest mobile applications. This innovation in CSR was made possible in one of its kind initiatives by mjunction services limited, India’s largest B2B e-commerce company, in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh government. mjunction first procured the smartphones and then uploaded all Chhattisgarh government school textbooks for the intended age group into these smartphones.
ThoughtWorks concludes fourth edition of the Vapasi program
ThoughtWorks has concluded its fourth edition of the Vapasi program, a ThoughtWorks India initiative. The program encourages women developers who are currently on a career break, to re-enter the world of programming. Bengaluru’s Vapasi 2018 edition was an intensive 3-week boot camp on Java and object-oriented programming. This particular edition saw 22 participants enroll and complete the program, with 9 of the
participants being shortlisted for a 2-month internship program with ThoughtWorks. Post the internship, candidates are eligible to apply for full-time positions at ThoughtWorks. Commenting on Vapasi, SavitaHortikar, Head of Recruitment, ThoughtWorks India said, “ThoughtWorks has always been passionate about diversity. We recognize that an inclusive work environment built around driven professionals is the answer to sustainable organizational growth. We are happy that the Vapasi program is empowering women technologists to re-enter the workforce and continue their careers.”
The Giving Economy Conclave gives effect to the principle of ‘For it is in giving, that we receive’ The Giving Economy Conclave (GEC) was launched with much enthusiasm and a curtain-raiser at a special event organized in Mumbai. The event was inaugurated by Chet Jain – CEO Crowdera; Triveni Acharya – Co-founder of Rescue Foundation and Sandeep Nath, the famous Bollywood lyricist. The launch event organized by Crowdera, the only commission free crowd funding platform, also saw the first ever GEC Change Maker Awards being presented to well-known names like Triveni Acharya; Gauri Sawant from Sakhi Char Chaugh and a holder of Presidential Award; Ajit Barse from Slum Soccer Foundation; Sacheen Gandhi from Medicine Baba Trust; Shalabh Sahai from iVolunteer and Sandeep Nath; Maya Vishwakarma; Radha Krishna Prabhu from Annamitra; Srudipta Tagore; Rusen Kumar from India CSR; and Rishi Raj from Muskaan. The awards accolade the recognition of their contribution to the society by aligning to and leaving an impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The grants are set to launch in 5 tranches of $20M for specific causes in East Asian and South East Asian regions. The first grant of $20M was announced during the GEC event for Indian Non-profit Start-ups and Social Enterprises.
www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 7
CSR/PSU
Penganga Opencast Project to boost WCL Production
ONGC experts bring cyclone hit offshore drilling rig to normal
Penganga Project of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) is now the largest Opencast Project of the company with a capacity of 6.3 million tonnes (MT). With fast-track clearance of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) a few days back, the capacity of Penganga Project has been increased from 4.5 to 6.3 MT thereby making the largest opencast project of WCL. Similarly, Umrer Opencast Project of Umrer Area is also well set to produce 4.9 MT coal by getting the approval of MoEF for capacity enhancement from 3.5 to 4.9 MT. Both these Projects will give a major boost to WCL in achieving targeted coal production for the first time since its inception. This has been made possible only with the concerted efforts of Team WCL under 'MISSION: WCL 2.0'. Penganga Project of WCL, a Greenfield Project in Wani Area, was inaugurated in March 2015 with the planned capacity of 4.5 MT. The Project, which is in a fast track mode, could achieve 80% of production capacity in record two years’ time. With the scope of further enhancement, capacity of Project has been increased from 4.5 to 6.3 MT during the current fiscal.
A team of experts mobilised by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) brought cyclone hit semi-submersible rig ‘Olinda Star’ back to normal. The rig had reported tilting at an angle in the aftermath of cyclone Pethai which hit coastal Andhra Pradesh last week. The rig ‘Olinda Star’ had been deployed for ONGC operations on the East Coast of India. After Met Department’s cyclone warning, the 111 crew members working on the rig were evacuated on 14th and 15th December itself. ONGC made elaborate and quick arrangements for evacuating persons and deployed helicopters and boats. As the weather had been rough with large swells hampering the approach to the rig via sea, Indian Navy helicopters were pressed into service to ferry expert crew to the rig. Twelve persons including salvage team members, boarded the rig on December 21 morning and carried out the salvage operation promptly, restabilizing the rig.
Coal Consumer Power Plants of NCL have sufficient Coal Stock: CMD, NCL
BEML observes Swachhata Pakhwada 2018
P. K. Sinha, Chairman-Cum-Managing Director (CMD) of Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) has said that coal consumer power plants of NCL have sufficient coal stock, during inauguration session of the first ‘International Conference on Opencast Mining Technology & Sustainability-2018' (ICOMS-2018)’ at the NCL Quarters, Singrauli. D. K. Hota, CMD, BEML Limited was present at the inauguration session as the chief guest while Director Central Institute of Mining & Fule Research (CIMFR). Dr. P. K. Singh and Vice-Chancellor - AKS University, Satna Dr. P. K. Banik were the guests of honours. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), BHU Varanasi and AKS University, Satna are the knowledge partners of the conference. Addressing the inauguration session, NCL CMD said that company is going to produce a record 100 million tonne coal during the financial year 2018-19. But this record coal production will be a benchmark only, not the ultimate target. The company targets to produce even more coal per annum in the upcoming years. 8 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
BEML Limited observed ‘Swachhata Pakhwada 2018’ from 1st December 2018 to 15th December 2018 at its corporate office, manufacturing complexes and offices across the country, including adopting a village at Kolar Gold Fields. The 15-day programmes featured cleanliness drive in the townships, offices, complexes, schools and its surrounding areas covering various awareness programmes like walkathon fumigation for prevention of mosquitoes, segregation of waste, cleaning of drainages etc. To create awareness and to promote cleanliness especially among the younger generation, painting & drawing competitions on the theme of the importance of cleanliness, march past and mini-marathon, display of banners and seminars were organized involving company executives, employees and their family members and school children. Programmes like the door to door campaign on cleanliness, plantation of tree saplings, promotion of clean environment, maintenance of hygiene and discourage the use of plastic were organized. A large number of executives, employees, school children and family members have participated in the above events.
CSR/PSU
Indian Ambassador to Philippines visits MDL
Global Aviation Meet 2019 concludes
Jaideep Mazumdar, Ambassador of India to the Philippines, visited Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), country’s premier warship building yard, on 12 December 2018. He was received by Cmde Rakesh Anand, Chairman & Managing Director, MDL. Jaideep was shown the yard facilities including under construction ships, submarines, modernisation project, etc. A detailed presentation exhibiting MDL’s capabilities was also made to him. Jaideep along with Cmde Rakesh Anand, CMD; Capt. Rajiv Lath, Director of Submarine and Heavy Engineering, and other senior officials visited MDL's East Yard Workshop during the visit. Jaideep was extremely impressed with the facilities and professionalism of the workforce at MDL and conveyed his appreciation for the highly informative briefing and impressive accomplishments of the yard over the years.
Jayant Sinha, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation launched the official mobile application 'GAS 2019' for the Global Aviation Summit 2019. Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation; Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airport Authority of India; Dr. Shefali Juneja, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India and other officials of AAI were also present there. The 'GAS 2019' mobile application is available on Playstore and iOS. It provides a holistic glimpse of the Summit and can be used to access the latest updates about the mega event. The application enables users to interact with the co-delegates and speakers. It would be an excellent platform for networking through personal and group chats. With the who’s who of the global aviation fraternity gracing the event, the Summit was a promising platform for constructive discussions, collaborations and meeting of minds to explore the future of global aviation.
Corporate Communication Meet of NTPC held
NCL deploys indigenously developed electric dump truck
The two day 29th Corporate Communication Meet of NTPC was held in Vindhyachal - the largest Power station of NTPC on December 14-15, 2018. The inaugural of the program was addressed by A. N. Verma, ED (HR); A. K. Tewary, ED - Vindhyachal and BUHs of Singrauli Rihand Debashis Sen and A. K. Mukherjee. Gurdeep Singh, CMD, NTPC; S. Roy, Director (HR) and A.K. Gupta, D i r e c t o r (C o m mercia l ) also addressed the Meet through video conferencing, which was a source of great encouragement for Corporate Communication professionals from NTPC projects across the country. KM Prashanth, AGM (CC) gave an overview of the two days plan and Uttamlal, GM (HR), Vindhyachal proposed the vote of thanks.
The Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) has deployed the first indigenously developed electric dump truck (dumper) in its Amlohri coal mine. This dumper is manufactured by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML). With the capacity of 205 tonnes, this is the highest capacity dumper ever deployed in NCL. In the program organized at Base Workshop of NCL's Amlori coal mine, NCL CMD P.K.Sinha; CMD BEML Deepak Kumar Hota; Director (Technical/ Operations) NCL Gunadhar Pandey; Director (Technical/ Project and Planning) P.M. Prasad; Director (Finance) Nag Nath Thakur and Director of Mining & Construction Business (BEML) B.R. Vishwanath flagged off the new electric dump truck. BEML CMD Deepak Kumar Hota said that handover of the dumper to NCLis a proud moment for his company. NCL Director (Technical/Operations) Gunadhar Pandey thanked the BEML for giving the country's first indigenous electric dump to NCL and hoped that the successful operation of dumper in Amlori mines would provide another gateway for deployment of more number of such dumpers in mines of NCL.
www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 9
NEWS/URBAN DEVELOPMENT
3, 10,597 houses sanctioned under PMAY (Urban)
100 smart cities selected in 4 Rounds
The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has approved the construction of another 3, 10,597 more affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The approval was given in the 41st meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee held here today.The cumulative number of houses sanctioned under PMAY(U) now is 68, 54,126. Uttar Pradesh has been sanctioned 1, 08,135 houses while the sanction for Karnataka is 1, 05,502 affordable houses. The number of houses sanctioned for Andhra Pradesh is 57,433, while Odisha has been sanctioned 21,894 houses and Gujarat17, 633 houses. A total of 864 projects with a project cost of Rs 14,662 crore with central assistance of Rs 4,658 crore has been approved in the meeting held under the Chairmanship of Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The approvals under the Beneficiary led construction(BLC) vertical is 1,91,556 while it is 1,18,941 under Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP)vertical.
The Ministry of Housing & Affairs has embarked upon one of the most ambitious programmes undertaken in the world for renaissance for rejuvenating and transforming Indian cities through several initiatives including infusion of more than Rs. 6,85,758 crore for ensuring citizen friendly urban areas. The transformation has been undertaken by way of implementing key urban reforms, projects for urban rejuvenation, construction of public and household toilets and solid waste management under the Swachh Bharat Mission, initiation and implementation of more than 5000 Smart City projects worth Rs.2,05,018 crore under the Smart City Mission, sanctioning of more than 65 lakh houses for construction under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in urban areas, provision of water, sewerage and sanitation under the Mission AMRUT by sanctioning projects worth Rs.77,640 crore, augmenting the urban transport by way of new metro lines, embarking on an ambitious target for skill development of urban youth for gainful employment under DAY-NULM and approving implementation of city HRIDAY plans for 12 cities. The Ministry is also vigorously pursuing reforms in the real estate sector for the benefit of homebuyers.
Government plans to make all meters smart prepaid in 3 years
GST Council to consider 5% GST on under-construction homes
Ministry of Power, Government of India has decided to make all meters smart prepaid in 3 years from 1st April, 2019. This step is likely to bring revolution in power sector by way of reduction in AT&C losses, better health of DISCOMs, incentivization of energy conservation, ease of bill payments and doing away with the paper bills. Move towards smart meters is a pro poor step as consumers need not pay the whole month's bill in one go, instead they can pay as per their requirements. Manufacturing of smart prepaid meters will also generate skilled employment for the youth. It may be recalled that the State Governments had earlier signed the power for all document and had agreed to supply 24*7 power supply to their consumers. Thus the distribution licensee shall provide 24*7 power to their consumers by 1st April, 2019 or earlier. However the appropriate Commission in exceptional circumstances for the reasons to be recorded in writing may grant extension in this time period. 10 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
The GST Council is likely to consider lowering GST on under-construction flats and houses to 5 per cent in its meeting next month, an official said. Currently, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is levied at 12 per cent on payments made for under-construction property or readyto-move-in flats where completion certificate has not been issued at the time of sale. However, GST is not levied on buyers of real estate properties for which completion certificate has been issued at the time of sale. An official said that this 12 per cent GST rate ideally would have been partially offset by way of taxes paid on inputs by builders and hence the actual incidence of GST on underconstruction home buyers would have been around 5-6 per cent. However, builders are not passing on the input tax credit (ITC) benefit to consumers. "One of the proposals before the Council is to lower the GST rate to 5 per cent for builders who purchase 80 per cent of inputs from registered dealers," an official said.
NEWS/DIGITAL INDIA
Staqu launches AI app for UP Police Department
Gurgaon-based AI start-up, Staqu has announced the launch of TRINETRA, an AI application for the Uttar Pradesh Police Department. The application digitizes and search records using AI and carries records of criminals, assisting police forces at ground zero with real-time information retrieval during investigations, regular checks, verifications, and at police checkpoints. The app is launched under the leadership of O.P. Singh, IPS, Director General of UP Police, with S.K. Bhagat, IGP – Crime, and Somen Barma, SP – Crime of Uttar Pradesh Police, driving the project under their supervision. Other noted police officials also attended the launch of TRINETRA held in UP 100 headquarter. TRINETRA equips police forces to carry superior technology in their pockets. With this application, police personnel can easily register or search for criminals via simple biometric features, such as images or videos. The app is powered by Staqu’s expertise in facial recognition, visual search, machine learning, and deep learning, works well with low- resolution images and videos, and offers better accuracy than any other criminal recognition system.
BSNL to provide digital bills from Jan 1
Come 2019 and citizens will no longer have to wait for printed bills to clear their telephone and data connection dues as the government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has decided to take the digital route and provide bills to consumers via email or on their mobile phone from January 1. BSNL’s senior general manager in Nashik, Nitin Mahajan said the telecom major would give a rebate of Rs 10 on every bill that is either sent by email or SMS. “This is part of the Digital India project and an aim to protect the environment. We have already started registering our customers for digital bills. 90% of the customers have registered their email id with BSNL,” said Mahajan. According to sources in the BSNL, the cost of printing bills is Re 1 per consumer. “We will give a rebate of Rs 10 per bill to encourage customers to opt for digital bills,” added the officials.
Patanjali withdraws plan to West Bengal districts to use relaunch WhatsApp killer Kimbho blockchain for issuing birth app certificate
Baba Ramdev led Patanjali Ayurved has hold off its plans to relaunch the ‘Desi Social App' - a WhatsApp killer chatting platform, Kimbho, after successive failed attempts. The App was launched as a trial version on August 15 with the promise of launching the complete version on August 27. Patanjali tied up with a Noidabased app making firm thereafter, but it didn't work out either. This is quite a big showdown as initially Kimbho was billed as a WhatsApp killer. Acharya Bal Krishna, CEO and MD of Patanjali Ayurved said that the company wanted to launch an application with high security standards, but wasn't satisfied with the work. He added that the app has been shelved for now as Patanjali doesn't want to launch half-baked products. The app was launched on two separate occasions in May and August, but failed to impress the security experts.
Divit Biyani, a month-old baby from Kolkata became the first one to receive a blockchain secured birth certificate in the state of West Bengal. The hi-tech birth certificate issued by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) was received by Divit’s father, who owns a start-up named Super Procure. Now, two other Municipal Corporations in Bengal – Bankura and Durgapur, have also embraced the new technology to issue birth certificates, states media reports. The municipal corporations of Bankura and Durgapur districts in West Bengal have partnered with the Netherlandsbased company Lynked.World to build a blockchain-based platform for issuing legal documents such as birth certificates. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 11
GOVT. NEWS
PM Modi inaugurates Bogibeel Bridge over Brahmaputra
Bids for setting up of Wind Power Projects finalised
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s longest rail-cum-road bridge in Bogibeel over the Brahmaputra river in Assam. Inaugurating the bridge that connects Dhemaji and Dibrugarh, Modi and his cavalcade took a ride, stopping in the middle and waving at thousands of people waiting on both sides. “It would greatly enhance ease of living in this region,” Modi said adding that this bridge had been a dream for the people of this region for generations. The Prime Minister said that while only three bridges were built over the Brahmaputra in the last 60-70 years, three bridges have been completed in the last four-and-a-half years alone. Built at an estimated cost of over Rs 5,000 crore, the bridge is expected to help over five million people living in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and significantly enhance India’s defence capability by ensuring faster movement of troops and supplies to the eastern border with China.
The wind power projects in the country are installed on the basis of commercial viability through tariff based competitive bidding process. As on date, the bids for setting up of wind power projects of aggregate 8389.90 MW capacity have been finalised through Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) and National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC), as detailed in Annexure-II. Besides, bids of 500 MW each have been finalised by the states of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Government has set a target of installing 60 GW of wind power capacity by 2022, against which 35 GW capacity has already been installed. The Government is promoting wind power projects in the entire country by providing various fiscal and financial incentives such as Accelerated Depreciation benefit; concessional custom duty exemption on certain components of wind electric generators.
Steel plant set up in YSR Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh
Commemorative coin in honour of Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee launched
Preparation of feasibility report for establishing an integrated steel plant in Kadapa District in the state of Andhra Pradesh has been engaging the attention of the Government of India at the highest level. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) have prepared the feasibility report as per the commitment under Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 and based on various inputs including those provided by the state Government, the project was found not feasible. Steel Ministry wanted to do further due diligence keeping the best interest of the newly formed state of Andhra Pradesh in mind. It appointed a high level Task Force consisting of representatives from the state Government and other technical persons engaged in the steel industry. This Task Force has been holding meetings periodically and the last meeting took place on 17th December, 2018. Further, the Steel Minister, Chaudhary Birender Singh has been continuously holding meetings on the subject with all stakeholders including public representatives from the state of Andhra Pradesh in order to expeditiously explore all possibilities for finalization of due diligence and feasibility Report. 12 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has released a commemorative coin in honour of former Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Present at the occasion were Lok Sabha Speaker, Sumitra Mahajan; Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley; Minister of State for Culture (I/c), Dr. Mahesh Sharma; Members of Parliament, Amit Shah and L.K. Advani among other Cabinet ministers and dignitaries. Close family members of Atal Bihari Vajpayee were present on the occasion. The Prime Minister said “Our minds are not ready to believe that Shri Vajpayee is no longer with us. He was a stalwart loved and respected across all sections of society. Over decades, Shri Vajpayee's voice remained the voice of the people. As a speaker, he was unparalleled.
GOVT. NEWS
Raksha Mantri Inaugurates Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region
AYUSH Minister discusses globalisation of traditional systems of medicine
Nirmala Sitharaman, the Raksha Mantri has launched the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) Gurugram. Apart from representation by officials from the MoD, MEA, MHA, Ministry of Shipping and the NSCS, Ambassadors and Resident Defence Attaches of partner countries also participated in the event. The Indian Ocean Region is vital to world trade and economic prosperity of many nations as more than 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of global oil consumption passes through the IOR. However, maritime terrorism, piracy, human and contraband trafficking, illegal and unregulated fishing, arms running and poaching pose myriad challenges to maritime safety and security in the region. Response to these challenges requires enhanced situational awareness of the maritime activities in the region so as to enable security agencies function effectively.
The Minister of State (I/C) for AYUSH, Shripad Naik held an Interactive Meeting with Ambassadors/High Commissioners of 15 countries on Globalisation of Traditional and Alternative Systems of Medicine in New Delhi on 20 December, 2018. The meeting was coordinated by Central Research Council of Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, New Delhi. The meeting was attended by Ambassadors/ H i g h commissioners of Bhutan, UAE, Cuba, Iran, Ghana, Hungary, Trinidad, Oman, Equatorial Guinea, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Switzerland, Mauritius, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. The focus of the meeting was on role played by Traditional and Complementary Systems of Medicine (TM&CM) in the health care of people, with respect to combating non-communicable diseases and promotion of health alongside the modern medicine across the world with very low cost.
Development of CEZs under Sagarmala Programme
Government launches Asiatic Lion Conservation project
The Minister of State for Shipping and Finance, Pon Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha has informed thattheFourteen Coastal Economic Zones have been identified along the coastline of the country under National Perspective Plan (NPP) of SagarmalaProgramme. These are now proposed to be developed as Coastal Employment Zones (CEZs). Out of 14 CEZ, 1 prototype CEZ is planned to be developed at 1st phase for validation of CEZ concept which will be expanded further to encompass the total 14 CEZs. The finalization of institutional framework, road map and budgetary outlay of the protype project has been taken up. The Minister also informed that the Central Line Ministries such as Ministry of Finance, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), NITI Aayog etc. and concerned State Govt. are involved in the development of CEZ.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India has launched the “Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” with an aim to protect and conserve the world’s last ranging free population of Asiatic Lion and its associated ecosystem. At a review meeting Union Environment Minister said that “The Asiatic Lion Conservation Project” will strengthen the ongoing measures for conservation and recovery of Asiatic Lion with the help of state-of-the –art techniques/ instruments, regular scientific research studies, disease management, Modern surveillance/ patrolling techniques. The Union minister further stated that the total budget of the project for 3 years that amounts to nearly Rs. 9784 lakh will be funded from the Centrally Sponsored Scheme- Development of Wildlife Habitat (CSS-DWH) with the contributing ratio being 60:40 of Central and State share. Asiatic lions that once ranged from Persia (Iran) to Palamau in Eastern India were almost driven to extinction by indiscriminate hunting and habitat loss. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 13
NGO NEWS
Welike joins hands with CRY to support child education this Christmas
Quick Heal Foundation announces the winners of Cy-Fi Karandak 2018
Welike with millions of downloads, has joined hands with CRY (Child Rights and You) to support child education in the country. Thousands of people both online and offline are participating in the innovative “Zara HAT Ke” campaign designed by Welike to make Christmas celebrations special for underprivileged children. Par ticipants are asked to download the Welike app and post anything and everything they like with the hashtag #Zara HAT Ke. For every such post, Welike has committed to contribute Rs 5 to the education of underprivileged children in collaboration with CRY – Child Rights and You. The campaign will run till December 28. The money will be donated to schools for underprivileged children in Delhi-NCR which are struggling with shortage of resources.
Marking the successful conclusion of yet another edition of its unique techno-cultural gala, Quick Heal Foundation has announced the winners of Cy-Fi Karandak 2018. Organised in association with Maharashtra Cyber and Theatre Academy at SakalLalitKalaghar in Pune on December 16, 2018, the grand finale saw ‘I Agree’ by ‘AmcheAmhi’ from Pune named the winner of the award from amongst nine finalist teams. Leading actors Riteish Deshmukh and Jackie Shroff were present at the grand finale of the Cy-Fi Karandak 2018 as its Chief Guest, while prominent Marathi actors Vijay Kenkre and Anand Ingle were part of the judging panel. The winning team was felicitated at the hands of Kailash Katkar (Managing Director & CEO – Quick Heal Technologies Ltd); Sanjay Katkar (Joint Managing Director & CTO – Quick Heal Technologies Ltd); Sachin Pandkar, SP, Maharashtra Cyber and Prasad Purandare, President, Theatre Academy.
NASSCOM Foundation to use CSR funds to skill people on Blockchain, AI, ML and robotics
Toyota with IIT Delhi to educate school children about road safety
NASSCOM Foundation hosted India’s largest Tech for Good driven conference – The CSR Leadership Conference 2018 in Bangalore. The two-day conference brought over 400 delegates consisting of CEOs, CXOs, CSR Heads from the industry, policy makers, influencers, NGO Leads, Tech4Good champions, and social innovators under one roof to discuss innovative approaches to CSR and help create a roadmap to a new, developed and inclusive India. The event was supported by Accenture. SocieteGenerale and Wells Fargo also came forward to support the knowledge platform, along with Sonata Software. The event saw leaders like Debjani Ghosh, president, NASSCOM call for collaboration across the industry to solve larger national issues. Rekha Menon, Chairman and Senior Managing Director, Accenture India, talked about how India needs to upskill and re-skill its workforce to remain relevant. 14 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
Toyota Kirloskar Motor has joined hands with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi to drive a road safety mission- Hackathon initiative which aims at incubating ideas of young minds to support the national mission of 'Zero Fatality'. Over 180 teams which include over 370 students from more than 100 schools from the Delhi-NCR region have participated in the road safety campaign. The students who have been allowed to register for the road safety mission are from grades 9th to 12th who have worked in association with Indian Road Safety Campaign (IRSC), an NGO formed by IIT Delhi. The event is categorized into three-dimensional themeseducate on driver behaviour, enforcement on fraud detection, and infrastructure to build good roads. The educate drivers program will integrate devices into both commercial and private vehicles which will caution the driver when they drive rash or are fatigued. The fraud detection program will keep a check on faulty driving practices such as underage driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.
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TECH TRENDS
Tightened norms for e-commerce companies make traders happy The government took a number of steps and barred e-commerce firms from selling products of the companies in which they have equity stakes or management control. The commerce and industry ministry also prohibited e-commerce companies from entering into an agreement for exclusive sale of products. The law that will be enforced to keep an eye on the online marketplaces with foreign investment are going to help and hinder many. The new rule in the policy bars any entity related to ecommerce platforms from selling on that site and imposes a limit on how much one vendor can sell on a particular portal. The policy also prohibits ecommerce platforms from giving any preferential treatment to any supplier. Trader body CAIT has welcomed the government’s move to tighten norms for sale of products by e-commerce firms but demanded introduction of an e-commerce policy and regulator to monitor the sector. “It is a big achievement after a long struggle for years. If it is implemented in proper spirit, mal-practices and predatory pricing policy and deep discounting of e-commerce players will be a matter of past," Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said. He further said that the government should implement it with retrospective effect from April 1, 2018. The idea is intended to prevent predatory pricing and deep discounting. The curbs follow intense lobbying by India's many millions of small shopkeepers and the middlemen who serve them, particularly after Walmart this year spent $16 billion to acquire Flipkart. There were various trade associations from across the country that had approached the government on this issue of predatory pricing and spoiling the business in India. Initially when e-commerce companies entered India, they said that they had complete convenience in mind while serving customers. "But the business module has changed over the period 16 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
of time and with this many business houses have closed their shops and establishments," says Champak Gurjar, President-FAIITA. He further said that FAIITA with its initiative has already signed a MoU with laptop brand owners to control disruptive pricing on OLS. “An entity having equity participation by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, or having control on its inventory by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, will not be permitted to sell its products on the platform run by such marketplace entity,” the ministry said in a statement.
WITH THIS NEW LAW, AMAZON PRIME AND FLIPKART PLUS COULD RUN INTO DIFFICULTIES THAT SEEKS TO ENSURE THAT THESE PLATFORMS ARE TRULY IMPARTIAL MARKETPLACES. THIS EFFECTIVELY PROHIBITS ANY ENTITY RELATED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM SELLING ON A PLATFORM.
With the new norms, Cloudtail can’t sell on Amazon. It can’t be given favourable terms for warehousing or logistics. Amazon India’s largest seller, Cloudtail, is a joint venture between NR Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran Ventures and Amazon. There are news doing round that Amazon may have to sell Cloudtail and Appario stakes. Appario is a joint venture of Amazon and the Patni Group. This may effectively lead to Amazon offloading its investment in Cloudtail and Appario, which forms majority of its sales. Cloudtail and RetailNet and others are expected to hold talks with these brands over the inventory they hold. This is a big problem as they weren’t expecting a shock. Experts feel the immediate next step will be that if Amazon plans to sell its stakes in the two companies, for the first time these sellers will be valued on an independent basis, providing an insight into the valuation of these large sellers on the platform, whose sales itself account for hundreds of millions of dollars every year. With these new regulations, people
TECH TRENDS who buy goods online will no longer get deep discounts. They will also not get other services such as free or faster delivery and cashbacks. Ecommerce marketplaces or entities in which they have direct or indirect equity participation or shared control have to provide services to vendors on the platform at arm’s length and in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. This could put to an end selective promotional schemes such as cashbacks or faster delivery, which will be deemed unfair and discriminatory under the new policy. Since the policy restricts vendors from selling more than 25 per cent of products on an e-commerce platform, it will discourage many small entrepreneurs, especially home businesses that thrive even without brick-and-mortar operations. These small vendors will need to enhance production capacity and invest in inventories to meet
the new requirement. The New policy which is coming to force is really a good news for the brick and mortar shops in the country. This action shows Government's action to keep the promise towards 'Sab kesaath, Sabke Vikas'. When the government introduced rules that restricted large sellers on platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon from contributing more than a quarter of sales, online retailers set up structures to get around those loopholes by mandating other sellers to buy from those large sellers and then in turn sell those products on e-marketplaces. At the same time, large sellers formed multiple entities, which sold their products separately on online marketplaces. The e-commerce sector has impacted the business in India, estimated 25 million small store owners that largely supported Modi in the 2014 general election. While
seeing the new rules as a step in the right direction, many small businesses feel too much damage has been done after Modi went back on promises that he would not allow the entry of foreign companies into the domestic retail sector. However, some experts believe that lawyers will find a way to work around the updated guidelines as well, which come in effect from 1st February 2019. "While one waits for the final draft of the e-commerce policy, the latest changes in the FDI rules promises to bring transparency into e-commerce industry and provide a level-playing field to all players in the ecosystem, including domestic sellers and smaller traders. The alleged preferential treatment meted out by some e-commerce companies to select vendor will also stop due to these changes,� says Rahul Bahukhandi, CoFounder LaYuva.
Apple on request shares user data to the Indian Government
On request from the Govt. of India, Apple has provided device information in connection with 27 devices and 18 accounts, during the period from January to June 2018, for an iTunes gift card fraud investigation. Apple said that in its bi-annual transparency report released on late Monday, the number of requests from India came in various formats such as court orders, subpoenas, warrants or other valid legal requests, which also included 34 financial identifiers and three emergency requests. In context to the device requests, Apple had provided data to the Indian government in 63 per cent of cases and 85 per cent in the cases related to financial identifiers. "The high number of financial identifiers were specified in requests predominantly due to an iTunes Gift Card fraud investigation," said Apple. "One request may contain one or multiple identifiers. We count the number of identifiers identified in each request and report the total number of identifiers by type (Device, Financial Identifier, Account)," the company added. For account requests, Apple gave data in 78 per cent of cases and for all the three emergency requests. During the time from July-December 2017, Apple provided data in 14 out of 27 requests (52 per cent) to the Indian government. With tech giants like Facebook and Twitter releasing biannually transparency reports, Apple keeping up with the
global trends has now launched a new transparency report website that makes it easier to scan data requests from various governments. Globally, the company received 32,342 demands from governments to access 1, 63,823 devices, with 80 per cent of the requests granted. In total, the Cupertino-based iPhone maker approved more than 25,000 government requests to access customer data in the first half of 2018 - an almost nine per cent rise in demands in the JulyDecember 2017 period. Apple needs government and private entities to follow applicable laws and statutes when requesting customer information and data. "We contractually require our service providers to abide by the same standard for any government information requests for Apple data. Our legal team reviews requests received to ensure that the requests have a valid legal basis," the company has said earlier. "When we receive an account request seeking our customers' personal information, we notify the customer that we have received a request concerning their personal data except where we are explicitly prohibited by the legal process, by a court order Apple receives, or by applicable law," it added. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 17
TECH TRENDS
Is Google tracking your personal information? Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University in California. Today, Google provides marketers like me with so much of your personal data that we can infer more about you from it than from any camera or microphone. There have never been more opportunities for marketers like me to exploit your data. Today, 40,000 Google search queries are conducted every second. That’s 3.5 billion searches per day, 1.2 trillion searches per year. When you search on Google, your query travels to a datacenter, where up to 1,000 computers work together to retrieve the results and send them back to you. This whole process usually happens in less than one-fifth of a second. Most people don’t realize that while this is going on, an even faster and more mysterious process is happening behind the scenes. In other terms, an auction is taking place. For as long as you have been using Google, Google has been building a “The Citizen Profile” on you. Every internet search contains keywords, and the keywords you just entered into Google are fought over by advertisers. Each advertiser who offers a product related to your keywords wants its ad to be seen and clicked. Then, like cartoon toys scrambling to get back in the right order before their owner throws on the light, the ads finalize their positions before your customized results page loads on your screen. Generally, your first four search results - what you see before having to scroll down are all paid advertisements. If you 18 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
didn’t know this, you’re not alone. More than 50 percent of people between the ages of 18–34 can’t differentiate between an ad and an organic result on Google. For those over 35, that percentage grows proportionally higher. To maximize this percentage, Google is always testing to find ad visuals that blend in best with organic results. Once you click on an ad, your information passes through to search engine marketers, where it’s forever stored in an AdWords account, never to be erased. In case you were starting to feel a semblance of happiness, what with the
holidays around the corner, here is a complete checklist of everything Google knows about you—thereby all the ways you’re tracked up to today…when you are reading this story. • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Your age Your income Your gender Your parental status Your relationship status Your browsing history (longterm and short-term) Your device (phone, tablet, desktop, TV) Your physical location The age of your child (toddler, infant, etc.) How well you did in high school The degree you hold The time (of day) of your Google usage The language you speak
• Whether you’ve just had a major life event • Your home ownership status • Your mobile carrier • The exact words you enter into Google search • The context and topics of the websites you visit • The products you buy • The products you have almost bought • Your Wi-Fi type • Your proximity to a cell tower • Your app installation history • The amount of time you spend on certain apps • Your operating system • The contents of your email • The time you spend on certain websites • Whether you’re moving (e.g., into a new home) • Whether you’re moving (e.g., walking or on a train) The above targeting methods are made available to search engine marketers by Google within marketers’ Ads UI. For as long as you’ve been using Google, Google has been building a “citizen profile” on you. This profile contains • Your voice search history • Every Google search you’ve ever made • Every ad you’ve ever seen or clicked on • Every place you’ve been in the last year • Every image you’ve ever saved • Every email you’ve ever sent Marketers already know if you’re a daily commuter. And they show you ads for products that daily commuters would be interested in buying, like headphones, pre-worn leather laptop bags, and handkerchiefs to hoarsely sob into. How do marketers know you’re a commuter?
SPOI NEWS
Railways parking, catering contracts to go through an e-tendering process The Indian railways, in a major policy shift has decided to do away with paperbased traditional tendering methods and assign an e-tendering process while bidding for parking, catering and parcel leasing, worth about Rs 3,000 crore a year.
Till now such contracts were being awarded through the paper-based traditional tendering system which was
e-tendering mode for awarding these contracts, the official added. Before deciding to go the whole hog, the Railways had undertaken a pilot project for parcelleasing in the Delhi division and it was a successful venture.
Besides, the contracts for getting space at rail premises for ATMs, advertisements and other publicity-related matters will also go online to bring about transparency and thus making deadlock for unethical elements in the tendering process. "There were complaints against the prevailing bidding system as the scope of formation of cartels and illegal interference in the bidding procedure to bag parking, catering and other contracts was always there," a senior Railway Ministry official told
Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the Railways' software arm, has been entrusted with the task of providing back-up support for ensuring the e-tendering exercise is a hassle-free process.
against the grain of the government's "Digital India" mission. All 17 railway zones and 70 divisions have been instructed to switch over to
A permanent helpdesk has also been provided by the national transporter to clarify the doubts of contractors and assist them with various aspects of the e-tendering process, including registration, online payments, bid submission, etc.
Sale of Medicines online Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh L. Mandaviya, while giving a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on separateguidelines for the sale of medicines online, said that the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 has provisions to sell, stock, exhibit or offer for sale or distribution of drugs. Mandaviya said that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has published draft rules to amend Drugs and Cosmetics
Rules regarding regulation of distribution or sale, stock, exhibit or offer for sale of drugs through e-pharmacy. As per these draft rules, the e-pharmacy shall mention the various details on its e-pharmacy portal, including name of the registered pharmacist, with the Registration No. and name of Pharmacy Council where the pharmacist has been registered, who validates the prescription prior to forward it to dispense the drugs,the Minister added. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 19
EVENT
SIITF Southern India Information Technology Fair’18
VARINDIA Tech Summit sparks discussions on how Emerging Technologies bring newer opportunities Eminent leaders from across leading organizations, CIOs and VARs opined the need of addressing compliances and challenges in AI, IoT and Automation VARINDIA has recently organised its Tech Summit at Hotel Le Meridian, Bengaluru, where the CIO community and tech leaders from technology, Security and AI industry gathered to understand on how emerging technologies are creating newer markets. The Tech Summit also witnessed the next generation datacenter, AI, Storage and security products and solutions, while the leadership from ITI, IT Department of Karnataka, NVIDIA, Western Digital, Sophos, ESDS Datacenter and Quardgen Wireless spoke on various technology innovations. The event featured panelists from leading organizations, such as AEGIS, Gokaldas, Dailyhunt, e-Gov Karnataka, Cytechcare Hospital and iRam Technologies. The summit was themed - ‘Emerging Technologies to Create Newer Markets’. The discussions focused on the impact of data policy frameworks, challenges and opportunities emerging from AI and ML, Autonomous Vehicles, Data Security, security for IoT, and how the convergence of CIO and CMO partnerships are evolving to develop a collaborative relationship. Some of India’s most valued dignitaries including Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, South Asia- NVIDIA; M. Arun Kumar, EDR – R&D, ITI Ltd.; Sridhar Saranathan - CIO and Head of e-GovKarnataka; Byju Pillai, President & CEO - Inflow Technologies; Sunil Sharma, MD (Sales) – Sophos; Harsha N, Enterprise
Business Development Manager - Western Digital and Murugan E, Regional Director- ESDS Datacenters in addition to 40 CIOs and 60 VARs (System Integrators and Solution partners) attended the discussions and debated on various technology innovations and challenges that have been exponentially increasing, particularly with Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning. In his inauguration speech, Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA said, “India has huge technological talent and it is true that emerging and disruptive Technologies are Creating Newer Markets. For this I think both CIO and CMO alignment drives business growth, The C-suite collaborations is becoming one of the most important when it comes to delivering the kind of digital experiences that customers demand.” Deepak further emphasized on how “Disruption Is About Experiences”. They just happen to be enabled by technology. It is like Businesses that find a way to better solve individual and collective challenges and use tech layers to implement those solutions. “It’s impossible to predict exactly which trends will become the most disruptive in 2019. That being said, there are a number of developments that have and will continue to shape business strategies. From automation to sustainability, organizations are adapting to a whole new wave of consumer preferences.”
ARUN KUMAR EDR – R&D, ITI Ltd “Emerging technologies are going to create new markets in coming times. ITI over the years has been able to adopt to the emerging technologies, sustained ourselves and develop into what we are today. We are the first public sector in the country, started in 1945 and just completed 70 years of our foundation. We were the leaders in telecommunication, having established the entire network that fuel the Indian economy, from 1950 till 1992 when liberalization took place. We developed our new products by looking into the requirements of the market – the switches, telecommunication systems, transmission systems and the terminal products. We were able to develop, manufacture and put these products into the Indian market. And this is how we saw sustained growth in the industry despite several hiccups.” 20 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
Right to left: Mr. Harsha N, Enterprise Business Development Manager-WESTERN DIGITAL , Mr. Murugan E, Regional Director- ESDS Datacenters, MR. AJAY BAKSHI, CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER & SVP-AEGIS BPO & KPO,Mr. Uday Bhaskar Rao,M.D.- I Ram Technologies, Mr. Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, South Asia- NVIDIA, Mr. Sridhar Saranathan-CIO and Head of e-Gov-Karnataka, Mr. Raman Pillai, G.M, Ather Energy , Mr. M. ARUN KUMAR, EDR – R&D, ITI LIMITED, Mr. Subbarao Hegde, CIO Index USA/Director, Apon India, Mr. Sunil Sharma, M.D.(Sales)- Sophos, MR. SENTHIL N, DIRECTOR IT & CIO-SUN INNOVATION SYSTEMS PVT.LTD, and Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO- Kalinga Digital Media
He also said that Chinese and American companies who are facing strong headwinds in each other’s markets and winning in a large country like India can be a game changer for both sides, “especially if you believe data is the new oil”. He also spoke about VARINDIA’s identification of Top 10 Emerging/disruption technologies which are expected to disrupt the industry further. Kicking off the discussions, Vishal Dhupar, M.D, South AsiaNVIDIA said, “The opportunities in the mobile cloud era is much bigger than the PC era, capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL). AI application running on a device such as an autonomous vehicle is performing real-time collision avoidance.
Power efficiency is equally important since these vehicles may have to go days, weeks or months without recharging. Lastly, the future of next generation product development would revolve around Artificial intelligence and Machine learning.” Adding to the discussion on emerging technologies, Arun Kumar, EDR – R&D, ITI Ltd said, “ITI Limited, is the country’s first telecommunications PSU post-independence and is a premier telecom manufacturing company in the country. ITI has bagged many important projects including the orders in pipeline. ITI hopes to reach an order book of INR 22,000 crore in the coming 2 to 3 years.”
VISHAL DHUPAR MD, South Asia- NVIDIA “There are nothing that we as humans cannot understand what is happening in technology. That challenge that we face is we get caught up with it in a surprise. If you look at technology, it moves with certain patterns and continues to create those patterns over a period of time. If you pay attention to those, you would know exactly where it is going. It’s almost like a drop that falls on a mountain and the water moves. Maybe what you cannot figure out is the path that that it is going to take. But we all know it is going to gravitate towards a downward slope. And it is for this reason that we knew telephones had to happen.”
www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 21
EVENT Under the leadership of K Alagesan, ITI has also entered into an agreement with Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) for establishment of state-of-the-art telecom testing labs at its Bengaluru plant to facilitate mandatory testing of imported and indigenous telecom equipment in India. ITI has also partnered with 50 start-ups and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) covering the manufacturing of a wide range of ICT and IoTbased solutions. Arun Kumar also spoke about project leading capabilities by ITI, R&D in ITI for various projects and upcoming networks for Army and also about its first Indigenous crypto system for Indian Army for securing the communication network of Indian Defence forces. AI and IoT are creating newer revolution in the technology era. He further added, “We are talking about IoT but I would say the future of computing is Quantum technology and Quantum computing. Not only India and but across the world, Bengaluru is named as the leader in this Quantum Technology and this is going to be the future”. Speaking on the theme of the event, three corporate houses presented their perspective. The first presenter was Harsha N, Enterprise Business Development Manager from Western Digital, who spoke on how digital transformation is happening through Data and at the same time how it is creating environments for data to thrive and creating a data driven economy. He also spoke about how Western Digital has become the global leader in storage technology with $19.1 billion dollar. Murugan E, Regional Director- ESDS Datacenter spoke on how newer technologies are bringing newer opportunities in the age of cloud. Sunil Sharma, MD (Sales), Sophos spoke about the security landscape and its growing importance in the digital era and how these newer threats are impacting the industry. He also spoke about how Sophos is bringing newer opportunities for securing enterprises. The event witnessed the participation of CIOs from various industries. The attendees included Subbarao Hegde, CIO Index USA/Director, Apon India; Krishna M S, Head-IT, Toradex Systems India Pvt. Ltd; Senthil N, Director IT & CIO, Sun Innovation Systems Pvt. Ltd.; J.M. Priyadarshan, Vice President, Neo Values Solutions; Raghunath Thiyagarajan, Director - Infrastructure Service & Cloud Practice; Nandkishore Dhomne, VP-IT & CIO-
Manipal Health Enterprises; KRC Murthy, VP, Head of RTB-IT- Kotak Mahindra Bank; Arvind Kumar, DirectorIT- Elior India Catering LLP; Ajay Bakshi, Chief Digital Officer & SVP-Aegis BPO & KPO; Jai Thomas, Head IT Infra & Operations - Dailyhunt (Versé Innovation Pvt ltd); Himanshu Rastogi, CIO, Medi Assist; Prashant Kumar, HeadIT- Alstom India; Raman Pillai, G.M, Ather Energy; Chirag Boonlia, VP-IT, Virtuous Retail Services Pvt. Ltd; Paul Raj M, GM & IT Head-Puravankara limited; Harish H S, Principal Consultant-Hanvik Infosec; Ramesh V, Technical Head, IT Department Karnataka State Financial Corporation; Ganesh Ramachandra, CIO, UST Software India Pvt. Ltd.; Ramesh Subramaniam, Director-Technology, DXC Technology; N. Balasubramanian, General Manager & Head of IT, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals; Manish Shah, GM-IT, Gokaldas Exports; Hariharan Subramani, VP-IT, Shriram Properties Ltd.; Vasudevan R, CIO, Aster CMI Hospital; Girish Kulkarni, CIO - Cytech Care Hospital, Sandeep Panda, CEO- InstaSafe and Uday Bhaskhar Rao, MD - iRam Technologies. The panel discussion session was based on various topics related to Data Policy frameworks in India. AI and ML are changing the way that gets things done all over the world and expect a multi-modal transport platform to emerge. Various companies are building multi-modal platforms, furthering the cause of transportation to a whole new level. The installation of smart sensors and the application of data analytics will deliver further steps towards the factory of the future. The wider use of automated processes powered by AI, advanced robotics, and IoT connectivity will contribute to realizing the ambitions of Industry 4.0., otherwise known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Q&A session witnessed the discussions on how infotainment is on the brink of major evolution, with the next global megatrend being seamless connectivity between smartphones and automobiles. VARINDIA’s Annual Tech Summit is a comprehensive platform dedicated to sharing knowledge and best practices and initiating dialogues on innovation and disruptive technologies, through sessions like Tech Talk and Panel discussion sessions. In its essence, Tech Summit aims to promote the spirit of innovation and empower VARs and partners to connect and learn from industry veterans.
SUNIL SHARMA MD (Sales) – Sophos “Our Lab analyses 4 lakh new, unique malware every day. That is the kind of research that gets into it. At Sophos, innovation is the only game and we protect our customers by innovating every minute and every second. But let me tell you that Indian audience does not get scared by the threat landscape that is projected daily, because we are already been threatened by terrorists with guns in hands. Indian customers could not go beyond anti-viruses, firewalls because they could never think about deploying an anti-ransomware into their environment. According to one of our IT Security surveys, there happens to be 26 infected computers in a month, and 10 days per month is invested for cleaning up the infected computers.” 22 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
HARSHA N Enterprise Business Development Manager from Western Digital “If we look at the world today, from the moment we get up till we sleep, we create data. But these data are all unstructured and we do not know where they go. Today’s Technologies like AI, ML, IoT create tons and terabytes of data. There is nobody in the industry that understands data better than us because we are the backbone of where the data resides. Today we talk about data being the new oil – it could be personal data, company data, secured or unsecured. There is a lot of value for data – we use them as record, we use it for communication, efficiency and we also use it as a currency today. There are different kinds of data today right – Big Data which can scale, and Fast data which is performance oriented.”
MURUGAN E Regional Director- ESDS Datacenter “We see digitalization everywhere and this pose as an opportunity for us. When we talk about infrastructure, we refer to the cloud. Cloud is the major infrastructure for all enterprises, Government today which is going to be the future. 2020 is going to be the year of Cloud, and it is going to take a larger portion in the market. Customers are now adopting cloud technology on a larger level in order to get more efficiency, scalability, cost benefit, security and so on. 86% of the customers are going to adopt the cloud in coming times, which means there is a larger opportunity for a company like us. We play a major role in the industry and we are a 13 year old company in India. We have 1000+ customers in India.”
PANEL DISCUSSION
"EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE NEWER MARKETS" Moderated by Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, CEO & President – VARINDIA The language of business is revenue, and that is completely tied to pipeline creation and progression. Data in the form of insights, should shed light on new marketing and business innovation opportunities and should inspire action. Data for any organization is critical for analyzing, providing the results and for taking any business decisions. The panel discussion tried to highlight of how important the Data Policy Framework is. Having a Data Policy Framework is important so that none of the critical data is leaked. It should also take into account of how much data should be there, the retention policy (as per Govt. policy, data should be retained for 5-10 years based on the industry) and so on. Every organization has a data framework policy but how to take it up is always an individual decision. Things like how we should utilise that data in a proper way or store it appropriately by taking a back-up are some of the things that should be taken care of. For this a clearly defined Data framework should be there for every organization. Every registered company today gets worried about what happens to their citizen data. The policy should talk about how we can keep the sovereignty of the country while keeping a larger perspective of the customers. How do we regulate the use of this data is going to be the future. The implementation needs to be seen of how it will be helpful for the larger public. There is going to be a lot of learning for the auditors and people are going to implement those regulations. The panelists who participated in the discussion were - Uday Bhaskhar Rao, MD - iRam Technologies; Jai Thomas, Head IT Infra & Operations - Dailyhunt (Versé Innovation Pvt ltd); Manish Shah, GM-IT, Gokaldas Exports; Ajay Bakshi, Chief Digital Officer & SVP-Aegis BPO & KPO; Sridhar Saranathan-CIO and Head of e-Gov-Karnataka, and Arvind Kumar, Director-IT- Elior India Catering LLP. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 23
TECH TRENDS
The dark side of Quora! Last week, Quora announced that 100 million user accounts were compromised, including private activities like downvotes and direct messages, by a “malicious third party.” Data breaches are a frustrating part of the lifecycle of every online service as they grow in popularity, they become a bigger and bigger target. Nearly every major online service has had a security breach - Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, Tumblr, Uber, Evernote, eBay, Adobe, Target, and Sony all extensively have faced data breach in the last few years. Security breaches like these are a strong argument for using a password manager, but not a compelling reason to avoid a service you love, unless you plan to quit the internet entirely. But this does seem like a good time to remind you of all the other reasons why you should never, ever use Quora.
Quora is accumulating knowledge Four years ago, Eric Mill wrote about Quora’s tendency to accumulate knowledge, and nothing’s changed since. According to their 'About' page, “Quora’s mission is to share and grow the world’s knowledge.” With 300 million monthly users, and nearly 40 million questions asked so far, they’re doing a good job of growing the world’s knowledge, but a terrible job of sharing it. All of Quora’s value is derived from the answers provided by its users, and they go to great lengths to make a welldesigned platform for finding and replying to questions. But they do everything they can to make sure you can’t get those contributions back out. Quora has * No public API * No backup or export tools * Restricted access to answers without an account * Blocked scrapers and unofficial APIs, and deleted questions related to scraping on their site 24 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
Contrast that with Q&A competitors like Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange, which offer an API, a wealth of user-made tools and support community for it, a powerful Data Explorer for querying and exporting data, a liberal crawling policy,
and do not attempt to hide questions and answers behind authentication. They even proactively upload anonymized data dumps of all user-contributed content to the Internet Archive for posterity under a Creative Commons license. If you want to be generous, you could argue that it’s not a priority for them to build features like an API or export tools, especially as they’re still struggling to make money. But for years, Quora has also explicitly forbidden the Internet Archive from indexing their site. Quora could do literally nothing, and the Internet Archive would actively preserve the work of their millions of users for the future, but they’ve chosen to exclude their site from being archived. In their robots.txt file, they elaborate on why they block the Wayback Machine, claiming they do it to protect their writers. People share a lot of sensitive material on Quora – controversial political views, workplace gossip and compensation, and negative opinions held of companies. Over many years, as they change jobs or change their views, it is important that they can delete or anonymize their previouslywritten answers. We opt out of the wayback machine because inclusion would allow people to discover the identity of authors who had written sensitive answers publicly and later had made them anonymous, and because it would prevent authors from being able
to remove their content from the internet if they change their mind about publishing it. As far as we can tell, there is no way for sites to selectively programmatically remove content from the archive and so this is the only way for us to protect writers. If they open up an API where we can remove content from the archive when authors remove it from Quora, but leave the rest of the content archived, we would be happy to opt back in. The Internet Archive is a historical archive of the public internet, and Quora asking for the ability to selectively modify their archives is absurd. The Internet Archive inadvertently acts as a contingency for every startup’s short-sighted business plan, disastrous pivots, or acquisitions gone awry. When you run a social platform with content generated by the community, you have a larger responsibility not to burn their collective work to the ground. Part of that responsibility is participating in the web, and giving back what you take from it. Nearly ten years after its founding, Quora’s long-term prospects are still uncertain. They’ve raised over $225 million in four rounds of funding, most recently an $85 million Series D in April 2017 at a $1.7 billion valuation. Their self-serve ad platform launched last year is yet to report earnings. This is the first time in its nine-year history that it has made any money at all, which is better than nothing, but the sustainability of its model is still a question mark. At some point, the investors who dumped a quarter billion dollars into it will want a return on that investment. Last year, founder Adam D'Angelo indicated they expect to eventually IPO. But market conditions, combined with the results of their ad platform, may force them in different directions - a pivot, merger, or acquisition are always a possibility. When Quora shuts down, and it will eventually shut down one day, all of that collected knowledge will be lost unless they change their isolationist ethos.
TECH TRENDS
India ranks 3rd in terms of Pornhub Traffic in 2018 The porn ban in the country couldn't have helped things here. If one thinks banning pornography content or websites in India will drive the libido away from the citizens, one cannot be more wrong. But even with the ban in place, according to Pornhub, India's average time spent on the website in 2018 has increased, though by only 2 seconds. The average Indian spent 8 minutes 23 seconds on the website (per session) this year and the surprising thing is that around 30% of Indian women browsed Pornhub in 2018 - as per the report. In fact, Pornhub's '2018 Year in Review' has revealed that India ranks third among the countries with the most number of viewers visiting the leading pornographic website. "We stand on the third place behind USA and United Kingdom," the website reported. The traffic that the United States has, which is almost overflowing from the graph, is more than double of the traffic generated in India. Also In 2015, India knocked out Canada to grab the third position - after the US and Britain - in visiting one of the world’s largest adult websites Pornhub. As per its annual review of how people around the world watch porn, Pornhub found that while the US added 11 seconds to their average time spent on watching porn, India - at 9 minutes 30 seconds - recorded a higher average time with a one-minute increase in the duration of each visit. “More and more, we are finding that our users are opting for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets when they visit Pornhub,” the website noted. They further revealed that every minute, more than 2 lakh people access the site, 7708 GB of data is transferred and views on Kim K's 'sex tape' increase by 55 despite addition of 528 new videos. In October, after complying with a Uttarakhand High Court's order, the
Center asked Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to ban 827 porn-websites, including Pornhub. However, Pornhub launched a mirror website to circumvent the ban. It can be accessed using a new domain- pornhub.net. Defending the move, the website said watching adult content privately is completely legal in India. With reference to the report, Pornhub VP said that they're willing to work with Indian government. Talking about the ban, Pornhub VicePresident Corey Price complained that the "court banned larger sites and left many smaller sites, including ones that offer illegal content." However, they're willing to work with the Indian government to address their concerns and find a common ground, he added.
now stands at 30%. Also, India's female visitors have increased the most out of any other country in 2017 compared to 2016—by 129% - a report published in November. Our top search for 2018 was 'Indian'. The top trend, on the other hand, was 'hindi sexy film', getting close competition from 'bf sexy video' and the most searched category was 'milf'. Top searches across the world were 1. Stormy Daniels 2. Fortnight (Why?) 3. 4K (What?) 4. Romantic 5. Trans
FIGURE- 2: India Top Searches
FIGURE-1: Top 20 Countries by Traffic
Coming back to Pornhub's data in 2018 and 2017, apparently this year saw a 4% spike in Indian women savouring the pleasure of free porn, as compared to last year. Around 30% Indian women browsed Pornhub in 2018. In 2017, 26% of Indian women visited the site, which
The top terms searched were 'indian', 'indian college girls', 'indian hd sex', 'hindi sexy movie', 'full sex movies', among others. Also, Indians "finished" within 8.23 minutes, becoming the second-last in the list. It however surpassed last year's 8.20 minutes engagement. As for the favorite categories from world over in different age-groups, from 18-24 it's 'hentai', 25-34 it's 'Japanese' and then it's 'milf' till 65 and above. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 25
E-GOVERNANCE
Govt. initiates to Access & Trace all ‘unlawful’ content online The BJP-led Govt. is giving authorization to 10 central authorities to snoop anyone's computer, and is in the process of proposing amendments to Information Technology (IT) Act in order to inhibit unlawful content on web. The Centre is planning amendments to rules governing content, Section 79 of the IT Act, in order to make it mandatory for the online platforms proactively to deploy technology which would enable restrain unlawful content and trace the origin of these unlawful messages. The report suggests that the amendment require endto-end encryption and tools for identifying, removing or disabling access to unlawful information or content to be proactively deployed by the online platforms. As part of the amendments, a new Rule 3(4) is to be inserted into the Act that would allow the platforms to warn users proliferating unlawful content on a monthly basis. In other words, it allows the online platforms to trace or retain people’s private data and conversations including WhatsApp messages, and breaking the end-to-end encryption. The draft was discussed on Friday with representatives of Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Amazon, Yahoo, Twitter, ShareChat, SEBI and The Internet Service Providers Association of India. This confidential meeting lasted more than an hour, and the aforementioned platforms have been given time till January 7 to respond to the proposal. The amendments mean that the online platforms would be under obligation to help the government against any query. There’s also talk of a nodal person to be appointed for 24X7 coordination with 26 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
law enforcement agencies and officers to ensure compliance. These changes, if notified, will push back the regulation and legal architecture a full circle, from where it had been nudged after the Supreme Court ruled in the Shreya Singhal case in 2015. The landmark ruling on March 24, 2015, struck down Section 66A of the IT Act, which allowed the arrest of those allegedly posting offensive content online.
The proposed changes would mean that social media platforms with more than “50 lakh users” would be liable to help the government “within 72 hours” of a query. They would be expected to appoint a ‘Nodal person of Contact' for 24X7 coordination with law enforcement agencies and officers to ensure compliance. The draft amendments describe that online platforms will keep a record of “unlawful activity” for a period of “180 days”, double the 90 days in the older version. “The draft rules have been shared with us, and we will issue a detailed analysis.
But on the face of it, they seem to be contemplating pro-active censorship and breaking encryption with traceability. They will make the Internet a corporal environment damaging the fundamental rights of users,” said Apar Gupta, lawyer and co-founder of The Internet Freedom Foundation. “All these proposals are being discussed secretly without any public consultation. I worry that the recent government measures are taking us very close to a Chinese model of censorship,” he said.
N N Kaul, Communications Coordinator (MeitY), said that he had “no knowledge of such a meeting having been held”. Incidentally, the draft was discussed a day after the Centre refreshed an order mandating ten central agencies with “interception, monitoring and decryption of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer”. It was during the Monsoon session of Parliament that the Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke of introducing changes in Section 79 of the IT Act.
SPOI NEWS
NITI Aayog Launches Global Hackathon on Artificial Intelligence With the vision to further expand the idea of ‘Artificial Intelligence, AI for All’ articulated in the National AI Strategy, NITI Aayog organises hackathons to source sustainable, innovative and technologically-enabled solutions to address various challenges in the development space. Taking the initiative forward, NITI Aayog is now partnering with Perlin – a Singapore-based AI start up to launch the ‘AI 4 All Global Hackathon’, and is inviting developers, students, start-ups and companies to develop AI applications to make significant positive social and economic impact for India. The challenge question seeks to develop solutions inDistributed Computing and Privacy Preserving techniques, such as multi-party computation, in AI. The objective of this hackathon is to promote awareness and subsequently develop solutions that deliver the twin benefit of efficient computing to address the infrastructure challenges, while also not compromising on privacy of data for training AI algorithms. NITI Aayog organized its first hackathon, ‘MoveHack’ in August, on the sidelines of the Global Mobility Summit 2018, with the aim of garnering cutting-
edge mobility applications. Over 2,000 submissions were received out of which the Top 10 teams were awarded at the summit. “The AI for All Hackathon underscores the commitment of NITI Aayog to supporting meaningful social, economic and technological advancements directed at making people’s lives better,” said Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, “we believe
India is ideally positioned as a thoughtleader and regional economic power to help bring the benefits of innovation in AI and distributed computing to communities in developing countries around the world.” The ‘AI 4 All Global Hackathon’ was announced at the AI conference organized by NITI Aayog, in partnership with the ORF, held in Mumbai in November 2018. The hackathon will be run two stages
with Stage One ending 15 January 2019 and Stage Two, which will only include shortlisted participants from the previous stage, will conclude on 15 March 2019 The jury shall comprise of the leaders from the technology and policy ecosystem, namely, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Michael Witbrock, Head at AI Foundations Lab IBM; Anandamoy Roy Chowdhry, Director of Technology at Sequoia Capital; Prahbakar Reddy, Partner at Accel Partners; Professor Anup Malani, Co-founder & Faculty Director of International Innovation Corps; Ery Punta Hendraswara, Innovation Management at Telkom; and Dorjee Sun, CEO of Perlin. The first stage will invite ideas for use cases of multiparty computation in areas such as Healthcare, Education, Agriculture, Urbanization, Financial Inclusion. The second stage will call for these ideas to be matured and developed, with a focus on privacy preserving AI and distributed computing. Winners will share in a prize pool worth USD $50,000 in both cash and non-cash rewards. Participants will also get mentorship and support from the hackathon co-sponsors, including the opportunity to scale and implement their AI applications.
Govt plans to amend IT Act for regulating fake news and child pornography The Govt has planned an amendment for the IT law to control fake news and child pornography by increasing penalty on apps or websites that proliferate those phony contents. Amendments will include an extreme provision of taking down apps and websites in violation. The senior officials of the IT ministry deliberated on the above amendment when they met the representatives from top global social-media and internet
companies to get their perceptive on proposed rules that would, among other things, help trace the origin of outlawed content. This is one of the key areas of dispute between the government and companies. “We need accountability and power to heavily penalize the companies in case of violations, or refusal to cooperate,” a senior government official told on condition of anonymity.
The amendments could potentially smack into the operations of popular social media services like WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Telegram. Some of these services have had differences with the government over the issue of tracing origins of content that is fake, scope of encryption, content deemed interfering with politics and elections, spread of child abuse and revenge porn. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 27
SPOI REVIEW
Internet access in India has crossed 50 crore milestone - TRAI In accordance with the target fixed by Modi Govt., within three years the number of internet connection has grown by 65% from March 2016 to cross the 50 crore mark in 2018, as per the last report submitted by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Also, there were 56 crore narrow-band and broadband connections in India. With a comparison to March 31 2016, there were just 34 crore connections, which increased to 42 crore by March 31, 2017. By March 31, 2018, the total number of internet connections stood at 49 crore. That number increased to 51 crore internet connections at the end of June this year before the figure touched 56 crore as of September 30, 2018. In December 2015, Union telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said - “My plan is to make 50 crore internet connections in India by 2018. I’m convinced that in the coming 2-3 years, India will become equal to China as an IT market of the world.” Of the 56 crore connections, 64% or 36 crore are in the urban areas and 36% or 19.4 crore in the rural areas. While more service providers are focusing on rural areas, experts credit the increase in the hinterland to the infrastructure created by the government. The massive growth in urban centers on the other hand is attributed to the entry of Reliance Jio. Professor Debabrata Das from the International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIIT-B), who was an integral part of the Center’s National Information Infrastructure version 2.0 (NII 2.0), says, “The infrastructure created by state-run BSNL and the Center’s BharatNet project that envisages connecting all gram panchayats with internet through an optical fibre network must be seen as crucial for the rural connections.” Just five states - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (including 28 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
Telangana), Gujarat and Maharashtra - account for 20 crore or 36% of all internet connections in India. Compared to 2016, Karnataka reported a 58% growth in the number of internet connections, while the same was 45% for Tamil Nadu, 76% for Andhra Pradesh, 56% for Maharashtra and 70% for Gujarat. “The huge increase is largely because of Jio. While BharatNet has created the infrastructure, the actual number of people using it is not much, given that most subscribers have wireless connections,” Aravind Kumar, senior advisor, TRAI. Separate data from TRAI shows that as of June 30, 2018, Reliance Jio was way ahead of all the other players in terms of market share, with staterun BSNL at the fifth spot. Sources in TRAI said the same internet service providers continued to hold the top five positions. Boosting rural connectivity, the Center’s BharatNet project has so far connected 1.1 lakh gram panchayats (GPs) with internet through a network of optical fiber cable. Of the states, UP has the maximum GPs connected (27,940), followed by Maharashtra (15,126) and Madhya Pradesh (12,689).
Indian IT Services industry projects a stable outlook - ICRA ICRA has a stable outlook on the Indian IT Services industry. The credit profile of Indian IT Services companies remains stable, underpinned by its ability to sustain free cash flows despite pressure on revenue growth and margins. With aggregate operating margins of ICRA sample set at 22.5% for FY2018 coupled with moderate capex (organic as well as inorganic) and working capital requirements, the free cash flows have remained robust historically. Despite pressures on growth and margins over the medium term, these factors are unlikely to impact the free cash flow generation ability of Indian IT Services companies though there could be moderation in the quantum of such cash flows. The credit profile is also supported by net cash position with significant liquidity in the form of surplus investments generated out of past cash flows. Our sample set (13 leading Indian companies) reported surplus liquidity (net of debt) of approximately Rs. 1,600 billion March 2018 despite healthy dividend pay-out of approximately 30% (Rs. 206 billion) in addition to share buybacks (Rs. 73 billion).
SPOI NEWS
LPG connection would be given to every poor household: Union Petroleum Minister The Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan has stated that Government will soon make a decision which will ensure that not a single poor family will remain where Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has not reached. The Minister was speaking at a programme in Mumbai, where the success of the scheme was highlighted; many beneficiaries of the flagship scheme of the Government were also present on the occasion. Stating that the Prime Minister had expressed the Government’s commitment to the welfare of the poor, women and marginalized, the Minister said that schemes such as Swachh Bharat, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and Ujjwala lend credence to this declaration. He said that according to the World Health Organization, around 15 lakh women die every year due to home emissions, 5 lakh out of which are in India alone. The residential heating and cooking with fuels also causes many diseases amongst women,
who often do not realize the real cause of these diseases. The launch of Ujjwala and provision of LPG connection is changing this and has led to various social and economic benefits to the poor, said the Minister. It has led to savings in time spent collecting wood, resulting thereby in improved opportunities to earn income and spend time with the family. It has a positive outcome on health, children’s education and employment. He said that the LPG connection is costeffective, environment-friendly, health-enhancing and time-saving. The number of total LPG connections given has become 25 crore, from 13 crore in 2014, said the Minister. Out of these, 6 crore connections have been given under Ujjwala scheme. He added that the scheme was launched with an initial target of 5 crore connections, which was later raised to 8 crore by the year 2020. The target of 6 crore has already been achieved, Shri Pradhan informed.
A report based on the survey of Ujjwala scheme was submitted to Pradhan on this occasion. The Minister said that Ujjwala was launched, based on the realization that the initial purchase cost of the connection is high and not affordable for the poor. He added that the subsidy for purchase of LPG cylinder is credited to the bank account of the beneficiary in not more than four days.
Indian enterprises face over 2.8 lakh threats daily - Quick Heal Though enterprises in India have several leaps in the field of AI and machine learning, enterprise security was a point of major concern. Information technology (IT) and ITenabled services (ITES) companies faced the most number of threats, with over 40 per cent of the threats targeting the industry, according to Seqrite, the enterprise arm of Quick Heal Technologies threat Report Q3 2018 on Wednesday. The underlined growing risk those escalating evolution of the threat landscape poses to Indian organizations faced more than 2.6 crore cyber threats during the third quarter of 2018 -- translating to over 2.8 lakhs threats every day. The most worrying statistic as revealed by the report was the sheer volume of threats that organisations across sectors faced. Seqrite detected more than 2.6 crore threats targeting Indian enterprises during the three-month period – translating to a per day detection rate of over 2.8 lakhs threats. According to the report, ransomware, exploits, PUA,
adware, infectors and worms remained popular attack vectors for cybercriminals, but what was interesting to note was the growing threat posed by cryptojacking. Seqrite detected over 24,000 Cryptojacking hits on a daily basis during Q3 2018, underlining the growing popularity of this relatively new threat. Another interesting trend mapped in the report was the distribution of attacks across different industries. IT/ITES companies faced the most number of threats, with over 40% of the threats targeting the industry. Other key sectors such as manufacturing (17.88%), education (12.56%), and hospitality (9.17%) were also deemed to be at risk. Cryptojacking attacks are a form of cyber-attack in which hackers hijack the infected system's processing power to mine Cryptocurrency, remain undetected for a long time and can often be used as a platform to launch other complex attacks. www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 29
SPOI NEWS
GST Rates Revised at the 31st GST Council Meet The GST Council has reviewed the tax slabs, slashing rates on several items at the 31st Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council Meet. Among the things set to get cheaper are movie tickets. Announcing the slab rehab, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government wanted to keep the GST rates close to the original rates. But there were differences in case of some items because of the changes in the economy as well as customer preferences. Some commodities were kept in the high tax bracket (18-28%) but on scrutinizing the list, they found that these commodities should be considered as necessities and not luxuries. This is why the GST rates were revised for commodities such as notebooks, exercise books, spectacles and lenses and some other items and the new GST rates will be effective from January 1, 2019. There were 34 items in the 28 per cent tax bracket which included luxury and ‘sin goods’ till now. However, the GST Council in its meeting on Saturday decided to take out 6 items from this list. With the latest development, the number of items in the top slab comes down to 28, including luxury goods, a few automobile and 30 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
cement items. The GST rates on special flights for pilgrims have come down to 5% and 12% for economy and business class, respectively. Movie tickets priced below ₹100 would now attract 12% GST, falling from the previous 18% rate. On the other hand, tickets priced above ₹100 would be charged at 18%, falling from the top slab of 28%. Power bank of lithium ion batteries, small sport related items, carriage accessories for disabled and video games are brought down from the top slab to the immediate below 18%. Monitors and television screens, as well as tyres would come with a GST levy of 18%, which was earlier sitting in 28%. IMM courses and bank charges with respect to savings account, Jan Dhan Yojana are exempted from the GST levy.
List of Goods and GST Slabs No Tax • Goods – No taxes will be levied on goods like sanitary napkins, deities made of stone, marbles or wood, Rakhis without any precious metals
like gold, silver, raw material used in brooms, Saal leaves and fortified milk, fruits, vegetables, bread, salt, bindi, curd, sindoor, natural honey, bangles, handloom, besan, flour, eggs, stamps, printed books, judicial papers, newspapers. • Services – All hotels and lodges which carry a tariff below ₹1,000 are exempted from taxes under GST. The list also includes IMM courses and bank charges on savings account, Jan Dhan Yojana.
GST Tax Slab of 5% • Goods – The goods which will attract a taxation of 5% under GST include skimmed milk powder, fish fillet, frozen vegetables, coffee, coal, fertilizers, tea, spices, pizza bread, kerosene, ayurvedic medicines, agarbatti, sliced dry mango, insulin, cashew nuts, unbranded namkeen, lifeboats, Ethanol - Solid biofuel pellets - Handmade carpets and
other handmade textile floor coverings (including namda/ gabba)- Hand-made braids and ornamental trimming in the piece. • Services – Small restaurants along with transport services like railways and airways, Standalone ACs nonACs Restaurants and those which serve liquor, Takeaway Food, Restaurants in hotels with a room tariff less than 7,500 (no input credit for these restaurants), will come under this category. Special flights for pilgrims (Economy Class) come under 5%.
GST Tax Slab of 12% • Goods – Items coming are the tax slab of 12% including frozen meat products, butter, cheese, ghee, pickles, sausage, fruit juices, namkeen, tooth powder, medicine, umbrella, instant food mix, cell phones, sewing machine, man-made yarn, -Handbags including pouches and purses; jewellery box, Wooden frames for painting, photographs, mirrors etc, Ornamental framed mirrors, Brass Kerosene Pressure Stove, Art ware of iron, etc. • Services – Business class air tickets will attract a tax of 12% under GST. The slab also includes movie tickets priced under 100.
GST Tax Slab of 18% • Goods – Most of the items are part of this tax slab. Some of the items are flavoured refined sugar, cornflakes, pasta, pastries and cakes, detergents, washing and cleaning preparations, safety glass, mirror, glassware, sheets, pumps, compressors, fans, light fitting, chocolate, preserved vegetables, tractors, ice cream, sauces, soups, mineral water, deodorants, suitcase, brief case, vanity case, oil powder, chewing gum, hair shampoo, preparation for facial make-up, shaving and after-shave items, washing powder, Refrigerators,
Water Heaters, Washing Machines, Televisions (up to 68 cm), Vacuum Cleaners, Paints, Hair Shavers, Hair Curlers, Hair Dryers, Scent Sprays, Lithium-ion batteries, detergent, stones used in flooring, marble & granite, sanitaryware, leather clothing, wrist watches, cookers, stoves, cutlery, telescope, goggles, binoculars, oil powder, cocoa butter, fat, artificial fruits, artificial flowers, foliage, physical exercise equipment, musical instruments and their parts, stationery items like clips, some diesel engine parts, some parts of pumps, electrical boards, panels, wires, razor and razor blades, furniture, mattress, cartridges, multi-functional printers, door, windows, aluminium frames, monitors and television screens, tyres, power banks for lithium ion batteries, video games, carriage accessories for disabled, etc. • Services – Restaurants located inside hotels with tariffs of 7,500 and above, outdoor catering(input tax credit to be available), movie tickets priced above 100, actual bill of hotel stay below 7,500, IT and Telecom services and financial services along with branded garments will be part of this tax slab.
GST Tax Slab of 28% • Goods – Over 200 goods will be taxed at a rate of 28%. The goods which will be part of this category under GST are sunscreen, pan masala, dishwasher, weighing machine, paint, cement, vacuum cleaner. Other items include automobiles, hair clippers, and motorcycles. • Services – As mentioned above, five-star hotels, whose actual bill of hotel stay above 7,500, racing, movie tickets and betting on casinos and racing will come under this category. Here is a summarised version of
the list of rate cuts on both Goods and Services:
Others: * GST on the composite supply of goods attracting 5% GST rate where it is supplied along with the supply of construction services and other goods for solar power plant, is now levied as follows • 70% of value is considered as supply of goods and taxed at 5% GST. • Remaining 30% of the EPC contract value is supply of service and attracts standard tax rate for service. * Rate of 5%/18% to be applied based on transaction value of footwear. * Uniform GST rate of 12% on Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container (FIBC) from existing 5%/12% (depending on the value).
Goods recommended for exemption • Supply of gold by Nominated Agencies to exporters of article of gold Jewellery. • Proceeds received by Government from auction of gifts received by President, Prime Minister, Governor or Chief Minister of a State and public servants, the proceeds of which is used for public or charitable cause. • Vehicles imported for temporary purposes under the Customs Convention on the Temporary importation of Private Road Vehicles (carnet de passages-endouane) will be exempt from IGST and Compensation cess.
Services recommended for exemption • Services supplied by banks to Basic Saving Bank Deposit (BSBD) account holders under • Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 31
LEAD STORY
SMILE FOUNDATION ORGANIZES A week-long film festival – SIFFCY
Smile Foundation is organizing the 4th edition of the Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY) from 10th-16th December, 2018 at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. The film festival, held annually is a special film platform devoted to a greater appreciation of meaningful cinema made for children and youth. It showcases only films with substance, support emerging filmmakers having ideas for value based films & recognize the leaders/promoters of this industry for highlighting the diverse perspectives of Good Cinema through their films. The gala event was inaugurated at the Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi, in the presence of Marketa Pasmova, Artistic Director, Zlin, one of the oldest Film Festivals, Festival Board Member of European Children’s Film Association; along with Santanu Mishra, Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation and Chairman – SIFFCY and Jitendra Mishra, Festival Director – SIFFCY. A total of 150 acclaimed movies from 30 countries were screened at this year’s festival. The first film that got screened on the day of inauguration was Pahuna, made in the Nepali language and directed by Paakhi A Tyrewala.
The films selected for viewing for SIFFCY are based on their content targeting the issues in the society that are pertinent in the holistic development of the children. It is a very viable medium to engage, and sensitize the children towards social issues of gender equality, empowerment, poverty reduction and hunger. SIFFCY is therefore another initiative of Smile that is aligned to the SDG goals (Goal 3, 4 and 5 – Good Health, Value Education, and Gender Equality). Many of our films also highlight climate change issues, which are linked to SDG goals for Sustainability (climate change Goals - 11, 12, and 13). The films are therefore a medium for reinforcement of behavioral change communication in children regarding their perception on various social issues. Our films also focus upon the issues of rigidity and stereotypes in male and female roles, and the limited opportunities for women
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in engaging and as actors in various fields. Films thus become a viable medium to address these lacunas in the system.
Smile Foundation is committed to work towards the upliftment of underprivileged children and their families.
SIFFCY has also been conferred the honour this year to introduce the prestigious European Children’s Film Association (ECFA) Award category at its 2018 edition.
The foundation is involved with communities over a decade towards making difference in their lives.
Sustainability Conclave 2018 The Foundation with the support of SPO India has also organized a Sustainability Conclave 2018 as part of SIFFCY on 14th December. The conclave hosted a series of panel discussions with leaders from CSR world and representatives from development sector and the topics of discussions were Tech 4 Good, Women Empowerment: Past, Present and Future and Aligning CSR to achieve SDGs. The idea of the panel discussions was to showcase the innovations in the development space and promote a dialogue between the implementers and funders.
development. Therefore this Sustainability event was an initiative to harness intellectual discussions and build thought leadership on pertinent subjects related to of the stated SDG Goals for Poverty reduction, Education, Gender and Health. The role of technology in increasing the accessibility and affordability for the poor and addressing the SDG goals is crucial to discussion. We need to recognize that people at the base of the pyramid are open for technological innovation, and the private sector must recognize the needs to produce technologies.
A very diverse and esteemed Panel members from Corporate, NGOs and INGOs, will initiate discussions to touch upon topics of technology, women empowerment and alignment of CSR & SDGs. Thus the event will have a very diverse participation from both Corporate and development sector with an aim to synchronize the efforts of both for breaking the poverty cycle.
Dr Deepak Kumar Sahu, CEO & President – VARINDIA in his keynote address said that media plays a very big role in bringing news, views, analysis about sustainable development. “We believe that environmental sustainability is critical for economic and all global citizens. Also improving CSR investments for sustainability performance involves
Dr Deepak Kumar Sahu CEO & President – VARINDIA and corporates on the challenging steps towards sustainability. The private sector also plays a major role in engaging itself on the agenda of development.” Shantanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation in his introductory speech said, “Through all
The Panelists shared their experience as well as best practices to the audience. The discussion by the Panelists focused on strategies for increasing investments into unique projects by the Corporates, directly addressing the SDG goals. Smile has always believed that Investment into innovative ways of tackling sustainable developmental challenges, and an active and holistically planned CSR programme targeting the SDGs, is the most way effective way of social impact creation. We also believe that major contribution is not only limited to the capital, but also their research, resources, technology and innovation. The success of SDGs heavily depends on the action and collaboration with business and civil society. SDGs present an opportunity for business led solutions and interventions focusing local sustainable
more than implementing solutions. It also involves revising business practices, instituting governance, programs, and managing change. We at SPO India brings alliance between government
these years, we have seen various forms of development. The business world is evolving and making tremendous strides in driving products and services along with technology and contribute towards the www.spoindia.org December 2018 | 33
LEAD STORY progress of the society. It was in the 1980s that sustainability came to be included as part of our core agenda in every aspects of our business life.” The first panel discussion was titled – ‘Tech for Good/CSR standards’ by CAF India. This session was moderated by Shrikant Sinha, Ex-CEO, NASSCOM Foundation. The panelists who joined this discussion were - Himani Gupta, Company Secretary and Legal Counsel, Airbus Group India Private Limited; Sakshi Mehta, Program Manager - Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility, Ericsson; Udai Malhotra, Trustee, Shiksha; Kallol Mukherji, Asia Regional Manager, Terre Des Hommes; Ujjwal K Chowdhury, Professor - School of Media, Pearl Academy and Lawrence David Foldes, Executive Committee, Student Academy Awards (Oscars). Shrikant Sinha in his speech said a book that was published four years ago commented that there are four types of India and the fourth type of India was invisible India – people who do not exist in India. And that’s where it is felt technology could play a role and make these people visible and aware. That is what is meant by Technology for Good. “We always talk about the Digital Divides – the have’s and have not’s. But thanks to modern day disruptors like Jio etc. today connectivity has reached everywhere,” he said. The second discussion – ‘Women Empowerment Fostering Entrepreneurship’ was moderated by Amitoj Gill, Deputy Head Programmes, CAF India. The panelists during this discussion were - Monica Garg, Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary, AVI-OIL; Shruti Bhatia, VP (Regulatory affairs, Communications and CSR), Indian Energy Exchange Limited; Dr. Shivani Bhardwaj, Senior Consultant, Udayan Care; Prerna Kumar, Senior Technical Specialist, ICRW; Elham Shirvani, Executive Director, CIFEJ; Trupti Mohan, Director Human Resources, Fresenius Medical Care and Markéta Pášmová, Artistic Director, Zlín Film Festival. Amitoj Gill, Deputy Head Programmes, CAF India while opening the discussion said that it is very apt that today when 34 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
we talk about sustainability, we should also include women empowerment and fostering entrepreneurship. Because there cannot be sustainable development unless one talks about equitable and inclusive development that also includes women. Women are effected a lot more than men in some ways because of the number of development challenges – be it the issues of poverty, health, food security, climate change. In most of these cases, women have the skills, ability and the ideas to contribute to meeting these kind of challenges. That is only possible if we create an enabling environment for them to do so. “It is also a well-known fact that when you enhance the income of a woman, she contributes for the well-being of her family and it eventually leads to long-term growth of the economy. According to a recent statistics and a study by the World Bank, if more women in India went into the workforce, India’s economic growth rate could increase by 1.5%. But the sad part is that there are not many women in the formal or organized workforce in the country. The percentage of men and women on the job front always remains 80:20.” ‘Is CSR aligned to SDGs?’ was the third and the last panel discussion and was moderated by Shrikant Sinha, Ex-CEO, NASSCOM Foundation. The panelists during this discussion were - Sanjeeva Kumar Jha, DGM CSR, JK Lakshmi Cement; Ashish Srivastava, Head CSR and Sustainability, MagnetiMarelli India; Vijay Kumar Singh, Head CSR, PI Industries; Shalini Malhotra, Founder Director, NeeV; Atul Kapoor, Vice President of Asia, Sight Life and Avijeet Kumar, Chief of Operations - CAF India.
Shantanu Mishra Co-Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation
Avijeet Kumar, Chief of Operations - CAF India concluded in his speech by saying that there are a lot of developments happening after the CSR Act has come in. Companies are really gearing up to act. As a result, there are new rules, notifications coming in. But corporates also face a lot of challenges while taking up any such projects. “We know that CSR Act has happened for the first time for any country and the world is looking at us of how we perform. Because this is the first time that a legislation has been set up backed by a set of standards, we know that there is a hard task upon us to live up to everyone’s expectations. So a committee was constituted – the BIS under the chairmanship of Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee. CAF got the opportunity to form a committee which can sit with the old stakeholders and come out with draft standards.”
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ROUND ABOUT
TRUMP AND TARIFF: THE PAIRED TS The letter “T” is used now more often than ever before. Let me share my reasoning. Yes, I had deduced my hypothesis from Trump and Tariff, as both start with the letter “T”. As if to prove my reasoning, the other day President in his inimitable style proclaimed through his one-liner tweat “Trump stands for Tariff ”. Let me come to the point: the significance of Trump and Tariff, the ubiquitous pair of Ts. To put in correct perspective, the United States had accumulated a significant large trade deficit in the last twenty+ years, thanks to a global trade policy which is against American interests. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), products manufactured in Canada and Mexico can be imported into the U.S. duty free. A U.S. Corporation can shut down their factory in Michigan or Indiana, resulting in the loss of manufacturing jobs in the U.S., and set up a factory in Mexico, and import the product into the U.S. without paying any duty, which contributes to large trade deficit with Mexico. Thanks to low or no tariffs, the manufacturing jobs started disappearing, unemployment went up significantly and resultantly trade deficit had increased significantly every year. The candidate Donald Trump campaigned vigorously against unfair trade practices and imposition of tariffs in the 2016 Presidential election. It is not surprising that, soon after President Trump took office, he actively started taking steps towards negotiating unfair trade treaties, imposing tariffs, and reducing trade deficit. During the last two years, unemployment is all-time low during the last fifty+ years. The U.S. economy is very healthy at present, and NAFTA has been negotiated to protect the U.S. economic interest. The US prosperity can be attributed directly to President Trump’s economic policies. Some consider Trump’s penchant for tariffs shook the basis of global economic 36 | December 2018 www.spoindia.org
foundation. It is not alone the businesses mainly in two countries had reacted, but the entire gamut of stakeholders including farmers, common man and the list goes on. Why such things are happening now? Here I will induct a bit of IT. The other day, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada. Incidentally, that was at the same time when President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were hammering out a truce on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in Argentina. At this juncture, it is instructive to see the reasons that led to the detaining of the Huwei executive. A clear-cut reason is still to emerge. China has formally asked for the reasons for the detention, which is speculated to be something political. Illegal exports to Iran, technology theft, illegal trading, etc are said to be the reasons behind the arrest. Another war that has erupted can be traced back to technology. That involves mastering technology and using it for gaining economic advantage over others. Accumulation of the state-of-the-art technology had given certain countries both financial and military muscle power. Undoubtedly, this had led to arrogance and supremacy of these countries over those which could not command such powers due to a variety of reasons, including lack of resources, inadequate research infrastructure, etc. Slowly, this had led to theft of technology, even the high-ended technologies. Though many conventions were brought to the fore and several institutions were created to prevent such thefts, the distortions continued unabated. The present dilemma of tariff war is mainly due to lack of trust between the U.S. and China in technology and related fields. The U.S. accuses China of heavy theft of technology. It also feels that major technologies developed in the U.S. laboratories are clandestinely taken away to China. Once they dissect such
technologies and minutely examine them, they will be in a position to come out with the same technology, if not a better one. The U.S. claims that most of the technologies, which are being improvised in the laboratories and incubators in China including in the field of Artificial Intelligence and telecom, are all developed and tested by the U.S., including some of the nuclear inventions. President Trump has his own supporters in the US. Everyone thought his firm stand and uncompromising views were primarily to focus on the electorate to gain mileage in the electoral process. Once the elections were over and the President receiving a solid setback in the elections, everyone thought, things were getting a little calmer. The late-night dinner with the Chinese President was construed as Trump is waving an olive twig towards the Chinese cowed by the huge pressure being exerted by some corporations and farmers’ lobby. Before the reportedly frugal food both shared away from the glittering lights of the media, the first signs of commotion after a thaw has started showing up with the arrest of the Huwei senior executive. Will that put the pendulum back to where it has started? Only time will be able to tell that. But one thing is clear that Trump has found a new ally in Tariff – an ally he may believe more than the countries in the NATO or trusted people in his own administration.
8th ED I T I O N
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MOVEMENT Shaktikanta Das appointed as new RBI Governor
Vinod Kumar Yadav appointed new Chairman of Railway Board
Sanjeev Chopra appointed as new LBSNAA Director
Harsh Vardhan Shringla appointed Indian Ambassador to USA
Former finance secretary and current member of the Finance Commission, Shaktikanta Das has been appointed as the Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Das served in various positions for both the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu as Principal Secretary (Industries), Special Commissioner (Revenue), Secretary (Revenue), Secretary (Commercial Taxes), as Union Economic Affairs Secretary, Union Revenue Secretary, Union Fertilizers Secretary, special secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance and as a joint secretary in the Department of Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance.
Vinod Kumar Yadav, the General Manager of South Central Railway, is the new Chairman of Railway Board. The appointments cabinet of the committee (ACC) accorded its approval for Yadav's appointment in place of Ashwani Lohani who has just retired. Till he was appointed as the Chairman of Railway Board, Yadav was serving as the General Manager of South Central Railway headquartered in Secunderabad. As Chairman, Railway Board, he will be an ex-officio principal secretary to the Government of India. A 1980 batch Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE), Yadav began his career in the Indian Railways as an assistant electrical engineer.
Sanjeev Chopra, 1985 batch West Bengal cadre IAS has been appointed as the new director of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA). The vacancy arose as the present LBSNAA director, Upma Chawdhry, a 1983 batch IAS, was appointed as the new secretary of the department of youth affairs. Chopra, 57, originally hails from Punjab and was allotted the West Bengal cadre. A postgraduate in political science and also an MBA, Chopra early in his IAS career, between 1995 and 1998, served as deputy director in LBSNAA.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla, 1984 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, presently India’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, has been appointed as the next ambassador of India to the United States of America. Harsh Vardhan Shringla is a 1984 batch IFS officer.Two of his most recent postings in 34-year-long diplomatic career have been Ambassador of India to Thailand, and then to Bangladesh. Shringla also served in UNESCO, United Nations (New York), Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (both in Vietnam), and also in Israel and South Africa. In the MEA, Shringla served as joint secretary (director general).
40 railway officers and 3 from IFoS empanelled as GoI joint secretary
7 IAS, 2 IDAS, 1 Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer get new berths
As many as 40 Indian Railway officers belonging to Indian Railway Service of Engineers (Civil) (IRSE) and Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) were last week empanelled as union joint secretary or joint secretary-equivalent. In addition, three Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officers — Jeet Singh Virk, Nilanjan Mullick and Anil Kumar Ratan — were also empanelled as JS. The Indian Railway Service of Engineers (Civil) (IRSE) from 1989 batch are - Ashish Bansal, Pramod Kumar Sharma, Rajeev Kumar Singh, Sandeep Gupta, Pramod Sharma, Heera Lal Suthar, Santosh Shukla, Rajeev Tyagi, Bansh Narain Singh, Sanjay Gupta, Avanish Kumar Pandey, to name a few.
In a major reshuffle of senior bureaucrats mostly at the level of GoI secretary and additional secretary, the Central government issued new appointment orders for seven IAS, two Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officers and one Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer, apart from giving in-situ promotion of two officers —Bala Prasad of Indian Forest Service and Satpal Chouhan of Indian Economic Service to the rank of union special secretary. Madhulika P Sukul, 1982 batch Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) officer, presently serving as financial adviser (defence services) in the ministry of defence, has been appointed as secretary in Central Information Commission (CIC).
10 Indian Audit and Account Service officers empanelled as JS
Defence production and ex-servicemen secretaries on leave
The government has empanelled 10 Indian Audit and Account Service officers — six from 1997 and four from 1998 batch — as GOI joint secretary or joint secretary-equivalent. The Indian Audit and Account Service from the 1997 batch are - Saurabh Narain, Hoveyda Abbas, Ashutosh Sharma, Navneet Gupta, Neelesh Kumar Sah and AkoijamRina. From 1998 Batch, Deepak Kapoor, HemaMunivenkatappa, Debolina Thakur and Ananta Kishore Behera were appointed.
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Two union secretaries under the ministry of defence are on leave between December 29 and January 6. The ACC bestowed the additional charge of both the posts to defence secretary and 1982 batch West Bengal cadre IAS, Sanjay Mitra. Mitra will take additional charge of the post of secretary, department of defence production currently held by 1985 batch Kerala cadre IAS, Dr Ajay Kumar and also the post of secretary of the department of ex-servicemen welfare being held by Sanjeevanee Kutty, a 1983 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS.
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