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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="23944870" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sonya-Moore" source="keywords">Sonya Moore</keyword> decided that if Trump won in 2016, she would leave the US.</li><li>She followed through and has been living abroad for seven years.</li></ul>"If Trump wins this election, I'm <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-reelected-americans-are-planning-to-flee-in-droves-2024-3">moving out of the country</a>." I said those words in November 2016. So did a lot of other Americans: so many, in fact, that <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-immigration-site-crash-election-2016-11">Canada's immigration website crashed</a> as votes were being tallied due to increased traffic. No joke. I don't know how many others <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/americans-who-left-us-because-of-trump-talk-biden-presidency-2020-12">followed through on that declaration</a>, but I did. Trump won the election, and 9 months later, I left the US. Full disclosure: Trump becoming president was not the only reason I left — it was also about being fed up with my corporate job, coupled with a strong desire to explore the world. I was 37, single, with no children or pets, so I was free to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-mom-quit-job-expat-move-abroad-qatar-singapore-2023-12">quit my job</a>, uproot myself, and take off. I did own a house at the time, which I sold a few months after I left. Upon my departure, I didn't have much of a plan other than the intention to spend some time slowly exploring Asia and teaching English when I needed to make money. This no-plan thing was out of character for me, but I was very comfortable with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southeast-asia-travel-mistakes-packing-weather-clothing-traditions-medicine-2024-4">solo international travel</a>, thanks to previous study abroad experiences and 14 years of intensive overseas work-related travel. <div type="image" title="Sonya Moore in Siem Reap, Cambodia" height="1280" width="1600" msid="115071450" hostid="261"></div><h2>The move opened a new chapter in my life</h2>As months unfolded, I discovered that when you leave space for it, life guides you to the places, people, and opportunities that are meant for you. Seven years later, I'm still living <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-couldnt-afford-retirement-in-california-moved-abroad-travel-happy-2024-10">happily outside the US</a>. While my decision to leave opened up a horizon of experiences beyond my wildest dreams and led me to the man of my dreams, it hasn't all been a bed of roses. The first year, I lived off savings while traveling slowly through Asia. I started my travels in India, where I spent 10 days at a silent meditation retreat, attended teachings by the Dalai Lama, and took a <keyword id="20626363" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yoga-teacher-training" source="keywords">yoga teacher training</keyword>. I promptly got hooked on teaching yoga. After four months in India, I continued <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-pack-traveling-in-southeast-asia-singapore-thailand-bali-2023-9">making my way through Asia</a> for eight more months. I swam in the crystal clear waters of the Maldives, visited healers in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/american-family-kids-bali-decompress-relocate-slow-life-work-remote-2024-10">Bali</a>, witnessed breathtaking sunrise views from mountaintops in Laos, went island-hopped through the Philippines, rode motorbikes around Thailand's islands, and discovered ancient pagodas in Myanmar The cost of living in much of Asia is so low that savings can stretch a long way. I have high standards for my accommodations, and while traveling, I usually spent around $20 to $25 per night on hotels. Lower-maintenance friends of mine found simpler places for $6 per night in India. Meals usually cost around $3. After six weeks in India, I considered a lunch bill of $5 to be expensive. <h2>There have been times along the way when I've felt lost </h2>From time to time, I experienced stretches of feeling <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/relocation-moved-to-milan-living-abroad-emotionally-exhausting-unspoken-truths-2023-9">unsettled and lacking a sense of purpose</a>. Over the years, I learned that those periods of doubt and uncertainty will continue to surface. But I also learned to just keep trusting, and the way forward would eventually reveal itself. People often ask me if I was ever afraid while <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-women-need-to-know-traveling-solo-southeast-asia-tips-2022-12">traveling alone through Asia</a>. I never was — except a couple of times in India when riding on some precariously high Himalayan roads with no guardrails. But of people? I never had a reason to be. After a year away, I found an opportunity to teach yoga in a small mountain town in Myanmar. Life there was quiet, simple, and beautiful. I lived there for 9 months, and I was profoundly happy most of the time. But there were times <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/loneliness-how-to-make-friends-remote-worker-freelancer-new-city-2024-2">I felt lonely</a>. The locals were sweet and kind, with love in their eyes and actions, but I missed friends who spoke my language fluently, with whom I could have deep conversations over a glass of wine. And the dating scene? Nonexistent. <div type="image" title="Sonya Moore kissing a man at the airport" height="2118" width="1754" msid="115071453" hostid="261"></div><h2>I found love during my travels</h2>Another yoga teaching opportunity took me to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is not a big city, but after my small-town Myanmar life, it felt like Manhattan. There were so many restaurants, bars, social events, friends, and even some attractive single men. I fell in love with the town, the quality of life, and the locals. It was easy to get a tourist or work visa to live here long term, and it was almost as inexpensive as India and Myanmar. I was living in Siem Reap when COVID-19 hit. By that time, I was in a <keyword id="20752574" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="long-distance-relationship" source="keywords">long-distance relationship</keyword> with a French man I met during my travels. After the closed borders of the pandemic kept us apart for 7 months, I moved to France to be with him. Our story was long and winding, but it felt like destiny. He <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/my-partner-couple-travel-together-full-time-one-date-2024-5">loves global travel</a> like I do. We've been together for four years and are living together in Papua New Guinea. Our plan is to go back to a nomadic slow-travel lifestyle. My career has gradually evolved to encompass creative pursuits that light me up inside: retreats, writing, photography, and yoga. I am deeply grateful to my former self for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/live-abroad-cheap-low-cost-living-high-quality-life-2024-1">choosing to leave the US</a>. I sometimes miss family and friends, but thanks to technology, our connection stays alive across the distance, and I go back to visit once a year. I still love America and feel lucky to have been born and raised there. But there's a big world out there waiting to be discovered. Do you have a personal essay about relocating to Asia that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:akarplus@businessinsider.com">akarplus@businessinsider.com</a>. November 11, 2024 — An earlier version of this story mentioned Trump becoming president was not the reason Moore left, it was not the only reason.

I swore I would leave the US if Trump won the 2016 election. Here's how that worked out for me.

<keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> and Maldives have signed an agreement to introduce the <keyword id="19998949" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unified-Payments-Interface" source="keywords">Unified Payments Interface</keyword> in the archipelago nation, which will have a "very positive" impact on its <keyword id="20260982" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tourism-sector" source="keywords">tourism sector</keyword>, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Friday during Jaishankar's three-day official visit to the Maldives. "Witnessed signing of MoU between (the) National Payments Corporation of India and (the) Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Maldives on (the) introduction of (a) digital payment system in the Maldives," he said in a post on X. Developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (<keyword id="19998946" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NPCI" source="keywords">NPCI</keyword>), Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system to facilitate inter-bank transactions through mobile phones. Addressing a press conference with his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer after their "productive discussions", Jaishankar said that India, through its UPI, has "revolutionised digital transactions". Stressing that it has taken financial inclusion in India to new levels, he said "Today 40 per cent of the world's real-time digital payments take place in our country." "We see this revolution, every day in our lives. I am pleased to note that with the signing of the MoU today, we have taken the first step towards bringing this digital innovation to Maldives," he said. "I wish the very best to stakeholders on both sides and hope that we will soon see the first UPI transaction here. I should mention that it will have a very positive impact on tourism," he added. Tourism is the main source of economic activity for the Maldives, contributing nearly 30 per cent of the GDP and generating more than 60 per cent of foreign exchange. Jaishankar's visit aims to reset the bilateral relationship with the Maldives and is the first high-level trip from India after the archipelago nation's pro-China president, Mohamed Muizzu, assumed office last year. "India's partnership with the Maldives is based on our deep desire to work together for each other's welfare and interests. It is a partnership that has enabled us to always swiftly and effectively respond to challenges, as witnessed in the past," Jaishankar said. "It is a partnership that has enabled us to deliver results and bring tangible benefits to our people in accordance with their wishes, aspirations and priorities," he said. In a post on X, Jaishankar also said, "Jointly inaugurated six High Impact Projects in areas of street lighting, mental health, children speech therapy and special education." "Welcome renewal of MoU between National Centre for Good Governance and Civil Services Commission on (the) training of additional 1,000 civil services officers," he added. Addressing the joint press conference, Maldivian Foreign Minister Zameer said, "India has always been one of our closest friends and a vital development partner." He said the "enduring friendship" was built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect and has continued to flourish over the years. "High-level exchanges between our countries have deepened our dialogue and cooperation in areas of shared interest. We remain dedicated to strengthening and advancing this mutually beneficial partnership," he said. "Minister Dr Jaishankar and I agreed that much more needs to be done to promote trade and investment between the Maldives and India," he said, adding that both sides are committed to establishing "effective mechanisms to enhance economic cooperation, fostering a vibrant and prosperous partnership that will benefit both the nations." Zameer said he conveyed President Muizzu's proposal to begin negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between the Maldives and India. "This agreement alongside other economic and trade-related agreements will facilitate trade liberalisation and ease the risks of doing business in both our countries," he said. Zameer said that India and Maldives have also mutually agreed to further strengthen their partnership by continuing joint exercises and expanding training opportunities for officers from both countries, asserting that this reflects "our commitment to working together to ensure the security of our nations as well as ensuring the safety and stability of the Indian Ocean region." India's relations with the Maldives suffered a major setback last year when President Muizzu demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel manning three aviation platforms in the Maldives. Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians by May 10, the mutually agreed date. "On regional and multilateral issues of importance, our countries have a common understanding and are united in our efforts to resolve them. We agreed to continue our cooperation on issues ranging from combating terrorism, violent extremism, drugs, human trafficking and to the promotion and protection of human rights," Zameer said. In his press statement, Jaishankar said that India and the Maldives "are not just close neighbours, we are also natural partners." "Today, we are mutually invested in each other's development and progress. In a globalised and interconnected world, we see a lot of volatility and global tensions. Even as the world is recovering from the impact of the COVID pandemic, we have been confronted with new challenges arising from international conflicts," he said. In this tumultuous environment, India has been and will be, an anchor of stability for its friends, partners and neighbours. To the Maldives specifically, India has provided support to deal with economic challenges through financial assistance and budgetary support, and by ensuring an uninterrupted supply of critical items, he noted. India's actions have been and will continue to be guided by its firm commitment to the philosophy of 'Sabka Saath, Sabke Vikas - which is- Together, we prosper', Jaishankar said. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/brainbees-solutions-firstcry-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112403576.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/brainbees-solutions-firstcry-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/112403576.cms" target="_blank">Brainbees Solutions (Firstcry) IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-wearables-market-decline-for-the-first-time-as-smartwatch-shipments-fall/articleshow/112397246.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-wearables-market-decline-for-the-first-time-as-smartwatch-shipments-fall/articleshow/112397246.cms" target="_blank">India’s wearables market decline for the first time as smartwatch shipments fall</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ola-wants-to-re-enter-the-quick-commerce-business-to-take-on-blinkit-and-swiggy-instamart/articleshow/112364583.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ola-wants-to-re-enter-the-quick-commerce-business-to-take-on-blinkit-and-swiggy-instamart/articleshow/112364583.cms" target="_blank">Ola wants to re-enter the quick commerce business to take on Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart</a>

India to introduce UPI payment service in Maldives

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some expat Indians are moving back home to launch companies of their own.</li><li>India's booming market size, internet growth, and post-pandemic spending is driving their decision.</li></ul>Nithin Hassan, 41, has always been fascinated with building something of his own.As a child in India, he would get in trouble for dismantling electronics around the house just so he could peek inside.In college, in true <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">startup</a> fashion, he started working on a small business out of his parent's garage in Bengaluru, assembling computers for friends and family.It was the early 2000s and the internet was not the trove of knowledge it is today — Hassan was relying on books to learn. Finding mentorship and the right guidance was a challenge, too.Everyone around Hassan told him that going to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-tips-google-software-engineer-skills-experience-careers-software-tech-2024-3">US for a master's degree</a> was the next big opportunity. So he did.Over the next 16 years, he put his startup plans on hold and worked at some of the world's biggest companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.<div type="image" title="Nithin Hassan" height="2450" width="3266" msid="113831978" hostid="261" sizebytes="215682"></div>But the pandemic felt like a turning point. And its aftermath made India look like a lab-designed business environment: It had just become the world's most populous country, the pandemic had created <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/private-consumption-continues-to-be-supported-by-pent-up-demand-finance-ministry/articleshow/99069973.cms?from=mdr">pent-up demand</a> for consumer products, and growing internet adoption made commerce more scalable, he said.So Hassan left behind about $500,000 in annual pay at Meta to move back to Bengaluru in December 2023 with his wife and two children. He has since launched two startups.Hassan is part of a group of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-moved-back-to-india-after-living-abroad-for-decade-2024-9">expat Indians moving back</a> home to venture out on their own. As such, he's also part of a decades-long trend of reverse migration back to India.The trend began in the 1990s and picked up at the turn of the century, driven by the economic collapse in 2008, said Binod Khadria, the president of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism. Many of those who returned to India for work were largely working for multinational companies.Today, the impetus for the move often looks a bit different: It's driven by factors like unstable visa policies and economic recessions, which lead to uncertainty when it comes to jobs and duration of stay in these destinations.Many returnees find work in tech, but the finance, retail, and climate sectors also absorb a large number of expat Indians, Khadia said. And some of the returnees are heading back to India to start companies of their own.India is undergoing a startup explosion. The country reported over<a target="_blank" href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2043805"> 140,800 recognized startups</a> at the end of June — nearly 50,000 more than last year — and credited them with creating 1.6 million direct jobs.To be sure, not all of these companies will make it big — and some do still stumble, like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://inc42.com/features/what-are-the-current-problems-being-faced-by-oyo/">Oyo </a>and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-hsbc-funds-byjus-startup-valuation-zero-edtech-india-raveendran-2024-6">Byju's</a>. But the chaos, where even established startups are trying and failing, makes India a fair playing field for new entrants, Hassan said.Business Insider spoke to six <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-vc-wants-see-5-traits-new-founders-fundraising-antler-2024-8">first-time founders </a>about why they have recently returned to India after spending several years, or even an adult life, abroad.<h2 id="0e4a3c47-ba19-4690-8b52-c6bfece1c81d">Fastest-growing economy</h2>The health of the economy and interest from investors are fueling the entrepreneurship boom.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-billionaire-karan-adani-plans-challenge-china-dominance-seaports-2024-8">India's economic growth</a> in 2023 — 8.2% — was the fastest of all large economies worldwide. That's led to greater purchasing power, which lets companies, including startups, sell more.India's inflation rate of about 3.5% is well below its annual wage growth of 9.6%. This makes inflation less of a challenge than it is for slower-growing peers, where consumer-focused businesses have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economy-jobs-report-sentiment-consumers-elections-recession-inflation-mortgage-rates-2024-9">hurt by high prices</a>.Investors are getting in on the action.From 2015 to 2021, the number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sequoia-capital-vc-firm-split-china-india-2023-6">unique investors in India</a> nearly quadrupled, though the number is tracking much lower this year, per PitchBook."Other than a slight downturn in 2022 and 2023 due to global macroeconomic factors, VC funding has been consistently growing in India," said Ben Mathias, a managing partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India.Besides funding, domestic developments have encouraged founders and VCs too, Mathias said.The Indian government's Universal Payment Interface system has spurred consumers and businesses to pay online, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bcg.com/press/2june2022-digital-payments-in-india-projected-to-reach-10-trillion-by-2026">40% of all digital payments</a> globally happen in India today, the partner said.Programs like Startup India, which provides founders benefits like tax exemption, easier compliance, and funding support, have made creating a company smoother.Devyani Parameshwar worked in the microfinance and fintech space in India in the 2010s before heading to the UK and Africa. She returned to India in 2022 to launch a financial management venture."It's changed dramatically. I remember standing in line at various ministries in Delhi trying to get meetings and then trying to get answers and it wasn't easy in the past," she said of her memories of India.Now, she can use an online platform to ask the country's central bank and banking regulator questions.It's easier than ever for foreign companies to invest in India, which means startups have a clearer exit path through acquisition — something VCs think hard about before entering new markets or writing checks.<h2 id="e5dd7b6f-a09f-4ff2-84c1-5907de96dc5e">Market ripe for the taking</h2>For Rohan Bhide, who spent most of his college and professional life <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worked-in-big-tech-before-launching-my-own-startup-engineer-2024-9">preparing to launch something of his own</a>, a trip home in 2017 while he was studying in the US was a turning point.Indian telecom giant Reliance had recently launched a cheap unlimited data plan, which spiked Indian internet adoption. India was charting among the countries with the highest online transactions."That really, really drew my attention," said Bhide, who worked at Meta after graduation. "It was my dream come true — a huge market, a huge user base, and at the same time, the ability to adopt technology was incredible."Bhide returned to India in January, leaving behind about $580,000 in total compensation at ticketing platform StubHub. He and a cofounder are working on launching a consumer tech product later this year.<div type="image" title="Rohan Bhide" height="2304" width="3072" msid="113831979" hostid="261" sizebytes="218468"></div>Most Indians grew up wanting to work at a multinational company — but that's changing, Bhide said.Freelancing, running your own business, or working for a startup is much more socially acceptable now, because people see the success of other Indian startups. The country has the third-largest number of "unicorns" — companies worth $1 billion or more — with 64, per PitchBook.<h2 id="7f423804-745b-4e04-a250-839e01663f09">Boom in entrepreneurship culture</h2>A lot has changed since Hassan first wanted to launch his hardware startup in the early 2000s.Tech hot spots like Bengaluru and Gurugram have seen a boom in entrepreneurship culture in the last few years, with meet-ups, networking mixers, and even morning walks with like-minded builders.<div type="image" title="man standing in front of mountains in USA" height="2268" width="3024" msid="113831980" hostid="261" sizebytes="141132"></div>Dhruv Anand, who left Google in the US to move back to India in 2021 to launch an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-most-promising-2024-9">AI startup</a>, said that there were lots of other founders and mentors to help guide him."If you want to figure out who's the right chartered accountant to talk to, who's the right lawyer to help you draft agreements, all of that stuff is very easy," Anand said."It's been a really, really supportive community," Bhide said. There are people "telling you about their entire lives just because they want to help you and they're hoping that you pass the favor onto the next person who moves to India and wants to start their own company."<h2 id="3c8bff36-e855-4530-9b44-bcc7f36b0825">Not everything is perfect</h2>Although these founders made the decision to return to India, that doesn't mean they no longer see the benefits of operating in the US.Ruchit Garg founded an agriculture startup in Silicon Valley in 2016, with a focus on supporting farmers around the globe. In 2019, he returned to India, where his late grandfather worked as a farmer.Garg has been building in India ever since, but he says its startup ecosystem cannot yet compete with the Valley's decades of experience."The overall ecosystem was more mature back in Silicon Valley. It's still one of the best places for entrepreneurs. India isn't there yet, although it's growing pretty drastically," he said.Despite efforts to digitalize key processes, many bureaucratic challenges persist.For most founders, after living in US cities where populations are a fraction of those in Mumbai and Bangalore, congested roads and poorer air quality are also everyday annoyances.But India provides some big perks, including affordable domestic help and the appeal of building solutions for problems they witness firsthand."It's a different joy to be able to build for problems that you feel for very personally," Parameshwar, the fintech founder, said. When she worked in Africa, she needed translators. Now, she can speak with her users herself.Bhide said the general sentiment among local founders is shifting from "Build from India" to "Build for India."For some founders, being surrounded by family and the culture they grew up in was another selling point.Niranjan Vemulkar moved back to India in 2015 and later founded a digital legacy planning platform.He said that he never fully felt at home in the US, where he lived for over a decade."For us, it was the fact that we wanted to raise a family in an environment where the children would have access to the grandparents and Indian culture," Vemulkar said. "The fact that you could come back to India, start something of your own and figure things out in an ecosystem which was potentially booming for startups, was just a cherry on the cake."Are you in India and have a story to share about the tech and entrepreneurship landscape? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

<keyword id="21333142" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indias-population" source="keywords">India's population</keyword> is projected to peak in the early 2060s at about <keyword id="22386427" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="1-7-billion" source="keywords">1.7 billion</keyword> and then decline by 12%, but the country will remain the world's most populous throughout the century, the <keyword id="19896118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Nations" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="United Nations" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="United Nations">United Nations</keyword> has said. The World Population Prospects 2024 report, released on Thursday, said that the world's population is expected to continue growing over the coming 50-60 years, reaching a peak of around 10.3 billion people in the mid-2080s, significantly up from 8.2 billion in 2024. After peaking, the global population is projected to start declining gradually, falling to 10.2 billion people by the end of the century. India, which surpassed <keyword id="19894886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="China" source="keywords">China</keyword> as the world's most populous nation last year, will continue to hold that position through 2100. "The population of India, which is expected to remain the world's largest throughout the century, will likely decline by 12% after reaching its peak in the early 2060s at about 1.7 billion," the <keyword id="19898339" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UN" source="keywords">UN</keyword> report published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), <keyword id="271075" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="population-division" source="Orion">Population Division</keyword> said. According to the report, India's population in 2024 is projected at 1.45 billion and this will peak to 1.69 billion in 2054. After this, India's population is projected to decline to 1.5 billion by the end of the century in 2100, but the country will still remain the most populous nation on Earth. Responding to a question by PTI on population projections for India, Senior Population Affairs Officer, Population Division, <keyword id="6355835" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="un" source="Orion">UN</keyword> DESA Clare Menozzi said at a press conference that "India is currently the largest country in the world in terms of population, and it is projected to stay so throughout the century. The population is currently estimated at 1.45 billion, and it's supposed to increase further to 1.69 billion. "It's supposed to peak around the 2060s in size and then it starts to slightly decline. So by the end of the century, India is projected to be around 1.5 billion, but will still the largest country in the world by a large margin." The report said that China's population, currently 1.41 billion in 2024, will fall to 1.21 billion in 2054 and further decline to 633 million by 2100. "It is anticipated that China, the country currently with the world's second-largest population, will likely experience the largest absolute population loss between 2024 and 2054 (204 million)," followed by <keyword id="6355311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Japan" source="Orion">Japan</keyword> (21 million) and <keyword id="6358826" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Russia" source="Orion">Russia</keyword> (10 million). "Longer-range population projections are more uncertain" for China, it said. "However, due to its large size and sustained low level of fertility, China is also likely to record the largest population decline of any country through the end of the century (786 million people). By 2100, China is projected to have lost more than a half of its current population and to have returned to a population size comparable to that recorded in the late 1950s (50% probability)." Responding to a question on the significantly low population projection for China, Director of the Population Division at UN DESA John Wilmoth said that "it really relates to the level of fertility that's observed currently in China. The current number is right around one birth per woman on average over a lifetime." "Given that you need 2.1 births to maintain the current population without migration, if fertility levels remain at such a low level, even if they come up slightly, any fertility level if it's below two, or especially below 1.8 or below 1.5, you're really getting into low levels of fertility and it produces a long run decline that's quite significant. And that's true for China. It's true for some other countries in this analysis," Wilmoth said. Currently, nearly one-fifth of all countries and areas, including China, Italy, the Republic of Korea and Spain, are experiencing what is sometimes referred to as "ultra-low" fertility, with fewer than 1.4 live births per woman over a lifetime. The report added that the global fertility rate currently stands at 2.25 live births per woman, down from 3.31 births in 1990. "More than half of all countries and areas globally have fertility below the replacement level of 2.1 live births per woman. This is the level required for a population to maintain a constant size in the long run (without migration), with each generation being followed by another of roughly equal size," it said. Pakistan is projected to overtake the US as the third-largest country in the world, with a population of 389 million in 2054. Currently, the US is the third largest country in the world with a population of 345 million and in 2054, it will be the fourth largest with 384 million people. Pakistan will remain the third largest country in the world, with a population of 511 million people in 2100. The report said that the estimated likelihood that the world's population will peak within the current century is very high, with a probability of 80%, a major change in UN projections from a decade ago, when this probability was around 30%. The size of the world's population in 2100 is now expected to be 6%smaller - or about 700 million people fewer - than anticipated a decade ago. In about 126 countries and areas, the population is likely to continue growing through 2054, potentially reaching a peak later in the century or beyond 2100. This group includes several of the world's most populous countries: India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United States of America. In 2023, the global number of deaths among children under age 5 fell below 5 million for the first time in recent history. However, 95% of such deaths took place in the 126 countries with populations that are still growing, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. The report added that globally, life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years in 2024, an increase of 8.4 years since 1995. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in an average longevity of around 77.4 years globally in 2054. Since 2022, life expectancy has returned to levels observed before the emergence of the coronavirus disease in nearly all countries and areas. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 and 2021, global life expectancy at birth fell to 70.9 years, down from 72.6 in 2019. The report said that by 2080, persons aged 65 or older will outnumber children under 18. "By the late 2070s, the number of persons at ages 65 years and higher globally is projected to reach 2.2 billion, surpassing the number of children (under age 18). By the mid-2030s, it is projected that there will be 265 million persons aged 80 years or older, more than the number of infants (1 year of age or less)," it said.

India's population to peak in early 2060s to 1.7 billion before declining: UN

<ul><li>Over 48,000 students participated in the <keyword id="1561517" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="smile-india" source="Orion">Smile India</keyword> foundation <keyword id="15510" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="survey" source="Orion">survey</keyword> covering 22 Indian states. </li><li>58% of teachers notice <keyword id="6354493" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="children" source="Orion">children</keyword> getting distracted easily and lacking social decorum. </li><li>Parents are more involved with their ward’s curriculum following the pandemic. </li></ul>Less than 50 per cent of children are able to catch up with their age-appropriate learning following the <keyword id="8763838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19" source="Orion">COVID-19</keyword> pandemic, a new survey on learning loss and education recovery revealed. Over 48,000 students participated in the Smile India foundation survey, covering urban, rural and aspirational districts of 22 states. "According to teachers, less than 50 per cent of children have been able to cope with the learning loss over the last two years," it said. "These are mostly those students who have been regularly performing well prior to the pandemic as well. Hence, bringing the rest of the students to par with their expected learning level will require some time and effort," the survey said. Fifty-eight per cent of teachers noted that children have missed out on social skills and now get distracted easily, it added. "Their attention span has gone low." Forty-seven per cent of them admitted there is an increased interaction between parents and teachers, it said. "Thirty-eight per cent of parents started interacting with teachers by visiting schools. There is a 27 per cent increase in parent-teacher meetings attendance. Fifty per cent of parents interviewed felt the absence of digital learning resources like devices, networks, and data packs made the learning experience inadequate for the children during the pandemic," the survey said. Thirty-one per cent of parents' most preferred mode of learning during the pandemic was direct classes in offline mode or cluster classes, it said. The survey also revealed that worksheets and visits by teachers “were very convenient and useful."

Less than 50% of children able to catch up with age-appropriate learning, claims survey

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Indian newspaper Balaknama, or "children's journal," pays nearly 90 reporters — all kids — to report on the COVID-19 health crisis and other issues.</li><li>The children all come from the <keyword id="6367743" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="slums">slums</keyword> or streets of Delhi, and the newspaper is helping to teach them skills to lift them out of <keyword id="45057" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Poverty">poverty</keyword>.</li><li>During the <keyword id="43587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="pandemic">pandemic</keyword>, millions of children around the world have dropped out of school and been forced into <keyword id="185859" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="child-labor">child labor</keyword>.</li></ul>For the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/01/23/133109831/taking-a-walk-into-the-lives-of-indias-street-kids">18 million</a> children who live on the streets of Delhi, <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, and in slums across the country, opportunities for success are hard to come by.But a nonprofit called <a href="https://chetnango.org/">Chetna</a> has been helping children out of poverty through the power of <keyword id="58267" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Journalism">journalism</keyword>. In 2002, Chetna launched <a href="https://balaknama.org/">Balaknama</a>, a newspaper produced by underprivileged kids that reports on the challenges they face in everyday life. The name means "children's journal" in Hindi.Shanno, the senior editor of the monthly publication, says it now has a network of over 90 reporters, all children. "These children live amongst us, on the streets. They work at restaurants and factories or they beg or sell recyclables," Shanno said. "And these kids are very social, street-smart, and natural leaders."<div type="image" title="balaknama" height="1080" width="1920" msid="79156418" hostid="261"></div>Now, after a nationwide lockdown, the young reporters are back on their beats, reporting on life amid the pandemic. October's editorial meeting was held in a park to promote social distancing — the first in-person meeting the team held in six months because of coronavirus health precautions.Some of Balaknama's reporters are illiterate and collect <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> on the ground. Those who are literate, like 18-year old Jyoti, then write up the stories."Before this I used to work in the streets. I used to sort out trash and beg on the streets for money," Jyoti said. "I've never been to school, but I educate myself. I have books from the 10th-grade level."<div type="image" title="11" height="1080" width="1920" msid="79156425" hostid="261"></div>The kids distribute the paper for free — 5,000 copies in Hindi and 3,000 in English. They mostly hand them out in their own neighborhoods, where they want to make a difference and inspire other children."In my experience, a guy who has a stall selling water, his kid will also end up in the same job because he doesn't have the resources to get an education," 17-year-old reporter Deepak said. "So I distribute the paper to them so they can show it to their children and say, 'Look, kids like you have done so well for themselves.'"Balaknama pays reporters a stipend of about 5,000 rupees, or $65 dollars a month, to cover food, phone, and transportation costs. But the real reward for the kids is seeing their names in print.Balaknama moved online when India went under lockdown in March. The virus has killed nearly <a href="https://www.mohfw.gov.in/">130,000 people in India,</a> the third highest death toll in the world. <div type="image" title="4 (1)" height="1080" width="1920" msid="79156428" hostid="261"></div>The kids were given phones and asked to report remotely, sending their dispatches via WhatsApp. But Shanno said many of the kids are still vulnerable in other ways. "Now because of the coronavirus, when kids are begging on the streets, they are being told, 'You must have the virus and we will catch it too, so stay away,'" Shanno said. "People push the kids around and swear at them. So these are the kind of issues we wrote about." And Shanno added that many of them are being pressured to work other jobs amid the pandemic."They told us about how more kids are being forced to work, how they are quitting their education, and how some kids who never worked are now begging on the streets," she said. "It was very sad for us to learn that these children who we had worked so hard to send to school were now working because of COVID-19.<div type="image" title="9" height="1080" width="1920" msid="79156431" hostid="261"></div>In fact, the UN estimates that <a href="https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-henrietta-fores-remarks-press-conference-new-updated">24 million children</a> will drop out of school worldwide due to the pandemic. Many of them will be forced to take up jobs, raising concerns of a spike in child labor. Shanno herself is no stranger to that — she said she remembers working at a clothing factory as a child, working around the clock for $4 or $5 a week. Now she's getting a degree in social work. "I'm the only girl in my family who is well-educated and has created an identity for herself," she said. "And my mom feels proud, too."Shanno hopes that Balaknama can also change the lives of other kids — one story at a time.

A children's newspaper in India is employing underprivileged kids to report on the COVID-19 crisis

<ul><li>The pandemic has made us realise the importance of preparedness and the need to predict and prevent such epidemics at all costs</li><li>Understanding the effects of all the potential viruses that can spread to human beings, by deploying <keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ai" source="Orion">AI</keyword>, statistical models, and machine learning, is key to achieving this prevention</li><li>In this article, we take a closer look at how we can use AI models to spot the next pandemic and what are the obstacles that we may need to overcome</li></ul>Zoonosis, as defined by the World Health Organization (<keyword id="6366244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="who" source="Orion">WHO</keyword>), can transmit infectious diseases from wild animals to humans – diseases that can be deadly enough to cause pandemics. The principal reasons for transmission are the increasing human encroachment on animal habitats, changing climate, and the increased movement of people, animals, and animal products because of international trade. The Global Virome Project estimates around 1.7 million animal viruses are known to cause infections in birds and mammals. Scientists believe almost half of those viruses can spread to humans. Understanding these has now become key to preventing pandemics or at least being better prepared in case one hits us. Research of this kind is an unbelievably huge task and has led to the development of a new discipline where machine learning (ML) and statistical models are used to predict the emergence of various diseases, likely animal hosts, geographical hotspots, and which viruses are most likely to affect humans. Scientists who support this technology firmly believe that the findings will guide the development of medicines and vaccines, and help everyone involved to study, observe, and predict situations accurately. Naturally, all researchers do not agree with this approach. Many do not believe predictive technology can keep up with the frequently changing virome or the scale of what exists at any given point. True, there is a constant improvement of data and <a href="https://www.infosysbpm.com/offerings/functions/annotation-services-for-ai-ml/insights/documents/data-annotation-the-life-blood-of-ai-ml-applications.pdf">artificial intelligence (AI) models</a>, but for such tools to be truly predictive of future pandemics, the efforts must include a very wide network of researchers spread across the globe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="AI spotted the first signs of Covid-19" comment="subhead" text="AI spotted the first signs of Covid-19">AI spotted the first signs of Covid-19</cmsannotation> Canada-based Bluedot was one of the first organisations to recognise the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and sound the alarm. It uses an AI-based algorithm that continuously searches global data to pinpoint the next outbreak of an infectious disease. HealthMap, the algorithm run at the Boston Children’s Hospital, also caught these first signs of Covid-19. So was the case with Mayo Clinic’s Coronavirus Map Tracking Tool. Rapidly developing Natural-language processing (NLP) algorithms monitor global healthcare reports and news outlets in various languages, and flag mentions of diseases such as Covid-19, or endemic ones such as tuberculosis or HIV. Air-travel data is also monitored to assess the risks of spreading. Social media was found to be quite a reliable source of data during Covid-19. Data scientists at the University of Colorado, Boulder, used ML and a short-term forecasting model to analyse large datasets gathered from popular online platforms and compared the results to insights obtained from analysing the more conventional mobile device location data. As people travelled during the pandemic, or recovered and talked about their Covid experience, the technology recognised specific keywords and gathered relevant data. In 2021, when mask-wearing policies, lockdowns, and travel restrictions kept changing, this model was found to be far closer to reality than other models. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Early buzz but not much later" comment="subhead" text="Early buzz but not much later">Early buzz but not much later</cmsannotation> However, after that initial buzz, AI could not do much. Almost all AI models were weak when applied to real-world clinical settings. Deep-learning models, when applied to CT scans and chest x-rays, were found to be unsuccessful. Perhaps a major reason for these failures was that the AI models were working on a real pandemic for the first time. Four areas were identified as the primary roadblocks: imperfect datasets, human failures, automated discrimination, and complex global conditions. Researchers are hopeful that the disappointments during Covid-19 will pave the way to generate better and sturdier AI models. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Imperfect datasets" comment="subhead" text="Imperfect datasets">Imperfect datasets</cmsannotation> For AI models to predict the emergence of a pandemic, the primary requirement is large amounts of reliable datasets, which is not always easy to gather. Different institutes across different countries have varying policies about sharing healthcare data. Further, individuals may not want their data shared either, even anonymously. For all the aspects to come together, leaders in healthcare, government, and businesses must be on the same page about privacy issues. <a href="https://www.infosysbpm.com/offerings/functions/robotics-process-automation/case-studies/documents/bots-power-millions-of-savings-on-online-sales.pdf">AI models are only as good as the data they work on</a>. So, given the many barriers to collecting good datasets, the predictions during Covid-19 were understandably below par. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Human errors" comment="subhead" text="Human errors">Human errors</cmsannotation> Data entry errors because of tremendous pressure, insufficient manpower, hurry to reach conclusions, and wrong incentives – everything was at play during Covid-19. The inability of people in charge to interpret data and AI predictions correctly was another common error. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Automated discrimination" comment="subhead" text="Automated discrimination">Automated discrimination</cmsannotation> Predictions and decisions regarding treatment taken by healthcare authorities also affected recovery rates despite the availability of AI models. Many disadvantaged groups did not receive appropriate or poor treatment because of AI biases, which can again be traced to human biases. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Complex global conditions" comment="subhead" text="Complex global conditions">Complex global conditions</cmsannotation> As mentioned earlier, data sharing is governed by different rules in different countries and that affects the quality and quantity of reliable data available. During the pandemic, there were many discussions and debates about sharing genome sequences across countries. Populations of different countries also reacted differently to the idea of sharing health data. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Way forward" comment="subhead" text="Way forward">Way forward</cmsannotation> Prediction, diagnosis, and treatment are the three areas where AI can be best used. For AI models to learn and predict efficiently, a few factors must be corrected over time. <ol><li>Find better healthcare datasets, preferably in standardised formats, to create a centralised repository of data. Consider using synthetic data instead of real data to bypass the principles of privacy. New data processing techniques must be developed.</li><li>Ensure greater diversity in the data collected. This will prevent automated discrimination and underrepresentation of disadvantaged groups.</li><li>Promote greater cooperation across teams such as AI teams, researchers, clinicians, engineers, and even ethicists to ensure AI systems are aligned with the existing value systems.</li><li>International data sharing rules must be outlined to facilitate data sharing without breaking any privacy rules. AI teams must be trained to recognise differences in data gathered from different regions of the world. </li></ol>The fast spread of Covid globally and the struggle faced by health services to stay ahead of the disease pushes home the need to use the best AI models available to track and predict pandemics. AI developers must continue working on predictive models to ensure that the next pandemic, if any, can be preemptively predicted and contained at the right time. Disclaimer: This article is authored by Sudeep Patta, Head – Digital Transformation Office, Infosys BPM. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Insider India

Can AI spot the next pandemic before it starts?

<ul><li>“Deadlines can wait. First, let me take care of my <keyword id="6354774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="Orion">mental health</keyword>!” said no advertising employee ever. In this industry, you are expected to be available 24*7 even though the job doesn’t require saving lives (I did ask around just to be sure).</li><li>With the impending third wave of coronavirus, it is exhausting to be creative, ‘ahead of the curve’ right now when every third person you know is positive.</li><li>We are all anxious and struggling to keep going but are scared to admit it. When you are in the business of ideas, it is a little more challenging to keep going.</li><li>So, we decided to check in with a few Creative Officers of Advertising agencies, who are expected to hold the whole family together.</li><li>They told us about their struggles, how they are finding the strength to keep going and shared a few tips on how we can deal with the impending wave from a both business and personal perspective.</li></ul>“Work-life balance? What’s that?” a 24-year-old copywriter, a friend, laughed when I asked him how is agency life is treating him and whether he has mastered the art of work-life balance in two years. I was almost embarrassed to have asked that question and realised that we have normalised inhuman working hours to an extent in which having a work-life balance is every agency employee’s pipe dream. I was going to ask him how he’s taking care of his mental health now that his mother has tested positive, but I decided to sit that one out. Well, let’s be realistic! Do advertising people have time to go to therapy or join a Zumba class or just be alone with their thoughts? People from the industry often say, some even with a generous dose of condescension, that ‘if you are not willing to be available 24*7 and clock at least 16 hours a day, you are not cut for the job.’ The person who does prioritize a personal task over work, is often frowned upon. With work from home, the stress levels, urgent deadlines, demanding clients and high pressure have all increased manifold. And when our country is preparing itself to face another possible wave of COVID-19 and its several mutations, it is becoming increasingly challenging for everyone to focus on work and continue leading normal lives inside our houses. Advertising agencies bear the additional responsibility of coming up with optimistic campaigns that drive change and raise awareness. Despite facing the blues of working in isolation and pressure to overperform in a dismal atmosphere, ad agencies are increasingly pushing their boundaries to come up with empathetic, change-making campaigns to help our country. These people in the business of ideas are expected to pitch new ideas almost every day. However, it is exhausting to be creative, ‘ahead of the curve’ right now when every third person you know is positive. Just when we started believing that life might be back to normal again, the universe took us back to square one. While one might argue that our medical industry does have better resources to support our citizens today than it did till last year, mentally, how can we find hope and do this all over again? How can we remind each other that this is temporary -- that holding on to hope is important more than ever before? Thankfully, there are a few optimists among us who are reminding us to keep it at and holding the whole family together. In the advertising ecosystem, it is the Creative Officers and their team members. Reminding us how there’s always light at the end of the tunnel, Titus Upputuru, Creative Head, Taproot Dentsu, Gurgaon and National Creative Director, Dentsu One took us back to our childhood days. He said, “In childhood, I remember the days when the electricity would go off and there were no back-ups or inverters, we children used to simply put candles in the darkness and make giant shadows on the walls with our hands. We would create barking dogs, flying eagles, and trunk raising elephants, all with our hands and sometimes feet. So to me, dark times are an opportunity to innovate. The dark homes helped us children to innovate and create magical things. If the lights hadn’t gone, maybe we were just watching Doordarshan.” Upputuru has seen a few of his loved ones lose their battle to the virus in the past two years. “The first time Covid happened, I became a little restless. I just knew that I wasn’t going to be chained; so I wrote songs, collaborated with artists, created content with Instagrammers. Second time was really trying. I lost three cousins and one uncle and aunt in a matter of 3 weeks and we were continuously attending funerals over zoom. Every week someone would disappear from those zoom calls and we were all wondering who will be next. It was quite heart-rending. I wrote ‘Lohe ke Gubbare’ (Balloons of Iron) about a little boy who was desperately seeking an iron ‘balloon’ for his dying mother at the hospital. So darker times push creativity in many ways,” he shared. Upputuru’s faith gave him hope and comfort to keep going. He also decided to spend his free time upskilling. “In current times, one can also upskill. Last year, I did a full digital course and learnt about digital marketing. The great thing was it was not just lectures – although there was a handsome measure of those – we also had to collaborate with teams across the world, across different streams and resolve real-time marketing issues on digital platforms. It was terribly exciting and it did keep me sufficiently occupied when the workload had become lesser due to the business impact. My go-to always has been to spend quiet time with God. I read Bible the first thing in the morning. There is so much wisdom and guidance that one can get on one’s knees. Also, I like to talk to God and have conversations. These conversations often help me to let go of things one can’t do much about. And yes, I do take care of my body with daily exercise. It’s important as the human body was meant to farm in the sun, hunt in the jungles, and fight as soldiers. But modern-day lifestyle, especially in current times, forces us to only sit or lie down," said Upputuru. After two years of living in the constant fear of catching a deadly virus, Garima Khandelwal, Chief Creative Officer, Mullen Lintas has learned to find comfort and joy in small wins. She said, “The pressure to be creative is a constant, while the scenario has been challenging, now for 2 years in the running. We all are coping with it every day, keeping the ball on the output, and for us a lot of what was taken for granted in how we worked or collaborated has changed forever. Yes, there are days that are low, but it’s all part of a day that comes to an end every day, and that is the thing to remember. With a “This too shall pass,” I look for small joys in everyday and cherish them. It’s okay to not be okay some days and days that are just about okay are okay too. What really comes into play is to deal with empathy. We had an unfortunate experience of being stuck at the Taj during 26/11. It was a tragedy the world knew about, but to live through it, and coming out luckily seemingly unhurt, it still played out for a long time after we got back home safe. I draw this parallel because for once we all are going through the exact same scenario, while some are dealing with more hardships than others. It’s not normal for anyone and it’s important therefore to be empathetic towards self and to others. My escape has been to go back to simpler times, a lot of things I remember my grandmother used to be busy with when I was growing up. With family, spending time in home improvement, all things I was always too busy for, I have found comfort in. Don’t worry about how and when things will go back to how it used to be but take each day as it comes. It’s all about living In the moment and honoring them with gratitude. Don’t hesitate in seeking help. We often underestimate the overwhelming nature of what we set out to do in a day, and we could do with a little help, just to understand better for ourselves how to deal with all of it.” DDB Mudra Group’s Chief Creative Officer, Rahul Mathew found a companion in his dog. “I don’t think there would be anyone who hasn’t struggled through these times. Over the past two Covid waves, the lucky ones have found antidotes to keep it together. My most potent antidote has been my dog. Having him around makes it easy to transition from high pressure to extreme joy. There’s also a practise I started many years back, to identify one optimist in your life (work or otherwise). And to have regular conversations with that person, especially when you feel your emotions sagging. Because as maligned as the word is today, being positive is the one thing we all need to be,” said Mathew. “In this business, there’s always pressure on the person to be creative. We’re only as good as the engagements, disruptions and unexpected work that we put out on a regular basis. The damage a pandemic does or did, is put pressure on the culture of creativity. It really tests how strong or weak the culture really is. A strong culture rearranges itself to protect its core of creativity and ones creating it. While a weaker one often succumbs to the pressures of the every day, by exposing its core to chaos and panic. It’s really a test of our belief in creativity as agency leaders. You’re only as strong as the people beside you. And I feel that’s the key to making it through the toughest of times. Both professionally and personally. We need to dig deeper into the connections we have with our people. And protect the ones who are core to what we do. Because it’s they, who in turn will keep us going,” added Mathew. Mukund Olety, Chief Creative Officer, VMLY&amp;R India said that the agency has hit a rhythm, working in a ‘come what may’ model. “Covid has tested our resilience. But creativity is a bug that flourishes in the toughest of conditions. If history is any guide, the most difficult periods have been followed by the most creative ones. The constraints have not just pushed brands to explore new mediums and create new kinds of work but also encouraged creatives to develop new ways of working. The initial few months were of course tough but now we have become well-versed in reacting and adapting to the changing situations. Creative folks thrive off each other’s energy. And it’s important to fuel that energy even while working remotely. Yes, now we are having more planned conversations than unplanned bumping into each other in the corridor ones – and sometimes those agenda-less corridor conversations can be super productive. We try and bring that same spontaneity even in virtual rooms. I encourage people to turn their cameras on during a brainstorm. It makes a difference and of course makes those long spells of silence more palatable. Every Friday, we have Fearless Friday sessions where all the creatives get together. It’s a platform to discuss and share whatever they like. And lastly, one important way to keep your team motivated and going is to genuinely empathize and care. It shows when you do. It reflects in the work,” said Olety. For an industry that is built around deadlines and deliverables, advertising people have found themselves at the intersection where moments of magic meet the point of serious stress, time and again. And as the country looks at the third wave of COVID-19, advertising folks advise you to listen, acknowledge and act upon what an individual may be going through in these trying times.

How to stay creative when you feel dejected: Advertising industry’s Creative Officers share some tips

<ul><li>British cosmetics brand The <keyword id="13496722" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="body-shop" source="Orion">Body Shop</keyword> has had a presence in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> for over 16 years now and it looks at India as a critical market.</li><li>We talk to <keyword id="812268" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vishal-chaturvedi" source="Orion">Vishal Chaturvedi</keyword>, Vice President, The <keyword id="6362988" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="body" source="Orion">Body</keyword> Shop India who walks us through the brand's journey in India so far, its strategies that have helped it grow here and its plans for the future.</li></ul> Over the last few years, and especially in the last 2 years of the pandemic, there has been a change in the beauty industry. Despite the setback due to the pandemic, the beauty industry is going back towards normalcy. Attractive social media marketing, beauty influencers and e-commerce platforms have brought brands closer to consumers. While 2 years back, most of us would not be comfortable buying cosmetics online, the pandemic changed that, and it will help the larger market in the long-run. Another change the pandemic brought about in the minds of consumers is a move towards using brands that use more natural ingredients in their products. Consumers are also choosing to opt for brands that have a larger brand purpose. British-born, ethical cosmetics company The Body Shop has been in India for the past 16 years. It was one of the early brands that attracted consumers due to its range of naturally-inspired cosmetics and toiletry products. For years, the brand has been pioneering the philosophy that business can be a force for good, and has been launching new standards of ethics in business. In the past few years, the brand has seen healthy growth in India. While its presence on ecommerce platforms like Nykaa and now on Myntra and Amazon helped it take its products closer to its consumers, it also adopted strategies like 60 minute door-to-door delivery and WhatsApp shopping to cater to mass customers. To understand the brand’s journey in India more closely, we spoke to Vishal Chaturvedi, Vice President, The Body Shop India. He told us how the brand has fared in India in the last 16 years, its strategies that have helped it grow here and its plans for the future. Excepts: Q) Walk us through The Body Shop's journey in India. It's been 16 years since the brand entered the Indian market. How have things been? Over the years, the beauty industry has changed a lot, especially in last two years. Beauty is now breaking standard norms and redefining it as an approach to self-expression. encouraging more about ‘How you feel’ in your skin and hence breaking standard beauty norms. There is a rapid rise of beauty technology, product innovations &amp; modes of selling. It’s also noteworthy that the millennials &amp; Gen-Z are driving the change. Digital transformation and emergence of technology has driven reach and penetration. Physical retail stores continue to be the heart of consumer experience, sensorial experience, education and trust operated by human connection. Our omni-channel strategy has helped address the new emerging scenarios to address customer queries and reach them at their convenient channel. Further, consumers are actively seeking product knowledge, source of ingredients, packaging details and identifying with the brand’s core purpose. Issues related to sustainability, inclusivity, adaptability, empathy and relevance are evaluated while making purchase decisions. At the Body Shop, we have targeted focus with a robust omni-channel strategy including an overall digital and offline presence. Bringing touch-and-feel of products to digital portals and experiential stores with technology will be the beacons for the future. Further, it’s our quest to advocate for Profit with Principles while being accessible and affordable. In these times of great social and environmental inequity, we believe that our purpose has ability to bring change. Q) What has The Body Shop's marketing strategy in India been? The beauty segment has become very cluttered in the last few years. How has the brand made a place for itself in the clutter? The Body Shop is a disruptive beauty brand with an edge in the Indian market. We have constantly researched &amp; provided for the changing market trends while keeping the customer at the forefront and helping the planet. Community Programs: Our commitment to be a purpose-driven business has kept grounded to our activist roots. There is credible work done around plastics, tackling waste, packaging &amp; sustainability. World’s first community fair trade program is the core of our DNA for over 40 years. Similarly, we have worked on social activism raising the voice of less privileged communities and dealt with environmental impacts of plastic waste effectively. Communication Channels: In current times, the lines are blurring between digital &amp; physical. Beauty shopping is not restricted to one and in fact, the integration of two is a must to cater audience needs. We have focused our energies on servicing our consumers swiftly as well as digitally enabling our site to deliver an experience at par to that of our stores. Other steps include free samples of consumers’ choice on every order; Live Chats with personal skincare experts and AI driven product recommendations. Collaborations: Evidently, influencer collaborations enhance the content engagement. It also gives a window to reach audiences in varied demographics&amp; geographies. Our Chief Brand Advocate, Sanya Malhotra is self-made, independent, outspoken personality with very strong cinematic choices truly inspiring the young women of the country. She also leads The Body Shop’s SWAD (Squad with a difference) with faces from different backgrounds who come together and fuel our fight for fairer, beautiful world. Third Party Channels: Our collaboration with Nykaa for the past 8 years has proved to work wonders. And now with Amazon and Myntra we’ve made our way to even the remotest corners of the country. After the pandemic, to cater to mass customers, we started door-to-door delivery in 60 minutes and launched WhatsApp shopping. All these initiatives are working in our favor to place ourselves in the cluttered market. Q) The pandemic has thrown a lot of challenges to retail brands across the globe. How did you navigate these challenging times? The pandemic has been a period of learning for the brand. It gave us the time and chance to carefully evaluate consumer behaviour and outlook in order to plan strategically for the future. We were able to understand our customer’s needs better. We have learned to be agile and nimble. Despite the economic magnitude of the lockdown, the beauty industry may have proven to be reasonably resilient with the new emerging normal. In the past two years of the new-normal, the consumers adapted to new channels and wellness routines. Personal hygiene and beauty trends had an uptick because people spent more time on themselves. The increased awareness around beauty and self-care presented the brand with a great niche and campaigns like 'Self Care Sunday' or 'Spa at Home' were very well received by the audience. We also revamped our digital presence by building a consumer-friendly digital store that is complete with cutting-edge technology and a user-first interface. In an attempt to reach customers, we expanded our social media presence with tools to assist hands-on product experience. Digital and social channels have been at the forefront of consumer engagement Anytime, Anywhere shopping service for customers, via Social commerce, WhatsApp Shopping, Assisted Sales, Home delivery, going beyond Express Delivery to 2 hours’ delivery, Expert Chats, Live video consultations and so on. Technology played a vital role in navigating through these times by helping our customers make the right decision in absence of product touch &amp; feel experience. As a result, we are now catering an addition of 5000+ pin codes, we’re now serving over 30,000 pin codes across the country. Q) How are you expanding your retail presence? What are your plans for this year? Post pandemic the dynamics have changed. Large parts of our customers have moved towards online shopping but retail stores are the heart and soul of our brand. With things now opening up again, we are geared up to provide an even better shopping experience to our customers. The need for human connection is now stronger than before and the consumers will look for sensorial experience, physical interaction, engagement, touch &amp; feel of the products and seek personalized consultation at the stores. With this vision, we are moving ahead to open 25 new stores in 2022 in various locations. Our future plans include bringing the activism in the very heart of the brand, that is retail stores. We are excited to launch the new Activist Workshop stores where customers c<a name="_GoBack"></a>an explore and discover how they ‘can fight for a fairer and more beautiful world’. On the product front, we aim to turn completely Vegan by 2023. Additionally, we are constantly focused on making our product packaging 100% recyclable thus reducing our environmental impact. Q) How are you going deeper into the country? What kind of sales are you witnessing from smaller cities? Are you also focusing more on increasing your offline presence in Tier II and Tier III cities? Rising awareness amongst consumers, increased incomes coupled with explosion in the presence of digital platforms the demand from Tier II &amp; III cities has increased manifolds. Customers believe in buying less but buying quality. The appetite to spend in these smaller cities is increasing and customers are becoming more conscious about what to use for their skin and body. Additionally, post pandemic, a great chunk of people have shifted back to their hometowns from metro areas. However, they are still looking for their favourites for personal use. Keeping up with the need of our customers we have a robust plan of opening 25 new stores in FY 2022. 70% of these stores will be opened in other Tier II cities like Indore, Bhopal, Patna and Shimla. Q)Over the past few years, there has been a movement towards cruelty-free products. How has this helped you build your brand narrative? Since its inception in 1976, The Body Shop is a cruelty free brand. We believe and fought the cause that animals should not be used for cosmetic testing. Therefore, all the ingredients are ethically sourced and have never been tested on any animal. The Body Shop passionately believes that no animal should be harmed in the name of cosmetics and that animal testing on products and ingredients is outdated, cruel and unnecessary. This is why The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International partnered to deliver the largest and most ambitious campaign ever to seek a global ban on the use of animals to test cosmetic products and ingredients. In June 2017, The Body shop India launched itsForever Against Animal Testingcampaign with Cruelty Free International and became the first international beauty brand to campaign against animal testing in cosmetics globally. Additionally, all our products are 100% Vegetarian and over 60% of our products are 100% Vegan. This includes best-selling ranges such as the Tea Tree skincare range, Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask, Body Yogurts and now the iconic Body Butters launched in November 2021. All our new launches are 100% Vegan. Our new haircare range is certified by The VEGAN society and packaged with fully recycled plastics The Vegan Society takes an extremely thorough approach to certification and contact is made with every supplier and manufacturer of raw materials within the product catalogue. For The Body Shop, that’s over 3,700 raw materials. Once each raw material has been meticulously investigated, each product is reviewed in totality to make sure it is fully compliant. Only then does a product receive Vegan Trademark certification. We are working toward 100% of all Products becoming Vegan by 2023 keeping in line with our commitment to reduce impact on planet. The Body Shop is one the first cosmetics brands to prohibit testing on animals, and also the first company to introduce Fair Trade to the beauty industry. Our customers appreciate the environmental friendliness &amp; social stand of the company and identify with The Body Shop in consequence. Q) What gives you an edge over other brands in the segment? We are not just a brand but a legacy. Years before The Body Shop opened its 1st store in India, The Body Shop International has had a long commitment to India and its communities. <keyword id="2755263" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="anita-roddick" source="Orion">Anita Roddick</keyword> had a connection to and faith in India. We were way ahead of many of our competitors today, to enter and make a mark in the market. With our constant efforts, we are able to sustain that relationship with our customers. We believe in assisting them in the best possible ways by understanding their needs and providing them with products that are economical and can be used guilt-free. Q) You say the brand remains staunchly feminist, one that advocates for the right of women and girls everywhere. Can you give me a few examples of the things you have done in this regard in India? In sync with the vision of our founder, The Body Shop champions equality and serves as a voice for young girls and women across the globe. We’re committed to advocate for equal rights, self-love and body acceptance as few of many social causes we fight for. Through our activism, we campaign to make the world a fair and safe place for women and girls. ●In March 2021, we started a mission to end period shame in collaboration with CRY. #DropthePword aimed at raising awareness about Periods, Period Shame, and the impact of Period Shame on India's girls &amp; women. Through this partnership, we aimed to normalize the conversation around periods and raise funds towards menstrual health and education efforts for communicating deeply affected by the pandemic. We aimed to provide menstrual health awareness, education, and free menstrual products to 10,000+ people across 4500 households. ●In October 2020, The Body Shop India partnered with Plastics for Change (PFC) India Foundation to launch project N.A.R.I (Nutrition, Ability, Retraining, Inclusion).The objective of this project was to support female empowerment and sustainability with our focus on female waste pickers, who were the invisible frontline Covid19 warriors. We have raised funds to support these women by voluntary customer donations and an equal amount was donated by us. ●With Stop Sex Trafficking of Women and Young Children, we engaged with our customers, friends, and family across the globe, we have raised awareness and funds. We were elated when India ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime including Prevention and Punishment of Trafficking, particularly Women and Children. Q) Going ahead, what will your areas of focus be to capture a bigger market share in India? How important is the Indian market for the brand in the global scheme of things? India is a country of diverse people and that is its biggest strength. We have a great diversity of faces, skin tones, beauty regimes, rituals, preferences, and regional beauty traditions, which is a unique opportunity for us. They are also well aware about the ingredients, heavily relying on digital and social media platforms and growing consumption of do-it-yourself (DIY) content. Affordability is key for the customers while demanding high levels of product innovations. As a result, we are investing in video content and reinforce it with a good-quality website. Also, we plan to leverage technology to mimic offline experiences. We use more plant-based and recycled plastic which encourages people to reuse, recycle and repurpose. Our long-term goal is to create a circular packaging strategy, which involves recycling or repurposing all of our product packaging. The customers are being transparently educated about ingredients, packaging and sustainability efforts via Omni channel strategy. Our competitive pricing strategy for India is part of an ambitious plan to expand its reach to more people and smaller cities in quick time. This makes us more affordable and more accessible amongst the millennials across the Tier II and III cities.

Here’s how The Body Shop navigated the pandemic and is growing its business in India

The advantages of living in cities for young people's healthy growth and development are shrinking across much of the world, according to a global analysis of trends in child and adolescent height and body mass index (<keyword id="6378215" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bmi" source="Orion">BMI</keyword>). The research, by a global consortium of over 1500 researchers and physicians, analysed height and weight data from 71 million children and adolescents (aged 5 to 19 years) across urban and rural areas of 200 countries from 1990 to 2020. Cities can provide a multitude of opportunities for better education, nutrition, sports and recreation, and healthcare that contributed to school-aged children and adolescents living in cities being taller than their rural counterparts in the 20th century in all but a few wealthy countries. The study, published recently in the journal Nature, found that in the 21st century, this urban height advantage shrank in most countries as a result of accelerating improvements in height for children and adolescents in rural areas. The researchers also assessed children's BMI, an indicator of whether they have a healthy weight for their height. They found that on average children living in cities had a slightly higher BMI than children in rural areas in 1990. By 2020, BMI averages rose for most countries, albeit faster for urban children, except in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, where BMI rose faster in rural areas. Nevertheless, over the 30-year period, the gap between urban and rural BMI remained small-less than 1.1 kilogrammes per square metre (kg/m²) globally, the researchers said. "Cities continue to provide considerable health benefits for children and adolescents," said <keyword id="227550" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="anu-mishra" source="Orion">Anu Mishra</keyword>, lead author of the study, from Imperial College London's School of Public Health. "Fortunately, in most regions, rural areas are catching up to cities thanks to modern sanitation and improvements in nutrition and healthcare," Mishra said. The results of this large global study challenge the commonly held perceptions about the negative aspects of living in cities around nutrition and health, the researcher added. While height and BMI have increased around the world since 1990, the researchers found that the degree of change between urban and rural areas varied greatly among different middle and low-income countries, while small urban-rural differences remained stable across high-income countries. Middle-income and emerging economies, such as Chile, Taiwan, and Brazil, have seen the biggest gains in rural children's height over the three decades, with children living in rural areas growing to similar heights as their urban counterparts. "These countries have made great strides in levelling up. Using the resources of economic growth to fund nutrition and health programmes, both through schools and in the community, was key to closing the gaps between different areas and social groups," said Professor <keyword id="3307845" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="majid-ezzati" source="Orion">Majid Ezzati</keyword>, senior author for the study, from Imperial College London. Contrary to the widespread assumption that urbanisation is the main driver of the obesity epidemic, the study found that many high-income Western countries have had very little difference in height and BMI over time - with the gap between urban and rural BMI differing by less than one unit in 2020. "The issue is not so much whether children live in cities or urban areas, but where the poor live, and whether governments are tackling growing inequalities with initiatives like supplementary incomes and free school meal programmes," Ezzati added. The trend in sub-Saharan Africa is also a cause for concern, the researchers said. "Rural sub-Saharan Africa is now the global epicentre of poor growth and development for children and adolescents," said Professor <keyword id="17106891" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="andre-pascal-kengne" source="Orion">Andre Pascal Kengne</keyword>, co-author of the study, from the <keyword id="110798" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="south-african-medical-research-council" source="Orion">South African Medical Research Council</keyword>. "As the cost of food skyrockets and countries finances get worse due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the rural poor in Africa are at risk of falling further behind," Kengne said. Faltering growth in school-aged children and adolescents is strongly linked to poor health throughout life, lost educational attainment and the immense cost of unrealised human potential, the researchers added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/accounting-firm-ey-calls-off-plan-to-break-up-auditing-consulting-units/articleshow/99429402.cms">Accounting firm EY calls off plan to break up auditing &amp; consulting units</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/the-life-and-times-of-keshub-mahindra-indias-oldest-billionaire/slidelist/99428483.cms">Keshub Mahindra saw the birth of India’s automotive industry. Here’s his story</a>

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