Bisleri Pledges To Safeguard The Environment And Encourages To Use Recycled Products

* A model that appeals to the masses to use and dispose off plastic responsibly

On the occasion of Global Recycling Day, Bottles for Change, an initiative by Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., takes an oath towards a clean and healthy environment by creating awareness about the importance of recycling plastic in our lives. This programme aims to bring about a habit change in the society by cleaning the plastic after its use, segregating and sending it for recycling. Treating plastic as a waste is not the solution; if used and disposed off responsibly, plastic is not harmful to the environment. The plastic collected by Bottles for Change is crushed into fine flakes, which are then used to create non-edible products such as furniture, cloth fabric, shoes, t-shirts, handbags, and many more. This initiative's motive is to ‘Be the Change You Want to See’ and become an example by disposing the plastic responsibly, which leads to a cleaner environment. Each individual should take a step forward and do its best to make India a better place to live in.

THE PROCESS TO RECYCLE PLASTIC

STEP 1: After consumption, clean the used plastic

STEP 2: Keep Plastic separate from the wet and dry waste

STEP 3: Handover the Plastic to plastic agents (Kabadiwala)

WHY RECYCLE?

Did you know? It is a myth that all plastic is lying in the dump yard because plastic is recycled in India. India is the only country in the world that recycles 60% of the plastic that it produces. India has a segment of society that is unorganized and unrecognized but is beautifully managing the current recycling system in India. There are 4.5 million ragpickers, 1.5 million kabadiwala’s/raddiwala’s and 8000 recycling units in our country. However, the remaining 40% that gets recycled is because it is disposed off dirty and uncleaned.

India has the opportunity to recycle 100% of its plastic only if, as consumers, we become responsible by not treating plastic as waste. Plastic is a valuable resource as it fetches approximately INR 10/Kg to a ragpicker who scavenges plastic from waste, and this value only increases if the plactic is disposed off clean.  The entire plastic handling chain from housekeeping/ragpickers to kabadiwala to a recycler is a sustainable chain.

If followed correctly, this model also helps green agents (ragpickers) collect large amounts of clean plastics at a time, which fetches them a good income. It would also provide them with a hygienic working condition, respectable life, and support for educating their children through our NGO partners.

Bottles for Change model of handling plastic has been receiving support from the government bodies such as NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation), EDMC (East Delhi Municipal Corporation), SDMC (South Delhi Municipal Corporation), Panvel Municipal Corporation, Thane Municipal Corporation, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation and from Chennai NSS (National Service Scheme). 

Since its inception, the 'Bottles for Change' program has conducted over 600 plastic recycling awareness events and workshops in corporate offices, housing societies, schools, and colleges. Over 6,500 Tonnes of Plastic has been recycled by Bisleri's 'Bottles For Change' Programme. Over 6,00,000 Citizens, 800 housing societies, 500 corporates, 500 Hotels and restaurants, 400 schools and colleges have been successfully engaged with the program. More than 3,00,000 students have actively supported and joined the initiative.

Additionally, Bottles for Change has introduced a Mobile App for Mumbai citizens, which aims to bring the citizens and the Plastic Collecting Agents (Kabadiwallahs/NGOs) under one roof. The app provides a hassle-free option to the citizens to search & approach a nearby plastic agent to handover the clean plastic..

Anahad Brings To You Authentic Folk Music From Heartlands Of India In Dolby Atmos

Anahad Foundation brings Dolby Atmos to the folk musicians of India. With this Anahad aims at empowering the underprivileged musicians through technology giving listeners a true experience of folk music from the comfort of their home. Anahad aims to produce over 1000 rural and tribal folk musicians this year for free at their doorsteps.

Folk music exists primarily in verbal format due to which it is heavily depended on live shows and tourism. Post lockdown, with the closure of the tourism industry, the majority of folk musicians became jobless and had no means of earning. BackPack Studio, the flagship program of Anahad Foundation aims to create livelihoods for musicians through the recording sector. Partnership with Dolby will further enhance the output of BackPack Studio as it will help to mix the recorded tracks in a format that will preserve the dynamic and surround nature of folk music!

Anahad’s mission is to bring music to the world for everyone to feel. Through this collaboration, Dolby Atmos Music will intimately connect listeners with the folk artist’s vision so they can experience the music without any limitations. Abhinav Agrawal (Director, Anahad Foundation) says, “Anahad mission to ‘empower folk musicians through production technology’ gets a boost with Dolby Atmos as it enables the listeners to experience music as it would have been performed live! This technology will bring musicians closer to listeners as they will be able to experience these art forms in the most authentic way possible.”

The first album to be released with this partnership is ‘Colours of Braj’ and is scheduled for launch on 26th March. Centered around the festival Holi, the album will consist of 10 tracks featuring 10 different folk art forms of Braj (the region around Mathura) like Rasiya, Holi Faag, Haveli Sangeet, Charkula Dance, etc. Along with the album, the organisation will release a 20 min documentary on its YouTube channel showing how these tracks were recorded.

About Anahad Foundation: Anahad Foundation is a New Delhi based not for profit organisation that works towards generating employment and creating sustainable livelihood for the folk musicians of the country. Anahad empowers artists by creating a digital presence for them that works like a portfolio and enables them to get more shows. Anahad provides doorstep production facilities to the underprivileged artists for free and creates two music videos and a web-page per folk group. Any royalties generated are put back in the project and are used to empower new artists or provide them with basic necessities in case of any calamity. Since its inception, Anahad has worked with over 6000 musicians and most of them have seen an income increase of up to seven times.

About Dolby Atmos: Dolby Atmos Music lets listeners connect with music at its fullest capacity and creative potential – not the way most people hear music today, but a version that pulls you into a song to reveal what was lost with traditional recordings. Listeners can discover hidden details and subtleties with unparalleled clarity. Whether it’s a complex harmony of instruments placed around a listener, the unleashing of a legendary guitar solo, a massive bass drop that washes over you, or the subtle breath a singer takes, Dolby Atmos gives music more space and the freedom to unleash every detail and emotion as the artist intended..

Edtech Lead Makes Senior-Level Appointments As It Eyes Growth

* Arpit Mundra appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Vipul Redey takes charge as Chief Excellence Officer

LEAD, a major EdTech player in India’s K-12 education segment, has strengthened its senior leadership team by appointing Arpit Mundra as Chief Financial Officer and Vipul Redey as Chief Excellence Officer. The announcement comes after the appointment of former Disney+ Hotstar SVP & Head Sales Anupam Gurani as Chief Marketing Officer.

With an aim to keep growing in this rapidly evolving Edtech ecosystem, Sumeet Mehta, Cofounder & CEO, LEAD said, “As LEAD embarks on a new chapter of growth and innovation, it will be crucial to have an experienced and dynamic leadership team in place which can deliver value to our customers, partners and employees. Both Arpit and Vipul bring impressive depth of knowledge and experience in their respective fields which will greatly support LEAD’s next phase of growth and expansion.”

Arpit Mundra brings 18 years of extensive and rich experience in Accounting & Reporting, Financial Planning & Analysis, M&A, and Treasury and Taxation. He is a CA from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has previously worked with RIVIGO as a Chief Financial Officer.

In his role as CFO at LEAD, Arpit will be responsible for financial stewardship, managing governance and controls, analyzing the company's financials, besides working closely with the senior management on strategy and creating value for stakeholders.

Arpit Mundra, Chief Financial Officer, LEAD said, “I am very excited to be a part of LEAD, a company which has significantly grown in last few years. As we pivot to lead in a rapidly evolving edtech space, finance plays an even more strategic role and I look forward to working closely with Sumeet and the LEAD team in our journey to further strengthen relationships with our stakeholders.”

A respected educationist with over 25 years of industry experience, Vipul Redey most recently served Khan Academy as Head-School Enablement. One of 30 innovators worldwide, he is selected to join the TED community. He is an alumnus of the Edtech Master’s Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Vipul Redey, Chief Excellence Officer, LEAD said, “I am thrilled to join LEAD as I have seen the company grow rapidly in the last one year. I hope to make significant contribution to enhance LEAD’s high performance academic system and build innovative learning solutions to help students in these unprecedented times.”

As Chief Excellence Officer, Vipul will play a key role in strengthening LEAD’s pedagogical systems and processes and lead the excellence team towards excellent student performance, unmistakable teacher empowerment and active parent engagement to deliver quality education.

About LEAD:

LEAD (formerly known as LEAD School) is promoted by Leadership Boulevard, one of the fastest growing EdTech companies in India. It combines technology, curriculum and pedagogy into an integrated system of teaching and learning, thus improving student learning and teacher performance in schools across the country. LEAD School partners with 1700+ schools with an estimated 6 lakh+ students in more than 400 cities, including tier 2 to tier 4 cities, in 20 States.

The Hong Kong University Of Science And Technology invites “Applications For The Academic Session Of 2021”

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), ranked No. 1 in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2020 and featured among the top 30 global universities in the QS World University Rankings 2021, is inviting applications for the 2021-2022 academic session. Applications invited cover some of the university’s most popular courses across Engineering, Science, Humanities and Business streams that are designed to help students with ingenuity, entrepreneurship and leadership skills required for 21st century job market. 

The student body at HKUST comes from around 90 countries - with Indian comprising the third largest international student community.  They study under the guidance of one of the world’s most qualified faculty staff – among whom 142 were recently rated by Stanford University as the world’s top 2% scientists.  Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis to allow Indian students with more flexibility amid the pandemic this year. Students are encouraged to submit applications at https://join.ust.hk/apply and visit https://join.ust.hk/updates for admissions related updates. 

HKUST has a proven track record in its graduates’ employment and promoting entrepreneurship culture among students. Many Indian students have been successfully placed in organisations like Deloitte, EY, Goldman Sachs, IBM, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and PwC, despite a downturn in global economy and the job market. 

Eligibility Criteria for all courses:  

Students who wish to apply must fulfil the General Admission, School/Program-Specific and English Language requirements. The university reviews each application holistically, considering both academic performance and non-academic achievements. For students using Indian Boards exams, the requirements are “Pass Certificates obtained on completion of Standard XII (State and National boards)” and reference score of previous students admitted to HKUST is “Overall average of 85% or above”.            

Note: Applicants are also expected to submit the Standard X (State and National Boards) results. 

More details are listed at https://join.ust.hk/admissions/international-qualifications/  

Scholarship Criteria at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 

The university awards academic scholarships to outstanding students on competitive merit basis. These awards may be one-off or renewable, full, or partial tuition waivers.  

All applicants will be considered, and no separate application is required. The highest amount of scholarship is equivalent to Full Tuition Fee plus an allowance of HK$55,000 (INR ₹ 5 lakh 13 thousand approx.) per academic year - renewable for the normal duration of study subject to satisfactory academic performance. For more details about HKUST’s Admissions Scholarship Scheme for IB Diploma Holders & GCEAL/ International AL Qualification Holders, please visit https://join.ust.hk/fees-and-scholarships . For other qualifications, the university awards scholarships on a case-by-case basis.  

Webinar next week  

HKUST is organizing a special free webinar on March 24, 2021 for interested students and parents. The university’s representatives will walk through its popular programs while Indian students and graduates will share their study and work experiences in Hong Kong. Registration for this free webinar can be done through the following link:  

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PVAazMIPRJOmGGe_pxyJdQ  

Study Shows Future Of Healthcare Is Shaped By Hybrid Cloud

 

* Healthcare Organizations Expect to Increase Hybrid Cloud Deployments by 32 Points Over the Next Five Years

Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in private cloud, hybrid and multicloud computing, today announced the healthcare industry findings of its third annual Enterprise Cloud Index Report, measuring healthcare organizations’ plans for adopting private, hybrid and public clouds. The findings point to a growing trend within the sector: with more than two-thirds (70%) of respondents reporting that COVID-19 has caused IT to be viewed more strategically within their organizations and the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation that is likely to shape the future of healthcare.

As COVID-19 hit, healthcare organizations looked for ways to effectively support the skyrocketing technology demands of the COVID-19 pandemicーfrom enabling remote work, to implementing telehealth practices, to supporting an increasing patient load. As a result, they sought out IT solutions that could support their organizations’ growing needs and support their digital transformation. With digital transformation top of mind, the healthcare industry is more bullish than any other sector about adopting a hybrid IT model, with 95% of respondents agreeing that hybrid is their ideal choice.

Today, more than half of healthcare respondents have increased their public cloud (56%) and hybrid cloud (51%) use and nearly half (46%) have invested more in private cloud environments in an effort to quickly provide new work-from-home employees with access to IT resources. While 77% of healthcare respondents previously had some employees working remotely one year ago, that percentage has increased to 93% this year since the onset of the pandemic.

“Cloud has been a critical support for India’s healthcare organizations as they rapidly adapted to changing patient needs during the pandemic- healthcare providers were able to fast track their telehealth plans when Covid-19 struck, so vulnerable patients could stay at home and still receive treatment. The advancement of healthcare in India remains bright, supported by secure and agile technologies like hybrid cloud,”said Faiz Shakir, Director and Country Head of Enterprise & Commercial Business, India and SAARC, Nutanix.

Other key findings of this year’s report include:

The future of healthcare is dependent on decommissioning of legacy architecture: Currently, more healthcare companies run exclusively traditional, non-cloud-enabled datacenters (27%) than any other industry, compared to 18% globally. Over the next five years, however, healthcare organizations plan to shrink that gap with an expected 21-percentage-point drop in legacy datacenter installations and a corresponding 32-point increase in hybrid cloud deployments.

Healthcare organizations look to hyperconverged infrastructure to support IT modernization and pave the way to hybrid cloud: Hyperconverged infrastructure is often seen as the basis for a hybrid cloud infrastructure, the HCI of the next decade, as it helps accelerate cloud adoption by sharply reducing the time it takes to build the software-defined infrastructure necessary to support private cloud, while also providing the scalability of cloud technology. About 64% of healthcare respondents say they’ve either fully deployed HCI or are in the process of doing so, significantly outpacing the approximately 50% of global respondents who are using or deploying hyperconverged infrastructure.

Security, privacy and compliance pose a significant challenge to the industry's digital transformation: 58% of healthcare respondents described security as a significant challenge, compared to 51% of global respondents. Healthcare respondents also ranked cost control (45%) and business continuity (45%) more often as significant challenges than any other industry.

As the healthcare industry evolves, cost advantages will be the main gating factor for IT infrastructure deployments: All industries, including healthcare, indicated that security, privacy, and compliance solution strengths were highly important to infrastructure decision-making.

“Healthcare organizations are in a critical phase of expediting their digital transformations to better meet patient and healthcare worker needs, all this jump started by COVID-19,” said Cheryl Rodenfels, Healthcare Strategist at Nutanix. “While IT leaders agree that hybrid cloud is a key enabler of this transformation, healthcare organizations need to identify IT solutions to help them on this journey, from investing in HCI-powered private clouds, to finding ways to effectively bridge their private and public cloud environments while keeping security and cost top of mind.”

The respondent base spanned multiple industries, business sizes, and the following geographies: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and the Asia-Pacific (APJ) region..

45% Of India's Mobile Users Introduced To Gaming By The Pandemic, Reports Inmobi

* The survey finds that mobile gamers are more open to watching advertisements than making in-app purchases during the course of gameplay

India, a mobile-first economy, is also the land of committed mobile gamers who belonging to different age groups, gender, and geography, said InMobi's 2021 Gaming Report, India. The report title "Everyone's Gaming Among Us - Mobile Gaming through the Pandemic and Beyond" reveals insights derived from the app usage patterns and trends that were analyzed basis 1.7 trillion ad requests between January 2020 and January 2021 on the InMobi Marketing Cloud and Audience Intelligence Platform, and a survey conducted among over 1000 smartphone users from across India using InMobi Pulse. InMobi Pulse is a leading mobile consumer intelligence platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Overall, the report indicates that in India, which is home to 1 out of 10 gamers across the globe, mobile gaming is a source of entertainment as well as relaxation, and it has become a mainstay in the life of the average citizen.

Commenting on the changing gaming pattern in India, Vasuta Agarwal, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, InMobi, said, “Mobile gaming accelerated due to the lockdown in India as people continued to shelter at place and work from home. What was seemingly an emerging trend is now a lasting behavior with a 1.5x growth in gaming users. With over 80% of mobile gamers playing every day, it has evolved to become an integral part of the connected consumer’s life!”

India: The Land of the Committed Mobile Gamer

Gaming in India is no longer restricted to young men. Majority of Indians are committed gamers who play at least once or more every day. Accessibility and affordability of smartphones and high-speed internet are some of the factors which have made mobile gaming a popular source of entertainment for people regardless of age and location. The report highlights that women constitute 43 per cent of the Mobile Gaming audience in India of which 12 per cent are in the age group of 25-44 and 28 per cent are over 45 years.

Typically, Indians play mobile games in multiple short spurts during the day. 40 per cent of the respondents who participated in the InMobi Pulse survey indicated that they usually play in 10-minute sessions - in between meetings, chores, meals, etc. However, committed gamers, on the contrary, spend substantially more time per session than other gamers, with over 84 per cent of the players spending up to an hour on mobile gaming in a single sitting.

According to the report, committed Indian gamers love experimenting with new games. More than half of the survey respondents said they download a new game every week while over 40 per cent have more than three games on their smartphones at any given time. Given the vast app universe and increasing size of the apps, Indian gamers say they have to constantly choose between apps that they want to keep on their smartphones. While casual and card/puzzle/board games are a popular choice among all gamers, the committed players and Gen Z gamers have a greater inclination towards MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), simulation, and action games.

Advertisements on gaming apps and other apps and word-of-mouth are the most preferred ways of finding new games. While committed gamers prefer app store recommendations and ads on gaming apps to find new games, occasional gamers mainly rely on word-of-mouth, in-app ads and social media to discover new games.

Emerging Trends and Lasting Behavior

The onset of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown resulted in a significant shift in mobile usage and consequently has been a catalyst in boosting mobile gaming in India. During this period, the survey shows that 45 per cent of Indians started playing games on their smartphones. This also resulted in a spike in the amount of time spend on mobile gaming as well as the number of apps they experimented with. Among the committed gamers, 40 per cent spent more time on gaming apps while 38 per cent of them increased the variety of games they played. During COVID-19, on an average day, time spent on gaming apps surged through the day as people played a lot more often starting as early as 7:30 AM till 11:30 PM. The sharpest surge in the use of gaming apps occurred at 11:30 AM, with a 6.6x increase in gameplay.

The lasting impact of COVID-19 shows that Indians are continuing to play a lot more on their smartphones throughout the day. Mobile Gaming has grown from being just a hobby to becoming synonymous with a medium of relaxation. The Gen X (45+ age group) users were seen indulging in multiplayer games to connect with family, friends, and other like-minded people on the platform.

Importance of Mobile Gaming for brands

Despite the huge opportunity right in front of them, most marketers seem to be hesitant when it comes to investing in the gaming space. They carry misplaced notions on the lack of personas, placements, engagement, and of course brand safety – but this couldn’t be further from the truth! Contrary to the popular notion, women today are highly committed gamers, with 77 per cent of them playing at least once a day if not more, to relax and stay connected with family and friends. Data finds that around 32 per cent of women games play in 10-minute sessions while 23 per cent tend to play for over an hour every day.

Even the most committed gamers don't limit themselves just to games but keep a variety of other interests both online and offline. These people can be found all across the internet, be it on social media platforms, video and music streaming apps, or at a retail outlet. Today, the probability of mobile gamers being the target audience of any business is extremely high which means one can effectively engage with these user groups to market their brands. Data also shows that 74 per cent of the gamers prefer to watch gaming advertisements over in-app purchases in order to move to the next stage in the game. They also boast of a high ad recall with 60 per cent being able to recall an ad seen in or during a game.

Indians interact 2.6x times more with video ads shown in Gaming apps than with those shown in other apps. Video advertisements in gaming apps are among the most popular and deliver 31 per cent higher completion rates for publishers (over the MOAT benchmark) on the InMobi Advertising Platform.

“Gaming is one of the most scalable channels for brands to reach diverse target audiences. Be it women, millennials, sports enthusiasts, or OTT viewers, everybody is gaming among us. Moreover, mobile gamers are receptive to advertising with 3 in 4 consumers preferring to see an ad and 60% of them being able to recall the ads they see. Gaming is the biggest opportunity for brands to maximize impact with video and other engaging formats in 2021,” added Vasuta Agarwal, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, InMobi.

According to the report, the Indian gaming ecosystem has matured by leaps and bounds over the past year. India is the 5th largest mobile gaming market across the world and the gaming culture has now achieved escape velocity in the country, competing with other popular entertainment categories such as short-form videos, streaming services and social networks. As brands continue to traverse different stages of digital marketing maturity, leveraging this platform would be extremely critical for brands to meet the consumers where they are, and continue to stay relevant.

About InMobi

InMobi drives real connections between brands and consumers by leveraging its technology platforms and exclusive access to mobile intelligence. Its Marketing Cloud creates new paths for brands to understand, identify, engage and acquire connected consumers. As a leading technology company, InMobi has been recognized on both the 2018 and 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50 lists and as one of Fast Company’s 2018 World’s Most Innovative Companies. 

FIMI Raises Concern Over Procurement Of Large Quantities Of Iron-Ore From Other States By Steel Makers In Karnataka

* Large quantities of iron ore from Eastern regions of India are imported in Karnataka severely affecting demand of iron ore mined in the state.

* Close to 19 lakh Metric Tonnes of Iron-ore is imported in Karnataka in the last five months from other states leading to the huge revenue loss and hampering employment opportunities in the state.

* Interstate Transportation of Iron Ore for Such a long distance is extremely environmentally unfriendly and carbon Negative.

The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), Southern Region seeks intervention of Karnataka Government and Ministry of Mines, over large quantities of iron ore brought into the state of Karnataka despite there are huge stocks of Iron Ore in the state. FIMI has raised serious concerns about the impact on employment, revenue, and infrastructure Development in the state because of rising imports of iron-ore while there is abundant supply & stocks of mineral in Karnataka. The concurrent restrictions on trade of iron ore in Karnataka is suppressing the growth of the sector and have significant deleterious effects on the industry and also the state exchequer.

In the state, around 4 lakh Metric Tonnes of iron ore had been imported in October 2020 from Eastern part of India through South-East Railway, which is almost 1620 kms. FIMI had highlighted the issue and raised the concern with The Principal Secretary to Govt. of Mines & SSI in Nov.2020. In the past 4 months since FIMI has raised concern to the state government, almost 15 lakh Metric Tonnes of iron ore has been imported to Karnataka. Transportation of Iron Ore across 1620 kms is completely Carbon negative and environmentally unfriendly.

The restrictions on trade of iron ore in Karnataka is suppressing the growth of the sector and have significant deleterious effects on the industry and also the public Exchequer. The rest of India is exporting iron ore as per the EXIM policy of Government of India thereby ensuring fair revenue to the State Exchequer including foreign exchange as well as overall growth of the nation by using the railways, port facilities etc. As per the data available, the total export in the year 2019 from other parts of India shows export of 10.34 Million Metric Tonnes of fines and 1.16 Million Metric Tonnes of lumps.

These restrictions are also distorting the market as the buyer has the freedom of trade, i.e. right to purchase iron ore from either the e-auction or from other States or even to import from overseas. This has created a skewed market, disadvantageous to sellers as they can only sell to domestic end-users.

Earlier, FIMI Southern Region had written to Ministry of Mines appealing to take appropriate facts and urgently submit necessary specifics before the Supreme Court, in order to rectify the gross imbalance that has arisen due to the prohibition on exports and seek urgent rectification of the situation by permitting export of iron-ore from Karnataka.

About FIMI:

The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) is an all-India apex body established in 1966, to promote the interests of mining (including coal), exploration, mineral processing, metal making and other mineral-based industries. The body works towards promoting ‘Mine in India’ for ‘Make in India’, commitment to socio-economic growth and improving lives in remote mining regions, leading the sustainable mining movement in India, transforming geologic possibilities into mines of wealth and honing India’s mining skills.